Caleb held Brock against the shelf until the veteran planted both boots behind the lip. The knife stayed low in Caleb's other hand, its point clear of the armor.
"Show me a body first," Rina called from below.
Kei swept his helmet light across the far end of the lane. Iron legs pressed into the gray growth around the supposed caller. Taichi confirmed the movement from the right ridge.
"Machine at the voice," he said. "Nobody under it."
Brock pulled his shoulder free. Caleb let go once he was clear of the edge.
"I was looking," Brock said.
"Keep looking from up here."
The Mimic raised its scythes. A return rod slid out beside the left knee as the chassis lowered, and Caleb pointed the knife toward it.
"That cover lifts when it braces. Can you catch the rod?"
Kei changed his aim from the ground behind the rear feet. His first cryo burst whitened the mud; the second caught the exposed rod. Ice joined it to the moving guard, slowing the knee as the machine tried to turn.
