A fanfiction of The Mech Touch. Follow Bolt as he tries his best to be a Mech Designer in a place where Mech dominate war and blood is spent easier than coin.
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M001 - Intro
New
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AN: So, another new fiction by me. Placed in the safe for work section even, so don't complain about no lewds. I'm not particularly sure about this one, and I'm very, very likely not going to match the fiction I'm doing fanfiction for. This is from The Mech Touch, a mammoth fictional setting that, has good parts and bad parts. Read it until you get tired of it imo. It starts great but sorta degrades over time. (Which considering how long it is is more impressive than anything else.)
---
Hanging upside-down was not a pleasant experience. It made the blood rush to your head, it was mildly disorientating, and it was surprisingly tiring. Bolt Silica was already regretting doing it to himself, but he could not have figured out another way of getting to this particular part.
From the outside it probably looked ridiculous. Picture a young man at the cusp of adulthood, heavily muscled, red haired, brown eyed. Now stick him inside the torso of a ruined looking mech and have his legs in the air with a few chains securing him in place. That was Bolt right now. It was supremely uncomfortable. It was also necessary.
The mech needed to be fixed. His family had made the effort of lugging the parts into the bay, assembling the nightmarish blend of parts into something coherent and taken the time to screw and bolt it all tight. Hours worth of work had been spent creating this Junker mech, and all it had resulted in was a slab of metal that couldn't walk. That was both unacceptable and expensive.
Bolt Silica and his family were rats. Well, they were human, but also Rats. People considered the dregs of society. The planet they lived on was a war torn place on the edges of the galaxy sandwiched between three separate Third Rate Nations. Too worthless to be valuable in peace time and too disputed to be claimed too long in war time, the planet's only claim to fame was the extensive graveyards of mechs. In other words it was a junkheap filled with mech parts that were too much effort to take off the planet and had no functional government.
It still had life naturally. The survivors left behind and deserters of various battles had mingled and made families over time. These Rats eked out a living scavenging metal and the scant resources available on the surface. Most of them hid in burrows and barely came to the surface, afraid of life in general after generations of warfare. Pitiful and frequently killed for the flimsiest of reasons, it was barely called living. They had no rights to the rest of the galaxy, and even the most noble visitor could barely stand looking at them, less because they were unsightly and more because they were considered the least of humanity. Their hopes and dreams were typically non-existent.
Bolt was not one of them. He was part of the Wrench Rats. They were a semi-formal group that built, maintained, and sold junkyard mechs to others on the planet. These mechs were barely dangerous to anyone competent, and only a step up from trash, but they were still mechs and could still squish a person with their feet if need be. It would have been a semi-respected position on any other planet. Here they were in more danger from their profession. From being forcefully enslaved, stolen from, or just killed because they were 'disrespecting mechs' they had a wealth of new ways to die. The Wrench Rats knew this and still persisted. They loved mechs in their own way, because they were a ticket to a better life. None of them could pilot so they did the next thing, worked with mechs.
Hence all of this. Bolt grunted and cursed as he reached into the pelvis of the Mech. In a more advanced area this sort of thing could be handled by manipulators. They had one machine capable of it here, and it was in the fritz. Not that it worked well in the first place, because it was what had helped assemble this mess before Bolt had gotten to it.
"Spend half our cheese on newfangled automated shit and end up with just expensive shit." Bolt cursed again as his hand finally got the wire.
The young man had been born with the Wrench Rats. He'd grown up toothing on mech bolts. He'd known how to assemble a piston before he could walk. He was by all accounts brilliant and only held back by the fact that his education was non-existent. Everything he knew was practical through working on junk mechs like this one, so he knew how to fix it. All it would take was threading a cable from the very tip of the mech's toe to the cockpit. The task was actually pretty easy with the proper tools.
Bolt had none of those. Hence the cursing. "Lousy pain in the ass damned hellish." He tugged and the wire slowly threaded through the various cable management areas and then the young man was finally able to attach it to the cockpit framework.
"Fire and Brimstone boy, what are ya up to there?!" His mother called out as she entered the mech bay.
"Trying ta get this thing actually going clank instead of sputtering!" Bolt called back as very carefully spliced the wire into the appropriate connection points. "I'm not gonna make us all the cheese even if I have ta bleed ta do it!"
"Yer cousin said that monster was kaput. Paw and I were going to cut it up after the Biters came by." The woman yelled up and frowned, not that he could see it. "Also, yer going to bust open your fool head trying that. At least use the lift!"
"Lifts broke, again, like everything else." Bolt grunted out and grabbed at one of the nearby tools needed to seal everything up. "Mind hittin' the remote power? Got it set I think."
His mother frowned still deeper. "Ya aren't by any power cables right? I ain't frying my son cause he had less sense than a rock."
Bolt very carefully didn't turn towards the woman. He was secured, but if he actually tried to move too much he was very afraid of spinning and getting more nauseous than he already was. "You know I'm not near the reactor, or main lines." He said eventually. His mother was a very experienced tech, like most of their family.
"Always double check ya know the rules. Never take anythin for granted! First lesson o' repair! Don't make me get out the big book o' stupid deaths again!" The woman stepped over. "Initiating first stage startup."
In front of Bolt the engine in the mech began to warm up. Bolt leaned forward and pressed his ear against the armor. This was the equivalent of putting a car in idle. Or it should have been. The problem with junk mechs was that everything was mismatched. There were sputters and he could almost feel the heart of the thing lurch as it struggled to work with the configuration. They'd had to splice two separate power conduits into this beast and it was not happy about it. It managed.
"Power's flowing." Bolt grunted and reached up. The cockpit seating and monitors had been ripped out and the outputs were complete mess even for a junker, but there was an interface screen they'd left specifically for this. He found it after some fumbling. "Hah! It's registering the legs now." He made a note that he'd have to redo the programming after this. It was still the default, which was horrid for junk mechs. "Can power it down Ma! Got the issue! Was just the command wires through the pelvis."
"That's all well and good Bolt, but it's getting late and we still need have the Biters coming by tomorrow." The woman called up as sternly as she could despite the smile already building. "Tis why I was out here in the first place. We need ta be sure your furs are straight and ya'll are ready."
The young boy nodded slowly. "Ok, I can..." Bolt paused as he tried to pull himself up. "I'm uhh, gonna need some help." He said as he realized he'd secured himself a bit too well.
His mother laughed. "Smarter than his father and half as wise." She joked before pausing and really looking at how he'd secured himself. "Actually looking at that mess ya got yourself in, I'm going to have to get your father and the saw." She mused.
"It's not that bad."
"Boyo, I ain't a big woman and ya used the chains we use for our big-ones for that fool position!"
---
Hanging upside-down was not a pleasant experience. It made the blood rush to your head, it was mildly disorientating, and it was surprisingly tiring. Bolt Silica was already regretting doing it to himself, but he could not have figured out another way of getting to this particular part.
From the outside it probably looked ridiculous. Picture a young man at the cusp of adulthood, heavily muscled, red haired, brown eyed. Now stick him inside the torso of a ruined looking mech and have his legs in the air with a few chains securing him in place. That was Bolt right now. It was supremely uncomfortable. It was also necessary.
The mech needed to be fixed. His family had made the effort of lugging the parts into the bay, assembling the nightmarish blend of parts into something coherent and taken the time to screw and bolt it all tight. Hours worth of work had been spent creating this Junker mech, and all it had resulted in was a slab of metal that couldn't walk. That was both unacceptable and expensive.
Bolt Silica and his family were rats. Well, they were human, but also Rats. People considered the dregs of society. The planet they lived on was a war torn place on the edges of the galaxy sandwiched between three separate Third Rate Nations. Too worthless to be valuable in peace time and too disputed to be claimed too long in war time, the planet's only claim to fame was the extensive graveyards of mechs. In other words it was a junkheap filled with mech parts that were too much effort to take off the planet and had no functional government.
It still had life naturally. The survivors left behind and deserters of various battles had mingled and made families over time. These Rats eked out a living scavenging metal and the scant resources available on the surface. Most of them hid in burrows and barely came to the surface, afraid of life in general after generations of warfare. Pitiful and frequently killed for the flimsiest of reasons, it was barely called living. They had no rights to the rest of the galaxy, and even the most noble visitor could barely stand looking at them, less because they were unsightly and more because they were considered the least of humanity. Their hopes and dreams were typically non-existent.
Bolt was not one of them. He was part of the Wrench Rats. They were a semi-formal group that built, maintained, and sold junkyard mechs to others on the planet. These mechs were barely dangerous to anyone competent, and only a step up from trash, but they were still mechs and could still squish a person with their feet if need be. It would have been a semi-respected position on any other planet. Here they were in more danger from their profession. From being forcefully enslaved, stolen from, or just killed because they were 'disrespecting mechs' they had a wealth of new ways to die. The Wrench Rats knew this and still persisted. They loved mechs in their own way, because they were a ticket to a better life. None of them could pilot so they did the next thing, worked with mechs.
Hence all of this. Bolt grunted and cursed as he reached into the pelvis of the Mech. In a more advanced area this sort of thing could be handled by manipulators. They had one machine capable of it here, and it was in the fritz. Not that it worked well in the first place, because it was what had helped assemble this mess before Bolt had gotten to it.
"Spend half our cheese on newfangled automated shit and end up with just expensive shit." Bolt cursed again as his hand finally got the wire.
The young man had been born with the Wrench Rats. He'd grown up toothing on mech bolts. He'd known how to assemble a piston before he could walk. He was by all accounts brilliant and only held back by the fact that his education was non-existent. Everything he knew was practical through working on junk mechs like this one, so he knew how to fix it. All it would take was threading a cable from the very tip of the mech's toe to the cockpit. The task was actually pretty easy with the proper tools.
Bolt had none of those. Hence the cursing. "Lousy pain in the ass damned hellish." He tugged and the wire slowly threaded through the various cable management areas and then the young man was finally able to attach it to the cockpit framework.
"Fire and Brimstone boy, what are ya up to there?!" His mother called out as she entered the mech bay.
"Trying ta get this thing actually going clank instead of sputtering!" Bolt called back as very carefully spliced the wire into the appropriate connection points. "I'm not gonna make us all the cheese even if I have ta bleed ta do it!"
"Yer cousin said that monster was kaput. Paw and I were going to cut it up after the Biters came by." The woman yelled up and frowned, not that he could see it. "Also, yer going to bust open your fool head trying that. At least use the lift!"
"Lifts broke, again, like everything else." Bolt grunted out and grabbed at one of the nearby tools needed to seal everything up. "Mind hittin' the remote power? Got it set I think."
His mother frowned still deeper. "Ya aren't by any power cables right? I ain't frying my son cause he had less sense than a rock."
Bolt very carefully didn't turn towards the woman. He was secured, but if he actually tried to move too much he was very afraid of spinning and getting more nauseous than he already was. "You know I'm not near the reactor, or main lines." He said eventually. His mother was a very experienced tech, like most of their family.
"Always double check ya know the rules. Never take anythin for granted! First lesson o' repair! Don't make me get out the big book o' stupid deaths again!" The woman stepped over. "Initiating first stage startup."
In front of Bolt the engine in the mech began to warm up. Bolt leaned forward and pressed his ear against the armor. This was the equivalent of putting a car in idle. Or it should have been. The problem with junk mechs was that everything was mismatched. There were sputters and he could almost feel the heart of the thing lurch as it struggled to work with the configuration. They'd had to splice two separate power conduits into this beast and it was not happy about it. It managed.
"Power's flowing." Bolt grunted and reached up. The cockpit seating and monitors had been ripped out and the outputs were complete mess even for a junker, but there was an interface screen they'd left specifically for this. He found it after some fumbling. "Hah! It's registering the legs now." He made a note that he'd have to redo the programming after this. It was still the default, which was horrid for junk mechs. "Can power it down Ma! Got the issue! Was just the command wires through the pelvis."
"That's all well and good Bolt, but it's getting late and we still need have the Biters coming by tomorrow." The woman called up as sternly as she could despite the smile already building. "Tis why I was out here in the first place. We need ta be sure your furs are straight and ya'll are ready."
The young boy nodded slowly. "Ok, I can..." Bolt paused as he tried to pull himself up. "I'm uhh, gonna need some help." He said as he realized he'd secured himself a bit too well.
His mother laughed. "Smarter than his father and half as wise." She joked before pausing and really looking at how he'd secured himself. "Actually looking at that mess ya got yourself in, I'm going to have to get your father and the saw." She mused.
"It's not that bad."
"Boyo, I ain't a big woman and ya used the chains we use for our big-ones for that fool position!"
M002
New
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- 447,815
For all that the planet was a junkyard, it did have things of merit. Some things. Enough to have it visited frequently when it wasn't being used as a staging ground for territorial pursuits. It had a space port and a nice 'city' for a given matter of the word. The city was actually more of a mess of buildings that were made for storge really. In times of peace it actually had people, and something resembling tourism.
The tourism was odd by most metrics. It consisted of idiots and thrill seekers mostly. The idiots came by trying to find something useful in the salvage. The thrill seekers came to fight.
Biters were the Rats that dealt with both of these outsider groups. They'd do anything for money, or cheese in the local parlance. For those attempting to scavenge, they nipped at the scavengers heels. For those looking for a thrill, they'd fight, for a price. They even had a local reputation for being a decent trial by fire for people looking to be bloodied. Just strong enough to be threatening, but not really dangerous to anyone with sense.
It actually took a lot of work to do the latter and live through it. Mech pilots could tell when there wasn't a threat. The Biters actually took a bit of pride in being a whetstone. Well as much pride they could have. No one was under any illusion as to their status. Rats were at the bottom eating crumbs and they knew it. Being used as chaff for various reasons wasn't much of a living, but it was a living. Better to lean into it and survive than be nothing at all.
Wrecker exemplified that. He was a fat and large man with a beard and a deliberately slovenly appearance. He looked like a man you wanted to kick the teeth in. He was also rich for a Rat and a canny business man. It took effort to be fat when you lived off mostly ration packs and piloted a mech.
As Ma said, the atmosphere did half the selling. That was why Bolt was in 'furs.' He had a mask on and brown robes as he stood by his father and mother. They were the faceless techs that dealt and sold dirty equipment. Untested, unproved, but ultimately the best they had on the planet. Again, something to lean into.
"Gonna need like... Three mediums today. Got a big Royal welcome planned." Wrecker laid out his request.
Pa breathed out heavily and deliberately to make himself seem more formidable. "That will cost a lot of cheese." He said through his mask.
"Ya know I'm good fer it. Might need ta wait till after the welcome, but you know how that goes." Wrecker replied with a heavy shrug.
"Nothing on credit." Pa countered with another heavy breath, the mask causing a loud hiss as emphasis.
"Umm poppa, do I really need to be here?" A small girl to the side of Wrecker asked.
"Well darlin, if ya want that toy, we gotta buy it from these ones." Wrecker noted with a wave. "Speaking of that, she could use one herself. Don't suppose you could show her a few? My little princess needs the best ya got."
"We don't let customers see storage." Pa hissed out slowly and ponderously.
"Ya could for her. She's special don't ya know!" Wrecker patted the small girl on the shoulder. "Tell you what, if you can find her a good one and I'll give ya the cheese for that and the three mediums."
Pa was silent a few beats as he thought before he jerked his head towards Bolt. The boy gave a careful nod and made a gesture for their guest to follow him. The girl grinned and bounced as she fell in line behind him, seemingly very glad to be away from the negotiations.
Bolt took a moment to glance at the girl. Smaller than him, young looking, long red braided hair, and far too many freckles. She did not look like a native Rat. Natives had red hair, but tended towards size and didn't have green eyes like her. Off world genes then, and strange ones likely. She was far too energetic for a normal Rat. There was no caution or hesitation either. She'd grown up safe.
"So, what's your name? Do you have one, or are ya'll like one of those faceless mooks?" The girl began to chatter.
"You read too many stories." Bolt replied back with a snort.
"Nah, I can't read." The girl replied back.
That made Bolt pause. Even the lowest of Rat at least had the ability to figure that out. What passed as the government here was at least able to pass around some educational material. This girl was a mech pilot too, so that was doubly bad.
"How do you not know?" Bolt had to ask as he stopped and turned to face the girl.
"Ain't piloting so I didn't bother. Poppa said that all I needed ta do is learn how fight." She replied with a shrug.
"But damage updates, radar reports, everything!" Bolt asked with a wave of both hands.
"Flashy lights, red dots, and feel." The girl looked proud of that.
"That's stupid!" Bolt practically shouted.
He didn't expect the punch thrown his way. He was a Rat however. Violence was part of life. He took the punch head on with barely a flinch and moved to grapple immediately, focusing on using his larger frame. To his complete surprise the girl wove around him effortlessly, and then leaped onto his shoulders. He had a brief moment of shock and then she wrenched her legs to the side and did flipped herself off.
Whatever the maneuver was supposed to do was hard to say. What it actually did was just rip his mask and part of the cloak he used to conceal his build off. It was mildly disorientating and a bit painful, but did little else. Bolt snarled as he turned to face his opponent and found her looking disappointed.
"No fair." She complained as she backed up.
"What the hell was that?!" Bolt snarled back.
"That should have brought you down! Also, you called me stupid!" The girl shot back.
"First, I'm probably twice your weight so of course that wouldn't work. Second, I said not learning how to read was stupid, not that you're stupid!" The young man snapped out in reply.
The words immediately calmed the girl. "Oh, that's ok then!" She nodded and looked up at him with a small flush. "Sorry, poppa said don't tolerate disrespect. I'm Lilly. Pleased ta meet ya!"
Completely caught off guard by the change in attitude Bolt rubbed at his head. "Oh, ahh." He fumbled harshly before grunting and refocusing his head. "I'm Bolt, but you didn't hear that from me." He reached down for the mask and cloak. "Damnit, the straps are broken." He muttered.
"Oh you don't need them. You can fix it later." Lilly grabbed at the items and got into a small tug of war with Bolt over them. "First, uh, show me the mechs!" She blurted out.
"Fine, fine. So long as ya don't mention this later." Bolt gave up on the mask and ignored the triumphant look the girl got. "We got a half dozen clunkers here at the moment, and a good dozen in storage elsewhere. All the ones here are medium and light. Our one heavy is elsewhere. Mind you, these are just salvaged mechs. None o' them will last against anything shiny."
"Shiny?" Lilly repeated as they began to walk through the bay.
"New mechs that the Royals come by in. Shiny and new." Bolt explained and gestured to the Frankenstein messes that were in front of him. "We do our best, but they're all flawed."
The one in front of him for instance was very technically a sword mech. Made up of a dozen different mech types, it had a half dozen obvious flaws and even more less obvious ones. It would run and was in Bolt's opinion better than anything else on the planet, but he held no illusions that it was shit.
"Poppa said I'd probably be best with a heavy. I'm supposed to be somethin' special and he wants me protected. Can't say I care that much. Am looking for somethin' that feels warm." Lilly commented as she looked over the things. "Can see what ya mean about the flaws though. That one will fall over if ya hit the knee." She pointed at the knee in question.
Bolt gave a grunt. "Good eye. Had to patch that from two types. Fraid you ain't gonna get anything real good unless ya want to pay the cheese for a new one." He laughed at that.
Lilly made a face. "If we had the cheese we wouldn't be here." She pointed out peevishly.
That she even thought it was an option was telling. Wrecker likely had enough connections that he could probably get something arranged. Bolt and his family knew for a fact that trying it on their end would end up with them in chains as a best result. History was not kind to lesser Rats. The young man put it out of his mind and continued the tour.
The tourism was odd by most metrics. It consisted of idiots and thrill seekers mostly. The idiots came by trying to find something useful in the salvage. The thrill seekers came to fight.
Biters were the Rats that dealt with both of these outsider groups. They'd do anything for money, or cheese in the local parlance. For those attempting to scavenge, they nipped at the scavengers heels. For those looking for a thrill, they'd fight, for a price. They even had a local reputation for being a decent trial by fire for people looking to be bloodied. Just strong enough to be threatening, but not really dangerous to anyone with sense.
It actually took a lot of work to do the latter and live through it. Mech pilots could tell when there wasn't a threat. The Biters actually took a bit of pride in being a whetstone. Well as much pride they could have. No one was under any illusion as to their status. Rats were at the bottom eating crumbs and they knew it. Being used as chaff for various reasons wasn't much of a living, but it was a living. Better to lean into it and survive than be nothing at all.
Wrecker exemplified that. He was a fat and large man with a beard and a deliberately slovenly appearance. He looked like a man you wanted to kick the teeth in. He was also rich for a Rat and a canny business man. It took effort to be fat when you lived off mostly ration packs and piloted a mech.
As Ma said, the atmosphere did half the selling. That was why Bolt was in 'furs.' He had a mask on and brown robes as he stood by his father and mother. They were the faceless techs that dealt and sold dirty equipment. Untested, unproved, but ultimately the best they had on the planet. Again, something to lean into.
"Gonna need like... Three mediums today. Got a big Royal welcome planned." Wrecker laid out his request.
Pa breathed out heavily and deliberately to make himself seem more formidable. "That will cost a lot of cheese." He said through his mask.
"Ya know I'm good fer it. Might need ta wait till after the welcome, but you know how that goes." Wrecker replied with a heavy shrug.
"Nothing on credit." Pa countered with another heavy breath, the mask causing a loud hiss as emphasis.
"Umm poppa, do I really need to be here?" A small girl to the side of Wrecker asked.
"Well darlin, if ya want that toy, we gotta buy it from these ones." Wrecker noted with a wave. "Speaking of that, she could use one herself. Don't suppose you could show her a few? My little princess needs the best ya got."
"We don't let customers see storage." Pa hissed out slowly and ponderously.
"Ya could for her. She's special don't ya know!" Wrecker patted the small girl on the shoulder. "Tell you what, if you can find her a good one and I'll give ya the cheese for that and the three mediums."
Pa was silent a few beats as he thought before he jerked his head towards Bolt. The boy gave a careful nod and made a gesture for their guest to follow him. The girl grinned and bounced as she fell in line behind him, seemingly very glad to be away from the negotiations.
Bolt took a moment to glance at the girl. Smaller than him, young looking, long red braided hair, and far too many freckles. She did not look like a native Rat. Natives had red hair, but tended towards size and didn't have green eyes like her. Off world genes then, and strange ones likely. She was far too energetic for a normal Rat. There was no caution or hesitation either. She'd grown up safe.
"So, what's your name? Do you have one, or are ya'll like one of those faceless mooks?" The girl began to chatter.
"You read too many stories." Bolt replied back with a snort.
"Nah, I can't read." The girl replied back.
That made Bolt pause. Even the lowest of Rat at least had the ability to figure that out. What passed as the government here was at least able to pass around some educational material. This girl was a mech pilot too, so that was doubly bad.
"How do you not know?" Bolt had to ask as he stopped and turned to face the girl.
"Ain't piloting so I didn't bother. Poppa said that all I needed ta do is learn how fight." She replied with a shrug.
"But damage updates, radar reports, everything!" Bolt asked with a wave of both hands.
"Flashy lights, red dots, and feel." The girl looked proud of that.
"That's stupid!" Bolt practically shouted.
He didn't expect the punch thrown his way. He was a Rat however. Violence was part of life. He took the punch head on with barely a flinch and moved to grapple immediately, focusing on using his larger frame. To his complete surprise the girl wove around him effortlessly, and then leaped onto his shoulders. He had a brief moment of shock and then she wrenched her legs to the side and did flipped herself off.
Whatever the maneuver was supposed to do was hard to say. What it actually did was just rip his mask and part of the cloak he used to conceal his build off. It was mildly disorientating and a bit painful, but did little else. Bolt snarled as he turned to face his opponent and found her looking disappointed.
"No fair." She complained as she backed up.
"What the hell was that?!" Bolt snarled back.
"That should have brought you down! Also, you called me stupid!" The girl shot back.
"First, I'm probably twice your weight so of course that wouldn't work. Second, I said not learning how to read was stupid, not that you're stupid!" The young man snapped out in reply.
The words immediately calmed the girl. "Oh, that's ok then!" She nodded and looked up at him with a small flush. "Sorry, poppa said don't tolerate disrespect. I'm Lilly. Pleased ta meet ya!"
Completely caught off guard by the change in attitude Bolt rubbed at his head. "Oh, ahh." He fumbled harshly before grunting and refocusing his head. "I'm Bolt, but you didn't hear that from me." He reached down for the mask and cloak. "Damnit, the straps are broken." He muttered.
"Oh you don't need them. You can fix it later." Lilly grabbed at the items and got into a small tug of war with Bolt over them. "First, uh, show me the mechs!" She blurted out.
"Fine, fine. So long as ya don't mention this later." Bolt gave up on the mask and ignored the triumphant look the girl got. "We got a half dozen clunkers here at the moment, and a good dozen in storage elsewhere. All the ones here are medium and light. Our one heavy is elsewhere. Mind you, these are just salvaged mechs. None o' them will last against anything shiny."
"Shiny?" Lilly repeated as they began to walk through the bay.
"New mechs that the Royals come by in. Shiny and new." Bolt explained and gestured to the Frankenstein messes that were in front of him. "We do our best, but they're all flawed."
The one in front of him for instance was very technically a sword mech. Made up of a dozen different mech types, it had a half dozen obvious flaws and even more less obvious ones. It would run and was in Bolt's opinion better than anything else on the planet, but he held no illusions that it was shit.
"Poppa said I'd probably be best with a heavy. I'm supposed to be somethin' special and he wants me protected. Can't say I care that much. Am looking for somethin' that feels warm." Lilly commented as she looked over the things. "Can see what ya mean about the flaws though. That one will fall over if ya hit the knee." She pointed at the knee in question.
Bolt gave a grunt. "Good eye. Had to patch that from two types. Fraid you ain't gonna get anything real good unless ya want to pay the cheese for a new one." He laughed at that.
Lilly made a face. "If we had the cheese we wouldn't be here." She pointed out peevishly.
That she even thought it was an option was telling. Wrecker likely had enough connections that he could probably get something arranged. Bolt and his family knew for a fact that trying it on their end would end up with them in chains as a best result. History was not kind to lesser Rats. The young man put it out of his mind and continued the tour.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Absolutely never heard of this but its Mecha so it can't be a bad setting.
TheGeneral03
Know what you're doing yet?
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I found It pretty good of what i read. I drop It when a special hidden mechanic of mecha desing was presented to the novel. It was weird for me, i liked the concept in my mind but i could not stand reading about It. The mechanic was about focusing about certain ideas or concept through the desing fase, which would then give the mecha when build special features. Also the universe had some weird cultivation elements that somehow intermingle with mechas, i left to early to learn about It, just that the mechanic i mention had something to do with It, like the "cheat" of the mc. I Guess later on Will be like cultivators in mechs
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Evaunit02mark1
Here for the finer things in life
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Ah, I see Lily is a protagonist.
If Bolt was smart he'd throw her at the weirdest one in the lot and then have his whole clan relocate before she inevitably came back to recruit him to be her live in mechanic when it inevitably needs an upgrade.
If Bolt was smart he'd throw her at the weirdest one in the lot and then have his whole clan relocate before she inevitably came back to recruit him to be her live in mechanic when it inevitably needs an upgrade.
M003
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There were six mechs in the bay. Three mediums, three lights. Had they been in pristine condition it would have been a rather massive force multiplier. These mechs were not that. Most Mech Designers and Pilots would have been horrified at the state of the machines. Junk mechs were rightfully disdained and even with Bolt's best effort the ones in the bay were simply functional rather than anything else. By the standards of the planet that was actually pretty good admittedly, but nothing to be proud of. It was still junk.
"Bad hip, arms are horrid for that frame, that one feels really cold." Lilly rattled off as she passed them and then squinted. "Is that one even functional?" She asked in mild confusion.
Bolt looked at the mech he'd just barely gotten online before this meeting. "Limbs show as green, the cockpit would have to be re-set and we'd have ta get the Operating System to recognize the new configuration." He responded with a shrug. "Could get it done in an hour or two and it'd work."
The girl stepped forward and held her palm to the foot of the mech before scrunching up her face in concentration. "Hmm. Doesn't feel as cold as most of em."
"Don't know what ya mean by cold, but it'd have the least problems once it was finished." Bolt gave a shrug. "Ain't a salesman so I can't rattle off much. Made it from I'd say about six different mechs, redid the legs twice, and armor is as sound as you can get these parts. It's a lightweight skirmisher by specs. Arms are better with melee weapons and we got a pair of daggers that should work."
"I can use anything, but light melee with that configuration is just askin' to get popped." Lilly gestured emphatically to the entire setup.
Bolt really had to agree. While he'd done the armor up best he could, but light mechs didn't have the omph for anything more than the basics. It was essentially a suicide mech, doubly so because there was nothing else to it. Just a pair of daggers and a higher than normal speed.
"If I had em I'd add some chaff grenades or somethin'." Bolt add with a small wince as he tried to imagine what would happen if the thing was used. "But we deal with what we have. Could add some slots for grenades and ya can buy em elsewhere?"
"Nope!" Lilly shook her head. "What 'bout the heavy in storage ya got?"
"Big gun boy. Prob the best of the lot. Actually pricy though." Bolt looked around and then gestured to a nearby terminal. "Since ya can't read I'll bring up the picture and ya can ask."
Lilly bounced over and leaned against the boy as he brought up the specifications. It was as he explained, a heavy artillery mech. Salvaging it had been a pain, but it was actually the closest to being a proper mech instead of a junker. It had heavy legs and back mounted mortar guns, with big guns on the arms. Solid, useful, and unimaginative.
"Ya'll don't sound happy when you describe it." Lilly said as Bolt finished explaining.
"Most mechs we make are all based on what we can find rather than what we want. We don't got fancy part printers, and even if we did we don't have the licensing to fix the stuff. Technically we shouldn't even be selling cause the MTA hasn't certified, but we're in a grey area." Bolt knew for a fact that the MTA was aware of them all, but so long as they didn't do something stupid the organization was content to ignore things. "So the best we can do is focus hard on the basics. All our stuff runs solid and off the fuel we use here, which is a whole 'nother mess."
Lilly poked him and frowned as she met his unamused gaze. "No, seriously, ya sound bored. I know I heard a bit of fire in there when you were talking about what you'd do."
"Hah. Thinking about what I could do is like..." Bolt trailed off and turned away. "I dunno why I'm even trying to talk about this."
Lilly leaned further into him. "Cause I'm cute and ya gotta get it off yer chest?"
The young man sighed and stared up at the mech. "So, this is gonna get a bit technical. I've been doing mechs since I could walk. I know the basics. I can run a power cable through the entire frame. I know what voltage each model outputs and can get all the little fiddly bits going. It's all kinda useless if I wanna do more."
"What would you mean by more?" The girl's voice was soft.
"Designing em. Actually building from scratch. Don't get me wrong, actually salvaging em is good, but more often than not all we do is slap whatever is compatible together as fast as possible. I've done some good ones, but most of em are boring and standard cause that's what works and what we need." Bolt stared down at his hands. "If I wanna build a shiny mech I can't do it with just this."
The girl grabbed one of them and grinned as she met his eyes. "Well then, what would you need?" She asked and frowned as he failed to respond. "No really."
Bolt had trouble keeping her gaze as he actually put his mind to it. "That'd be getting off the planet without getting press ganged into debt slavery or worse. Then it'd be getting into a proper education, which ain't happening cause while I can put together a mech in an hour I ain't got all the fancy grounding and education that'd work in one of them. Askin' me to write an essay would be like asking a pig to pilot a mech."
"Eh, reading is overrated and I've seen a few pigs pilot." Lilly chirped back with a wider grin.
That got a laugh from the young man. Then a terrible, terrible idea came to him. Bolt grabbed his companion's hands back and voiced it before reason got to him. "Yer special. One of those potentials right? What if I build you a mech? A proper one, just fer you! It'd be something special at least!"
"Why Bolt, that's a very bold proposal you know. We barely know each other!" The girl responded with teeth showing in her grin.
The young man sputtered as he dropped her hand like it was burning. "What?! That's not what I meant and you know it!"
"I totally accept. We'd make a great couple. You make my death machine, I bring the death! Make sure it has all the chrome plating and a heart with our names on it." Lilly brought her hands to her cheeks and gave a loud girlish sigh. "Imagine the tales they'd tell of our marriage! I'd want two kids and a white pike to stab everyone!"
"No, no, no knock it off right now! You're a pilot, and probably an important one based on what your father said. Even just dating would be a target on my back!" Bolt tried to stop her words with wild swings of his arms.
Lilly laughed. "Just teasing, mostly." She brushed her hair back and gave him a wink. "I would consider it a nice courting gift though. Medium, all the speed you can stuff into it and any weapons ya can salvage. I keep having to go solo against group or duels so work with that in mind. Make it feel warm and I'll even put a good word in with Poppa."
"Still don't know what you mean by warm." Bolt responded before he paused and closed his eyes. "And if you're actually serious I er... Wouldn't mind." He barely got the last words out.
Lilly leaped up and wrapped her arms around him before kissing him on the cheek and giving a giggle. "That'd be great! Until then, I'll tell poppa that we'll take the heavy. Ain't my style, but it'll make him happy and big booms can be fun."
The man barely heard her. He was just a bit lost in the kiss, and then what he'd done. Mechs were expensive damnit! He'd just promised her a veritable fortune!
"Bad hip, arms are horrid for that frame, that one feels really cold." Lilly rattled off as she passed them and then squinted. "Is that one even functional?" She asked in mild confusion.
Bolt looked at the mech he'd just barely gotten online before this meeting. "Limbs show as green, the cockpit would have to be re-set and we'd have ta get the Operating System to recognize the new configuration." He responded with a shrug. "Could get it done in an hour or two and it'd work."
The girl stepped forward and held her palm to the foot of the mech before scrunching up her face in concentration. "Hmm. Doesn't feel as cold as most of em."
"Don't know what ya mean by cold, but it'd have the least problems once it was finished." Bolt gave a shrug. "Ain't a salesman so I can't rattle off much. Made it from I'd say about six different mechs, redid the legs twice, and armor is as sound as you can get these parts. It's a lightweight skirmisher by specs. Arms are better with melee weapons and we got a pair of daggers that should work."
"I can use anything, but light melee with that configuration is just askin' to get popped." Lilly gestured emphatically to the entire setup.
Bolt really had to agree. While he'd done the armor up best he could, but light mechs didn't have the omph for anything more than the basics. It was essentially a suicide mech, doubly so because there was nothing else to it. Just a pair of daggers and a higher than normal speed.
"If I had em I'd add some chaff grenades or somethin'." Bolt add with a small wince as he tried to imagine what would happen if the thing was used. "But we deal with what we have. Could add some slots for grenades and ya can buy em elsewhere?"
"Nope!" Lilly shook her head. "What 'bout the heavy in storage ya got?"
"Big gun boy. Prob the best of the lot. Actually pricy though." Bolt looked around and then gestured to a nearby terminal. "Since ya can't read I'll bring up the picture and ya can ask."
Lilly bounced over and leaned against the boy as he brought up the specifications. It was as he explained, a heavy artillery mech. Salvaging it had been a pain, but it was actually the closest to being a proper mech instead of a junker. It had heavy legs and back mounted mortar guns, with big guns on the arms. Solid, useful, and unimaginative.
"Ya'll don't sound happy when you describe it." Lilly said as Bolt finished explaining.
"Most mechs we make are all based on what we can find rather than what we want. We don't got fancy part printers, and even if we did we don't have the licensing to fix the stuff. Technically we shouldn't even be selling cause the MTA hasn't certified, but we're in a grey area." Bolt knew for a fact that the MTA was aware of them all, but so long as they didn't do something stupid the organization was content to ignore things. "So the best we can do is focus hard on the basics. All our stuff runs solid and off the fuel we use here, which is a whole 'nother mess."
Lilly poked him and frowned as she met his unamused gaze. "No, seriously, ya sound bored. I know I heard a bit of fire in there when you were talking about what you'd do."
"Hah. Thinking about what I could do is like..." Bolt trailed off and turned away. "I dunno why I'm even trying to talk about this."
Lilly leaned further into him. "Cause I'm cute and ya gotta get it off yer chest?"
The young man sighed and stared up at the mech. "So, this is gonna get a bit technical. I've been doing mechs since I could walk. I know the basics. I can run a power cable through the entire frame. I know what voltage each model outputs and can get all the little fiddly bits going. It's all kinda useless if I wanna do more."
"What would you mean by more?" The girl's voice was soft.
"Designing em. Actually building from scratch. Don't get me wrong, actually salvaging em is good, but more often than not all we do is slap whatever is compatible together as fast as possible. I've done some good ones, but most of em are boring and standard cause that's what works and what we need." Bolt stared down at his hands. "If I wanna build a shiny mech I can't do it with just this."
The girl grabbed one of them and grinned as she met his eyes. "Well then, what would you need?" She asked and frowned as he failed to respond. "No really."
Bolt had trouble keeping her gaze as he actually put his mind to it. "That'd be getting off the planet without getting press ganged into debt slavery or worse. Then it'd be getting into a proper education, which ain't happening cause while I can put together a mech in an hour I ain't got all the fancy grounding and education that'd work in one of them. Askin' me to write an essay would be like asking a pig to pilot a mech."
"Eh, reading is overrated and I've seen a few pigs pilot." Lilly chirped back with a wider grin.
That got a laugh from the young man. Then a terrible, terrible idea came to him. Bolt grabbed his companion's hands back and voiced it before reason got to him. "Yer special. One of those potentials right? What if I build you a mech? A proper one, just fer you! It'd be something special at least!"
"Why Bolt, that's a very bold proposal you know. We barely know each other!" The girl responded with teeth showing in her grin.
The young man sputtered as he dropped her hand like it was burning. "What?! That's not what I meant and you know it!"
"I totally accept. We'd make a great couple. You make my death machine, I bring the death! Make sure it has all the chrome plating and a heart with our names on it." Lilly brought her hands to her cheeks and gave a loud girlish sigh. "Imagine the tales they'd tell of our marriage! I'd want two kids and a white pike to stab everyone!"
"No, no, no knock it off right now! You're a pilot, and probably an important one based on what your father said. Even just dating would be a target on my back!" Bolt tried to stop her words with wild swings of his arms.
Lilly laughed. "Just teasing, mostly." She brushed her hair back and gave him a wink. "I would consider it a nice courting gift though. Medium, all the speed you can stuff into it and any weapons ya can salvage. I keep having to go solo against group or duels so work with that in mind. Make it feel warm and I'll even put a good word in with Poppa."
"Still don't know what you mean by warm." Bolt responded before he paused and closed his eyes. "And if you're actually serious I er... Wouldn't mind." He barely got the last words out.
Lilly leaped up and wrapped her arms around him before kissing him on the cheek and giving a giggle. "That'd be great! Until then, I'll tell poppa that we'll take the heavy. Ain't my style, but it'll make him happy and big booms can be fun."
The man barely heard her. He was just a bit lost in the kiss, and then what he'd done. Mechs were expensive damnit! He'd just promised her a veritable fortune!
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Marethyu05
Know what you're doing yet?
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Hmm interesting been a bit since i read Mech Touch, ive gotten through the first couple thousand chapters, but just haven't had the drive to finish it. I absolutely loved the beginning but do agree, it starts to drag by like ch 1200. The metaphysics of this universe are so interesting too. Is Bolt going to receive one of the missing pieces of the Metal Scroll or is he going to get the one that was supposed to go to Ves? My one piece of advice is to read your dialogue out loud. Make sure it sounds natural.
M004
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Momma didn't raise no quitter. Bolt kept that in mind as he went about his day. Once Wrecker and his daughter had left, things had mostly gone back to normal. He had Lilly's contact information and a discrete way to contact her in a spare comm unit. He'd shown her how to do text-to-speech, and the girl had promised to try to learn how to read using it to help. All he had to do now was get the parts for the mech.
Hah, look at him thinking that. All he had to do. As if getting the parts wasn't the hardest part of the whole endeavor.
The surface of the planet was a blasted wasteland. Dusty with almost no vegetation, the only reason it wasn't a desert was the lack of sand. Frequent bombardment and mech battles had killed almost everything resembling life in most of the more trafficked areas. On sunny days it was a hot and hellish daymare. If the wind picked up, sand and grit got into everything. If it rained, the land became such a quagmire that even mechs had trouble moving. Walking on foot during the rain was an elaborate form of suicide. Rats lived underground for a variety of reasons, the land was one of them.
Life still existed of course. There were a few valleys filled with greenery outside of the typical battlefields, and a few farms provided feed stock for a variety of ration makers. His clan had one, and there were more dotting the planet, all of them carefully hidden away so that the various invaders didn't decide they were strategic targets.
All of this made the fact that the vast majority of the planet was ruined worse. The planet was a wasteland of humanity's own making. If Bolt didn't need parts he wouldn't have been out here at all. No one sane would.
He could picture the alternative now. Some fancy designer in an air conditioned room could press a button on their fancy expensive touch screen, and then they'd get it assembled right in front of their eyes. They wouldn't even have to get their hands dirty! Not like poor little Bolt. No, Bolt had to go out with a mechanical mule and slave away.
The man laughed at himself and adjusted his mask. No sense in envy. As amusing as it would be to picture someone from an elite college in his position it was pointless. You dealt with the scrap you had, not what you could see others using. He tapped the controls for his mechanical mule and began to walk down the rocks and through a particular path towards his destination. There was a battlefield nearby that he could scavenge from and every minute outside was another minute of danger. Not much since there wasn't a war, but enough to mean that dawdling was a bad idea. Other Rats could be just as deadly as any foreigners.
His destination wasn't much to look at really. If you had seen one battlefield you had seen them all. Metal littered the area, and there was the distinct scent of cooling fluid, oil, and spent explosives. The only thing that made it different than a battlefield of old was the lack of human bodies. Mech battles, for all their violence, didn't result in extensive casualties. Even the worst mechs were designed to protect the pilot. From ejection seats to armor plating to shock absorbers, it took dedicated effort to kill a pilot.
Bolt passed by one mech and winced through his mask. There was also a more grim reason for no bodies. A hit from a mech typically obliterated the pilot if it hit the guy, like the one poor victim in the obvious spot. Looked like a lancer hit right into the cockpit. Not the best way to go, but quick at least.
His loss was Bolt's gain though. The salvager scrambled closer to the downed mech and peered into the hole. One clean strike right through the cockpit. Nasty and brutal, but also clean in a way. There was no blood, just a hole where the pilot would be. This was a very large prize even if the mech itself was rather shitty. They could get this working within an hour with minimal work.
"Got a brain-dead mech here." Bolt called out over the radio. "Tagging it."
Family would take it and fix it up before selling it cheap. He wasn't going to use any of it for Lilly though. Bad luck, and poor fit. The design looked like a lightweight knight, which was a rather stupid decision in his opinion, but it was likely just a guard for someone important based off what he could see on the battlefield.
He found a severed mech hand later that confirmed his analysis. The hand was expensive, with high quality, articulated fingers. A swordsman mech's hand based off how it was configured. Bolt immediately hefted that onto the mule for later.
What most non-techs didn't know was that swordman's hands were the best of all the classifications. They had to heft heavy weapons that required delicate movements with the fingers. If you did not do the fingers right the mechs were just waving slabs of metal around like sticks instead of the artful movements you needed for a proper sword fight. Sword users were very particular about that and a high quality one was very rare. It was a great find.
No other parts around though, which painted an interesting picture. Bolt circled around the area and tried to simulate the battle in his head. Assume two sides. A swordman vs a lancer with fodder on each side. The lancer took out the fodder first and how did it manage to get the hand off?
An ejection seat answered who won at least. It was a fair distance away from the hand, expensive, and similar in design to the swordman hand. Ejection seats weren't meant to be re-used, but his family had long since cracked how to change that, so it went on the pile. It wasn't that valuable. It was useful enough to take.
This was a fantastic haul already. Just the cored mech alone would give them a hefty hunk of cheese. All Biters loved that sort of thing for their shitty pilots. The other parts were a good start to a wide variety of possibilities that Bolt was already running through in his head.
Bolt paused in his circling as he noticed something buried in the distance. A few commands to his mech mule and a shovel had it unearthed in short order. The result was surprising. A mech's head. Older model, but better than any he'd seen. The chin and neck was gone, but the upper part was practically pristine. The sensors in the eyes were almost perfect. He'd never seen anything so advanced. (Only third rate, outdated mechs were used to fight on the planet. An elite mech part, even from a third rate state was more than a match.)
Something about it twigged his sense of danger though. He couldn't tell what. The part was weathered right. There weren't signs of sabotage. The surroundings were as secured as an area could be. Something just screamed at him that there was something wrong. His mind said everything was fine, but his gut said danger. It was like there was a looming mech just waiting for him to take the bait.
Thoroughly unnerved Bolt backed away. He grabbed his binoculars of the mule held them up to his mask. He surveyed the area with them quickly and then stepped away from the prize. Nothing was on the horizon, and the sensors in the mule weren't picking up anything. He was still very, very spooked.
"Shit," Bolt looked at the part again. "Damnit, if I didn't need it I'd be leavin' it." He muttered and rummaged for something specific. "Come on dum-dum."
Eventually he found the child-sized drone and pulled it out. He set it on the ground and the machine trundled forward towards the buried head. After a few minutes of careful direction it managed to burrow under and get a look at the underside of the part.
"Where else would they put a boom?" The young man muttered to himself as he directed the drone around.
More than one scavenger had gotten killed because someone had left a present behind. It was not uncommon for explosives or worse to be planted behind for one reason or another. Dum-dum was Bolt's answer to that. Other scavengers had other ways, up to and including just sending someone stupid to get the part. (They had far too many of those.)
After a long moment Bolt had to conclude that he was jumping at nothing. The part was perfectly fine for a part. He didn't have the time to indulge his paranoia anymore.
The head went onto the mule and he continued to scavenge. An idea was coming to his head as to the configuration. He needed another good hand, and one of the broken swordman blades that littered the area. They were usually too much of a hassle to salvage, but the tempered metal would be perfect for his needs.
Lightyears away from the boy another being watched his actions through a spying device that had been placed long, long ago in orbit. Interesting. Human intuition always had ways of surprising them. What had tipped the boy off? There were plenty of small clues that the part had been planted, but they would have all required sensors that the boy did not have.
Was one of their experiments was getting results? It was hard to say as of yet. The boy and his family had not been directly introduced into the variables, but that was the point of doing real world tests. What to do then?
The figure made several orders after a few seconds of thought. It was too early to say this was worth their true attention, but it was a trivial effort to order others to take the time to properly monitor things. They'd have a report and eyes on the planet shortly. Perhaps it would become worth actual time later. Right now it was a footnote of a footnote.
Decision made, the being moved onto other things. Thousands upon thousands of monitors sprang to life and they began to watch for anomalies once more. One, two, ten, one hundred, it didn't matter. They'd find their answers eventually.
Hah, look at him thinking that. All he had to do. As if getting the parts wasn't the hardest part of the whole endeavor.
The surface of the planet was a blasted wasteland. Dusty with almost no vegetation, the only reason it wasn't a desert was the lack of sand. Frequent bombardment and mech battles had killed almost everything resembling life in most of the more trafficked areas. On sunny days it was a hot and hellish daymare. If the wind picked up, sand and grit got into everything. If it rained, the land became such a quagmire that even mechs had trouble moving. Walking on foot during the rain was an elaborate form of suicide. Rats lived underground for a variety of reasons, the land was one of them.
Life still existed of course. There were a few valleys filled with greenery outside of the typical battlefields, and a few farms provided feed stock for a variety of ration makers. His clan had one, and there were more dotting the planet, all of them carefully hidden away so that the various invaders didn't decide they were strategic targets.
All of this made the fact that the vast majority of the planet was ruined worse. The planet was a wasteland of humanity's own making. If Bolt didn't need parts he wouldn't have been out here at all. No one sane would.
He could picture the alternative now. Some fancy designer in an air conditioned room could press a button on their fancy expensive touch screen, and then they'd get it assembled right in front of their eyes. They wouldn't even have to get their hands dirty! Not like poor little Bolt. No, Bolt had to go out with a mechanical mule and slave away.
The man laughed at himself and adjusted his mask. No sense in envy. As amusing as it would be to picture someone from an elite college in his position it was pointless. You dealt with the scrap you had, not what you could see others using. He tapped the controls for his mechanical mule and began to walk down the rocks and through a particular path towards his destination. There was a battlefield nearby that he could scavenge from and every minute outside was another minute of danger. Not much since there wasn't a war, but enough to mean that dawdling was a bad idea. Other Rats could be just as deadly as any foreigners.
His destination wasn't much to look at really. If you had seen one battlefield you had seen them all. Metal littered the area, and there was the distinct scent of cooling fluid, oil, and spent explosives. The only thing that made it different than a battlefield of old was the lack of human bodies. Mech battles, for all their violence, didn't result in extensive casualties. Even the worst mechs were designed to protect the pilot. From ejection seats to armor plating to shock absorbers, it took dedicated effort to kill a pilot.
Bolt passed by one mech and winced through his mask. There was also a more grim reason for no bodies. A hit from a mech typically obliterated the pilot if it hit the guy, like the one poor victim in the obvious spot. Looked like a lancer hit right into the cockpit. Not the best way to go, but quick at least.
His loss was Bolt's gain though. The salvager scrambled closer to the downed mech and peered into the hole. One clean strike right through the cockpit. Nasty and brutal, but also clean in a way. There was no blood, just a hole where the pilot would be. This was a very large prize even if the mech itself was rather shitty. They could get this working within an hour with minimal work.
"Got a brain-dead mech here." Bolt called out over the radio. "Tagging it."
Family would take it and fix it up before selling it cheap. He wasn't going to use any of it for Lilly though. Bad luck, and poor fit. The design looked like a lightweight knight, which was a rather stupid decision in his opinion, but it was likely just a guard for someone important based off what he could see on the battlefield.
He found a severed mech hand later that confirmed his analysis. The hand was expensive, with high quality, articulated fingers. A swordsman mech's hand based off how it was configured. Bolt immediately hefted that onto the mule for later.
What most non-techs didn't know was that swordman's hands were the best of all the classifications. They had to heft heavy weapons that required delicate movements with the fingers. If you did not do the fingers right the mechs were just waving slabs of metal around like sticks instead of the artful movements you needed for a proper sword fight. Sword users were very particular about that and a high quality one was very rare. It was a great find.
No other parts around though, which painted an interesting picture. Bolt circled around the area and tried to simulate the battle in his head. Assume two sides. A swordman vs a lancer with fodder on each side. The lancer took out the fodder first and how did it manage to get the hand off?
An ejection seat answered who won at least. It was a fair distance away from the hand, expensive, and similar in design to the swordman hand. Ejection seats weren't meant to be re-used, but his family had long since cracked how to change that, so it went on the pile. It wasn't that valuable. It was useful enough to take.
This was a fantastic haul already. Just the cored mech alone would give them a hefty hunk of cheese. All Biters loved that sort of thing for their shitty pilots. The other parts were a good start to a wide variety of possibilities that Bolt was already running through in his head.
Bolt paused in his circling as he noticed something buried in the distance. A few commands to his mech mule and a shovel had it unearthed in short order. The result was surprising. A mech's head. Older model, but better than any he'd seen. The chin and neck was gone, but the upper part was practically pristine. The sensors in the eyes were almost perfect. He'd never seen anything so advanced. (Only third rate, outdated mechs were used to fight on the planet. An elite mech part, even from a third rate state was more than a match.)
Something about it twigged his sense of danger though. He couldn't tell what. The part was weathered right. There weren't signs of sabotage. The surroundings were as secured as an area could be. Something just screamed at him that there was something wrong. His mind said everything was fine, but his gut said danger. It was like there was a looming mech just waiting for him to take the bait.
Thoroughly unnerved Bolt backed away. He grabbed his binoculars of the mule held them up to his mask. He surveyed the area with them quickly and then stepped away from the prize. Nothing was on the horizon, and the sensors in the mule weren't picking up anything. He was still very, very spooked.
"Shit," Bolt looked at the part again. "Damnit, if I didn't need it I'd be leavin' it." He muttered and rummaged for something specific. "Come on dum-dum."
Eventually he found the child-sized drone and pulled it out. He set it on the ground and the machine trundled forward towards the buried head. After a few minutes of careful direction it managed to burrow under and get a look at the underside of the part.
"Where else would they put a boom?" The young man muttered to himself as he directed the drone around.
More than one scavenger had gotten killed because someone had left a present behind. It was not uncommon for explosives or worse to be planted behind for one reason or another. Dum-dum was Bolt's answer to that. Other scavengers had other ways, up to and including just sending someone stupid to get the part. (They had far too many of those.)
After a long moment Bolt had to conclude that he was jumping at nothing. The part was perfectly fine for a part. He didn't have the time to indulge his paranoia anymore.
The head went onto the mule and he continued to scavenge. An idea was coming to his head as to the configuration. He needed another good hand, and one of the broken swordman blades that littered the area. They were usually too much of a hassle to salvage, but the tempered metal would be perfect for his needs.
Lightyears away from the boy another being watched his actions through a spying device that had been placed long, long ago in orbit. Interesting. Human intuition always had ways of surprising them. What had tipped the boy off? There were plenty of small clues that the part had been planted, but they would have all required sensors that the boy did not have.
Was one of their experiments was getting results? It was hard to say as of yet. The boy and his family had not been directly introduced into the variables, but that was the point of doing real world tests. What to do then?
The figure made several orders after a few seconds of thought. It was too early to say this was worth their true attention, but it was a trivial effort to order others to take the time to properly monitor things. They'd have a report and eyes on the planet shortly. Perhaps it would become worth actual time later. Right now it was a footnote of a footnote.
Decision made, the being moved onto other things. Thousands upon thousands of monitors sprang to life and they began to watch for anomalies once more. One, two, ten, one hundred, it didn't matter. They'd find their answers eventually.
Last edited:
Emptiness
That which encompasses reality
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X-factor: Malice of the Prideful Fall.
This Mech component still lingers with the rage of it's former pilot, an rather prideful and important pilot from outside the Bright Republic.
His lingering malice towards the "Trash piloted by Rats" that proved his downfall still suffuses this head, and will affect any mech it is a part of.
This Mech component still lingers with the rage of it's former pilot, an rather prideful and important pilot from outside the Bright Republic.
His lingering malice towards the "Trash piloted by Rats" that proved his downfall still suffuses this head, and will affect any mech it is a part of.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Things be moving in the background it seems
M005
New
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Connoisseur.
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AN: Went over this a few more times than normal. It's sorta something that should be central to the thing, mech design!
---
Creating a junk mech was far different than designing a mech from the ground up. It was more akin to a puzzle than a design, and one that didn't lend itself to precision. Junk mechs by their very nature were slap-dash and Frankenstein creations made up of mis-matched parts. You were never going to get the best results unless you spent an inordinate amount of time on them and the quality of parts could cause serious variances. Bolt had heard tales that students frequently did it as practice and for prizes, which was mildly hilarious to him. He wondered how they'd match up to one of his family? It'd probably blow their little ivory tower minds. They also probably had the luxury of having parts they were certain would work.
Admittedly his people had their own flaws and prides. Some Wrench Rats considered what they did the pinnacle of 'real' mech design. They were mostly delusional, but in that delusion there was a bit of a point. In wartimes you didn't have time to make a perfect mech. You frequently didn't have time to make even a good one. You just needed something now. Bolt's family could slap together a functional mech from parts in an hour if needed. It'd be a mess, but it would be able to pick up a weapon and shoot. That was a very good skill to have. It was also one that led to very bad habits if you let it become a habit instead of a necessary evil.
Bolt himself had specifically had to train himself not to go for the fastest route once he'd realized this. His family had helped upon his request, but frankly didn't have the precise mindset or training for his needs. Designing a mech from the ground up and then building it was absolutely foreign to everyone. They dealt with practical problems. It kept them fed. It had taken a few actual paper books and long hours of hard work with various freeware designers before he'd been able to really get the point of it all and even then he'd rarely been able to implement it in real life.
This was honestly the first time he approached a problem from the beginning. Designing Lilly's mech from the parts he'd salvaged and had yet to salvage instead of just using what he had available was something he had never done. It felt both strange and good. He was taking a step beyond just living in the moment and into something that the rich people did. Bolt had to restrain a few laughs once he thought of that.
He got to work quickly to prevent the inappropriate giggles and more delays. The biggest thing he had to account for in designing was that he had to build around what he had or could trade for. There was no getting new parts or adjusting the ones he had too much. He could in essence adjust the form factor, not the proprietary machinery that made up the important sections of the mech.
That meant he had to build around the most important parts, starting with the head. It might have been an older model, but it was an older model from an expensive mech and extensive customization. The sensor suites in it needed more power. This meant heavier power lines and proper seating on the skeleton and framework. The thicker neck would have been a problem had he not needed to remake the neck and chest anyway, so that was easy to compensate for. The better sensors would be worth the hassle.
Next was the hands. He had one swordman hand and had been able to trade some metal and that fancy ejection seat for another one in less than stellar condition. This was a benefit in a way because if he'd found two good ones he would have been obligated to use them to make a swordmen for his family instead of something custom built for Lilly. This way could keep them for his own project. His family was good like that.
Tactically, based on his probably shaky understanding, swordman mechs were meant for close range duels. They wanted to cut down heavies quickly. They were in essence duelists. That was not good for Lilly's circumstances. She specifically said she fought groups, so Bolt wanted something medium designed for rapid engagement and disengagement. He would have needed to direct most of the power to the arms with a swordmen too, and the head was already hogging a good portion of the theoretical output. The energy budget was too low to do the head, arms and then legs for speed.
However, strong hands could be weapons too. Brawler mechs used those extensively and Bolt knew he could make the adjustments to mimic something with that. Using the sword metal he'd gathered he could tip the fingers with claws and seat them into the strong musculature necessary for wielding those heavy swords. Change the programming some, customize the arms for that specific weapon configuration and he could visualize something deadly. Reach in, claw open the armor, and cause damage in one quick grab. It'd be a beast to use correctly, but Lilly should be able to handle that. He'd have to spend some extra time on the arms, but it'd be worth it, and the energy profile would fit his budget.
With that decided the rest of the design coalesced around rapidly building vision. He was making a monster that leaped at the enemy quickly before fleeing. Make the legs good for leaping and quick bursts of energy, then adjust the armor to match that attack profile. Thankfully a significant part of this was all stuff he could just get together from spare parts and their very basic printers.
That was a good thing because the salvaged head was still missing the chin and neck. The neck in particular was a delicate weak point on a mech. If something did enough damage to crack the head armor the neck was typically going to need to be replaced as well. No one wanted a mech that couldn't turn its head so almost all of it was made of materials that were considered 'standard.' Only the chin would require finesse.
On a whim Bolt adjusted the design to make the jaw have teeth and even put in a motor to let it bite. It cost practically nothing and it looked entertaining. Combined with a few adornments and form alterations and he had a vaguely feminine mech that looked just shy of murdering and eating something. It fit in far too many ways and upon inspection Bolt realized he might have gotten a bit carried away with the entire design. It didn't look like a junk mech. It looked like a shiny one. Could he even make this?
The newbie designer hesitated far more than he should have before he convinced himself that yes he could make it. Snapping a picture of the design and doing a quick write up he sent it to Lilly before he let his doubt overcome him. Bolt then went to finalize the trades and tried his best to focus on the process, not his fears. Lilly's reply both helped and hindered that.
'I love it, gimmie. Kisses.'
Stifling a flush and a nervous laugh, Bolt decided that he would at least try.
A few things became rapidly apparent. One was that his blueprinting talents were horrible. He'd done the internals wrong on the diagrams and had to struggle to correct them mid construction, the legs were misaligned and inconsistent with reality, and the arms had been designed completely incorrectly. Practical experience let him correct things once he realized the issues, but it was a painful reminder that he was essentially self taught and would miss very obvious stuff. (Had Bolt known about a simulator he would have tried that and it would have caught it, but that required both education and money.)
Unable to see a way to fix that deficiency aside from practicing and taking copious notes of what he'd done wrong however, Bolt just continued to work. To his mild shock all their power tools were working at the moment so he didn't have to do anything by hand, which was very rare. That meant he could assemble the mech solo. Without those tools he would have had to manually winch the torso into the air after he attached the legs, which was a three person job at a minimum.
"I'm going to name you Ghoul." Bolt told the mech as he finished securing the frame upright and began to work on the teeth and chin.
He really didn't expect it to be able to actually bite something. It was very entertaining to make them a functional weapon anyway. It cost nothing but some time. Getting them nice and pointy made the entire design click. He almost felt like the mech agreed with him as he continued to work on the musculature and then began the armor plating. The decorations and finishings would come once he got everything set to his satisfaction, but he could already see the shape of the mech.
Ghoul was tall for her weight class, with a lanky profile due to extended arms, and claws that looked more than a little threatening. The natural resting profile gave the impression that the mech was hunched as well, as if she was ready to pounce on an enemy even at rest. Bolt couldn't help but love her even if he knew she was far from perfect. There was just an air of menace that fit the entire concept. It flowed together in a way that was impossible to describe.
"I wish I could do you justice." The boy muttered to her as he started on the heart of the mech. His lack of resources and knowledge had never felt so potent as it did now. Envy burned in his heart, but he soldiered through it and pushed that into the final parts.
Out of all the mech parts the reactor and the engine were the easiest things to do. They were, like the armor and muscles, something Bolt could print out on their substandard printers. They were also considered 'mature' technology, whatever that meant. (Bolt's education was on how things worked, not the history or terms.) The standard reactor was actually horrible for local circumstances. The dust frequently got into the air intakes and the reactor needed cleaner fuel than what they could source locally.
There were more than a few ways to tweak that sort of thing, which was where Bolt spent the rest of the time he had. His family practically built these for a living. Reactors were typically the first thing that mech pilots killed. Making and adjusting them was an old hand, and he knew exactly what to do to fit the local environment. The air intakes had to be shifted a bit to keep dust out and a filter needed to be placed just right. After that there needed to be some robustness added to handle the shit they called fuel here. He even had time to tweak it so that the thing with a few power cells that could surge with power for a few seconds on command, giving giving Ghoul even more burst at the cost of needing to recover for a few seconds.
The end result was not a pretty mech. She felt right in a way he couldn't explain. Bolt was confident that she would work for Lilly. He was also pretty confident that she'd run half dead because he'd made damned sure the design was solid and robust. If there was one thing he knew, it was how mechs broke. (He was so going to make that joke to Lilly.)
---
Creating a junk mech was far different than designing a mech from the ground up. It was more akin to a puzzle than a design, and one that didn't lend itself to precision. Junk mechs by their very nature were slap-dash and Frankenstein creations made up of mis-matched parts. You were never going to get the best results unless you spent an inordinate amount of time on them and the quality of parts could cause serious variances. Bolt had heard tales that students frequently did it as practice and for prizes, which was mildly hilarious to him. He wondered how they'd match up to one of his family? It'd probably blow their little ivory tower minds. They also probably had the luxury of having parts they were certain would work.
Admittedly his people had their own flaws and prides. Some Wrench Rats considered what they did the pinnacle of 'real' mech design. They were mostly delusional, but in that delusion there was a bit of a point. In wartimes you didn't have time to make a perfect mech. You frequently didn't have time to make even a good one. You just needed something now. Bolt's family could slap together a functional mech from parts in an hour if needed. It'd be a mess, but it would be able to pick up a weapon and shoot. That was a very good skill to have. It was also one that led to very bad habits if you let it become a habit instead of a necessary evil.
Bolt himself had specifically had to train himself not to go for the fastest route once he'd realized this. His family had helped upon his request, but frankly didn't have the precise mindset or training for his needs. Designing a mech from the ground up and then building it was absolutely foreign to everyone. They dealt with practical problems. It kept them fed. It had taken a few actual paper books and long hours of hard work with various freeware designers before he'd been able to really get the point of it all and even then he'd rarely been able to implement it in real life.
This was honestly the first time he approached a problem from the beginning. Designing Lilly's mech from the parts he'd salvaged and had yet to salvage instead of just using what he had available was something he had never done. It felt both strange and good. He was taking a step beyond just living in the moment and into something that the rich people did. Bolt had to restrain a few laughs once he thought of that.
He got to work quickly to prevent the inappropriate giggles and more delays. The biggest thing he had to account for in designing was that he had to build around what he had or could trade for. There was no getting new parts or adjusting the ones he had too much. He could in essence adjust the form factor, not the proprietary machinery that made up the important sections of the mech.
That meant he had to build around the most important parts, starting with the head. It might have been an older model, but it was an older model from an expensive mech and extensive customization. The sensor suites in it needed more power. This meant heavier power lines and proper seating on the skeleton and framework. The thicker neck would have been a problem had he not needed to remake the neck and chest anyway, so that was easy to compensate for. The better sensors would be worth the hassle.
Next was the hands. He had one swordman hand and had been able to trade some metal and that fancy ejection seat for another one in less than stellar condition. This was a benefit in a way because if he'd found two good ones he would have been obligated to use them to make a swordmen for his family instead of something custom built for Lilly. This way could keep them for his own project. His family was good like that.
Tactically, based on his probably shaky understanding, swordman mechs were meant for close range duels. They wanted to cut down heavies quickly. They were in essence duelists. That was not good for Lilly's circumstances. She specifically said she fought groups, so Bolt wanted something medium designed for rapid engagement and disengagement. He would have needed to direct most of the power to the arms with a swordmen too, and the head was already hogging a good portion of the theoretical output. The energy budget was too low to do the head, arms and then legs for speed.
However, strong hands could be weapons too. Brawler mechs used those extensively and Bolt knew he could make the adjustments to mimic something with that. Using the sword metal he'd gathered he could tip the fingers with claws and seat them into the strong musculature necessary for wielding those heavy swords. Change the programming some, customize the arms for that specific weapon configuration and he could visualize something deadly. Reach in, claw open the armor, and cause damage in one quick grab. It'd be a beast to use correctly, but Lilly should be able to handle that. He'd have to spend some extra time on the arms, but it'd be worth it, and the energy profile would fit his budget.
With that decided the rest of the design coalesced around rapidly building vision. He was making a monster that leaped at the enemy quickly before fleeing. Make the legs good for leaping and quick bursts of energy, then adjust the armor to match that attack profile. Thankfully a significant part of this was all stuff he could just get together from spare parts and their very basic printers.
That was a good thing because the salvaged head was still missing the chin and neck. The neck in particular was a delicate weak point on a mech. If something did enough damage to crack the head armor the neck was typically going to need to be replaced as well. No one wanted a mech that couldn't turn its head so almost all of it was made of materials that were considered 'standard.' Only the chin would require finesse.
On a whim Bolt adjusted the design to make the jaw have teeth and even put in a motor to let it bite. It cost practically nothing and it looked entertaining. Combined with a few adornments and form alterations and he had a vaguely feminine mech that looked just shy of murdering and eating something. It fit in far too many ways and upon inspection Bolt realized he might have gotten a bit carried away with the entire design. It didn't look like a junk mech. It looked like a shiny one. Could he even make this?
The newbie designer hesitated far more than he should have before he convinced himself that yes he could make it. Snapping a picture of the design and doing a quick write up he sent it to Lilly before he let his doubt overcome him. Bolt then went to finalize the trades and tried his best to focus on the process, not his fears. Lilly's reply both helped and hindered that.
'I love it, gimmie. Kisses.'
Stifling a flush and a nervous laugh, Bolt decided that he would at least try.
A few things became rapidly apparent. One was that his blueprinting talents were horrible. He'd done the internals wrong on the diagrams and had to struggle to correct them mid construction, the legs were misaligned and inconsistent with reality, and the arms had been designed completely incorrectly. Practical experience let him correct things once he realized the issues, but it was a painful reminder that he was essentially self taught and would miss very obvious stuff. (Had Bolt known about a simulator he would have tried that and it would have caught it, but that required both education and money.)
Unable to see a way to fix that deficiency aside from practicing and taking copious notes of what he'd done wrong however, Bolt just continued to work. To his mild shock all their power tools were working at the moment so he didn't have to do anything by hand, which was very rare. That meant he could assemble the mech solo. Without those tools he would have had to manually winch the torso into the air after he attached the legs, which was a three person job at a minimum.
"I'm going to name you Ghoul." Bolt told the mech as he finished securing the frame upright and began to work on the teeth and chin.
He really didn't expect it to be able to actually bite something. It was very entertaining to make them a functional weapon anyway. It cost nothing but some time. Getting them nice and pointy made the entire design click. He almost felt like the mech agreed with him as he continued to work on the musculature and then began the armor plating. The decorations and finishings would come once he got everything set to his satisfaction, but he could already see the shape of the mech.
Ghoul was tall for her weight class, with a lanky profile due to extended arms, and claws that looked more than a little threatening. The natural resting profile gave the impression that the mech was hunched as well, as if she was ready to pounce on an enemy even at rest. Bolt couldn't help but love her even if he knew she was far from perfect. There was just an air of menace that fit the entire concept. It flowed together in a way that was impossible to describe.
"I wish I could do you justice." The boy muttered to her as he started on the heart of the mech. His lack of resources and knowledge had never felt so potent as it did now. Envy burned in his heart, but he soldiered through it and pushed that into the final parts.
Out of all the mech parts the reactor and the engine were the easiest things to do. They were, like the armor and muscles, something Bolt could print out on their substandard printers. They were also considered 'mature' technology, whatever that meant. (Bolt's education was on how things worked, not the history or terms.) The standard reactor was actually horrible for local circumstances. The dust frequently got into the air intakes and the reactor needed cleaner fuel than what they could source locally.
There were more than a few ways to tweak that sort of thing, which was where Bolt spent the rest of the time he had. His family practically built these for a living. Reactors were typically the first thing that mech pilots killed. Making and adjusting them was an old hand, and he knew exactly what to do to fit the local environment. The air intakes had to be shifted a bit to keep dust out and a filter needed to be placed just right. After that there needed to be some robustness added to handle the shit they called fuel here. He even had time to tweak it so that the thing with a few power cells that could surge with power for a few seconds on command, giving giving Ghoul even more burst at the cost of needing to recover for a few seconds.
The end result was not a pretty mech. She felt right in a way he couldn't explain. Bolt was confident that she would work for Lilly. He was also pretty confident that she'd run half dead because he'd made damned sure the design was solid and robust. If there was one thing he knew, it was how mechs broke. (He was so going to make that joke to Lilly.)
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Fantastic chapter as always
Evaunit02mark1
Here for the finer things in life
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He gave her a mech with working teeth.
That girl is going to put a ring on his finger, right after the collar around his neck.
That girl is going to put a ring on his finger, right after the collar around his neck.
Luker number 5
Versed in the lewd.
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Glad to see this here, loving the story so far
M006
New
lost star
Connoisseur.
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AN: Been inspired, so you get a chapter today.
--
Lilly had not been able to get Bolt's creation immediately. It had taken some whining, some pleading, and far too much cutesy talk. The girl, and it was a girl mech obviously, didn't look pretty or worth the asking price. Her specs on paper were narrow and limited. She handled like an animal that was trying to buck her off, and the weapons were anemic. Claws were not a common weapon for a reason. Yet Lilly had wanted her and upon piloting her had absolutely adored her. Ghoul was a mech that actually worked with her instead of against her!
"Ahaha!" She laughed over open comms as the latest victim screamed as she leaped out of cover and right next to them in a surge of motion.
The mech she was opposing brought the sword in a wide warding arch in a predictable attempt to keep her away. Lilly dropped down and under the swing in reply, using the superior balance and footing of the mech to do the near impossible maneuver. The hands dug into the ground and she angled the head up to leer at the enemy. The atypical movement and behavior spooked her opponent and he lurched into a hasty follow up downwards cleave.
Lilly let the weapon approach and then lashed out an arm to interrupt the flawed swing. The deceptive reach on the limb let her connect with the limb holding the sword. The claws scraped against the armor and caught at a seem, then held. The combined momentum and the tight grip dug deep and the armor on the mech was peeled off with a snap. Lilly completed the motion and for a brief moment the mechs were almost face to face, likely showing off the teeth really well. Utterly horrified and thoroughly broken, her victim attempted to backpedal.
Surging the power again and throwing her mech forward, Lilly pounced on the weakness and continued to tear. So utterly outmatched, the pilot and he didn't even see her claws grab at the limb she'd stripped and rip. The mech couldn't withstand that sort of pressure and the arm came off with a wrench of metal.
"Mmmm. Tasty." Lilly purred out as he brought the arm up to her mech's mouth and had it bite down. The armor and musculature screamed as the mouth shredded it and she could almost imagine it was her biting into something meaty instead.
Her opponent went silent at the provocation and then the mech fell to the ground with a thud. The girl blinked several times in surprise at the action, momentarily struck dumb. Did he, did he just pass out?
Lilly couldn't help the maniac giggle as she bent over and began to dig into the torso immediately. Biter Rats weren't particularly good pilots, nor were they very brave. What they did have was a very good fight or flight instinct. That she'd managed to make one pass out was absolutely hilarious in that context. Just needed the reactor out to confirm the kill and then she had another kill to her tally.
Ultimate evaluation? Ghoul had her flaws. They could be worked around to make her useful. Some of them were actually rather minor even. She really needed better padding in the cockpit for instance, the cockpit was not built for the acceleration it could output, especially when she had to juke something. The rest of the flaws just came from the fact that she was a skirmisher in the truest sense, an opportunist that used superior sensors to find fights she could take. It was actually fairly fun to use her in that vein so Lilly would have been happy with just that even had it not had another intangible benefit.
Ghoul felt warm to Lilly's senses. Even the icky sticky residue from the techs poppa had enslaved didn't cling to it. Every other mech started to feel scratchy and cold after a few repairs, but not this one. No mech was perfect, but Lilly found that she was starting to love Bolt just a bit for making something that worked so well.
"That's the last of them." Wrecker called out over the radio and interrupted Lilly's giggles. "Those boys won't be trying for our territory again any time soon. Very good showing princess."
Lilly sighed. Poppa didn't sound happy at the win, which meant trouble. "Is something wrong Poppa?" She asked.
"No dear, you did great. Just thinking about things." Wrecker said and offered up an explanation. "The Rat I put in that artillery mech you used needs more practice that's all."
Liar. Lilly didn't say. Instead she turned up the cute. "Well if you want me ta get in it again I can! I can go boom boom and blow them allll up!"
"No, no. You're fine in that. I can tell how much you love it." Wrecker said. "But I'm going to go talk with the others, idle your mech and watch your shows if you want. We might be a bit."
The girl narrowed her eyes and clicked off the communicator. After being sure there was no surveillance in the cockpit. (She'd learned to check from a young age.) She pulled out the comm Bolt had given her. Then she flicked one of the monitors in Ghoul and put on a random show poppa had approved at high volume. Cover given she put an earbud in her ear and began to scroll through the comm.
Not being able to read didn't means she was stupid. Lilly was an intuitive pilot and had spent all her life being taught how to read people inside and out of mechs. Poppa had always said everyone was a liar and she should learn how to identify that. He obviously hadn't meant himself, but she'd figured out early on that that statement applied to him as well. So with her new tool she'd finally been able to confirm a few things.
Ya know, that war of yours is looking pretty big and you're all stuck in the boonies with us. I got that lovely flower still ready for pickup. It'd be great for showing off! The only problem is that they take a lot of proper cultivation and time and I'd need some compensation for it. It'll come with a free wrap up at least!
That was the latest email he'd sent out. Lilly's eyes narrowed as it was read off by her comm again. She got more and more infuriated each time she heard it. The code wasn't that hard to decipher once you knew how poppa thought. Calling her a flower and selling her like some sort of beast. She wanted to say she was surprised. She wasn't.
But she couldn't do anything about it quite yet. She had ideas. She just needed to be careful about them. Having something she could rely on was important. Her problem had always been that everyone was a liar. Everyone except Bolt. He hadn't lied to her, and still wasn't lying to her even now. Lilly wasn't even sure he could lie, at least convincingly. He was so focused on his own thing that it had never occurred to him that he could lie.
Speaking of that. Since she had time. She set the speak to text active and had to send a message to him.
"Just finished a test run of Ghoul. She handles like a dream and she's so warm!" She said.
A few seconds later Bolt responded. 'That is fantastic. So, what didn't work?'
Lilly laughed. "Getting right to that? Ya can accept some praise you know? Or maybe flirt. A pretty girl like me could always use some compliments."
There was a small pause before a reply, and Lilly was sure she'd flustered him with her comments. Cute! 'I'll accept it when I think I earned it. Ghoul as I made her is a shadow of what she could be.'
Should she give her honest opinion? Well, she couldn't lie all the time and Bolt had been honest with her. "Honest evaluation then. She's a terror mech. Against unprepared and inexperienced pilots she can shred them. The speed and legs are fantastic for her weight class and let her exploit vulnerabilities. The offense is so bad it almost makes her fail in her role though. The claws alone are barely adequate. She's also not built to fight equals. If I ever meet a good pilot or a heavy that knows what they're doing I wouldn't want this mech as is. Her acceleration kicks like a maddened mule, and if I were a delicate flower I'd be bruised and she has no thrusters, though that last bit is sorta common for mechs at our level."
The reply wasn't immediate. For a long moment Lilly wondered if she should have told a fib. She liked Bolt. The mech he'd designed was enough to make her even think she could love him. But if he couldn't take her being honest, what should she do?
'I'd need the following to fix that:' What followed was a long list of possible solutions, complete with what that solution would be.
Lilly laughed at herself and the ridiculous boy. "Hey, hold up. Ya know I can't read. That sorta thing will take forever ta go through. I trust ya you know? If I find something fun we'll work from there k?"
'Of course. Stay safe Lilly.'
Oh dear, she'd embarrassed him again. Lilly giggled to herself. Then Poppa's voice came over the radio again.
"Sorry to interrupt your shows darlin', but we got another Royal Welcome we need planned. Gonna need to do some work on your mech to make it in tip top shape so get it in here."
Lilly narrowed her eyes at the radio. That both ruined her good mood and made her suspicious. Ghoul had taken no damage at all, and Poppa hated wasting money. What was he planning and why did it involve her new favorite?
--
Lilly had not been able to get Bolt's creation immediately. It had taken some whining, some pleading, and far too much cutesy talk. The girl, and it was a girl mech obviously, didn't look pretty or worth the asking price. Her specs on paper were narrow and limited. She handled like an animal that was trying to buck her off, and the weapons were anemic. Claws were not a common weapon for a reason. Yet Lilly had wanted her and upon piloting her had absolutely adored her. Ghoul was a mech that actually worked with her instead of against her!
"Ahaha!" She laughed over open comms as the latest victim screamed as she leaped out of cover and right next to them in a surge of motion.
The mech she was opposing brought the sword in a wide warding arch in a predictable attempt to keep her away. Lilly dropped down and under the swing in reply, using the superior balance and footing of the mech to do the near impossible maneuver. The hands dug into the ground and she angled the head up to leer at the enemy. The atypical movement and behavior spooked her opponent and he lurched into a hasty follow up downwards cleave.
Lilly let the weapon approach and then lashed out an arm to interrupt the flawed swing. The deceptive reach on the limb let her connect with the limb holding the sword. The claws scraped against the armor and caught at a seem, then held. The combined momentum and the tight grip dug deep and the armor on the mech was peeled off with a snap. Lilly completed the motion and for a brief moment the mechs were almost face to face, likely showing off the teeth really well. Utterly horrified and thoroughly broken, her victim attempted to backpedal.
Surging the power again and throwing her mech forward, Lilly pounced on the weakness and continued to tear. So utterly outmatched, the pilot and he didn't even see her claws grab at the limb she'd stripped and rip. The mech couldn't withstand that sort of pressure and the arm came off with a wrench of metal.
"Mmmm. Tasty." Lilly purred out as he brought the arm up to her mech's mouth and had it bite down. The armor and musculature screamed as the mouth shredded it and she could almost imagine it was her biting into something meaty instead.
Her opponent went silent at the provocation and then the mech fell to the ground with a thud. The girl blinked several times in surprise at the action, momentarily struck dumb. Did he, did he just pass out?
Lilly couldn't help the maniac giggle as she bent over and began to dig into the torso immediately. Biter Rats weren't particularly good pilots, nor were they very brave. What they did have was a very good fight or flight instinct. That she'd managed to make one pass out was absolutely hilarious in that context. Just needed the reactor out to confirm the kill and then she had another kill to her tally.
Ultimate evaluation? Ghoul had her flaws. They could be worked around to make her useful. Some of them were actually rather minor even. She really needed better padding in the cockpit for instance, the cockpit was not built for the acceleration it could output, especially when she had to juke something. The rest of the flaws just came from the fact that she was a skirmisher in the truest sense, an opportunist that used superior sensors to find fights she could take. It was actually fairly fun to use her in that vein so Lilly would have been happy with just that even had it not had another intangible benefit.
Ghoul felt warm to Lilly's senses. Even the icky sticky residue from the techs poppa had enslaved didn't cling to it. Every other mech started to feel scratchy and cold after a few repairs, but not this one. No mech was perfect, but Lilly found that she was starting to love Bolt just a bit for making something that worked so well.
"That's the last of them." Wrecker called out over the radio and interrupted Lilly's giggles. "Those boys won't be trying for our territory again any time soon. Very good showing princess."
Lilly sighed. Poppa didn't sound happy at the win, which meant trouble. "Is something wrong Poppa?" She asked.
"No dear, you did great. Just thinking about things." Wrecker said and offered up an explanation. "The Rat I put in that artillery mech you used needs more practice that's all."
Liar. Lilly didn't say. Instead she turned up the cute. "Well if you want me ta get in it again I can! I can go boom boom and blow them allll up!"
"No, no. You're fine in that. I can tell how much you love it." Wrecker said. "But I'm going to go talk with the others, idle your mech and watch your shows if you want. We might be a bit."
The girl narrowed her eyes and clicked off the communicator. After being sure there was no surveillance in the cockpit. (She'd learned to check from a young age.) She pulled out the comm Bolt had given her. Then she flicked one of the monitors in Ghoul and put on a random show poppa had approved at high volume. Cover given she put an earbud in her ear and began to scroll through the comm.
Not being able to read didn't means she was stupid. Lilly was an intuitive pilot and had spent all her life being taught how to read people inside and out of mechs. Poppa had always said everyone was a liar and she should learn how to identify that. He obviously hadn't meant himself, but she'd figured out early on that that statement applied to him as well. So with her new tool she'd finally been able to confirm a few things.
Ya know, that war of yours is looking pretty big and you're all stuck in the boonies with us. I got that lovely flower still ready for pickup. It'd be great for showing off! The only problem is that they take a lot of proper cultivation and time and I'd need some compensation for it. It'll come with a free wrap up at least!
That was the latest email he'd sent out. Lilly's eyes narrowed as it was read off by her comm again. She got more and more infuriated each time she heard it. The code wasn't that hard to decipher once you knew how poppa thought. Calling her a flower and selling her like some sort of beast. She wanted to say she was surprised. She wasn't.
But she couldn't do anything about it quite yet. She had ideas. She just needed to be careful about them. Having something she could rely on was important. Her problem had always been that everyone was a liar. Everyone except Bolt. He hadn't lied to her, and still wasn't lying to her even now. Lilly wasn't even sure he could lie, at least convincingly. He was so focused on his own thing that it had never occurred to him that he could lie.
Speaking of that. Since she had time. She set the speak to text active and had to send a message to him.
"Just finished a test run of Ghoul. She handles like a dream and she's so warm!" She said.
A few seconds later Bolt responded. 'That is fantastic. So, what didn't work?'
Lilly laughed. "Getting right to that? Ya can accept some praise you know? Or maybe flirt. A pretty girl like me could always use some compliments."
There was a small pause before a reply, and Lilly was sure she'd flustered him with her comments. Cute! 'I'll accept it when I think I earned it. Ghoul as I made her is a shadow of what she could be.'
Should she give her honest opinion? Well, she couldn't lie all the time and Bolt had been honest with her. "Honest evaluation then. She's a terror mech. Against unprepared and inexperienced pilots she can shred them. The speed and legs are fantastic for her weight class and let her exploit vulnerabilities. The offense is so bad it almost makes her fail in her role though. The claws alone are barely adequate. She's also not built to fight equals. If I ever meet a good pilot or a heavy that knows what they're doing I wouldn't want this mech as is. Her acceleration kicks like a maddened mule, and if I were a delicate flower I'd be bruised and she has no thrusters, though that last bit is sorta common for mechs at our level."
The reply wasn't immediate. For a long moment Lilly wondered if she should have told a fib. She liked Bolt. The mech he'd designed was enough to make her even think she could love him. But if he couldn't take her being honest, what should she do?
'I'd need the following to fix that:' What followed was a long list of possible solutions, complete with what that solution would be.
Lilly laughed at herself and the ridiculous boy. "Hey, hold up. Ya know I can't read. That sorta thing will take forever ta go through. I trust ya you know? If I find something fun we'll work from there k?"
'Of course. Stay safe Lilly.'
Oh dear, she'd embarrassed him again. Lilly giggled to herself. Then Poppa's voice came over the radio again.
"Sorry to interrupt your shows darlin', but we got another Royal Welcome we need planned. Gonna need to do some work on your mech to make it in tip top shape so get it in here."
Lilly narrowed her eyes at the radio. That both ruined her good mood and made her suspicious. Ghoul had taken no damage at all, and Poppa hated wasting money. What was he planning and why did it involve her new favorite?
Evaunit02mark1
Here for the finer things in life
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Bomb is the traditional answer.
More than likely some combo of that and a shutdown code just in case Lilly gets ideas, like personal freedom, or morals.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Methinks something stupid is about to happen
WanderingShadow95
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
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Why do I think a 'kill' switch is going into the mech to have her throw the fight? Or at least sabotage so the royal has better odds.
M007
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Lately it was like he'd found a good luck charm. Fortune had been favoring him for the past few days, and his cousin's latest find was just a cherry on top. They'd found an entire series of mech design books and given it to him on cheap. Bolt had only recently really decided to commit to the profession, and this was definitely going to give him a leg up!
It sounded more exciting and impressive than than it was admittedly. Whichever mech designer had brought them along hadn't bothered to categorize or organize them. They'd just thrown almost a hundred books in a small storage container. The books themselves were also very boring. They were thick, a few years old, and not particularly easy to get through. They were only valuable to Bolt and possibly for a library later. Due to the outdated nature of them they'd probably be disdained by any mech designer from an actual nation.
But to Bolt they were an invaluable glimpse into what he was missing. Actual equations, history, ideas. Bolt actually had numbers and definitions for things he'd had to simply intuit. He had theoretical mech designs even! Simple stuff, but it told him how to actually design and notate things. If he managed to get through all of them he imagined he could actually be educated enough to get a degree in Mech Design. All he needed was time!
His family was generous enough to give him some of that at least. After making Ghoul his parents had decided to shift him into making fancier mechs and organizing the assembly of their other assets. The former hadn't come up yet, and the later was just saying which parts went where. That was pretty easy and something that everyone was glad to see him work on for some reason. The work was so easy it left him with plenty of free time to study, with some caveats. He had to babysit.
"What ya doing?" The young voice made him look up from his book and Bolt gave the small girl a grin.
"Hey sis, I'm reading. What are you doing?" He asked back.
"Bored." The girl held out a crude looking comm. "Made it, test it?"
The young man gave a small laugh as he took it from her. It was an almost right of tradition to make a comm unit from spare parts while young. Wrench Rats lived and breathed tech after all. Getting introduced early was just good sense, and simple comm units were ridiculously easy to assemble if you had the parts made.
"This is very good." Bolt praised as he examined the assembly with a critical eye. He didn't recall doing half as good himself. "You stuck the board to the frame with the proper glue and even got the battery connected the right way." That was the hardest part. "Did you turn it on?"
"Non." The little girl shook her head.
Bolt found the power button and eyed the connectors. "Good, you followed precautions. Do you recall why you ask for help before turning something on you made?"
"It can go boom." His sister said.
"Yes, it can go boom." The older boy confirmed.
Comms units specifically could set themselves on fire if incorrectly assembled, not that they gave the children batteries with enough charge to do that. It was good to get safety in their heads early anyway. He had fond memories of deliberately disregarding safeguards in controlled situations for demonstration purposes.
Turning this thing on required just attaching it to a charger and hitting the power button. It came on with a small bing and Bolt grinned at the successful launch. He then handed the comm back and handed the girl a few program chips.
"So, you got it working, here's some games, the operating system, and a few tricky things." Bolt said as the girl grabbed them. "Your next task is to see if you can get it working."
"Yes. Gimmie." The little tech in training took the items from her brother and got to work.
It was probably fortunate that Gadget was easy to work with. The other rug rats were more trouble. Bolt couldn't say he minded the work so long as he could keep reading the books he had while they were playing. He gave them all an eye before moving back to his books.
Mech design was an ever evolving field that required extensive work and study. Bolt was starting from a very strange position from what he could tell. Rat education was whatever they could scrounge. Wrench Rats were ahead of everyone on the planet just by necessity. You couldn't figure out voltage by intuition. You needed to know how to read documentation. He'd actually memorized the manual for one of the generators. None of that was taught in the books he had. They were all how to use designers, ratios to various parts, how to modify things, and so on. Some of it was things he'd developed intuition for. Others were entirely new concepts.
If Bolt had to guess, he'd rate himself as very good at the basics. He knew balance and skeleton structure. How power was distributed, how a mech actually functioned. He could put a very basic mech together by pure feel, and probably blindfolded. He'd spent all his life working on junk mechs with very mismatched parts. Getting the terminology did help a lot at least.
It was the peripheral things he was less familiar with. Bolt wouldn't be confident modifying weapons or sensors. He could do generators, but that was because they all followed similar concepts. He could probably create a mech rated for space, but he'd want to test the sealing before throwing it out there. Drones, ECM, stealth? Good luck there. He'd never even touched that stuff, and he would need to dedicate serious time to work on them.
Bolt would also rate his repair work and jury rigging as spectacular. He could slap together a mech from parts in minutes if he needed. That was what he and his family had done all their life after all. How that measured up to the higher levels of designers he didn't know, but he was confident in that area at least.
Equations and simulations was where he would fail horribly as a designer and what he judged should be his next thing to address. This was a big flaw based on his understanding. As mechs grew more complex, the calculations needed grew as well. You could not build complicated mechs without extensive planning. The young mech designer had absolutely no grounding in any of it and if he wanted to progress past jury rigged monstrosities build by feel and hand he absolutely needed to address that problem.
So he picked up some paper, found a pencil, and slowly, laboriously began to go over the equations, one by one.
It was inefficient. It was slow. It was not physically possible for some of the more complicated ones as they would take up an entire page. Bolt still did it day after day. Why, he couldn't quite say. He did do a few through the free and crappy simulations he had access to. He just felt as if that was the best way to learn. He was not a fancy high tech college student. He was a Wrench Rat with nothing but junk and time. He'd learned through his hands, so he was going to teach himself through his hands too.
Days passed and the young man painfully made his way through the books. All told, about half of them weren't particularly useful to him. They covered things he already knew but couldn't verbalize properly. He took a few notes of the proper terms and moved on. A quarter of them were novel concepts, and going through them was actually entertaining. The rest were painful slogs that he knew he was going to have trouble with and focus on later.
Lasers for instance. They were just high enough tech wise that they weren't something he'd worked with a lot. Most of the local weapons were 'gunpowder' based, though calling what mechs used gunpowder wasn't really accurate. The complicated mix of chemicals that propelled most firearms resembled old gunpowder like copper resembled high quality steel. Bolt was actually up to speed on projectile weapons to his surprise, and melee weapons. That just meant his knowledge matched the out of date books, not that he was good there.
Jumpjets, boosters, thrusters, or whatever people called them was a larger flaw. This one was completely on Bolt. Even their junk mechs had them typically. Bolt just never really considered them until Lilly had brought it up, and he'd realized that was a big gaping hole in both his knowledge and application. Mildly embarrassing to note and more than a little galling. More advanced mechs had them by default and he'd actually never touched it all!
Time passed as Bolt tried his best to remedy his deficiencies. One month after he sold Ghoul and far from fixing them he got a message from Lilly. This wasn't uncommon. The girl would message him at odd times with sometimes random things. He couldn't say he hated that, but he still wasn't sure what to think of their entire relationship. He honestly hadn't expected to keep contact like this after Ghoul was sold. It was something he had no experience with and was literally just playing by ear.
This message was different and far less playful. 'What does anomalous modifications mean and why is it showing in text?'
Bolt frowned at the message before he wrote out the reply. 'I did some work on the internal sensors and programming because it's all practically hand-made and the standard setup isn't meant to deal with that. That message means that modification was done without properly registering it with the internals. Sloppy work by your maintenance crew. I did put it in the documentation.'
'Maybe. I'm showing you a picture, tell me what to press to get more info.' A picture came through and the mech designer's frown deepened. That wasn't a critical alert, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous.
'You won't get much. Press third button down on the right, then second. That'll throw up a diagnostic image. Send me another picture because it's not intuitive.'
The next image was a series of lines and numbers over a wireframe, complete with standard notation that most techs were familiar with. Bolt eyed it and then rolled his eyes as he confirmed what it said. 'Morons. The errors are around right knee. Based on the area it's likely they didn't tie down the muscles to those joints properly. If it's that, they deserve to be thrown into the rain. That sorta thing is basic mech repair and something that all of them should know.'
'Good to know! I'll likely be contacting you later!'
Bolt frowned at his comm. He then tapped on a nearby table. Finally he made a decision. One of his cousins was called in to watch the rug rats and he took one of the all terrain vehicles they had handy. It was typically pretty easy to find where battles were. He'd likely miss most of it, but he did want to see something.
It sounded more exciting and impressive than than it was admittedly. Whichever mech designer had brought them along hadn't bothered to categorize or organize them. They'd just thrown almost a hundred books in a small storage container. The books themselves were also very boring. They were thick, a few years old, and not particularly easy to get through. They were only valuable to Bolt and possibly for a library later. Due to the outdated nature of them they'd probably be disdained by any mech designer from an actual nation.
But to Bolt they were an invaluable glimpse into what he was missing. Actual equations, history, ideas. Bolt actually had numbers and definitions for things he'd had to simply intuit. He had theoretical mech designs even! Simple stuff, but it told him how to actually design and notate things. If he managed to get through all of them he imagined he could actually be educated enough to get a degree in Mech Design. All he needed was time!
His family was generous enough to give him some of that at least. After making Ghoul his parents had decided to shift him into making fancier mechs and organizing the assembly of their other assets. The former hadn't come up yet, and the later was just saying which parts went where. That was pretty easy and something that everyone was glad to see him work on for some reason. The work was so easy it left him with plenty of free time to study, with some caveats. He had to babysit.
"What ya doing?" The young voice made him look up from his book and Bolt gave the small girl a grin.
"Hey sis, I'm reading. What are you doing?" He asked back.
"Bored." The girl held out a crude looking comm. "Made it, test it?"
The young man gave a small laugh as he took it from her. It was an almost right of tradition to make a comm unit from spare parts while young. Wrench Rats lived and breathed tech after all. Getting introduced early was just good sense, and simple comm units were ridiculously easy to assemble if you had the parts made.
"This is very good." Bolt praised as he examined the assembly with a critical eye. He didn't recall doing half as good himself. "You stuck the board to the frame with the proper glue and even got the battery connected the right way." That was the hardest part. "Did you turn it on?"
"Non." The little girl shook her head.
Bolt found the power button and eyed the connectors. "Good, you followed precautions. Do you recall why you ask for help before turning something on you made?"
"It can go boom." His sister said.
"Yes, it can go boom." The older boy confirmed.
Comms units specifically could set themselves on fire if incorrectly assembled, not that they gave the children batteries with enough charge to do that. It was good to get safety in their heads early anyway. He had fond memories of deliberately disregarding safeguards in controlled situations for demonstration purposes.
Turning this thing on required just attaching it to a charger and hitting the power button. It came on with a small bing and Bolt grinned at the successful launch. He then handed the comm back and handed the girl a few program chips.
"So, you got it working, here's some games, the operating system, and a few tricky things." Bolt said as the girl grabbed them. "Your next task is to see if you can get it working."
"Yes. Gimmie." The little tech in training took the items from her brother and got to work.
It was probably fortunate that Gadget was easy to work with. The other rug rats were more trouble. Bolt couldn't say he minded the work so long as he could keep reading the books he had while they were playing. He gave them all an eye before moving back to his books.
Mech design was an ever evolving field that required extensive work and study. Bolt was starting from a very strange position from what he could tell. Rat education was whatever they could scrounge. Wrench Rats were ahead of everyone on the planet just by necessity. You couldn't figure out voltage by intuition. You needed to know how to read documentation. He'd actually memorized the manual for one of the generators. None of that was taught in the books he had. They were all how to use designers, ratios to various parts, how to modify things, and so on. Some of it was things he'd developed intuition for. Others were entirely new concepts.
If Bolt had to guess, he'd rate himself as very good at the basics. He knew balance and skeleton structure. How power was distributed, how a mech actually functioned. He could put a very basic mech together by pure feel, and probably blindfolded. He'd spent all his life working on junk mechs with very mismatched parts. Getting the terminology did help a lot at least.
It was the peripheral things he was less familiar with. Bolt wouldn't be confident modifying weapons or sensors. He could do generators, but that was because they all followed similar concepts. He could probably create a mech rated for space, but he'd want to test the sealing before throwing it out there. Drones, ECM, stealth? Good luck there. He'd never even touched that stuff, and he would need to dedicate serious time to work on them.
Bolt would also rate his repair work and jury rigging as spectacular. He could slap together a mech from parts in minutes if he needed. That was what he and his family had done all their life after all. How that measured up to the higher levels of designers he didn't know, but he was confident in that area at least.
Equations and simulations was where he would fail horribly as a designer and what he judged should be his next thing to address. This was a big flaw based on his understanding. As mechs grew more complex, the calculations needed grew as well. You could not build complicated mechs without extensive planning. The young mech designer had absolutely no grounding in any of it and if he wanted to progress past jury rigged monstrosities build by feel and hand he absolutely needed to address that problem.
So he picked up some paper, found a pencil, and slowly, laboriously began to go over the equations, one by one.
It was inefficient. It was slow. It was not physically possible for some of the more complicated ones as they would take up an entire page. Bolt still did it day after day. Why, he couldn't quite say. He did do a few through the free and crappy simulations he had access to. He just felt as if that was the best way to learn. He was not a fancy high tech college student. He was a Wrench Rat with nothing but junk and time. He'd learned through his hands, so he was going to teach himself through his hands too.
Days passed and the young man painfully made his way through the books. All told, about half of them weren't particularly useful to him. They covered things he already knew but couldn't verbalize properly. He took a few notes of the proper terms and moved on. A quarter of them were novel concepts, and going through them was actually entertaining. The rest were painful slogs that he knew he was going to have trouble with and focus on later.
Lasers for instance. They were just high enough tech wise that they weren't something he'd worked with a lot. Most of the local weapons were 'gunpowder' based, though calling what mechs used gunpowder wasn't really accurate. The complicated mix of chemicals that propelled most firearms resembled old gunpowder like copper resembled high quality steel. Bolt was actually up to speed on projectile weapons to his surprise, and melee weapons. That just meant his knowledge matched the out of date books, not that he was good there.
Jumpjets, boosters, thrusters, or whatever people called them was a larger flaw. This one was completely on Bolt. Even their junk mechs had them typically. Bolt just never really considered them until Lilly had brought it up, and he'd realized that was a big gaping hole in both his knowledge and application. Mildly embarrassing to note and more than a little galling. More advanced mechs had them by default and he'd actually never touched it all!
Time passed as Bolt tried his best to remedy his deficiencies. One month after he sold Ghoul and far from fixing them he got a message from Lilly. This wasn't uncommon. The girl would message him at odd times with sometimes random things. He couldn't say he hated that, but he still wasn't sure what to think of their entire relationship. He honestly hadn't expected to keep contact like this after Ghoul was sold. It was something he had no experience with and was literally just playing by ear.
This message was different and far less playful. 'What does anomalous modifications mean and why is it showing in text?'
Bolt frowned at the message before he wrote out the reply. 'I did some work on the internal sensors and programming because it's all practically hand-made and the standard setup isn't meant to deal with that. That message means that modification was done without properly registering it with the internals. Sloppy work by your maintenance crew. I did put it in the documentation.'
'Maybe. I'm showing you a picture, tell me what to press to get more info.' A picture came through and the mech designer's frown deepened. That wasn't a critical alert, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous.
'You won't get much. Press third button down on the right, then second. That'll throw up a diagnostic image. Send me another picture because it's not intuitive.'
The next image was a series of lines and numbers over a wireframe, complete with standard notation that most techs were familiar with. Bolt eyed it and then rolled his eyes as he confirmed what it said. 'Morons. The errors are around right knee. Based on the area it's likely they didn't tie down the muscles to those joints properly. If it's that, they deserve to be thrown into the rain. That sorta thing is basic mech repair and something that all of them should know.'
'Good to know! I'll likely be contacting you later!'
Bolt frowned at his comm. He then tapped on a nearby table. Finally he made a decision. One of his cousins was called in to watch the rug rats and he took one of the all terrain vehicles they had handy. It was typically pretty easy to find where battles were. He'd likely miss most of it, but he did want to see something.
Pyro Hawk
Unsure if Phoenix or Kitsune
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Whoops, looks like whoever was in charge of the sabotage hadn't been involved with any of the prior work and thus didn't know about the fact Ghoul had a more advanced monitoring system than they were used to with Junk Mechs. Or they wanted to see what a certain girl would do to her 'father's' plans but I feel it's more likely the first idea.
Oh, and it sounds like Bolt might just get there at the right time to be a critical aid and thus pulled into the 'main story'.
Oh, and it sounds like Bolt might just get there at the right time to be a critical aid and thus pulled into the 'main story'.
Evaunit02mark1
Here for the finer things in life
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From what it sounds like even the other mechanics didn't know any of that because as Lily said they make the mech feel "cold" when they do shit until it warms back up again.
They probably disdain on working on a "junk" mech and figure anything they don't fix can just be blamed on shitty construction. Actual sabotage should be easy enough to do because how could anyone tell?
Unfortunately for them Bolt don't half-ass his work, which is another reason Lily is going to have her wicked way with him.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Loving the plot and character so far. Also sounds like his machines going to be difficult to sabotage
conah
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
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Nah, it said in lillys previous pov that the techs working on mechs were slaves, so that means they're probably locals. Anyone good enough to disdain working on the frankenmechs would be in one of the nobles retinues. Most likely it's that they either didn't care to be subtle, on account of being slaves, or they had no idea how to get around the sensors or didn't think the sensors were that good, since they're meant to be pretty high end even if on the older side
M008
New
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In the knee. Lilly closed out the menu by instinct and continued to walk forward in Ghoul. No, Bolt had said around the knee. Why would the techs mess that up? On mild instinct she bounced a bit on the next step and then flexed the neck. The casual motion made the mech lurch and would have made a lesser pilot fall over or break something, but she compensated for it without trouble. Had it been a flawed fix she would have noticed a catch in the movement.
Wait, Bolt was a cutie who couldn't lie. He wouldn't think of other options. The techs were terrified of poppa and slaves as well, though he didn't call it that. (What else would you call twelve hour shifts, no pay, and hovels for homes?) The wouldn't do anything Poppa didn't like, so what would he like? Poppa liked performances and money. Poppa was also trying to sell her.
Lilly snorted to herself once she'd concluded what was likely going to happen. "Really?" She muttered to Ghoul. "He'd hurt you to what, put on a performance?"
She could almost imagine her mech growling at that. Unfortunately Lilly didn't have a good way of preventing it at the moment. They were already on their way to a Royal Welcome. A group of offworlders were here and had paid to fight. They'd paid extra for blood too, which meant everyone was doing live rounds and had a chance of death.
It was less stupid than it sounded for them. They were in top of the line previous generation mechs from a functional government. Lilly and her allies were in junk mechs. The power disparity alone was horrible, but the pilots on Lilly's side were all pretty horrible. She could tell that just based on how they moved to the rendezvous. Compared to trained mech pilots? This was dangerous for her opponents in name only. It was not an uncommon thing. More than one off-planet pilot had come here just to fight something living instead of in simulations.
Lilly let herself feel angry as she continued to march. She couldn't even have a good fight now! Think stupid, think. She had to think of something!
"Greetings Salutations fair warriors! I am Lord Selah of the Vesia Kingdom! You have agreed to be our opponents? I have heard that one of you is very talented!" The obviously rehearsed greeting over the open line reminded Lilly that she was out of time.
The young woman took a deep breath and put a grin on her face as she responded. "Yep. Name's Lilly! I'm here ta kick your ass!"
"Hah, you are welcome to try fair lady!" Selah responded with great cheer.
Despite already steeling herself, Lilly shuddered. He sounded noble. His mech even looked noble, with a long flowing cape, shield and sword, but everything about him made her feel ill. Literally she felt as if she was going to throw up.
Regardless, she had a job to do. First, order the chaff to begin. She had two rifle mechs and one swordman with her. They were functionally worthless. The swordman just knew how to swing his weapon without hurting himself and the rifleman could shoot in the vague direction of the enemy. Bottom of the barrel Biting Rats that were probably high on something to make the fact that they were walking to their doom easier.
Against the noble and his two guards it was like ordering a coughing baby to fight a grown adult. The riflemen actually had to move forward to get a better bead on the enemy for crying out loud! Lilly wanted to cry, especially because the noble obviously wanted to duel her. It was the worst possible condition for Ghoul to fight in, and was likely very intentional on Poppa's end.
Fortunately Poppa hadn't demanded she throw this fight so much as set her up for failure. He knew that ordering her to throw something was just asking for her to disobey. So Lilly threw everything she was thinking of out of her mind and then dialed up the power to max. Ghoul lurched forward into a sprint and she was slammed back into her thankfully more padded seat. (The techs were terrified of her too, but at least they knew how to add padding damnit.)
Three seconds. That's how long the power cells would last before she had to recharge them. They'd recharge quick, but that took about six seconds. Lilly cut off one second in and pivoted. Ghoul's legs screamed. She probably screamed too, but that was irrelevant.
The Nobel's guard had a moment to shift in surprise as she pivoted to him. Lancer configuration, and he'd been aiming at the swordman while building up speed, so he was slightly out of position. Credit to his training, he had two options to avoid damage. Give up hitting his charge on the original target and take a long detour as he bled off speed or shift to face her. He decided to shift and had his lance between as he skidded across the ground and bled momentum in a surprisingly skillful almost drift.
Power up again. Two point five seconds of power thanks to recharge. The angle of the lance didn't matter until the last second. Two leaping steps, zigging and zagging to prevent him from just firing his boosters and hitting her. Lilly rattled in the cockpit as Ghoul kicked off the ground and she felt them both grinning. The lance was there to intercept them as they approached and perfectly dead center on her reactor.
She dropped and twisted at the last second, almost hitting the ground. The hands dug into the dirt as they supported her briefly and almost cracked as she put some of the weight of her mech on them. This maneuver was typically impossible, but the frame could just barely handle it thanks to the sturdy construction and lack of other things in the hand. The near impossible maneuver put the weapon through her shoulder and the armor there rather than anything vital. The sharpened tip critically did not do damage to the joint or muscles as she continued forward. More importantly it got her close enough to bite at the lance.
The servos in the jaw screamed but held as the teeth skidded forward and past the handguard as she forced her mech to rise and push the Lancer off balance for a brief moment. One claws latched onto the plates nearby the pelvis and she put all her weight into the motion. Coolant sprayed across the hand as she practically eviscerated the mech.
Then she wrenched backwards, causing some of her mech's teeth to go flying along with the lance. The lancer mech tumbled to the ground as its systems bled to death and Lilly laughed wildly over the open channel. Part of her categorized the damage even as she turned to view the rest of the battle. One arm was not happy. The servo in the jaw was done, so the mouth couldn't close anymore. Shoulder was completely stripped of armor. She was out of boosted power for six seconds. Her claws were still sharp and the hands could still flex though, so she had options.
Tactically she was still in a horrible position. Selah was already close enough that she couldn't get the other guard. Engagement still did not favor her and the damage made things worse. He was not a bad pilot she could tell. A bit too boring, but not bad. That alone meant she was going to have a rough time, and with the rest of the battlefield as it was she was not going to win.
Her 'allies' were down to one already. The other guard had been a rifleman and she could guess how he compared to the junk mechs trying to fight him just based on how pristine he still looked. If the now downed swordman hadn't distracted him she would likely already be taking fire. Well, probably not, the noble seemed eager for a duel and would probably have warded his ally off.
Ghoul went still as Selah approached as Lilly tried to think of something. His approach was so slow that Lilly eventually just went through possible options on her mech, using the scanner, looking around the battlefield, even the body she'd left. The results didn't paint the best picture. The enemy mech was in good shape and well maintained. If he were confident and reckless she'd have an opening, but he was advancing slowly and methodically. The only obvious weak point was in the shoulder behind the shield. It wasn't an obvious flaw, but the arm was less mobile to let it brace better. Stupid, but usually not something that was exploitable. (People, and especially mech designers, didn't consider shields weapons and usually focused on making them far less mobile.)
Power cells were filled at least. No point in dithering anymore now. Lilly stopped evaluating and started approaching in a slow easy lope as she let the moment live. On instinct she aimed for the shielded side. One benefit to Ghoul's configuration was that she had endurance in spades if you ignored the cell part. She could theoretically fall back or simply pace around her opponent.
That'd be both boring and actively detrimental though. The simple sword and shield combo mech was likely designed custom for the noble. He could very likely feed targeting data to his allies and likely had one or two hidden weapons. Even if Lilly used him as a shield she'd still have to worry about the shots from the rifleman. Annoy the noble enough and he'd discard the duel and just using the sword and shield.
Instead Lilly did the most counterintuitive thing possible. She had Ghoul leap forward at full power directly at the shield. The completely unexpected action had the Selah respond on instinct. His shield rose up to intercept her and he braced, exactly how Lilly wanted.
Stiff and unresponsive, the Mech's shielded side was designed to block projectiles and quick strikes more than Ghoul's unusual configuration. It could not stop Lilly from grabbing it with her claws, and the sword was at an awkward angle. She couldn't rip the arm off without weakening it, but she could apply leverage. The mech's entire frame dipped and bucked as it fought against Ghoul's weight and Lilly grinned.
Then the knee gave out in an explosion, and Lilly went from using leverage to being propped up by the shield. Awkward angle or not, the sword could easily stab her then, and it hit her midsection with a crunch, cutting through the area and damaging some vital areas. Power readings blared red and Lilly felt a burning sensation in the stomach as the sympathetic pain hit.
"Ho fair lady! Your mech seems to have been sabotaged!" The noble got out with a audible shake in his voice. "My apologies for taking advantage of that, but your vigor left me no choice. I would request you yield now."
Lilly growled out before she opened the comm. "Fine, you got me." Ghoul could probably go for longer, but with one leg and no leverage she'd lost it here. She carefully disentangled herself and let the mech lower so that she could get out.
"Good! You have impressed me greatly, so much so that I'd like to offer to host you at my camp. I'm sure there are plenty of luxuries unfamiliar to you there and I'd delight in your company." The words were completely innocent on the surface.
The nausea came back and Lilly finally realized what Poppa had arranged. For a moment she contemplated something wild. Then reason reasserted itself and she powered down her mech. Playing pretend was an old hat at the moment. She was just growing tired of doing so.
"Did you have that low an opinion of my judgement poppa?" Lilly asked the empty air.
Really, had Bolt's work not been so good and her poppa's techs so bad she might have been almost convinced. It was a decent setup. Have her fight, get sabotaged and then rescued by a shining knight. If the man didn't make her skin crawl with his very presence she might have even gone along with it.
As it was now, she wanted a knife to stab something with.
Wait, Bolt was a cutie who couldn't lie. He wouldn't think of other options. The techs were terrified of poppa and slaves as well, though he didn't call it that. (What else would you call twelve hour shifts, no pay, and hovels for homes?) The wouldn't do anything Poppa didn't like, so what would he like? Poppa liked performances and money. Poppa was also trying to sell her.
Lilly snorted to herself once she'd concluded what was likely going to happen. "Really?" She muttered to Ghoul. "He'd hurt you to what, put on a performance?"
She could almost imagine her mech growling at that. Unfortunately Lilly didn't have a good way of preventing it at the moment. They were already on their way to a Royal Welcome. A group of offworlders were here and had paid to fight. They'd paid extra for blood too, which meant everyone was doing live rounds and had a chance of death.
It was less stupid than it sounded for them. They were in top of the line previous generation mechs from a functional government. Lilly and her allies were in junk mechs. The power disparity alone was horrible, but the pilots on Lilly's side were all pretty horrible. She could tell that just based on how they moved to the rendezvous. Compared to trained mech pilots? This was dangerous for her opponents in name only. It was not an uncommon thing. More than one off-planet pilot had come here just to fight something living instead of in simulations.
Lilly let herself feel angry as she continued to march. She couldn't even have a good fight now! Think stupid, think. She had to think of something!
"Greetings Salutations fair warriors! I am Lord Selah of the Vesia Kingdom! You have agreed to be our opponents? I have heard that one of you is very talented!" The obviously rehearsed greeting over the open line reminded Lilly that she was out of time.
The young woman took a deep breath and put a grin on her face as she responded. "Yep. Name's Lilly! I'm here ta kick your ass!"
"Hah, you are welcome to try fair lady!" Selah responded with great cheer.
Despite already steeling herself, Lilly shuddered. He sounded noble. His mech even looked noble, with a long flowing cape, shield and sword, but everything about him made her feel ill. Literally she felt as if she was going to throw up.
Regardless, she had a job to do. First, order the chaff to begin. She had two rifle mechs and one swordman with her. They were functionally worthless. The swordman just knew how to swing his weapon without hurting himself and the rifleman could shoot in the vague direction of the enemy. Bottom of the barrel Biting Rats that were probably high on something to make the fact that they were walking to their doom easier.
Against the noble and his two guards it was like ordering a coughing baby to fight a grown adult. The riflemen actually had to move forward to get a better bead on the enemy for crying out loud! Lilly wanted to cry, especially because the noble obviously wanted to duel her. It was the worst possible condition for Ghoul to fight in, and was likely very intentional on Poppa's end.
Fortunately Poppa hadn't demanded she throw this fight so much as set her up for failure. He knew that ordering her to throw something was just asking for her to disobey. So Lilly threw everything she was thinking of out of her mind and then dialed up the power to max. Ghoul lurched forward into a sprint and she was slammed back into her thankfully more padded seat. (The techs were terrified of her too, but at least they knew how to add padding damnit.)
Three seconds. That's how long the power cells would last before she had to recharge them. They'd recharge quick, but that took about six seconds. Lilly cut off one second in and pivoted. Ghoul's legs screamed. She probably screamed too, but that was irrelevant.
The Nobel's guard had a moment to shift in surprise as she pivoted to him. Lancer configuration, and he'd been aiming at the swordman while building up speed, so he was slightly out of position. Credit to his training, he had two options to avoid damage. Give up hitting his charge on the original target and take a long detour as he bled off speed or shift to face her. He decided to shift and had his lance between as he skidded across the ground and bled momentum in a surprisingly skillful almost drift.
Power up again. Two point five seconds of power thanks to recharge. The angle of the lance didn't matter until the last second. Two leaping steps, zigging and zagging to prevent him from just firing his boosters and hitting her. Lilly rattled in the cockpit as Ghoul kicked off the ground and she felt them both grinning. The lance was there to intercept them as they approached and perfectly dead center on her reactor.
She dropped and twisted at the last second, almost hitting the ground. The hands dug into the dirt as they supported her briefly and almost cracked as she put some of the weight of her mech on them. This maneuver was typically impossible, but the frame could just barely handle it thanks to the sturdy construction and lack of other things in the hand. The near impossible maneuver put the weapon through her shoulder and the armor there rather than anything vital. The sharpened tip critically did not do damage to the joint or muscles as she continued forward. More importantly it got her close enough to bite at the lance.
The servos in the jaw screamed but held as the teeth skidded forward and past the handguard as she forced her mech to rise and push the Lancer off balance for a brief moment. One claws latched onto the plates nearby the pelvis and she put all her weight into the motion. Coolant sprayed across the hand as she practically eviscerated the mech.
Then she wrenched backwards, causing some of her mech's teeth to go flying along with the lance. The lancer mech tumbled to the ground as its systems bled to death and Lilly laughed wildly over the open channel. Part of her categorized the damage even as she turned to view the rest of the battle. One arm was not happy. The servo in the jaw was done, so the mouth couldn't close anymore. Shoulder was completely stripped of armor. She was out of boosted power for six seconds. Her claws were still sharp and the hands could still flex though, so she had options.
Tactically she was still in a horrible position. Selah was already close enough that she couldn't get the other guard. Engagement still did not favor her and the damage made things worse. He was not a bad pilot she could tell. A bit too boring, but not bad. That alone meant she was going to have a rough time, and with the rest of the battlefield as it was she was not going to win.
Her 'allies' were down to one already. The other guard had been a rifleman and she could guess how he compared to the junk mechs trying to fight him just based on how pristine he still looked. If the now downed swordman hadn't distracted him she would likely already be taking fire. Well, probably not, the noble seemed eager for a duel and would probably have warded his ally off.
Ghoul went still as Selah approached as Lilly tried to think of something. His approach was so slow that Lilly eventually just went through possible options on her mech, using the scanner, looking around the battlefield, even the body she'd left. The results didn't paint the best picture. The enemy mech was in good shape and well maintained. If he were confident and reckless she'd have an opening, but he was advancing slowly and methodically. The only obvious weak point was in the shoulder behind the shield. It wasn't an obvious flaw, but the arm was less mobile to let it brace better. Stupid, but usually not something that was exploitable. (People, and especially mech designers, didn't consider shields weapons and usually focused on making them far less mobile.)
Power cells were filled at least. No point in dithering anymore now. Lilly stopped evaluating and started approaching in a slow easy lope as she let the moment live. On instinct she aimed for the shielded side. One benefit to Ghoul's configuration was that she had endurance in spades if you ignored the cell part. She could theoretically fall back or simply pace around her opponent.
That'd be both boring and actively detrimental though. The simple sword and shield combo mech was likely designed custom for the noble. He could very likely feed targeting data to his allies and likely had one or two hidden weapons. Even if Lilly used him as a shield she'd still have to worry about the shots from the rifleman. Annoy the noble enough and he'd discard the duel and just using the sword and shield.
Instead Lilly did the most counterintuitive thing possible. She had Ghoul leap forward at full power directly at the shield. The completely unexpected action had the Selah respond on instinct. His shield rose up to intercept her and he braced, exactly how Lilly wanted.
Stiff and unresponsive, the Mech's shielded side was designed to block projectiles and quick strikes more than Ghoul's unusual configuration. It could not stop Lilly from grabbing it with her claws, and the sword was at an awkward angle. She couldn't rip the arm off without weakening it, but she could apply leverage. The mech's entire frame dipped and bucked as it fought against Ghoul's weight and Lilly grinned.
Then the knee gave out in an explosion, and Lilly went from using leverage to being propped up by the shield. Awkward angle or not, the sword could easily stab her then, and it hit her midsection with a crunch, cutting through the area and damaging some vital areas. Power readings blared red and Lilly felt a burning sensation in the stomach as the sympathetic pain hit.
"Ho fair lady! Your mech seems to have been sabotaged!" The noble got out with a audible shake in his voice. "My apologies for taking advantage of that, but your vigor left me no choice. I would request you yield now."
Lilly growled out before she opened the comm. "Fine, you got me." Ghoul could probably go for longer, but with one leg and no leverage she'd lost it here. She carefully disentangled herself and let the mech lower so that she could get out.
"Good! You have impressed me greatly, so much so that I'd like to offer to host you at my camp. I'm sure there are plenty of luxuries unfamiliar to you there and I'd delight in your company." The words were completely innocent on the surface.
The nausea came back and Lilly finally realized what Poppa had arranged. For a moment she contemplated something wild. Then reason reasserted itself and she powered down her mech. Playing pretend was an old hat at the moment. She was just growing tired of doing so.
"Did you have that low an opinion of my judgement poppa?" Lilly asked the empty air.
Really, had Bolt's work not been so good and her poppa's techs so bad she might have been almost convinced. It was a decent setup. Have her fight, get sabotaged and then rescued by a shining knight. If the man didn't make her skin crawl with his very presence she might have even gone along with it.
As it was now, she wanted a knife to stab something with.
Luker number 5
Versed in the lewd.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2014
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Soooo how many people does the it take to fly one of these off world ships? Just wondering cuz Bolts family may have an express ticket off world now with Lilly if they can get to the opposing side of the wars space.
Failing that, make like a rat and stowaway Bolt!
Failing that, make like a rat and stowaway Bolt!
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2020
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Honestly I agree. If someone talked like that I'd wanna stab someone to