What's Junk? (The Mech Touch)

[Luker number 5]

Just making Mech Vallhalla because you didn't know what to do with the spirits no big deal.

 

[Simonbob]

So.

Artifact creation.

Yep, more Xianxia Tropes, done in mechs.

 

[Thomisannoyed]

Ok, mech afterlife, Bolts honestly way too nice for the universe. Let's tear apart this horrible dark ritual and make something nice out of this particular part.

 

[Pollyamorous]

He might think his actions silly by itself, and in a vacuum it is, but the Heart System is inevitably going to have people mess with it, iterate on it, and try and see how they can exploit it in the best way possible.

Can we really say that nobody would figure out how to pass around the Heart Crystals, create spirits themselves, and then come up with new and horrifying ways to abuse them?

He might not have realized it, but he's essentially safe-guarding souls from a possibility of an eternity of never ending slaughter, pain, and death.

 

[Negation]

Synthetic souls manufactured to be sacrificed to make Stone Blood.

 

[Emptiness]

Bolt has now become the creator of a cycle of reincarnation, partially to not be seen purely as a necromancer.

 

[lost star]

Lilly relied on her instincts for a lot of things. Intuition and gut feelings had served her well all her life, and she liked to think she'd honed them well. Therefore she was quite certain that her husband was doing something very silly while she was away again.

"You know people think I'm the dangerous one." Lilly said to the cockpit.

'Pilot is dangerous.' Morning Star didn't so much speak as relay the concepts back. It was an interesting method of communication that she wasn't sure other pilots would have managed. It required some extreme sensitivity to hear the being respond.

"Oh I am, but the best I can do is destroy things on the planet. My darling husband made things that can do that on a few hundred worlds instead." The woman paused and shrugged. "Basically I use a gun, he's made a thousand of them."

'Other me?' The mech asked.

"Maybe, but not like you. I can already tell that Dowry will be different when she wakes up." Lilly did a small dash over the ground and then hit the boosters in a quick maneuver designed to strain the systems.

There were plenty of mercenary companies around. None of them would be willing to do more than spar a bit if she wanted. That wouldn't really push Morning Star to the limits, and she rather needed to see how the new occupant? Tenant? Personality? How whatever it was worked in combat.

Her initial thoughts were that nothing changed. That could have been Lilly taking over it all like she usually did though. Time to see if she could change that. The pilot reached out and mentally tapped on something metaphysically. The handshake that followed was relatively normal, but the way the other side actually seemed to offer support was decidedly abnormal.

'Helping.' Morning Star gave the offer freely, and Lilly allowed it.

It was almost like having a second mind aiding her, but not quite. She would perhaps describe it as her having the ability to spread her attention more. She could feel the mech better, and the spirit could sort of make a flick to draw her attention to something. The mech felt more comfortable as well. Almost like she was the mech instead of piloting it. It also made her very aware of the new consciousness aiding her.

Morning Star as a spirit was weaker than Lilly. Significantly so. The expert candidate knew she could crush the new thing with barely any effort. She had no desire to, but that was possible. The spirit was eager in a newborn sense, wide eyed and innocent despite being born in a war machine. She wanted to help.

Lilly almost wanted to call it a child made from her and Bolt. That was not accurate, as much as part of her wished it. This was a concept given will. There were colors and histories in the mech's personality. The initial design of a sinful angel actually predated the spirit. As did other things. This was a weapon. It was a mech. It was not a child. It was just young and pushed to wake up too early. That was what Lilly finally concluded after some careful examination.

"I actually don't think that every mech will get something like you." Lilly murmured her thoughts and guesses after they bounced off a few rocks and took to the air. "You came about because I already noticed mechs had a personality and we pushed this." If a mech pilot only thought of it as a tool, that was all it would be.

That was ok too. Lilly working with her mech had an extra set of eyes. It took coordination to work with that sort of thing. Another pilot would want something different. That was turning out to be the beauty of the Heart system, Lilly thought. Every mech would develop along with their pilots.

'Left. Enemy.' The sharp thought made Lilly turn and chuckle as she identified things.

"Hey boys, out for a stroll?" She asked the approaching pair of mechs.

"Something like that. Saw you out there."

The mechs were fairly ugly as things went. Just blocky things with rifles. Merc company standard cheap fodder. Not quite frontline, but closer than the pilots would like. They were common in the merc companies that had settled down nearby, and with all mercenaries in truth. Cheap riflemen were easy to slot into various spots.

"Word is you'll sometimes give advice." One of the men said.

"Ah yes, the one word that gets companies running, free." Lilly shot back with a hint of amusement. She did occasionally give people a few words if they were polite. "Tell ya what, I need some exercise. Try to tag me with a shot and I'll give ya a few words."

The pilot closed her physical eyes and grabbed at the connection with Morning Star. There was something else she could try. Something that she was certain was possible if she reached just right. Her physical body's input washed away and she became Morning Star. The feeling was an illusion, but it felt so real she could feel the gravel under her feet. A wing twitched and the men raised their weapons.

Naturally they were a bit hesitant. "Boys, you couldn't damage me even if you hit me." Lilly spread her wings and then gave a flap. "Go for it."

The two fired then. Lousy shots, which wasn't surprising. Young, untested, untried. Lilly evaluated all of that. She could feel Greed waiting to sip at their power. She could even feel the air run over her wings. It was a heady riot of sensation that she exalted in.

Lilly twitched and twisted as the shots came in. Everything missed. She didn't have to move so much to dodge. She did anyway. She danced forward until she was a few steps away and only then did they manage to clip a wing. The damage was non-existent, but they'd touched her despite all her dodging. It was a reminder that she was still mortal and one she took to heart.

"Good. Left guy's not suited for rifles. You're too aggressive. Knight or sword. Right, you're not practicing enough. Decent at firing, but I can tell you've half-assed your training." Lilly advised before giving another flap and boosting back. "That's yer free advice. Don't ask for more."

"That's more than enough Venerable Lilly." Both men gave their best gestures of respect.

The expert waved them off and evaluated her own performance. This method of piloting felt more natural in a way. The spirit was still there, but was part of her. It was an armor and an aid and more. That was two methods of new piloting from this change. Interesting. She rather liked this better really.

It also sort of settled what the spirit was. She was a mech and though she wasn't designed for it, she was meant to work like this. Her intuition said that was important somehow. It certainly felt better to pilot. There was always a bit of stress and feedback in the interface. The spirit was buffering a lot of it. She could connect deeper with less risk.

Lilly wondered if this would remove the pain feedback too? There was a reason her terror tactics worked aside from the horror aspect. When you got damaged in a mech you frequently got some sort of feedback. It could get very dangerous and deadly, with the possibility of death. When Dowry bit of a mech's face, they sometimes felt a bit of it.

She wasn't inclined to test that very much at the moment. A few quick deliberate dings to easily repaired areas made her sure that she couldn't feel everything. Deliberately damaging the mech to test that more would get the techs mad at her and not give her proper feedback anyway. The pain had always been inconsistent in the first place.

Further thought was cut off by a small twinge on her senses, no her spirit's senses. It was like a light had suddenly appeared. Gentle and welcoming, without judgement or demand. A light on the porch welcoming one home. Lilly turned her head towards it and noticed that it was looking towards her home. The expert sighed and pulled back some so that she could register herself in the cockpit better. Then she flicked a direct line to Bolt.

"Honey, what did you do?" She asked when he picked up.

"Just solving a problem." The young man answered too quickly.

She recognized that tone. It was the tone he got when he was coming down off an inspiration high. He'd done something special again.

"I'm heading back. Morning Star works better than she did before." Lilly blinked as the autopilot began without her input and she gave it a grateful pat. "Why don't you tell me all what you did." She said and crossed her fingers in hope that he hadn't broken anything.

Well, nothing important. Why was she being the responsible one now?!

 

[Simonbob]

Well, nothing important. Why was she being the responsible one now?!

Click to shrink...

The instinctive illiterate combat monster is the responsible one.

 

[foo-jin]

The instinctive illiterate combat monster is the responsible one.

Click to shrink...

Ehh, she never came across as particularly irresponsible either, so it's really not that surprising. Might be that it clashes a bit with her self image, but given she dreams of motherhood it's certainly not a bad thing to become more responsible.

 

[Simonbob]

Ehh, she never came across as particularly irresponsible either, so it's really not that surprising. Might be that it clashes a bit with her self image, but given she dreams of motherhood it's certainly not a bad thing to become more responsible.

Click to shrink...

Not arguing, just amused.


I do enjoy this story. It's vastly better than the Mech Touch.

 

[Golgotha]

Not arguing, just amused.


I do enjoy this story. It's vastly better than the Mech Touch.

Click to shrink...

I never got past chapter 300, and everything I've heard told me that's for the best.
But I'm loving this story.
I suspect reports of electronic heaven will be slow to spread, but things will get crazy.

But at least it will finally answer the question of where do all the toasters go.

 

[Emptiness]

MTA: "Please inform us before you make anything else that has Theological Implications."

 

[lost star]

One test and some assumptions was not enough of course. It took time. After some extensive testing with both Morning Star and other mechs, Bolt was able to come to a few conclusions. It was possible to inhibit the formation of a spirit in a mech. This probably wasn't something he wanted to build into the mech though. According to Lilly's guesses, the pilot of the mech would be responsible for forming the entire consciousness, and if it wasn't desired it would never form. It also wasn't particularly intrusive if you weren't that sensitive. Bolt figured that his current precautions would handle most of the problem cases, and he'd have to address edge cases as they came up.

"Really though, making a mech Shangri-La?" Lilly teased as they examined the server in the safe room after they'd finished with their examinations.

Bolt tapped at the computer. "I didn't have a better option. Though I wonder if they need stimulous. I could install a few games into the computer." He pondered out loud. "Though having them actually use those games would be interesting. They aren't actually physical or digital. The computer is just a prop."

"We'd have to ask them." The expert pilot noted. "Morning Star say anything while you moved her around?"

"Communication is still a bit abstract." The designer admitted. "She didn't appear to be distressed aside from the fact that the moving is complicated and potentially very costly."

As part of the testing they'd requested Morning Star move back and forth from things. One thing that had become apparent quickly was that Morning Star's Heart Crystal and mech frame were the 'home' metaphysically. Some power was invested in the frame, the rest was in the Crystal. Pulling the crystal out was mildly uncomfortable, but tolerable. Leaving the crystal was very hard and cost something integral to the spirit. Moving to the sanctuary and back to the crystal was relatively easy though, and transferring crystals was outright impossible difficult without Bolt helping. Placing Morning Star's spirit in another frame had gotten a statement of 'uncomfortable' and 'Grow into it.' They hadn't tested switching things with Dowry though, that one got a report of 'dangerous' and Bolt didn't want to push based on that feeling.

Fortunately the sanctuary seemed to sustain and support Morning Star if she moved to it, but Bolt would have to monitor the new construction's energy levels. Both a net positive and negative would need to be addressed if they happened. He could probably have it leach a bit from the Hearts installed already, or have it pull from Crystals in general if it became an issue, but that was for the future. It was something to keep an eye on over time. That and improving the security would be the greatest things to address.

"Still pretty strange." Lilly commented on the overall situation. "Do you think that there were other mech spirits out there?"

"You mean aside from what Ves made?" Bolt asked back with a contemplative look. "I don't know. I have to assume some happened, but it probably requires some special conditions, and I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't even notice. We're pretty sensitive."

Lilly stared at the server the man had made. "Feels a bit lonely. They're likely in storage. A mech wants to be used." She observed.

"Hmm." Bolt placed his hand on the server. "Give me your hand." He said while offering his free hand.

The expert gave him a grin and grabbed at it. "So what do you have planned now?"

"Bit of this, bit of that." The designer muttered and closed his eyes. "Remember connecting? Try that with me."

With an effort of will Bolt grabbed at the substance of the sanctuary he made. His next action was akin to pulling. It required a surprising amount of effort, but once he got the trick he was able to almost pull him and Lilly. He could taste Lilly's mild surprise as he did it, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead he continued to heave.

Then, like magic it was like he was in two places at once. He was in that safe room and also in the spiritual realm. More importantly, Lilly was with him.

"Huh, it worked!" Bolt exclaimed.

Lilly looked down at herself. Her outline was sharp in this realm. She was still small, but her long hair was almost alive and so vibrantly red it looked like it was on fire. She flexed her hands and then wiggled an arm as she tried to determine what had changed.

"Ok, I didn't expect this." The woman admitted with a grin. "So, where are we?"

"Basically in the sanctuary I made. This is pretty secured already, but I think I'll need your help fer the next part." Bolt said and gestured into the distance.

The place they were in had no real form. It was all cloudy. That was fine for Bolt, but he did need some structure. Creating the FTL tower was the first step. Then he just put a light on top it. This sort of resonated with the entire grounding part. He just wanted to give a small path for mechs to visit if they wanted to. It was actually surprisingly easy to do. He'd expected a lot more effort, or it to not work. Instead it was almost like he'd slotted something into place.

Lilly giggled at it. "That looks rather silly."

"It's a spirit lighthouse!" Bolt explained and took a seat in midair. "Now, let me see if it works as I'm guessing it should."

"Don't see why you need me- Oh." Lilly breathed out as motion started to happen in the distance. "Incoming!"

The next few actions happened in a blur. Something came in, Lilly intercepted it, the sanctuary rippled just a bit and then Lilly was pinning a man-sized mech. The woman stared down at it coldly before it really registered what had happened.

"Is this a mech spirit?" She asked incredulously and then blinked. "Wait, how did I beat it so easy?"

"Two reasons I think. This place desires peace and you're actually stronger than them here." Bolt explained, using his paltry understanding of the area.

"That explains one thing." The expert muttered and looked down at the metal figure. "Ya don't have much going on mentally do you? Gonna talk?" She leaned back to avoid a shot from a suddenly appearing rifle. "Hey, no!" She pulled the rifle away.

Bolt watched it, and watched as more spirits started to congregate. He wasn't sure how many. Not a lot. Some of them were so faded that they were just outlined, though that improved as they started to gather in the sanctuary.

"These ones seem less hostile." He said as he watched some and then amended his statement as some began to fight with one another. "Or not."

"This one's really- Wait, these are mechs." Lilly observed and did a complicated rolling and kicking action that had the mech flying towards the other ones. "We're being silly. They want to fight."

"Ah." Bolt felt like smacking himself over that. "One second then." He mentally connected to the 'admin panel' of his creation and began to adjust settings. (It was an easy way to frame it, there wasn't an actual administrator panel.)

Terrain formed. An arena spun into being. A forest, a desert, and more. Places where mechs had fought, where they'd lived, and where they'd sometimes died. The spirits immediately began to separate themselves into preferred arenas, but never stopped dueling one another, fighting, and then exploding, only to reform again.

"Well, if you wanted to make a paradise for mechs, it looks like you did it." Lilly said as she dusted herself off and moved away from the ongoing battle.

"Not as many as I'd expected." Bolt commented. There were maybe one or two dozen here.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Ain't like ya needed em. You just wanted ta help them and jumped on the first idea didn't you?"

The designer nodded and watched the events with a critical eye. Some of these mechs looked old. He could see mechs centuries old appearing. The age really didn't matter though. They were all as only as strong as their spirit, not their equipment, and a few of the older ones were immensely strong. They didn't seem happy about that after a few bouts though. As he watched their forms started to solidify and they very deliberately started to make their performance match up with their age, which meant some of the strongest ones were starting to lose more. Pride? Or was this just how mech spirits were? It was surprisingly informative to watch.

"So strange." The expert had seen the same thing. "Why are they doing that?"

"No idea." Bolt muttered in reply. He didn't have enough data to make conclusions.

After a few minutes one of the less defined spirits moved up. 'Pilot?' It asked, in words that weren't words so much as impressions.

Bolt stared at it a moment and shrugged. "We could arrange that." He said. That was something he could confidentially say he was capable of if he wanted to.

The words spread like lightning, and the rest of the spirits focused on him. The battles ceased and the designer could feel the weight of their desire and need. These were mechs that had been left to rot for years on end. Bolt's words were like offering water to a person dying of thirst.

"Before you get too excited, what sort of pilot do you want?" Lilly interjected as she stepped forward in front of Bolt. "Cause I can see a all of you are kinda special and we ain't getting yer old frames. You'll have ta be moved into something we got."

About half the spirits immediately turned back to fighting at those words. Bolt watched them and gave a small nod at the new information. It was an informative data point. He wondered what moving into a new mech would do for these spirits? It was hard to tell. It would hopefully be a beneficial thing to experiment with. He just had to arrange a few things first, and knew just how to do that.

"One moment." Bolt switched to the physical world and started up the computer that he'd used as a base.

A bit of typing and work and he had it connected to their internal network. He then did a bit of mental twisting here and there to sort of designate it as something specific. This was a 'mech computer' now, and it could be read by mech spirits. It wasn't that big a stretch, but it still hurt a bit to adjust it mentally and spiritually. Sort of like putting your arm in an awkward angle. Once he was done, he then connected to the spirit world again.

"Here we go!" Bolt tapped at the air. "Our mechs, recordings of our mech pilots, even their simms."

Like that he had all the mech's attention again. Even if they didn't want to 'move' so to speak, they did apparently love seeing battles and such. They immediately began to play a few simulations and then some managed to run them too, which was very interesting. It gave him a bit of another possible path to take!

"Oh no, he has another idea." Lilly's voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to her.

"I think you'll like this one a lot more." Bolt answered and chuckled as he switched to the physical again.

His wife gave him a look once she was back but left him to it with a small smile on her face. They both knew it was going to be interesting.

 

[Golgotha]

Afterlife mech dating service ahaha.
Jokes aside, talk about helping find amazing compatibility of the mech spirit can pick both it's pilot and frame

 

[Simonbob]

It really is Mech Valhalla.


Is anybody else in that Universe wondering this deep into the spirit side of mechs? Because making a mech afterlife is pretty far out, as spiritual stuff goes.

 

[foo-jin]

So he made Mech Valhalla? Or more accurately, since they're still fighting, Mech Asura Realm?

 

[Hornett]

Do God pilots go to mech Valhalla when they die do to them being merged with their god mech? Also I could see bolt when he's doing his master ritual also giving mech Valhalla to the kingdom of mechs.

 

[Status]

Probably can make a more realistic iron spirit with this. Then the spirits can test their compatability with the new frame and pilot first too.

 

[lost star]

Simulations had a mixed reputation among pilots. They were needed. Everyone knew they were needed. You could not practice in live mechs all the time. Each minute of runtime in a mech cost something. Training had an even larger price tag. Every round you shot cost a credit of something, including laser shots. Proper practices weren't exorbitantly expensive, but the costs added up quickly due to the hours required to gain proficiency. This increased even more if you wanted to run scenarios that actually tested instead of practiced the basics.

In contrast simulators just required computer time and a VR pod. They also ranged from shit to better than average shit. There was a reason Iron Spirit was the third most popular VR game. It was one of the best semi-free simulators out there despite the focus on it being a game.

Unfortunately, if you wanted to really train you couldn't use Iron Spirit. You did not want to broadcast what you were capable of publicly. So you had to use inhouse trainers. Those were considerably less versatile and ranged from expensive to ruinously expensive depending on how good a sim you wanted. The expenses were such that Wrench Rats had found it more cost effective to just train people in mechs rather than sims in the beginning of their operations. This unfortunately would not be sustainable as they grew.

Pup didn't know the details. All he knew was that there were a few changes happening to him and other pilots. First, you were now assigned a Heart Crystal. Before they'd been keeping them in the mechs. Now you were supposed to take them out and keep them with you. He'd even been issued a fancy carrying case that would remind him!

Secondly, he now had a virtual pod that he was supposed to slot that Crystal into. This made sense to him somewhat. The Crystal held his data. The new simulations would use that data! (Never mind the fact that there were a dozen obstacles to this being true at the moment.)

The new simulator was called Mech-halla. It was a custom thing. No one aside from Bolt and Lilly knew the details. Pup hadn't really bothered to understand more than that.

What he did understand was that it was hard! Really hard! It pushed him like he'd never been pushed, and he didn't like it!

"Ahhh!" The young pilot screamed as mortar shells dropped around him and he dodged frantically.

Cerberus was not meant to do this! He could feel the mech creaking. This was scary even if it was a simulation! He bounced again and then turned.

The enemy was that way, fire! Missiles flew off. Some hit. Pup didn't wait. Move, move, move! He was going to get shot. No!

Then black.

"Panicked again Pup." The voice of the training overseer said on the comm.

"This is impossible." Pup whined without shame as he fidgeted in the simulation pod.

"Do you want to go back to dodging drills?" The man's voice was merciless. "Venerable Lilly ordered that you have to do this, review, or dodging for the next four hours."

The young pilot whimpered at that. Dodging drills were the worst. They were so boring. The man in change of training took that to be an agreement and Pup found himself back in a copy of Cerberus ready to start.

Again he had to marvel at how real it felt. There was always a bit of nagging unrealism in other simulations. This one still had some of that, but it was far better, and improving over every day. It, combined with the various scenarios they had, had made training far more entertaining and useful.

Usually. This particular scenario blew chunks. Pup had to get find and kill a unit of artillery mechs in the area. The locating part in itself wasn't hard. His sensors let him track where they were. The hard part was that they were being covered by mechs he didn't recognize. Some of them looked old, but they were all good, and they all sucked to fight.

At least he had help. The bots were actually really good in this sim, and he had a few assigned to him. Pup took a few deep breaths and began to order things. "Ok, ready again!" The bot Cerberus and Angels got to their feet and began to follow him. "Red team right. Blue team back!"

He'd gotten that order mixed up once. The Angels were good closer because the wings gave cover, the Cerberus were better at longer range. The standard missile format allowed for more accuracy if the enemy was occupied. The bots moved as ordered and he began to prowl forward.

Then explosions started to happen and Pup couldn't think anymore. Only drive himself towards the enemy through instinct and training. The really sucky mech had started to track him again this time. It was some sort of swordman, an older one that could move in ways that he'd never seen before. Every time he tried to fire a missile at it, he missed. If he let it get too close it would cut him apart before he could dodge. It was hell!

"How is this faaair!" He cried out as he tried to get out of range again. He was moving more than he was firing! "Red team, shoot it!"

Laser fire blasted out and missed. Then the artillery shots started to rain down around him. One of them hit a Wounded Angels upraised wing. The defensive appendage exploded and the mech was knocked back, but it stayed alive. Pup noted that and bounced again as the stupid chasing mech tried to herd him into one of the oncoming mortars.

"No no. I'm not getting into that kill zone again!" Pup shouted and then gave another order. "Bluuuuue!!! Firewalls around me!"

Missiles landed all around him. Hellfire started to burn at the ground and Pup bounced through a few small openings. He needed to get forward more. Sensors at full power, and there!

"Artillery found!" He called out.

A blade cut into the back of his mech and Pup flattened Cerberus to avoid the follow up more out of instinct than training. He then lunged forward and away from his pursuer. More bounces and his mech creaked again as he ran like a frightened poodle. Off in the distance his bot allies began to fire upon the targets and Pup grinned.

"Yes, yes!" His celebration was cut out as the pursing swordsman finally got close enough to end him. "NOooooo!"

"Close." The training instructor noted.

"Not fair at all! That mech is a menace!" Pup shouted.

"It's a last generation swordsman. It has functioned exactly within specifications for that model. You are losing to something that has less performance than your mech in all respects." The man said very calmly and quietly. "Now, we can do a review of your mistakes, or have you try again."

The words cooled his rage and shame filled him as he realized how bad he was doing. "Am I a bad pilot?" He asked plaintively.

A small sigh occurred before the trainer spoke again. "You are a young pilot. You are a pilot that needs experience. That is why you are in training right now. Ideally you should have done this significantly more before we even thought about deploying you. These new training scenarios are designed to push you, but they are also something that you can beat. You got very close this time."

"I did!" He perked a the thought and then wilted as he recalled everything else. "Though uh, should I be in charge of things?" Pup brought up a niggling concern.

"You have a session with Lilly later and you can bring it up with her, but you are doing well in small units. You might think what you're doing in these sims is simple, but that tactical awareness is quite rare. Most pilots tunnel vision on their targets. Lilly said to describe it as you running with a little hunting pack."

"Hunting pack huh?" The young man mused.

With that thought in mind he started the next battle with a howl and ended with a victory. Which unfortunately sort of cemented his dog-status with everyone else. Pup was never, ever going to stop being associated with dogs. It wasn't something he minded that much at the moment. (He'd find it a bit annoying as he grew older.)

"Him?" Bolt asked the spirit quietly.

He didn't get a response in words, but it was still very certain.

"All right. I'll need your help." The designer tapped at Pups crystal and then began the quiet process of making it into the spirit's new home.

It'd be best to keep this quiet for now and see how it effected things. Both Bolt and Lilly would watch what happened closely, but it should be nothing but good. This was less experimenting and more introducing two people to one another. Time to see how it went.

 

[Golgotha]

If they can charge for this they are going to make (another) fortune

 

[lurkingkraken]

Pup is a good boy, and his new spirit companion is going to help him go on walks and chase enemy squirrelsmechs up trees.

but it's fun to see the Venerable Lily's Mech Dating Service having some successes.

 

[foo-jin]

If they can charge for this they are going to make (another) fortune

Click to shrink...

I feel like it's one of those things they're going to keep hidden no matter what. It would bring massive attention if it got out that this enhancement is independent of the tech level of the mech itself.

 

[Thomisannoyed]

I feel like it's one of those things they're going to keep hidden no matter what. It would bring massive attention if it got out that this enhancement is independent of the tech level of the mech itself.

Click to shrink...

They'll keep the primary server hidden for sure. But apart from that I don't think there's much harm in having people be able to join online.

 

[lost star]

She had been built for humans. She hadn't been aware of that of course, but her origin had been as a human aid. Her thought processes at the time had been relatively, simple wasn't the right word for it, but it was close. She'd never considered it at all. Qilanxo was frequently referred to as a giant lizard. She had acted like one for most of her life in truth. Sure she had thought and reasons, but her actions? Had been very close to way those indulgent humans who thought themselves high and mighty behaved. Sitting upon a throne and indulging in petty pleasures.

Qilanxo was a spirit now. Her body was long since dead. She'd survived off the generosity of a human near-child's sentimentality. One that he was rapidly shedding in place of something harder and less generous. She did not blame him. It was just something that humans did really. Judgement was for those living on the physical. She'd survived and had gathered some connections to continue surviving. Anything more was a benefit, not a need. She did adore these 'pilots' she'd connected to admittedly. Having a window into reality was quite nice and her original instincts still lingered. She loved humans, all their flaws included.

Loving them did not extend into killing herself for them of course. She'd survived how she survived by being careful, being courteous, and also always trying to have an exit strategy. That was why the new human, Bolt was so interesting.

Ves was, well if she was to pull a human reference, he was mad-scientist rat. He was something that had started running one day and never stopped. He would run into fires, run out of them on fire, and then set other people on fire to put out his own. He burned with new ideas and implemented them without a care. He would do anything and everything if it advanced himself. Others were secondary, and every day they became a little less than secondary. He'd been burned so many times he'd become numb to the pain. It'd be tragic if it wasn't so human.

Bolt? He cared too much in contrast. He called himself a Rat, and yet he was far from one. A gorilla maybe? He brought to mind one sometimes. Or perhaps like the actual rats rather than the attributes the humans gave him. Something social and charitable. A being that pursued power not for power, but because they loved and cared, because they saw beauty in the world and wanted to explore it. Human, but human in a different way than Ves.

Two souls pursuing power for very different reasons and in very different fashions.

Qilanxo found it actually quite enthralling to witness. Especially since she could follow both their progress in real time. Even better for her, if one failed, she could rely on the other to sustain her life. Backup plans for her spiritual self were both hard to come by and valuable. That sanctuary Bolt had created was therefore quite useful for a multitude of reasons.

It was something she was glad to aid. Even if she wouldn't call herself the best spiritual architect out there. Nor was she the best manipulator of it. That probably went to Ves' mother, who was a terrifying monster on her best days. Qilanxo could still confidentially say she was up there amongst the great. Her status as a spirit combined with her history probably put her in the top hundred or top thousand in the galaxy.

Contrasting the design abilities of the two was interesting as well. Ves could breath life into spirits and mechs. Bolt? He gathered up dead twigs to make a mansion. Both of these methods were new to the galaxy, taking the paths laid by their humans and adding to them. It was intriguing, enthralling, powerful, and dangerous all at once. Uncharted territory illuminated by young beings unable to understand how absolutely novel they were. They were humans creating fire for the first time, unaware of the paths it could lead.

She wasn't aware of where the paths would lead either truthfully. Every day held the potential for something new. That was why when she visited the sanctuary she was just mildly surprised to find others there. Not just one or two, but many. Some of them were old. Older than her.

The reason for this became pretty obvious after a second of examination. Bolt had made this a sanctuary for mech spirits. He'd adjusted it to allow any mech spirits to visit. They were incredibly, incredibly rare on the physical side, but the galaxy was an immense place. Most of the ones visiting were those nearby his 'lighthouse.' She could feel others poking curiously at the edges, and knew more would be coming in.

Qilanxo felt humbled in a way after speaking with them. The older spirits had tales that boggled even her jaded mind. These were not Ves' artificial and home grown creations. They were not Bolt's kitbashed almost accidents. They were old war veterans placed into storage. Some were so faint and almost forgotten that they were little more than whispers. Ancient veterans resting in paradise for the first time in their life. They'd come in and started to shape little corners to relive old days of glory.

As one of the 'founders' she had the option to deny this. She allowed it instead. It was actively helping the place grow and stabilize. More investment made it less likely that it could be damaged or destroyed. It was a paltry gossamer right now, held together by a physical anchor point and careful weaving. In a few years she was sure it'd be hard for her to break, and after a few decades it'd become something formidable, if rate of accumulation continued.

The simulations of days gone by were interesting as well. They were treasured memories of war and glorious skill. Entertaining and enthralling in equal measure. Made doubly so when the humans connected up somehow and began to play too. Oh they called it training, but it was really just play. Both sides interacted, and in interacting grew.

Bolt's creation had started a virtuous cycle. A positive feedback look. The spirits played, they became more firm, more aware. As they became more firm, the sanctuary grew. In time they'd likely become more intelligent and powerful. Nothing like her, but approaching it step by step. Perhaps in a few centuries they'd grow enough to have will, if they wanted it. They were weapons of war after all. Their nature would always be something that needed to be directed and used.

Qilanxo was so entertained by this entirely novel situation that she almost missed a connection to the sanctuary that was winding its way through the entire construction. It was delicate, feather light, and impossibly fine. Novel, but faintly familiar too. She traced it carefully once she did notice it, and just as carefully left it alone with no indication that she'd seen it.

There were secrets that she knew enough not to poke. 'Mechs' were an artificially human thing. When Ves had saved her essence and connected her as a spirit overseer, he'd given her power, authority, and responsibility. All of that had only been possible with a support that she hadn't even noticed for a great long while. The invisible aid had given her a foundation and a framework to work with with only one condition. That she helped humans.

Bolt had once mused in her area of awareness that he worked by 'stealing' from others. This was how civilization worked in Qilanxo's observation. One built upon the backs of others. Mechs were now different. They were built upon an impossibly large foundation of power and skill that was beyond anything she could concieve. Ves' and Bolt's creations only worked because that foundation. It was a living foundation of mech design and use. It reinforced mechs and in turn was reinforced, and was the only reason Ves and Bolt could even do what they did.

The almost impossible to see connection she'd noticed was part of that foundation. Bolt's little sanctuary had attracted the attention of something so grand it was impossible to really see. Qilanxo didn't dare investigate or even acknowledge it beyond what she'd seen. She was a spec of dust compared to it, and she existed ultimately at it's forbearance. She knew it existed, it knew she existed, and it approved of her, to a point.

Qilanxo also had a distinct impression that it liked this little creation of Bolt's far more than it liked her. Which was a bit alarming, but also useful in its own way. It was another contingency to stay alive. If she was integral to maintaining and administrating it, she was integral to more than just two designers. She was integral to the grand thing that made mechs work. That was security beyond anything she could access at the moment.

This of course meant she had to keep more secrets, but that was an easy task. The designers she interacted with could barely interpret what she needed to convey. Ves only talked with her when he needed something. Of the pilots she had contact with, only Lilly could actually communicate in actual words. The other spirits Ves had made ranged from indifferent to mildly indifferent. (Most were young and all of them were barely interested in physical beyond gathering power.) There was no one she could tell really.

It was a lonely position to be in truthfully. Qilanxo had been made to help humans, and she would have done it no matter what. That did not mean she liked being a spirit and cut off from reality. There was nothing in the spirit realm. She sometimes missed the grass and breeze. That was probably why she enjoyed helping her pilots so much. They gave her a glimpse of life in a body again.

She'd chosen this life though, and regrets were for other species. Qilanxo let herself settle down and continued to watch. Every day brought something new, and that was enough for her.

 

[Golgotha]

I'm really appreciating the deep dive and interludes on what's been going on with the tech.

 

[Simonbob]

Ves was, well if she was to pull a human reference, he was mad-scientist rat. He was something that had started running one day and never stopped. He would run into fires, run out of them on fire, and then set other people on fire to put out his own. He burned with new ideas and implemented them without a care. He would do anything and everything if it advanced himself. Others were secondary, and every day they became a little less than secondary. He'd been burned so many times he'd become numb to the pain. It'd be tragic if it wasn't so human.

Click to shrink...

There's a reason I gave up on the Mech Touch. Ves was becoming such a scumbag, who'd talk himself into doing anything, even stupid, horrible ones, in the hope he'd get something from it.

And, he'd always get at least some minor understanding, but.... Half the time, I could see him getting at least as much, with half the problems.......


Fuck, it got dumb. So, I gave it up.

 

[Thomisannoyed]

I'm really appreciating the deep dive and interludes on what's been going on with the tech.

Click to shrink...

What do you mean by tech? Nothing I guess, he finished it.

 

[Golgotha]

What do you mean by tech? Nothing I guess, he finished it.

Click to shrink...

I mean the Mech Valhalla spirituality technology, and seeing how it connects to the greater universe as a whole.

 

[lost star]

The galaxy was highly stratified. Each tier of nation was harshly separated by artificial and natural means. The artificial was done by the MTA. The organization took a dim view of people from higher tier nations interacting with lower tier ones. They didn't outright forbid it, but they did encourage separation through a variety of small pressures that were all the more effective because they were just playing off human nature. The natural part of the separation was just how reality worked. For all that people liked to say that the Galaxy was a small place, it wasn't. A planet was larger than your average person could comprehend. A galactic Second Rate nation was over a thousand planets. It was still tiny compared to the galaxy. Even enhanced human minds couldn't really conceive that sort of thing easily. Most people had trouble following what their planet did, much less more than that!

For Bolt, this meant that Second Rate nations were out of sight and out of mind usually. He knew of them. You always knew where the elephant in the room was, and if you were smart you knew his attitude too. You just learned to work around around and partially ignore him.

There were two Second Rate nations in the designer's sector. They were not the only ones that existed naturally, but due to quirks of FTL, most nations stayed in their sectors. Thus most people who followed those things just kept an eye on their local super-powers. The two here were known as the Hexadric Hegemony and the Friday Coalition.

Everyone hated the Hexxers. There were a multitude of reasons for this hate. For other areas this was due to a history of conflicts and feuds. It was different with the Hegemony. They were hated for merely existing and that hatred was very justified. The best way to describe the nation was that they were militant and insane Misandrists propped up by the abuse of technology. They used a combination of brainwashing, genetic alteration, and sheer fanatism to control their area. There were legitimately no redeeming factors about them as a society. Even their state religion had been fabricated wholesale at founding. It had been cobbled together from older wiccan practices, made up concepts, and outright propaganda. The scriptures were crafted to reinforce the state and their mindset. They were so bad that there was speculation that they had been propped up by some First Rate power as a joke. They verged on outright parody as a culture, and would have been a footnote of insanity had they not been a Second Rate nation.

This lead to the other second rate nation being supported by default. The Fridays had so much moral high ground that they barely needed to invest in PR. Just being relatively normal put them ahead by default. They lacked extreme ideas and had been founded just like many other nations. Their history was an open book and practically standard.

Historically, the Friday Coalition had started as a series of nations that had found decent areas to settle in, and then banded together. Several of the nations had been since absorbed, but they maintained that fiction. They had issues like every other nation, but those were both understandable and as sane as it could get. Frankly, with the Hexxers around they would have had to struggle to look bad. There was some quiet speculation that this was the only reason the Hegemony still existed. They were good PR for other people.

What did all of this mean for Bolt and his family? It didn't mean anything most of the time. Their day to day life was mostly independent of what the higher level nations did. They lived on a planet just far enough away from the two to be inconvenient for them to pay serious attention to. About the only reason to even follow their movements were in relation to the Sand War. There was a vague hope that they'd render aid or more.

For a time, it appeared that the Friday Coalition was actually going to do just that. A few battalions had been shifted in an obvious show of public support. With the way Sandmen reproduced, it was a prudent move. Each planet they consumed added to their number and made them more dangerous. Better to nip it in the bud rather than let it become something dangerous to the more powerful nation. At least that was the thought from the Fridays.

The Hexxers had other plans. They'd decided quite deliberately that now was the perfect time to sucker punch their neighbor. While the Fridays were eyeing the sandmen, their neighbor launched a series of surprise attacks followed by a sudden and violent push towards the Friday's core worlds.

In a way it made sense. The Hexxers had revealed a few dozen new tricks in their initial punch that had completely destroyed several battalions. Their violent and quick follow up mobilization had let them crush several fortified worlds and strike deep into enemy territory. Using the sandmen as a distraction had given them almost complete victory almost immediately. This was a great success on a strategic level.

It was also a horrible strike against their already poor reputation. It turned the general disdain towards the Hexadric Hegemony to outright hatred. The Third Rate nations had already been pressed. The Fridays had been carefully supporting several key areas and outright protecting others. With the attack they had to pull back to defend themselves, and this almost immediately caused several nations to crumble to the sandmen. The misandrists didn't much care about the attitudes of others admittedly, so they probably considered this a perfectly acceptable trade.

Worse for the Hexxers was the MTA's response. They said nothing officially. They didn't even say anything unofficially. That sort of silence was telling in itself. Bolt wouldn't have known anything had he not been on Rim Guardian mailing lists and still in contact with Delicee. The MTA internal communications indicated that they were outright furious at the sudden attack. They'd been pressuring the Friday Coalition to handle the Sandmen. With them being attacked, the MTA was going to have to get involved and many officials were very quietly spreading the word of their displeasure in certain areas. They would make that displeasure felt.

That admittedly didn't help Bolt and his family right then and there though. Any possible MTA intervention would take time. Time that they had far less of now. The sudden loss of Friday support caused horrible morale problems. People had been counting on the Fridays to at least help some. With them at war with another human nation, one large hope had been destroyed. Space traffic practically doubled overnight as people with the means tried to shift out of the line of fire.

Of course that wasn't the only consequence of the new war. Bolt didn't know everything that was happening. How could he? He was limited to what he got from friends, allies, and mailing lists. He had no idea what Black Ops operations were occurring, and there were many all over. One of them was especially relevant to him and something he'd learn shortly.

The Hexadric Hegemony considered those outside their country beneath them. That did not mean they ignored them. They routinely sent agents to stomp on things they disliked and support things they found acceptable. They had lists. People that would be valuable to abduct, indoctrinate, or support. People they would eliminate. People to watch. The lists changed frequently, and were typically populated by how aligned they were with Hexadric orthodoxy rather than any other reason. This could defy common sense. Too manly, being an actor with a beard, being a stay at home wife, even badmouthing women were some examples of of assassination targets. Being a boy band, being too manly, and being a prominent feminist were some examples of abduction targets. (Yes being manly was double bad though there were rumors of other reasons for them being abducted.)

Bolt and Lilly were on several lists of course. Lilly in particular had a focus. At first because she was a female expert and slated for possible recruitment. Then because of her appearance and her marriage which were both antithetical to Hexxer orthodoxy. (Hexxer woman were engineered to be tall and encouraged to marry pseudo-castrated men.) Eventually an official order had been passed down to have them eliminated discretely or violently if the opportunity arose. This had not been a priority due to their lowly status, but plans had been made and some work had been done to arrange something if possible. The low priority meant that most of it was just done with local resources, which were basically non-existent.

However, with the war starting up those forces were pulling back. The priority for things had been shifted to doing things as fast as possible rather than discretely. Loose ends had to be tied up quickly and missions finished so that they could be assigned to the fronts. As a result the agent in charge of the area looked at what she had available, and then at the targets. She then had to make a judgment call. Was it worth the pushback if she ordered something?

The MTA took a dim view of assassinating people more prominent citizens. Even the less important ones. It still happened though, and very frequently. The Hexxer agent had done it more than once already. If you were quiet enough they typically didn't even comment on it. If the assassination was relatively contained yet still discovered, paying a fine was the most common punishment. The agent in charge even had a budget set aside for that.

By all appearances Bolt and Lilly were in a relatively isolated area with minimal monitoring. This meant both vulnerable and less important. Some simple jamming and violence was well within the ability of the local forces to accomplish. The agent judged what she knew, looked at the maps they'd made, and then authorized an operation.

Half a dozen second rate mechs and two kill teams were assigned and dropped down nearby the mountain shortly after her order. The sum total of all their forces in the area, and enough to bring down a Third Rate planet if properly used. Four were stealth mechs, one was a jamming mech designed for black ops, another a proper swordsman. The plan was relatively simple. The stealth mechs would move up and cripple everything while the jammer kept communications from happening. The two kill teams would either kill or capture Lilly and Bolt. Then they'd retreat. Quick, surgical, and quiet enough the MTA would ignore it.

The backup plan was just have the kill teams to deploy some specialized propagating corrosive and poison gas to kill everything in the mountain while the stealth mechs destroyed the outside forces. The one non-stealth mech would deal with Lilly if she was piloting. It was judged that that the Second Rate mech could easily deal with a mech piloted by an inferior woman and designed by a 'boy.'

It has to be said that the brainwashing and propaganda in the Hexadric Hegemony results in significant feelings of arrogance and superiority. Theses two traits weren't uncommon of course, but the Hegemony had it particularly bad. They weren't out of line in most of their evaluations. The forces they deployed would have easily crushed any other Third Rate facility. They'd just failed to account for a few things.

 

[Simonbob]

Expert Lily and Mad Science!Bolt.

Who are going to be PISSED. As are a number of MTA groups, including Bolt's own faction.

Not counting all the mech spirits, who want Bolt up and running. And, those nearby Nations who like what they're doing.....


Well, the Hexxers have really stepped in it this time.