What's Junk? (The Mech Touch)

[Simonbob]

I see morons spring eternal.

Always a new moron, in an endless sucession.

 

[Golgotha]

But surely the alien being that thinks literally nothing like a human will respect our societal order, preserving everything about it but place us on the top of the hierarchy?
Nothing can possibly go wrong!

 

[Negation]

So even worse than Genestealer Cultists brainwashed by psionics are Qusiling Genestealer Cultists who willingly marched as Brownshirts.

 

[Jordisk]

So even worse than Genestealer Cultists brainwashed by psionics are Qusiling Genestealer Cultists who willingly marched as Brownshirts.

Click to shrink...

The midnight parade is coming. It will likely go as poorly as genestealers against Astartes.

 

[Oglymogly]

The midnight parade is coming. It will likely go as poorly as genestealers against Astartes.

Click to shrink...

Actually, if they captured the alien and used the study of its genetics to make their kids modifications, that means the alien is at least over ten years old. According to last chapter, that's really bad, expert level bad. Worst, this one is smart enough to bargain with, which implies that it's going to modify itself quickly as it figures out what works best.

Depending on how old the alien is, this might be bad enough to win the planet, if the alien gets lucky in how the humans respond.

Edit: Oh, I just realized that all of the videos of the fights between mechs and aliens were implied to be publicly avaliable. What if the idiots have been training the alien? All of the mechs on the planet are very similar, what if there's one strategy that they're weak to?

 

[Athain]

Suffer not the xeno, the traitor, the heretic.

 

[lost star]

Phillipe was running on half backed plans, dreams, and whatever passed as adrenaline for him, and he knew it. He really didn't see a better option though. This was completely unexpected and doubly mad. He genuinely couldn't follow the thought processes behind it. Especially once he noticed the movement of various people on the street. Rebellions weren't unheard of, but those were typically over poor pilot treatment. Last he heard morale was actually moving up!

Entering the hotel the foreigner was in wasn't hard. Bolt and Lilly had requested a VIP expensive one with high security. Genuine security. Phillipe could enter the hotel, but past that he would normally have been checked by the concierge and been forced to wait at a minimum. On a night like this there might have even been police involved depending on the mood of the officials.

That was the first clue that something was wrong here too. The front desk was empty. That didn't happen. Period.

"Merde." Phillipe swore and vaulted over the desk to look at the front desk controls.

Fortunately it wasn't locked. Whether through cost cutting measures or because of other factors, the main controls were available. Phillipe didn't have access to much admittedly. Check in, check out, and call lines. The latter was what he needed. VIP suites direct lines. He tapped the line to one of the numbers.

No response. He moved down the list.

This line rang again to no response. Phillipe cursed slightly and moved down.

The third rang several times and he was just about to hang up before it was answered. "Who the hell are you and what to you want?!" Bolt answered with genuine anger.

"This iz Phillipe!" The young man practically shouted. "Something is happening in the city and you might be in danger."

"Phillippe? The kid we met? Haha, good warning!" Lilly called out with a small laugh that had a trace of an edge. "That explains the team outside the door."

"Outside the door?!" Phillipe asked incredulously. "Merde, no. Don't let them take you. I'll try to think of something."

"Don't worry. They were a bunch of people that thought just guns and normal clothing was enough." Bolt said calmly. "The doors are secured, and they're down. We were trying to get contact with someone, but I'm guessing that this isn't just us."

Phillipe felt a cross between surprise and relief at the news and how calmly they were taking it. He barely noticed the rest of the conversation. He just told the couple where he was and answered a few questions. He only snapped out it when the two came down in masks and some sort of thick clothing.

"Slap this on." Bolt ordered as he presented a large robe and mask. "Do ya know where bunkers are?" He asked. "A city like this should have them."

"Some school drills have us head to one. It's usually accompanied by automated directions." The teenager answered as he pulled on the clothing. "What is this?" He asked belatedly.

An explosion happened, large and close enough that Phillipe flinched. The lights flickered before something clicked in the hotel and the emergency power turned on with a hum. A few lights turned red, but the usual alarms weren't happening.

"That." Bolt said grimly. "It's to handle that. We need ta get to the bunker. Everything is jammed and I have to assume emergency systems are being cut and interfered with now. My comm can get through it but we don't have time to wait for rescue. Get secured and go from there."

"Ah." Phillipe flinched as he heard cannon fire. "AH, my friends! They are also in danger!"

"Call them." Bolt threw his comm the young man's way. "We have a map hun?" He asked Lilly.

"All of it was digital, but some of it had independent power and was working correctly." Lilly answered and held up a sheet with a traced out map. "Nearest bunker."

Phillipe barely had time to direct his friends before the couple dragged him out of the hotel. "Wait, wait!! We can't go that way!" He shouted as glanced at the map.

"This place is a mess of alleyways so that's not surprising but where then?!" Lilly demanded. "Also mask on. I don't know what you're immune to, but the dust is going to get bad quick." Another explosion in the distance emphasized the point.

"All right. Down the alleyway to the right, and the street there has a underwalk that's not on map." Phillipe breathed out and glanced at his borrowed comm as a shaky video showed some damage his friends were seeing. "Oh, damnit all. One of the skyscrapers has fallen."

"Is it near your friends?" Bolt asked as he practically carried the other man.

"In sight. Those things are supposed to be reinforced to avoid that." Phillipe observed before shaking off the hand. "I am more fit than I look. Let me lead." He began to run even as he kept an eye on the comm. "Ok, my comrades will be able to meet us there."

The snap-hiss-pop and tackle completely destroyed what what pride and control he'd managed to gather. A few steps away something sizzled. Phillipe stared at the molten line on the wall half a block away with mild horror. It wasn't even a near miss. It was a shot in his general vicinity. The heat was such that he was quite sure that he would have had serious burns without the protective clothing and Lilly tackling him.

"Stray shot. From the right. Eyes not on us." The girl in question breathed out and grunted as she got to her feet. "I really shouldn't have done that."

"We'll get a checkup later. Our ships still in orbit and I don't trust trying an extraction in a warzone with an automated ship." Bolt said and helped his wife move.

The teenager gulped and continued to lead. Despite himself, and the brush with danger, he was achieving some measure of calm. It wasn't coming easily, but he had been drilled for things like this. With the battle damage the streets were even worse than usual. He tried to ignore the blood that accompanied that observation.

Reaching the shelter was a relief. His friends and some other people were there as well. There was a lot of crying. Bolt and Lilly took one look at them before Lilly stepped up.

"Everyone into the shelter now." The woman didn't shout. She simply ordered.

Phillipe was reminded right then and there that the woman was an expert still. The obedience was immediate and unquestioned. He wasn't excluded by that. He moved in before he could even register the order.

Inside was a mess. There was crying, there were people with burns, and one poor soul had what looked to be shrapnel in his torso. It was a wonder that he'd managed to get to the shelter really.

That was the first thing he did, almost before realizing it. He grabbed that man and dragged him to the automatic treatment facility. The machine wasn't that useful without a doctor, but it could stablize most war injuries. It was built for this. Throwing the man into it would hopefully keep him from dying.

"What is going on?" One of his friends asked.

"Do you expect me to have answers?" Phillipe answered back before taking a deep breath. "Never mind that. Did we get everyone?"

"Oui!"

Phillipe did a headcount even with that confirmation. It was only after he personally confirmed that his people were there that he let himself relax slightly. It was a small relief. It was also more than a little disheartening. His little group had twenty three people. It was the largest group in the shelter. The city had several million people in it.

The teenager didn't say it, but he feared the casualty rate was going to he horrendous. But what could he do? Going out there would be just adding to the victims according to Bolt. They lacked the tools and training to help, and it was devolving into a warzone. Phillipe felt more than a little lost.

 

[Tsureai]

Welcome to the Jungle, we got fun and games. Like stray laser beams and gut wounds

 

[Negation]

Lily met the green kids by chance so the 5 scroll conspiracy cell in charge of her and the cell in charge of the greenies must be shooting at each other literally and metaphorically right now. Because each look like they are sticking their hand into the other's back pocket.

 

[Pollyamorous]

Lily met the green kids by chance so the 5 scroll conspiracy cell in charge of her and the cell in charge of the greenies must be shooting at each other literally and metaphorically right now. Because each look like they are sticking their hand into the other's back pocket.

Click to shrink...

Goddang, hadn't considered that at all, that's amazing.

Actually, there's no doubt agents from the other factions back on the wrestling planet that were still following along and trying to get their hands on Bolts and Lily (and their kid) as well. Depending on what resources they had, they might get caught up in it and share some of the blame as well. Especially since at least one of them is probably tied with the MTA.

 

[lost star]

"I don't like this." Lilly muttered to Bolt after things were situated.

"The bunker or something else?" Bolt asked back as he examined the structure and accessible data.

Power was good, armor was solid, the place even had a small mech-bay for repairs and storage if needed. It was empty of a mech, but it was something very defensible. The rations and water made it so that they could stay for years if they needed, and it'd take a dedicated effort to crack the armor.

"This rebellion, or betrayal as Philippe thinks." The woman glanced at the teenager.

The young man in question had moved to his friends and was trying to help organize people in the shelter. There was a lot to organize. People were drilled on evacuations, but they didn't actually believe it had ever been used. Now that it was happening they had the standard array of shock, dismay, rage, and grief. It was usually a pretty volatile mix, but Lilly's presence combined with Phillipe's rather good leadership skills were keeping it from spiraling as more and more people trickled in.

"What are your thoughts?" Bolt asked.

"The timing's too strange, along with other things. Your comm can get out right?" Lilly noted.

"Yes. I've already gotten a message passed out."

There was a lot of jamming involved. Bolt's gift from the hidden master was piercing through it as if it didn't exist. It had been harder to find someone to believe him than to get a communication out. Fortunately Bubbles and the MTA were both very helpful in this instance, doubly so when Philippe's information had been passed on. That sort of thing rated actual attention from the organization, and while the MTA wasn't going to deploy anyone yet, they were making damned sure the locals took the threat seriously.

Phillipe would probably be happy to note he and his friends already had a full pardon. It was something Bolt would relay to them later. For now survival in the immediate was paramount. Reinforcements would take a few days as forces were organized. That was actually very quick for a military response considering the distances involved.

"We gotta assume that you wouldn't be the only one with a line out." His wife pointed out. "So, they're either morons of epic proportions or they have a plan and goal they can do quickly."

Bolt nodded. "Do you have any idea of what we can do though?" He gestured to the bunker. "We got a lotta teens, a few traumatized civilians, and an empty mech bay. I can have our ship drop something, but we don't know the AA status. Everything could be shot down."

"Think we could get back to yer roots and salvage something?" Lilly asked with a slightly mischievous expression.

The designer frowned at the thought. "Give me a moment."

It took some looking, but there were enough tools for something. Not a lot. There was a hover-truck that had enough capacity to carry mech parts and he could jury rig a few of the necessary tools with the small fabricator in the mech bay. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was enough to work with.

He wouldn't want to put Lilly into a salvaged mech though. Not only was she pregnant, she'd tear one apart unintentionally. There just wasn't time for her to get used to something.

"Some of us can pilot." Phillipe offered as Bolt reasoned through the problem and assembled the tools he would need. "None are better than C, but it iz standard training to get some hours in a Lumberjack."

"I should be able to salvage something then." Bolt concluded. "We'd have a mech for defense at least."

"Biomechs are not easy to salvage quickly." The young man noted. "But if you believe you can, who am I to disagree. Shall we?"

"You want to come with?" Bolt asked.

"But of course! I am wasted simply sitting here and worrying!" Phillipe said with a grin that was rather obviously fake.

"I could use the hands I suppose." Bolt reasoned with a small shrug. "How strong are you?"

"Testing indicates stronger than human average." The teen answered.

Time to test that further then. Bolt printed out a few sets of metal and strapped them to the young man. Thin mech-grade armor wasn't going to stop a mech strike, but it's stop a near miss. Combined with the other protection and he wouldn't die if they got into a scrap. Not that Bolt was planning on it.

"First rule is if you see a mech, assume you're in sight." Bolt said as they left on the hover truck. "If they turn towards you, stay low and get out of physical sight. The robes are treated enough to make most sensors skip over you unless they're very good."

He'd had them treated specifically to handle Second Rate sensors. It only worked because most mech sensors were designed for mechs, not infantry. Infantry were basically nothing to a mech except in very special cirumstances so there was no real effort to find them.

"Second rule, your life first, then the parts. If it's risky, don't bother." Bolt continued. "We're going into an active warzone. There's going to be a lot of parts. For this we need enough for one mech."

"Oui." Phillipe said as he jittered in place. "How are you so calm?"

"Experience mostly." Bolt replied as he turned down a street, keeping low. "Third rule, as a general one. Keep low and in cover. The cover won't save you from a direct hit, but most mech pilots don't give a damn about people."

There, a mech was downed. No allies were nearby. Half its torso was completely missing. Perfect. And messy. There were pools of sap on the ground. Enough that when Bolt got out of the truck it splatted across his boots.

One thing he had to give them. Biomechs were ugly and made an appalling scene when downed. This was like looking at a dead body, and based on Phillipe's almost retching, it was human enough to trigger a gag reflex.

"We're taking the lower torso." Bolt ordered. "Get out the chains and wrap them around the legs."

Credit to the teenager, he did as requested. Bolt focused on other things. The upper chassis was completely ruined. The below the hips was in decent condition. The trick was separating them.

That meant getting through the armor and the skeleton. There were always gaps around the stomach area of a mech. You just had to pry up the armor slightly and then get the welder in there to remove whatever the designer had decided was best to secure the armor. It was easier said than done. Mechs weren't built to allow this sort of thing because Bolt was essentially 'attacking' it.

Since this was a biomech, it was more akin to surgery on a dead body, with the accompanying spurts of blood in the form of sap. Bolt was absolutely drenched in the stuff after a few minutes, but he got enough of the armor off to rip through the comparatively weaker fibers that made it's muscles. That left the spine equivalent exposed.

Here was the loud and most dangerous part. "Are the chains attached?" Bolt asked.

"They are, I think." Phillipe said.

"Back the truck away and let them grow tight. If they give they aren't." The designer said.

This actually horrifically risky, but the truck was Second Rate. It wouldn't be damaged by the chains coming unmoored and whipping around. Bolt watched the teen carefully pull back and the tension and then gave a stopping gesture. They were secured enough. He threw on two salvage wheels on the hips after that.

Now for the real work. Bolt grabbed at the cutter he'd made and ignited it. The area around him lit up in as a small sun formed in front of him. He then lowered it down to the spine and held it there. One, two, three, four. Ten seconds before the spine loosened enough that he figured it could pop free.

A lifetime in a battle. A call to every sensor in a block. It was a bloom of heat and energy that had to be done to rip apart a mech, because they were weapons of war and weren't designed to allow this.

Bolt didn't bother to clean up. He ran to the truck and got in. "Floor it and back to the base." He ordered.

"What?!" Phillipe asked. "Oh that smell is rather thick." He coughed a few times before pulling on the gifted mask.

"Floor it. I can explain on the way, but we've been here too long." Bolt ordered again, and the teenager did so.

Behind them something screamed and the truck bucked. Then the torso of the mech began to come with them with a shriek of metal on street before the crude wheels Bolt had stamped on began their work. Bolt looked this way and that as they drove and didn't relax.

"Using a cutter like that is like a big shoot me sign." Bolt explained after a tense minute. "You do it quick and run or take cover. You do not stay around."

"Ah." The teen breathed out and then jerked as a loud explosion came from behind him.

"Hard ta tell if that was area denial, direct attack, or someone just shooting cause they noticed something." The designer observed with calm.

He politely ignored the whimper from his companion. They still had a lot more to go if they needed a mech assembled. There was probably going to be more of that.

 

[Negation]

A lot of Bolt's mechs are Undead themed so this won't be anything new other than the material to make it actually Undead.

 

[Xicree]

A lot of Bolt's mechs are Undead themed so this won't be anything new other than the material to make it actually Undead.

Click to shrink...

Heh, he's about to incorporate Biomech principles into his cultivation whether he likes it or not.

 

[lurkingkraken]

It's a biomech being Frankensteined together, so I have to wonder if the urge to cackle "It's Alive!" as you throw a switch to energize it is still present in his cultural context.

I think the biggest plot related implication of this is that either this mech is explicitly temporary for this battle only or Bolt is about to level up soon. But in universe, Bolt would treat it the same either way, and know it's not meant to persist past this event.
Back in M141 we established that Green Hell here is outside of Bolt's normal area of influence after all, so once he goes home the bench is on a timer before all of its bonus mojo evaporates into the luminiferous ether. Unless, of course, Bolt advances up another rung in the cultivation ladder.

 

[Simonbob]

Heh.

If this kid does nothing else of note, this will be some story.

 

[Luckless21]

Bolt being forced to expand his horizons and salvage a bio-mech is probably the only reason he would do it.

 

[lost star]

Biomechs were best described as a parallel technology to standard mech technology. A lot of it interlapped, but the central precept required technology specifically designed for biological processes. This meant that working with it typically required an entirely different educational base. Bolt had looked into it and tried to apply his mind to it, but frankly had found it not to his liking.

He was a man who worked with metal. It was in his blood. The technology around biomechanical mechs was ultimately completely opposed to his standard work processes. Which was ultimately not an issue. Not everyone was suited to everything. Bolt had gotten the basics down through some intense study and decided that he had no desire to truly work with the systems involved. (He also honestly had enough on his plate.)

With all of this said, disliking it did not mean Bolt could not work with the mechs at all. Especially when it came to salvaging. Though he had to say, salvaging a biomech was a messy and thoroughly unpleasant process. It was also oddly something he could handle more than trying to think about designing the blasted things. He just had to ignore the fact that it was messy in a very liquid sort of way.

Fortunately he was helped by the fact that most of the mechs in use were Lumberjacks. Having a lot of the same model had made salvaging a fully intact mech relatively simple. He'd only had to make a few trips and then had to put it all together.

"Just have to put it all together eh?" Bolt muttered to himself as he looked at the mess of parts he'd managed to salvage.

This was more surgery than mech design! He had body parts masquerading as mech parts! Some of them were bleeding sap. Welding some of this wouldn't work. So how would he accomplish the task of turning these parts into a valid mech here?

Some inquiries with the refugees had managed to get him a medical student's aid. The young woman looked very green as she came into the room, but she was able to speak, and she was competent enough to answer questions. That was all Bolt needed.

The key problem that was hindering him was the spine. Bolt had been forced to cut it to get the parts into the bay. The spine on a local biomech was a carbon-laced bone amalgam that could be likened to a human spine in function if not composition. The stuff was far more durable than anything in a person, and a fair bit heavier to boot. It also wasn't really meant to be broken like Bolt had.

Taking cues from surgery techniques, Bolt ended up ripping out some of the spinal sections and then replacing them with printed parts. He then fused some of it with modern day bone fusing techniques and reassembled the mech. The back was going to be stiff, but the mech would only lose a bit of motion rotating the center. That was acceptable in this case.

With the spine properly redone, Bolt and the medical student went through the rest of the process almost as if the mech was a patient. This turned out to be an involved process that took both of them to do. They had to figure out how to stitch up the muscles, flush the coolant without actually breaking all of the lines, actually deal with a lot of the 'veins' that pushed sap to places. It was a mix of ad-hoc medical techniques and intuition. Really, Bolt was add-libbing half of it, but it seemed to work. Using finger thick wires to do stitching involved half a dozen improvised innovations alone!

To top it all off Bolt's final action required him hooking the mech up to an electrical generator and pushing a current throughout the entire machine. He categorically did not shout out anything when he did it. (His aide did.) The mech needed a sort of jump start to galvanize most of it's mechanisms before he could get it finished off. Frankly it was probably the most insane part of the process, and one that was also very dangerous. It worked though.

All told, it wasn't a pretty mech in the end. It was a Lumberjack, salvaged. Considering the entire process he'd just done was not something Biomechs were designed for, Bolt had to be satisfied with it. He left the bay in as good spirit as one could be, after he took a shower. The 'surgery' had been extremely messy and he was absolutely covered with sap towards the end of it. Since it was mildly toxic, this meant he needed a few pills and some time for his system to be flushed.

"You still smell like sap." Lilly noted once Bolt rejoined his life.

"I had to practically wade through the stuff at several points." The designer said with a groan as he flopped down onto a rather uncomfortable metal seat and shifted several times. "I haven't done a salvage job like that in awhile." He muttered. It was almost nostalgic.

"So we have a mech?" Phillipe asked.

"Checks ran green after I kicked the computer. The axe is intact and usable. Ammo filled for the back mount. It's as ready for a pilot as it can be considering the circumstances." Bolt responded and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He was running of stims and nothing else at the moment and was having trouble thinking. "How have things gone while I was busy?"

"Got a lotta shellshock and refugees are still trickling in. With the dawn we can see the damage to the city. It's still intact, but oddly quiet. After the night fighting I'd expected more, but there's nothing out there." Lilly said.

"Don't know what else is happening on our end." Phillipe contributed. "Your comm can breach the jamming, but that matters little with no one else able to get through. It sucks."

"It's a war." Bolt observed calmly. "We're also not really part o' it. Our job is to survive. Influencing things will be nearly impossible. We have a pilot ready?"

"Camille is our best one. She's a C rank, barely." The young man said. "It iz not something that is common in our circle of friends, and I do not trust anyone else."

"I'll get her in and we can run through a paces inside." Lilly offered quickly. "It will be a last resort though. It's a single mech. Our best bet is to last until we can be sure we can get into orbit, and then flee."

"That will take a few days." Bolt noted and closed his eyes.

He wanted to sleep, but his mental state demanded a half a dozen things, and was keeping him up. The best he was going to be able to do was just try to keep his eyes shut and try to center himself. It wasn't a new situation, simply an unpleasant one..

"So we wait?" Phillipe asked incredulously.

"Ain't happy about it, but without news all we can do is that." Lilly replied quietly. "Getting more information could let us plan." The expert patted her swelling stomach. "I can't head out myself."

The young man nodded slowly. "What if we head out?" He asked back.

"We won't ask you to do that." Bolt replied back immediately.

"Me and a few others can head out with ze mech. It won't be easy, but there are several official places that we know of. A mech will help." Phillipe pointed out.

"That will be very, very risky." Lilly said.

Bolt opened his eyes to see that the young man looked determined. He sighed quietly. He knew that feeling far too well. He suddenly felt old, even if the feeling was nonsense. Screw it.

"Give me a few hours and I'll try to soup up the mech." Bolt muttered. "Didn't want ta do it cause that's stuff fer repairs and emergencies, but yer not going with just a salvaged mech."

Phillipe nodded gratefully.

 

[Negation]

To top it all off Bolt's final action required him hooking the mech up to an electrical generator and pushing a current throughout the entire machine. He categorically did not shout out anything when he did it. (His aide did.)

Click to shrink...

View: https://youtu.be/xos2MnVxe-c

The back was going to be stiff, but the mech would only lose a bit of motion rotating the center. That was acceptable in this case.

Click to shrink...

"Give me a few hours and I'll try to soup up the mech." Bolt muttered. "Didn't want ta do it cause that's stuff fer repairs and emergencies, but yer not going with just a salvaged mech."

Click to shrink...

Since the back will be stiff, it's use as a Lumberjack will be limited. Rotation is key to woodcutting. Refurbished into a Jiangshi?