What's Junk? (The Mech Touch)

[lurkingkraken]

Stop seducing people, Bolt!

It's rude. >=(

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If only this fic was in the other writing section, but as is, as long as Lily is involved and agrees then Bolt's seductive ways are just fine.

 

[Jordisk]

If only this fic was in the other writing section, but as is, as long as Lily is involved and agrees then Bolt's seductive ways are just fine.

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It can't be in the other writing section, because it is technically cross posted here. The "main thread" is on SB, and you know how their mods are.

 

[tyaty1]

If only this fic was in the other writing section, but as is, as long as Lily is involved and agrees then Bolt's seductive ways are just fine.

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Lilly don't mind other women flirting with with Bolt, but they need to wait until she dies.
Because Pilots had lower life expectancy than Designers.

 

[lost star]

Bolt's work on the space warping device had been a small journey of discovery really. The initial concept had been stolen from classified research documents. He'd gotten it to work, for a given value of work, with a biomech, using what amounted to alien parts as the exotic component. The thing had unfortunately been a tremendous power hog that literally burned the bio-machine from the inside out. It had been integral to victories, but also a relative failure in that it absolutely totaled both mechs after a singular deployment. The metal version of the device had not been able to change that factor, and had in fact been theoretically worse.

Here was where Master Olsen came into play. The woman was was an expert on energy systems, perhaps the expert on them if her skills progress enough. If they could find an alternate exotic component feasible to use in the sector and could also solve the problem of it needing enough power to melt internals, the device would become a deadly and notable weapon in any nations arsenal. The achievement would be a feather on the woman's cap and that was why it was considered a bribe by both designers. By putting her name on it, the woman would gain an immense amount of prestige.

A device that could warp space to make one more mobile, or bend it around them to make them resistant to ranged attacks? That was almost a miracle creation. If they could get it working right.

"The name need adjustment." The woman began with something that Bolt wouldn't have considered at all. "It's not FTL, though it uses the same principles. Calling it a space warping device is fine for prototyping, but it's also too generic, especially once we start using derivatives. Branding can be just as important as the design sometimes, and for a device with this potential we will need something more evocative."

"Call it an SW device?" Bolt suggested.

He received a sigh and a look from the other woman. "No." She said flatly. "Normally things like this are based on a name, but the Silica-Space-Warping device brings the wrong connotation. Star-Shifter perhaps?"

"Good a name as any." The creator of the device muttered and changed the name. "Now do you think you can adjust it to work?"

"Trivially with the notes you have." The Master said with a flick of her hand that brought up all the device information. "You were on the right track for making it usable and probably could have gotten it if you were willing to make sacrifices somewhere. Making it not destroy the mech while functioning is a different matter. I will need to take most of a day to get a preliminary model working. Switching the exotics to something local will also change the energy draw, and that's merely the most obvious step."

"So I'll work on the mech." Bolt concluded with a nod.

Twin generators and axes. Both of them were needed to make this shine he believed. This would be a proper berserker that took queues from Bloody Berserker.

"We ok with a heavy?" The man asked mid sketch.

"The tonnage would be appreciative." Was the slightly distracted reply. "The Bloody Berserker might have been flawed, but the concept it's centered around isn't unsound. We could name it Einherjar Berserker to contrast the original Valkyrie myth. The morale boost alone will make the name acceptable. Ves' use of Valkyrie has been quite enraging to some."

Ah yes. One of the factions in the Friday Coalition had Norse roots. There were Arabic, Japanese, Norse, and Italian as the primary sources. This was simplifying it quite a bit, but those were the cultural foundations. Using Valkyrie on a mech opposing them would be a mild insult. Very mild. Names tended to be used and reused so many times that most people did not care.

Back to the mech, Bolt could use some of his old design as a basis. Mostly in the positioning and basic configuration, since damage profiles tended to be similar between tiers. The goal here was all redundancy and keeping the mech alive. He's improved a lot since his older days and could definitely make it stronger in that regard.

Weapons were going to be all close range. A pair of axes and a back mounted weapon sounded good. The axes would be nothing special. Just solid and weighty weapons. There wasn't really a cult around axes like there was swords, so Bolt didn't have to do precision refinement to the nth degree. He still made them very good, but they were just solid and heavy axes rather than precision tools. That fit both the theme and made it less of a hassle to manufacture.

Back weapon... A bit of searching and Bolt went with a cluster missile package. The particular package was a fire and forget setup. You got up close and it'd unleash a veritable storm of missiles on everything in range. A heavy mech could have multiple volleys available. The part was also a favorite of several Friday factions, so the parts could be sourced easily.

Really this mech was already halfway built with the Bloody Berserker. He had the glow, he just needed to make it intensified on the pilot. He had the theme. He had the proof at Third Rate. Second Rate mechs were more mobile, so it couldn't boost from mech to mech to annihilate them, but that was what the Star-Shifter was for.

"Initial prototype is done. We are going to need a prototype mech and significant testing. There's too many unknowns to finalize the design." Carmine said, interrupting Bolt's work.

"Ah, almost done with the preliminary sketch. So get it all set tomorrow, prototype the day after?" Bolt asked.

"Much as that would please me, paperwork and preparation has to be done to have this tested in secret. Expect the prototyping to begin next week after we answer questions from the techs and officials, then another week of testing." The master gave a very small sigh as she pulled up his work, then paused. "When were you going to inform me that you had become a senior?" She asked with a slight hitch in her voice.

"Today mostly." The young man responded with a nod. "Once the prototyping and testing is done, I need ta see the mech. Work best with my hands."

"Please do not change the subject." The master replied back. "When did you achieve senior?"

"Not sure." Bolt didn't quite deflect. He wasn't actually sure.

"You are Thirty Three. That is a year off from Polymath's record. You do know..." The woman trailed off and finally nodded. "I see. This is another bribe is it not?"

"Er... Let's go with that." The man replied with a blink. He was missing context somewhere.

"We'll announce it when you finish the mech. People will assume that I have assisted and this ties me to you no matter what I say now." Master Olson turned back to the design. "It changes a few things for the future, but for now it changes little. To answer your previous request. They do prototyping in groups of ten to one-hundred. For a design this large, it will be twenty or so done in another testing area separate from this facility. We can have one deposited in the bay you requisitioned."

"That'll probably impact the glow strength." Bolt noted.

"It will be in the documentation. There have been experiments with the glow strength and such. Your instructions are quite useful in that regard." The master didn't quite rush, but she certainly stepped outside the office quickly.

Bolt felt a tiny bit bad. Only a little bit. The Assembler was a bit terrifying truthfully. He'd turned Bolt's ascension into blackmail of sorts. If he was reading things right, Master Olson couldn't move against him publicly now.

 

[Luckless21]

Bolt felt a tiny bit bad. Only a little bit. The Assembler was a bit terrifying truthfully. He'd turned Bolt's ascension into blackmail of sorts. If he was reading things right, Master Olson couldn't move against him publicly now.

Click to shrink...

Don't worry Bolt, this is just you getting a hint of what the Assembler can do to move you around like a puppet.

 

[tanasinn]

Ah the Friday higherups are going to find out that their plan to use Bolt as bait has much higher reputational consequences than they thought.

Wonder what the youngest senior ship designer was. Seems like the mech designers have an easier time progressing given they can stress test their designs at scale.

 

[Luksord]

Ah the Friday higherups are going to find out that their plan to use Bolt as bait has much higher reputational consequences than they thought.

Wonder what the youngest senior ship designer was. Seems like the mech designers have an easier time progressing given they can stress test their designs at scale.

Click to shrink...

There aren't any Ship Designers - just regular scientists and shipwrights. Mech Designers are specific cultivation path tied Mech Kingdom spiritual construct that aid them in advencing.

 

[Negation]

"No." She said flatly. "Normally things like this are based on a name, but the Silica-Space-Warping device brings the wrong connotation. Star-Shifter perhaps?"

Click to shrink...

The correct name is Great Shift of Heaven & Earth (乾坤大挪移) .

 

[asparagus]

Ah yes. One of the factions in the Friday Coalition had Norse roots. There were Arabic, Japanese, Norse, and Italian as the primary sources.

Click to shrink...

Well, he's done Yuki Onna and Einherjar now, he should complete the set and do Mechs for the other two cultural influences next.

 

[Jordisk]

Don't worry Bolt, this is just you getting a hint of what the Assembler can do to move you around like a puppet.

Click to shrink...

No, Assembler isn't moving Bolt like a puppet. That would what a Puppeteer would do. Rather, the Assembler is merely assembling the future he desires, with Bolt as a favored tool in said assembly.

Well, he's done Yuki Onna and Einherjar now, he should complete the set and do Mechs for the other two cultural influences next.

Click to shrink...

Legionary, a mech that gets more powerful the more of them there are, up to a hundred (aka a Century) and with the Expert version being the Centurian to lead them.
Janissary, a mech similar to the Headhunter expert mech as well as to Ghoul. As it fights with a specific mech model, it will gain traits from that model, up to and including spiritual effects, referencing how the Janissaries were children orphaned by the Ottoman Expansion or held as hostages against conquered nobles that were raised and taught to fight.

 

[Luckless21]

No, Assembler isn't moving Bolt like a puppet

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I originally had "if he wanted to" at the end, but it didn't flow as well.

 

[lost star]

Bolt had thought he'd known tedium before. He'd planned for it but all his planning had not managed to encompass the shear drudgery involved. He longed for the days he could build his own mech on his own pace. He desired it. He now knew why his superior had shown emotions when she'd described what was going to happen, because this was insane.

"How many times do I need to answer questions about bolt and soldering types?!" Bolt asked himself incredulously. "For that matter, why did they blame me for smashing themselves into a wall?!"

Some of the reports were outright moronic. One assembly had outright missed like three rivets on the torso and caused the mech to break apart a few seconds into activation. Computer error his ass! No competent tech would make such a trivial mistake.

Infuriating or not, there was use past the inanity. The Star-Shifter wasn't teleportation. It bent space to move faster. That had to be clarified in the documentation and limited in the final product. Far too many tests had resulted in destruction due to the mech stepping into various walls and other obstacles. There were going to have to be limitations and computer checks to keep the mech from colliding with things. They'd also probably have to limit it to line of sight as well, since that was the most intuitive thing for a pilot to judge. The testing had proven that placing a unlimited Shifter into a mech would just result in it's destruction through pilot error or just physical impossibilities. Some mechs had literally torn themselves apart by trying to move incorrectly!

The enraging effect was also something that needed work. That was what Bolt had to do. Master Olson could handle adjusting the Star-Shifter into something more user friendly and less self destructive. He needed to refine the Glow. Turning a person into a berserker wasn't just anger, and the switch idea hadn't worked. The pilot would forget to turn it off, and trying to order them didn't work either. While the glow had been low key, more than one pilot had not been able to really handle it in a way that was productive. The simplest solution of a timer was also relatively unfeasible due to the unpredictable nature of battle.

Fixing this would require some creative work, so Bolt was in the bay he'd gotten right now checking over one of the more successful prototypes. He already had a pretty large list of notes. The Star-Shifter was still an enormous power draw, and the stresses that caused would require special settings and probably hard limits. The armor was good at least.

So far as a heavy armored beast, the Einherjar Berserker was pretty good construction wise. Bolt guessed they'd need maybe two to three more prototypes before they addressed most of the glaring problems. Not bad for a new technology really.

He rather wished he could make it look better though. Right now it looked like a muscled man with a rather large pair of pants. The back was probably the worst. The missile pods clashed aesthetically. (Military didn't care about pretty.)

"I'm dithering." Bolt muttered and got into the cockpit. He pulled open the Heart Crystal container and grabbed the crystal inside. "What are we feeling here?"

The man closed his eyes and focused. The piloting logs flashed by him, and nausea hit as he tried to interpret the pilot's feelings. He did not know the pilot, so this was extremely difficult. Only his familiarity let him interpret what they felt and how they'd piloted. Even then he had to take frequent breaks.

Once he was done he had a few more things to add to the list, but he'd also identified the issue. Solving it was another matter. The emotion had to be potent to counter the Glow. If one wanted to face the feeling of death or some other sensation, Bolt couldn't just put a 'ignore that' flag into the mech. It didn't work that way. The rage was almost a dead-end here. He needed intense, but past a certain point intensity was a detriment. Straddling that line was impossible for a mass produced mech.

Bolt tapped at the crystal and hopped out. Some work with the printers and he had a figure of the mech. He then grabbed a small tool that was capable of cutting the mech and sliced to simulate battle damage. How would this mech handle that? How would it handle the rage?

A stray thought hit him as he looked at the mech. What if he shifted it towards more endurance. A spite to live and push through? It wouldn't be an immunity. It'd be a resistance. Was that worth pursuing?

It felt like it was. A niggling idea came to him. He was neglecting some of the more exclusive contacts this particular creation had access to. Wasn't one of the masters out there someone that specialized in a type of liquid armor that was fixed by 'pouring' a specific compound into it? Those mechs were famed for a speedy repair time.

Bolt looked at his mech and grinned as the idea flowed through him. Wouldn't that synergize well with the idea of 'endurance?' This was already a tanky mech. Making it more durable and easy to repair would be useful, and the armor should be stockpiled enough to be useful.

He had to speak with the master working on this with him. He didn't need her to speak to her colleague, but getting that armor on this felt like the way forward. It'd also make the mech a lot easier to repair after it fought, which was a serious consideration for a mech with this design and probably another needed selling point to the entire thing.

-At the Hexxer Assault Team -

"How is the new mech?" The commander asked the pilot.

"Difficult to use. The Hella Handmaiden has many unusual features, and we are still practicing." The woman responded with a small bow.

The command nodded and turned to the tactical view of a planet. "Will you be ready for the attack?"

"Most definitely. Different does not mean insurmountable." The woman responded immediately. "It makes numbers less of a problem so the trouble is worth the pain. Plus it is another aspect of our Goddess, who would not be happy to learn it?"

"I will hold you to that. Intelligence has indicated that the Defiler's location has been found. He's working on another blasphemy. We will be taking it and him out in one blow." The commander indicated the planet. "You will be running drills attacking it with others."

The pilot looked at the planet and made a face. "Ma'am? Permission to speak?"

"Granted."

"If we're sure about the intelligence, that is still a fortification world. He could be anywhere there and be moved anywhere while we try for a lightning strike." The woman observed as she looked over the world.

"That is a point we have considered, as such your orders are simple. While he is a primary target we will have numerous secondary targets, and a set timetable. If we cannot find him past a certain point we will retreat in good order." The commander glared at the planet in the display. "The contemptable boys in charge are baiting but the bait is so good we must attempt to take it anyway. You'll find several expert mechs in storage. They're mechs of confirmed experts that have been imprisoned, and we know which prison they're in. The plan is freeing them and using them to bring Mother's wrath upon everyone."

"Consider me very assured." The pilot said with a salute.

That got a small laugh from her superior. "You were right to be concerned. We will be joined by the Vital-Cutters. They have different priorities."

The pilot blanched at that. "Those fanatics?!"

"They're on a penance assignment. They were found to have arranged another one of their 'rites.'" The commander didn't spit, but only because she was raised better than that. The look on of disdain on her face. "Not only did they arrange it, they failed to secure the boys and then tried to cover that up, only to lose practically half their forces. Two of the captured experts are theirs, and you have full permission to leave them behind."

"It will be done ma'am."

 

[foo-jin]

The more they say "boys", the more I'm starting to feel like the hexxers deserve a visit from a band of propa orky boiz, 'avin a bit of a waaaagggghhh downtown. Alas, not the right setting for that.

 

[Jordisk]

The more they say "boys", the more I'm starting to feel like the hexxers deserve a visit from a band of propa orky boiz, 'avin a bit of a waaaagggghhh downtown. Alas, not the right setting for that.

Click to shrink...

I mean, the Ork flavor of bullshit would fit right in to the Mech Touch power system. They could be one of the "controlled" xeno threats that the MTA and CFA maintains. Especially with how their tech level expands with population, so if you keep the population to a certain level you can keep them at a certain tech level.

 

[Golgotha]

They could be one of the "controlled" xeno threats that the MTA and CFA maintains. Especially with how their tech level expands with population, so if you keep the population to a certain level you can keep them at a certain tech level

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure that believing you can control and farm orcs at your preferred population size is how you bad end your own civilisation.

 

[Mithril-blade]

I'm pretty sure that believing you can control and farm orcs at your preferred population size is how you bad end your own civilisation.

Click to shrink...

It is, however, a very believable belief.

Orks, after all, are very consistent on how they function.

 

[lost star]

Surprisingly, getting the armor implemented had been a relatively simple affair. This turned out to be mostly by design. The liquid armor had many pluses and minuses. One of the major pluses was that it was relatively easy to alter mechs to use it. Applying that and the Glow changes had both resulted in positive test feedback, so they'd then done a limited production line. About a thousand had been made and were now being trained in and testing for a final production run. After the feedback from that was dealt with, the blueprint was would then be distributed across the Coalition.

Now this probably seemed slow for those unfamiliar with this sort of thing, but it wasn't. It was in fact blisteringly fast. Usually you had a few more steps involved, but Bolt being on site had accelerated a significant portion of all the testing. In particular the Glow alignment had needed a lot of documentation for the production lines. The standard methods used in Second Rate militaries for the mechs made the Glow a bit hard to properly align, and Bolt had to get creative in directing people to get it set in many instances. Some workstations were utterly incapable of making the mech due to certain work conditions. (There were now two formal investigations and court-martials happening in the background because of poor worker treatment.)

Despite this success Bolt was just waiting for the next problem to occur. He therefore found himself more relieved than anything else when the alerts started to sound. Here was finally the other shoe dropping. The attack he'd predicted had happened, and while it wasn't the best time, it was not the worst of time either.

As a VIP and likely other things he'd had a few monitors around him at all times. They'd been relatively unobtrusive so far, but Bolt would have had to be blind to miss the people following him. With the alarm, they didn't even try to hide. One of the men in unforms gave him a nod as he approached.

"Sir, we're under attack. Please move to your room and stay there until it's done." The man said.

Now this was actually a sort of a trap for Bolt. Unfortunately it was one he had to walk into. Moving to his room would isolate him, but he had to assume it was armored and positioned enough that he wouldn't be killed by a stray shot or something. Fortunately he hadn't spent his time idlily. Bolt gave the man a nod and made his way to the supposedly secured area. Once inside his room he closed the door and took a seat.

He wasn't technically a prisoner at the moment. He also wasn't technically being cut off from people. He had access to communications between people, and even still had a line open with Lilly. Being directed here was officially for his protection. What was happening in the background was less obvious though. The Friday Coalition could not kill him. Not only would it render the mechs he'd made in-operational, it'd basically get the MTA bringing a very big hammer down on them. They could 'disappear' him though. He'd know when they were going to make that move.

Until then he had to assume he was under surveillance. He pulled out his comm and set it on a nearby table, then connected it to Lilly. He then grabbed a small kit filled with tools, a model of his latest mech, and then began to carefully paint it.

"Ya got the alert?" Lilly asked once she was connected.

"I'm in the room they gave me." Bolt answered. "They made a bit o' noise about taking my comm every now and again, before this but I pointed out it has better encryption and security than anything they got. Also they can't stop me from calling you either."

"Cute. I'm getting into Morning Star fer this one. Dowry isn't going to work that well. Naoto is readying up too. ETA appears to be an hour. They're burning towards the planet fer a landing." Lilly gave a small laugh as she continued. "Ain't getting full tactical data, but it's pretty obvious what's going on. We're forting up."

Bolt nodded, even if his wife couldn't see him. "Rat style then?" Which was actually something far different than what others would expect.

"Ya got it." Lilly said. "I can shoot you my tactical data if ya like? Wouldn't mind having your input."

"I'd love to in any other circumstance. Stay safe love." Bolt declined with a small grin that went away once the comms clicked off.

Now was probably the worst time, it was time to wait. Bolt focused mostly on his painting while the time ticked by. Midway through his work a surprise came through. A message came to his comm from the base leader, and then several soldiers came to escort him to the command center.

This was strange enough that Bolt didn't even bother to speculate. He let himself get escorted with no fuss and found himself in an area that looked very familiar. Their command center looked very much like the one at home, complete with a tactical view.

Bolt wasn't kept waiting long. The commander didn't bother with any pleasantries. He just brought up a recording. "We need info on the new mech they're fielding."

The recording began with nothing special. A series of mechs dropping out of a drop-shuttle. Bolt tiled his head at them. They were absolutely nothing special. They were in fact completely useless.

"What in the world?" He asked.

"That was what the initial question was. They're not even fodder. Remote controlled, bottom of the barrel mechs. It's a net loss for us to shoot them." The commander said. "It's not the new mech. They were just dropped off for a reason."

As Bolt watched the engagement proceeded to happen. Mechs charged in, shot at one another, and so on. It was as normal as a battle could get aside from the fodder that had very quickly been killed. There were few Glow mechs fielded here. Just a Son of War and a Blessed Squire.

"This is one of the landing zones. We pulled back our forces and readied an counter attack." The commander noted as the battle continued.

True to his words the Friday forces pulled back to gather up. The Hexxer forces did something similar. They gathered up as they readied their strike. Bolt paused the recording. "That's the new mech?" He indicated a particular area.

"Yes."

Design wise, it was different. Hexxer mechs had two broad categories. Male mechs were meant to be softer. Female mechs had angular and sharp profiles. Not quite a reversal of traditional masculine and feminine, but more like 'young' and 'athletic' if one were to translate it into personal fashion. This mech was strangely majestic. It was not a typical Hexxer design. One of Ves' then and something a lot more like what he cared for than Hexxer stylistic choices. Larger shoulders, a staff of all things, and a sweeping cape-like construction on the back.

"Strange design. I don't understand the staff." Bolt observed and flipped through the views.

"Five minutes in." The commander instructed him.

Bolt accelerated the playback to view the counterattack. As the attack started the new mech moved to the backline. Bolt assumed it was therefore an artillery or something, but when the staff tip lit up with light he was further confused.

His confusion stopped once the downed fodder started to move on its own. Limbs twitched, hands moved, metal parts shifted to attack the enemy. The Friday forces found themselves bogged down by formerly dead fodder. They adapted quickly, destroying the mech bodies with full ammo, but the distraction cost them. Worse, several of the falling mechs started to get back up, obviously being controlled by the new mech.

"He made a damned Necromancer." Bolt concluded with a half laugh.

There couldn't be a larger direct challenge than that. Ves had created something that animated broken mechs! The complexities involved in that had to be massive. It was also the designer basically showing that Bolt wasn't the only one that could work with 'dead mechs.' Ves had almost stolen his style doing this, and created a monster that was more formidable the longer the battle went on.

"We need to know how to counter it." The commander growled out, clearly annoyed.

Bolt tapped at the mech itself. "Pressy sure you already got an idea of what the deal is here. Think of it like a drone coordinator. Really, if anything it's easier ta deal with mentally, and I can't imagine it can animate them long." The designer shrugged. "I'd need one o' them to know more. Intact isn't necessary, but as close to it as possible. This is another Glow of sorts of course, so don't expect jamming and hacking to work."

"You'll get the mech. Be ready."

Bolt nodded in return. Amusingly, he was quite certain this sort of thing wasn't something the higher ups had planned for in many respects. He imagined they'd wanted him isolated and alone inside his room. Then they'd escort him to some other place for his 'safety' and never be seen again by outside eyes. This was why he'd made a few partial plans instead of one big one. So many options were suddenly available.

 

[Negation]

Shrine maiden is done. Swordsman is done. create a Paladin or dragon?

 

[Non-responsiveuncle]

Nooooo I really wanted bolt to make a necromancer... On the other hand he now can use this one to make a even better necromancer maybe using something like the head takers so it can summon any mech it kills? Maybe to cheapen the cost itd need to use a dead mechs to overlay the other onto it?

 

[awesomecow]

Clearly the answer to a necromancer throwing zombies at you is a witch doctor that casts corpse explosion on any fallen mech. Also nice to see that Bolt and Lily always have a strategy planned when their allies try to rat them out.

 

[Luksord]

Prettu sure that to counter any mental glow, Bolt could just make neurohelm casing version of his maid bracelets/hoker.

 

[TheDerangedOne]

Nooooo I really wanted bolt to make a necromancer... On the other hand he now can use this one to make a even better necromancer maybe using something like the head takers so it can summon any mech it kills? Maybe to cheapen the cost itd need to use a dead mechs to overlay the other onto it?

Click to shrink...

Eh, could always upgrade Ves' Necromancer into a full on Litch.
Would have the bonus of getting the Hexxers nearly apoplectic with rage at that bit of 'Heresey'.

 

[Waruiko]

Cleric Mech with Healing (glow guided remote liquid armor) and Turn Undead (thematic focus to disrupt the necromancer's glow) seems like a solid way to go. It both fixes the issue the necromancer brings to bear and it provides some general benefit to make it worth using in general when the necromancer isn't on the field providing a reason to have it on station in a general sense.

 

[lurkingkraken]

Cleric Mech with Healing (glow guided remote liquid armor) and Turn Undead (thematic focus to disrupt the necromancer's glow) seems like a solid way to go.

Click to shrink...

Bolt already has a mech that conceptually counters this.

His Gravedigger with its tombstone-shaped generators that latch on to fallen mechs.

If this new Ves mech animates the unhallowed dead lying around a battlefield, then just bury the bodies deep and see how well they can be animated when they are being sapped of their remaining power and meaning.

It's even already a command/control/communication specialist, which seems like a good match for a drone controller.

 

[lost star]

There were some powerful words being bandied about. Talks about magic, a new age, and so on. Luke didn't really care about that. Half of the pilots were gossiping like hens about best fit and greatest chance. It was apparently the newest fashion to look for the mech that matched you more than anything else. The chance of ascension felt closer than ever to many people looking for an edge. Some pilots were adamant in the thought that if they could find just the right mech they could become an expert, no effort needed, just the proper mech.

Luke couldn't say he cared much about that. He was just a man who piloted. As one of the more average pilots he wasn't particularly notable in any field. There were millions of him out there. The army liked men like him. They could be put into a box and shifted around when needed, because they were frequently just like the mechs they piloted to the eyes of the leadership. They were expensive, government owned, pieces of equipment. You mixed and matched those sorts of things based on need, not on desire. So, becoming attached to a mech was just another way of being disappointed.

This was admittedly a rather grim view. Good units would rarely shift pilots from mech to mech. The leaders knew that it took time to familiarize yourself with mechs and the styles inherent to them. Even in best you still needed to be flexible. A mech could run 24/7. Sometimes you needed the mech on the field and the pilot didn't matter. Sometimes you just needed a pilot for a new mech. If you couldn't find someone who specialized in the style it promised you threw people like Luke into them.

Like now. Luke had spent a grand total of three days training in this new Berserker. One day in sims, one day in a training yard, and one day in a mock battle and more sims. That was barely enough time to get proficient. But it was either this or a random available mech, so he chose this.

Einherjar Berserker was a weighty mech that stomped when moving. Heavies always were. They were meant to be point that local tactics revolved around. The pin on the map. Typically, they were artillery or some other big hitter. Melee ones weren't common, but they existed and were always beasts that required effort to take down. Armor and weight came with that designation. There were no nimble heavies.

This was admittedly bad even for a heavy. Luke's movement towards battle felt like the mech had weights strapped onto its limbs. It wasn't something he was worried about really. This mech was always sluggish at the start. It took its time to warm up. This was a noted flaw, but also one deliberately inflicted. The mech had two generators. Only one ran when it was out of combat to save fuel. You just had to tolerate it until it was time to fight.

Up ahead he could see the battle and judged himself in range and initiated the secondary startup. Heat started to race through his mech as the second reactor woke. Power surged through the mech and he felt it grip its axes as if relishing the oncoming fight. Luke eyeballed the distances involved and then pushed the throttle all the way up. The mech came alive and the feeling was like a shot of the worst stim ever. He almost stopped thinking. He stepped.

And appeared in front of his target. Luke couldn't tell what it was, only that it was an enemy. His vision had reddened out and he could barely think over his racing pulse. The axe cleaved. The enemy dropped. More. Sensor readings hit him. Practically indecipherable to him in this state. He didn't care. Enemy, enemy, enemy. Missiles out. Two killed. Boost to the side, rip that one apart with the axe. Had they attempted to block him? It didn't matter.

Fodder tried to stop him by grabbing a leg. He stomped. The weight of the mech was more than enough to crush it and render it irrelevant. Something washed over him. A feeling of death that he dismissed immediately. He wasn't done and felt contempt at the one trying to stop him. He glared at the Valkyrie on a oblique approach vector. She thought she was safe enough to do that? He stepped.

The axe swung and hit her blocking spear as he was next to her. The momentum and weight didn't break the weapon, but it did dent it and stagger her. The next axe strike cut. The enemy dropped, and he spared just a moment of thought to it.

"Judge yourself before me." Luke snarled out, barely sure why he was saying it.

"Unworthy failures rise up!" Another mech spoke outloud.

The mech he'd just bisected moved to attack him. The clawing hands were annoying, but against his armor it was just that. He didn't bother to defend, he just slapped it away and looked for another target. The shouting one. There. Another step.

A staff stopped his strike. Actually stopped it. The staff was weightier than it looked. Irritating. Luke fired off another volley of missiles to get rid of the chaff as he swung again. The vermin had hit him. He noted damage reports. He didn't care. The mech was functional. Keep moving. Keep fighting. Keep killing.

Berserker was not a subtle mech. Axes in general weren't a subtle weapon. They had one direction they were swung in. Like all melee weapons they took a surprising amount of skill, but none of it was in tricks and feints. Only overwhelming power and the dedication to see your swings through. Axes were weighty things that cut and crushed. Using them required leaning into that.

Clangs resounded as the heavy clashed with the opposing mech. It stood up longer than he'd expected. The dead mechs tried to rise up around him, but he used another missile volley to clear them out and let him focus. Again and again the weapons swung. No room, no relief, no mercy. The staff spun around and endured, the pointed tip actually managed to stab him once, but the damage wasn't enough. Even the dedicated fire from all around wasn't enough to stop him.

Something had to give eventually. In this case it was the enemy. One moment she was ready to block, and the next her arms buckled as the axe hit hard. The repeated impacts might have been blocked, but the damage was still going somewhere. The heavy weight and monstrous strength of Einherjar Berserker was not something you could shrug off. Even dodging wasn't enough sometimes, because all it would take was one hit. The intensity the mech brought broke the enemy just as much as the weapons did.

Luke watched his opponent fall without a care. He'd likely killed the pilot. The energy and vitality rushing through him demanded he continue. The damage readings and fuel ratings indicated he needed to return. He let the computer calculate a path and he stepped a final time.

Out of the battlefield he let the secondary generator stop and then winced and gagged as his emotions leveled out. He couldn't say he liked this mech. He could pilot it, but damn if it didn't demand everything. Half his mech was orange and there were red damage hits here and there. On another mech that'd mean it was on its last legs. This one could probably have kept going for another few fights. Its durability was just shy of insane.

Perhaps there was something to be said for mechs fitting the pilot Luke thought as he limped back to the base, because this one was probably something like the opposite for him. The man was going to have to take some anti-nausea stuff later, maybe some painkillers too. For now it was back for repairs and take five while the mech was repaired and possibly passed onto another pilot.

 

[foo-jin]

For now it was back for repairs and take five while the mech was repaired and possibly passed onto another pilot.

Click to shrink...

In Soviet Russia Friday Army you don't pilot mech, instead mech pilots you.

 

[Wolfjob]

Oh man. The entire fight was like this meme:

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WQmrZXewToE&pp=ygUUYWxleCBqb25lcyBlbmVteSA0MGs%3D

 

[Emptiness]

That.....might cause some concern about the mind link setup.

 

[lost star]

"Status report?" The general in charge of the planet demanded as he swept into the room.

"Six prongs have been dropped onto the planet with covering support from orbit." Someone called out calmly. "Initial skirmishes and defenses have been activated. Landing zones are contested, but first responders are falling back due to lack of numbers and support."

With a hiss the general looked over the screens. "Of all times for the upper brass to play fuck-fuck games." He muttered. "Of course we can't contain this with what we have." Thank you morons up top for pulling people off his planet to bait this.

"Predictive algorithms are bugging out again. New calibration didn't hold. They're showing us full holding with minimal casualties after they hit our secondary defensive lines." A tech from the side reported.

"Disable the prediction and switch the computers to data collection." The general ordered with a scowl. Another thing he could lay at his superior's feet. Using computational power to predict battles sounded great on paper but they couldn't even predict experts, much less Glows. "What are the new mechs?"

"Initial report from the special consultant indicates that it's a Glow focused around reactivating dead mechs. Anything that lacks a pilot connection can be targeted." Someone called out. "Re-animation lasts about ten minutes or longer if the downed mech still has power."

"Zombie mechs, of course. It wouldn't be a proper horror show without that." The general said with a small growl. "That explains the chaff." Without weapons a mech wasn't that dangerous, but that was the best-case scenario.

Worst case was if they managed to down a few artillery mechs and animated them. That sort of ordinance would shift a battle in an instant. It was insidious in that it forced local people to be more cautious than normal, gathering up in an attempt to avoid losses. This played into the Hexxer's favored strategy of getting up close and personal.

"Reports on our counter mech show that it's theoretically viable. It can reach an enemy with just line of sight and eliminate it. The new mech are durable though, and there are more of them. The Berserkers aren't going to be able to eliminate all the targets we have. There's already reports of them overextending and being overwhelmed." An analysist gave his input.

"We had too little time to adapt." The general concluded.

Those problems were obvious in retrospect. They would have been compensated for had they been given time to scrimmage and wargame. As it was, they were being forced to game it out on the fly. He could already see the casualties. Thankfully the new mech was designed to be damned near impossible to kill, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He was doubly thankful for the fact that the mech was rather simple at its core. You got close and attacked. It was very hard to mess that up. Everything else could be plotted around.

"Got a name for the new Hexxer mech. Hella Handmaiden." A call came. "Consultant got the remains of a few of them and is giving us an evaluation." There was a small pause. "I'm going to have to request a technical aid."

"What?"

"He's giving a train of thought, and I can't understand any of it." The attendant reading the report replied back.

"Oh, damnit he hasn't been read in on how to do military briefings. Ask him to summarize!" One of the many aides instructed the man on the communicator.

The general kept half an ear out for that summary as he continued to watch the overall view. It wasn't good. The pulled garrison forces had opened up far too many holes. They had to pull back to the production facilities and let the Hexxers run relatively free. They were already making a beachhead and he couldn't dispute that.

"Summarized. The Handmaiden uses a nanomachine dust empowered with Glow to animate mechs. It needs proximity to dust a mech, but the nanomachines can last for days before animation. It's also highly armored and the staff is meant for close combat. There's some speculation that the pointed end can also inject a specialized substance, but he can't confirm. No other weapons were observed." The attendant said.

"Clarify on the armor." The general ordered.

"If it had a shield it'd be a defensive knight." The response was fairly quick.

That made him take a moment to think. The lack of serious ranged weapons made the mech a large team player rather than something meant to operate independent of other forces. The chaff were used to give it some material to work with and sow confusion. It didn't fit the standard drone mech pattern. It was more like an area of effect disruption and something that forced an enemy to be mindful of casualties. It was another morale targeting effect really, but could snowball quickly with the proper kills.

"I'm getting damned tired of Glows." The leader of the defenses concluded with a heavy sigh.

Wisely, there were no comments from his staff about that. The man was fairly sure that were feeling the same thing. They couldn't change anything though. Like it or not the Hexxers had initiative here. Their offense with the new mech had been very well crafted, and the combination of glows they had access to were utterly dominating the battlefield. That'd change as the Friday coalition continued to mobilize their defenses, but for now they were winning well enough to have secured places on the planet.

"One of the prongs is adjusting!" The callout made everyone laser focus. "They're targeting the Guest forces."

"Guest forces? Ah, wait I recall them." The general grimaced. He'd received specific orders to let them take hits if he could. "Any forces in range?"

"Their positioning was in the place reserved for mercenaries as per procedure. That area is deliberately set apart and we have several clear lines of fire for specific scenarios, but no forces are there at the moment." The callout wasn't emotional, but everyone knew what those words meant. The guests were being targeted with almost double their numbers.

"Sent a warning and that we can't offer reinforcements." The man ordered with a trace of relief. This wasn't on his head, nor was it intentional. It was just how the flow of battle worked.

"Done." A comms officer said after a second and then paused. "They just gave me a cheerful ok?" He said with confusion.

"What?" The general asked with matching confusion.

"Guest forces are moving! Unable to define destination. Enemy forces are in pursuit, but..." The officer responsible for the report blinked. "Sir I have no idea what's happening." He concluded.

"Offer whatever support you can short of directing forces that way. We cannot neglect the defenses. If the Hexxers want to get bogged down with our guests we use that to hit them elsewhere." The general ordered after a beat and tapped on a prison area. "I see a prong moving this way. Prioritize it."

He couldn't aid Bolt's family here without destroying his career, but he could certainly make the Hexxers bleed and tie up any other forces he could. If they got out just fine, well he'd done everything he'd been asked to do. Teach those morons upstairs to play politics with his planet.

 

[Simonbob]

He couldn't aid Bolt's family here without destroying his career, but he could certainly make the Hexxers bleed and tie up any other forces he could. If they got out just fine, well he'd done everything he'd been asked to do. Teach those morons upstairs to play politics with his planet.

Click to shrink...

That's....

I feel a little sorry for the General, to be honest. Not for the hard battle, not for the Glow stuff, but because he can't just help those who've helped his people.



Politics. Fucking politics. As they say, from the Latin, Poli, meaning groups, and tic, meaning blood sucking parasites.