[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 73: Underway

The designers of the Torch of the Vanguard shaped it in a lengthy, triangular form. It looked like a stubby rod where the top was narrow in order to provide windows to every cabin and fat at the bottom to store lots of cargo. Thus, the underbelly of the ship had enough room to setup a small arena, shielded by the best screening technology the Friday Coalition could afford.

A large crowd already gathered around the high-tech stadium. Even for the Friday Coalition, seeing a nextgen mech perform was not an everyday sight. Only the elites from second-rate states were privileged to pilot such an expensive and powerful mech.

Naturally, the first-rate superstates treated nextgen mechs as their basic models. The cutting edge generation that they were still developing would be unleashed to the wider galaxy in about a decade. Ves was already apprehensive about the sea of changes that ensued with every generational leap.

"Hey Ves, can you explain to me what's so fancy about the next generation?"

Each new generation represented a major leap forward in a couple of areas of technology. Usually the incorporation of hitherto unknown exotic materials supported such innovation.

"I don't have the details, but I've heard the next generation is largely an advance in weapons and energy storage technology. Lasers and other types of direct energy weapons are more powerful and can deliver a higher burst of damage without damaging their weapons. High-end energy cells are also able to store more power. As for heat management, the improvement there hasn't caught up so mechs running energy weapons won't last as long."

"Okay, so lasers are gonna hit harder and longer but the heat management is going to be a bitch. Sounds like it's ideal for skirmisher-types. What about ballistic and missile weaponry?"

"There's no major innovation there, but weapons manufacturers have reduced the costs of much of their premium weaponry. It basically means that the other weapon types can catch up at the cost of reduced profits to manufacturers."

"Heh, sounds good. Those greedy bastards charge way too much for ammunition. It's about time they get to bleed."

Ves did not mention that armor systems also failed to keep up. That largely meant that battles between nextgen mechs were shorter and more intense. The risk of death increased while the amount of repairs and replenishments was going up. The strategic use of mechs was about to change in many ways.

They sat around the arena and waited for the show to start. It did not take too long for the stars to arrive.

"That's Wolf Greer of the Constellations! His Moonhowl mech once smashed three pirates at once with his Overload Fist!"

A bulky medium mech carrying twin pistols on its hips arrived first. Despite the pistols, the mech was built like a brawler, its main weapon being its reinforced fists. The pilot had guts for resorting to unarmed combat. The shorter range meant the mech had less reach and more importantly less leverage to punch through armor.

"What's the Overload Fist?"

"Don't know. We'll see it in action soon enough."

As Ves admired the Moonhowl's refined lines, its opponent came onto the stage as well.

The other mech weighed a little lighter than the Moonhowl. The large logo on its arm told the audience that the mech named Righteous Sword fought under the banner of the Winston Corps.

"That's Iris Peterson's famous Righteous Sword, one of the best sword mechs of the Coalition!"

The two nextgen mechs met each other in the middle of the arena. After a short handshake, they parted and stood at the standard dueling distance for small-sized arenas. The small setting gave the Righteous Sword a lot less room to run around. As a mech armed with nothing but a single sword, Iris needed all the room she could get in order to leverage her mech's superior mobility.