[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 167: Lord Kaine

After the shuttle picked up a full load, it flew back to the Ark Horizon. As the shuttle neared the immense fleet carrier, Ves got a new appreciation of her incredible construction. Although her armor looked fairly scuffed and worn out, it didn't detract from the majesty of a two-kilometer capital ship.

The CFA and MTA maintained a monopoly on warships. No other ships under any human power were allowed to carry fixed weapons. Supposedly, the main reason why they forbid arming ships was because they'd be capable of an incredible amount of destruction otherwise.

This had indeed limited the massive amounts of death and destruction prevalent in internal conflicts. It also left the human polities scratching their heads on how to enforce their power in space.

Eventually, they switched over to the combat carrier doctrine. Staring off from a basic mech carrier design, they enhanced its structure and massively piled up the armor. In place of fixed hardpoints, they added in armored enclosures akin to bunkers on the sides of the carrier design.

A rear entry allowed mechs to enter these bunkers from within the ship and fire out into space from its narrow gaps. Thus, they turned the carrier into an improvised warship.

Over time, the bunkers grew more sophisticated to the point where mech designers came up with specialized defensive mechs that excelled in the role. They gave up almost all pretenses of mobility in favor of enhancing their power, endurance and targeting systems.

Both the CFA and MTA turned a blind eye to the phenomenon. The limitations of the mech frame insured that they could never increase their firepower beyond the level of what a mech would be able to wield. It would be like a fly trying to shoot a human-sized pistol. It couldn't be done without cheating.

This imposed a limit on an armored carrier's capacity for destruction, which suited their purposes. As long as no one flung around nukes or planet-cracking mass drivers, everyone got along fine.

From an engineering perspective, Ves admired the Ark Horizon's ability to carry and field over a hundred mechs. The floating citadel housed an extremely complex ecosystem in order to keep the mechs and the people who serviced them running.

The shuttle passed through a translucent energy screen and entered one of the smaller hangar bays meant for shuttle traffic. Once it landed at its designated spot, the hatch slid open, allowing the passengers entry to the carrier's busy deck.

"This way, please." A uniformed attendant greeted the guests and led them to the exit of the hanger.

Ves looked around and noted that all of the shuttles in the hangar bay looked brand new. This contrasted sharply with the slightly worn and used look of the rest of the carrier.

Once they entered the corridors and navigated through several decks, everyone could sense the age of the Ark Horizon. Lord Kaine hadn't spent too much time and effort in refurbishing its utilitarian interior.

He wondered why Lord Kaine went to the trouble of procuring such an expensive ship in the first place. The crew seemed attentive enough, but as Ves walked past several hangars and mech stables, he noted that at least half of the mechs were owned my mercenaries.

As his mind roiled with questions, they finally arrived at a large and expansive dining hall. Its wood-paneled interior along with the colorful banners draped over the walls gave the room a classy look.

Floating little suns of light provided moody lighting. The balls of light whirled around lazily above everyone's heads as if swept by a tide.

Various large circular tables awaited the guests. It became evident that the dining arrangements had been split in two. The first tier had been reserved for the mech pilots while those who took up other professions seated themselves at the lower tier of tables.