The Mech Touch

h is a fine machine, but not a mech that ’s suited to lead the Whalers. ”

Ves glanced at the so-called Urman standing quietly to the stable up ahead.
The mech turned out to be a brawler, an exotic archetype that basically fought with its fists.

Like its pilot, the brawler looked like it could withstand a lot of punishment.
Ves estimated that all of its armor had actually pushed the mech over the medium weight class.

Normally, that was bad, as mechs like this didn ’t possess the level of protection enjoyed by genuine heavy mechs.
However, some pilots simply made it work, and from Walter looked like he was one of them.
Ves imagined their shared body types helped a lot with establishing a deeper connection between the two.

”I can see why you ’re attached to your mech.
The Blackbeak is a mech that ’s suited for long-ranged patrols and lengthy battles of attrition.
It can ’t deliver an immediate impact like your Urman. ”

Walter probably had ways to get around its sluggish speed and its subpar psuedo-heavy armor.
If the Urman ever got close to a mech, it could punch a mech apart through sheer brute force with the help of its large powered gauntlets.

Another man stepped forth.
He looked to be from the same generation as Walter, but thankfully his body wasn ’t so wide.
”Walter! You called? ”

”Come over here.
Fadah, this is Ves.
Ves, this is Fadah.
He ’s my fourth-in-command of sorts. ”

Fadah snorted.
”More like eight or ninth.
You always change your mind.
It ’s a wonder the Whalers are still in one shape. ”

”Hah! As long as everyone gets a taste of power, they ’ll know how much grief they have to deal with.
That helps cut down the potential mutinies. ”

”As if we don ’t fear you. ” The skinnier Whaler shook his head.
”Anyway, why did you call me over? I was in the middle of sorting out our roster.
It ’s a real mess, you know. ”

”I called you here because you ’ll be piloting that black thing over there.
You ’ve always been nagging your ears about your piece of junk of a mech.
Well, here ’s a brand new machine, and a unique one to boot.
It ’s all yours! ”

”But I ’m a scout pilot! I pilot light mechs! ”

”Light mechs, medium mechs, what ’s the difference! When you get down to it, they ’re both fast and hard to catch.
They just differ in the amount of armor they ’re willing to carry.
Besides, you ’re my most resourceful pilot.
Only someone as hard to kill as you will fit this beast. ”

Walter didn ’t take no for an answer, and quickly walked away, leaving Ves and Fadah to stew by themselves.

”Is he always like that? ”

”Yeah.
He seems like he doesn ’t care, but he doesn ’t want to be bothered with managing anything. ”

”Then why do the Whalers stick with him? ”

The older man grinned at him.
”You wouldn ’t understand.
The best I can describe it is… it ’s like a brotherhood.
Walter ’s Whalers might not possess the ruthlessness to survive in a place like Bentheim, but that ’s because Walter never pushes us beyond our boundaries. ”

Ves didn ’t really understand what he meant.
He shook his head and turned back to the matter at hand.
”For better or worse, you ’re saddled with my pride and joy.
The Blackbeak is a fine machine.
It will run as smooth as butter, I can guarantee you. ”

”Whatever you say.
It ’s not a scout.
Far from it.
It ’s a knight. ” Fadah didn ’t appear to be taken in by all the hype, but he tried to make the best of it.
”Let ’s get to work, then. ”

Any mech pilot that adopted a new mech had to go through a period of training and adjustment.
Normally, a couple of mech pilots would be sufficient to tweak the mech to the pilot ’s preferences.
Allowing Ves to do the adjustments on a design he knew on an extremely deep level was an extravagant privilege.

Fadah came from a light mech background, so the man mainly demanded ways to enhance the Blackbeak ’s mobility.
In particular, Fadah harped on improving its response time and its range of motion.

”A light mech relies on agility to survive up close.
The more you shave off a mech ’s response time, the better it will be able to respond to an opponent ’s move. ”

Ves felt deeply reluctant to make any drastic changes to the Blackbeak, but Fadah insisted on a couple of modifications that severely impacted the effectiveness of its armor.

As Ves tried to follow Fadah ’s suggestions, he became a little conflicted about maintaining its ability to endure.
Many of the things Fadah insisted upon set back the Blackbeak ’s ability to survive the entire campaign.

”You shouldn ’t be beating your head over my style. ” Fadah said.
”The whole point of light mechs is that they survive by not taking a hit at all.
I know it seems kind of reckless for me to demand you strip a knight of some of its armor, but I can tell you that I ’ll be much better off that way. ”

”I still think you ’re going too far with this! The Blackbeak is losing its identity as a knight! ”

”I don ’t want to pilot a knight! ”

They remained at an impasse.
Ves felt more and more like he was butchering the Blackbeak until all he had left was bones.
The conflicting vision for the mech sometimes caused him headaches that forced him to halt his adjustment work.

That was bad, as the Whaler fleet would soon arrive at the outskirts of the space around the Glowing Planet.
The crew members of the Happy Jelly already called the five light-hours around the planet the Glowing Zone.

The Whaler fleet was scheduled to rendez-vous at a point around one light-hour into the Glowing Zone.
Monty the Beheader issued a call to arms, and every outfit that pledged allegiance to him had to heed his words.

If all went well in space, the Whalers would be touching down in a couple of days.
Ves had to finish the Blackbeak and inspect some of the other mechs before that happened.
He urgently had to find a way to solve his current logjam.

”What will it take to reconcile my mech with its pilot? ”