The Mech Touch novel Chapter 12

The battlefield finished loading, revealing a ruined city. Craters, broken mechs and other war debris littered the landscape. Eerily, no life moved in the city. All was still, except for the desolate wind howling between the cracks of fallen skyscrapers.

The silence ended as a brilliantly colored streak rose in the air. The Fantasia R2 Seraphim readied its long ranged rifle and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

"Come on! Let’s stop hiding like rats." TheSeventhSnake publicly declared. "I’m right here! Shoot me if you can!"

Nothing responded to his taunts. The slim, grey Phantasm that popped up from the side of a broken tank shook its head.

"I told you they wouldn’t fall for it. Congratulations for revealing your position. Now get down and stop wasting your limited energy." Triceratopssss said as he tried to accustom himself to his new mech.

The Seraphim cut back on its wing thrusters, allowing the mech to find some cover among the streets.

"This is why I hate 2v2. Everyone’s constantly playing these clever strategies. The 1v1 arena is a lot more straightforward."

The Phantasm’s pilot kept his mech in the shadows as he explored their surroundings. "I’m not saying you’re wrong, but remember it was your idea to duo queue with two Fantasia variants. We have to play a little dirty if we want to win as a pair of light mechs."

The two versus two arena provided a more intricate combat experience compared to the solo queue. With a teammate at your back, pilots had a lot more leeway in bringing a specialized mech to battle.

For example, one player could pilot a heavy mech laden with missile launchers and magazines. Such a mech could rain death at long and medium range, but was as helpless at a kitten once an enemy got close. However, a teammate kitted out in a melee mech could keep off any mech that approached in the assurance that he won’t get shot down from range.

Compared to such a classical synergistic team up, a combination of two light mechs hardly sounded optimal. Neither mechs possessed toughness and staying power. If they weren’t able to shred their enemies apart in the first ten minutes of a match, then they’d run out of juice.

Luckily, light mechs still possessed some advantages. While Triceratopssss kept his Phantasm behind cover, TheSeventhSnake’s Seraphim engaged its active scanning mode. The mech’s hair sensors extended out and released invisible pulses, most of which bounced back when it encountered the plentiful debris in the map.

"My scanners are having a hard time picking up anything with all of this junk blocking my scans. My radar is full of false positives. I’m practically broadcasting my position here."

"It’s better than nothing. At least you’ll attract the enemy for us while I find a good ambushing position."

The bait had been cast, and it only took a couple of minutes for the fish to bite. The Seraphim noted a large energy signature strolling down the main avenue. _{freeweɓnovel.cøm}

"I got an incoming mech. With an energy signature this large, it’s bound to be a heavy mech. No sign of its partner."

"They’re playing the same game as us." Triceratopssss guessed as he moved his Phantasm a little closer in order to peak at the approaching opponent. "Do you want me to stay hidden or find an opportunity to jump the heavy?"

TheSeventhSnake mulled both options before finally deciding on a course of action. "It depends on the heavy. From what I can guess, it’s likely to be a frontliner. Your Phantasm won’t have an easy time peeling its armor if that’s the case."

Triceratopssss only carried a basic pistol in his Phantasm’s limited loadout in order to make room for a sword. He could peel apart most mechs fitted out as riflemen but faced some trouble against heavy knight-type opponents.

"Don’t do anything fancy. Just sit back and be ready to back me up."

"Okay boss."

While the Phantasm slunk into the bowels of a giant commercial complex, the Seraphim flew into the air and over the skyline. He easily caught sight of the enemy mech, which revealed itself to be a model unfamiliar to TheSeventhSnake. The bipedal mech wasn’t built as a knight. Instead, it appeared to sport a shotgun and a pair of shoulder-mounted lasers. The energy weapons tracked the Seraphim in the sky and let loose a barrage of beams.

The Seraphim snapped back with a couple of shots of his rifle, trusting his auto-aim to ensure it hit the heavy mech. The heavier the mech, the larger its energy signature, which meant that tracking systems had an easier time maintaining a lock. In the meantime, the flying mech cut back its thrust and dropped to the roof of a ruined apartment building, which cut its line of sight.

"Tops, the fucker’s a striker. Its armor doesn’t look too heavy, but he’s sporting a really big shotgun. If he manages to draw a bead on you while you’re closing in, you’re dead."

"No worries, pal. He won’t get me if I come from behind. Just keep attracting his attention." Triceratopssss cockily replied.

The Seraphim flew back into the sky and shot a couple more times. He had an easier time tracking the heavy mech than vica versa. Even though the Seraphim ran a little hot, its still a much lighter and less energy intensive machine. The constant roof hopping insured the heavy mech had to waste a lot of time reacquiring his targeting lock for his shoulder weapons.

TheSeventhSnake wouldn’t be so daring if the heavy mech wielded a long-ranged rifle, which the enemy pilot could fire on instinct instead of relying on computer-guided algorithms. In the lower tiers of Iron Spirit, such computer-based targeting always worked like shit.

"I’m in position, Snake. You want me to go in?"

"The other guy’s still lurking around. You might get sniped before you know it."

"I’ll take that risk. I really want to peel this heavy guy’s face with my sword. He’s just so arrogant."

The Seraphim took a few glancing blows from the lasers as it rose to fire another volley. TheSeventhSnake guessed that the pilot took over manual targeting for his shoulder-mounted lasers. That meant the enemy would take time to switch back over to his shotgun when pressed in close range.

"Okay, let’s do it. I’ll make a few dives to attract his attention. Don’t wait too long or I’ll get screwed!"

After taking a deep breath, TheSeventhSnake jumped off the roof, spread his mech’s wings and made a high-speed dive towards the enemy, all the while releasing a rainbow stripe. His rifle awkwardly shot a steady stream of energy bolts, most of which dug shallow holes into the heavy mech’s plating.

The Harconix Light DMR fitted the Seraphim well. It possessed good range, a fairly high accuracy and didn’t gobble down too much energy. Unfortunately, its punch had always been a little under-tuned among long-ranged rifles. The heavy mech, despite being under constant fire, practically ignored the DMR’s shots, confident his armor could withstand the damage for the moment.

TheSeventhSnake gritted his teeth. "I’ve learned a few new tricks."