The Mech Touch novel Chapter 175

Before switching to condition red, the two fleets danced around each other.

The expeditionary fleet centered around the Ark Horizon kept trying to transition into FTL.

In order to bar their way, the Dragons of the Void kept bombarding them with miniature gravity bombs. These bombs did nothing much but radiate a strong local gravity field that quickly tapered off. However, they were cheap to make so thousands of these bombs rained over the expeditionary fleet at any moment.

At its current state, the expeditionary fleet’s FTL drives couldn’t handle the disturbance. The constant ejection of the bombs was like throwing stones into a formerly placid lake. The ripples that ensued when the stones touched the water prevented the ships from going into FTL.

However, the Dragons of the Void miscalculated. In order to disturb the expeditionary fleet, their own pirate ships had to come fairly close. When Lord Kaine decided to turn his ship straight into the pirates, he surprised everyone but putting the Ark Horizon in the vanguard.

Putting his flagship in the heart of the offensive thrust exposed the valuable ship to significant enemy fire, but also allowed him to use his best ship in the best possible way.

The expeditionary fleet’s maneuvers had caught the Dragons of the Void off-guard. Lord Kaine ordered the fleet to close up its formation and assemble into an arrow. The man wanted to pierce straight through the dispersed formation of pirates before they could do the same.

Their disparity in strength became evident after the two fleets collided. The vast distance between each ship ensured no actual collision occurred. However, many spaceborn mechs came into medium or close range to each other, which allowed House Kaine to flex its superior ships and mechs.

The pirates fell short on both firepower and armor. Many pirate vessels simply consisted of civilian transports converted into improvised mech carriers. These ships generally didn’t possess exceptional armor and their keels and support structure were never rated to handle heavy abuse.

On the other hand, the ships controlled by House Kaine and their partners boasted thick layers of exotic armor. Each ship cost a fortune, but all of them made it through the thick of the fight with nothing but scratches.

In terms of offense, House Kaine chewed up the pirate fleet with its abundant number of riflemen and cannoneer mechs. They had been equipped to handle the sandmen, so they possessed a large amount of kinetic weaponry such as ballistic rifles and railguns. These weapons possessed a very large punch and were capable of crippling any small-to-medium sized ships in a couple of volleys.

Yet the pirates didn’t go down without a fight. After experiencing the ferocity of the forces from the Grey Willow Star Sector, they shifted the bulk of their firepower towards the mercenaries who remained loyal to House Kaine.

The mercenary ships already had to deal with their colleagues who turned their coats. They suffered heavy casualties once they became the focus of the enemy mechs, especially considering that most of them carried mechs kitted out for melee combat.

While George’s Cavalry eventually swooped in and came to their rescue, even they couldn’t cover every direction. The mercenaries sustained casualties up to around thirty percent.

In the meantime, some pirates went crazy and plunged straight towards the Ark Horizon. The massive ship utilized both her broadside bunkers to lay down a massive field of fire in two directions. Her prodigious firepower disrupted the pirate formation and softened them up to follow-up blows.

While many pirates valued their own lives and tried to fly away, some daredevils running on stimulants dove straight towards the behemoth. The defenders aboard the Ark Horizon focused their fire towards these dangerous lunatics, but some of them managed to get through.

The pirate mech that sneaked into one of the hangar bays made for a sorry sight. It lost an entire arm and much of its torso lost its armor plating. Despite the catastrophic damage, it held on to its laser rifle with its remaining arm and tried to raise it towards a group of bewildered mech technicians.

The mech suddenly crunched into pieces as a dazzling white mech fell on top of its prone form. The newly arrived mech featured a light feminine contour with marvellous red streamers hanging from its head. From the way it collapsed a pirate mech merely by stomping on it, the white mech must be a highly advanced mech.

The white mech flourished its spear, the tip of which glowed in a mysterious white glow. The mech transmitted Captain Kaine’s voice to everyone’s hazard suits. "Lock down the hangar bay! Close the ramp and man the defense turrets!"

Everyone sprung into action. The huge opening that exposed the hangar bay to space started to close up. Just as the ramp covered the giant gap, another pirate mech appeared and slammed a sword through one of the mechanisms.

The ramp abruptly stopped midway, leaving enough space for more intruders. A handful of pirate mechs that survived the initial barrage flocked to the opening and tried to squeeze into the vulnerable hangar.

The pitfalls of deploying a fleet carrier straight into the fray finally became apparent. In the end, the Ark Horizon lacked the armor coverage and anti-mech defense systems of a true warship.

"Mechs, hold your ground! Repel the invaders!"

A significant amount of House Kaine’s mechs remained on standby. All of them mobilized at this moment in order to respond to the new threat.

In the meantime, Melkor raced towards his own mech which had been stowed in the corner since their arrival. His Stanislaw wielded a deadly mid-range laser rifle which could wreak havoc if he recklessly fired the weapon. Thus, as soon as his mech came online, he dialed down the power and aimed carefully before firing at the pirate mechs making a mess of things.

Internal defense turrets came online at this moment and helped repel the pirates. Some enemy mechs collapsed after suffering a couple of blows, while other mechs required much more effort to defeat. All of the latter mechs carried the emblem of a white-and-black dragon’s head.

"Turrets, focus on the rabble. Leave the Dragons of the Void to us!"