The Mech Touch novel Chapter 656

When Lieutenant Feray swung his gauntlet, commanding the floating crate behind him to set down on the deck, Ves finally beheld his new custom-made combat armor they prepared for him, even if it was a few months late.

He had long requested a suit of combat armor to replace his unwieldy and inadequate hazard suit. For some reason, he ended up in way too many combat situations for a mech designer.

Fortunately, their impending foray in the frontier had given everyone a kick in the butt. Due to the massive perils involved with crossing over into wild space, every safety regulation and procedure had been checked. Handing over suits of combat armor to the servicemen had been put on the agenda at some point.

While Ves had long looked forward to receiving an armored suit that could endure the rigors of battle, the one he received seemed.. a bit more theatrical than he expected.

Once he brought it out of the crate, Ves was able to inspect the entire ensemble’s appearance.

Fundamentally, the full kit of armor had been based around a light combat armor pattern. Light in this context meant the suit was light enough to prevent burdening a servicemen who too much. Small servos and other powered assists helped with lifting the arms or moving the legs, but they were so small and limited that they only served to compensate for the modest added bulk of the armor pieces.

The helmet featured a semi-open design which in normal circumstances left the face open. In an emergency, the face-plate could quickly be affixed in place, vacuum-sealing the suit and allowing its occupant to subsist on the suit’s slim oxygen reserves.

Light combat armor had never been designed for mainline infantry combatants. Instead, they were cheap but cost-effective pieces of armor to be adorned by support personnel stuck in the field. It wouldn’t be able to withstand the firepower of a rifle for long, but it had never been meant to be a punching bag. The suit was light and fast enough for its wearer to dive to cover if they ever faced an attack.

"Combat armor is supposed to protect. This one adds so much bling to my person that I’m practically inviting trouble if the public sees my appearance!"

The armorer involved with customizing his suit of armor must have possessed an artist’s touch. Ves felt sympathetic about any craftsman with a penchant for art because it was part of his mech design repertoire as well. Seeing similar works from others ordinarily put a smile on his face, but the work done to his abomination of a protective suit really wanted to make him pull out his own hair.

The first change was that it shared the same black-and-reddish color scheme of the Flagrant Vandals. Formally, it should have either been coated in a camouflage pattern or the default dark green color scheme of a mech designer. Painting him in the same brush as the Vandals wasn’t actually proper, not that anyone this far out cared about the official regulations in the first place.

The part he objected to was the added bling, for a lack of a better word. The armor turned into some demented artist’s skewed perception of what a mech designer ought to wear. Engraved with silver lines, depictions of mechs in battle adorned its surface. The armor parts partially lost their smooth organic contours and instead acquired some of the blocky mechanical shapes of a mech.

"At least the extra armor will come in handy when I get shot at." He concluded. "But do I really need to wear this thick and unwieldy cape?"

A rich burgundy cape lined with sharp black accents completed the high noble look. The fabric was thick and fluffy enough to drown half-a-dozen babies. On its back, the emblem of the Flagrant Vandals marked out the wearer’s allegiance. The emblem depicted a stylized city in flames, which was apt considering the destruction the Vandals were prone to spread.

"Hopefully Mancroft won’t end up in ruins by the time we leave." He muttered before turning to Lieutenant Feray. "Do I need to ask why the armor looks like what a parody of a jumped-up nouveau riche Vesian nobleman would wear?"

The security officers collectively chuffed at that.

"When in Rubarth, do as the Rubarthans do. The Swordmaidens told us that we can’t rely on our name and official sanction from the Bright Republic to deter the pirates. The only language they understand is violence, and the best way to make them understand we can’t be messed with is to dress like the part. All of these modifications may be theatrics, but don’t underestimate the effectiveness of posturing. The Swordmaidens have shown us that a single show of force is enough to stop unscrupulous thoughts."

Ves understood the logic behind this decision. The Flagrant Vandals ordinarily laid low when they weren’t out in the field. Then they showed their fangs, but by then it was too late for their victims to save themselves.

The Vandals had a habit of understating their strength and presence when out among the public. Unlike other mech regiments, they did not excel at upfront combat. And while they valued honor and valor like any other military unit, the Vandals prized their lives over their reputation.

In the frontier, the equation was different. Reputation, fame and notoriety all added directly to an outfit’s ability to survive. There was no overarching authority in charge of dispensing justice in the untamed stars, so the only form of protection outfits could rely on to deter troublemakers was their ability to look formidable.

It worked for Lydia’s Swordmaidens, so it also ought to work for the Vandals.

The light combat armor prioritized protection over convenience, so it didn’t disassemble in midair to encompass his body. The armor pieces had to be opened up manually, and getting kitted out took a cumbersome fifteen minutes, though much of that time had been spent on last-minute adjustments.

"This isn’t a regular combat armor model." Ves noted as he experimentally tested the dexterity of his gauntlets. "I’ve worn some before, but they don’t feel as sturdy and solid as this one."

Affixing the cape to his shoulders practically doubled his outward stature. There was a reason why capes became the favored addition to nobles throughout the galaxy. Powerful men and women just looked better with a cloth hanging behind their backs.