The Mech Touch novel Chapter 99

Ves clenched his fists as he looked downward at the stage where his Sword Dancer tried to fight against an aerial fortress. Even he was rendered helpless when facing one of Carter Gauge’s impossibly advanced aerial mech.

The technology of that time shouldn’t be able to support such incredible flight systems. Gauge must have spent quite a bit of time customizing the outdated wings and bring it up to the current generation.

Ordinarily, that might have led to his folly. After all, the more time he spent on the wings, the less time he could allocate on the armor and internals. Looking at the Pterodactyl’s performance showed that the flying heavy mech did not lose out that much in other aspects. Its armor was especially resilient even after some hasty repairs.

Even the audience thought the match would end with no suspense and turned away to view more even matchups.

"I’m impressed Cadet Lovejoy hasn’t lost his mech yet." One of the commentators noted when he switched his view. "Out of all of the Pterodactyl’s opponents, he’s already lasted the longest."

"That’s because Lovejoy is paying more attention to dodging than thinking about hitting back. If he’s trying to outlast the Pterodactyl in terms of energy consumption, then he’s fooling himself. The heavy mech is packed with energy cells."

"The only chance he can squeeze a victory out of this narrow road is to get a lucky hit with his low-grade pistol."

With only about an estimated ten minutes left before the laser barrage cut through the medium mech’s armor, the Sword Dancer had very little else to go on. Lovejoy scowled as he pulled out every trick in his bag in order to stay ahead of the suppressive laser fire from above.

From the frequency of the lasers, he judged the heavy mech had plenty of reserves. In contrast, his Sword Dancer had been designed for short-duration high-intensity combat. Even at a lower power setting, it still drained a significant portion of energy over time.

"I have to finish this quickly." Lovejoy concluded with difficulty.

He gave up on saving power and instead routed more of it towards feeding his pistol. The weapon beeped in alarm when it exceeded its recommended safety limit. Lovejoy had to dig through the settings and override all the safeties.

The weapon’s programming estimated that the pistol had about three percent chance of blowing up with each shot. This probability increased in accordance with the amount of heat the weapon accumulated.

"I don’t care if it will blow up in a couple of minutes!" He screamed at his pistol and ruthlessly tore down the last safety holding him back from firing high-powered beams.

The pistol whined audibly as it discharged the accumulated energy in a single eye-watering blast. The beam shot straight into the sky and burned a small gap in the heavy mech’s wings.

That gap represented the first real sign of damage on the Pterodactyl. It gave Lovejoy hope, though the Pterodactyl also started to increase its speed and sway a little bit more. Both sides increased their power consumption in order to put a quick end to the match.

The broadcasters took notice of the increased intensity of their fight and put the battle on the main projection. Alongside the ongoing duel, the faces of the pilots and the mech designers were added to the sides.

"Look at the faces of Larkinson and Lovejoy! They are still clinging to the last shreds of hope. Can their Sword Dancer defeat the Pterodactyl in one of the most uneven clashes ever?"

"Our processors have analyzed the odds of Cadet Lovejoy managing to score a deadly blow. He only has a 2.3 percent chance in the best scenario!"

"It’s safe to say that Carter Gauge has racked up another victory. There’s no way the Sword Dancer’s pistol can get past that heavy mech’s armor."

Despite the long odds, everyone’s attention was glued to the tragic battle. They all hoped the underdog mech could pull off a miracle and put a dent into Carter Gauge’s invincible halo.

Those affiliated with the Carnegie Group had more reason than many to support Gauge’s opponents. Of all the talents from Leemar who faced the dreaded genius, none had high hopes of matching him equally in the field of mech design.

Where would their faces be if they let someone nurtured by a rival partner of the Coalition trample on their talents?

A lot was at stake for this fight. As the Sword Dancer had been matched up against weak opponents, it had a high probability of dropping off the top 25.

As for the Pterodactyl, it had vanquished against a couple of strong opponents so its passage into the top 25 was assured. A fourth victory in this round would cap off Gauge’s invincible halo and propel his momentum into an unstoppable tide once he reached the finals.

A few minutes went by as Lovejoy kept dancing with the devil. His pistol glowed with excessive heat to the point of starting to melt its some of its softer furnishings. The Sword Dancer flirted with disaster each time it fired an overcharged laser beam at the gigantic hovering mech.

The Pterodactyl stoically endured the high-powered laser beams. The accuracy of the pistol left something to be desired and the Sword Dancer also had to keep moving which further degraded its aim. Though the heavy mech presented a large target, half of the beams went wide. Those that did hit its surface only melted a couple of widely distributed holes in its heavy armor.

The next shot achieved a different result. By sheer coincidence, the beam impacted near a previously damaged weak point at a spot covered up by flimsier replacement armor. The consecutive hit possessed enough power to melt through the damaged portion and inflict serious damage to the internals underneath.

Just as the Pterodactyl suffered a minor explosion in its underbelly, the Sword Dancer’s pistol also succumbed to the abuse. The backup firearm had never been designed to tolerate this much heat, especially when firing at a constant frequency. The weapon exploded, causing heat and shrapnel to engulf the Sword Dancer’s outstretched arm.

"No!" Lovejoy yelled as the surface of his mech withstood the rest of the shrapnel. He cared little for his mech’s lost arm or the scratches it received. Now that he lost his only weapon, he had no means of damaging the Pterodactyl. The game was as good as lost.

As for the heavy mech, despite the damage it suffered, the mech was built to take a beating. Heavy mechs never collapsed after suffering a single penetrating hit. Even if it lost some power, the Pterodactyl possessed enough redundancies to keep it afloat.

"What is the Pterodactyl doing? It’s stopped firing. According to our readings, its weapons should have plenty of juice left."

"It’s hovering closer to the Sword Dancer. The pilot wants to gloat over his victory!"

Some of the people in the audience started booing at the unsportsmanlike behavior. Only the most conceited individuals disrespected their opponents this way. The worst thing about the act was that the latter half of the duel had been broadcast to the entire Komodo Star Sector.

On the main projection above, both the pilot and Gauge adopted arrogant expressions. Though joined together through circumstance, they both compliment each other nicely. Gauge wanted to prove his superiority by partnering with a bottom-ranked pilot, while the pilot grew an inflated head due to the excellent mechs he received.

A shadow hung over the motionless Sword Dancer. Lovejoy already gave up on the match and sank down in his simulation pod. He paid little attention to the ongoing match.

Like a caveman staring helplessly at an aircar, the Pterodactyl emphasized its superiority by maintaining its altitude over the helpless swordsman mech. It even dipped up and down in an exaggerated motion, which attracted further scorn from the audience.