The Mech Touch

　　Then why did he feel anything but comfortable with himself?

　　"What's the matter, Tusa?"

　　Ranya sat in front of a vanity mirror and adjusted her green, leaf-like hair. It was her most distinctive and exotic feature. When she let it out, it immediately became obvious to anyone that she was quite far removed from ordinary humans.

　　Though most people would have felt disturbed at coming too close to someone whose hair began to resemble plants, Tusa never cared that much. He found it to be a wonderful expression of freedom.

　　"I… kind of feel useless as of late." He admitted as he sat up from the bed and began to dress himself. "If the battle against the Titania is anything to go by, big guns will be the way going forward. Some enemies are just so big and so tough that a light skirmisher, even one that is an expert mech, can only play a marginal role."

　　"I think you're putting yourself down too much, Tusa. Light skirmishers are never useless. They can scout, they can drop off beacons, they can rescue people and so on. There will never be a situation where fast and light mechs are useless."

　　"Well I didn't see any of that in the last battle. I… know I'm still useful in battles against human mech forces, but with that MTA frigate hanging around, I don't think I'll find any opportunity to fight at my best. If we're fighting against anyone, it'll be against more aliens, who all have the habit of either growing big or building big."

　　Ranya finished grooming her abnormal hair and stood up in order to approach her current man. She sat down on the bed and embraced him in a hug.

　　"I thought expert pilots like you weren't supposed to have any doubts."

　　"It's not that simple." He snorted. "We are still human like the rest of you. We are just more driven about fighting than other mech pilots. I don't know how it is for others, but I am constantly reminded of my shortcomings every day. While this gives me a clear idea on what I need to do in order to improve, some problems are so huge that they are insurmountable."

　　The two cuddled against each other for a time.

　　Ranya sighed. "I can't help you that much, but if I were you, I would find a different way to make yourself useful. You could ask the mech designers to mount more sensor systems on your frame so that you can provide more accurate data on the aliens that we face in battle. If my research teams had more detailed observation data at their disposal, they would have been able to tell the mech pilots to correct their aim and focus on destroying the important organs that were responsible for enabling the Titania to constantly reinforce its exterior."

　　"I've already considered that, Ranya, but… not every light mech is a scout mech, you know. My Dark Zephyr is fully designed and built for combat, and that is how I want to pilot it as well. Performing boring jobs such as scouting our enemies is better left to the Flagrant Vandals.."

　　"What about delivering bombs? Maybe we'll face an enemy one day that is able to resist or intercept many ranged attacks. The only way to defeat this opponent is to get close and plant a bomb at a sensitive location. If missiles aren't able to do the job, then you and your Dark Zephyr may be able to turn the situation around."

　　He could see that working, but it was still a rather marginal role.

　　"It's not good enough. I need a more solid way to contribute to a battle. I don't want my expert mech to be relegated to a bomber. That is contrary to its purpose and contrary to my own fighting style."

　　"Then what am I supposed to say, then? I'm an exobiologist, not a mech strategist. Maybe you need to have a good talk with the patriarch in order to figure out a solution. Our clan managed to harvest a lot of interesting new exotics from the Titania. Maybe he can develop a special weapon that is better adapted to the current circumstances."

　　"Maybe I'll do that, though he's bound to be busy at the moment. He really doesn't need me dropping by to make another request."

　　Still, he had to do something because the prospect of wielding his daggers against enormous astral beasts such as the Titania was utterly useless even if he was able to leverage true resonance!

　　Later that day, Tusa took a trip to the Spirit of Bentheim in order to meet with Ves in person. He followed the directions and entered the design lab. Soon enough, he entered a private design room where Ves was engrossed with designing some kind of light mech.

　　"Meow." Lucky lazily greeted Tusa.

　　"Oh hey, Lucky. How's your meal?"

　　"Meow meow."

　　Lucky ignored the expert pilot and went back to crunching on his afternoon snacks.

　　Tusa had already grown distracted by Ves' latest work. As a light skirmisher specialist, he possessed a deep understanding of every light machine. Each of them may fulfill different roles, but they all possess the same advantage in mobility that he loved.

　　The mech in development quickly resonated with Tusa. He could already tell it was a mech that prioritized evasion first. Though the Dark Zephyr was leagues ahead when it came to acceleration and agility, this new light mech looked like it could do impressive moves in space.

　　There was only one little quirk that Tusa found odd.

　　"Is this a light ranged mech?" He asked as he walked up to Ves' desk.

　　The mech designer grunted. "Yeah. It's a mech designed exclusively for the Flagrant Vandals. My new Deceptor Project is a mech designed to exert a suppressive glow that can distort the perception of enemy mech pilots. While this mech isn't particularly good at fooling the sensors of the enemy mech, as long as their pilots are impaired in any way, the enemy will not be able to fight at their best."

　　Tusa thought about what the Deceptor Project could do and tried to imagine what it was like if it fought alongside the Ferocious Piranha.

　　His eyes widened. "Do these effects stack with each other?"

　　"I'm not certain, but that is my hope." Ves replied. "I already have proof that the Valkyrie Redeemers and the Ferocious Piranhas work well together, so there is definitely a chance that suppressive glows can work on enemies at the same time. If I can add a third one to the mix, even the better-trained mech pilots will suffer I think! This is especially the case for my current project as I am designing it with highly trained and disciplined opponents in mind."

　　"Oh? How so, Ves?"

　　"The effect of its glow on enemies is much more subtle than that of the Valkyrie Redeemer and the Ferocious Piranha. As you can imagine, the Deceptor Project's concept revolves entirely around misdirection. It is supposed to subtly mess with the enemy's target perception and evaluation. Perhaps a mech pilot might think that the Deceptor Project is situated further away. Perhaps the mech pilot thinks that there are twelve enemy mechs instead of thirteen ones. Little tricks like that might not be easy to defeat when the enemy is fully attentive, but what if his mind is already subjected to the disorientating glow of the Ferocious Piranha? His focus is already too preoccupied!"

　　Tusa had to admit that this was definitely a promising idea. The Flagrant Vandals would be able to gain a lot more direct combat capabilities if it was able to exploit multiple suppressive glows.

　　"What's the deal with the small gun?"

　　"The Deceptor Project is not a melee mech like the Ferocious Piranha. It is supposed to attack its targets from a short distance, but not at point-blank range. It is a mech that is best at harassing enemy formations that are too tight and powerful to be overrun by a melee charge. Although it is true that the firepower of a submachine gun is low, it is sustainable and can be fired for a long time without exhausting the limited energy reserves of a light mech. This is a mech that is mainly meant to provide fire support and other forms of support to friendly mechs."

　　The mech indeed looked suitable for the purpose, but Tusa was seriously worried about its lack of punch. Unless it was able to position itself at an angle that allowed it to shoot at the enemy's rear armor, the submachine gun in their hands would not be able to fight effectively against armored units.

　　"Have you considered replacing the submachine gun with a gun that packs a greater punch? It doesn't have to be too big. Just a carbine would be a nice upgrade."

　　"I've considered that, but there are still uses for rapid-fire weaponry." Ves replied. "They're easier to aim and require less skill on the part of the mech pilots. They can still deal a lot of accumulated damage when used en masse. Imagine a mech getting bombarded by the output of a hundred submachine guns at once. Low power or not, the sheer quantity of attacks will definitely take effect!"

　　Tusa recognized a flaw in this argument. "What if there aren't enough mechs on our side?"

　　"Then it would be hardly different from fielding too few numbers of other mech models." Ves shrugged. "A couple of Ferocious Piranhas can't do anything against five mech companies traveling together. At least the Deceptor Project is able to harass superior enemy formations from afar."

　　The Deceptor Project was a mech designed for large-scale battles. Though it should also be effective in smaller skirmishers, Ves mainly envisioned it fighting alongside lots of other Larkinson light mechs. They were supposed to constitute a completely cohesive fighting system.

　　The expert pilot and the mech designer continued to discuss the various merits and concerns about the Deceptor Project. Ves did not mind the interruption to his regular work as he was able to gain a couple of new angles on the problems he had thought out before.

　　Once Tusa shared a piece of his mind, he recalled the original reason why he wanted to seek out the patriarch.

　　"Ves."

　　"Yes, Tusa?"

　　"I want to discuss my expert mech with you. I think we should do something to make the Dark Zephyr more useful against the enemies we'll likely fight against in the Red Ocean."

　　Tusa quickly shared his thoughts on the matter.

　　Ves frowned deeper as he thought about the implications of what he heard.

　　"I can see why this might be a problem. Light skirmishers like the Dark Zephyr only work because they work well against other mechs."

　　This wasn't a problem that Ves could conveniently solve. This was a fundamental problem that plagued every light mech.

　　If he wanted to increase the versatility of the Dark Zephyr, then he would have to overhaul its existing design and implement a new form of high technology.

　　"What you're asking me will require a major revision to your design." Ves told his cousin. "Our design schedule is already packed. We can't perform any additional design work, especially on an expert mech where we cannot delegate the work to our many assistants. We will have to wait until this design round is over before we can consider this project."

　　"That's too slow, Ves! You'll be busy designing mechs like the Deceptor Project for half a year. After that, even if you try to rush the upgrade of my Dark Zephyr, a few more months will go by. What if we're attacked by a powerful alien force by then? Time is of the essence. You should really put more priority in lifting the performance of our weaker expert mechs."

　　Ves thought about it. He quickly came to a decision.

　　"I'm sorry Tusa, but our schedule is already full. We truly can't displace our current projects just to accommodate your individual needs. You'll just have to wait in line like everyone else." He eventually said.

　　Though Tusa looked disappointed, there was nothing he could do once Ves made up his mind. Only one human in this room held all of the power in the clan, and it wasn't the expert pilot!