The Mech Touch

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”Even if I don ’t have a use for this ship, I can sell her for a fortune. ”

Just imagining the rain of credits he could obtain turned his eyes red with hunger.
Losing was not an option.
He had to make it to the final three.

The Arkon Mark I possessed both speed, armor, range and comfort.
The only downside was that her FTL and regular engines both ran on high-grade fuel.
This fuel was extremely powerful, but also expensive.
Governments kept a tight group on the supply of such fuels.

Those who wished to use the top-of-the-line model as a courier or a cargo transport shook their heads.
Even in a wealthy state like the Friday Coalition, the operating costs was hard to bear, especially in a low-margin business like interstellar cargo transport.

Even Ves had to bleed a lot of credits if he wanted to take the ship out for a spin.
Considering his future trajectory, obtaining a fast and well-armored ship was no misdemeanor, especially if he could get it for free.

After finishing her speech, Professor Marshall receded and made way for the final battles.

According to the bracket, Ves faced an elite who originated from another institution under the Carnegie Group.
Felix Tremor clawed his way through numerous rivals, including many geniuses from Leemar.

His mech, the Handshake, excelled in sniping, but could put up a mean fight in close range as well.
His pilot, Xandra Ribeiro, was an all-rounder who could play his mechs to its strengths.

Lovejoy waited patiently in the simulated cockpit of his now-familiar Executioner.
After undergoing two brief but intense struggles, he had developed an intimacy with this model.
Even after wrecking two identical mechs, the third still welcomed his presence like a warhorse reuniting with its knight.

While the rewards for mech pilots were not as generous as those received by mech designers, they still received a fair amount of wealth and prestige.
If Lovejoy won the next battle, he could leave his mark in history and be celebrated for many years on end.
His employment prospects would definitely soar to an unimaginable height.

After a moment of adjustment, the final battlefield unfolded into a lifeless moon environment.
The low gravity caused his mech to bounce up with each step.
Fortunately, it also reduced the load to the flight system, causing the mech to fly around effortlessly.

Still, Lovejoy did not dare divert too much power.
In this near-vacuum environment, mechs suffered a reduction in their ability to disperse heat.

Overall, the terrain highly favored the Executioner.
If his opponent ’s mech turned out to be a laser rifleman, he ’d have a really hard time.

”Where is he? ” Lovejoy wondered as he scoured the silent landscape.
”This guy sure is patient. ”

He scoured half the battlefield, only to come up with nothing.
Just as he considered changing his search pattern, his instincts screamed at him.
He flared up his flight system, but his response came too late.

A high-powered kinetic projectile tore into the leg of the Executioner.
Large chunks of armor sprayed into the distance as the slug hammered the affected area.
The leg instantly lost all functionality.

”Xandra! ” Lovejoy yelled as he honed in on her position.
Disregarding the damage, he urged his mech onwards.

”Sorry Reddy, but I ’ll be taking the finals! ” The woman responded as she fired another slug from the Handshake ’s railgun.
Her weapon generated a fair amount of heat, but not as much as a laser.

The second slug penetrated glanced off Executioner as it kept dodging sideways.
A huge furrow emerged from its side armor, exposing the internals to vacuum.

The Handshake calmly continued to fire off slugs.
Its heavy railgun packed a very huge punch, but it required quite a bit of time to charge up the capacitors.
By the time the Executioner came close, Xandra only managed to unleash half-a-dozen slugs.

All of the slugs made their mark on the swordsman mech.
Despite his best efforts, his dodging only succeeded in preventing a fatal hit.
Two slugs impacted the chest, causing the Executioner ’s power reactor to sputter.
If not for the generous amount of armor, the second slug could have killed the mech.

Once Lovejoy ’s mech closed the distance, Xandra decisively threw away the railgun and retrieved a spear.
Her medium mech stood ready to receive his charge.

Their weapons clashed.
The Handshake successfully fended off the Executioner ’s charge.
Its prepared stance absorbed a fair portion of the force behind the collision.

As for the Executioner, the failed strike caused it to fly to the side.
Lovejoy fought to stabilize his mech.
The crippled leg and reduced gravity made it twice as hard for him to regain his mech ’s balance.

”Having reactor trouble? ” Xandra taunted as she noticed the Executioner ’s fluctuating power output.
”Your mech might shut down at any moment! ”

The intermittent power output was a sign of further trouble.
Lovejoy quickly read the damage report and knew his mech was on a time limit.
The railgun practically ripped through half the Executioner ’s chest.
Only its well-designed internals and abundant redundancies allowed the mech to maintain a modicum of functionality.

Even if his mech remained floating on borrowed time, Lovejoy didn ’t show it.
”Even if my mech is half as good as yours, I can still tidy you up.
Don ’t forget who tutored you in swordplay! ”

”That happened ages ago! I ’ve grown enormously since then! ”

While Lovejoy only briefly branched out before fully immersing himself in swords, Xandra sought to master everything under the sun.
She attained a comprehensive proficiency in every category imaginable to a further degree than anyone else in the academy.
In truth, her spearplay was not much worse than Lovejoy ’s swordplay.

Yet this tiny gap might as well be as wide as a canyon.
As Lovejoy corralled his unstable mech and decisively engaged his opponent, his heavy sword strikes pushed Xandra ’s mech backwards.
He heavily relied on his flight system to push his mech forward and put some weight into his attacks.

If not for the sparking power reactor, he could have pushed the Xandra to her limits.
Now though, Lovejoy had to keep his distance in case his mech lost control.
Xandra even regained the initiative once she noticed his hesitation.
She aggressively increased the tempo of the clashes.