The Mech Touch

m is on this planet. ”

”Good, good.
As long as we can gather all the keys, we can reconstruct the final route of the Starlight Megalodon! ”

There was a reason why everyone looked fervent at the thought of tracking down the Starlight Megalodon.
That was because she was a battleship packed with wondrous materials and technologies into the size of a small city! Over a dozen kilometers long and armed with massive planet-cracking weapons, the CFA predominantly utilized this ship class to wage decisive battles against tough alien civilizations.

Not long after the Komodo Star Sector came into being, the Starlight Megalodon was the flagship of a small CFA task force meant to press the sandmen back.
Unfortunately, the task force encountered a freak accident during FTL travel, knocking most of the ships out of FTL.
By the time the CFA ships converged with each other, they found to their surprise that the battleship that served as the nucleus of their force was gone!

Back then, the CFA tried hard to track down the Starlight Megalodon, but their search was in vain.
They eventually concluded that the massive and expensive battleship was lost with all hands.

Nobody outside of the CFA really cared, and anyone that did took their word for it.
Everyone soon threw the mystery of the Megalodon out of their minds until certain forces discovered the presence of descendents of the crew in the frontier!

Only a very small circle of people knew about the descendants, and immediately grasped them without alerting anyone else, including the CFA!

The secret movers learned many things from interrogating the descendants.
However, tracing back their route to the Starlight Megalodon wasn ’t as straightforward.

This was an operation years in the making.
By now, the group collectively gathered almost all of the keys.
After acquiring the ones exposed by Lord Javier, they could finally make an attempt at looting the valuable battleship!

How could they not be excited?! As an organization that shouldered the defense of humanity ’s outer borders, their technology exceeded the lofty standard of the Terrans and the Rubarthans.

Almost nobody in the Harkensen System knew what was at stake.
The Starlight Megalodon wasn ’t even a footnote in history to most people.

Right now, Ves hung on to his seat at the front row of the underground arena.
Captain Orfan ’s New Sentinel charged at Avid Serpent ’s modified Rogue Breaker without any qualms!

”Come on, captain! I put on my money on you, so you better win! ”

”Die Vesian! ”

Once the two mechs came close, the New Sentinel thrust out its spear with considerable momentum.

Clang!

A loud ringing noise reverberated in the arena as Avid Serpent deflected the initial stab with a flick of her mech ’s axe.

The two mechs separated.
Neither pilot was in a hurry to press their advantages.

Inside her cockpit, Captain Orfan felt as if her entire mech urged her forward.
Though she really wished to up the ante and unleash a flurry of blows at the Rogue Breaker, she couldn ’t afford to make any mistakes.

This wasn ’t like a regular deployment.
In a real battle, she still possessed the leeway to retreat from battle and live another day.
Right now, both of their mechs lost the ability to eject their cockpits.
There was no way out after commencing the duel!

Either she lived, or she died! With her entire life at stake, Orfan couldn ’t treat this duel as a casual romp.

”Damnit, Mr.
Larkinson wasn ’t kidding when he said my opponent ’s mech will be powerful. ”

What little the Rogue Breaker revealed already placed it on par with premium mechs.
When it came to movement and attacks, the axeman mech certainly emphasized offense over defense!

”I ’ll have to take it slow and steady. ” The captain concluded and shifted her mech into a defensive posture.

True to her prediction, Avid Serpent took the initiative and lashed out.
It ran close and chopped with its axe.
The moment the New Sentinel lifted up its spear to block the attack, but one of the force boosters attached to the weapon arm of the axeman mech suddenly glowed! The limb gained a lot more power as usual and accelerated forth at a blazing pace!

Clang!

However, Captain Orfan was an experienced mech pilot.
She had never let down her guard after spotting the weird boosters attached to the mech.
She managed to parry the axe chop in time!

”Don ’t think these little toys can give you the edge! Taste my spear! ”

Captain Orfan realized the force boosters allowed Avid Serpent to unleash a devastating attack.
The New Sentinel still suffered from the aftershock of the weapons collision.

Perhaps the New Sentinel wouldn ’t be able to last for the entire duel after blocking a handful of full-powered attacks!

This compelled the captain to go on the offensive.
With the long reach of her spear, Captain Orfan quickly regained the initiative.
She unleashed a flurry of stabs, leaving no openings for Avid Serpent to exploit.

For a minute, everyone thought that Avid Serpent would never be able to escape from those shackles.
However, the axeman mech fought calmly while making sure that the spear never touched its armor.

”They ’re both keeping up with each other ’s movements! ”

”Look at how different the two mechs move! ”

Ves saw that Captain Orfan piloted the New Sentinel in an extremely aggressive manner, which was completely different from the game plan they set up!

”She ’s wasting too much energy! ”

This duel wouldn ’t be decided within a short amount of time.
Rationing the energy reserves of a mech was a basic priority for every mech pilot.

Worst of all, Avid Serpent maintained a sober mind throughout the assault.
It always chose to jump out of reach, but when that wasn ’t possible the Rogue Breaker fended off the spear stabs with the minimum amount of exertion.

”The Vesians are playing the long game. ”

As long as the New Sentinel exhausted itself, Avid Serpent only needed to make a single push to achieve a win!