The Mech Touch

metimes the fighting is up close and personal.
Does your mech possess the flexibility and mobility required to fend off melee mechs? ”

Melkor exposed one of the biggest flaws of the mech design in question.
A generic medium space knight presented a well-rounded package that could shield friendly mechs from ranged fire as well as marauding melee mechs attempting the take them out up close!

This was because regular medium space knights possessed enough agility and acceleration to be able to put up a decent fight against swordsman mechs and the like.
Even if they wouldn ’t be able to win the confrontation, the space knights would still be able to block their enemies so that their comrades could come and flank the enemy!

”My mech..
does not perform very well in melee battle.
It doesn ’t have the mobility to keep up with enemy melee mechs and the polarizing fields don ’t work great against the physical damage their melee weapons inflict. ” Ves admitted.
”My mech is purely designed for low and medium-intensity space battles where the enemy doesn ’t dare to commit to a destructive all-in battle. ”

Everyone present could see the appeal of his mech in these circumstances.
Yet their suboptimal performance in melee combat enormously weakened the appeal of his design!

Of all the people present, Ketis expressed the most disdain.
”This fatty mech is only really good for acting as a barely movable wall against lasers.
As soon as one single agile light skirmisher comes close, it will easily be able to cripple this expensive mech by outflanking it and taking out its vulnerable flight system from the rear! ”

By now, Ketis fully recovered from her candy binge and already began to flex her increased cognitive abilities.
When Ves checked up on her progress, he witnessed her devouring the textbooks in the company ’s library.
Her learning speed was off-the-charts, and the enormous boost in concentration enabled her to stick to her studies for days on end without getting bored!

”My mech is not designed to be passable in every situation.
It is a special machine that excels in one aspect.
That should be sufficient enough to slot it into a larger and well-rounded spaceborn mech force.
Other mechs that are much more capable in melee combat can cover for its weaknesses. ”

Surprisingly, Jannzi concurred with Ves.
”I think that ’s a good point.
When it comes to fending off raids, a mech with these qualities can be very useful.
Laser weapons are used almost everywhere in space.
There won ’t be many battles where a mech like this is useless. ”

Though Jannzi was a bit intimidated by the rough edges that Ketis still retained of her pirate heritage, she was confident in her judgement of space knights.

As the feedback session went on, it became clear that the new mech design did not completely catch on.
To some, its singular strength did not make up for its many weaknesses and shortcomings.
Only a true space knight specialist like Jannzi were able to appreciate what the mech design brought to the table.

Ves distinctly designed his mech to appeal to space knight specialists.
For Jannzi to express her support for the mech design meant that at least some of the market would be able to see the value in his design.

That was enough for him to gain the confidence to go ahead with his current direction! As for the skepticism expressed by Ketis, Melkor and the others, there was little Ves could do to address their points.

In order to improve his super-medium space knight ’s ability to fight up close, he needed to boost its mobility closer to that of a normal medium space knight.
That simply wasn ’t possible without removing the polarizing module entirely, but why would Ves do that?

The polarizing module served as a defining characteristic of his mech design! To remove its most important gimmick meant that his space knight became indistinguishable to the generic space knight models that had already flooded the mech market!

”There ’s one other thing I ’m wondering about. ” Ketis said.
”What is this mech design called? ”

Ah.
The name.
Ves thought long and hard on it ever since he first conceived its concept.
Names imparted meaning to mech designs and defined their unique identity.

He did not want everyone to start calling it the fatty mech.
If that name stuck to his design, then the imposing manner of his product would forever be ruined in the public!

In order to reinforce its positive aspects and downplay its negative aspects, Ves wanted to bestow his super-medium space knight with an imposing name.
It could even be a grandiose one as long as it increased the stature of his product in the market!

Lately, whenever he tried to figure out a dignified name for his mech, he couldn ’t help but harken back to the events he witnessed during his latest Mastery experience.

Witnessing the legendary unity between man and machine in Eloise ’s mind was a completely mind-bending sight!

Through accomplishing compete resonance for a short instant, Venerable Eloise Pelican and her Valiant Warden manifested a colossal energy mech that glittered like stars in the murky space of the Dark Sphere!

The energy mech was powerful enough to slay a giant astral creature and cut an entire light carrier in half!

How could Ves not pay homage to that unforgettable event that he had inadvertently enabled with his presence in Eloise ’s mind?

”My new design..
is called the Aurora Titan. ”

It was a simple but imposing name, so much so that everyone present was taken aback by the sheer daring to call it so.
This was a name that ought to be bestowed upon a heavy mech!

To them, they thought that Ves must be trying to add some of the majesty of heavy mechs into his super-medium mech design.

Ves had no such intentions in mind when he named his space knight this way.
He used the word titan because it reflected the enormous size of the energy mech.
He used the word aurora to describe the glittering lights radiated by the expression of resonance in its most complete form!

The Aurora Titan.
It was a name filled with meaning to Ves, and one he felt comfortable calling his upcoming mech design.