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Chapter 48: 2-star Designs
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The Mech Chapter 49: Modular Armor
Working with modular armor posed unique challenges to the mech designer.To visualize the problems the designer faced, imagine being handed a square or rectangular piece of paper. If you were told to make a cylinder out of the paper, you could easily bend it in a a way so that one end of the paper touched the other end. What resulted was a pretty good cylinder with a cutout in the shape of a circle.What if instead of a big piece of paper, you got handed some cardboard instead. And not just one piece, but many smaller pieces that you weren't allowed to bend. With a bit of tape, you could approach the shape of a cylinder with square pieces of cardboard, but the cross section wouldn't look as smooth as a circle anymore. It would look like a many-sided shape that only approximated a circle.The same concept applied to working with modular armor as opposed to conventional armor. Modern 3D printers and armor fabricators could miraculously produce armor plates in virtually any complex shape
The Mech Chapter 50: Hunter
Ves looked at the fifth iteration of the Octagon's radically redesigned armor scheme. He spent a week to come this far. The main changes he made involved setting plates in certain oblique angles that made it easier to deflect damage instead of taking it head-on. The use of subtle angles and a ribbed pattern made the mech appear as if it wore a crocodile's skin.Incorporating such an unusual armor scheme came with a major disadvantage. By stacking the armor plates at an angle, Ves needed to incorporate more armor in the same surface area than if he stacked the plates at a flat angle.It was like using a pack of cards to make a house of cards instead of just placing them side by side. One method maximized the surface area, while the other method increased the density. In order to keep down the Octagon's weight, Ves was required to shave off the amount of SquarePlate armor layers and skimp down on the FlexiPlate."After all this work, I don't think the mech's armor has improved very much
The Mech Chapter 51: Test Pilot I
Captain Caruthers sat in the dark and silent cockpit. The entire enclosed space was isolated from any outside noise. Only the rhythmic tapping of his fingers against the only red shade in the space bounced off the metal walls.Bounty hunting was a tough business for any upstanding mech pilot to pursue. It went beyond the basic jobs like guarding outposts or patrolling conflict zones. In many cases, pilots simply had to wait long hours standing by and only occasionally get into the cockpit to deter a couple of opportunistic raiders.The amount of incidents happening in the outskirts of the Bright Republic was fairly low. Most people thought the nearby systems and asteroid fields were barren of high-value resources. Only a couple of the more common exotics could be found, and small mining concerns eked out a small profit from exploiting them at a low cost."Even a barren hinterland like the Bright Republic can be squeezed of resources if you make it worthwhile enough."The pirates that
The Mech Chapter 52: Test Pilot II
Joshua smiled with satisfaction as he leaned back in his piloting chair inside his personal simulator pod. After months of grinding up the ranks, he finally broke past the Bronze League and entered the Silver League. For a teenager of his age, reaching such a height was impressive. Only the top 3% of the potentates in his grade matched or surpassed this result."Aw man, you've finally promoted. Looks like we won't be playing together for a while." Triceratopsss whined over the comm.Joshua, or TheSeventhSnake in the game, smiled back at his friend. "Hey, at least you won't be taking too long to follow me up. You've been showing plenty of improvement.""I got more time to hop in the game now that summer break is here. I mean, the mech classes are fine and all, but a real match always beats a dry lecture."While Joshua didn't entirely agree, he kept his opinions mum. "I'm going to go pick out a new mech to play with the big boys. Are you interested in helping me choose?""Nah. I got to
The Mech Chapter 53: Test Pilot III
The long match reached its end stage. Most of the fliers were already shot down, while many other mechs were down to their last reserves. The canyon's ruins were mostly blown apart. The frequent close-quarters combat and the occasional artillery barrage flattened so many ancient structures that the city was unrecognizable.While many other mechs started to run slower, the Mist Prowler came alive. Though the scorch marks and many holes caused the mech to lose its shine, the mech navigated the rubble-strewn streets with remarkable alacrity. Its movement at the start of the match might as well be as slow as a slug compared to its current form."This modular armor sure is something." Joshua commented as he moved his mech with his functionality mostly intact.The more square plates he shed, the faster his mech moved. Shedding so much weight in one single match was a new experience for him. It felt as if the Mist Prowler turned from a medium mech into a light mech. If the internal damage wa
The Mech Chapter 54: Going Out
Ves lacked the advanced equipment necessary to make sense of the open box. The materials incorporated in its construction were intricately exotic in nature, which meant their attributes weren't in any public databases. With only limited measurements to go on, Ves was no closer into figuring out the origin of the box. Even studying the strange patterns the creator of the box had used presented no results."My starting point is too far behind. I can't make sense of anything even if I have better equipment."From what limited data he could gather, the box came from an extraordinary source. Nothing in the Bright Republic or elsewhere in this star sector could produce something so magical."This is actually an application of modular armor."The realization stunned him. Not for its magical properties, but for the motives the sender of the package held.There was someone out there that kept an eye on Ves. He or she knew about Lucky and came up with a highly unusual material to feed the cat.
The Mech Chapter 55: Protection
After a short trip that went way over the speed limit, the aircar finally landed in a more sleazy part of town. A handful of rough-looking potentates wearing pilot suits congregated together on the cracked streets. As for the norms or non-pilots, they all toted some form of gun or rifle on their bodies. Ves was marginally reassured they kept the weapons securely holstered."Welcome to the Whalers' second hangout!" The little boss introduced the streets to Ves. "We own the entire neighborhood here. You can get almost anything you want, for the right price. Whether it's chems, girls or games, we've got you covered!""Thanks, but I'm okay." Ves replied simply as he kept his answers short. He was scared that if he said anything more, the pilot might drag him somewhere murkier.Fortunately, Dietrich led Ves into the classiest-looking structure. The nightclub was in its low period due to the daytime hour, but the couple of regulars drinking at the bar showed that it was a favored hangout to
The Mech Chapter 56: Streak of Red
Speed changed a lot of things when applied differently to mechs.A heavy mech that weighed many tons treated speed like rare animals. Even if their engines doubled in size, the effective increase in speed only amounted to just a dozen percent. Most heavy mechs didn't bother with increasing their speed.On the other hand, a light mech normally lived for speed. Designers often clenched their teeth when they traded off little bits of speed for additional weapons and armor. They often considered this exercise the most painful one imagine, akin to pulling out one's teeth.Ves felt as if his entire jaw ached as he firmly cut off portions that made the Octagon strong in the first place. He carefully removed bits of armor here and there while thinning other portions. By the time five days had passed, Ves looked bloodshot at a mech that appeared about 30% thinner than usual."I can't do this anymore. I've practically skinned this Octagon to the bone. I can hardly call it a medium mech now."Th
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