The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-2830

Ves and the biomech technicians all stood awkwardly on a floater platform as it smoothly flew through the large tunnels that ran throughout the underground complex.

After the Roving Hunters and the two Larkinson mech pilots defeated the ultralifer mech squad, the victors barely had any time to celebrate their victory.

The Odineye detected more mechs were on the move!

The omni sensor didn't pick up their presences directly. The mechs were still beyond its effective range even after Ves fed it with external power.

Instead, the Odineye managed to pick up the vibrations and other signs that multiple heavy objects were stomping in the distance. While these heavy objects could have been anything, the most obvious candidate was other biomechs.

Sadly, Ves couldn't glean any more solid information from the indirect readings. Vibrations and fuzzy gravitic signals didn't tell him anything about who the biomechs belonged to, how strong they were and whether they had any hostile intentions towards him and his Larkinsons.

With all of the madness taking place in and around Ruuzon Arena, he could take nothing for granted though. There was no way a fanatic fringe group like the ultralifers only dispatched a single infantry platoon and mech squad to the starting point of the revolution.

It seemed that every single faction and interest group had dispatched their forces to this location beforehand! If the Life Research Association was still running properly, then these different groups would have respected the rules and laid low.

Yet now that law and order had broken down, no one exhibited any restraint anymore. Considering how much notoriety Ves had built up among the Lifers, it would be foolish for him to entrust his safety to any of the locals!

Only the Larkinsons, the Glory Seekers, the Crossers and the Infinity Guards could be trusted on this planet. Everyone else belonged to other camps who might very well sell him out in order to obtain other advantages!

"Damnit! Why am I back in my hover chair again?!" Vincent complained. "I was on a roll when I piloted the Rotenring. Did you see the moves I pulled off at the end? The uberlifers or whatever they are called didn't stand a chance when I got serious!"

Ves knocked his gauntlet against the surface of the expert candidate's current seat. "Our job isn't to fight, but to run. We can't stay here any longer. The only way we can make it out alive is if we reach the underground hangar where the Infinity Guards are standing by with our escape vehicle. If you fought well enough, the Rotenring might have been intact enough to keep you in its c.o.c.kpit. As it is, it's too damaged to keep up with our flight."

He had to make a practical choice after the recent battle had ended. While the Rotenring had proven itself to be a powerful striker mech, especially after Vincent managed to discover the knack to piloting a biomech, its condition was anything but ideal.

Even though it was the most armored mech after the Perringer, the Rotenring had not only absorbed numerous telling melee blows, but also got shot at. On top of that, falling head-first into a rifleman mech dealt severe damage to its upper body including its flight system!

Ves estimated that the Rotenring only retained 40 percent of its battle effectiveness. The heavy damage to its flight system was one of the most serious blows of all because the striker mech could have moved faster if it walked at the same time as adding a bit of extra forward thrust with its flight system.

Now that it was wrecked, the mech's damaged legs weren't sufficient anymore. If even the floater platform was able to advance faster than the Rotenring, then it wasn't worth it to take it along!

The other four biomechs of the Roving Hunters also incurred varying degrees of damage, but they were still in a reasonable condition. Their fighting and flight capabilities were still satisfactory enough to serve as his current escort as they made their way through the large mech-scaled tunnels.

If Ves advanced through these areas on foot or on a basic vehicle, then he would have encountered a lot more trouble than now!

Yet at the sight of four battle-scarred biomechs, many bystanders and strange groups willingly moved backwards and allowed the small but powerful group to pass unmolested.

Even other mech squads in the vicinity took the initiative to remain distant!

What helped a lot in this instance was that Ves, Vincent and the Roving Hunters had all entered a modest container before loading it onto the floater platform.

This was exactly the impression Ves wanted to convey to everyone else!

While there were some anarchists and indiscriminate trouble makers who just wanted to kill everyone on sight, the Roving Hunters generally didn't arouse much vigilance from other groups.

After all, compared to powerful factions that wanted to change the LRA in their own image, all the Roving Hunters cared about was making it into the playoffs and ending the competition season on a good note!

"Meow.."

"Hey, it will be okay. We are getting closer and closer to the underground hangar. We'll be out of here in no time.

Ves carefully stroked his armored hand over Lucky's back. The gem cat had dr.a.p.ed himself over the shoulder of the Unending Regalia after returning from the latest battle.

Different from before, Ves perceived that Lucky's intrinsic spirituality had dimmed to a considerable degree. For some reason, the cat tired out a lot faster than expected when he phased through a biomech.

This caused Ves to question some of his assumptions on biotechnology.

Previously, he thought that their lack of spirituality and sentience made them no different from clones. After examining many different biomechs, Ves had never sensed the spark of life from any of them. They were quite literally organic machines.

Even if biomechs were ultimately false existences, their proximity to actual life might cause them to inherit at least some remarkable traits.

"This isn't the time to study this phenomenon." He whispered and shook his head. "I should focus on getting out. Veoline isn't safe anymore."

From the scattered news he was able to access, he discovered that the flames of war had raged especially high on Prosperous Hill VI. The population density, the high degree of development, the large amount of interests on the planet along with its central importance as a trade nexus turned it into a very strategic planet.

Whoever controlled Prosperous Hill VI would be able to grasp a large portion of trade, commerce and industry in the region!

Even though it was likely that trade would drop like a cliff due to the outbreak of war, the demand for goods and services never ceased.

In fact, with the outbreak of civil war, the different factions needed to make sure they secured access to enough materials, supplies and combat assets!

Whoever ran low on mechs and sh.i.p.s first would doubtlessly lose speaking rights in how the war would be settled!

As Ves thought about how he could evacuate from the surface under these difficult circ.u.mstances, something big softly knocked against the surface of the container. This prompted him to lower the setting on his jammer.

A faint signal managed to reach the antennas of the Unending Regalia.

"Mr. Larkinson, we're almost at the hangar you told us about. We need you to use your scanning capabilities to take a peek of what is going on inside. So far, our most s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e sensors have detected plenty of worrying signs such as fires, shockwaves and other concerning indications."

"Understood. Please stand by and remain on guard."

This time, Ves wasn't close to a convenient power outlet anymore, but that didn't hinder him too much. Shortly before he evacuated the underground mech hall, he rummaged through the pile of spare parts and managed to find an organic energy cell.

Even though it looked like an organ that someone scooped out of an exobeast, it functioned exactly like a regular energy cell. Ves just had to mount it to an interface and put some cables together to create a makeshift mobile power supply.

A very dangerous one, but a working one nonetheless. Ves deliberately ignored the risk of explosions, electrocution and other nasty consequences and plugged the jury-rigged mobile power supply to his suit before pumping a lot of power into the Odineye once again.

A strong and strange sensation emerged from the omni sensor and pulsed in every direction.

Even the biomech technicians sitting a short distance away felt the raw power of the Odineye!

Soon enough, Ves received a snapshot of everything within a range of a couple of kilometers.

The immense underground hangar dominated a considerable portion of this picture.

When Ves counted the amount of active and broken mechs inside, he suddenly noticed something alarming.

"STOP!"

The party quickly halted. Everyone was confused why Ves told them to halt. Weren't they close to exiting the tunnel complex? Why stop at this point?

Ves didn't intend to hide anything and transmitted the sensor readings to the four biomechs that escorted the floater platform.

"The original plan is shot. Do you see the four piles of debris surrounding that wrecked transport?"

"Yes." Captain Rivington answered. "What about them? Don't tell me…"

"It's just as bad as it looks. That transport that got sheared in half was supposed to be our escape vehicle. Those four mechs were the guard mechs that had been tasked with protecting me. Now, they're all wrecked, and my long-ranged sensor isn't picking up any surviving. There is no help for us ahead."

There were several different groups of mechs and people in the giant hangar up ahead. They were all scattered in different locations, and from the way the mechs were firing at each other, they weren't exactly peaceful!

Ves didn't anticipate this outcome, though he should have. Last he contacted the Infinity Guards, the situation was still under control. If he had arrived at that time, he would have been able to evacuate smoothly.

Unfortunately, Ves had wasted too much time along the way. Even though he didn't regret enlisting the help of the Roving Hunter, it meant that the mercenaries assigned to guard him weren't able to last, especially as their mechs consisted entirely of Guard Masters!

"We need a new plan." He stated.

"What about sneaking into the hangar to hijack a random shuttle? Maybe the fellows inside will make the same response as the groups we've passed."

"Can you guarantee that none of these potential hostiles will shoot at our escape vehicle as we try to make our way out? It only takes a couple of shots or less to down an unarmored shuttle."

"..."

Continuing onwards without a solid plan was sheer folly. They had to figure out a more viable solution to escape.

Could they take an alternate route? Perhaps, but most ways led back to the immediate surface where the fighting was much more intense according to all of the peripheral vibrations the Odineye captured!

The best escape routes were all beyond the underground hangar. Due to its nature, it connected to various entry and exit tunnels that connected to the surface at several different locations. As long as Ves and his group reached one of the furthest ones, then they would be able to emerge at the outskirts and away from the heat of the battle!

"How can we pass through the hangar without getting embroiled in combat?"