[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 20: Armor

Ves waited for a long time to receive an armor production license. The good ones cost as least as much as an advanced mech license, but even bargain bin armor cost a pretty penny. Demanding a 100 million bright credits to license a decent armor system was considered reasonable.

Of course, if Ves was really desperate, he could license outdated armor or even stuff that was so old, its owners didn't even bother charging a license for its use.

The latter was useful if Ves made a civilian mech, such as a machine designed to lift containers in warehouses or sow crops in a farm. There was no way he'd ever implement such rotten armor in a combat mech. Any pilot that chose to bring such a poorly armored mech to the battlefield was asking to be sniped in a single shot.

Over the 400-year development cycle of mechs, the components that accompanied their designs also evolved over time. Lasers got more efficient, enabling them to deal more damage with less heat. Ballistic weaponry featured new iterations of propellants and explosives. Energy cells provided more energy to the mech with the implementation of highly energetic fuels and advanced batteries.

In the face of progressing weapons, a mech's armor had to match their pace. There were certain moments in mech history where firepower dominated over that period's armor level. Those were miserable times, where wars caused immense casualties to all the parties involved. In other times when armor easily endured against stagnating weapons, conflicts often dragged on into exhausting wars of attrition, draining much more resources than anticipated.

Only when the level of firepower matched the level of armor could mech battles remain short and limited. More wars started during this period, but they also ended quicker.

"Hopefully the lottery will bring me something average."

Ves had no desire to 'win' another good license. The Caesar Augustus was already bad enough. He did not want to compound his expenses with some kind of super deluxe armor plating that required special machinery to produce.

When the wheel of fortune showed up, Ves let out a relieved breath. "At least it's not the fucking pagoda again."

The only thing Ves had to worry about was getting an awfully cheap armor license. The Caesar Augustus required a certain standard of armor to work. Anything older than last generation was useless in the battlefield. Even certain newer alloys might not work if they aimed at the bottom segment of the market.

"Wish me luck, Lucky."

His gem cat meowed disinterestedly, not even deigning to glance at the holographic prize wheel. Despite his name, Lucky hadn't helped Ves gather much luck so far. He still had his uses though, so Ves just ruffled his cat's head and spun the wheel.

Clacking sounds echoed in the workshop as the wheel's pins clacked against the pointer. Various different plates of armor spun past too quickly for Ves to recognize their names.

After about thirty seconds of solid spinning, the wheel slowed down. Ves was able to read the labels now, but he failed to recognize their brands. "Way too many products are introduced each year. The names don't really matter. I only care about their capabilities."

The wheel dragged its heels for a couple of suspenseful seconds before it stopped. The pointer landed on a grey-ish piece of plate.

[Congratulations! You have received a 10-year production license of the following armor component: Marlin Solutions 1004-HRF 5th Generation.]

"It looks a little cheap."

All Ves had to say it could be worse. As he studied the armor's specifications and sought more information on the galactic net, he realized his bad luck struck again. At least he hadn't suffered critical damage. The 1004-HRF was actually a bog standard piece of armor. It was also popular, seeing as Marlin opted to renew its formula for five generations. A favorite of small and medium-sized mech manufacturers, the HRF required a complicated manufacturing process to produce decent quality armor plating.