[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 116: Distance

With about ten minutes left to go before the FTL drive finished cycling, the pirates already came close to immobilizing their prey. Though unaware that the Barracuda was able to jump in just two hours after arriving at the star system, their ceaseless aggression made it clear these pirates were out for blood.

The passage of time allowed the light mechs to close the distance to their prey. Their mechs were at the brink of overheating, but their pilots exerted enough control to stay under the limit. Their awful accuracy improved quite a bit now that their target grew bigger on their targeting screens.

"You're not the only pilots who benefit from this ship." Dietrich muttered with a focused snarl. "I've taken a lot of crap from you guys. It's time for payback."

Dietrich specialized in both aerial maneuvering and marksmanship. Armed with a ballistic rifle, he excelled in picking off enemy mechs from medium range. Now that his main targets approached his optimal range, he could finally dish out the hurt.

Taking advantage of their lack of attention on him, Dietrich took his time and aimed at the nearest light mech. He calmly lined up his shots and released three kinetic slugs in succession.

His aim held true. The first kinetic slug glanced off the light mech's arm, stripping a decent chunk of armor plating. The following round flew past the mech's head, missing it entirely. The third one accidentally crashed against the rifle's stock, tearing the weapon from the still-reacting mech's hands.

The weapon helplessly flew off into deep space, leaving the lightly armored mech with no means to continue the fight. Like the Harrier, the pirate mech only carried one main weapon in order to save weight.

Realizing his predicament, the pilot of the disarmed mech pulled back and tried to join the second wave following from behind. He wanted to borrow a spare weapon from his comrades in order to resume the chase.

"Two down, three to go."

The sudden attack left the remaining light mechs stunned. They hesitated for a couple of seconds before focusing their attacks on the Harrier. In their eyes, the toothless Barracuda was a sitting duck they could slaughter at their leisure.

Ves encouragingly praised Dietrich's performance. "Whatever you're doing, keep it up! The integrity of the thrusters have reached a critical point. They're resistant to heat so the lasers don't bother them much, but they absolutely can't take any more shells."

"How much longer do I have to stall them?"

"Seven minutes! We're almost home!"

Those seven minutes were hard fought. Dietrich duelled with the three mechs. Due to his recent resupply, he liberally emptied his magazines like a drunkard binging at the bar. Previously, he had to take his time to line up his shots. Not anymore. He bracketed his target in an inescapable net of projectiles. No matter where the hapless pirate dodged, he couldn't escape.

To his credit, the pilot of the light mech spun around and let its relatively useless feet take the impact. Dietrich commended the pirate's split-second decision making even as he realized he was dealing with a tough cookie.

"Fine, I'll leave you for last."

For now, he had to remove as much sources of danger as possible. Even as his mech shook from the increasingly accurate incoming shots, he trusted his Harrier to hold together. Unlike the flimsy light mechs in front of him, his mech boasted actual armor.

In contrast, his immediate opponents emphasized speed at the cost of both armor and firepower. Their ballistic rifles only shot juvenile versions of what his own weapon unleashed. Despite being outnumbered, Dietrich leveraged his advantages in such a dominant way that the remaining light mechs stood no chance.