The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2685

Chapter 2685: The Fate of the Auralis

The Forward Momentum had no chance of getting away.

It was not for lack of trying.

The Vanguarders crewing the vessel employed desperate measures to traverse as much distance as possible.

Bots and mechs were throwing away as many supplies and equipment as possible. It wasn't enough to dump their spare parts, their ammunition stores, their material reserves and even months worth of food and water into space.

The crew of the Forward Momentum also tore out as many non-essential equipment as possible!

Mechs roughly tore out heavy equipment such as 3D printers and structural components such as decks and bulkheads and physically threw them out the nearest large-sized hatches.

Of course, the Fridaymen didn't forget to trash any of the valuable equipment and goods they got rid of. They didn't want their pursuers to pick up a bargain.

While it sounded a bit silly to speed up a ship as long and heavy as a fleet carrier in this fashion, the actions did make a difference, if only modestly.

It was too bad that too much of the Forward Momentum was still stuck to the hull. The hull plating and structural components such as the keel accounted for most of the mass of the fleet carrier. Removing them was either time-consuming or not doable if they actually wanted to keep the ship together when she transitioned into FTL travel.

In the end, the Forward Momentum lost her primary sub-light propulsion systems.

While she still possessed numerous secondary thrusters and so on, they were mainly responsible for performing delicate maneuvers and adjusting the ship's orientation. In other words, they were only responsible for turning and spinning the Forward Momentum around. It simply wasn't doable to rely on their meager power to outrun a mech or starship!

Even when the Forward Momentum's escape was blocked, Ves didn't pay much attention to the vessel.

"There is no way for the Vanguarders to run away far enough before my Transcendent Punishers robs them of their mobility."

He held no doubts. He knew his mechs the best, so he could already predict the outcome.

Even though his artillery mechs already fired their weapons more than a thousand times, even though their weapon barrels were already showing heavy signs of wear and tear, even though the entire fleet's reserve of gauss ammunition and high-density mech-grade energy cells was running low, the Transcendent Punishers were still capable of finishing the job.

Of course, Ves did not look forward to the aftermath. The mechs had been in combat for so long that many of them were only just a few steps away from breaking down. Even the undamaged mechs required an extensive round of maintenance to fix all of the damage they accumulated over the course of firing their powerful weapons.

While it was not impossible to force them to take part in another battle, strictly speaking they should pretty much be out of service after this engagement.

Ves silently groaned and pressed his hand against his helmet. He felt the urge to palm his face or rub his smooth-shaven chin, but it was not wise to remove his Unending Regalia at this time.

While there was pretty much no chance that the Fridaymen managed to infiltrate the Spirit of Bentheim, it was best to be cautious to the very end. He had already paid for mistakes of underestimating the Fridaymen before.

In order to cheer him up, he turned his attention elsewhere. He focused his sights on the projection of the Auralis.

The Gauge Dynasty-built fleet carrier had fallen dormant ever since it got hit by the energy wave unleashed by the Penitent Sister battle formation.

A lot of people were initially scared and hesitant to approach the Auralis. The surviving Fridaymen all learned that the crew of the massive ship had died in an instant when the wave passed through the hull.

Over 20,000 humans died in an instant. None of them succeeded in resisting the unstoppable attack. Who knew whether some of that 'death energy' still lingered on the lifeless capital ship!

It was only belatedly that General Pierce compelled the forces under his command to dispatch marines to escort a takeover party to bring the Auralis back online.

"We can't leave this ship floating around in space! We can't let our opponents get our hands on her either. Gain control over her propulsion and her FTL drives and bring her away if possible. Blow her up if you can't or if our enemies have a chance of capturing her. The Auralis is the property of the Friday Coalition. There is too much sensitive intelligence and classified technology in her hull. She cannot fall into the hands of outsiders!"

This was easier said than done. When the Fridayman shuttles initially arrived next to the eerily-silent vessel, they had difficulty getting in. The Fridayman boarding parties were stuck outside for a very long time as they waited for a mech to breach one of the entry hatches.

It got worse as they went inside.

Every compartment and hallway section was locked.

"Damnit, the Auralis isn't accepting our codes or communication requests! The stupid ship AIs don't want to let us in. They're treating us as rivals rather than allies!"

The AIs were never programmed to deal with this unprecedented situation. A ship as valuable and sensitive as a deep strike fleet carrier possessed extremely high security. The Auralis boasted the best physical defenses and virtual defenses the Gauge Dynasty could stuff in a capital ship.

Bang!

A frustrated virtual security specialist slammed his fist against the console. Trying to gain access into the Auralis' internal network was as hard as pulling out an exobeast's teeth!

The suited and armored figures of this specific boarding party all impatiently shuffled their feet. If the Auralis accepted their identities and let them in, then they would have been able to reach her primary engineering bay at this time!

Instead, the ship acted like a traumatized survivor who had become horribly paranoid to anyone else. She closed herself off from her former friends and allies and trusted no one except for other Gaugers.

This ordinarily shouldn't be a problem. No matter what catastrophe the Auralis suffered, she was so well-armored and well-protected that it should have been impossible for all of her crew to die at once.

In the imagination of her shipwrights, the only instance where all of the crew would die at once was if she flew into a sun, crashed onto the surface of a heavy gravity planet or got struck by a superweapon.

In any other instance, at least some of the 20,000 crew members of the highly-compartmentalized vessel should still be left alive to take over command.

Even if every crew member died except for the junior cook, the Auralis would instantly recognize the survivor as the highest-ranking service member on the ship who was still alive.

This simple cook would gain a huge amount of authority and become capable of commanding the fleet carrier's AIs and automated systems.

This was enough power to command the Auralis to flee from the battlefield or initiate self-destruct procedures!

Yet this did not happen! Every single crew member had died without exception, so according to the programming of the AIs, the Auralis was locked unless a senior officer of the Sundered Phalanx came to take over command.

"What kind of stupid demand is this!?" A marine captain roared. "I'm a citizen of the Gauge Dynasty!"

Unfortunately, the Auralis ignored the officer's pleas.

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