The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3568

Chapter 3568 Light Mech Blues

Venerable Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson looked upset. He did not feel great as of late.

This was strange as there were plenty of reasons for him to be happy about. He was steadily becoming a stronger and more proficient expert pilot. His bond with the Dark Zephyr had grown closer. He was a prominent member of a clan that had finally begun to explore the Red Ocean in earnest.

Then why did he feel anything but comfortable with himself?

"What's the matter, Tusa?"

Ranya sat in front of a vanity mirror and adjusted her green, leaf-like hair. It was her most distinctive and exotic feature. When she let it out, it immediately became obvious to anyone that she was quite far removed from ordinary humans.

Though most people would have felt disturbed at coming too close to someone whose hair began to resemble plants, Tusa never cared that much. He found it to be a wonderful expression of freedom.

"I… kind of feel useless as of late." He admitted as he sat up from the bed and began to dress himself. "If the battle against the Titania is anything to go by, big guns will be the way going forward. Some enemies are just so big and so tough that a light skirmisher, even one that is an expert mech, can only play a marginal role."

"I think you're putting yourself down too much, Tusa. Light skirmishers are never useless. They can scout, they can drop off beacons, they can rescue people and so on. There will never be a situation where fast and light mechs are useless."

"Well I didn't see any of that in the last battle. I… know I'm still useful in battles against human mech forces, but with that MTA frigate hanging around, I don't think I'll find any opportunity to fight at my best. If we're fighting against anyone, it'll be against more aliens, who all have the habit of either growing big or building big."

Ranya finished grooming her abnormal hair and stood up in order to approach her current man. She sat down on the bed and embraced him in a hug.

"I thought expert pilots like you weren't supposed to have any doubts."

"It's not that simple." He snorted. "We are still human like the rest of you. We are just more driven about fighting than other mech pilots. I don't know how it is for others, but I am constantly reminded of my shortcomings every day. While this gives me a clear idea on what I need to do in order to improve, some problems are so huge that they are insurmountable."

The two cuddled against each other for a time.

Ranya sighed. "I can't help you that much, but if I were you, I would find a different way to make yourself useful. You could ask the mech designers to mount more sensor systems on your frame so that you can provide more accurate data on the aliens that we face in battle. If my research teams had more detailed observation data at their disposal, they would have been able to tell the mech pilots to correct their aim and focus on destroying the important organs that were responsible for enabling the Titania to constantly reinforce its exterior."

"I've already considered that, Ranya, but… not every light mech is a scout mech, you know. My Dark Zephyr is fully designed and built for combat, and that is how I want to pilot it as well. Performing boring jobs such as scouting our enemies is better left to the Flagrant Vandals.."

"What about delivering bombs? Maybe we'll face an enemy one day that is able to resist or intercept many ranged attacks. The only way to defeat this opponent is to get close and plant a bomb at a sensitive location. If missiles aren't able to do the job, then you and your Dark Zephyr may be able to turn the situation around."

He could see that working, but it was still a rather marginal role.

"It's not good enough. I need a more solid way to contribute to a battle. I don't want my expert mech to be relegated to a bomber. That is contrary to its purpose and contrary to my own fighting style."

"Then what am I supposed to say, then? I'm an exobiologist, not a mech strategist. Maybe you need to have a good talk with the patriarch in order to figure out a solution. Our clan managed to harvest a lot of interesting new exotics from the Titania. Maybe he can develop a special weapon that is better adapted to the current circumstances."

"Maybe I'll do that, though he's bound to be busy at the moment. He really doesn't need me dropping by to make another request."

Still, he had to do something because the prospect of wielding his daggers against enormous astral beasts such as the Titania was utterly useless even if he was able to leverage true resonance!

Later that day, Tusa took a trip to the Spirit of Bentheim in order to meet with Ves in person. He followed the directions and entered the design lab. Soon enough, he entered a private design room where Ves was engrossed with designing some kind of light mech.

"Meow." Lucky lazily greeted Tusa.

"Oh hey, Lucky. How's your meal?"

"Meow meow."

Lucky ignored the expert pilot and went back to crunching on his afternoon snacks.

Tusa had already grown distracted by Ves' latest work. As a light skirmisher specialist, he possessed a deep understanding of every light machine. Each of them may fulfill different roles, but they all possess the same advantage in mobility that he loved.

The mech in development quickly resonated with Tusa. He could already tell it was a mech that prioritized evasion first. Though the Dark Zephyr was leagues ahead when it came to acceleration and agility, this new light mech looked like it could do impressive moves in space.

There was only one little quirk that Tusa found odd.

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