The Mech Touch

Once Ves completed his weapons, the dwarves instantly regarded it as a divine creation.

In their ignorant minds, only a god could turn a regular plasma cutter into something that was both powerful and beautiful!

As Ves inwardly grinned at the sight of the dwarves prostrating before he possessed his body, he knew he succeeded in commanding their obedience.

Even the oldest dwarves such as Gion Greybeard bent his weary knees in front of the entity known as Vulcan.

His willingness to surrender authority to this powerful but unfamiliar god reflected his recognition that he was no longer the ultimate dwarf in charge!

No matter how much Gion worked to build up the Desala Resistance Movement, his diligent efforts over several decades paled in comparison to the show that Ves performed in just over an hour!

This was the hour that marked a permanent shift in direction for the dwarven rebellion.

No longer would the dwarves be forced to fend for themselves. With a god on their side, their fear towards the tall folk inevitably dropped!

The dwarves possessed even more confidence that their escape plan would succeed!

Though Ves was glad he managed to fool the dwarves, that didn't mean that success was guaranteed!

In his heart, he knew that he wasn't really Vulcan. He was Ves Larkinson, a Journeyman Mech Designer from the Komodo Star Sector.

He couldn't waste too much time on this Mastery experience. The LMC and Larkinson Clan needed him as well, and the longer he took to free the dwarves, the more time he would waste in the present time!

As much as he looked down on the inadequate security arrangements of House Kantis, the mechs guarding over Outpost 35 were still formidable war machines.

No matter how cheap they were or how much their maintenance had suffered, they were still capable of crushing any insurrection attempt with ease!

The main reason he wanted to take charge of rebel dwarves was that their plan was completely doomed from the start if they continued to hold their false assumptions!

Half an hour after Ves managed to convert the dwarves, he met with Gion Greybeard in a private meeting.

No further shows were necessary. Even if a couple of skeptics still remained, the consensus of the crowd ensured that alternative viewpoints wouldn't be accepted!

He retracted his glow and weakened its outwards expression in order to lighten the burden on his Spirituality. While he still emanated enough of a glow to make it clear that he was more than mortal, his presence wasn't as blinding anymore.

He still managed to make Gion nervous, and that was good. Ves did not want this wise and sober dwarf to question his godhood.

"What is it you require, my lord?"

Rion's body slowly strode forward until it reached a projector placed on a table. Ves activated it and navigated its heavily-outdated interface until it projected a view of one of the dwarven battle wagons next to a view of one of the guard mechs.

"Tell me honestly, Gion. If this battle wagon confronts this mech, which one will win?"

"Our mighty tank will win!"

Bang!

Rion's fist slammed against the surface of the metal table! Due to his dwarven physique and the heavy gravity, the slam actually dented its surface!

"You are the greatest dwarf among your rebels! You are responsible for their lives! While it is commendable that you have managed to keep up their spirits, it is not the time to boast on the eve of your breakout attempt! Now, tell me your true opinion. Which machine will win?"

Greybeard lowered his head. "..The mech."

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Tell me in your own words why you believe the mech will vanquish over the battle wagon."

The old dwarf sighed. "I may not be anywhere close to good with machines as your godly eminence, but I fear that our large tanks may not be as good as a mech. According to the technicians who turned the scrapped and discarded mining vehicles into fighting machines, the battle wagons are large and slow. A normal mining vehicle is already rather slow, but mounting all of the extra armor and weapons onto its chassis will slow it down even further."

"Your battle wagons possess a decisive mobility disadvantage." Ves nodded in agreement. "That wouldn't be so bad if not for the inadequate protection. Don't think that they are tough enough to withstand mechs because they are big. In the eyes of a divine craftsman such as myself, there are countless holes in their design and construction! Mining vehicles themselves aren't built to resist mechs, so your so-called tanks have inherited their weak internal structure. Not that it matters, because the reinforced shell your dwarves have built around them is just as poor at keeping them alive."

Ves began to describe all of the major issues he discovered. The list could go on and on, but after pointing out a dozen critical flaws, Gion had already gotten the message!

"I.. I knew our battle wagons weren't as good as we all made them out to be, but.. I never knew they were so weak!"

"It is not necessarily a detriment if your battle wagons aren't as promising as you boasted. It is only a problem if your opponents are able to field stronger machines."

Rion's body put the projection of the battle wagon aside to focus on one of the typical frontline mechs of the guard force. "Look at this mech. It is a medium mech that has very few virtues compared to other products of this nature. Yet despite its many constraints and obvious neglect, it is still a serviceable war machine."

"What makes this mech better, my lord?"

"There are too many aspects to count." Ves replied. His borrowed body pointed at the laser barrels mounted at the side of the armless mech. "Since ballistic weapons encounter all kinds of constraints in heavy gravity environments, House Kantis opted to arm the guard mechs with laser weapons as their primary ranged armament. Laser weapons are characterized by their lack of impulse and relatively weak penetration power against well-armored mechs. This normally makes this frontline mech model weak against other machines. Just not this time."

"How fast can this mech defeat our battle wagon?"

"It depends." Ves didn't answer straightforwardly. "There are ways to stack the deck in your favor by employing clever tactics and making use of the advantage of surprise, but even then the mech will still be able to burn holes through your battle wagon before it suffers any serious damage."

"That bad?"

"Any mech-scaled laser weapon will be able to penetrate the poorly-designed armor cover of your battle wagons with ease. The plating is highly heterogeneous. On top of that, their fit isn't even seamless, which means that their surfaces are riddles with weak points that almost entirely negate the work your dwarven technicians have done to reinforce their outer surface!"

The words struck Gion like a barrage of punches. The old dwarf looked completely defeated!

"What about our own ability to harm the mechs? Will we be able to inconvenience the tall folk at all?"

"The extra mining lasers and other mining implements that you've managed to mount on your battle wagons are fairly interesting. Assuming that you have managed to override all of their safeguards and backdoors, they can indeed threaten a mech.. but only until the mechs of the guard force promptly crush your hardware with their superior machines and numbers. The quality and quantity disparity is simply too big. Even if you try to split up the guard force and make the most of your initiative advantage, you will still run out of battle wagons long before the guard force runs out of mechs."

"This…" Gion looked downcast for a time before he suddenly lit up a bit. "Wait, our battle wagons aren't the only machines we intend to use against the tall folk! As long as we hijack the Genie Pearl and put.. the dwarf you possess inside its cockpit, we can turn the tall folk's own weapon against them! With this great mech under our control, we will certainly be able to defeat our oppressors!"

Rion's body looked grim, causing Gion to lose his optimism.

"It won't work. As I've said, the battle wagons are too weak to allow you to breach the walls impeding any dwarf from entering the central district. Even if you managed to smuggle Rion into the central district, mechs are anything but easy to hijack. In many cases, the machines are locked to a designated mech pilot, meaning that anyone else won't be able to commandeer the mech. Did you dwarves even account for this problem?"

"No.."

Rion's body shook its head. "Let me ask you an important question. Is this body the only mech pilot among your rebels?"

The old dwarf nodded. "Yes. We have managed to salvage a scrapped medical machine that can be used to detect whether someone possesses the right genetic aptitude to pilot mechs. Rion is the only one among us who scored positive in the machine. We had a number of other dwarves who possessed the right genetic aptitude, but.. They are no longer among the living."

"I see. So in effect, out of all of the dwarves in your band, the only one who is capable of wielding the weapons of your enemy is this body's owner. That.. is certainly problematic."

Ves paused for a moment in order to list out his available resources and assets.

He quickly realized that any attempt at breaking out of this mining planet would not succeed if he attempted to put all of his hopes on a single mech pilot.

It was still possible to succeed, though. The dwarves may be weak on their own, but with a Journeyman from the future by their side, they could turn into something completely different by the time Ves was done with his preparations!

"You can still succeed." Ves spoke, causing Gion to look towards the God of Dwarves with hope. "We need time to overhaul the battle wagons. They need to be a lot hardier in order to ensure they will be able to fulfill their roles before they inevitably fall against the enemy mechs. As for hijacking the Genie Pearl, the plan needs to be changed if we want this risky gambit to succeed."

Ves briefly outlined a revised plan that refined the straightforward assault the dwarves had in mind.

Though Ves wasn't a tactician or military officer, he had lived through plenty of battles. The key that he kept hammering on when he offered the revised version of the dwarven plan to Gion was that they needed to make the most out of the few advantages they possessed!

"The tall folk can field at least a dozen mechs. They have eyes and ears everywhere. The outpost features many checkpoints and fixed defenses. The guards on foot can easily wipe out your poorly-equipped dwarves. These are the advantages of our enemy. They are large and they are significant, but that does not mean they are invincible!"

Gion prostrated himself before a god yet again! "Great Vulcan. I implore you. Please teach us how to defeat the tall folk!"

"As long as you follow my instructions and provide me with unrestricted access to all of your assets, I shall bless your rebels with my divine creations and godly wisdom! As the protector of your race, it is my obligation to rescue you from this prison of a planet! It is just…"

The old dwarf questioningly raised his head at the god.

"What is it, my lord?"

"I require sacrifice from you in return." Rion's body stretched out its large and rough hand. "I believe you have come into the possession of a very remarkable ore. Instead of offering it to the MTA as tribute, I demand that you hand it over to my possession! This is my price for my blessing!"

The dwarf widened his eyes! "My lord! That is the precious treasure that we are all depending on to free our folk!"

"You don't need to offer the MTA such a special treasure in order for them to exact justice on behalf of your dwarves."

Gion looked dismayed. "Then what will we be able to use to encourage this mighty organization to rescue my people?"

"I have my ways." Ves vaguely replied. "I will address this issue once our escape plan succeeds. Right now, I want you to make a choice. Surrender the Timpala Steel to me or try and escape this planet without the blessing of a god!"