[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 114: Pursuit

This was good news. They could disregard most of the hardware and focus on fending off the light mechs. While the amount of speed-focused light mechs in pursuit was still up in the air, Ves doubted he'd face more than half-a-dozen of them. A pirate gang of this size shouldn't be carrying too many light mechs.

"Haha, if those flies want to catch up, then they'll be easy targets!" Dietrich exclaimed once he realized he only had to deal with a handful of chasing light mechs. "I finally get to put my marksmanship to good use!"

The situation at the moment devolved in a slow and drawn-out chase. The sensor plot showed that the Barracuda was vastly outnumbered, but if the ship could keep her systems running, she could make it out of the system.

The key was to stall the impending light mechs without sustaining damage. The Barracuda was a corvette, which meant it mainly focused on speed. Her designers never prioritized her armor.

A concentrated barrage by a couple of pursuing mechs could easily damage her vulnerable rear. Ves and Dietrich wanted to prevent a situation where the corvette was forced to stop accelerating due to suffering too much damage. If the pirates manage to inflict critical damage on the thrusters, then the Barracuda would be hamstrung.

Both men descended onto the hangar bay. Dietrich entered the cockpit and optimized his Harrier's settings for deep space action. He already had some experience with fighting in zero gravity.

Meanwhile, Ves ran some checks over the Harrier's exterior and made sure the aerial mech performed up to spec in vacuum. There were many nuances involved in space combat. Ves only scratched the surface in this area. He applied only a limited amount of fixes.

Lucky remained at his owner's side. As a gem cat, his role in the upcoming battle was to keep Ves safe. As the ship's chief security officer, Lucky did not appreciate being taken away from his favorite food.

Due to its extensive rework back in Leemar, the Harrier was in its best shape in years. Ves had already inspected the mech a few weeks ago, so the mech was structurally sound.

"There's nothing else I can do for your mech." Ves finally said as he pulled back from the mech. "I'll return to the bridge and manage the ship from the captain's seat. Good luck."

The Harrier gently slapped the butt of its ballistic rifle. "Hah! I'll be back in no time! Just make sure I still have a ship to return to!"

Ves left the cargo bay with Lucky in tow and returned to the middle deck. After reaching the bridge, he forced the navigator bot off the captain's chair and claimed the seat for himself. He summoned a projection of the pirates and studied them in detail.

The corvettes and light transports in pursuit looked ramshackle. A lack of maintenance and patchwork repairs gave Ves the mistaken impression that these vessels were about to fall apart. In truth, the pirate ships exhibited lots of creative engineering. Most of the ships in pursuit sported additional thrusters that gave them an extra kick.

"These aren't professional mercenaries moonlighting as pirates." Ves informed Dietrich over the comm after scanning each ship's construction. Their quality fell short, which indicated that this gang lacked access to a legitimate market. "They aren't well-funded either if the ships are only capable of accelerating so much."

A speaker flared to life as Dietrich connected to the bridge. "How many mechs are they carrying?"

"They've only brought five light transports which they are likely using as mech carriers. They should each have space for about four to six mechs, so they've brought thirty mechs at maximum."

Only a couple of them were speed-focused light mechs, but the numbers still mattered if the ship suffered a slowdown.

Ves was able to guess the pirate gang's origin from this information. "These are regional pirates. I don't think anyone is supporting them from behind, much less someone I've offended at Leemar. Those snobs are well aware of the Arkon Mark I's amazing specs. Any force they send in my way should at least include faster ships."