The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5822 The Limitations of Destroyer Weapons

As the Bluejay Fleet departed from the Ector System and traveled in the direction of the border regions, Ves split his time between his routine work and his administrative duties.

It was times like these when he missed having Gavin at his side.

His capable assistant was just about to complete a life changing operation that would make him better than ever, but the downtime still brought a lot of inconvenience to Ves.

No matter. There were other assistants who stepped into Gavin's role, and Ves could always do stuff himself.

He still found himself with less free time than he was comfortable with. He had reduced his daily sleeping hours in order to get more work done. He was not sure how long he could sustain this pattern, but his mind, spirit and physique had become so powerful that he had yet to experience any significant consequences.

In between the periods where he performed essential work, Ves made sure to spend a bit of time inspecting his new acquisitions.

For example, Ves could only resist the temptation to stay away from one of the cargo bays of the Tarrasque for an entire day before he made his way over!

Jovy, Vector and Kelsey all accompanied him this time. It did not surprise Ves at all that his fellow mech designers failed to resist the temptation.

"Did you already take a look at it?" Ves asked.

"No. It is your possession. It would not be right for us to peek at it first."

When the hatch slid open, Ves and his small procession entered a cargo bay that had clearly been emptied of all other spare cargo.

What remained was a singular long and thin armored crate. The black construct occupied the center of the compartment and seemed to dominate the entire space despite the lack of activity.

When the group moved closer to the center, they met up with a Terran engineer who wore the badge of the Dermont Ancient Clan on his uniform.

"Professor Larkinson." The engineer made a formal bow while holding a secure datapad. "I expected you to come sooner. Are you here to inspect your new mech weapon?"

"I am. Is it safe to crack open this container and take a look at the tier 3 Destroyer spear?"

"That is highly inadvisable." The Dermonter immediately shot down that idea. "It is clear that you still lack a proper understanding of Destroyer weapons and especially those of the higher tiers. A tier 3 Destroyer weapon is a force of destruction that has been compressed in the form of a weapon. Its concentration of Destroyer particles is so high that it has a compulsive need to destroy everything around it. If not for the fact that we have enclosed it in a specialized Destroyer container that is expressly designed to suppress its activity, it would have already eaten its way through the deck."

Ves grew a little alarmed!

"I have heard that Destroyer weapons can destroy stuff endlessly without being actively powered, but this is ridiculous!"

"There is no need for you to feel concerned as long as it is properly stored. The Destroyer container is not cheap, and it can only resist the weapon's activity up to a limit, but it can safely contain the spear as long as it is not being actively stimulated."

"How?"

"The primary function of the Destroyer container is not to resist the damage it can inflict. It is primarily designed to 'blind' the concentrated Destroyer particles so that they are under the impression that they are surrounded by empty vacuum. These particles have an overriding urge to destroy matter. Fooling them into thinking that there is nothing for them to work on is a good way to reduce their activity to a state of relative dormancy."

That caused Ves to look both impressed and puzzled.

"You are talking about Destroyer particles as if they are alive."

"They are not alive." The Terran engineer emphatically stated. "The simplest analogy that I can use is a virus. Destroyer particles exhibit a handful of traits that can also be found on living organisms, but they also lack other traits that make up true life. Perhaps it is better if you can take a look at them yourself since you are an authority in this field."

"Is it truly possible to look at the weapon without inducing it to destroy the cargo bay?"

The engineer smiled with pride. "Our advanced containers can turn semi-transparent without giving the Destroyer particles any ideas."

The man unlocked a few settings on his datapad before activating the most important command.

Just as promised, the black container became partially see-

through. Though the view was not great, Ves and his fellow mech designers all gasped as they laid their eyes on the first tier 3 Destroyer weapon that they managed to see up close.

"So this is one of the trump cards of the Terran people." Kelsey whistled. "It is no wonder that not many Rubarthan mech pilots are eager to duel against Terran mechs up close."

The Destroyer spear was a force onto its own. Even if the container isolated a lot of the activity, just being able to see it gave Ves a good idea of the destructive prowess contained within the spearhead.

"It is like compressing water into a container that is too small to fit it all." Ves whispered as he and Blinky carefully observed the weapon, mindful of incurring a backlash if they peered too closely. "I don't know how the Terrans managed to stuff so many Destroyer particles in this spearhead. There is nothing about it that gives me confidence that it is up to the task of holding all of this volatile stuff."

"That is an astute observation, Professor Larkinson. The weapon you see before you is already using the strongest grade of Destroyer materials at our disposal. We do not have any better materials on hand that can stably store a higher concentration of Destroyer particles. This is what separates tier 5 and higher Destroyer weapons from their lower-tiered counterparts."

"So this instability is a feature rather than a flow."

"More or less. Tier 6 Destroyer weapons and lower can safely contain their Destroyer particles, so they are safe enough to be utilized by standard mechs. Once the concentration grows higher, the particles cannot be fully contained anymore, hence their spontaneous destructive manifestations. Such weapons are practically unusable by all but high-ranking mech pilots. Expert pilots, ace pilots and most magnificently god pilots can utilize their willpower to make up for the inadequacies of Destroyer materials. The higher the concentration of Destroyer particles, the more dangerous but also volatile the weapon becomes. It takes a much stronger will to channel all of the concentrated power so that it only harms enemies."

These were useful insights, especially to an owner of a power Destroyer weapon.

Ves never knew that the materials the Terrans used to contain their Destroyer particles weren't actually that good. Their limitations had been reached a long time ago, so the only way to make the weapons substantially more powerful was to exceed safety limits and go over the edge!

When he observed the Destroyer spear, he could clearly feel now that it was a few steps away from exploding and engulfing the entire area with concentrated death and destruction!

Due to their high concentration, the Destroyer particles seemed to agitate against each other so much that bursts of destruction energy frequently flared from the speartip.

If not for the fact that the Destroyer container was rated to resist these occasional flare ups, it would have been breached already!

Ves found it rather fascinating that the Destroyer particles truly gave the illusion that they were alive. They jostled against each other like angry pigs that had been stuffed in a pen that was too small to contain them all. The lack of room frequently caused them to grow so frustrated that they regularly lashed out in every direction.

However, Ves ultimately determined that the Destroyer particles were not actually alive due to the lack of emotion and consciousness.

The virus analogy was aptly chosen. There was nothing deliberate about their behavior. The exceptionally dangerous and destructive particles merely acted in their nature. They sought to destroy everything they touched just like how fire burned anything flammable. There was nothing good or evil about it. Morality held no meaning to particles that only existed to annihilate matter.

Observing the tier 3 Destroyer spear was endlessly fascinating to Ves. He could spend hours gazing at the random flare ups and imagine what it would be like for this weapon to unleash its immense destructive potential against real adversaries.

Ves already started to entertain strange ideas, most of which were not practical. He did not think it was a good idea to siphon away a few Destroyer particles and study them with the goal of trying to develop an imitation product.

Using Destroyer particles as the basis of a new design spirit sounded even crazier!

He tried his best to set aside any unrealistic expectations in order to focus on more practical uses.

"I have been told that this spear can only be utilized by a single mech pilot that is keyed into the weapon. Is this the case for all Destroyer weapons?"

"Yes, professor. You cannot believe how many forces have attempted to steal our Destroyer weapons back when our protections were less robust. These days, every Destroyer weapon can only become safe to use when wielded by a mech that is piloted by a recognized individual. Only special engineers such as myself are able to establish a bond between a Destroyer weapon and specific mech pilots."

"What are the limitations?"

"Destroyer weapons can only be bonded to a single pilot at a time. You must sternly warn your troops not to lend the Destroyer weapon to any other combatant. Anyone that holds the weapon without authorization will cause it to go berserk and channel much of its destructive power against the offending party. The weapon can only be made safe to use by another mech pilot by establishing a new bond. Do note that this is not part of your agreement with the Dermont Ancient Clan. You must negotiate a separate agreement to formally transfer usage rights to another mech pilot of your choosing."

Ves frowned at that. This was a lot more restrictive than he expected.

"What if the original bonded mech pilot has become incapacitated in battle? Are we just supposed to allow the volatile Destroyer spear to float around without any way to bring it back?"

"It would be best if you bring out this container and put the spear back inside." The Terran engineer pointed his thumb behind his back. "If that is not possible, then you can utilize gravitic modules or other forms of exerting physical force that do not require proximity contact, though be warned that the Destroyer particles are partially resistant to such measures. There are even cases where mechs have fired kinetic rounds at loose Destroyer weapons in order to move them in the right direction."

That sounded incredibly troublesome. The point of the story was that the wielder of the Destroyer spear better not falter during a battle!

"Understood. I will be sure to pass on these warnings." Ves said in a serious tone. "If the weapon ever becomes damaged for whatever reason, can we repair it in-house, or do we have to take it back to you guys?"

The guest aboard the Tarrasque actually laughed at that. "Hahaha! Destroyer weapons are built to resist some of the most destructive forces that our civilization can command. If their integrity has been compromised, it is highly unlikely that they shall remain in one piece for long. The Destroyer particles are voracious. If they detect any vulnerability, they will take advantage of it and escape their vessel. You do not want to be nearby when that happens."

The more Ves learned about Destroyer weapons, the more he regarded them as weapons of mass destruction that were barely contained in their metallic shells.

Anyone who had the privilege of wielding them gained power beyond measure, but always had to pay attention whether the destructive particles did not turn against their own wielder!