THE MECH TOUCH

6866  Dimensional Storage Technology

General first-class multipurpose mechs needed to possess rounded attack capabilities in order to handle a variety of enemies.

Their versatility was a core part of their strength. They should never end up helpless when they faced opponents that they were not supposed to fight against.

The DFN-72CEG Dracoloid contradicted this prevailing trend.

Its mech frame integrated 'just' 7 ranged armaments. Each of them were not that big aside from the flamethrower module installed inside the throat of the dragon mech. Yet each of them were far more powerful than their modest sizes suggested.

As Ves and the other mech designers read the spec sheet of this first-class multipurpose mech, they all became thoroughly impressed.

The Red Association never joked around when it came to its own mechs.

The mechers already imposed standards onto any mech designed for sale. They demanded much higher standards when it came to the mechs that their own soldiers may depend upon to defeat their enemies!

"The Dracoloid is clearly a multipurpose mech designed for close to mid-ranged superiority." Alexa Streon analyzed. "Its gauss guns can be used to shoot against distant targets, but their models and the dragon mech shape makes it difficult to maintain accuracy and precision at longer ranges. Their power is also rather low. What is good about them is that their firing rates are faster than other gauss weapons. Their ammunition reserves are also high. The guns are all fed by dimensional magazines that can fit 15 times the quantity of rounds than they could normally accommodate. Of course, these dimensional magazines are costly and difficult to replace."

"Do we possess the production method and facilities to produce our own dimensional magazines?" Ves asked.

Jovy answered the question. "Dimensional storage technology is an older and more established form of high-technology. It predates the Phasewater Generation and can be produced without phasewater, although the process is much harder and the materials are far more troublesome to procure. The availability of phasewater has allowed those who mastered this tech to simplify and expand the production of small-to-middle-sized dimensional containers. Research teams are currently working to develop a means to turn structure-grade or hull-grade superdimensional matter into enhanced versions of dimensional containers."

"The production method of dimensional containers should not be difficult to acquire." Alexa said. "Many first-class powers have mastered one variation or another. You can exchange it from one of the Red Three or the first-rate colonial superstates. However, do note that if we attempt to produce dimensional containers ourselves, our efficiency will be much lower. We will not be able to scale up our production, and the cost of production will be at least twice if not thrice as great. The same applied to dimensional heatsinks."

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "I don't really care about whether we will have to pay more to produce these gadgets ourselves. We need to be self-sufficient. Dimensional containers are too useful. If we are cut off from established human industries, our mechs will need to utilize smaller weapons or dedicate more capacity to ammunition storage if we don't have the ability to produce our own dimensional magazines."

"The Devos Ancient Clan is more than willing to share this tech to the Larkinson Clan in exchange for light concessions." Kalister Devos offered.

Even if he had formally cut off his loyalty to the Devos Ancient Clan, that did not mean he lost all of his affection for it. He believed that it was best if the Larkinsons and the Devosans formed a mutually beneficial alliance.

"That will not be necessary." Jovy interrupted with a light cough. "Dimensional storage technology used to be a much more exclusive form of high technology in the past, but the Phasewater Generation has made it much more common. I can make a promise on behalf of the Survivalist Faction that if the Larkinson Clan ever places a large order of mechs that is equipped with dimensional magazines or dimensional heatsinks, we will provide textbooks, manuals as well as a basic set of production machines to produce your own replacements."

Gloriana's eyes shone with enthusiasm. "Our clan accepts this deal!"

Naturally she would do so. Dimensional magazines and dimensional heatsinks sounded far too useful to leave aside.

Even Ves looked forward to having this tech for himself. It would allow for high-end mechs to drastically expand their ammunition. It could also allow mechs to store their handheld weapons inside dimensional pockets.

Dimensional storage technology was one of the key reasons why first-class mechs were so much more powerful than their second-class counterparts.

The price to produce these dimensional containers was also excessive. Even if the use of phasewater was able to substitute for more expensive materials, the other requirements remained so onerous that it was impractical to apply this tech to second-class mechs.

The mech designers continued to study the Dracoloid model. With the help of dimensional magazines, the dragon mech relied on its gauss guns as its primary source of damage.

Their accuracy suffered when they launched their rounds at their highest firing rate, but this also boosted their damage output. This was a particularly effective move at closer ranges.

"The plasma guns are chargeable." Kelsey Ampatoch noted. "There are only two of them, but they are especially designed to charge up to a high limit before releasing powerful plasma bolts. Due to this design choice, their muzzle velocity and accuracy are rather poor, but their considerable power more than makes up for that. Two hits at maximum charge can probably overload the azure energy shields of many alien phasefighter. The plasma guns can also inflict considerable damage at warships with every salvo, though their firing rates are so low that they are not that effective against such targets."

The plasma guns were the heavy hitters of the Dracoloid model. They sacrificed firing rate and long-ranged accuracy for pure power. They excelled at overwhelming defenses through hard power.

"The flamethrower is the most special weapon of the Dracoloid." Ves shared his own opinion. "It is really a brilliant piece of engineering. According to the documentation, when the Dracoloid bites a chunk of transphasic alloy, it can actually swallow it. The resulting alloy can rapidly be broken down inside the dragon mech's 'stomach', thereby merging a part of the phasewater into the propellant. When the Dracoloid finally releases its breath, the additional phasewater will drastically increase any damage inflicted onto transphasic defenses."

This was the true killer of the Dracoloid model as far as Ves was concerned!

This gimmick was so powerful that it could easily enable the Dracoloid to snowball and continually increase its killing efficiency when fighting against multiple phasefighters.

As long as the mech pilot was skilled and brave enough, he could command his machine to continually bite and breathe fire at one target after another.

Hundreds of Dracoloids could easily melt apart a swarm of alien phasefighters once they got going!

"The Dracoloid model has an optimal upgrade." Jovy mentioned the Larkinsons. "If you are willing to pay additional MTA credits and phasewater, we can replace the default propellant canister with a dimensional propellant canister. It will be able to accommodate 5 times as much flammable liquids than normal. Unfortunately, it is difficult for us to raise this ratio due to the size of the container and the volatility of the dangerous propellant. The dimensional canister should still give the Dracoloid enough opportunities to release a fire breath to last an entire battle."

The extra cost did not matter too much to Ves. The Larkinson Clan was still loaded with money and it was not short on phasewater either.

Even if the Red Association wildly overstated the prices for the Dracoloid and the optional upgrades, it did not matter because Ves would rather have tangible combat power than intangible wealth in his hands.

As the Larkinson mech designers continued to study the specs of the dragon mech, Klaus Robar-Fulton detected another powerful feature.

"There is also an afterboost setting to the flight system of the Dracoloid model. When activating 'Rush Mode', it will expend energy 10 times faster than normal, but accelerate 3 times faster. It can only be activated once per deployment, and after it has run its course, the flight system will incur damage. The dragon mech will have to be repaired after battle."

Being able to accelerate 3 times faster for a small interval of time could be a crucial game changer!

However, the fact that the Dracoloid's flight system became impaired after the Rush Mode came to an end did not sit well with Ves.

"This is one of the other reasons why I have taken an interest in the Dracoloid model." Saint Commander Casella stated. "Our interceptor mech must be faster than all of the other mechs of the Premier Fleet. There are light mechs that may be faster than this medium dragon mech, but they are too flimsy and fragile to endure the rigors of high-intensity battles. The Dracoloid is a compelling alternative as long as they are not undertaking independent missions. The Rush Mode may sound like a double-edged sword, but only in the hands of others. The Dracoloids will not compromise their flight system when they fight under my command."

Ves widened his eyes in realization!

"Of course! Dragon Scales! When you activate this key resonating material, you can boost the physical defenses of every mech by at least 3 times in the case of Knights, and 5 times in the case of Vassals! This defensive enhancement is all-encompassing. It not only affects external armor plating, but also internal structural components. More importantly, it protects against all forms of damage no matter whether it is kinetic or thermal. So long as your Commandeered or Enfeoffed Dracoloids enjoy the protection of your Dragon Scales, they can unscrupulously keep their Rush Mode active!"

He made another important realization. Due to the protection offered by Casella's true resonance as well as the effects of Dragon Scales, overheating became a non-issue for the mechs she empowered!

"Rush Mode increases the energy consumption of the transphasic flight system of the Dracoloid by at least an order of magnitude." Jovy Armalon pointed out. "However, the energy reserves of the Dracoloid are still generous enough to be able to support its continued activation during the entire approach phase. Your mech pilots do not have to be frugal about its use at all so long as the battle does not drag on for multiple hours. What is even better is that the protection that you provide can allow the Dracoloids to forcibly override the limit of one activation per battle. After all, there is no reason to keep this limit if the dragon mechs effectively incur no damage."

What a wonderful synergy!

Ves did not forget that Casella's Command Field also improved the mobility of all of the empowered mechs by a lesser but still respectable margin, which meant that the Dracoloids already moved faster without relying on this Rush Mode!

He finally understood why the Saint Commander favored this first-class multipurpose mech over others.

Compared to other mechs that were mostly humanoid in shape, the Dracoloid was deliberately designed with mobility in mind. The specific shape of the mech was highly optimized for forward acceleration and interception.

This was very necessary for mechs assigned to kill alien phasefighters. The latter possessed an advantage at mid range, while the former possessed an overwhelming advantage at close range.

This meant that as long as the Dracoloids were quickly able to close in on the enemy phasefighters, the alien strike craft stood no chance!

They would get massacred in quick order!

More and more mech designers made the same realization. They all fell in love with the Dracoloid.

It was already a strong multipurpose mech when used for interception and screening purposes.

When everyone thought about how well the Dracoloid's configuration synergized with the Minerva Mark II, they could scarcely wait to unleash these dragon mechs onto their alien foes!

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