The Mech Touch

The Battle against the Abyss did not just ripple through the Nyxian Gap, but also beyond!

Of course, it took some time for those in the Komodo Star Sector to learn about the outcome of this long-awaited confrontation.

For more than a day, the Larkinsons in the Nyxian Gap hadn't transmitted any messages back to the clan members who remained in civilized space.

There were good reasons for that. First, they didn't want to transmit any sensitive information that Ves and the clan would rather keep under wraps. Second, even if they wanted to share the good news, they had no way to transmit their messages.

This was because their ships no longer possessed any quantum entanglement nodes!

A short time before the Battle against the Abyss commenced, Ves commanded all of the nodes to be destroyed.

The Black Cats made sure to remove every single communication device capable of communicating with the galaxy outside! Without any means to connect to the galactic net, Ves didn't have to worry about the Larkinson fleet leaking out sensitive information.

He did not even let off the Darkbreak module. His men had secretly removed the MTA communications device from the Scarlet Rose and hid it inside a random asteroid.

Right now, a detachment of Larkinson mechs were cautiously on their way to retrieve the precious device. Ves needed it back to talk to Master Willix on a frank basis. The clan also needed it for other communication.

In fact, the Gravada Knarlax and some of the other pirate ships that fell into their hands possessed quantum communication nodes as well.

According to Calabast, the pirates didn't build or buy them legitimately. Instead, they just stole from their prey.

None of these quantum communication nodes survived the battle. As soon as the dark gods appeared onto the battlefield, the pressure and interference they emanated caused the sensitive nodes to break.

"That is an unexpectedly good outcome." Calabast reported to Ves as the initial takeover of the Gravada Knarlax neared completion. "Quantum communication nodes are fairly sensitive to outside shock and influence. While there are reinforced nodes for sale that are better able to cope with adverse conditions, the pirates all sourced their nodes from privately-owned ships."

Third-class private sector starships rarely hosted reinforced nodes. They cost so much that they could easily eat through half of the budget of the ship in some cases. There was no way that any customer wanted to pay such a huge premium to obtain a simple ship! They would rather spend their money on other features such as faster propulsion or larger cargo holds.

Though Ves preferred not to talk to Master Willix again so soon, he knew he had to take the initiative to act proactively. If he simply did nothing, then the MTA would certainly begin to demand an explanation.

Due to the enormous power disparity between the Larkinson Clan and the Association, Ves would have no choice but to obey every instruction!

"I need to control the narrative."

This extended beyond just his relationship with the MTA. Though his clansmen were still in the process of tallying losses and comprehending the magnitude of what had taken place, the scope of casualties would soon become known to everyone.

The figures didn't look good.

"How many dead, major?"

Major Verle recited the figures from his data pad. "Sir, during this battle alone, we have lost around 140 Avatar mech pilots, 80 Sentinel mech pilots, 30 Battle Crier mech pilots, 30 Vandal mech pilots, 2 Swordmaiden mech pilots and also 60 Penitent Sister mech pilots. Naturally, we lost a lot more of the other personnel when so many of our ships went down. With more than thirty ships lost so far and many more damaged, over 6,000 Larkinsons have died, along with plenty of Penitent Sisters as well. This is the first time in our entire run that we suffered such serious losses from our ship crews and support personnel."

Before that, the only significant loss in that area was when an anomalous hazard caused the disappeare of the Nova Krokaw. Compared to that little incident, the deaths from this battle were much worse! Not even the preemptive evacuation measures helped reduce this figure all that much.

Ves rubbed his forehead. "It could have been worse. Still, with so many clansmen gone, the hole they've left in the clan is enormous. It will be difficult for our remaining men to get over so many deaths."

He grew concerned about whether he could hold onto his position. When he and the Larkinson Assembly formulated the governing rules of the clan, the position of clan patriarch did not come with absolute power.

This was necessary in order to reassure the rest of the clan that their highest leader remained accountable. While the barrier to remove the clan patriarch was high, it was not an impossible hurdle to overcome.

Right now, Ves felt it was very realistic for eighty percent of the Assembly members to vote for his removal! While he had helped the clan rise, ruinous battles like these also proved that he could easily lead it to ruin!

"What I'm worried about are the reactions from the Avatars and Sentinels, sir." Major Verle noted. "These two groups comprise the mainstay of our clan. Any dissatisfaction from them will have far-reaching effects. At the same time, gaining their support will offer you a lot of internal support. The influence of the soldiers in our clan is very substantial. Buying them over means you automatically gain the support of the majority."

The former Brighter possessed a good grasp on what it took to swing people's opinions. When he pointed out that Ves only needed to focus on swaying the Avatars and Sentinels, the problem didn't appear to be so unsurmountable anymore.

Still, Ves wasn't sure whether the two groups would be easy to persuade.

"The Avatars are my original loyalists." He surmised. "While my standing in their eyes has certainly taken a hit from this battle, I can still bank on my existing popularity. After all, out of all of our mech forces, I invested a lot of resources and attention in them. I also have a good relationship with some key personnel. As for the Sentinels…"

His face grew ugly. He called up the casualty figures of the Sentinel mech pilots.

When his task force initially crossed over into the Nyxian Gap, the Sentinels boasted a grand mech roster of 500 mech pilots.

While the Avatars brought 600 mech pilots, that was mostly because Ves did not give them a choice.

The Avatars were the elites of the Larkinson Clan. As the prime mech pilots who everyone in the clan should look up to in the future, they needed to be prepared to fight any battle under any circumstances so long as they wore their gold-and-white uniforms.

If any of them disagreed with these terms, then they were welcome to depart after they ended their tours.

In contrast to the high expectations placed upon the Avatars, the Sentinels had it relatively easy. This was the organization for soldiers and mech pilots who wanted to commit to defending the Larkinson Clan but still be able to maintain an optimal work-life balance.

In the old Larkinson Family, Ves met plenty of people like that. Not every Larkinson was cut out to be a full-throated soldier. In fact, many survivors of the Bright-Vesia Wars typically transitioned from full dedication to looking to start a family.

His father was no exception.

Therefore, subjecting the Sentinels to successive battles where they sustained heavy losses was not a good reflection of his leadership!

It did not matter that these 500 Sentinels consisted of volunteers. Each of them entrusted their lives to him. When they signed up to take part in this excursion, they looked forward to taking part in a great endeavor.

They did not expect to go through a gauntlet where those who showed any weakness were mercilessly culled!

Yet that was exactly what happened. Of the 500 Sentinels that initially took part, only around 120 mech pilots were left alive!

Of that figure, some were heavily injured and some had lost the ability to pilot mechs, thereby making the overall picture worse.

Ves continually furrowed his brows. If he was a Sentinel, he would probably feel pissed at the insanely greedy clan patriarch that constantly picked a fight against the pirates!

Even though the Sentinels were the weakest mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan, their influence reached far. They were the closest to the non-militant Larkinsons, and they valued family the most.

Fortunately, Major Verle was not without ideas. "The situation is not as hopeless as you think, sir. Directly gaining the support of the Sentinels is a bad idea. We are both good speakers, but there is only so much of the ugly truth that words can cover up. Engaging the Sentinels directly when they have suffered such a huge loss is.. not wise."

"Then what do you suggest instead?"

"We approach a small but key group of mech pilots that the Sentinels universally respect."

"Pardon?"

"Our expert pilots, Ves!" Major Verle smiled. "The one trait that every mech pilot has in common is that they always admire and respect the few who have managed to become expert pilots. We have five of them in our fleet. Gaining the support of this small group of stakeholders is a much better way to influence the Sentinels than any direct appeal. It's no different from leveraging celebrity endorsements."

This was quite an astute plan! Ves lit up after he heard this. While expert pilots were different from normal people, he was still confident he could sway all of them to support him as long as he talked to them on an individual basis.

"I already have Venerable Joshua in the bag." He confidently stated. There was no doubt that his greatest fan would stick to him unless he literally started eating babies! "Commander Dise probably doesn't care about the losses suffered by the rest of the clan, but that in turn means her influence isn't great. Commander Orfan has a bit more sway, but I'm not sure of her stance."

"Venerable Orfan may have developed some misgivings, but I believe she is still on your side." Verle noted. "She is no stranger to losses. She just needs to believe that we haven't needlessly thrown the lives of our clansmen away. The deaths have to be meaningful for her to accept the outcome."

That didn't sound too tricky. Ves was already beginning to warm up his Devil Tongue.

"It's always refreshing to talk to an expert pilot. While they're annoyingly stubborn, they're very predictable as a response. I just need to know how they think and how they act to formulate my approach."

"I will send you the updated behavior profiles of our expert pilots later today."

"That leaves us with Venerable Tusa and Venerable Jannzi. Both of them aren't exactly my fans."

"Are you confident that you can get them to back you up for the decisions you've made up to this point?" Verle asked.

"Uhmm… no? I've already talked to Venerable Jannzi about a similar topic before. She's very difficult to budge. As for Tusa, I don't know what he thinks, but I haven't exactly treated him well."

"Well, the effect we want to accomplish won't be as good if you can only receive the endorsement of three expert pilots rather than five. You truly need all five of them to give the Sentinels the impression that every new pillar of the Larkinson Clan is fully in favor of your leadership. It will be very difficult for the dissenters to continue to voice their doubts on you. It would be like hitting on the faces of the expert pilots."

This sounded like a relatively clever scheme.

"Let's do this, then." Ves said. "We'll have to move quickly before the negative sentiment spreads."

Getting all five expert pilots to support him was difficult, but Ves believed he could find a way!