The Mech Touch

The Cinach System became more and more boisterous. As passenger ships carrying distinguished guests and tourists kept pouring in, the more and more eyes became captivated by the presence of the captured pirate warships.

Even with the MTA poring all over the ship for some reason, the visitors couldn't get enough of viewing the Gravada Knarlax in all of her splendor. Not even the holes in her bow and starboard side detracted from the power of the heavy cruiser.

Humanity's fascination towards warships was hard to shake off. Though many local citizens were scared beyond belief that a huge warship orbited over their heads, plenty of other people gazed longingly in the Gravada Knarlax's direction.

What would have been like to live in humanity's most glorious era? From starting off in a small corner of the Orion Arm of the galaxy, human civilization expanded explosively. It was with ships such as the Gravada Knarlax that humanity succeeded in beating off the established alien races!

Though most considered the Age of Mechs to be their golden age, it was undeniably less grand than the past. The existence of the Big Two suppressed every state and limited their warmaking potential.

If the prohibition on warships and weapons of mass destruction didn't exist, the Komodo War could have easily led to at least a hundred times more deaths in the same span of time!

If such casualty figures became common in every corner of the galaxy, then the human race would soon wipe themselves out!

Many people understood this logic and supported the bans for this reason. Yet what made sense to their minds did not necessarily mean their hearts followed suit.

Locked inside the emotions of every human was a seed that craved for dominance. Humanity had done it once. The pressure to resume their civilization's glory's days and renew the conquests had grown worse over the centuries.

Perhaps this was why the Big Two opened up the Red Ocean with so much fanfare. The beyonder gates leading to the dwarf galaxy served as a release valve.

Once the most ambitious, adventurous and bloodthirsty powers of the galaxy left the Milky Way, everyone would be happy. Profiteers and warlords eagerly contested against each other to harvest the riches of the new dwarf galaxy while the calmer and steadier leaders held the fort.

As Ves mused about the future of human civilization while sitting behind his desk, he received a surprising set of visitors.

"You may enter." He spoke.

The doors opened up. Nitaa shifted in her heavy armor as she felt two distinct pressures acting on her mind.

One of them was familiar to her. An invisible protective blanket fell over her body.

The entire situation looked absurd to Ves. A highly-trained Kinner soldier and bodyguard did not need any protection. Nitaa was taller and much more heavily-armed than the expert pilot who thought it was his mission to defend every woman!

Another woman entered his office. Ves looked up in surprise as he saw someone he quite frankly forgot about.

With the emergence of five expert pilots, the Larkinson Clan was no longer short of them. In fact, as far as Ves was concerned, getting so many at once was too much!

For this reason and more, Davia Stark no longer fit in his plans. He could care less of what happened to her. If she wanted to enjoy her retirement and share her trauma with the other retired Larkinsons, then that was fine.

An aggressive and resentful force of will pressed onto his mind. Ves found it difficult to keep his emotions in check. A small part of him wanted to submit. Another part of him wanted to stand up and counterattack.

Ves kept himself in check. Venerable Davia Stark's force of will was one of the most oppressive he had ever felt. She could even give Venerable Foster a run for her money!

"Ves." The male Hexer began. "Venerable Davia has successfully regained her strength, though as you can see, she is… different."

"I can see that. She's no longer an empty shell. That's certainly an improvement, though she might temper herself a bit. I can't imagine she's a pleasant person to be around."

That was an understatement. Ves felt as if he was being pressed directly by someone similar to Venerable Foster! The noteworthy aspect of it all was that he did not sense that Davia held any specific malice towards him. This was just her passive state!

The older woman in question finally opened her mouth.

"Let me be frank. I have no love for the way you treated me. You should have left me to recover at the refugee settlement on Cloudy Curtain."

Well, that was certainly a way to start a discussion. Ves knew that Venerable Davia probably didn't mean to provoke him. Expert pilots were generally straight shooters, and an aggression-oriented one like her was incapable of exercising much restraint!

"I think it's a waste to allow expert pilots like you to wallow in your own pity." He responded. The best way to handle expert pilots like her was to remain in control while holding his ground. "You weren't fully cognizant in your previous state. You were damaged. I decided to take it upon myself to bring you back. While that may have been a presumptuous decision, I only had good intentions in mind."

Good intentions for himself, actually. Ves had a feeling that Davia saw right through his intentions.

A sardonic smile appeared on her face.

"Well, your good intentions have led to this result. Are you happy?"

"Of course! You look much.. livelier than before. I don't think anyone wants to live like an emotionless husk. Now that you are better, what are your intentions?"

Venerable Stark briefly turned to Brutus before looking back at Ves. She did not hide her evaluating gaze. She acted as if she was shopping for groceries!

"I do not want to take up arms again. I have seen more than enough death and tragedy when I fought in the Sand War. However, human society is too decadent and corrupt. The smallest and weakest citizens all too frequently suffer the brunt of the mistakes of those at the top. They need a champion who can stand up on their behalf."

"And you hope to become that champion?"

"Yes." Stark's eyes grew intense. Her force of will heated up, causing the office to become more and more oppressive! "There are too few people in power who are willing to show any regard to the lowest members of our race. I detest this galaxy. Too many so-called 'space peasants' are left to fend for themselves whenever damnable alien races launch an attack on the periphery of human space."

Ves somewhat agreed with her. The Big Two painted themselves as the protectors of humanity, yet they were so locked in their ivory towers that they exhibited no sympathy at all when the sandmen slaughtered trillions of innocent people.

This kind of callous regard underscored the cruel reality that the major powers of human civilization were more concerned with their own machinations than dutifully fulfilling their noble mission.

To be honest, Ves understood the perspective of the Big Two. They were in charge of protecting humanity as a whole. That did not mean they were supposed to be everyone's nanny. If the humans who were sheltering under their umbrella became too dependent on the MTA and the CFA, then they wouldn't be able to stand up for themselves once they were left to fend for themselves.

Ves faintly guessed that the Big Two deliberately let the sandmen rampage through the border states of the Komodo Star Sector.

With the strength displayed by the alien invaders, there was no way they could threaten the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony. As long as that was the case, the damage the sandmen were capable of inflicting would always be in a tolerable range.

At the cost of ruining numerous inconsequential border states and allowing trillions of worthless space peasants to be swept by sand, the surrounding states and star sectors received a dire warning.

They shouldn't count too much on others to protect themselves. If they wished to be safe, then they either need to show their worth or bolster their defenses!

Of course, a former space peasant like Venerable Davia didn't think this way. As one of the direct victims of the Big Two's disregard, she looked like she held a vendetta!

Ves grew a bit concerned about her volatile state. The last thing he needed was Venerable Davia entering into a fistfight with Master Willix!

Of course, the former stood no chance against the latter. An MTA Master Mech Designer was not only accompanied by a slew of visible and hidden bodyguards, but was also armed to the teeth with self-protection measures.

Shield generators, personal teleporters and maybe a few custom-made gravity modules all ensured that not even the Gravada Knarlax would be able to deprive the MTA of one of its top mech designers!

Ves spoke up again.

"While I sympathize with your cause, I am not sure why you are here."

"I want to join the Larkinson Clan." She came straight to the point.

He frowned. "The Larkinson Clan is.. not aligned with your goals. We are mostly interested in lifting ourselves up. We do not serve other people. We have not accepted any noble missions."

"I know. Your clan is not completely fit for my purposes, but you are the only viable choice for me. As self-serving as you are, your clan is made up of honorable soldiers and warriors. I trust them. I do not object to fighting alongside your Larkinsons as long as your cause is just."

"Why us? No offense, but we are rather stuffed with expert pilots for the moment. Welcoming you into the fold will mean we have less resources to spend on other priorities."

She snorted. "I do not believe that your wealthy clan is at risk of going bankrupt anytime soon. While I may not be willing to fight all of your battles, an additional expert pilot such as myself will provide added security to your fleet. I promise to defend your Larkinsons against any unprovoked attacks."

"That is.. a rather vague criteria. Not every attack is as clear cut as you think. What if the circumstances are more complex?"

"I will follow my conscience."

Her answer did not endear her to him. If the Larkinson Clan didn't have any expert pilot, then he would have embraced her in an instant.

As for now, Ves felt that dealing with Davia Stark's baggage wasn't worth adding another expert pilot.

He turned to his other visitor. "Venerable Brutus. What do you think?"

The male expert pilot looked a bit subdued. "Davia is ill-suited to join most states and organizations. While I have attempted to offer her a place in the Hegemony, she refused."

"The Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony are just as bad as the Big Two. I do not trust you and who you represent. I would rather take my luck with the Larkinson Clan. At least the Larkinsons started from the bottom as well. They understand our plight much better than you elitist Hexers."

Ves palmed his face. "You are not making it easier for me to accept you into our fold. If you merely want to join the Larkinson Clan because you want to use us as a vehicle to take revenge on the Big Two, then please go away. It's suicide to even think about that. I will not let the men and women of my clan suffer because I decided to let in an unguided warhead."

Though Davia Stark radiated with a stronger will than any of his newly-advanced expert pilots, it was largely moot if Ves couldn't exercise any control!

Not only that, the problem of providing her with a suitable expert mech was another headache. Master Willix only agreed to help with the development of 5 expert mechs.

Seeing that Ves remained unmoved, Venerable Stark did something that he didn't expect from an expert pilot.

She took a step back.

"Let us make a deal."