The Mech Touch

The meeting descended into a shouting match.

It was a disgraceful sight.

Ves watched on as the projections of different commanders and military leaders exaggerated each other's positions and resorted to ad hominem attacks to drive their poin home.

"We are not cannon fodder! We are not cattle bred for the slaughter! Our meat is not tastier than yours!"

"We will not agree to this disadvantageous arrangement that solely serves to preserve the lives of as many Hexers as possible!"

"Why do you deny the truth? Our mechs are better than yours? We have been second-raters for centuries and our mech pilots are far more able to fight against our Fridayman counterparts than yours. I don't care how many pirate warships you've demolished, but if we were in your place, we would have defeated those pathetic Nyxian pirates without suffering any losses!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, WITCH!"

The dispute boiled down to determining the role of the 'weakest' force of the expeditionary fleet.

Aside from the prime mechs, Valkyrie Redeemers and the Transcendent Punishers, the remainder of the Larkinson Clan's war machines lacked the strength to compete with the other participants of the battle on an equal level.

It would have been fine if the attackers consisted of pirates, mercenaries or some other private organization. The Princess Jeckas, Vima Suns and Tamris Stellars were serviceable second-class mechs that not only possessed crushing power against third-class machines, but could also give mechs that cost twice as much a run for their money.

Unfortunately, reality wasn't fair. There was no rule that stated that every opponent the Larkinson Clan bumped into had to be on the same level.

The Fridaymen who must have plotted this ambush weren't stupid! If they could only afford to dispatch 5 deep strike fleet carriers, then they would definitely stuff them with the most powerful elite mech units they could afford to assign. They must have certainly made the best use of the limited capacities of the capital ships.

The Praetor Clan and the Planat Clan should be less committed. Both of them were in decline after the events that led to the fall of the Cross Clan. Yet they should still have brought enough strength to give them confidence in beating their former allies.

"Meow."

"Yeah, I know."

Both Lucky and Ves seemed to have been relegated to bystanders as Colonel Ariadne Wodin tried and failed to maintain her authority. She underestimated the independent and proud nature of the Larkinsons!

Letting her take the lead had been a mistake in hindsight. Ves had put too much stock in Colonel Ariadne's official qualifications and overlooked her Hexer tendencies.

The Hexers put a lot of stock in their hierarchy. The matriarchs at the top had to be obeyed and respected at all costs while the Hexers at the bottom had no choice but to obey.

It was different for the Larkinsons. Everyone was a valued individual. None of the senior leaders could unilaterally force an ordinary clansman to sacrifice their lives or anything. Such an order had to be conveyed in the form of a request.

These differences caused Colonel Ariadne to slam her head into a wall. As competent as she might be among Hexers, her exposure to foreign cultures was probably very slim. If she actually took the trouble to understand the Larkinsons, she wouldn't have presented her intentions in such a commanding manner.

Ves loudly clapped his hands. At the same time, he transmitted a command through his implant that muted everyone's voices.

"Peace!"

The Larkinsons and Glory Seekers all drew back and slowly regained their composure.

Both sides had shouted at each other with real emotion. Even though they were all adults who knew how to behave, the stakes were too high. There were many lives on the line.

The Larkinson Clan did not wish to lose all of its mech pilots. Even if their mechs were weaker than the rest, they could still contribute to the battle in other ways.

The Glory Seekers tried their best to seek the most optimal path to victory. Their overarching priority was to avoid an outcome that might trigger the defeat of the Hexadric Hegemony. Everything else was dispensable in their eyes!

Ves did not see any way of reconciling the two. One way or another, something had to give. He just needed to adopt an approach that did not rub either of them the wrong way. It was vital for him to maintain the trust and support of both if he wished to see this battle through.

"Time is short." He reiterated. "We cannot afford to squander precious minutes on childish squabbles. Let us consider the overall situation first. The two approaches presented by Colonel Ariadne are merely starting premises. The actual battle does not take into account the differences in mechs, the role of starships and bunker mechs, the effect of glows and the impact of prime mechs. The scenarios also assume that the enemy expert mechs will all detach from the main enemy body and operate separately."

Colonel Ariadne raised her hand. Ves allowed her to speak.

"Expert mechs usually tend to avoid fighting too close to their regular comrades. Fights between multiple expert mechs produce considerable amounts of collateral damage."

"Do the Fridaymen care about collateral damage this time?"

That was a good question. This was less of a concern in space due to the greater distances involved. In addition, depending on their overall goals, they might decide that suffering through some friendly fire was an acceptable price to increase their chances of victory.

"Colonel, it is not my intention to cast doubt on your plans." Ves reassured the Hexers. "Whether the enemy expert pilots will act separately or not, they still need to be constrained as much as possible. Our Larkinson Clan possesses no practical experience in fighting against expert pilots. I am sure that your Glory Seekers and our allied Crossers are much better versed in anti-expert mech tactics."

While it was theoretically possible for a lot of standard mechs to overwhelm an expert mech, the former had to adopt specific tactics in order to do so. This took training, discipline and a special kind of courage that allowed mech pilots to remain committed even as their friends and comrades dropped like flies!

If Ves looked at his own forces, then only the Penitent Sisters, Battle Criers and maybe the Swordmaidens met this standard.

This didn't mean he looked down on the courage and favor of the Avatars of Myth or Living Sentinels. He merely thought they weren't ready yet. Their martial traditions were too short and their mech pilots still had a long way to go until they reached the standard of true veteran mech pilots.

"Let's face it." He continued as he swept his gaze over his own Larkinsons. "The result of throwing our mechs and mech pilots against the enemy expert mechs is too unpredictable. Rather than assuming a responsibility that we have never prepared for, it is better to direct our attention on more familiar territory. Focusing our efforts on stalling the elite mech units of the Fridaymen and Vicious Mountainers will not be easy, but we Larkinsons are much better suited to take on this burden."

In effect, Ves threw in his support for Colonel Ariadne's second battle plan. In the event the Glory Seekers and Crossers managed to isolate the enemy expert mechs, the Larkinsons along with some limited support must do their best to pin down 6000 enemy elites!

"On the surface, we are not a match against the enemy mech units. However, we have a lot of tricks up our sleeve. We have glows while they do not. We have prime mechs that can unleash greater power than any other standard mech. We possess even more advantages that we can utilize to level the playing field! I sincerely believe that we do not have to settle for stalling the enemy mechs. Since Fridaymen, Praetors and Planats shouldn't be aware of our trump cards, I sincerely believe that we can defeat them! Do you agree?"

He unmuted everyone, allowing them to speak freely again.

Yet despite regaining the opportunity to speak, everyone kept silent. They did not entirely agree with him, but they did not want to oppose him either. His authority among the Larkinsons was still high. The hope he presented may sound far-fetched, but Ves had a track record of performing miracles in battle!

Even if it was irrational to pin their hopes on Ves, the Larkinsons had become accustomed to looking up to him to see them through a difficult battle.

The Glory Seekers looked bewildered as Ves managed to tame his own people. Why did he succeed where Colonel Ariadne failed?

Ves did not bother to explain. He briefly turned to their side.

"Colonel, please coordinate with Major Verle and whoever is in charge of leading the Crossers into battle. Let us take your second approach as the blueprint of our strategy and flesh it out into a more structured approach."

"Are you sure, Patriarch Ves?" She carefully asked.

"Our Larkinsons are up to the challenge. We are not as pathetic as we were back in the Nyxian Gap. We have evolved."

The rest of the meeting no longer held any suspense. Ves had decided on behalf of his clan in a way that expressed his confidence in his men. His mech commanders could hardly belittle their troops in this situation.

Though Ves adopted a confident demeanor, inwardly he was sweating bullets.

While he believed he had made the right choice, he knew that the disparity in quality of both mechs and mech pilots could not be bridged so easily.

His clansmen would definitely bleed this time! How much losses the Larkinsons suffered depended on how well he was able to stack the deck in their favor.

He did not participate in the subsequent discussions. He was still a layman, after all. He merely requested the Glory Seekers to put their 500 Valkyrie mechs at his disposal. He could make significantly better use of them than anyone else. He already had special plans for the Valkyrie Interceptors and Hurricanes piloted by the Hexers.

"The glows of the Valkyrie mechs are ineffective against expert pilots. Their wills are strong to let someone like the Superior Mother shake their resolve." Ves reasoned to Colonel Ariadna. "The mechs are designed to debilitate ordinary mech pilots. While the effectiveness of the Valkyrie mechs is reduced against elites, this is already a good result."

The old woman quickly acquiesced. "Very well. I will temporarily transfer command over them to you. Please take good care of their mech pilots. No matter what you think of Hexers, the women who pilot our Valkyrie mechs are earnest Wodins who are devoted to the Superior Mother and loyal to their mission."

That was all he needed from the Glory Seekers. He just needed to gain the support of a thousand or so mechs from Cross Clan in order to gain enough confidence in his own approach.

He did not contact Patriarch Reginald Cross directly. Instead, he made a quick call to Professor Benedict Cortez.

"Mr. Larkinson. What is it you want?" The former Skull Architect asked in an impatient tone.

Ves did not dare to say too much on this channel. "We have a plan to handle the enemy troops. We can't do this alone, though. We need the cooperation of the Cross Clan. Pretty soon, my staff will contact your side on a secure channel. Please do your best to encourage Patriarch Reginald to assign as many of his mechs to us as possible. We cannot assume our responsibilities alone."

"...I'll see." The Senior Mech Designer replied. "I will judge your plan for myself. If there is any merit to it, I won't mind giving you some help."

"Thanks."

"Do your best to strengthen your forces. Don't hold anything back. I don't want to see you fall because you are unwilling to expose your secrets."

"You don't need to tell me that." Ves frowned. "Watch carefully. I am certain my forces will astound you in the coming battle!"