The Mech Touch

"War is cruel."

Ves stood proudly before the giant forward projectors on the bridge. His Unending Regalia along with his cape made him look exceptionally valiant.

As the leader of a victorious force, he felt incredibly relieved that he managed to retain his life.

If the battle had taken a turn for the worse, his opponents might have been able to gain a decisive advantage. Ves really didn't want to think about what would happen to him once the situation got to that point.

In fact, not just him, but every member of the Larkinson Clan would suffer a bad fate. As their leader and the person responsible for inviting them to take part in his grand expedition, he'd feel very guilty for making their life worse.

There was so much responsibility on his shoulders that he felt burdened whenever he had to make any decision. Even a simple matter such as how he spent his day could have a profound influence on the success of his clan.

Sometimes, he even thought about ditching it all, but it was far too late to make that decision.

For better or worse, his problems had become the Larkinson Clan's problems and vice versa.

This battle was a good example of that. If Ves hadn't meddled in the Komodo War by providing the Hex Army with usable glow-oriented designs, the Friday Coalition would have never sent 8 expert mechs and 5 deep strike fleet carriers to ambush a single Journeyman Mech Designer!

While he was happy that his side won in the end, he did not look forward to hearing the casualty figures. His clansmen were still in the process of performing search and rescue out into space.

A lot of mechs had broken apart with their mech pilots stuck inside while others limped back to the carriers with heavy injuries. Even mech pilots who appeared to be physically healthy may be in a lot of mental anguish.

Considering the destructiveness of the battle, Ves was already bracing himself for bad news. His thoughts already moved on to what would happen next.

What he worried about the most at this stage was the support he enjoyed among the crew. While a victory always boosted the reputation of the people in charge, a pyrrhic victory could easily erode his support even further!

This was especially after Ves had made the determination to avoid a repeat of the Battle against the Abyss.

"What do they call this battle?" Ves asked the dignified older woman standing by his side.

Grand Captain Daria-Maria Vraken did not look exhausted at all. Despite her responsibilities, she admirably kept the Spirit of Bentheim under control. Throughout much of the battle, her excellent direction essentially prevented any enemy attacks from getting past the energy shields and other defenses of the factory ship.

Even when the Trost had unleashed a myriad of weapons at the main thrusters of the Spirit of Bentheim, Captain Vraken along with the chief engineer made sure to lock everything volatile down and divert power and resources to limit the secondary explosions that might occur.

While the Spirit of Bentheim's sub-light propulsion systems were not in good shape, the ship still retained a portion of her mobility. Other ships had suffered worse. Many of the combat carriers of the Larkinson Clan were banged up due to the enemy's attempts to take out their bunker mechs.

"Every large-scale battle deserves a name." The captain smiled. "This is no skirmish. With twelve capital ships, hundreds of sub-capital ships, sixteen expert mechs and roughly 16,000 standard mechs, I'd say this is definitely a battle that is worthy to be added to the records of the Komodo War."

"We're not fighting on behalf of the Hegemony." Ves grimaced. "We were just defending ourselves."

"Let's not kid ourselves, Patriarch Ves. You are anything but a bystander in our war. This battle only came about because the Friday Coalition considers you its enemy. That alone means you are a core participant in the struggle for domination in the Komodo Star Sector. Even if you run to an entirely new galaxy, your mechs are still advancing the Hexer cause."

That was nice to hear. Not.

He lightly coughed. "Anyway, what is this battle going to be called?"

"Well, I doubt you would want to commemorate our victory here by referring to it as the Battle of 347342-E-348312 or something." She crossed her arms and chuckled. "The survivors here need a more.. expressive name to remember it by. I've noticed that the martial wing of your clan speak quite solemnly about the Battle of Ulimo Citadel and the Battle against the Abyss. I can already tell you that your clansmen will speak of this confrontation in the same light, so you should take some creative liberties."

There weren't any official rules that governed how a battle should be named. It was not solely determined by the location. As long as enough people accepted a common name, it became official. Battles could even have multiple names if the two sides disagreed.

"Are there any good ones circulating around?"

"There are a few. Some have started to call it the Battle of Retribution due to all of the bad blood involved. Others have taken a liking for calling it the Battle of Divinities, due to the outsized roles of expert candidates, expert pilots, expert mechs and prime mechs."

Ves immediately frowned. "Let's not take it too far. The bulk of this battle was won through the efforts of thousands of ordinary mech pilots. They may not be so flashy, but they have done their duty and should be recognized for that. I don't want their contributions to be overshadowed by the handful of expert candidates and expert pilots that already enjoy a lot of attention."

"Your concern for your lesser clansmen is admirable, but I don't think they will mind if the spotlight is shone on the likes of Venerable Joshua Larkinson or Pilot Taon Melin. I think it will do more good than harm if you rally your clan around a grand and bold name. It will help with dealing with the inevitable backlash from suffering so many losses."

She had a point.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"The Glory Seekers have taken to calling it the Battle of the Superior Mother's Reckoning. She has acted twice in this battle. The moment when the Superior Mother slew the Bloody Herons and harvested the lives of the crew of the Auralis is the most unforgettable moment in this battle."

Ves immediately rejected it. "I need a more inclusive name, but I like the word reckoning. Revenge is both the main driver and the ultimate result of this clash. Plenty of people satisfied their need for revenge while others paid for their misdeeds. Perhaps.. we should call it the Battle of Reckoning."

It was a bit plain, which Ves preferred, but it also conveyed enough meaning to those who lived through it. While it was not the most unique way to commemorate a battle, it still passed his requirements.

He transmitted his choice to Major Verle and other leaders. They would take care of the rest.

Speaking of revenge, Ves received a surprising notice from Major Verle.

"We've picked up a couple of very special survivors, sir. If you're interested, you can pay a visit to them. We've transferred them to a secure and isolated treatment facility aboard the Spirit of Bentheim. So far, we have kept the news under wraps."

Ves became intrigued.

"Who are the survivors?"

"It's.. Venerable Relia Foster and Venerable Ghanso Larkinson."

"What?! They're alive?!"

"Yes, but… they're not in good shape. You'll know when you see them, sir. One of them is stable but the other is deteriorating. If you want to talk to the latter, then you should head down there quickly before it's too late."

"I'm on my way!"

Ves exited the bridge post-haste and took a floater platform down a handful of decks at the highest priority, forcing every other floater platform or cargo bot in the way to move aside.

He didn't actually expect that both of them made it through, but in hindsight he should have taken the possibility into account.

Expert pilots were strategically valuable. When Seniors or Masters designed their expert mechs, they invested heavily in the protection it afforded to its occupants.

In particular, the cockpits were virtually bunkers in themselves. They were not only armored as much as possible, but also contained a range of protective and medical functions to preserve the lives of expert pilots as much as possible.

The tech stuffed inside these extravagant cockpits were so good that expert pilots should still be able to survive if their heads had been cut off their necks!

Of course, whether such an expert pilot was capable of piloting expert mechs again was another question.

When Ves reached the entrance to the medical bay, he met up with Dr. Ranya. She personally took charge of the treatments due to the sensitive identities of the two patients.

"Patriarch." She greeted as she wore a high-quality white hazard suit that was customized for medical purposes. "My team and I are keeping the two expert pilots alive as best as possible, but it's not going too well."

"What's the problem, doc?"

She gestured towards the hatch leading into one of the sterilized treatment rooms. "Venerable Relia Foster has received considerable body injuries. The traumatic injuries she suffers suggests that a giant sword sliced through her limbs. With a weapon of that size and force, the damage that Foster sustained is not as simple as some clean cuts. Her entire body endured a lot of shock."

"Is she dying?"

Ranya hesitated. "We can keep her alive, but that is the extent of what we can accomplish with our medical equipment and the expertise we have at hand. To be honest, we need to clone replacement organs for her because her current ones are constantly on the verge of failing. She's completely beat up from both the inside and outside. It's only due to her excellent helmet and piloting seat that her head is still intact. A concussion is nothing compared to the damage inflicted on the rest of her body."

This was a very meaningful observation to Ves. As long as the head and brain of an expert pilot was still intact, then their ability to pilot mechs was still intact. Every other part of the body was replaceable.

"If Venerable Foster is the stable patient, then Venerable Ghanso…"

"Your cousin is dying. We don't know how or why. While his cockpit had been breached, he only suffered some bruises and some other impact wounds. Physically, that is anything but life-threatening. Yet for some reason, his life signs are fluctuating downwards and he is in constant mental pain. Whatever he is suffering from is not something that we can grapple with. Perhaps.. you might know more."

Dr. Ranya looked very upset at her inability to treat Ghanso's injuries. She took it as a personal failing.

She knew that there were many unknowns in the galaxy. Just like every other Larkinson, she had been watching the battle as well. She clearly witnessed how the Valkyrie Prime and the Glory Seekers launched an unconventional attack on the Charlemagne.

She was glad it was effective. If not for that, Venerable Ghanso could have overpowered the Larkinsons. However, she was also filled with curiosity about the nature of this novel new attack method and how it was able to bypass every barrier and affect humans directly.

Ves simply smiled at the doctor. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I don't know as much as you think. If not for our desperate circumstances, I wouldn't have tried to harness powers that I don't understand."

"It doesn't appear you'll be giving it up, though. If you intend to further your research in this area, you should think about your safety and the safety of your clansmen. It is prudent to learn how these unknown energies affect the health, mentality and physiology of humans."

"You have a good point." Ves reluctantly nodded. "Right now, my research is far too sensitive to be spread around, so I'll have to consider this matter carefully. Anyway, I didn't drop by to chat about my research. Ghanso is dying, right? Let me meet with him before it's too late."

No matter how much Ghanso had given him grief, he still carried the Larkinson name.