The Mech Touch

The passing of James Ylvaine came as a shock to the Larkinson Clan!

Not a single clansman dismissed this piece of news. While the Ylvainans had long been relegated to a minority within the clan, they still possessed a considerable amount of influence.

This was especially so after their stellar performance during the Battle of Reckoning! The Transcendent Punishers that only the Ylvainans could utilize at their full potential had performed so well that even the most strident secularists were grateful to the faith and its leader.

No matter what the clansmen thought about the unique existence known as James, the so-called Living Prophet possessed a sense of modesty and friendliness that few leading figures were able to match.

He was able to befriend and disarm the suspicions of many different Larkinsons. No matter if they were young, old, men, women, Brighter or Reinaldan, they always gained a good impression of James after just a short talk.

Of course, it was not that easy to convert random clansmen into believers. Perhaps James might be able to convert tens of thousands more believers if he adopted a more forceful approach, but that was obviously not allowed.

Ves had always been afraid that James would turn the Larkinson Clan into a cult, but the man knew his limits. There were just enough Ylvainans in the clan to bolster it, but not enough to affect its overall direction.

James was very tactful, Ves had to give him that. The Living Prophet was a good man and deserved to live longer.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. The body expired after running out vitality or whatever other energy the prophet expended in order to empower his flock.

"He was so young." Ves whispered.

Although clones were flawed forms of life, he didn't expect James to shed his mortal coil so soon.

The transition was too abrupt!

On one day, the religious leader was still as hale and healthy as other people in their thirties.

On the next day, James seemed to have aged by a century and could only chat with Ves one last time before he expired!

It was impossible for Ves to remain unmoved under the circumstances. He had just witnessed yet another person dying in his presence.

While Ves was not a stranger to death, he had become accustomed to witnessing it at a distance after he assumed a position of power.

Most of the loss of life took place much further away from his presence. The Battle of Reckoning killed thousands of Larkinsons and many more enemies. The amount of blood that had been shed could probably fill an entire starship!

Yet because all of this slaughter took place tens, hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away from his physical position, it was easy for Ves to dismiss the tragedy since it was presented to him in such an abstract fashion.

This was not possible this time. James not only died right next to him, but also spoke to him as if he knew that his time was already up. The words that the prematurely-aged clone had passed to his ears still lingered inside his head.

This was incredibly frustrating to Ves!

"This goddamn bastard! Couldn't you have died after my visit?! I wouldn't feel so upset if you just croaked when I'm on the other side of the ship!"

As Ves tried to process his mixed thoughts and emotions, the rest of the Larkinson Clan offered their sympathies to the Ylvainans.

Strangely enough, once the faithful processed the news, they quickly tempered their grief. They were sad about the Living Prophet's passing. That was not in doubt. However, they did not react as severely as Ves expected of fanatics.

None of the Ylvainans cried until they had no tears left to shed. They did not fall onto their knees in a fit of despair. It was as if they had already accounted for the passing of the Great Prophet.

"Death is another word for the beyond." Taon explained to Ves with a smile. "This is only the Great Prophet's second death that we know of. Besides, he's not really gone. He is with me whenever I pray to him. Our mechs still radiate his sacred aura when we go near them. A grand figure such as him is not bound by the same concerns as regular people."

Ves found this to be an odd sentiment, but he understood some of what the expert candidate said. Ylvaine the design spirit was still alive and well. In fact, it even appeared to have grown a little stronger.

As a consequence, the Transcendent Punishers also retained their pure and sacred glows. It was very hard for the devout Ylvainan mech pilots to accept that the prophet was really dead when their own mechs suggested that he was alive!

Ves just grew more confused at the situation. He really didn't know whether he should grieve a lot for James' passing or not. No matter what he claimed to be, Ves considered him to be a unique individual rather than an extension of a greater existence.

The disappearance of James represented the end of a unique personality.

As far as Ves was concerned, this was a true death. The Larkinson Network was not set up to catch any passing spirits, so it was impossible for the Living Prophet to still be around somewhere.

Ves was pretty sure he would notice a stalking prophet.

"You do not need to be concerned about us, Bright Martyr. James Ylvaine does not require any special arrangements. Please afford him the same burial treatment as the other Larkinsons who fell in battle. He deserves to be among our fellow heroes."

"I can do that."

This was an easy request. The funeral ceremony was scheduled a few weeks later.

Although the Larkinsons preferred to hold this ceremony sooner, the current star system had become far too busy. If the expeditionary fleet launched the bodies into space, the heartless scavengers would probably pick them all up in order to loot the materials used to make the coffins!

No. Special arrangements had to be made in order to hold a proper funeral.

The subdued reaction to James Ylvaine's passing meant that Ves ultimately didn't have to bother with the situation.

He had to say that the former Living Prophet had died in a very convenient fashion. The clone was at least thoughtful enough to minimize the mess he left behind.

Already, Taon along with other leading Ylvainan figures such as Ophelia Kronon were stepping up as leading figures in their movement.

As Ves observed their attempts to lead the faithful Ylvainans, he faintly imagined that this was how the original three dynasties rose up all those centuries ago. Everyone needed someone to look up to. While Taon was not a person who was comfortable with a leadership position, he didn't need to do all that much.

Other Ylvainan officers and experienced leaders were already doing a fine job at corralling the flock. Taon mostly played the role of a figurehead as his status as an expert candidate and future expert pilot granted him a considerable amount of prestige.

As long as Taon threw his support behind the new leaders of the Ylvainan movement, the faction remained stable within the clan.

Ves still felt uneasy for some inexplicable reason. He never quite knew what to expect when it came to the Ylvainans.

"I think it's good that James is gone." Gloriana told him after another day of work. "He's a threat to your authority and has constantly sought to steer our clan in a different direction."

"He's not that bad. James always had a sense of propriety."

"That's because he is smart enough to know that you would crack down hard if he ever overstepped his boundaries. This is our clan, Ves. Don't forget that."

Actually, it was his clan, not theirs, but Ves didn't think it was wise to correct her phrasing.

Once the small disturbance surrounding James' death had passed, Ves tried to get back to addressing his regular duties.

One of the questions that hovered over his head all of this time was what to do with their biggest spoils from the Battle of Reckoning.

While it sounded incredibly convenient for a huge and valuable capital ship like the Auralis to fall into the Larkinson Clan's lap, in practice this was just the start of a troublesome process!

When Calabast called Ves, her suited projection appeared in his office. Lucky was with her as well. His Misfortune Harness still protected his body as the Auralis was still a hostile ship.

"Ves. It's good to see you again."

"How are you?"

"It's not every day you can capture a Fridayman capital ship in such a pristine condition." She grinned. "I've enjoyed trawling through her vast archives. While the Gauge Dynasty has already scrubbed it of any information that isn't relevant to the mission, that still leaves us with plenty of intelligence nuggets that DIVA would love to obtain. With your permission, I would like to pass on what I have learned to my former employers."

Ves briefly frowned. "What kind of intelligence are you talking about?"

"Oh, it's all boring matters that aren't immediately useful to the Larkinson Clan. Think about encryption methods, technical specifications, internal discussions and references to the Friday Coalition's current war strategy. The crew of the Auralis died so quickly that they didn't even have the time to wipe out their data banks."

Ves wasn't really interested in keeping this information to himself. "You have permission to pass all of that on. I trust you not to transmit anything that compromises the safety of our clan. Please keep in mind where your current loyalties lie."

"I'd never make such an amateur mistake. I know what to do. You can trust me. Isn't that right, Lucky?"

"Meow!"

In the projection, Lucky flew up to Calabast's shoulder and nestled on it. The cat's armored form rubbed lovingly against the spymaster's neck.

"Ahem." Ves coughed. "Let's move on to the main reason why I've called. Please tell me your judgement on the viability to integrate the Auralis into our fleet. Is it safe to do so and how much effort do we need to expend to make that happen?"

"It's not easy at all." Calabast shook her head. "In short, the Auralis is a Fridayman ship through and through. She's a powerful and richly-featured vessel. That means that she also has the security of one. The Gauge Dynasty did not cut any corners when it came to securing her. In fact, if not for the fact that the ship has existed long enough for the Hegemony to develop solutions for some of the tech that she carries, we would have never been able to gain initial control of her so easily."

"The Auralis recognises you as her captain, correct?"

"You're not wrong, but the captain of a capital ship cannot unilaterally decide over everything. In addition, we don't know how traps and hidden surprises the Auralis are hiding. Just because none of them have triggered yet doesn't mean we're still safe here. In my professional judgement, it is simply too dangerous to add the Auralis to our fleet. We haven't even swept the Spirit of Bentheim of all of her bugs. It will take far too long to do the same for the Auralis."

Ves was afraid of hearing this answer, though he already expected it in his heart.

"I guess.. we have no choice but to sell this prize." He sighed. "It's too irresponsible to make use of her ourselves."

"You don't have to sell her. I can still figure out opportunities to clear the Auralis. For example, you can ask for help from the MTA or the Rim Guardians."

"No. The price is too great, and I don't want to annoy them with such a trivial request."

Calabast crossed her arms. "Then another alternative is to swap the Auralis with an equally valuable capital ship. She's a top military asset of the Friday Coalition. I'm sure that plenty of shipyards are interested in getting their hands on her. They can study the shipbuilding methods of the Fridaymen while reverse-engineering any unknown innovations that are not widely spread."

That sounded more practical to Ves.

"Do we have to swap the Auralis with a pre-built capital ship or can we just use her as payment for a new construction?"

"Both are possible." She grinned. "In essence, as long as you are willing to wait a year or so, you can swap out the Auralis for a brand-new capital ship that is built exactly to your specifications. Alternatively, if you feel the need to acquire a capital ship right away, you can trade our prize for a pre-built or second-hand vessel."

Both options sounded attractive to Ves. Ordinarily, he preferred to choose the option that was more favorable in the long term, but recent events had changed his mentality.

Perhaps he might be able to add another workable capital ship to his fleet in the near future.