The Mech Touch

"GENERAL VERLE!" A female voice screeched!

The entrance to Verle's office slid open to allow for the entry of a very irate woman and her cat. Gloriana stomped over to the front of the desk while holding a vigilant-looking Clixie.

"Miaow!" The Rubarthan Sentinel Cat hissed.

"What is your wish, madame?"

"Why aren't you dispatching our entire fleet to Prosperous Hill VI already?! Why are we still parked in the outer system as if nothing has changed?!"

"Calm down, please. Raising your tone will do no good." General Verle urged as he put down his current work.

The woman sighed and sat down on the chair. "Speak."

"The Life Research Association is in the grip of a revolution. The so-called Supreme Revolution has turned allies against allies and friends against friends. The Lifers are so split up right now that they are attacking each other for both deliberate and inane reasons. We can't afford to get caught in the middle of their fight."

"Why not?!" Gloriana frowned. "We don't have a stake in this fight. We're not their enemies."

"You may have kept yourself out of this fight, but your husband is different, ma'am. Patriarch Ves took part in the event that directly triggered the revolution. While we all know it isn't his fault that the opposition factions have risen up against the conservative faction, not everyone sees it that way."

"Then doesn't that mean it's even more vital for us to pull Ves out of that hellhole as soon as possible?"

"It's not that simple. Even though the Lifers are fighting against each other across the entire state, they still maintain at least some common agreements. One of them is that they should never let a third party become the ultimate benefactor of their internal struggle."

"Well they're doing a very poor job at that. With the way the civil war is going, half of the LRA is going to be wrecked, and my poor husband is caught up right in the middle of this mess!"

"It won't last! I have not been twiddling my thumbs all this time. I have been in contact with many people and the Black Cats have provided me with a wealth of intelligence. According to my reading of the situation, the main factions will soon clamp down on the fringe groups and anarchists who aren't willing to play by the rules."

"And when will this begin?"

"Days. Weeks. The situation on the ground is a bit chaotic. It's a lot more difficult to restore order to a densely-populated planet."

"Then does that mean we'll just sit here and watch as Ves gets shot from every direction?!"

"We don't have much choice but to trust the Lifers will see some sense soon." General Verle sighed. "Besides, if we ignore the warnings and push our fleet into the inner system, the military garrison will push us back by force. It has already happened a number of times."

"Then how the hell are we supposed to get anyone in or out of the planet?! Last I heard, the system's exclusive transportation service has ceased all interplanetary travel!"

"That's why we must wait! As long as the situation calms down, some traffic will be restored in time. No matter what, Prosperous Hill is still a port system and its industry and commerce are incredibly vital to the continuation of the LRA. No matter how much the conservatives and the opposition hate each other, they are not willing to kill one of the greatest economic lifelines."

His explanation made sense, but both of them knew it was more complicated than that. The time delay, the various complications that might arise along with the divergent thoughts of the people on the ground could all postpone Prosperous Hill VI's return to calm by weeks or even months. It was the greatest hotbed of the Supreme Revolution and there were way too many squabbling groups on the planet to suppress them all in a short amount of time.

"Will Ves and the Larkinsons on the ground be able to last this long?" Gloriana asked with concern.

"It will be difficult, but the patriarch has lived through worse crises. He's a resourceful leader. Chaos brings danger, but not just to him. The same problems that affect us also apply to all of the other groups on the planet. It will be difficult to organize an action against him. It's inconceivable for an entire mech regiment to mobilize against our patriarch!"

As Gloriana and General Verle continued to talk, it became clear that the latter already had his options and found there was little he could do. He could make some preparations within the fleet and hope the situation on the ground improved.

One of them was the production of LMC mechs. The Spirit of Bentheim had never fallen silent throughout all of this time. Every day, a few Bright Warriors, Ferocious Piranha's, Valkyrie Redeemers or Eternal Redemptions rolled off the production lines.

Due to the expedited shipping that took place in the final days, the Larkinson Fleet received an extensive amount of raw materials. It was enough to keep the factory ship occupied for months!

The new recruits were also being integrated into the ranks as soon as possible. The clan put extra effort in rushing the integration of recently-joined mech pilots. If combat was inevitable, the Larkinsons did not wish to be critically short of pilots!

Before Gloriana left, she asked one more question.

"I've already talked with Colonel Ariadne Wodin. She's willing to do anything to get Ves back to the fleet. However, I'm not sure whether the Cross Clan is willing to go to the same extent."

The Cross Clan was much less close to the Larkinson Clan than the Glory Seekers. The latter was both her personal guard and an extension of the Wodin Dynasty. The former was merely a group of allies that Ves had persuaded to join his expedition.

While the Larkinsons respected the Crossers, their relative lack of familiarity with the Vicious Mountain exiles prevented the two groups from developing a greater degree of trust. Fighting a single battle together was not enough to turn them into bosom buddies!

Virtually every other Larkinson worried about Ves. His leadership had played a huge role in stabilizing the clan. As long as he was present, the clansmen could always count on his direction.

Now that he was absent, morale had dropped and no one was able to fill the void he left!

Fortunately, the Larkinson Clan did not descend into chaos just because Ves was indisposed. Everyone knew that he was probably still alive on the surface. It was just not possible to pull him out at the moment. As long as news of his demise did not spread, the clansmen wouldn't be having any other ideas.

At thesis time, the various leaders of the clan had to make up for the missing patriarch and make some important decisions that usually went to Ves.

General Verle and the mech commanders held the most sway at the moment. Their actions and decisions might play a critical role in the coming weeks and months.

The civilian part of the clan took a backseat in this situation. The best the non-military departments of the clan could do was to stay out of the way and help the fighters as much as possible.

Over at the massive Hemmington Cross, the two effective leaders of the Cross Clan met in a private compartment.

Patriarch Reginald Cross and Professor Benedict Cortez both stood side by side as they looked out of a window.

The view not only showed the partially-reconstructed fleet of the Cross Clan, but also provided the two older men with a good glimpse of the activity within the Larkinson Fleet.

"Patriarch Ves has found himself in a troublesome situation." Reginald Cross gruffly began. "These damn Majestic Tealers are too double-faced. In one moment, they are all sincere. In the next, their duplicity acts up. You can never trust a promise from the people of this star sector."

Professor Cortez smirked as he took a sip of locally-produced brandy. The Lifers definitely knew how to brew the best drinks.

"You can throw that accusation at everyone. No one is innocent in the cosmos. The Majestic Tealers may have acquired a reputation for double-dealing, but that doesn't mean your former star sector is a bastion of honesty. Didn't your former Saint succumb through trickery as well?"

The empty glass in Patriarch Reginald's hand cracked into pieces as the high-tier expert pilot lost control of his emotions!

"THOSE TRAITORS HAVE COMPLETELY TARNISHED THEIR HONOR! THEY ARE A MOCKERY OF TRUE WARRIORS!"

Despite the Cross Patriarch's strong outburst and accompanying flaring of will, Professor Cortez remained completely calm. His mental strength alone was enough for him to endure this storm without expending any effort.

"Instead of looking down on the Lifers, we should focus on what we should do. I believe that neither of us wants Patriarch Ves to die or go missing."

"I still need his help to design an expert mech for me." Reginald stated after he calmed down. "There is hardly any point for us to remain in the Golden Skull Alliance if the most important Larkinson can no longer assist my promotion. If I knew that he would end up in this situation, I would have offered to assign escorts of my own to him! This reckless kid. Even I know that I don't have to do everything in person."

"Well, you can teach him a lesson after he returns to the fleet. Now, what shall we do to help?"

"Hmm. There is not much we can do. The Lifers still insist on keeping external traffic in the outer system. Without any way of reaching Prosperous Hill VI, we can only act from a distance."

This was the biggest dilemma facing everyone.

"What if I can tell you that this doesn't necessarily have to be true anymore? What if I tell you that there is a way for us to cross?"

"What are you suggesting, professor?"

The Senior Mech Designer swept his arm to the view outside. "Look at us. We have hundreds of ships and thousands of mechs, and we are just one fleet. How many other fleets are lingering in the outer system? There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of different fleets and individual ships in this star system. The vast majority of them are foreign, and they must all be chafing to get close to Prosperous Hill VI in order to pick up their officers, crew members, family members and so on. While they are all deterred by the military patrols of the LRA at the moment, as long as everyone moves into action at the same time, it's impossible for the local authorities to stop our advance!"

Patriarch Reginald's eyes widened. He could easily imagine such a sight. As long as every foreign fleet or starship ignored the warnings and boldly crossed into the inner system, then it was impossible for the local garrison to shoot them all down!

Not only would the local patrols be overstretched, but killing so many different foreigners would also land the LRA in hot water!

Perhaps it was fine for the authorities to crack down on a handful of rule breakers, but when so many different outfits and groups acted at the same time, slaughtering the majority of them would inevitably spark a diplomatic storm of such magnitude that the current infighting seemed very trivial!

While Patriarch Reginald was attracted by the idea, he quickly began to frown.

"How can we possibly implement such a plan? We'd have to gain the cooperation of many different organizations, all the while keeping the Lifers in the dark."

Unlike the Larkinson Clan, the Cross Clan didn't have anything comparable to the Black Cats. Yet. The Crosser intelligence and covert operations capabilities were very basic!"

"Let me worry about that, Reginald." Professor Cortez smirked. "I can probably work together with the Black Cats on this, but I can accomplish a lot on my own. The foreign visitors here are much more agitated than you think."

He would know. He had plenty of experience with getting people to act according to his wishes!