The Mech Touch

It felt frustrating to Ves and everyone else to interrupt their escape due to an unforeseen outcome.

Their original escape plan became invalid because the armored transport and the escort mechs they were supposed to meet no longer existed!

Without those four extra Infinity Guard mechs, the remaining four biomechs would have to endure a lot more pressure. A lot less people wanted to mess with eight mechs as opposed to half that number!

While the scale of combat within the massive tunnel complex was rather small, it became worse as the areas got bigger. For example, the massive underground hangar space up ahead hosted several different groups of mechs!

Perhaps the Roving Hunter mechs could fight against one of these groups, but if another group joined in, then the situation would quickly spin out of control!

Both Ves and Captain Rivington were aware of this possibility. After fighting off the ultralifers, the four mechs that they had left were all in damaged condition. Their ability to fight was not as good as before!

Should they turn back and escape in another direction? They didn't know. Every decision introduced a host of new problems.

"The longer we stay here, the greater the risk we'll get swept by one of the bigger groups of combatants that are currently fighting on the surface." Ves explained his thoughts over the private communication channel. "If we turn around and try to find an alternate path to the surface, we'll have to cross through a lot of terrain. At every junction, we risk bumping into hostile mechs. The other viable exits might not even be as secure as we think."

Captain Rivington grimaced. "We can't go forward either. From the sensor readings you've passed to me, it's clear that the different groups of mechs have already shown a lot of aggression. They're fighting with each other even as we speak, but the intensity of their attacks is very conservative. They're all on guard against newcomers who might come in and take advantage of their depletion."

Ves looked at the sensor readings and wished that his Odineye could glean more details. While he was quite amazed at its capabilities, continued use also allowed him to figure out its shortcomings.

He couldn't figure out who they answered to or what organization they were a part of. They weren't sending any transmissions outside the hangar and all of their internal communications were too difficult to intercept.

He briefly turned his gaze to his cat.

Lucky noticed his glance. "Meoow..?"

"Can you go out there and take a look at the different fighting forces inside?"

"Meoowwww…" Lucky's tail drooped.

Too little time had passed for Lucky to recover from his earlier exertions. The gem cat overexerted his phasing ability and had to pay the price for tapping so much into his power.

Ves didn't blame his cat for his inability, but he blamed himself for getting into this position in the first place. He had built up his clan into a formidable independent power that could have easily squashed much of the unrest at Ruuzon Arena if all of them deployed at once!

Yet despite this immense accumulation, Ves was only left with his cat, a paltry number of bodyguards and two expert pilots, one of which had lost his borrowed biomech!

It was one thing to complain about his weakness when he was still poor and lacking in resources.

It was another thing to lament about having control over thousands of powerful mechs but not being able to reach any of them in a life-threatening situation!

Even though Ves enjoyed a thrill every now and then, he did not enjoy any part of the current situation!

Ves knew he had to be more creative and think outside the box if he wanted to pass this current challenge. The danger to his life would only increase the longer he lingered in this chaotic tunnel complex.

Right now, he didn't want to give up going forward. The exit was relatively close and they could get far away from the active zone of fighting if they took one of the exits that was originally reserved for discrete entries and exits.

"We need to take a closer look and examine the people who are fighting in greater detail." He concluded. "Not all of them are necessarily our opponents. If we can co-opt one of the groups of mechs, we stand a much greater chance of getting away!"

"That's.. a workable idea."

One of the honor guards volunteered to go forward in order to observe the mechs and transmit the findings back to Ves so that he could make informed decisions.

This was a high-risk mission, but the honor guard gladly fulfilled this vital duty. It didn't take much guessing that he was a Kinner.

While the hangar had turned into an active battle site, that didn't mean that everyone got shot on sight.

There were plenty of civilians and random people running around inside. They either holed up in their vehicles in the hopes of riding out the crisis or attempted to activate them in order to flee the entire area.

It was too bad that some of the groups didn't want anyone to escape! While these belligerent mech squads didn't bother to waste their energy or ammunition on shooting at random people on foot, it was a different story for moving vehicles!

When the honor guard discreetly snuck in and observed the closer gatherings of mechs, he sent a directional burst transmission back to Ves and the Roving Hunters.

The rich and detailed visuals provided them with a wealth of information!

There were six different groups of mechs in the underground hangar. Each of them claimed their own side while their ranged mechs shot at the positions of other groups.

"I recognize those guys with the black-coated mechs." Captain Rivington quickly spoke up. "They're the Trezin Showstoppers. They're a visiting competitive team that was scheduled to take part in a match against a local team this week."

"Are you friendly with them?" Ves asked.

"No. Not at all. In fact, they come from a more rural province of the LRA. The Lifers living in the more remote star systems of our state are always at odds with people like us who come from the bigger planets and star systems. In fact, the Trezin Showstoppers outright hate us because they think that we are sucking up too much funding and development."

"That doesn't sound like a serious problem." Ves replied. "The Showstoppers might be at odds against people like you under ordinary circumstances, but not that their lives are at risk, I think they will be much more open to teaming up with fellow mech athletes."

"You don't understand what the Showstoppers are like. These are bullheaded hicks who have always felt aggrieved."

Ves found that strange. Shouldn't fellow mech athletes be able to trust each other in these times? No matter how much they opposed each other in the arena, there was a difference between enemies and competitors.

If the Roving Hunters and the Trezin Showstoppers were not involved in this giant mess, then they should be looking to pool their strength in order to increase their chances of getting away!

Still, Captain Rivington was a sober and clear-headed team leader. If he expressed his misgivings about the Showstoppers, then Ves was willing to take this opinion seriously.

He temporarily set aside the Trezin Showstoppers in order to examine the other five groups.

Captain Rivington pointed out another group of mechs. "Those are the mechs of the Ruuzon Guard, or what is left of them. Look at the large quantity of broken mechs that bear their colors. They used to hold a numerical advantage but were ganged up by multiple other attackers. They only have a fraction of their number left. I don't know why no one got rid of the remaining surviving mechs, though."

According to the observation data, the Ruuzon Guard initially maintained a respectable guard force of 15 mechs in the hangar bay. Now, they were whittled down to just 3 surviving mechs. Each of them bore considerable scars, but could still do considerable damage under the right conditions.

While Ves wanted to trust in the integrity of the arena guards, Ves had witnessed too many problems to put his fate in them. Why did Ruuzon Arena suddenly transform into a war weapon? Who triggered the command to turn the spectator platforms into death traps? How many Ruuzon Guards were part of this conspiracy?

If Ves wasn't able to answer these questions, then he had no choice but to remain suspicious.

The Ruuzon Guard could have been co-opted by different factions and interest groups in the same way the Planetary Guard had split up. The uniform they wore and the markings on their mechs was not an accurate indicator of their true allegiances!

He turned his attention to the group with the largest amount of intact mechs. "Do you know who those seven mechs belong to, captain?"

"Mhmmm. They're from the Brakkard Consortium. They're bad news, Mr. Larkinson."

"How so?"

"While the name of their organization sounds respectable, they're just a bunch of thugs. The Brakkard Consortium is one of the major gangs that control the underworld of Prosperous Hill VI. I've heard stories about the stuff they do, but they never seem to get into trouble. They do a lot of stuff that somehow gets swept under the rug."

"That likely means that they're aligned to a political faction." Ves quickly judged. "The Brakken Consortium might even be a subsidiary of one of those factions. If this is the case, then they pose a very considerable threat. Who knows what kind of orders they are acting on. If they have been tasked with sowing as much chaos as possible, then they won't let us off if we enter."

Ves wasn't too afraid of the Brakken Consortium, though. They might have the most biomechs, but their organic machines are all substantially worse in quality. This was consistent with gangs.

The fourth group of mechs consisted of five mechs, three of which were actually knight mechs. This caused them to maintain their numbers even after they were frequently being shot at by some of the other groups.

"I don't know who they are." Captain Rivington admitted. "Let me ask around."

None of the Roving Hunters recognized them either. Their purple and brown-striped coating didn't ring a bell to any of the locals. The purple biomechs either didn't come from Prosperous Hill VI or hailed from an obscure organization that normally didn't show itself in the public.

Ves didn't know what to think from this group of mechs. He wasn't able to determine whether they were friendly or hostile and what they thought of him. They might care less about foreigners like Ves or they might treat him as a devil!

The fifth group of mechs were so peculiar that Ves was able to guess who they belonged to. "These are cybernetic mechs. These are very rare in the LRA. They either hail from the combinant faction or are tied to it in some way."

"Sounds plausible, but you never know. Are you friendly with them, Mr. Larkinson?"

"I don't know. I made a deal with Master Brixton, but I don't know if he even remembers his promise or told anyone else. Maybe I can catch their attention when I mention the Master's name."

Ves set his sights to the last group of mechs. Different from the rest, the mechs were fully metallic and mechanical!

"I know those guys. They're the Right Siders. The red mechs are part of a foreign mercenary corps that has been lingering on this planet for a couple of years now. I've seen their mechs in and around the arena several times, but I never learned why. They may have been hired to provide extra security, but that doesn't really make sense. If Ruuzon Arena really needs to beef up its guard presence, then it could easily contract local mercenary outfits or simply expand its own strength."

That sounded weird. If the Right Siders consisted of locals who fielded regular biomechs, then hardly anyone would question why they hung around the arena. Yet since they were foreigners who didn't seem to have any business with the arena, then their continued presence was very suspicious!

As Ves examined these six groups, which ones should he approach?