The Mech Touch

Nearly every person who belonged to the airfleet gathered on an open field. Mechs and biomechs vigilantly patrolled the perimeter and plenty of guards on foot were present in order to maintain order.

The faces of many of the gathered Larkinsons and other people were grim. News of the successful sabotage attempt had already spread and plenty of them looked upset!

"I always knew the people of the Biomech Purity Movement possessed rotten brains."

"Nigel Redmont shouldn't be the only purist in our clan. We need to root out anyone who acts suspiciously."

"Does the Larkinson Clan maintain the death penalty?"

The low conversation slowly died down as a procession of individuals walked up to the podium erected in the front of the field.

Real banners depicting the colors and symbol of the Golden Cat surrounded the podium. The matter taking place today was undeniably related to the clan.

Ves, holding his Larkinson Mandate, strode forward under armor while surrounded by his Honor Guard.

"Meow."

Lucky proudly padded after Ves with his tail raised high.

Venerable Tusa and Venerable Jannzi arrived next. They stood a short distance away from Ves while wearing a formal but martial looking ensemble that consisted of a ceremonial robe draped over a solid suit of light combat armor.

While their force of wills usually generated a considerable degree of friction against each other, this time they were remarkably docile. The impassive faces of the expert pilots indicated that they were keeping their emotions under tight control.

Afterwards, the 'star' of the show finally came into view. A squad of stern-looking guards escorted a simple uniformed Larkinson forward. The crowd immediately recognized Dr. Redmont's face from the images that people had shared to each other.

"The traitor is here!"

"Kill him! Teach him a lesson for destroying our biomechs!"

"I volunteer as executioner!"

Commander Casella Ingvar, who presided over the situation, stepped forward and amplified her voice.

"SILENCE! We will have an order here today! We are Larkinsons. Act like it! Unlike the unrestrained thugs and misguided fools that are rampaging outside. We are gathered here to witness justice, not anarchy. Trust in our institutions. Despite the short time that has passed since you have entered our clan, you must always take care to act in an honorable manner. Our names are worthless if we ignore the rules at our convenience!"

Her words had a lot of effect. The Larkinson Clan was a martial organization that heavily emphasized honor. Even though many people had slightly different ideas of what honorable conduct actually looked like, the most prominent leaders and warriors served as excellent role models.

Right now, aside from leaders such as Ves and Commander Casella, the heroes that many of the new recruits looked up to were Venerable Tusa and Venerable Jannzi!

Though both of them diverged over many matters, their trueblood heritage ensured that they acted as honorably as the Larkinson expert pilots of the past!

Ves was very glad he brought the two of them to the surface. Venerable Joshua was strong and nice, but his lack of military experience meant he was much looser and less formal than his peers.

Meanwhile, Venerable Rosa Orfan was not only sloppy, but also a lot more flexible when it came to breaking rules. As a former Vandal officer, she still embodied their raider mentality.

Perhaps she would have thrived under this situation, but her personality would never be able to inspire much discipline from the troops!

What Ves needed the most were ways to accelerate the integration of all of the former Lifers in the clan. The existence of nutjobs like Dr. Redmont woke him up to the fact that there might be hundreds of other dubious figures out there who were only marginally less crazy!

Perhaps they might not pull off a damaging stunt right away, but given time they could easily abuse their access to important systems!

Several people including Ves feared that Dr. Redmont's act was not an isolated incident. With all of the unstable personalities that his clan had hastily absorbed, it was not ludicrous to think that there might be dozens of timebombs hiding within the ranks!

Rooting them all out was too exhaustive. The best method to address this problem was boosting the integration process, and what better way to do so than to host a large event?

Pretty much every Larkinson, both old and new, had gathered in this field. Even the clansmen who had to patrol the perimeter with their mechs were still tuning in to the proceedings.

Ves knew that major events like these would have a major effect on those who took part in it. These impactful moments had the potential to set trends that could determine how the clan would deal with similar incidents in the future.

This was the power of precedents.

Since the Larkinson Clan was too new, it was still in the process of building up its traditions and customs. Many gaps still existed that slowly had to be filled up over time.

Ves knew he enjoyed a privileged position right now. Unlike instances in the past where he became a part of existing organizations like the Larkinson Family and the Flagrant Vandals, he was unbound by outdated and anachronistic traditions.

One of the primary reasons why he split off from the old family in the first place was to escape the stupid rules and stubborn old coots who clung to them! While the downside to this was that he had to start over, at least he was behind the helm of the ship this time. He could steer his vessel in every direction he liked!

Once the guards hauled Dr. Redmont to the front and center of the raised podium, Ves knew it was time to start the show.

He stepped forward, attracting everyone's attention to his armored and gallant form.

He polished his Unending Regalia beforehand and applied a shiny coating to make himself look more presentable. The Unending alloy's natural dark appearance made the modest red and golden accents look more pronounced.

The red cape that depicted the golden emblem of the Larkinson Clan billowed majestically behind his back.

This was actually a hidden stage trick. Ves had installed a hidden antigrav module beneath the podium and programmed it to project a weak, rippling forcefield over his body. The simulated wind force that resulted from his effort just happened to flap his cape dynamically enough to generate plenty of movement while not making it seem as if he was in the middle of a hurricane!

From the respect and admiration he saw in the gazes of the audience, Ves knew that his effort paid off. Sometimes, it was the little details that sold a performance.

"My fellow Larkinsons." He began with his familiar address. "I have summoned you here to witness a grave but necessary event. Since many of you are still new to our clan, I wished I could have assembled you for a happier reason. Sadly, our current state makes it untenable to hold any celebrations. We must still work hard and pool all of our strengths in order to escape this wartorn planet. Only when we have reached our true homes will we be able to hold a proper welcome celebration."

A lot of Larkinsons looked forward to that. It didn't matter whether they used to regard Prosperous Hill VI as their home. In a matter of weeks, the planet had become unrecognizable to them. Now, only the promise of living on a calm and well-regulated ship that was run completely by Larkinsons could give them peace.

In fact, any option was better than remaining stuck on a planet where mechs routinely stepped onto the helpless bodies of innocent civilians!

"I am sad to say that this promised future may be further out of reach than before. Due to a selfish act, an unwarranted act of sabotage took place! The sudden loss of twenty powerful biomechs is not a trivial case of destruction of clan property. The true damage that has resulted from this incident is the weakening of our combat strength. In concrete terms, this means we will suffer more deaths and achieve less gains! An attack on our mechs during a time and place of active fighting is nothing less than harming our fellow Larkinsons!"

The emotions of the crowd quickly flared up! While the clansmen didn't shout any outrageous statements this time, Ves could easily sense how much animosity they held towards Dr. Redmont.

While Ves did not choose to channel Goldie or any other design spirit this time, he still held the Larkinson Mandate in his grasp. This gave him an excellent real-time grasp of the emotional reactions of his men. This resulted in a powerful advantage where he was able to tailor his tone and approach on the fly in order to achieve even greater persuasion.

For his part, Dr. Redmont did not exhibit any measure of guilt, and that made the crowd even angrier!

"Doctor Nigel Redmont-Larkinson." Ves turned and spoke to the unrepentant traitor. "You stand accused of high treason against the clan you have sworn an oath to serve. How do you plead?"

"My answer remains the same, Mr. Larkinson. I did our clan a favor by sparing the tainted biomechs from your use. As long as the Larkinson Clan has not fully embraced biotechnology, it does not deserve to field biomechs! These holy machines must stay pure, and the best way to do so is to keep them in the hands of true Lifers who are truly worthy to handle these blessings!"

"You rotten purists!"

"We used to be Lifers, you idiot! We know exactly how to take care of biomechs!

Ves shook his head. "As your fellow clansmen already show, you are wrong, Dr. Redmont. Just because you believe you have saved our clan doesn't mean it is actually true. In fact, it is the opposite! Any Larkinson blood that is spilled as a result of your sabotage will forever be laid at your feet. You are not a savior except in your own imagination. In reality, you are a traitor, and your name will forever be associated as one in our records!"

This time, Dr. Redmont's confident demeanor began to crack a bit. It seemed that everyone's inability to acknowledge his righteousness was starting to bother him. He did not except to receive so little support!

"Mr. Larkinson… let me explain more clearly. The purity of biomechs in our possession are—"

"SHUT UP!" Ves abruptly barked.

He waved his arm in a theatrical manner. This activated a preset command that automatically muffled Dr. Redmont's voice. The traitor had been muted!

"Perhaps you are under the impression that you still have the opportunity to argue your case. This is false. This is not a conventional trial. This is a court-martial that takes place in an active war zone where we are subjected to martial law. You have already presented your arguments to us behind closed doors. Now, our tribunal is here in order to present its verdict and issue its sentence.

Dr. Redmont widened his eyes. He did not expect that the Larkinson Clan would expedite the trial so quickly. He at least wanted to gain more time to present his case to the audience so that he could inspire them to follow his example!

Ves knew this quite well. There was no way that Dr. Redmont would be declared innocent with all of the overwhelming evidence against him. What was truly worrisome was whether the traitor was able to use his speaking moment as an opportunity to spread even greater discord!

To prevent this disastrous outcome, the trial left little opportunity for the delusional saboteur to address the public.

Besides, Ves couldn't be bothered to conduct a lengthy trial. He wanted to achieve a short but powerful impact before ordering his clansmen to return to their duties.

A lot of work still needed to be done and Ves wasn't finished with his raiding spree yet. Even if he lost twenty biomechs, he still retained enough combat power to aim at another ambitious target!