The Mech Touch

"How are you doing, sister?" Brutus Wodin asked as he entered her shared stateroom aboard the Spirit of Bentheim.

Her expression said it all. The continued absence of her husband did not put Gloriana in a good mood. While she knew what she was getting into after marrying a known daredevil, she never expected that the reality would be so bad!

"Miaoooow." Clixie cutely rolled on her lap and attempted to distract Gloriana.

The young wife sighed and ran her hand across Clixie's belly. "It's not easy being in my position. The antics of Ves aside, there are a lot of expectations on me. Our parents, our dynasty and even the Hexadric Hegemony think we can make miracles."

"You did set a pattern for them, sister. The Blessed Squire, the Valkyrie Redeemer and now the latest batch of Hexer mechs you designed with Ves is making the rounds. From what I've heard, the soldiers of our state are finding creative uses for your Cherub, Devious and Bright Boy designs."

Her brother strode forward and sat by her side. His protective force of will intimately embraced her sister's body, causing her to release some of her stress.

He looked around and found that Gloriana had already made the main living room compartment her home. Though she was forced to leave enough room for personalization for Ves, the side claimed by Gloriana already featured a lot of hexagons, projected images of home and other familiar touches.

Though she married into the Larkinson Clan, she was still a Hexer at heart.

Thinking about her recently finished mech designs put a smile on her face. She was ultimately proud of what Ves and her had been able to do when faced with limited design budgets. None of the last three Hexer mech designs were as powerful as the Valkyrie Redeemer, yet the utility they provided was undeniable.

The Cherub model revolutionized battlefield communications for the Hexers. Jamming hardly took effect and the only known method of interrupting its communication channels was for enemy expert mechs to come close.

The Devious model was not as eye-catching or revolutionary as other mechs of its type. Yet its price-performance ratio was quite high. Despite being made with cheaper materials and components, its effective stealth performance resembled that of a mech that was at least 50 percent more expensive. Its notable ability to circumvent the unexplainable intuition of nearby humans made it very suitable to invade Fridayman forward operating bases in the field!

As for the Bright Boy…

"The new Bright Boys are doing their jobs." Brutus commented. "They're stalling the Fridayman advance. That's better than anything our side has been able to manage ever since our enemy started to contract foreign expert pilots."

"It's not enough." Gloriana regretfully sighed.

The Bright Boy's ability to blind and debilitate expert pilots directly through their expert mechs was revolutionary and invaluable. The Hexers tested this effect a multitude of times and learned that it was very effective in many cases.

Yet it was not a panacea to the fundamental problem of lacking enough expert mechs. The Bright Boys were able to discomfit expert mechs, but destroying them was out of the question. Only an expert mech could truly defeat another expert mech!

It took hundreds of Bright Boys to effectively debilitate an expert mech, but interfering with their perception did not mean they were paralyzed. The expert pilots of the Coalition already learnt to cope with the new mechs.

"There is only so much that a mech designer can do to change the strategic outlook of the war." He tried to reassure her as he pulled her into a hug. "Technology is but one of many factors that can change the balance. The Friday Coalition may lack our glows, but we can't deny its edge on diplomacy. Their sweet talkers have not only managed to persuade third-rate states to lend their best mech pilots to them, but they have also forged more trade deals with the states beyond the Komodo Star Sector. The foreigners across the border don't seem to like the Hexadric Hegemony all that much."

In the past, that was an inconceivable notion to Gloriana. How could people possibly reject the superiority of women and the righteousness of the Hexer cause?

It was only after she started to travel around with the Larkinsons that she was forced to acknowledge that the rest of the galaxy did not welcome the proper order!

"We've neglected the value of making friends in the region." She regretfully said. "The way the Larkinson Clan is able to meet new people and convince them to join or befriend them has made me feel that the Hegemony back home is too insular. We thought we were strong enough to defeat the Friday Coalition and take over the Komodo Star Sector, and we were right. Yet we never fully took into account that our enemies didn't intend on playing fair. Instead of relying on their own strength, they cheated and sought outside help."

Now, all of the foreign aid pouring into the Friday Coalition in the form of manpower, resources and funding caused its various partners to enjoy a comprehensive rise in strength!

Every Hexer who was aware of the reality of the situation felt frustrated by this development. The worst part about it was that the Hexers effectively had no solutions.

Their diplomats weren't welcomed in foreign courts.

Interdicting trade was not feasible due to the enormous amount of territory the hunting fleets needed to cover.

Attacking the states that directly or indirectly supported the Friday Coalition was counterproductive.

The fact of the matter was that the Hex Army no longer possessed the numbers to pursue too many objectives! They had to muster all of their battered mech armies to hold the line and prevent the Fridaymen from breaking into the heartland of the Hexadric Hegemony!

Thinking about the likely incursion of Fridaymen into Hexer space caused Gloriana to feel depressed.

To be honest, Fridaymen already crossed the border at some places. They just needed to topple a major fortified star system in order to effectively break open the Hexer defensive line.

Brutus knew what she was worried about. He placed his hand on top of her own limb. "Our dynasty will survive no matter what happens. The Scimitar System is situated on the other side of the Hegemony. Matriarch Xiaphna has already ordered our dynasty to prepare for the worst. We have already evacuated some of our assets and people, and we will continue to prepare more evacuation fleets as time goes on. The only problem we're facing is that it has become incredibly difficult to obtain more ships, but as long as we focus on taking people, we can squeeze a lot of them on a simple converted cargo hauler."

Gloriana had already witnessed this kind of evacuation before. The Sand War had led to a lot of deaths. Though the Fridaymen wouldn't be as cruel as the sandmen, there was no doubt that the Hexers under their rule would suffer under the yoke of equality and respect for men!

"Will the Glory Seekers receive a lot of reinforcements in the near future?" She asked.

Brutus nodded. "Yes. Some of our fleets are catching up to us even now. Our mother and our close relatives won't be joining us, though. They have different plans and they don't want to supplant your role in the expeditionary fleet. We don't want to put all of our eggs in a single basket."

"Where will the rest of our dynasty go if not the Red Ocean?"

"I'm not privy to that information. Our heads are keeping that close to their chests. It might not matter if we are able to beat back the Fridaymen offensive. Unless our state is truly falling, our dynasty is still determined to fight for what is right."

War was never certain. At the start of the outbreak of hostilities, the Fridaymen were on the backfoot. It took a lot of effort for them to gain the upper hand. Perhaps the Hexers might be able to replicate this feat!

"Enough about the war. I didn't invite you over to talk about matters we can't control. Let's continue our planning session for your upcoming expert mech."

Gloriana activated a projection that displayed a vague but definable sketch.

"According to your previous input, I drafted an expert mech that is partially based on the Star Dancer. I made sure to prioritize its mobility and offensive power. The only major shortcoming is that I don't have much leeway to fortify its armor. I can spare a little room for fortifying portions of its torso and cockpit against penetrating damage."

It didn't matter to her if the limbs were flimsier and easier to damage than usual. She could easily fix this kind of battle damage. What she couldn't fix was Brutus dying because a powerful expert mech managed to punch through the cockpit!

Venerable Brutus carefully studied the sketch. He felt as if her sister poured a lot of love into its design. Its similarities to his former expert mech were quite welcome in his eyes.

"I want an expert mech that excels in dueling against other expert mechs." He decisively spoke. "With the increasing strength of the Larkinson Clan and its allies, ordinary mechs don't pose as much of a threat to us anymore. It's the expert mechs that we need to be worried about. The Battle of Reckoning has taught us all a painful lesson on what it takes to stop hostile expert mechs."

Gloriana clearly remembered that Brutus almost lost his life during the Battle of Reckoning. If not for getting saved by Venerable Davia Stark at the last moment, she might have lived a life where she would never be able to enjoy her brother's company ever again!

After this near-disaster, Gloriana became determined to design a better replacement for her brother's Star Dancer! Though the expert mech had served him well, its specs were rather average. As a boy, Brutus did not receive as much investment as a female expert pilot.

Gloriana didn't care about that. He was her brother. She wanted to make sure he would be able to win the battles he struggled to overcome in the past! This was why she made sure to splurge lavishly in order to raise the estimated parameters of his new expert mech as much as possible!

As she continued to explain her plan, Brutus looked increasingly more impressed.

"Since you insist on fighting expert mechs over regular mechs, I made sure to equip your expert mech with a rifle and accompanying support systems that excel at high penetration. Every expert mech is very tough, so lighter weapons won't do. I'm rather thankful that the Hex Army granted me permission to borrow their expert mech-grade components. I've already picked out a suitable model for your rifle, though we will doubtlessly tweak its design to suit your personal tastes."

Brutus studied the rifle model. "I don't understand everything on its spec sheet, but I can already see that it's firing rate is low and its demand for ammunition and energy is quite severe."

"It's worth it. The punch it can pack is enormous. While it is not efficient to waste its firepower on weaker mechs, it can immediately inflict considerable damage on expert mechs like the Charlemagne. As long as you can land a hit, then all but the most heavily-armored expert mechs will suffer!"

That sounded great for Brutus. While the advanced rifle paired with his upcoming expert mech was not comparable to an artillery cannon, its damage potential was still very high despite its manageable size and mass.

"What about the mobility of my mech? I don't want to get weighed down too much."

"It will be at least as good as the old Star Dancer, but I'm not aiming for that." She said with a determined expression on her face. "I want to improve the mobility of your expert mech by at least 20 percent compared to your old one. Since you want to excel at dogfighting, I made sure to focus on improving the evasive capabilities of your new machine. It will become a lot harder for enemies to land a hit!"

All of that sounded good to Brutus, but he did not miss the fact that he would have to pay for these improvements. The lack of protection along with the limited capacity for ammunition and energy meant that Brutus would not fare well in a drawn-out battle against lots of weaker mechs!

Fortunately, this was a price worth paying for him. He enjoyed dueling other expert mechs and felt this was the best contribution he could make as part of the expeditionary fleet.

He suddenly recalled something else. "What about the special nature of my new expert mech?"

"Ah, you're referring to the proto-gods." Gloriana grinned. "Well, have no fear. While Ves isn't here right now, I've worked alongside him enough times to know what to expect from him. Right now, I plan to incorporate at least two different proto-gods into your expert mech. It goes without saying that the Superior Mother will bless your expert mech. However, I've been thinking about adding another one to the mix…"