The Mech Touch

The Grand Loxic Republic was a proud state. Though the Winged Serenade Star Sector was divided into seven second-rate states, each of which possessed their own strong heritage, the Loxians rightfully felt pride in their own prosperity.

Much of that had to do with their favorable and central location. With multiple highly-developed port systems in its grasp, the Grand Loxic Republic stood out as a nexus of trade and influence-building.

Many organizations whose influence stretched across the entire galactic rim or even the galaxy chose to establish their branch offices in the Grand Loxic Republic. The concentration of so many powerful but distant companies, foundations, research institutions, foreign offices and more caused the state to consider itself more cosmopolitan than the rest of the Yeina Star Cluster.

The Winged Serenade Star Sector and more specifically the Grand Loxic Republic was much more connected to the rest of the galaxy than anywhere else in the vicinity!

Other star sectors such as Komodo, Vicious Mountain and Majestic Teal may have developed their own strengths, but the Loxians pretty much considered those regions to be the backwater star sectors.

With so many interests intertwined with the Grand Loxic Republic, a lot of competition had formed between the locals who were qualified to take a piece of the pie.

Still, for a long time, the Loxic President and the Hegenarion Party he led for decades remained in power.

The Hegenarion Party had long been in power in the grand republic. It advocated for a conservative policy that attempted to rock the boat as little as possible. As long as everything went well, there was no need to go out of their way and introduce too many changes to their society.

The Hegenarion Party's emphasis on wealth generation and influence-building led to many decades of stability and peace. The residents quite liked that and only rarely elevated others in power.

Yet the longer the Hegenarions grasped the levers of power, the more eager their rivals wanted to pull them down!

The problem with that was that the Loxic President was immensely capable. As the greatest Loxian statesman, he not only ensured slow but constant growth for his state, but made sure that every crucial stakeholder benefited from the status quo.

It was very difficult to shake his position when he made so many people happy.

In the end, it took outside intervention to pull him off his throne. The inexplicable Crown Uprising had caused the state which had long been quiet to turn restless and unsafe.

The frequent terrorist attacks that erupted on many different planets disrupted a lot of the trade and influence-building that the Grand Loxic Republic relied upon to remain prosperous.

This had immediate effects on its short-term economy. A recession had swept over the state without any warning, causing many people and organizations to be caught off-guard!

Though the Hegenarion Party did everything it could to stem the losses and give comfort to those who lost their relatives or their jobs, the downside to staying in power for so long was that they always took the blame for everything!

The Loxic President and his inner circle faced the greatest challenge of their careers. Their plans all became outdated as the galactic storm ignited by a hidden organization more powerful than anything they had dealt with easily swept aside the status quo!

Yet just as the Loxic President was about to tackle the ongoing crisis without backing down, the crown terrorists managed to infiltrate his presidential palace and blow him up along with many other important ministers!

The consequences immediately became apparent. WIth the Hegenarion Party in disarray due to the loss of so many important leaders and its inability to determine a new leader in a short amount of time, the other political parties smelled weakness and struck!

Though the Grand Loxic Republic could not be allowed to descend into civil war and scare away all of the foreign allies and business partners it heavily relied upon, that did not mean the killing stopped!

It just moved into the shadows. Though no insider in the powerful state was ignorant of the fact that a lot of fighting took place, the fact that the fighting was mostly contained in the shadows ensured that everyone had enough reason to pretend the state was doing fine and dandy.

A shuttle crashed into the body of a powerful mayor of a major trading city?

The crown terrorists were at fault!

A huge space station that belonged to a major backer to one of the political parties broke in half?

The crown terrorists were at fault!

Some weird black mechs were killing off the descendants of a family that was noted for its public service?

The crown terrorists were at fault!

The Crown Uprising was a trans-galactic event that happened in every settled part of human society. The flood of terrorist attacks appearing in the news was so torrential that people soon grew numb to the mass-produced tragedies.

The sheer quantity of destructive events also caused many investigative bodies to stop looking into the truth behind the incidents.

There were simply too many of them to investigate all of them properly!

This was why the tragedy befalling the Purnesse Family made so few ripples in the Grand Loxic Republic.

"How come we have fallen to this point, father?" A sophisticated voice asked with a touch of despair.

The light of the local star shone warmly on the glittering oceans that covered much of Trieden II. The small but pleasant paradise planet was famed for its aquatic bounty and luxurious resorts.

The Violet Estates occupied one of the more noteworthy islands that dotted the planet. The series of structures were designed for beauty rather than defense, so they occupied a relatively high hill that took great cost to erect.

The different estates could easily be recognized from afar due to its eye-catching location and brightly-colored facade.

Right now, the Purnesse Family felt that it had been a very foolish decision to place their main homes on such an open and vulnerable site.

The family had to remove powerful shield generators from their other properties and move them all back to the Violet Estates in order to protect it from long-ranged bombardment!

Even now, the Purnesses were still in the process of setting up fortifications across their island. The rather limited number of mechs under their control were looking out at the water, on guard for any danger that might emerge from below the surface.

Within the solar of the main structure of the Violet Estates, a man wearing an elegant but understated business suit looked towards the older man seated next to the high windows that looked out over the island and the seas beyond.

Former Ambassador Shederin Purnesse was tired. As a man who was 140 years old, he had gone through several major waves in his long and accomplished life. He slowly adjusted the green robe that helped him convey a calm and peaceful demeanor.

Yet the current wave sweeping towards the Violet Estates was like a tsunami that could potentially sweep across the entire island!

"Has the Riedholm Corporation responded to my inquiry?" The ambassador's light but dignified voice asked.

"No, father. Our communication capabilities have become increasingly intermittent, but the few times we succeeded in sending a message to the company representative, we have not received any acknowledgement."

The ambassador smiled wryly as the filtered sun rays streamed down on his face and body. "It is to be expected."

"Expected?!" Counselor Noliven Purnesse momentarily lost control. "We have worked hard to introduce the Riedholm Corporation to the local industry and helped forge several favorable trade deals over the years. Director Asfelt-Riedholm owes several favors to our family!"

The former counselor that had followed in the footsteps of his prestigious father managed much of the important communications of the family during this crisis. The lack of favorable replies had frayed his mind. The burden of saving the Purnesse Family largely relied on the success of his mission.

Shederin Purnesse directed a lazy eye towards his son. "What is the fastest way to get rid of a debt?"

"Repay it straight away?"

Obviously, this was the wrong answer. Fortunately, Novilon was not stupid at all. It took less than a second for him to realize a more frightening answer.

"By defaulting on it…" He trailed.

"Indeed." Shederin's smile grew more humorless. "In the rules that previously governed our society, credibility was the primary currency that formed the basis of every transaction. Regretfully, the rules of the game have changed. Do you know what has supplanted the importance of credibility in this new and turbulent period?"

Novilon Purnesse thought for a moment. "I would say value. Though centuries of loyal and diligent service has given us a great reputation, much of that is built upon the glories of the past. If we no longer consider this factor, our actual value has severely plummeted. Our great friendship with the former Loxic President and our comfortable status in the Hegenarion Party are no longer worth anything now that both of them no longer have any meaning."

The Hegenarion Party was not going down quickly, but it had too many enemies. No one was willing to bet on its future when there weren't any strong leaders who could rise up and unite the former power base of the assassinated president.

The old and stately ambassador let out a deep breath. "All of our work into deepening and fostering our bonds with the Hegenarion Party has gone to waste. Should it be any surprise that the wealthy Riedholm Corporation no longer values what we can bring to the table? In fact, Director Asfelt-Riedholm benefits most from seeing our family fall. The debts he owes to us has long worn down his shoulders."

Novilon clenched his fist. Such a disgraceful turn would have caused the director to fall into disrepute at any other time! Credibility was everything, and no one wanted to do business with traitors and ungrateful bastards!

Ambassador Shederin seemed to accept the Riedholm Corporation's abandonment with few emotional fluctuations.

"Let us move on, then. What of the Primdal Family? Bonds of blood are often more dependable than written contracts and unwritten favors. The marriages between our families are not trivial."

"We…" The son of the older man hesitated. "We did not receive any response either, but I managed to obtain word of one of our agents within the Primdal Family. According to what I heard, the Primdals are willing to lend a hand to us, but the patron they answer to has put a stop to those attempts."

The expression of the old ambassador sank. "We can count the Primdals out as well, then. They are at the mercy of greater forces just like us. At least they are lucky enough that their backers still retain their power."

The Purnesse Family had worked hard to forge several bonds with the Primdal Family. Even though the two answered to different political parties, there was no rule that stated that they had to avoid each other. As long as they did not make any major moves together, a few marriages between their family members never caught much attention.

The Purnesses befriended the Primdals as a form of insurance. If the Hegenarion Party ever faded from power, the Purnesses could rely on the help of the Primdals to swing to a different influence.

The reason why the Primdals were willing to play along was because they had the same intentions! If the Primdal Family ever got in trouble one day, it could request the Purnesses to bring them into the Hegenarion Party!

It was too bad that the Loxic President and the rest of his powerbase fell too quickly to make the transition worth it. The Purnesses had become poison and not even bonds of blood could persuade the Primdal Family to fulfill its original obligation!

"Do you know where we have gone wrong as a family?" Shederin asked his son.

"We are good at making friends, but our friends can't be counted in this dangerous time." Novilon steadily answered. "We shouldn't have focused so much on forging bonds based on nebulous concepts such as credibility or blood ties. We would have been much better off right now if we established ties based on solid interests!"

The father let out a disappointed sigh. "You still don't get it, son. You keep approaching the problem from the same lens that you have been trained to view in our society."

"What did I get wrong?"

The old ambassador looked out the window and raised his head to gaze at the cloudless blue sky.

"We should have developed our own strength. Do you think we would be bullied as heavily as now if we invested more attention and resources into building up our military might? Our family has been too naive! All of the years of peace in our state and the stability offered by the Loxic President has made us complacent! We have relied so heavily on borrowing the power of others that we never sufficiently developed our own might. In the end, the only truth in security lies in strength!"

Strength was the only truth in the galaxy!