The Mech Touch

When the more fanatical citizens of the Vulcan Empire began to clash against those they perceived to be their opponents, the public order in many parts of the state began to deteriorate.

On some planets, the conflict was limited to groups of protesters yelling curses at each other.

On other planets, the militants among the two factions had taken up arms!

When the rivalry descended into violent actions, the fighting rarely stopped at the level of infantry combat.

"Damn these heretics! They've deployed way too many goons with guns! If that's how they're going to play the game, then let's bring in a couple of mechs and see how those peacekeepers like it when we've got the bigger guns for once!"

"The rebels have escalated their insurrection. We can still control them when they gather in mobs, but we cannot protect the people if they begin to deploy mechs. Mobilize our riot mechs and stop the rebels from destroying our city!"

Of course, with each response, the scale of the fighting hadn't dropped. Instead, it kept growing larger and more intense.

On some planets, even military units had taken action!

There were many mech regiments and mech divisions that were largely composed of believers in one faith or another. The servicemen who aligned themselves to the Dwarven God Cult were much more fanatical and much less hesitant to break their neutrality and side with their fellow compatriots on the streets!

"Our time has come!" Venerable Merek Bulfuron shouted in front of an unauthorized parade of Hivar Roarers. "Ever since we returned home in defeat, the generals stripped our honors and threw us in this remote field base. They thought to push our heads down and force us to recant our faith. I say no longer! Vulcan is a dwarven god and he has returned to reveal the truth to us all! The lies espoused by the conspirators at the top have been exposed, but still our corrupt rulers usurp the authority that rightfully belongs to our god. Is this justice?!"

"NO!"

Venerable Merek sneered as he rubbed his thick fingers against his smooth and broad chin. "Our heretical commanding officers are afraid of us. Why else did they force us all to shave our beards? They can take away our hair, but they cannot deny our righteous cause! Fellow brothers, answer my call and take your mechs to the capital where we must fight to save the Vulcan Empire from the deception that has brought us further away from Vulcan's light. Let us barge our way into the governor's mansion and pull out the beards of everyone who is inside! Let's see how they like it when they lose their badge of honor! For the empire!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE!"

"For Vulcan!"

"FOR VULCAN!"

With military units rebelling or taking action on their own accord, the dwarven state truly began to slide into civil war. Open conflict erupted on the surface of more and more planets as an increasing number of Vulcanites got caught up in the rising polarization between the two factions.

It became increasingly harder for ordinary people to remain on the sidelines, not when their leaders and role models called them into action!

"Vulcan does not forgive those who remain silent. Show your devotion now or risk eternal damnation!"

"If you do not donate to our charitable fund, you're a heretic and a traitor! A simple donation of 1000 hammers is enough to absolve you of your sins. Donate now and support our freedom fighters on the front. Withhold your funds and be prepared to answer for your inaction!"

Of course, not every citizen of the Vulcan Empire fell under the sway of sectarian strife.

There were plenty of dwarves who lived in quiet, rural planets who largely missed out on the struggle.

There were also dwarves who were not as religious as others and did not get fooled by the conflict triggered by the strange statues.

In one quiet mansion, General Iker Kebrinore slowly walked into a peaceful garden. Several bots neatly trimmed the bushes and other plans while a trio of dogs ran around while chasing each other's tails.

The disgraced general approached a dwarf who was sitting on a simple wooden chair built with dwarven proportions in mind.

"Orthox." Kebrinore greeted with a respectful nod. "I can't get used to seeing you without your beard."

The high-tier expert pilot directed his gaze away from his dogs and rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "I do not mind my new look, to be honest. It's easier to lift my head these days. Our beards have weighed us down for so many decades that we have been looking in the wrong direction all this time."

The old general whose chin was also hairless responded with a grim smile. "I am glad to see you taking your suspension in good grace."

"I wouldn't call it that, sir. I am merely embracing the reality that I have grown too old to change anything. We are fossils, general."

The expert pilot exuded a somber and listless vibe. He had not lost against Patriarch Reginald Cross, but he had failed to protect his fellow dwarven soldiers. The deaths of all of his comrades still weighed heavily on shoulders.

The general slowly sat down on another nearby wooden chair. "Maybe you're right, but I like to assume that the Vulcan Empire still needs our services."

"The people don't want to see us again." Venerable Orthox remarked.

"The people are in confusion and it is all because of our enemy."

The expert pilot looked up to his friend and superior. "What are you talking about, Kebrinore?"

"Let me show you, Orthnox."

With a wave of his hand, a bot flew over and deposited two different statues onto a nearby table.

Both of them were clearly made in the likeness of Vulcan. The difference was that one statue interpreted Vulcan as a human while the other depicted him as a dwarf!

As soon as the two statues came close, Venerable Orthox already felt the familiar sensations. His eyes sparked as he straightened his short but powerful back.

"This sensation!"

He recognized the vibe exuded by the two metal idols!

The dwarven expert pilot grabbed the human statue and tried to compare the sensation he felt to those he experienced during his last battle.

"It's the same. It's exactly the same. The auras these statues possess are identical to the so-called 'glows' of those Larkinson mechs!"

General Kebrinore grimly nodded. "While I have not had the pleasure of experiencing the glows of our opponents, I have already asked many of our fellow Molten Hammer mech pilots whether they recognize the effect of these statuettes. Their answers concur with yours. Every soldier who has fought against the Larkinson Clan up close is able to recognize our enemy's signature tech in these deceptively simple objects."

The alarmed expert pilot began to think back on the news of the last few days. Statues identical to the two brought by General Kebrinore had suspiciously ended up in the hands of many agitators who promptly gained 'divine inspiration' from gifts that they believed came from Vulcan himself!

Yet those who remained skeptical of Vulcan regardless of his form saw more from this sequence of events.

If the statues were all made by a certain human clan leader who had good reason to hate the Vulcanites, then this was likely part of a dangerous conspiracy!

"It's a trap." Venerable Orthox gasped as his protective will came back to life. "Our empire is under attack by outside human forces, but hardly any dwarf realizes we're being fooled!"

"Do you see why I have come to you today? Disgraced or not, we cannot stand by and allow Patriarch Larkinson to cleave our state in half. The sabotage he perpetrated on our society must be dismantled, and the first step to doing that is to expose his conspiracy!"

"What do you want us to do, sir?"

"Come with me and convince our brothers to recognize that we are all being played."

General Kebrinore and Venerable Orthox left the mansion and sought out the soldiers that had already taken up arms.

When they finally managed to meet with Venerable Merek Bulfuron, the two Molten Hammers tried to convince their battle brother to stop dancing to the enemy's tune.

"Open your eyes, Merek!" Orthox boomed as he slammed the two statues on a table in front of the other expert pilot. "We're being manipulated by the human leader who we fought against. The glows these statues possess is similar to the ones carried by the human mechs we've previously met. You dueled against their expert swordsman mech, so you should know that these items are made by the same enemy who claimed to be Vulcan himself!"

Venerable Merek stared into Orthox's eyes for a moment before he settled his gaze onto the human statue.

"How dare you bring a representation of the great lie in my presence. Though I respect your contributions during the rebellion, you have obviously grown too senile for your own good."

Both Orthox and Kebrinore looked shocked at the Hivar Roarer expert pilot.

"Have you been listening to any word I've said, Merek? Neither of these statues are authentic! They are both fake. Just look at them and feel how equal they are. Aside from their stature and their facial hair, they are identical!"

"You're blind, Orthox."

"Pardon?"

"I said you're blind." Merek repeated. "Your old war wounds have caused your senses to dull. They're not equal at all! One of them is authentic while the other one is clearly a pathetic attempt to deceive our people."

"What? How can you say that when the glows of the two statues are the same."

"You disappoint me, Orthox. I have told you several times that this dwarven statue is the correct one. The other one is a heretical piece of work that needs to be destroyed on sight!"

It eventually dawned on Kebrinore and Orthox that their perception of the two idols differed from that of Merek.

To the latter, his strong belief in the Dwarven God Cult caused him to feel a lot of validation from the dwarven statue.

In contrast, the human statue prompted him to feel disgusted towards it. Merek simply couldn't recognize any similarities between this object and the one he admired the most!

The two veterans of the Molten Hammers looked increasingly more appalled. They realized that this trap was much more sophisticated than they thought.

To them, the two statues did appeal to them in some way, but did not find much purchase in their minds. Neither of the two possessed any religious tendencies and couldn't comprehend how any dwarf thought that one was clearly more authentic than the other.

Yet with a fellow expert pilot exhibiting the same kind of bias even when they were able to make direct comparisons, it seemed that it was much harder to shake the believers out of their delusions!

Venerable Orthox let out a frustrated grunt. "Why can't you connect the dots, Merek? Even if we ignore this human statue, you should at least recognize that this glow is the modus operandi of our most recent enemy. Our empire is being attacked by humans, but instead of recognizing this existential threat to our people, you're still thinking about fighting against Vulcanites!"

A restless air surrounded Venerable Merek. Despite Orthox's best attempts, the Hivar Roarer expert pilot remained deaf to the older man's pleas.

"I used to look up to you." Merek softly told Orthox. "No longer. Please get out of my sight. I will not let myself be swayed by the tools of the corrupt liars who deny the true Vulcan."

"We're not on the side of the Vulcan Faith!" Venerable Orthox angrily roared! "We're standing up on behalf of the innocent dwarves who are suffering and dying from all of the infighting that people like you are engaged in. Wake up, Merek! I don't give a rat's beard whether Vulcan is a human or a dwarf, but if he is driving our fellow citizens to commit suicide, then I would rather tear him down myself!"

BOOM!

Venerable Orthox widened his eyes as his shield generator came to life and blocked a powerful kinetic projectile fired by the other expert pilot's gauss pistol.

"What are you doing, Merek?! You just shot against your own!"

A hateful expression emerged on Merek's face as his finger came close to pressing the trigger again. "You are not my brother. Your blasphemy against Vulcan is unforgivable. You should thank our god that you are carrying a shield generator, Orthox. If you say one more word against Vulcan, I will make sure you will never be able to spread heresy again."

"You…" General Kebrinore looked outraged. "You've fallen too deep into the trap. You don't even realize that you are dancing to the tune of our greatest enemy."

"Shut up, you failure! Both of you are lost in the glories of your past. Times have changed! Your fight is over now. Go home and stay put in your cages. Our people don't need your protection. Our people have to be protected against you!"

Venerable Orthox grew pale at this remark.