The Mech Touch

Tristan's depression and war weariness did not prevent him from continuing to act as a conduit between Ves and his backers.

When the man was not complaining about the death and destruction that his actions may have put into motion, he dutifully relayed the words of the weaker coalition partners to Ves and the Hexers.

Even though it might have been more convenient for the Carnegies and Vermeers to negotiate directly with the Hexers, it was impossible for this to happen.

The two sides were still enemies!

Not only that, it was incredibly taboo for the Fridaymen to openly plot for the downfall of one of its coalition partners!

By continuing to communicate through Tristan, the damage of exposure would be kept at a minimum. At most, a single Fridayman mech designer along with a few unimportant diplomats would take the fall for the scandal.

Tristan had become more cognizant about this truth as of late, which caused him to become even more disillusioned about the entire situation.

Since Tristan frequently passed on information and received instructions from his current employers, he possessed a more thorough understanding of all of the preparations being made.

The Hexers were moving into action. The Golden Skull Alliance was about to dispatch its formidable main fleet. The weaker coalition partners had made many assurances that their own mech forces were staying put throughout this sensitive period.

The latter was especially important to Ves and many other careful people. They still could not fully shake the possibility that this was all a giant trap that was ultimately aimed at the Hexer raiders who had been causing a lot of misery to the Fridayman colonies.

In order for the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group to demonstrate their sincerity, the Hexers requested information that confirmed that no friendly forces would be ready to reinforce the targeted star systems.

This was not a difficult request to meet because the territories of the Fridayman colonies were relatively sparse and underdeveloped. There was quite a bit of distance between each major colony, which meant it would be too late to reinforce the Gaugers if no one moved beforehand.

Of course, the Hexers weren't satisfied with this guarantee alone. They also wanted complete information on the movement of ships through the territory of the Friday Colonies for the past few years as well as permission to actively monitor the borders in case foreign fleets were lingering in the vicinity.

These were all heavy demands that essentially forced the Friday Colonies to expose a lot of information to the Hex Federation.

Unfortunately for the people behind Tristan, the Hexers were well aware that they held the initiative in the negotiations.

If the Hexers refused to attack the holdings of the Gauge Dynasty, then the internal situation of the Friday Coalition will continue to deteriorate!

Both Ves and Tristan became quite surprised at how extensively the Carnegies and the Vermeers accommodated the unreasonable demands of the Hexers.

The Fridaymen who had schemed against the Gauge Dynasty thoroughly proved their willingness to uphold their end of the deal and stay away from any major battles that might ensue.

Minister Shederin Purnesse easily figured out why the weaker coalition partners were not eager to compromise the deal or pull off any shenanigans.

"They're afraid, Ves. The Carnegie Group, the Vermeer Group, the Vanguard Group and the Puffer Clan have all built their own costly settlements in the neighborhood. Who knows whether the massive Hexer assault army decides to take a detour and attack one of those colonies instead? They are all weaker and more vulnerable than the core colonies of the Gauge Dynasty! If I was in their place, I would do everything to fortify my own defenses. There are no mechs to spare for ambushes and delayed reinforcement actions."

"Ah. That makes sense."

"I suggest that you should emphasize the inherent instability and impulsiveness of Hexer decision-making in your next meeting with Tristan. It is already enough if you are subtle about it. We just need to raise enough of a probability that their worst fears might come true to put enough fright in their hearts."

"Hehe. That sounds fun. I'll be sure to do so. Since our fleet will be taking part in this assault as well, it is in our best interest to cow the Fridaymen into staying put."

As all of this was taking place, the Golden Skull Alliance slowly completed all of its preparations.

The Cat Nest and the Cross Production Complex became a lot less lively as hundreds of thousands of Larkinsons and Crossers had fully relocated to the allied fleet in orbit!

Despite the large outflow of personnel and mechs, the Cat Nest was still able to maintain normal activity.

The clan had put a lot of effort into filling up the Davute Branch. A lot of mech pilots who had either chosen to retire from the main fleet or possessed lesser qualifications had chosen to serve in the local garrison and defense force.

The branch's defense force was already capable of deploying 10,000 mechs in battle, and that figure would soon rise to 15,000 mechs by the end of the year.

Those numbers sounded quite impressive, but the truth was that most of those mechs were mid-range machines that were simpler and cheaper to design, build and maintain.

That was enough. The amount of mechs patrolling the Cat Nest and manning the defensive stations had not dropped at all, which showed that the Davute Branch was more than capable of defending the valuable site.

Ves met with Branch Director Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson one last time.

"I'm not sure whether our fleet will return to Davute after we have completed our assault on Pima Prime." Ves said. "If the damage that we have suffered is limited, then we will probably head straight in the direction of the deep frontier. This means that it will probably take numerous years before we can reunite in person."

The rejuvenated Raymond nodded in understanding. "The Davute Branch will not give you cause for concern. You have provided more than enough for us to take care of ourselves. We will do our best to serve as the custodians to all of your investments and business holdings on Davute VII."

"That is good to hear. Take care, and make sure to remind everyone that they are members of the Larkinson Clan and not just the Davute Branch."

After touring the Cat Nest one more time, he stopped at the entrance of the Royal Mansion where a number of bots brought out the last pieces of cargo from his home for the last five years.

Ves could smell Gloriana's floral scent as she approached with a glum expression. Aurelia, Andraste and Marvaine all followed after her while wearing black, formal outfits.

It looked as if his wife and children dressed up for a wedding instead of an ordinary departure!

"I still think that this is a mistake." Gloriana whined.

"This again? It's a bit too late to complain now that we are on the cusp of leaving."

"I hate you, you know that? Just look at how your decision has made our kids sad!"

When Ves looked down at his children, he saw that Aurelia had already come to terms with the decision.

Meanwhile, Andraste and Marvaine actually appeared as if they both looked forward to going on an adventure!

"I think our kids can manage. Isn't that right, my babies?"

"This is for the good of the clan." Aurelia said in a proper tone.

"I want to see our mechs fight against the evil aliens!"

"Pew pew pew!"

Gloriana gnashed her teeth at this response.

"C'mon, honey. They're just kids. They are a lot more adaptable than you think. Living aboard the Spirit of Bentheim will be fun. We can also take them on excursions to other ships like the Vivacious Wal if we want to enjoy a bit of quality time. We can also bring them to new and exotic planets. Their childhoods will be utterly unique. No one else can raise them like us. Doesn't that sound great?"

"I wanted our children to be more civilized than you." Gloriana complained again. "The Trailblazer Expedition will make it harder for me to ensure they remain proper and obedient."

"I don't want our children to be too stiff and dull. They are much more adorable when they show their personality!"

Ves and Gloriana could never quite agree on this, so they eventually put their argument aside and brought their children away.

As their escorted shuttle ascended through the atmosphere, Ves peeked out of the window and took one last look at the globe that was growing smaller and smaller before his eyes.

He truly did not know when he would return or if he would ever have the chance to step foot on the planet again.

All he knew was that his clan could not remain shackled to Davute. No matter how much the Larkinsons had grown their roots in the local community, Ves only considered the Krakatoa Middle Zone to be a temporary stop.

Once the shuttle smoothly landed in the Spirit of Bentheim's hangar bay, Gloriana took their children to the grand stateroom that they hadn't occupied for years while Ves headed towards the bridge.

Along the way, Ves briefly equipped himself with his upgraded Unending Regalia before he stepped foot on one of the control centers of the upgraded factory ship.

Much had changed over the past few years. Every capital ship had received extensive upgrades and the Spirit of Bentheim was no different. Her defenses, her production capabilities and her mobility had all received substantial improvements, making her more useful to the expeditionary fleet than ever!

Ves did not spend his time on admiring all of the improvements of the ship. He readied himself to address his entire clan.

Soon, every clansmen stopped and stood at attention while facing the nearest projection of their patriarch.

Over 500,000 Larkinsons had been spread throughout the fleet while 100,000 more clansmen were standing by at the local branch.

These were unprecedented numbers and spoke of how quickly the Larkinson Clan had grown since their initial arrival in Davute!

"My fellow Larkinsons." Ves spoke as he deliberately adopted a more martial and forceful air. "The time for peace and relaxation has passed. Our hibernation has come to an end. Fire has always been in our blood, and it is time to reignite it by seeking out challenges that can better ourselves and our fellow clansmen."

Ves swept his armored limb around his body.

"The Red Ocean has much to offer to pioneers! The Purgatory Campaign was but one of the instances where our clan managed to get ahead. There are many other treasures in this new and turbulent galaxy that can allow us to leap past our peers and rivals. Many of these opportunities may be fraught with danger, but with the increase in our combat strength, I am confident that we can navigate each peril that we might face!"

Ves earnestly smiled.

"Remember this day and remember your resolve to grow the clan. Life within our clan will not be as relaxed as before. There will be times where you need to obey orders unconditionally and trust in the strategies adopted by your superiors. While you are allowed to have questions, know that we are all trying to do what is best for our clan and our families. I, like many of you, have brought my wife and children along this expedition because I sincerely believe that what we are doing will not only succeed, but put our entire clan much further ahead than if we continued to linger in Davute!"

He closed his eyes and briefly envisioned the faces of his children. Reminding himself of them steeled his resolve to do right by his offspring.

Once he opened his eyes, he slowly raised his fist.

"Today, I declare the start of our Trailblazer Expedition! Let us plunder as much wealth from this dwarf galaxy as possible! For the clan!"

"FOR THE CLAN!"