The Mech Touch

The new professor did not begin his class by holding a lengthy lecture.

Instead, he chose to start with an open-ended question. This was an interesting way to set the tone of this event. It indicated that he was likely to employ this approach many times throughout this course.

The students of the Eden Institute were not timid or slow in thought. They were all incredibly smart and at least somewhat talented in their own ways.

Over half of the enrolled students already raised their arms within seconds. Klaus did not follow suit as he lacked the confidence to come up with a good answer himself.

A situation like this was tailor-made for students to leave an excellent and highly memorable first impression.

Due to the nature of this class, a clever student could not only make himself look good in front of his professor, but also all of the people that had come as well!

As Professor Larkinson momentarily issued a few instructions to his crew, he turned his attention back to all of the raised hands.

"Miss Rosario Chaisit." He called out as he accessed an information screen that was not visible to everyone else. "You reacted the fastest and raised your arm before your fellow students. I am curious to hear your thoughts. What must we do to save red humanity from extinction?"

Klaus did not recognize the female student, but his augmented vision informed him that she was a fourth-year business student. Just like Polina, Rosario came from another first-rate state and attended the Eden Institute on exchange.

Despite becoming the center of attention to many of the students of the institute, Rosario completely managed to maintain her composure as she stood up while the spotlight settled onto her location.

"There are many measures that red humans can take in order to prevent the aliens from making us extinct. I am of the personal belief that we cannot rely on the Red Two alone to defend us anymore. The mechers and the fleeters are not numerous enough to resist the hostile aliens. They will need the help of the people who they previously tried to control and contain because of ill-founded fears. This is not permissible anymore when we need to mobilize our entire population."

The professor in armor expressed more curiosity for Rosario's thoughts. "Continue."

"The Terran Alliance, the Red Ocean Union and the Rubarthan Pact must fully regain the rights that the Big Two has originally taken away from us. Not only that, we must cooperate more closely with each other. So long as we are beset by too many threatening aliens, we must set aside our disagreements and work alongside each other in order to increase our utilization of resources and forces. If we must, we can go back to fighting for the future of red humanity once we have lifted our existential crisis, but not before."

That was a simple but well-reasoned answer. Many students looked impressed at her answer, though more than a few of them had likely formed the same arguments themselves.

Klaus wished he was in Rosario's position right now. He would have been able to make an excellent impression in front of his peers and professors, which could help him out in many different ways.

Professor Larkinson did not look as approving as the others, though.

"Your answer is highly logical. In an ideal circumstance, it is highly likely that this will actually happen. However, I do not believe you have traveled all that much. If you have met with many different people from many different states and all walks of life, you would have never settled with such a naive answer."

To her credit, Rosario did not look ashamed, defiant or admonished. She presented herself as a serious student that was genuinely interested in this debate.

"Red humanity is in a direr state than ever, professor." She persisted and stuck to her own stance. "I am cognizant that it is nearly impossible for Terrans to form a sincere cooperative relationship with the Rubarthans, but when both of their futures are at stake, their leaders should be able to recognize that survival comes before their feelings and principles. If they can form a coalition and pressure the Red Two into retracting their centuries-old taboos on warships and weapons of mass destruction, we will be able to fight back against the invading aliens much more effectively than if we continue to rely on our mechs alone!"

The Terrans possessed long-standing grievances with the mechers and fleeters for taking away their toys and castrating their old and once-powerful state.

It was clear to everyone that once the Red Two restored the right to employ warships and weapons of mass destruction to the states, the latter would never agree to relinquish them once the existential crisis had passed!

The Terrans hoped to be able to rise again and prevent the Red Association and the Red Fleet from riding on top of their heads like they did in the past!

While the Red Two should definitely be aware of their true motivations, what else could the mechers and fleeters do when they were stuck in a losing war?

The fact that the Red Fleet introduced the Warship Quota Program was already a tacit sign that the fleeters were beginning to recognize the harsh reality!

Nonetheless, the professor still did not share the same opinion.

"I may be wrong in this as nothing is ever set in stone, but 1 believe your read on the situation is wrong." Professor Larkinson replied in a tone that exuded a strong sense of authority and confidence. "People are inherently selfish. Those in power are more so than others. The mechers and the fleeters have occupied a leading position over human civilization for over four centuries. They will never go against their self-interest and grant the means to enable Terrans like you to make a comeback. They know that once they give you a chance, they might win the war against the aliens, but they will subsequently lose their dominance over red humanity's space. The reduction in resources, authority and legitimacy will result in so many losses that their future may very well come to an end. Do you actually think they will be resigned to such an outcome?"

Rosario frowned at this time. "How can they be so unwise and shortsighted to reject greater cooperation?"

"By resorting to a different solution. Can any of you answer my original question with an answer that falls much more in line with the priorities of the Red Two as opposed to the Terran Alliance?"

A lot of arms lifted in the air. The quantity was less than before, but there were still enough clever and confident students who thought they could make a good impression at this time.

The professor did not pick out a student immediately. He had momentarily turned back to manage the ongoing combat situation.

"-we are trying our best to permanently disable the alien warships that are pursuing us, but none of our tactics are working. Each time we come closer to breaching the defenses of a yurzen destroyer or light cruiser, the ship drops from formation and retreats well in advance in order to buy time to restore their shield integrity. Only coordinated alpha strikes from the Macharia Excelsia and other mechs has enabled us to inflict permanent damage, but the yurzens are too careful to expose their vessels for too long. Only the Everchanger is dealing effective damage by bypassing their defenses entirely."

"Then direct the Everchanger to snipe the crew and officers of those annoying ships!"

"That would be unwise, sir. The Everchanger is the only mech that is keeping Stingray 2 at bay. The puelmers are afraid of his damage output, so their homeship has been hovering just outside of the effective range of the pistol. Venerable Joshua has been in action long enough that he has become more exhausted. He is not in a condition to obtain Ylvaine's guidance at this time."

"Joshua is an expert pilot, not a baby who needs hand-holding all of the time! Tell him to stop being an infantile and kill more aliens by aiming his weapon the old-fashioned way! If he is incapable of undertaking this responsibility, then tell him to toss the Gray Lotus ovei to the Amaranto!"

The people in the auditorium grew more curious at what they were able to interpret. Did Professor Larkinson actually master a method to launch effective attacks that could bypass the infamous transphasic energy shields employed by alien ships?

Some of the projected feeds near the professor's command throne showed many different mechs in action. The green one happened to be firing a small pistol at a distant puelmer homeship.

The expert mech, which Klaus identified as a masterwork, truly appeared to single-handedly deter the technologically advanced puelmers!

Professor Larkinson finally turned back to his remote audience. He assumed a pleasant demeanor again that looked appropriate in the classroom but seemed wholly out of place on a turbulent battlefield!

"Mr. Ryan Shuku, please share your thoughts with everyone."

There was hardly anyone seated in the auditorium who did not know his name. The third-year mech design student was known to be clever and insightful in his studies, but the main reason why he was so well-known was because he was a member of the Shuku Ancient Clan!

Sure, he may be just a branch member who did not hold a high status in his ancient clan, but that still put him ahead of almost every other student!

The man rose up and spoke in a timbred voice that was precisely calibrated to maximize his persuasiveness and trustworthiness.

"Red humanity suffers from too many disadvantages in relation to the Red Cabal and its affiliated aliens. We are heavily outnumbered. We are lacking in high-grade resources. We are suffering from a heavy shortage of phasewater. We are in control over a small portion ol the most remote star systems of the Red Ocean. These circumstances will not make the Red Two inclined to grant us greater permissions. The construction of warships is too resource intensive. Even if we are allowed to construct them in larger numbers, all we will do is deprive the Red Two from the essential raw materials they need to reinforce their depleting warfleets. This is why the mechers and the fleeters will never truly be sincere about giving us back our warships."

Professor Larkinson smiled a little wider. "That is a good explanation that refutes Miss Chaisit's answer. You still need to present your own proposed solution, though."

The young scion immediately obliged.

"The Red Two will try to solve the threat of extinction by relying on themselves. They have too many disadvantages compared to the aliens, but the only one that they can assuredly count on is their superior technology. They have not only mastered entire libraries of high technologies, but they also employ some of the most brilliant human researchers and developers, of which the Polymath stands out in particular. Exotic radiation and its many effects on the Red Ocean amplifies this strategy. With the Star Designers taking the lead, the mechers and the fleeters will seek to accelerate their technological progression and work to invent a large amount of new innovations that can turn the tide against the aliens. This is the only viable approach for the Red Two to win the war against the aliens and keep the rest of us in check."

"Good answer." The professor in armor complemented. "Your words reveal a more realistic understanding of how the mechers and the fleeters actually think. Tech superiority has always been their greatest reliance, and they will count on it again to overcome this latest crisis. However, what if they are wrong? What would happen if the Red Two made the wrong bet?"

Ryan Shuku responded with an ominous answer. "We will all perish."

Ves grinned. "Correct. This is my first lesson on Frontier Wisdom to you all. We live in a society filled with selfish individuals. You cannot expect them to act on your interests when that will put theirs at stake. Leave your high-minded rationale and ideals behind. From the moment you have stepped out of the familiar environment of the Greater Terran United Confederation, you have entered a dwarf galaxy that is aptly described as a frontier. No matter which zone you are located in, there is no order that can protect you from every threat. It may look as if we are in completely different circumstances right now, but your first requirement is to recognize that you are just as likely to lose your life as myself. If you cannot recognize this reality, then you are in denial!"

The students were all shocked at his brutal description of their supposed reality. Klaus could not wrap his mind around the young professor's argument at first, but the more he thought about it, the harder it was for him to convince himself that he was in a much safer place.

After all, if the aliens actually managed to gain the upper hand in this great war, the Terran Alliance would get overrun sooner or later!