The Mech Touch

Those who supported Ves or wanted to use this opportunity to cool everyoneʼs tempers all brought their mechs to the headquarters of the LMC.

Almost eighty mechs showed up in the following half hour.

In the meantime, a single combat carrier of the Mech Corps descended from orbit. It did not take much guessing that this vessel carried Ghanso Larkinson and his expert mech. The vessel made a straight trajectory towards Freslin without obscuring it at all!

This was because the Mech Corps did not need to resort to caution within the territory controlled by the Bright Republic! Cloudy Curtain was still firmly in the hands of the state. No power residing on this planet should ever have the guts to oppose the military!

Yet Ves managed to accomplish something many Brighters considered impossible. He managed to persuade many Larkinsons in siding against the Mech Corps and one of their own family!

The local journalists smelled a scoop, and they eagerly flocked to the Mech Nursery in order to document this exceptional event!

”The Larkinsons have gone crazy! We have to let everyone else witness this historic clash!”

”Expert pilot versus Journeyman Mech Designer, which Larkinson is the prodigal son? Find out today!”

Unfortunately, with martial law in place, few of them managed to sneak out, and none of them could circumvent the lockdown of the local communications network!

Only a handful of resourceful reporters managed to solve these problems. Once they arrived at the Mech Nursery, the guards did not hinder their entry after searching them thoroughly.

Ves had already issued a command to the gate guards to let every journalist inside!

In addition, he also opened the Barracudaʼs quantum entanglement node to their equipment, allowing them to stream their footage live onto the galactic net!

Of course, with the Sand War raging hotter than ever, not a lot of people paid attention to this event at first.

Ves stepped away from his desk and moved over to the high windows to view the mechs that moved to him in support.

A mix of Blackbeaks, Crystal Lords, Desolate Soldiers, Dawnbreakers and even training mechs showed up to form a wall of mechs!

Even though the headquarters was taller than the mechs, their mech pilots mainly wished to make a statement.

Whether they sided with Ves or not, they possessed enough determination to block Ghanso from making things worse!

”Youʼve did it, Ves.” Raymond said as he stepped to his side. ”You managed to turn Larkinson against Larkinson.”

”As if I am at fault. Venerable Ghanso moved on me first. Iʼm just defending myself.”

Raymond smiled sardonically. ”You did it in the most disruptive way possible! You didnʼt hesitate to push our family to the brink by exacerbating our division! No matter what happens today, the Larkinson Family will never be able to turn back the clock.”

”Is that a bad thing? Our views have continued to diverge. Neither of us want to change our minds. A confrontation is inevitable.”

”Itʼs just.. this could have been avoided. Your propensity to blow matters out of proportion has turned this conflict into a much bigger incident! If it was any other Larkinson, this would have been kept quiet in order to avoid disrupting the rest of the family!”

Ves crossed his arms across his chest. ”That wouldnʼt have solved any of my problems. You canʼt avoid change forever, Raymond. Our family has become so reluctant to address its problems that it has missed many opportunities to reform itself!”

”Is that what you wish to do? You didnʼt have to hold an irregular vote to take charge of our family. Most Larkinsons wonʼt recognize your authority.”

”I donʼt need their recognition. Not at this point, at least.” Ves mildly spoke. ”I merely wanted to make it clear that Iʼm not alone in this. Many Larkinsons agree with me or side with me. Ghanso must respect them if he wishes to maintain his influence within our ranks.”

There was more to it than this. During this crisis, Ves saw an opportunity to openly take over the Larkinson Family!

He had always harbored an ambition to liberate his family from the shackles of duty and lead it to a better future! It was just that Ves did not dare to do anything that risked tearing the family apart.

The main reason why he went ahead with his ambition this time was because Ghanso made the first move!

As long as Ves could pass off all of the blame of the schism to Ghanso, he would be able to escape most of the blame!

Of course, the smarter and wiser Larkinsons such as Raymond already saw through his plan, but so what? Ghanso was still guilty of disturbing the harmony of the Larkinson Family!

”Do you think this wall of mechs can stop Ghanso? Heʼs an expert pilot, Ves. While he is young, he and his expert mech are impossible to overcome with the forces you have on hand!”

”I know.” Ves sighed. ”I only hope my supporters can stall him. At worst, I can still make use of their show of support. Iʼm grateful to all of them for answering my call. They didnʼt have to go out on a limb for me. That they did so despite the risks is.. brave.”

”This is who we are, Ves. No Larkinson is a coward! Even the thought of standing up against an expert pilot from our own family isnʼt enough to shake our courage!”

Raymond was right. Ves had underestimated the resolve of the Larkinsons. In truth, he only expected twenty or thirty mechs to show up at most.

In addition, he didnʼt even consider that all of the Avatars, most of whom werenʼt related to the Larkinsons, would show up in total! Every Avatar who hadnʼt departed to the front spontaneously followed the Larkinsons in supporting their employer!

This was the first time Ves truly felt he could depend on his Avatars of Myth. After so much investment and time, his personal force had reached a satisfactory standard!

Unfortunately, the opposition was simply too strong for the Avatars to have any hope of victory! While Ves wanted to make his Avatars be able to fight against overwhelming odds, an expert mech was simply too much for them to handle at this point!

Under the direction of Melkor and the former mech officers among the Larkinsons, the eclectic mix of mechs formed into ranks and took positions according to their mech type.

The Desolate Soldiers and Dawnbreakers took up the rear. As spaceborn mech pilots, their maneuverability on land was not very great. Their mech engines and legs were too weak as they mostly depended on their flight system to move.

However, their flight within a gravity well was very cumbersome. Though it was still possible for them to fly in the air, they would be sitting ducks if they did so! Considering the risks of crashing, it was better if they remained firmly rooted on the ground!

As for the front ranks, various Blackbeaks and other melee mechs stood in front.

There was likely no way for them to do anything to Ghansoʼs expert mech. Regardless if he piloted his famous Glittering Combat or another expert mech, as a ranged specialist he didnʼt have to close into melee range to take out these melee meechs!

Though many of the mech pilots knew this, they still chose to go through with their seemingly futile action!

As time started to run out, none of the mech pilots who showed up had changed their mind. They resolutely kept their mechs in place, making Ves feel more and more appreciative of his family.

Leland and Miles hadnʼt left the office either. They remained in frequent contact with their organizations and occasionally kept Ves in the loop.

”Senator Tovar managed to convince one of the mech generals heʼs friendly with to convene an emergency meeting.” Miles told Ves. ”Itʼs scheduled to begin in two hours. We donʼt expect the debate to last long since General Cavendish clearly crossed a line.”

”Canʼt they hold this meeting sooner?”

”This is the best we can do, sir.”

Bureaucracy. Even the Mech Corps was rife with it, especially in the upper ranks. With all of the responsibilities that high command had to deal with during the Sand War, it was already miraculous to convene an emergency meeting in two hours!

”Flashlight hasnʼt been sitting still either.” Leland added. ”We have been gathering evidence of misconduct and irregularities surrounding the strange orders. Theyʼre not exactly illegal since General Cavendish has the authority to initiate small-scale special operations. Itʼs just that most of them are targeted at our enemies, so General Cavendish is only obliged to account for himself after the operations have finished. Heʼs bending or outright misinterpreting a lot of rules by targeting a citizen of the Bright Republic.”

”So heʼs not at fault?”

”He is, just not as worse than you think. This is not the first time a higher up from the Mech Corps has acted first or unilaterally. Sometimes, time is of the essence and decisions have to be made on the fly. Generals have some leeway in what they can do as long as they account for themselves afterwards.”

”So he wonʼt be arrested or removed from his position, is that what you mean?”

Leland nodded. ”General Cavendish is one of the pillars of his family. Their influence in the Mech Corps is very substantial.”

”I donʼt care about the general.” Ves dismissively waved his hand. ”I just want to be safe and in control of my own life. As long as Cavendishes back off, Iʼm not inclined to pursue this matter further!”

This caused both Leland and Miles to let go one of their worries. As one of the founding families of the Republic, their power and influence was too great! They were no less powerful than a noble house of a feudal state, and could never be toppled easily!

Ves recognized the futility in retaliating against the Cavendish Family. Instead of pursuing his grievances at ruinous cost, he would rather do something productive.

”Heʼs here.” Nitaa spoke as she stepped closer until she stood right behind Ves. ”The combat carrier has landed some distance away and dropped off a single mech and some shuttles before flying away.”

”They only need one expert mech to force my surrender, is that what they are saying?”

”Regardless, we are still keeping an eye on the carrier.”

A sense of dread started to press onto Ves. A small shape appeared in the distance and slowly approached the Mech Nursery.

Soon, Ves managed to distinguish some smaller shapes following the central form.

”The Glittering Comet!” Ves gasped as he recognized the famed expert mech designed for Ghanso Larkinson. ”What an exquisite mech.”

Every expert mech was a sophisticated work of art to mech designers like Ves. Even if the Glittering Comet belonged to his enemy, he couldnʼt help but admire its fantastic design.

While it was clearly a machine optimized for space combat, it still managed to fly in the air without exhibiting any strain!

The flight system of an expert mech was much more powerful than the flight system of a standard mech! While the Glittering Comet definitely performed worse than an expert mech designed for atmospheric combat, it was still able to exert most of its strength in the air!

A couple of military shuttles followed the Glittering Comet. Ves was sure they held infantry troops tasked with capturing Ves and extracting him from the Mech Nursery.

”Letʼs step outside.”

”What?! Are you crazy?!” Raymond objected.

”I highly advise against this course of action, sir!” Nitaa protested as well.

Ves shook his head. ”It makes no difference if Iʼm inside or outside. I would rather face my enemy up close.”

He turned around, picked up Lucky, and headed for the exit without another word. His followers had no choice but to follow him and keep persuading him to shelter somewhere else!