The Mech Touch

By the time Ves passed the lobby with the stuffed body of Zeigra put on display, the Glittering Comet had entered the perimeter of the Mech Nursery.

Despite the considerable amount of turrets and patrols on guard, none of them did anything to stop the expert mech from advancing!

Even if an ordinary military mech took the Glittering Cometʼs place, the Living Sentinels still wouldnʼt have made a move. This was because it was illegal to attack a military mech!

For this reason, the Living Sentinels did not have the guts to turn their weapons towards the passing expert mech. Even if they were willing to break the law in order to express their loyalty, they still wouldnʼt be able to inflict any meaningful damage!

This was because the Glittering Comet was far too resilient!

Though Ves himself judged that Ghansoʼs expert mech was far from impervious to damage as Venerable Fosterʼs Belisarius, it could still mop the floor of every mech of the Avatars and Sentinels!

This was the terror of opposing an expert mech. Even now, Ves felt a little shaky at the prospect of facing one that was hostile towards him. The impression that expert mechs such as the Beliarius had made on him had infused him with a very considerable amount of fear towards these extraordinary machines.

”Make room! Spread out! Donʼt crowd too close to the headquarters or put it in the firing line!”

Now that Ves stepped out of the headquarters, the wall of mechs shifted in response to his movements.

After a brief discussion with Melkor, they decided to move to the open garden area in the middle of the campus. The mechs formed into several ranks in front of Ves while facing the approaching expert mech.

”You should leave. Iʼll be fine here with Lucky.” Ves spoke to his followers.

”Meow.”

Lucky leisurely clung to his shoulders, ready to move into action if necessary.

As for Nitaa, Raymond, Leland and Miles, Ves doubted they would be useful in this instance.

”You donʼt have to face Ghanso alone, Ves.” Raymond said. ”Iʼm a Larkinson elder as well.”

”I doubt heʼll pay attention to you. Youʼll only be risking your life here for no reason. Donʼt think that Iʼm vulnerable here. I have enough gear on me to protect from attacks or flying debris.”

After a brief argument, Ves managed to persuade the others in retreating. Ves did not fault them for leaving. This was his battle to fight, and he did not wish to put others at risk. Besides, they wouldnʼt be of any help in instance anyway.

The only exception was Nitaa. As his loyal Kinner bodyguard, she was compelled to obey, but also compelled to protect his life!

”Please donʼt convince me any further, sir.” She spoke as her combat armorʼs helmet swept over her head. She brandished her heavy ballistic rifle. ”I will not do anything to aggravate the situation unless you give the order.”

”Hopefully, it wonʼt come to that.” Ves softly whispered, feeling very appreciative of Nitaaʼs loyalty.

Ever since this crisis erupted, Ves learned how much support he truly enjoyed.

Many partners and allies turned out to be ineffective, cowardly, out of reach or unreliable!

The Tovar Family which he relied upon to secure his place in the Republic directly caused General Cavendish to move against him. The Tovars hadnʼt been able to shield him from their troubles at all!

Calabast and her secret band of Swordmaidens were completely absent. Ves had no idea what they were doing and how their actions benefited him, but he trusted her intelligence network to warn him about these dangers in advance. How could she have possibly missed this threat?

Speaking of spies, Flashlight might not be as good as Calabast in spycraft, but it should have infiltrated the Mech Corps extensively! Yet because of Spotlightʼs interference, this military intelligence agency had been completely fooled!

Gloriana was not in control of her own organizations. Her mother and the Wodin Dynasty provided everything for her, but that meant that she was powerless when she acted outside of her dynastyʼs intentions!

The alliances and partnerships he formed in order to protect him from these kinds of threats all failed because a single enemy managed to outfox these powerful people!

Ves did not blame them for their inability to detect this scheme in advance. From what Ves had heard from Leland and Miles, General Cavendish masterfully manipulated his authority to spring this ambush!

What he was really disappointed about was their lack of ability to provide more help.

The Tovar Family arguably did the most as Senator Tovar personally applied his influence over several influential officials and generals.

Yet two hours was too long to save Ves! He could see the details of the Glittering Comet at this distance!

The others did much less. Flashlight might as well be sitting at the sides while Calabast or her subordinates didnʼt even bother making contact!

Only Gloriana expressed some concern by sending him messages on his comm. Ves idly replied to a couple of them before setting them aside.

Ghanso had arrived. The Glittering Comet hovered in the air just a few hundred meters away from the front ranks of the wall of mechs.

The eclectic mix of mechs did not cower in front of the expert mechs. They did not brandish their weapons either. They merely.. stood in place as if to block the Glittering Cometʼs approach.

Due to the potential risks to Ves, the wall of mechs had dispersed a bit, leaving plenty of gaps around the machines.

A very significant distance formed between Ves and the nearest mechs. None of the mechs stood in front of Ves directly, as if the mech pilots were afraid that a single mech could crush him if it toppled backwards!

To be honest, the wall of mechs resembled a honeycomb. The Glittering Comet could easily make use of its superior mobility to pass through the gaps of the formation and reach Vesʼ side before anyone else could react!

In fact, the Glittering Comet did not even have to race across the ground or hover just above the surface. It could outright fly over every mechʼs head and land behind the formation instead!

It was just that an expert mech did not need to resort to such theatrics.

”Step out of my way.” Ghanso broadcasted to the mechs in the open. ”You are impeding an officer of the Mech Corps from fulfilling his mission.”

None of the mechs moved. They maintained formation in a silent protest against Ghanso!

Evidently, the stubbornness of the mech pilots rubbed him in the wrong way!

”You fools! Ves has been spouting lies all this time!” Ghanso blasted against the Larkinsons who chose to pilot a mech in opposition to him. ”This is not the time to argue about the appropriateness of my orders! We can sort out these issues after I have completed my mission!”

”Nice try, Ghanso.” Melkor sardonically replied on the open broadcast. ”It doesnʼt change the fact that you should have never executed your orders in the first place!”

”Melkor Larkinson.” Ghanso sneered. ”How times have changed. I used to look up to you. You used to win against me in every marksmanship bout. Now look where youʼve ended up. Instead of serving in the Mech Corps with distinction, you instead became a young and clearly unqualified commander of a band of mechs barely better than a mercenary corps!”

”My career is not up for discussion today. While I acknowledge that you have surpassed me, at least I havenʼt done anything to harm the interests of our family. I canʼt say the same for you, since you seem determined to follow General Cavendishʼs orders!”

”Orders are orders!” Ghanso rebuked. ”We have an obligation to obey our superiors! Any problems will be sorted out in time. The Mech Corps is an honorable institution! There are safeguards in place that prevent any commanding officer from pursuing any private vendettas!”

Ves decided to interject and patched into the communications channel.

”The system has already failed, Ghanso. If you werenʼt so caught up with the rules and regulations of the Mech Corps, you should have been the first to stand up to General Cavendish!”

”I donʼt know why you keep mentioning the generalʼs name. I do not care a whit about the Cavendishes or the disputes of the founding families. Do you know what I think? You deserve to be targeted by them. What did you think when you tried to reach beyond your station? The primary reason why our Larkinson Family never pursued greater power is because we are not the opponents of the true rulers of our Republic!”

”That sounds like cowardice to me. We Larkinsons should never flinch from a little danger!”

”You fool! Our courage is all about overcoming our fear in battle! Outside of that, too much courage will only lead to disaster! Our Larkinson Family is not suited to enter politics or the business sector! Too many families have gone to ruin by competing against families and organizations that are much more able to navigate these spheres than us! The future that you are advocating for is nothing less but a dead end!”

Ves scowled. ”If you had your way, our Larkinson Family would be performing its duty for thousands of more years for free! Just because youʼre a scaredy-cat doesnʼt mean you should spread your cowardice to the rest of the family! Unlike you, my supporters and I are brave enough to face the unknown!”

”VEEEESSSS! YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR! I HAVE FOUGHT AGAINST TOO MANY VESIANS AND SANDMEN TO BE ACCUSED OF A COWARD! THIS FARCE ENDS HERE!”

The Glittering Combat flew forward, only to halt as a number of Desolate Soldiers and Dawnbringers flew up to block its way!

”Get out of the way! You are interfering in military affairs! I wonʼt warn you again!”

”Itʼs useless, Venerable Ghanso.” An elder Larkinson replied. ”We have made our choice. If you want to pass our mechs, you have to take us down!”

A brief pause ensued as both the Glittering Comet and its opposition faced off against each other in the air.

For a moment, Ves thought that Ghanso calmed down.

Then, the Glittering Comet brandished its custom ballistic rifle. It aimed the weapon straight at a Dawnbreaker!

Ghanso spoke a little gentler this time. ”On account of your honorable service, I will give you the opportunity to step away. Donʼt make things worse.”

The Dawnbreaker did not fly away or point its Sandbreaker rifle at the Glittering Comet. It simply hovered in place.

”So be it.” He spoke again, this time with a touch of finality in his tone.

Before anyone could process his words, a loud boom cracked in the air!

Ves instantly lowered himself into a crouch while pressing his palms against his ears!

The Glittering Comet fired a shot!

Not only that, the expert mech fired a round at the left leg of the opposing Dawnbreaker, causing it to disappear entirely!

The immediate aftermath of this event was just as horrendous!

The leg detached from the, causing a small amount of debris to spray everywhere!

The heavy limb itself fell onto the ground in a heavy thud that caused Vesʼ footing to be destabilized!

The powerful round penetrated right through the Dawnbreakerʼs legs as if its compressed armor didnʼt mean anything! It flew onwards at a downwards angle until it impacted the campus a kilometer away, throwing lots of dirt in the air!

The Dawnbreaker itself wasnʼt doing so great either. Though it had only lost a leg, some of the force transmitted to the rest of the mech, causing some of its components to malfunction!

Its mech pilot had no choice but to fly away and make an emergency landing!

As the rattling sounds and thunderous vibrations subsided, every Larkinson and Avatar looked at the Glittering Comet in shock!

”You..” Melkor stammered. ”You actually attacked a Larkinson! What have you done?!”