The Mech Touch

Chapter 4227: Dreams of Rulership

Among all of the Larkinsons that stayed with the Wodins, no one received more attention and affection than Aurelia Wodin-Larkinson!

Of course, the hosts never showed any neglect towards Andraste and Marvaine Wodin-Larkinson, but it became clear that they mainly had Aurelia in their eyes.

It was kind of like how only the heirs of different monarchies got recorded in all of the history books while their younger siblings did not even merit a single sentence.

If the younger siblings did get mentioned for whatever reason, then either the crown fell upon them when the previous heirs got disqualified or because they got involved in coups.

Fortunately, none of the Larkinsons felt bothered by this. In Vesʼ opinion, the less attention the Wodins directed towards any of his children, the better.

The only reason why the Hexers spent time with them at all was because they knew that their powerful parents would do their best to raise them into great people.

Andraste Larkinson had the potential to become an exceedingly powerful mech pilot as long as she developed the right genetic aptitude.

Even if she didnʼt, she could still pursue a pure officer career and become a military leader comparable to General Verle in the future.

Meanwhile, everyone could figure out that Ves treated Marvaine as the heir to his mech design tradition.

The entire reason why the Hexers valued the Larkinson Clan so much to begin with was because of Ves!

Ves had already played an enormous role in changing Hexer society. The development of his Hexer mechs along with making the Superior Mother more tangible and approachable all turned him into their greatest benefactor!

If Marvaine, a son of a genuine Hexer, could continue Vesʼ good deeds, then that would definitely be great!

Still, important figures such as Constance Wodin and Amarintha Wodin mostly hovered around Aurelia. It was as if they saw the girl as the most important continuation of their dynasty!

At this moment, Aurelia sat on Constanceʼs lap. She looked fascinated at the parade of Wodin Warriors that were showing off a part of their mechs and other troops.

”What do you think about our forces, my dear?”

”Our clan is stronger.” Aurelia instantly answered.

”Oh? Why is that the case?”

”Our mechs are prettier and better than yours!”

”Hahaha, maybe you have a point.” Constance chuckled in a good-natured manner. ”Our dynasty is not able to spend as freely on mechs as your clan. Building a colony like New Scimitar is extremely expensive, do you know that? All of these structures, all of these streets and everything that is needed to keep everything running costs an unimaginable amount of money. In order to make our living environment as safe and pleasant as possible, we spent more on building up this colony than on strengthening our mech forces.”

The little girl frowned. ”Papa always said that becoming stronger is more important than becoming rich.”

”Your father is not wrong, my little doll, but the burden he bears is smaller than mine. Our dynasty is responsible to many more people. They cannot live their entire lives on starships like your Larkinsons. Only planets can give them the room they need to live their lives to the fullest. It takes far too much capital to build up a complete industrialized planet and economy from nothing. Our progress has been nothing less than amazing. Once you grow older and take charge over planets yourself one day, you will understand that you cannot lavish your military with as much money as you wish. You will have to set a more comprehensive budget that ensures that the civil part of your society does not fall too far behind.”

”Huh?” Aurelia looked confused. ”Papa didnʼt say that I will take over a planet. Our clan doesnʼt have any colonies.”

”Not yet, at least, but that may change at any time. People can change, and your father will eventually understand that he can only grow stronger and develop his clan further if he builds his own kingdom. There is no other choice. I expect that his demand for phasewater will rise explosively in the coming decades. At that point, he will have no choice but to acknowledge that there is no other way to obtain large quantities of phasewater at regular intervals than to take control over his own territory.”

Even Aurelia learned the value of phasewater at her age. It was one of the reasons why the Larkinson Clan managed to leap ahead all of a sudden in the last 5 years.

”Phasewater…”

Constance Wodin smiled as she softly stroked Aureliaʼs head. ”Yes, phasewater is the key to everything. Those who hold the greatest amount of phasewater holds the greatest amount of power. With great power, you can defeat every enemy that wants to do you harm and obtain whatever you need by force. We wouldnʼt have tolerated the Friday Colonies for so long if we possessed greater force. It is a pity that our Hex Federation doesnʼt have particularly abundant reserves of phasewater.”

”Is that why you want to get closer to my clan, grandma?”

”Haha, what a clever little girl. Gloriana truly raised you well. That is right. We are family, so we should help each other. When your father and your mother were weak, we helped your clan survive and grow stronger. Once you have all grown stronger than us, I hope you remember everything we have done for you and do the same. My Wodins and your Larkinsons go hand to hand. As a child descended from both of our groups, it is up to you to lead us both into a glorious future.”

”Wooo…” Aurelia said as her eyes grew wide.

”Does that sound fun to you? If you want, we can even persuade the other Hexers to turn you into the Empress of the Hex Federation. Nothing is impossible as long as you are brilliant enough. Just say the word, and we will lay the groundwork for your future coronation.”

If any normal person heard that they could become the leader of an entire state, they would probably jump at the opportunity without any delay!

Aurelia was different, though.

”...Iʼm thirsty, grandma. I want to drink juice.”

”...A bot is on the way to deliver your juice.”

While Constance kept Aurelia company, Ves who sat further away continued to evaluate the parading mechs and soldiers of the Wodin Warriors.

He could sense that the main troops of the Wodin Dynasty were adequate. They were probably strong enough to put up a good fight against the regular Sundered Phalanx mechs, but it was doubtful that they could achieve more.

The Wodin Warriors did not lack for living mechs or experienced veteran mech pilots. Their organization was highly disciplined and well-run, and their mech officers all looked competent.

Yet as Ves continued to scan the Wodins that were about to fight a battle that the Hexers had not experienced since the end of the Komodo War, he felt that they were still short of a couple of elements that could have increased their chances of winning the upcoming engagement.

”What is wrong, Ves?” Colonel Kellandra Wodin asked. ”Is there anything about our fine troops that displeases you? Give me your honest opinion. After everything I have lived through, I can take honest criticism.”

Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. ”Iʼm reluctant to share my honest opinion with you. It is not my place to tell you how to organize your own troops.”

Kellandra was not satisfied with this response. ”Donʼt be too reserved. I have learned that withholding critical opinions can lead to untold mistakes and death on the battlefield. We cannot afford to ignore our vulnerabilities when we will soon collide against the Sundered Phalanx.”

”Hm, if that is the case, then Iʼll say it. Why is the Hex Army is still reserving its strongest mechs to its female mech pilots while leaving all of the weaker machines to its male mech pilots?”

”That… has always been the case with us, Ves. We place our mech pilots into different specialized training programs from the moment they enter the mech academy. It is not so easy for the boys who graduate from an academy to pilot a more aggressive mech. They simply donʼt have the skills to pilot machines such as the Valkyrie Redeemer to the fullest.”

Ves snorted. ”That is a stupid policy in my opinion. You are wasting the talents and endowments of far too many mech pilots. I bet there are plenty of men who can make great use of swordsman mechs, but are forced to pilot auxiliary mechs solely due to their gender. The same applies to the women. They are all forced into piloting these powerful mechs that require great judgment without necessarily checking whether they are suited to their aggressive orientations. If I was in your shoes, I would rectify your mech academies as soon as possible and begin training your male and female mech pilots in a more objective manner.”

Kellandra visibly grew more uncomfortable. ”I have seen proposals that move in this direction, but they are politically untenable.”

”Why? Donʼt you understand the logic of my argument? I think the outcome of the Komodo War has taught your people that reality does not necessarily conform to your ideals.”

”I know that. Many of us are beginning to realize that we might not be entirely right about everything, especially now that we have traveled around and become more aware of how other states are running their own affairs. However, it is not so easy to change our ways. The more we conform to the galactic standard, the more we lose our original identities. Let us not speak about this further. This is a political issue more than anything, and that does not fall within my sphere of responsibility.”

”Very well. I think there is nothing wrong with adaptation.”

”Do you have any other feedback that we should hear?”

Ves took another look at the parading Wodin Warriors.

”You guys donʼt have access to our MSTS and deep exchange technology, right?”

”That is correct.” Kellandra replied. ”I was planning to bring up this topic with you. You have shared these features with the living mechs of the Glory Seekers, but you have not extended it to the rest of our Hex Army.”

”There are good reasons for that.” Ves said without elaborating on them. ”However, I can see the need to change my original policy on that. I will see what I can do to give every possible mech that is allocated to Operation Saturday Market access to some of our latest training methods. I can even extend these benefits to the rest of the Hex Federation, but I am a businessman. I am not in the habit of running a charity.”

”We can discuss the details later, but I suspect that the matriarchal dynasties will be highly receptive towards your offer.” Kellandra said with a smile. ”We need strength more than anything else, and our first major operation against the Fridaymen since the end of the war has reminded us the importance of raising our combat power through whatever means possible.”

In the past, it was unimaginable that the Hexers would beg a ʼboyʼ like Ves for help.

Nowadays, the Hexers wouldnʼt bat an eye towards this action.

The Hexers had been losing their original identities for a while now. Their culture became more hollowed out by the year and they began to get along increasingly better with foreigners.

Perhaps the Hexers saw these changes in a negative light, but Ves was the opposite.

He celebrated these changes!

The more the Hexers dumped their most unlikeable traits, the more they became of use to him. He did not mind propping the Hex Federation up as long as he wasnʼt ashamed of associating with its people.

His eyes twinkled as he thought of how much influence he could exert over the Hex Federation these days.

He realized that as the Superior Mother and the mechs he designed for the Hex Army played an increasingly more essential role to its people, he could take advantage of his increasing leverage to extract more benefits out of this relationship!

In fact, if the current continued in the future, then there might come a time where he could actually take control over the colonial state and become its effective ruler!

The mere notion of gaining control to all of the manpower, wealth, resources and properties of an entire state sounded increasingly more attractive to his ears!

”Ah, what am I thinking? Iʼm just a mech designer. I should stick to what Iʼm good at. There is no reason for me to shackle myself to a traditional state.”

He quickly discarded this ridiculous notion out of his mind and focused his thoughts on more immediate concerns.