The Mech Touch

”Calabast. I havenʼt seen you for a while.”

Her projection looked around to observe the ruined bridge. Though the cleaning bots had done their best to clean up the bodies and debris, the melted surfaces and the torn holes still told a vivid story.

”Iʼll keep this short, Ves.” She said. ”It took a lot of effort to establish this encrypted channel, and it is only effective for a couple of minutes.”

Ves frowned. ”How?”

”Itʼs complicated. Suffice to say, you need a way to obtain an inside connection to the Comm Consortium.”

Comm Consortium! Even with his muted emotions, Ves couldnʼt help but feel shocked!

This was an organization that governed every quantum communication node! It oversaw pretty much the entire galactic communication network with its vast web of instantaneous communication channels!

How Calabast managed to make an arrangement with someone inside the Comm Consortium was a mystery.

”Why go through this trouble?”

”To explain myself, and to transmit some helpful data to you. As we speak, Iʼm transferring some software that you can install in the Scarlet Roseʼs operating system. You will need this to close some of the more difficult backdoors and loopholes. Iʼve also included some helpful programs that will help you in masking the identity of the Scarlet Rose and falsify her transponders. It wonʼt fool determined bounty hunters, but it will help you in attracting less attention from incidental bystanders.”

That sounded very welcome to Ves. His disappointment towards her subsided a little, but it wasnʼt enough!

”Can I get some actual help?” He pushed. ”I could use some actual crew to run this ship! I could also use some escorts to bring me to safety.”

”Weʼre working on that, Ves. Gloriana and I have been exploring our options, but we canʼt give you anything concrete. Youʼll have to fend for yourself for the time being.”

Her vague reply did not satisfy Ves at all. He grimaced even further.

”Why didnʼt you warn me about General Cavendishʼs plot?”

”Iʼve already said that my intelligence network hasnʼt penetrated the state level.” Calabast answered in an exasperated tone. ”I admit that Iʼve underestimated the conspiracy some of these state actors have hatched. Iʼve already adjusted my organization to detect these plots faster, but donʼt expect too much from us. My operation can never match the effort of a state.”

”What were you even doing during this time?”

”I was preparing an opportunity for you, Ves. Didnʼt you want to break into a second-rate mech market? Among other actions, Iʼve approached various entities and managed to obtain a positive response from a group that is interested in your mechs.”

”Let me guess. Theyʼre Hexers, right?”

She grinned. ”Naturally. Did you think I would offer you to design a mech for the Fridaymen?”

Though Ves absolutely refused to do any favors for the Friday Coalition after everything that Aisling Curver had done, that didnʼt mean he was open to designing mechs for the Hexadric Hegemony!

”I didnʼt ask for this, Calabast.”

”I know you had plans to offer your services to the second-rate states from Vicious Mountain, but you donʼt have a foundation there. Itʼs better to start closer home. Gloriana fully supports our initiative.”

”Didnʼt you forget that Iʼm a man? How could I ever break into the Hegemonyʼs mech market? All designs have to be vetted by the Hexers!”

”This is why you need the cooperation of Gloriana. As long as she takes responsibility for your work, most Hexers wonʼt pay too much attention that a boy is the actual lead designer. The downside is that you wonʼt earn as much credit as you deserve.”

Ves hadnʼt even considered designing a Hexer mech at this point. However, due to the need to earn Constance Wodinʼs approval, he really needed this opportunity, so he did not reject Calabastʼs assistance.

”Can you give me more details?”

She shook her head. ”It will only distract you from your current priorities. Letʼs wait until you are safe before considering your future options.”

After discussing a few more important matters, Calabast ended the encrypted call.

Ves fell silent as he leaned his back against the captainʼs chair he replaced. The old one got wrecked when he bombarded the prior captain of the ship with an excess of energy damage.

Though Ves agreed that it was too premature to think about designing a mech for the Hexers, he couldnʼt help but question what exactly Calabast arranged for him and Gloriana.

The Hegemonyʼs mech market was not as free and unbridled as most other economies. The Hexers deferred to their matriarchs to decide whether a mech design was a good addition to the market.

While this vastly reduced the amount of products for sale in the Hegemony, the quality of them tended to be very high!

Of course, one of the downsides of this was that Novices and Apprentices barely had room to breathe in their domestic mech industry. While the Hexers implemented various policies to avoid starving them to death, it was undeniable that the Friday Coalition offered much more fertile ground to the younger generation of mech designers.

Ves knew that Gloriana managed to beat the odds by specializing in a very small niche. There was always demand for custom mechs. Even if she didnʼt manage to attract any customers, she could always gain more experience by designing mechs for the Wodin Dynasty!

While Gloriana already developed a presence in the Hegemonyʼs mech industry, she didnʼt actually possess that much commercial experience.

Ves expected that it would take some years for him to offer his products to the Hexers. Right now, he still had much to learn before he came close to reaching an adequate degree of familiarity with second-class mechs.

”What kind of mech do I even want to design?” He asked.

This question had been plaguing him for a while. Ever since he completed the Deliverer, he no longer saw any need to intervene in the Sand War again.

Outside of this destructive conflict, the states in the region shouldnʼt be eager to fight on a massive scale. Wars and skirmishes would certainly diminish as the survivors poured most of their energy into rebuilding what they lost and taking over the territories scoured by the sandmen.

This was why Ves already considered stepping up to a second-class mech market. All of the low-level friction that took place in the third-rate states did not interest him at all, especially after he experienced the Sand War.

Taking part in the Komodo War sounded much more interesting, though this conflict was fought at a much higher level than Ves was used to! Without a compelling and technically-sound mech design, he would never be able to break into the market!

Right now, Ves still needed to supplement his knowledge and hurry up in gaining all of the competences necessary to design a second-class mech!

”And not just an ordinary second-class mech, but a premium one!”

That reminded him that Aisling and Patriciaʼs quarters were ripe for the picking. Since both of them were at the mech workshop by the time that Ves launched his hijacking attempt, the women shouldnʼt have gotten any opportunity to retrieve their personal possessions!

While Ves wasnʼt interested in their personal effects, he hoped they left something useful behind, such as a full copy of their library!

The printed books in his stateroom only encompassed a shallow layer of the knowledge that Clarion University had to offer! As long as Ves got his hands on Aislingʼs restricted knowledge, Ves would definitely be able grasp second-class mech design faster!

He first processed the information and software sent by Calabast. It took one day to install the new software, become familiar with its functions, and increase his control over the Scarlet Rose.

Only after he finished these necessary chores did he choose to investigate former quarters of his least favorite Fridaymen mech designers.

In case of any traps, Ves decided to take some precautions before entering.

”Meow meow!”

”Hey, I havenʼt complained at all about the fact that youʼre treating millions or billions worth of cols of exotics as your food! The least you can do is to scout ahead and dig out any secret stashes!”

”Meow.”

Though Lucky looked a bit grumpy, Ves thought it was best to pull Lucky away from the material stores. He still needed at least some supplies to perform critical repairs when needed!

Aside from this precaution, he also donned a suit of combat armor he managed to retrieve from one of Luckyʼs unfortunate victims.

Many of the guards that met an unfortunate end at his claws had died from internal wounds. That left their combat armor intact. As long as he hacked its systems and adjusted their biometric locks, the combat armor he salvaged fully recognized him as its native user!

The main issue with his protection was that it consisted of medium combat armor. This was larger and bulkier than Ves was used to. Along with the fact that second-class combat armor came with many complex functions, he was unable to adapt to it in a short amount of time!

This was why he made for a very strange sight right now. A large, armored form coated with the colors and emblems of the Coalition Reserve Corps approached the entrance to Patriciaʼs quarters.

Lucky playfully swished in the air as he followed after his owner.

Once they reached the hatch, Ves used his authority over the ship to override the personal lock.

Though the hatch slid open, he did not step in. Instead, he turned his armored head to Lucky, who quickly got the hint.

”Meow.”

Lucky flew inside and began to sniff and scan every corner of the roomy compartment.

”Meow!”

Only after Lucky finished his pass did Ves step inside.

The layout of Patriciaʼs stateroom was identical to his own. The furnishings were just as luxurious, and all of the furniture aside from his bookcase were exactly the same.

There were some very noticeable differences, though. For one, Patriciaʼs desk came with a standard terminal.

Another difference was that the furnishings only featured the symbols and markings of the CRC and the Friday Coalition. This was probably how his quarters should have originally looked like before Aisling rearranged the interior to indoctrinate him into defecting to the Gauge Dynasty.

Once Ves got over the differences, he slowly began to inspect Patriciaʼs abandoned possessions.

To his disappointment, his former classmate did not bring much. Her wardrobe carried most of her personal effects.

He picked up a bra with his armored hand and stared at it listlessly.

What use did he have for this useless article for clothing?

He threw aside the bra and began to scour through the neatly-folded clothes for any hidden treasures.

No luck.

Lucky already inspected the wardrobe beforehand, but Ves hadnʼt given up hope.

”Did she even bring anything useful?” He frowned.

He searched elsewhere, but only found trivial objects such as a collection of shoes and some exclusive designer perfume that was worth hundreds of thousands of cols.

Ves sniffed the fragrance but didnʼt experience much stimulation due to his low period.

”Useless.”

He threw the bottle of perfume away, which bounced against the deck before rolling to a stop.

No matter how much he searched, he failed to find anything useful!

He faintly hoped to encounter a spare shield generator or an important cache of intelligence!

Yet after two hours of searching, Ves encountered nothing worth valuing!

Not even the files she stored in her desk terminal contained anything of use!

”Sheʼs really careful.” He sighed.

He didnʼt think she anticipated that he would take over the ship. This was probably an ingrained habit she developed to minimize any possible leaks.

The way she arranged her quarters conformed closely to her claim that she was trying to advance as a rational mech designer.

As someone who purposefully suppressed her emotions, she had no need to bring much stuff!