Chapter 501
The space burial served as a pivotal event which affected every Vandal among the Verle Task Force. Like a seed buried amidst the fertilizers of the fallen, a new life sprung into being.
"A new beginning."
Those words echoed throughout everyone's minds. Ves never imagined that Major Verle could be so eloquent. A speechwriter among his staff must have composed those uplifting and inspiring words.
After Ves took a mental step back, he realized the eulogy aimed to invigorate the Vandals. The last thing they needed was people getting hung up about the losses they sustained.
As a soldier of the Republic, they weren't soft-hearted to the extent that the death of a comrade plunged them into despair.
Yet human emotion was a complex beast, and all manner of negative thoughts might bloom in the darkness.
Verle's speech served as a light that banished that darkness and guided the thoughts of his subordinates to a more beneficial direction. The underlying message instructed them to cast away the shackles of the past and look towards a new beginning,
The act of plunging the caskets into space during the space burial could therefore be seen as a dividing line between the past and the present.
Right now, it was more important for the Verle Task Force to shake off Vesian pursuit and escape the Kingdom's borders. The Vesians must be incredibly furious at the daring act of striking at the heart of their territory. Only by butchering the guilty party would they be able to cleanse their shame!
This hounding threat provided the motivation while the space burial gave the Vandals the impetus to pick up their work. Their productivity soared as they pushed all thoughts of mourning the dead aside in order to deal with the present crisis.
Ves arrived at his furnished office the next day. The cabin received a clean but luxurious makeover that wouldn't look out of place from a cruise ship. Stylish metal furniture marked with green and brass motifs gave the entire cabin a sense that only the most distinguished gentlemen worked in this office.
"This is a bit too much." He spoke after he took in the sight.
"You're the boss now. You have to show that off. A barebones office won't do." Iris spoke from the side.
The cabin was kind of cramped, as was typical to ships where space came at a premium. Despite that limitation, Iris somehow managed to divide the interior in a way that squeezed in a desk and terminal for her as well.
Evidently, she wanted to work in the same room as Ves.
"I'll go fabricate some terminals." He said. "For now, please make contact with the staff aboard the Shield of Hispania. I can probably pull up some official reports from the terminal once it's up, but it helps if you can tell me their impressions and overall opinions."
"I can do that, but be aware that I'm a guest aboard this ship. They won't tell me anything critical."
"That's okay. If I need to know about something, they'll pay me a visit or send me some classified documents on their own initiative."
After packing Iris off, Ves went down to the nearest workshop to fabricate some terminals and other high-tech gadgets to make his office complete. This was something he needed to do by himself in order to insure that nobody tampered with his equipment. It was a lot harder to detect irregularities if someone tampered with it during the fabrication process.
Ves didn't go for anything fancy when he arrived at a 3D printer. He selected the most reliable and impenetrable models available in its database and made some minor tweaks before letting the device do all the work. He didn't even need to intervene in the production process due to the limited amount of variables at play.
Once the 3D printer spat out all of the gear he needed, he ordered a bot to bring them to his office. Ves accompanied the bot as they climbed the deck and supervised the installation process to ensure nothing fudged the equipment.
After realizing that he'd been way too sloppy with regards to information security back at Detemen IV, Ves became way more paranoid about this matter. While he couldn't match Alloc's prowess in this area, his rapid study session back then boosted his Computer Science Skill to a respectable level, so he wasn't as clueless as before.
Once the bots left the office, Ves withdrew a multiscanner attached to his toolbelt and carefully scanned every nook and cranny of his office. He paid special attention to the furniture, but the device detected no anomalies.
Though the cabin did include some very covert monitoring devices, Ves quickly figured out that they were connected to the core systems of the Hispania. In other words, they formed part of the combat carrier's integrated security systems.
To be certain, Ves sent a quick message to the security department of the ship. They immediately confirmed the guess, so Ves had to leave the bugs alone.
Obviously, no part of the ships escaped monitoring. Everyone was subjected to observation, but just because they came under scrutiny, didn't mean that someone would act on what the bugs recorded.
Ves keenly remembered treasonous talk among the spacers of the Wolf Mother. That they could get away with that talk meant that the Vandals didn't care too much about small offenses. Even talk of gambling, drinking and fraternization was met with silence.
This absence of action obviously meant that the Vandals couldn't be bothered with trivialities. As long as the spacers did their job, who cared if they broke over a dozen regulations of the Mech Corps.
"I could probably get away with many things." He figured.
That didn't mean it was wise to test the boundaries of what was possible. When you walked close to the river, your shoes would eventually get wet.
Still, Ves hadn't even formally started his job, but his mind already swirled with temptation. The job of head designer sounded very impressive, and Ves guessed he could turn a lot of things to his advantage if he wished.
"That's probably a bad idea right now."
His goal for the time being was fairly simple right now. He merely wanted to survive the current peril and make it through the war alive. Any benefits beyond this came as an extra.
Thus, after settling his momentary greed, he calmed down and became sober. Even the enviable amount of power that came with the position of head designer didn't excite him anymore. To him, the job was just another burden.
A few minutes later, Ves locked down the office and contacted Professor Velten. Unlike Ves and Iris, most of the other high-ranking mech designers stayed with Colonel Lowenfield's fleet. The distance separating Lowenfield's fleet and Major Verle's task force ranged at least a dozen light-years.
To put that into perspective, it took at least twelve years for a conventional signal sent from one end to the other end.
Nonetheless, communicating with the other fleet happened instantly and seamlessly as long as both sides had access to quantum entanglement nodes.
One of the most basic privileges of a head designer was that they enjoyed expanded privileges when it came to accessing the galactic net and contacting others among the Vandals.
His terminal lit up as a projection of Professor Velten's face came into being. Though she looked dour most of the time, Ves immediately spotted something different.
The Professor's eyes were red, and her skin gained a lot of extra wrinkles. Already senile, the Senior Mech Designer had obviously aged substantially in a matter of weeks!
"Ah, professor, I, uh, am I calling at a bad time?"
"No." She replied hoarsely but with inner strength. Despite her outward appearance, she sounded as firm as a rock. "Our duties must go on. We cannot afford to rest while thousands are depending on us."
The professor obviously mourned for Alloc. Ves learned from him that he was actually the professor's legacy disciple. Alloc was her final protégé, and one who would inherit most of her knowledge and possessions after she passed away.
In the mech industry, the bond between a mentor and a mentee came in many forms. Most of the time, the relationship was shallow and transactional. The mentor taught their student some of their knowledge, while the student toiled for the mentor or paid them something of value.
Naturally, more intimate relationships existed as well. To someone like Velten who benefited from a round of life-prolonging treatment, familial bonds often faded away. Mechs became her family, and the mech designers she nurtured substituted for her own offspring.
Like any parent, a mentor with a deep affection for their student never wished for them to perish before their time was up. The pain that came with this loss was heart-wrenching torture.
Ves suspected that if Velten's lifespan had just been cut in half at the very least. She wasn't very long for this universe. Once she died, the Flagrant Vandals lost their last remaining Senior Mech Designer. The consequences would certainly be very dire if the Vandals failed to get a replacement.
He minutely shook his head. That was for Colonel Lowenfield to worry about. Ves needed to focus on the problems that fell within his scope as a head designer of the task force.
Ves patiently waited for Velten to get a grip on her emotions. After she regained some clarity in her mind, she turned her attention to him. "Mr. Larkinson, why are you calling me? You don't possess the privilege to make an intersystem call!"
"Ah, don't you remember? With Alloc's absence, I've become the temporary head designer of Major Verle's task force."
He waited for several seconds as the professor's foggy mind processed his words. Frankly, that she forgot about his field promotion was inexcusable. Ves tactfully refrained from recommending that Velten should visit the infirmary and get her head checked.
A light finally switched on in her head. "Ah! I recall now. This is a highly irregular course of action, but the position of head designer cannot remain empty. Even if you lack the qualifications and experience to take up this position, I trust you will not be too inept at your new job."
"I'm still uncertain what my temporary job entails, ma'am. I've only heard vague descriptions so far and nobody sent me any instructions."
"Oh, I forgot to send you the relevant documents. Let me transfer them to you now. I highly recommend you peruse them all, but make sure you do not leak out the contents of the classified documents. I don't have to tell you what the consequences are if you are caught with spilling sensitive information."
His terminal beeped upon receipt of a whole pile of virtual documents. Ves skimmed over the files and saw that it included a large assortment of lists, budgets, manuals and schedules. This probably served as his foundation for his new job.
"Let me explain the role of head designer to you in the simplest terms." She began. "A head designer is a mech designer that is the foremost expert among the fleet or task force. This is the most essential criteria, and for this job to land on an Apprentice Mech Designer is highly unusual. In fact, it is unprecedented in the Mech Corps."
In other words, Ves needed to fill some very big shoes.
"I have one question, ma'am. Why not let one of your Journeymen act as your head designer remotely? Even if they aren't physically present in the task force, they can still perform just as well."
The professor shook her head. "This has been done many times, to mixed success. We do not have the right policies and training in place to accomplish such a thing. Physical presence is important. This is why the galaxy hasn't turned into a giant virtual playground where every human is immersed in a permanent tank and interacts with the outside universe through a robot avatar. Humans are very social creatures. A close presence is essential in controlling an expansive organization."
Ves wouldn't be able to fob off the job to someone else, then. The professor was right that Ves probably held the most qualifications to wear this hat, even if it was too big to fit snugly on his head right now.
Chapter 502
"The buck stops with you." Professor Velten stated to Ves over the channel. "Don't let anyone else dictate the mech composition of the task force. Every single mech company must match the specifications set by you. In fact, if you strongly believe you are right, you may even disregard my instructions!"
Ves almost became floored after she said that. Though he knew that the professor was fallible, he still couldn't fathom why he should reject her instructions. Her wisdom as a Senior far outclassed his limited perspective as an Apprentice.
"Why should I trust my own judgment over yours?"
"You're the man on the ground, as it were. I am far away from the task force, and the distance will only widen with time. Even if I can gather all manner of information through the quantum entanglement node, it is dangerous to transmit so much sensitive data over a distance. As the mech designer who is closer to the action, the information and impressions at your disposal exceeds my own."
"How far can I go with this, professor?"
"As far as you want to go. You're the head designer, remember?" She sent a brief smile to him. "I am not in the habit of micromanaging my subordinates. Though I am not as familiar with you as Alloc, your record and the capabilities that you have shown has given me enough confidence that you can fulfill your duties to the minimum extent. As long as the mechs of the task force aren't falling apart, you will have the leeway to structure their mech composition as much as you like."
"That's... a lot more extensive than I thought. Isn't it dangerous to put so much decision-making power at my disposal, ma'am?"
She shook her head. "You are but one cog in a great machine. A head designer never works in isolation. If the mech designers under your command think you are making a drastic mistake, they'll work to obstruct you in many ways. While you can arrest them and throw them into the brig if they become a thorn at your side, you'll lose a valuable resource that way. You can't possibly arrest every mech designer."
Less than ten high-ranking mech designers accompanied the task force. All of them including Ves, Iris and Pierce participated in the development of the core designs of the Flagrant Vandals. Their mastery and depth of knowledge was crucial in solving complicated problems.
Ves couldn't afford to fall out with his former peers.
"There are also the main institutions of the Flagrant Vandals. You have the line officers which mostly encompass the mech officers such as Major Verle and the various mech captains that lead their companies into battle. As the people closest to the action, they are burdened with the responsibility of shepherding their mech pilots through thick and thin. Their approval is essential for any plans you might have in store."
That made sense. If Ves turned crazy one day and insisted every mech in the task force replace their armor with pig iron, then he would instantly be beset with mutiny among the mech pilots. Major Verle himself may even barge into his cabin at night and butcher him in his sleep!
Ves shivered a bit. "I understand, ma'am. I'll be sure to take their opinions into account."
"The line officers care most about the specs and the concrete fighting capabilities of their mechs. These are highly trained mech commanders who want what is best for their men regardless of the cost. However, the Flagrant Vandals aren't in a position where we can disregard our budgetary concerns."
"Good mechs tend to be expensive."
"Exactly, Mr. Larkinson. Keep in mind our current circumstances. We are knee-deep behind enemy lines, with not a single safe harbor in sight. The nearest neutral star system is months away. Acquiring the right materials is a challenge under these conditions is a challenge in itself."
Ves knew that to maintain a thousand mechs required an ungodly amount of materials. Though the Vandals looted a lot of valuables from the Detemen System, they prioritized the most valuable materials instead of the most relevant materials to maintain the mechs they currently fielded.
It was like a hungry man robbing a luxury handcrafted bag store. The robber may have come into possession of valuable bags, but that wouldn't satisfy his hunger!
This pretty much described the current state of Major Verle's task force.
"This is a lot of work." Ves frowned. "There should be others who are responsible with procurement, right?"
"That is correct. The staff officers are responsible for logistics and more. Most relevant for you is that they keep track of what the task force currently lacks and draw up plans to replenish any shortages. They also maintain relations with the VRF. In your current condition, you should lean on them to initiate trades with the rebel group. Within enemy space, only they can quench the task force's thirst for essential resources."
Ves felt as if a boulder lifted off his shoulders. He would truly tear his hair out if he needed to be responsible for supplying resources as well.
"So I need to work together with logistics to supply the task force with the materials to repair and maintain their mechs, right?"
"That is correct. They favor their own priorities, of course. The planners in charge of resource management wish to expend as little money or resources as possible. Their desire for efficiency grossly outweighs any other concerns. In truth, if not for their tireless efforts in maximizing every possible means at our disposal, the Flagrant Vandals might have long gone insolvent."
Back when Ves worked at the Wolf Mother, Professor Velten assigned him to the planning department for some time. Back then, he thought that the professor merely wanted someone sensible to act as a liaison between the logistics officers and the mech technicians, but now he realized that the professor was a lot more farsighted than he thought.
Did she nurture him for this role beforehand? Even as a contingency, the professor could never imagine that he needed to take on the role of head designer so soon!
Still, reality never cooperated with anyone, and Ves got thrust into the job long before he was ready to take on this responsibility. The brief amount of time he spent in the core of the Wolf Mother exposed him to the perspective of the logistics officers whose job was to make sure that every ship and every mech received adequate supplies.
Whether the professor deliberately groomed him or not, that exposure filled up a critical hole in his experience, thereby rounding out vision so that he could encompass everyone's perspective!
Though this did not bolster his confidence too much, he at least felt some reassurance that he wasn't working alone on the problems plaguing the task force.
The professor pointed something out to him. "Major Verle will have a staff at his disposal that leads the various sections of his command. One of them is certainly responsible for logistics, so that is your first contact point if you need to acquire specific resources."
"Understood."
"As you can see, the role of the head designer doesn't necessarily entail any hands-on design work. Maybe you feel that a critical job can only be performed correctly by you, but I advise you not to intervene in person too often. Your time is better spent on the primary task of your position, which is to act as the coordinator that brings different parties together to insure that they have the appropriate mechs on hand for their next missions."
In truth, being a mech designer wasn't necessary to act as a coordinator. It only helped with making the right judgment in drawing up the task force's mech composition.
If someone changed the job name from head designer to mech coordinator, anyone could perform this job really, though they needed to be proficient in many technical matters.
"There is one more responsibility that you should take note of. Are you aware that there is an expert mech pilot attached to your task force?"
"Ah, yes, ma'am. I was there when Major Verle asked Venerable O'Callahan to deploy. The venerable... refused."
The professor sighed and grunted in frustration. "That stubborn old coot! Venerable O'Callahan is a special individual. He has his eccentricities. In truth, his relationship with the Vandals is less than stellar. Rather than a comrade, he is more of a mercenary of sorts."
In other words, Venerable O'Callahan was only a member of the Flagrant Vandals in name. Having heard his story, Ves knew that the expert mech pilot bounced around in the Bright Republic and the Friday Coalition before being kicked to the Vandals.
O'Callahan was undeniably an expert mech pilot. However, much like Professor Velten, the man went through a botched life-prolonging treatment. Combined with the fact that he was as old as the professor and that his growth potential had long been exhausted, nobody really valued him anymore.
It was no wonder the man degenerated into a cynical old bastard. Not every venerable lived up to their title.
A feeling of dread crept up to his body. "Do I need to be responsible for O'Callahan as well?"
"In short, yes. To be more exact, you are responsible for the upkeep of his custom mech. Every expert mech pilot in a mech regiment is accompanied by his own personal design team. You haven't met them before, but with your recent elevation to head designer, they answer to you as well."
"I take it that maintaining a custom mech is not very easy."
The professor smiled awkwardly at Ves. "I'm sure you're familiar with the saying that you get what you paid for. Behind the eye-dazzling performance of expert mechs, there is an enormous cost. To put the burden into perspective, a mech fit for an expert pilot costs as much as a combat carrier to build and maintain."
Ves wanted to puke when he heard the sum involved with maintaining a single mech. Even the Lord Javier's Loquacious Raphael wasn't that perverse!
"How... bad is the problem?"
"You do not have to take care of the design of his lancer mech. This is my own duty, and the responsibility to modify the mech to my latest iteration lies with O'Callahan's design team." She answered.
It would have been ridiculous if Ves needed to take over the design of an expert on his own.
"Nonetheless, O'Callahan can be... demanding. The custom mech I've designed for him does not adhere to any single design. In actual fact, I've developed and maintained over twenty different variants of the same design. Each of them differ in minor ways to accommodate different environments, counters, cost and resource demands."
"Some variants are more powerful than others." Ves ventured out a guess. "Of course, the best is also the most expensive."
The professor nodded. "Venerable O'Callahan wants the best of the best. He has made that very clear to me and every mech designer that he has worked with for years. When he doesn't get his way... there is little we can do to compel him to follow orders."
An expert mech pilot was a demigod among men. Even a cranky grandpa like O'Callahan received the worship and veneration of the rank and file. From the stories of the Larkinsons, Ves knew that all of this hero worship tended to inflate the heads of expert mech pilots to a ridiculous degree.
"So when it comes down to it, I'm indirectly tasked with managing our only expert mech pilot's ego."
"You must carefully balance the needs of Venerable O'Callahan with the needs of the rest of the task force. However, no matter what you decide, you cannot afford to neglect either of them. Your escape from Vesian space depends on both numbers and quality."
Perhaps this was the most challenging and essential responsibility on his shoulders. Ves realized that managing O'Callahan formed the critical factor in keeping the mechs of the task force going. If he screwed it up entirely, their chances of escaping the Kingdom and completing their next mission would drop to nil.
Chapter 503
The Verle Task Force transitioned back into FTL immediately after the space burial. They needed to leave the vicinity of the Detemen System as soon as possible in order to throw off pursuit.
In truth, the caskets thrown out into space for the space burial might easily be detected by any scouts that entered this system. Ves guessed that Major Verle wasn't stupid enough to leave behind some breadcrumbs without a good reason. Perhaps there was a deliberate element of strategy here.
"I don't think anyone in the Kingdom expected your Vandal fleet to split up." Iris explained when she saw his puzzlement. "It's even more perplexing that this task force is heading in the opposite direction."
At the very least, it would scramble the defense forces of the Kingdom and force them to split their focus, but only up to a certain extent.
Each fief in the Kingdom hosted their own separate defense forces. Each noble House maintained their own garrison fleets that ordinarily guarded important star systems, but they were not above combining their forces and pursuing an intruding element like the Vandals passing through their domains.
Of course, each House eyed each other warily, so they wouldn't easily team up. Not even the royals possessed that much power. Even the Mech Legion couldn't resist being fractured by the competition between powerful interest groups.
"How dangerous will it be to sneak this task force to the Reinald border?" Ves asked.
"Very challenging." Iris said. "We managed to breeze through their territories because we successfully hid our presence. That's no longer an option."
"Your VRF can't keep hiding us?"
"Not when the entire Kingdom is alarmed and out for our blood. We're close to the heart of their Kingdom. There is no way the Vesian nobles will tolerate our escape. They'll deploy much more probes to the surrounding star systems. The rebel groups aligned with us can obfuscate some of the probes, but it's impossible to catch them all."
After some clarification, Iris explained that the VRF would only be able to keep their journey hidden at some points along their route. There were still many desolate star systems within the border of the Kingdom, but the odds of detection when transitioning out of FTL was roughly thirty percent.
"So one time out of three, the task force's presence is passed on to the Vesians. While that wouldn't be sufficient to catch up on us, they can make a good guess where we will transition to next and prepare enough ships to greet our arrival with a storm of fire."
"The odds of guessing our next destination shouldn't be easy." Ves pointed out. "There's dozens of potential destinations with each hop in our journey. Also, it's impossible for those selfish Houses to volunteer their valuable defense forces to clash against us wholeheartedly."
What benefit would they receive if they hindered the formidable task force? A force that consisted of half a mech regiment was no joke. Even though they split their mech compliment between spaceborn mechs and landbound mechs, not every noble House can conjure up hundreds of mechs at the snap of their fingers.
"You're right about that. Much of the Kingdom's military strength is transferred to the frontlines. With the absence of first-rate mech divisions and mech regiments, what's left behind are second-rate defense and garrison troops. They play a vital role in the defense of critical infrastructure. The moment that someone redirects these forces to somewhere else, the VRF will instantly instigate the local rebel groups to strike their defenseless assets."
In a way, this was an open conspiracy between the VRF and the noble Houses. Even if they wished to fight for the glory of taking down the intruders that brazenly raided the Detemen System, they couldn't afford to sustain any damage to their industries and defensive installations.
"Still, it's hard to believe that the Vesians don't have any large mobile assets available to defend their own territory. Or else, any random pirate swarm could have wreaked havoc within their borders."
It sounded too stupid if that was the case. The Vesia Kingdom stood stable for hundreds of years, and grew up alongside the Bright Republic that would have pounced on this weakness.
"That's the most dangerous part of our escape. The Mech Legion hasn't sent all of their mech divisions to the frontlines. Every duchy is still in the process of mobilizing their mech forces. Even if their mech divisions are incomplete, they can easily overwhelm our task force if they manage to catch up to us."
The premise here was that they could catch up to the Vandals at all. Splitting up the divisions into regiments or smaller allowed them to cast a wider net. However, the Vandals could easily pierce through a net that was spread too wide.
Basically, it all came down to luck and probability. Ves guessed that they would probably get caught a few times along their two-month journey to the Reinald Republic.
Ves summed up the task force's predicament. "It's as if we are playing a game. Each new turn, we get to take a step forward, but we also have to roll a dice. If our luck is good, nothing will happen."
When their luck took a bad turn, the task force might need to fight their way out. Battle was inevitable.
"Thus, it's important for you to get your act together, Ves. A head designer isn't just a figurehead. It's a position that demands tough decision-making. A critical oversight might lead to bad matchups in the coming battles! The lives of hundreds of mech pilots are at your mercy!"
Iris might have exaggerated a little, but Ves did wield enough influence over mech policy to affect the outcome of any battles during this period. Even if he maintained the status quo, that was also a decision in itself that may attract some blame to him if a battle went south.
At his first day of work, Ves needed to get apprised to current status of the mech companies under his purview. Naturally, Ves wouldn't be able to call up a convenient System-like Status page for every mech company, so he needed to do things the old-fashioned way.
He read. He read a lot. Major Verle's ships had a four-day journey ahead of themselves before they arrived at the next star system, so Ves spent almost every hour getting up to date.
In the meantime, he issued a broad instruction for every mech company to perform repairs at their own judgment. He only added an extra instruction to channel most of their available manpower and resources to fixing up their spaceborn mechs. Without the strength to contest in space, the task force could forget about escaping Vesian space.
For his reading marathon, Ves first tackled the welcome package sent by Professor Velten. Some of it contained regulations that reiterated the points in their discussion, but in more exact and official terms.
The most important point was that a head designer still fell outside the chain of command. Nothing changed in that matter. Ves wouldn't be able to point to a random crew member aboard the Shield of Hispania and order them around.
In practice, this meant that his scope was wide, but his actual authority was more nebulous. If he couldn't convince the mech officers and the staff officers that his decisions benefited the Vandals, they would be free to treat his words as air.
"This isn't very different from my days as an entrepreneur." He snorted. "The only thing that's different is that my customers have changed. Before, I tried to sell my mechs to the market. Now, I have to sell my proposals to a single customer."
In truth, the Flagrant Vandals didn't consist of a single 'customer' per se. Though a mech regiment imposed a high level of standardization, every mech company performed a different role. Besides distinguishing themselves as spaceborn or landbound units, they also pursued a broad specialization, such as scouting, defense or assault.
After reading the mountain of regulations, Ves dove into the nitty gritty of the Flagrant Vandals. He not only read through Velten's summary, he also dove into the databases to make his own investigations.
A clear picture started to form in his mind.
As a rule, the Vandals really liked to raid. Their spaceborn assets leaned towards lighter mechs and most of their mechs fulfilled some sort of offensive role. Their defensive capability was frankly piss-poor.
"We don't have a lot of knights or rifleman mechs on our rosters."
This presented a fairly substantial hole in their mech lineup. The Flagrant Vandals only excelled at a limited variety of mission profiles. Once they performed a mission out of their element, their strength took a nosedive.
From another perspective, the Vandals acted like a sharp and silent dagger. A large proportion of their combat carriers and mechs were quite fast, and could appear in unexpected locations with ease. Once an enemy detected their presence, they could either strike hard and fast or scurry away like cowardly rats.
"We're basically a one-trick pony."
This deliberate direction enabled the Vandals to become very good at what they did. It also earned them a decent amount of efficiency compared to a balanced mech regiment. Mech pilots could easily transfer between different mech models that performed the same role, and mech technicians were highly familiar on how to tweak the mechs to bring out their strengths.
Mechs that performed similar roles also used up the same broad pool of material types. For example, a knight mech design mainly utilized dense alloys, while a skirmisher mech exclusively made use of lightweight alloys.
Plenty of exceptions existed of course, but light and skinny medium mechs were responsible for the bulk of the task force's resource demands.
This emphasis tremendously eased the logistical burden of the Vandals. Rather than drawing up smaller amounts from a large pool of material types, they instead drew up larger amounts from a more limited pool.
It was like the difference between someone eating a varied diet of food and a crazy person that predominantly ate eggs. While the latter person also ate some fruit, vegetables and meat, it was to such a small extent that they barely played a role.
After analyzing the task force's mech lineup from the perspective of the line officers and staff officers, he turned his attention to the giant anomaly in their midst.
"The professor wasn't kidding that maintaining an expert pilot costs as much as a combat carrier!"
The abundant amount of money in the form of resources spent on upkeep, repairs and overhauls easily surpassed several billion credits on an annual basis.
Even a normal mech regiment would have a heart attack if they wished to support an extra expert pilot!
This black hole in their roster and budget swallowed so many resources that even the Vandals couldn't bear the expenditure. Digging a little further into the database, Ves found out that the Vandals actually retained two expert pilots!
"They're already in the red for supporting one expert pilot. Adding another is straining their budget to the bursting point!"
The dire financial position of the Vandals could partially be attributed to their insistence in supporting two expert pilots. Some mech regiments outright went without any expert pilots because they couldn't find any or bear the cost of upkeep!
Naturally, the saying that you got what you paid for also applied in this case. An expert pilot paired with a supremely built expert mech formed a very powerful spearhead that could be sent to accomplish the impossible.
For someone like Venerable O'Callahan, fighting one against hundred wasn't out of the question.
"At least it's a good thing that he's piloting a spaceborn mech."
O'Callahan piloted a lancer mech, which was basically a spearman mech with a flight system. His mech excelled in duels where its lance could chew up any enemy mech in its way with a single charge. The only demerit to this mode of combat was that he couldn't eliminate mechs in a group.
"That should be another deliberate choice." Ves mused. "The regular Vandals can take care of the cannon fodder. O'Callahan should only be brought out when the enemy threatens our rank-and-file with elites."
The Venerable's lancer mech could also be converted into an aerial mech that was suitable to operate within the gravity well of a planet. The conversion process demanded a lot of time and resources, though, so the switch needed to be done well in advance.
All in all, the mechs of the task force appeared to be very strong in writing. However, Ves also spotted the cracks while riding between the lines.
Chapter 504
The official reports and summaries painted a fairly rosy picture of the mechs he needed to take care of. Even a three-year old child could spot that the people who wrote these reports tried to paint themselves in the most favorable light.
They might not be telling outright lies, but there were many ways someone could massage a report. Ves did it plenty of times in school when an assignment was due but hadn't spent enough time in his studies.
Fortunately, very few of the people who wrote the reports had mastered the dark arts of bureaucracy, so Ves easily deduced their transparent attempts.
By and large, most mech captains demanded more or better resources. Both of these demands came with different benefits. Allocating more resources to their units allowed them to bounce back faster after sustaining losses. Raising their allowance and better resources allowed them to upgrade their mechs.
Some mech companies wanted to build up a deeper reserve. Others wanted to raise the overall quality of their mech roster. The greediest mech companies even begged for both.
Fortunately, the mech captains already got used to being rejected. No matter how much they whined, the people in charge of procurement and resource management couldn't conjure materials out of thin air.
Still, the constant exaggerations in the reports made it difficult for Ves to get a true picture of their current state. Ves needed to dig beyond that and study individual maintenance reports and such to get at the heart of the matter.
This was extremely tedious work. A regular person needed months to process all of the documents. They not only needed to pick the most relevant files to read, they also had to recognize the most relevant data and interpret them into useful information.
Leaving the work aside to AIs provided unreliable conclusions, because Ves quickly realized the raw data had been fudged as well.
"It doesn't take that much volume to replace a chest plate."
The AIs hadn't been trained to pick up these subtle irregularities in the data. Even an average mech designer wouldn't be able to spot the differences, because they often skirted around the margin of error.
Basically, it was as if Ves told a kid to purchase lunch for himself. The kid runs to a sandwich store and then comes back to Ves to tell him that it costs 2 credits for a sandwich. Ves had no reason to doubt this price, so he casually transfers the credits to the kid, who proceeded to buy his lunch.
In actual fact, the kid hadn't been entirely accurate when he reported the price. The sandwich actually cost 1.99 credits, which amounted to a discrepancy of 0.5 percent.
"A loss of half a percent isn't much in normal circumstances." Ves determined. "But at the scale the Vandals are working with, it's a serious problem."
Nobody cared about this problem if it happened in a low-level situation such as a kid trying to fool their parents. The parents only lost 0.01 credits, which was an absolute pittance to even the poorest citizens of the Republic.
Mech regiments operated at a scale of billions of credits. The upkeep of a standard mech company that consisted of forty active mechs and twenty or so reserve mechs already amounted to tens of millions of credits.
Naturally, this credit sum would easily spike in the hundreds of millions of credits after every operation when a mech company sustained several casualties. These periods of intense demands and vigorous repairs led to a large amount of resource transfers.
It would be easy to slip in a discrepancy in the midst of all of this activity.
Frankly, if Ves hadn't started up his own business from the ground up and fabricated many copies of his own designs, he wouldn't have developed an eye for this sort of stuff. The covert manipulation of resource usage effectively amounted to embezzlement.
His face grew dire at this realization. Who was responsible? Who would enrich themselves or increase their leverage at the cost of the entire mech regiment?
"The mech officers probably aren't in it." He quickly determined. "They don't have the technical acumen to pull off this kind of heist."
Besides, their whiny reports emphasized other faults.
That left Ves with three categories of culprits that he could think of. "It's either the mech technicians, the mech designers, the logistics officers, or a combination."
He ruled out the latter two. A conspiracy between multiple parties involved too many people. News would get out sooner or later in that case. As for the people responsible for logistics, having worked alongside them for a time, Ves knew that they held themselves to a rigid standard of precision.
One of the things he learned from Professor Velten's reports was that logistics had often been in a state of shambles with the Vandals. The lack of talent sent in their way and the dubious integrity of anyone exiled to their mech regiment meant that their records were filled with lies. Their account books contained more imagination than fantasy books and various discrepancies brazenly exceeded fifty percent.
Colonel Lowenfield's arrival to the Vandals upended their awful tradition of sloppy record-keeping. She overhauled the logistics department of the Vandals from the ground up. She kicked out or demoted the worst offenders while forcing the remainder into gruelling re-training sessions.
The Vandals kicked and screamed when they had to go through this painful reorganization process, but it was an act akin to cutting out the sickened flesh from a diseased body. Over time, the Flagrant Vandals enjoyed the benefits of cleaning up their act.
As one of her most important pet projects, the transformation of logistics should have been a continued priority of Colonel Lowenfield. Under her persistent gaze, nobody would even think of skimming from the top.
"So it's either the mech technicians or the mech designers who are taking advantage of this somehow."
The main question rolling in his mind was how someone benefited from the embezzlement. It wasn't as if anyone could expect to hide a few hundred tons of alloys underneath their bunks.
"The materials being embezzled will need to be used immediately. They can't be stored for long, or else the pervasive monitoring system in every ship will pick up the goods."
Ves tried to imagine how it could work. He envisioned a situation where some low level mech technician inputted a resource usage of 5000 kilograms of lightweight alloys, but his actual usage only amounted to 4975 kilograms. That left this mech technician with a small but fairly substantial surplus of 25 kilograms, which would be worth tens of thousands of credits if sold in the open market.
"How can that low level mech technician transform 25 kilograms into actual credits?"
Ves saw no way this could be done, not without the Vandals detecting something fishy.
"Maybe it's not about earning credits."
Perhaps the illicit trade took the form of an internal black market among the Vandals. Perhaps the mech technicians became tired of working under scarcity, and developed this method as a way to get their hands on critical materials that the high and mighty wizards that worked at logistics refused to dispense in their hands.
This sounded a lot more innocious than trying to sell the embezzlement materials in exchange for money. While it was still an unacceptable practice, it fell into the maxim that the Vandals needed to get things done no matter the rules.
In such a case, Ves didn't feel inclined to stamp it out as long as the embezzlement remained within the range of the margin of error. He knew that being uptight in a mech regiment with a fairly weak tradition for exactness spelled a lot of trouble.
In the end, Ves wrote up a report of his observations and backed them up with proof from the data available to him. After some thought, he marked his report as sensitive. Only Major Verle and his staff would be allowed to read its contents.
"Iris."
"Yes, boss?" The woman looked up from her desk.
"Please bring this secure data chip to Major Verle or Lieutenant Commander Soapstone."
Iris stood up from her chair and walked over to receive the data chip. "Who do you want me to approach first?"
"Try bringing it to the attention of the major if you can. If not, you can try your luck with Soapstone. Whatever you do, don't let anyone else receive the data chip. Its contents are fairly sensitive."
Iris threw a questioning gaze at Ves, but he refrained from throwing her a hint. Perhaps he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but he really didn't wish to leak out his suspicions. If the more serious kind of embezzlement happened under the table, then he risked making powerful enemies among the Vandals.
Now that he wore the hat of head designer, he needed to rely on trust, persuasion and mutual interest in order to enact his changes. Burning his bridges with the offending party within the first days of his job was a one-way ticket to irrelevance.
Ves watched her leave their combined office and hoped that the major wouldn't refuse the data chip.
Early on, he memorized the names of the staff under Major Verle. He found out that Lieutenant Commander held the reins with regards to resource procurement and allocation. As the powerful staff officer in charge of logistics, she could directly empower or cripple a mech company in the task force according to her whims.
Of course, Soapstone wouldn't get away with overt favoritism. In fact, from the rumors he heard, Soapstone was one of Lowenfield's protégés.
One of the more peculiar aspects of logistics officers was that they would sometimes be fulfilled by someone holding a naval rank rather than a mech rank. The Mech Corps operated on a weird organizational structure where the mech officers held army-like ranks while the ship officers adopted naval ranks.
This might lead to confusion sometimes, but overall the primacy of mech officers was well-established. Back in the Age of Conquest, an admiral was more powerful than the president of a state. The power to determine the life and death of entire planets was a powerful drug.
Now that humanity reached the Age of Mechs, nobody would bat an eyelid if a mech captain issued orders to a fleet commander.
Ship officers worked in the background these days, so nobody found it strange that they would be subordinated in such a fashion.
When Ves entrusted the data chip to Iris, he wasn't afraid she would succeed in cracking it and peek at its contents. While the Flagrant Vandals endured a lot of neglect from headquarters, they still enjoyed access to their central database, thereby allowing them to employ the latest technologies available to the Mech Corps.
The military-grade data chip that Ves handed over to Iris came packed with a dizzying array of security features, all without adding to its bulk. The moment someone tried to tamper with it, the entire data chip would go up in flames and melt into a useless puddle of alloys and composites. Nobody could retrieve any data from the melted chip unless they possessed the power to turn back time.
Besides, with the ever-present monitoring going on, Iris would never have the opportunity to fudge the data chip, even if she visited the toilet.
Half an hour later, Iris returned. "Major Verle probably likes you a lot, because once I told him that the data chip, he immediately accepted it. He pushed aside his other work and started digging into it immediately."
"Did he tell you anything or pass on a message to me?"
"Not as far as I'm aware of, boss." She replied. "A few seconds in, he shrugged and dropped his smile. I think he deliberately adopted a poker face in front of me. He also activated a privacy screen around his desk after shooing me away."
That didn't tell Ves very much. In the back of his mind, there was always a chance that Major Verle might have a hand in the embezzlement. If this sort of dealings happened with the blessings of the major himself, then Ves might have landed himself in a very deep swamp.
He still had his principles though. Ves made his choice. Now the ball was in the major's court.
Chapter 505
It didn't take long before Ves received a summons from Major Verle. He calmly closed his terminal and closed his eyes.
"Seems like this is a serious issue after all."
The level of embezzlement that happened on an individual level wasn't too great, but when it had reached such a scale that practically every workshop was involved, the losses added up.
If all of the profits from these activities channeled in a small number of masterminds, then what Ves reported just threatened their livelihood.
The one thing he was afraid of most was that this level of corruption had reached the highest level. If Major Verle or Lieutenant Commander Soapstone received a cut of the profits, then Ves enormously harmed his relations with two of the most powerful officers in the Verle Task Force.
"Still, I can't sit still and do nothing."
Though Ves readily admitted to himself that he wasn't above pulling dirty tricks, he hated it when others tried to pull the wool over his eyes. Now that he accepted the job of head designer, everything concerning mechs came under his purview. Ves was not the type of person who tolerated employee theft.
"Urgh. I'm thinking of the Vandals like a business again." He shook his head.
He couldn't help but make the parallels between his job as a head designer and his status as a business owner of the LMC.
It would be a mistake to adopt this mindset, because the web of power was much more complex here. Back at the LMC, he was not only the founder and sole designer, Ves also relied on his majority ownership to exert total control.
While his reliance on agents and employees effectively limited his power, it remained a fact that Ves held ultimate authority over his firm.
In the Vandal command structure, the mech officers formed the main combatants as well as the main decision makers. The ship and staff officers on the other hand mainly executed the decisions made by the mech officers.
Mech designers like Ves existed outside of this command structure, and acted more like external consultants. Even Professor Velten, who shared the most intimate relationship with the Vandals held no military rank.
Because Ves fell outside the conventional command structure, he also benefited from a different perspective. That was why he went through with informing Major Verle of his findings. Even if he pissed some powerful Vandals off, they couldn't do anything to him, at least outwardly. The most they could do was try to marginalize his influence.
If that happened, so be it, but Ves cooked up several plans that would counteract their petty attempts. Ves may not be a Journeyman Mech Designer, but his skills overshadow everyone else's in the fleet.
If it came down to it, Ves wasn't above pulling up his sleeves to impress the savages of what a good mech designer could bring to the table.
As Ves stood up and exited his office, Iris called out to him just as the hatch slid open.
"Boss! Are you going out?"
"Yeah, it seems like what I dug up requires an immediate response. Stay here and keep collating the data."
"Will do."
After Ves made his initial discoveries, he didn't feel like digging into the data anymore. He pushed some of the duties onto Iris, who unfortunately couldn't match his Intelligence.
Ves keenly witnessed the difference between his own capabilities and someone with more human-like Intelligence values. Despite benefiting from a minor boost in mental capacity due to her Jupiter Family heritage, she required weeks to do what Ves could complete in a day.
This must be another reason why Professor Velten thought he would be suitable to take on the role of head designer. He processed data faster than others, which helped enormously in a data-oriented job like his. Head designers needed to make difficult decisions according to the information at hand, and Ves could take in much more information at much higher speeds, so he possessed a definite advantage in this area.
Any other mech designer thrust into this seat would quickly be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data required to make the right decisions. They could either spend months getting familiar with their position or take some shortcuts and enact policies based on an incomplete understanding of the situation.
"Such outcomes will inevitably lead to disaster."
When Ves stepped into Major Verle's stateroom, he glanced around as his steps brought him to one of the available seats.
The major didn't have time to furnish his stateroom according to his tastes. He must have lost everything he owned when the Stubby Growler went down. The metallic walls looked grey and bare while the furniture all consisted of the most basic copies that any mech technician could fabricate according to a standard template.
This was a good sign to Ves, because the bare furnishings signalled that Verle didn't care for material possessions.
"You've given me quite a conundrum, Mr. Larkinson." Verle started as he shut off his terminal, leaving his desk bare. He stared at Ves with inscrutable eyes. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Ves couldn't read any hint of Verle's intentions. Was he pleased that Ves brought the matter to his attention, or had he encroached upon a taboo?
He made a conscious choice to force the issue at the start. He disliked uncertainty, and he would rather not have this cloud hanging over his head. Now was the time to see why Colonel Lowenfield trusted the major so much.
"Sir, as the newly appointed head designer of this fleet, it's my responsibility to see that our mechs are as capable as possible to handle the threats in our way. The possible embezzlement happening under the table is a small but wide-reaching influence on our strength."
"How can it be both small but wide-reaching?"
"Like a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the planet, the effects can lead to a typhoon on the other side of the globe. The siphoning of resources away from their intended purposes effectively leaves our mech companies with 0.5 percent less resources. This might not sound like much, but at a scale of five-hundred spaceborn mechs, this loss amounts to missing two or three complete mechs."
"And this is relevant because...?"
"Think about it. If we get ambushed at our next stop by five-hundred enemy mechs, and we deploy 497 mechs in response, that gap could mean the difference between victory and defeat."
Ves didn't need to explain it any further. In closely-matched battles, the ultimate victor would often be decided by the side who could tip the balance in their favor. If both sides enjoyed an even playing field in terms of mech quality and mech composition, a minor advantage in numbers would eventually lead to a decisive advantage in numbers.
Even if both sides didn't commit, a handful of extra mechs could drastically influence the amount of casualties both sides sustained.
"Is our spaceborn contingent in that bad of a state?" Verle asked.
"Their state is fairly good, since they mainly scored a lopsided victory in the Detemen System. By now, most mechs that have sustained damage are in decent shape, though it will take the more heavily damaged mechs a little more time to become space worthy again. I'm not worried about the present. I'm concerned about the future. If this wasteful pattern continues, we'll continue to suffer preventable losses."
"Are you sure of that?"
"I'm very sure of it, sir. You're the expert in mech tactics, so I'm sure you have a better idea at how this could lead to unnecessary losses."
The major fell silent and tapped his desk with his finger. "Have you narrowed down who's responsible for these actions?"
"No." Ves shook his head. "It will take a more thorough investigation to get at the root of the problem. I can point out the mech technicians who are incorrectly logging their resource usages, but I have the feeling that they aren't the main beneficiaries of this scheme. Whoever is responsible for selling or trading the siphoned materials should be the true masterminds."
"I see. If you had the power to respond to this issue, what would you do?"
That might have been a loaded question, but Ves felt obligated to answer it. After a lot of thought about his new role, he gained some enlightenment about the purpose of mech designers attached to mech regiments.
Mech officers were the people in charge. That never changed. Everyone else assisted them in the background. As a mech designer and a head designer to boot, Ves was tasked with the responsibility to advise Major Verle so that he could make the most important decisions after taking everything into account.
With this role in mind, Ves provided several answers. "It depends on what kind of goal I want to achieve. If I wish to send a clear message that activities like this that harm our common interests will not be tolerated, I would investigate it thoroughly and punish the offenders according to the strictest regulations."
"The penalties for embezzlement can be quite severe."
"They played with fire, they should expect to get burned. We are not talking about innocent people here. Even if it isn't as bad as they look like, unauthorized shuffling of materials is still a moderate offense that needs to be cracked down."
"So do you believe that this is the option that we should be pursuing?"
"Ah, there are other options available as well, sir. If we crack down too hard, we might upset a lot of people, which would lead to a lot of resentment and division. We can't afford internal division while the task force is still at risk of getting caught by the Vesians on their own turf. If the problem needs to be taken care of with some finesse, we can also opt for a softer touch."
"A slap on the wrist." Verle deducted. "That will send a weak message to the offenders. It will reinforce the belief that the embezzlers are impervious and that we don't have the guts to incur their wrath."
"Still, dealing with people with overblown senses of importance is better if you still have them on your side. That's why I suggested this option."
They both paused a bit as they contemplated the two options with two very different outcomes. While Ves came up with these possible responses by himself, he couldn't say which one would be better.
Cracking down on the practice would hurt the cohesion of the Flagrant Vandals in the short term. The damage could be quite severe if a lot of powerful people had their fingers in the pot. Yet by bringing the hurt forward, the Vandals would be able to clean up their act in one go, which was better for everyone in the long term.
As for the other options, it led to the least amount of hurt in the short term, but did not effectively solve the problem at all. Perhaps it would depress any illicit activities for a few weeks, but the masterminds would not be deterred from picking up their shady dealings again. They might have even learned their lessons this time and spent more effort on hiding their trails.
In either case, further investigation was necessary to figure out the extent of the profiteering.
After a lengthy pause, Verle came to a decision on what to do. "Both of your options have their strong points, but there are more ways to address this problem than these two extremes. You still lack experience in this area."
Ves sat up straighter. He was curious what Verle really thought about the matter. It sounded like he wasn't involved after all.
"I agree with you that this problem needs to be nipped in the bud. Now that it's been brought to my attention, I won't rest easy until this activity ceases. Yet tact is important. Our ultimate goal is to make it to the Reinald Republic alive, so I cannot afford to put some of my most subordinates in the brig."
Chapter 506
Major Verle finally explained his solution to Ves. "Rules are rules, but the mission is more important. Exacting justice on the offenders might soothe your conscience, but it will only weaken our strength."
"That sounds as if you favor a slap on the wrist." Ves carefully said, though he couldn't stop from frowning. "From my impression of the Vandal mech technicians, there is a large proportion of bad apples among them. They won't stop trying to take advantage of the system."
The Mech Corps never sent any promising people to the Flagrant Vandals. Everyone had their issues, and the mech technicians weren't exempt from this problem. While the chief technicians mostly helped rein in their small-minded thoughts, chiefs could only keep their eyes on so many things.
"As I stated, the most important priority is to maintain our strength. The best way to do so is to stop the embezzlement without confronting the so-called masterminds as you call it. This can be done by adopting both solutions, but at different timings."
Ves tried to wrap his head around the idea. He started to get his eyes on a glimpse of such a plan. "Warn them first, and crack down hard if they persist?"
"In essence, that is correct. Call it starting from a clean slate if you will." Major Verle nodded. "First, in order to minimize the unrest, it's best if we do not give out the impression that we have locked onto their scent. Instead, you can come up with a scheme where you'll claim to introduce a new resource tracking system to replace the old one. The men won't question this change because it's typical for a new boss to implement bold ideas."
"It's going to take a lot of work to replace the software, sir." Ves carefully pointed out. "It's not something that can be done in a day."
"That's even better! The ideal transition time should be a week. That's enough time for everyone to clean up their acts and sweep their misdeeds under the rug. Once the new system is in place, everyone should have made up their minds. Those who are smart or careful may have gotten the message. It's not a coincidence that the resource management system has received an overhaul."
"What about those who haven't gotten the message, sir? Maybe the embezzlers are shrewd, but there are a fair amount of low-level people involved who aren't as perceptive. There's also the greedy ones who don't wish to relinquish their power."
Major Verle leaned back on his chair and waved his hand. "Idiots like these who scorn the opportunities I've given to them to start with a clean slate don't deserve any consideration. We'll investigate them and throw the book at them for any offenses they've committed after the new system is in place. I'd rather have them out of way no matter how important their positions are because I can't trust these scum to have my back in a fight."
In other words, the idiots that continued to hold small thoughts did more damage than what they contributed back to the Vandals. Major Verle wouldn't be merciful to these cancerous growths.
The contempt sounded obvious in the major's voice. Ves looked impressed at the commanding officer of the task force for coming up with such an elegant solution. It contained both mercy and resolve, and throughout it all it ensured the Vandals maintained their best strength.
"I understand now." Ves nodded, his eyes shining bright. "Still, some important people might get caught at the end. Their absence might affect the task force's condition more than the absence of a few mechs."
That was the sticking point with any solution that advocated for crackdowns. Even though Major Verle's suggestion provided a lot more leeway, it still needed to be backed up with examples. If someone like a chief technician got caught, then the maintenance department of an entire combat carrier might fall into chaos.
"There is a limit to our patience. We need to send the right message and draw a line in the sand. It's fine if people are playing tricks, but once they are caught, they better look honest. This was Colonel Lowenfield's stance when she first reformed the Flagrant Vandals."
"I understand. Thank you for telling me this, sir."
"It is good that you've brought this up to me shortly after you have discovered this. An issue of this nature isn't something that you should decide on your own."
Ves and Major Verle hammered out the details in the next half hour. Ves needed to borrow some people and receive the right authority to push through this overhaul, which Major Verle directly granted in his name. With Verle backing this decision, it wouldn't take more than a week to update the resource management system, though it would take some time to iron out the wrinkles.
After Ves left his stateroom, he came out of it with a much better impression of his superior. The man patiently explained his thoughts during the discussion and decision-making process. This allowed Ves to understand his priorities.
The overarching message was that their survival and the completion of the mission ranked as the highest priorities. Major Verle wouldn't have bothered with this relatively small case of embezzlement if it hadn't affected the overall strength of his forces. He also didn't appear to feel compelled to act on it in times of peace.
Sadly, times had changed, and the Bright Republic had been plunged into war. The Flagrant Vandals successfully completed an operation that slapped the Vesians in the face, and now they were on the run.
Under these conditions, it was no surprise that Major Verle pursued every possible solution that could raise their fighting strength.
With a new set of orders in store, Ves returned to his office and prepared a proposal. The most challenging aspect about the change was that Ves needed to find the right software to replace the old one. The central database that Ves now had access to offered more than a dozen software packages. It gave Ves quite a headache to dig through the jargon.
Still, Ves only spent a few hours before he picked a replacement package. Now he needed to implement it throughout the entire task force.
"Iris."
"Yes, boss?"
"Please schedule an immediate meeting on this ship to every mech designer in the fleet. Set the time at half an hour after we drop out of FTL."
Iris looked startled. "Uh, do you want to invite every mech designer, or only the high-ranking ones?"
Ves thought about it. The high-ranking mech designers consisted of those who previously worked in the design team, while the lower-ranking ones were like Carlos who worked alongside the mech technicians.
Considering that the change affected the latter more than the former, Ves decided to invite everyone. "Bring them all. It will be good for them to meet their new superior in person at least once."
It wasn't as if Ves had the time to hop into a shuttle and pay a visit to the forty-odd ships that made up the task force. The inability for shuttles to travel from one ship to another during FTL formed the main limiting factor.
Even if an entire fleet transitioned into FTL in the same direction under identical circumstances, a ship often fell into their own band of dimension as it were. In general, a ship in FTL would never be able to interact with any other ships in FTL.
Of course, it wasn't unheard of for something like that to happen anyway. Rumor had it that the CFA, MTA and the first-rate superstates mastered technologies that made FTL warfare possible.
Those same rumors stated that trying to wage a battle in FTL was a massive pain in the butt, so almost no one bothered with it unless a ship carried a vital objective.
"Do you wish to tell the mech designers the items on the agenda, sir?"
"No need to bother, Iris, although tell them that the meeting might drag on for half a day, so make sure their schedules are cleared. I won't tolerate any absences."
"Understood, though I'd caution you that it's not good for the fleet if they are absent from their posts for too long. They play an important role aboard those ships as mech experts. Without their hands-on guidance, the mech technicians won't know what to do."
"They'll make do without one for a day. It's very important for me to meet all the mech designers in person."
Ves planned to take the opportunity for this meeting to accomplish multiple objectives at once. Besides announcing the software system change, he also wanted to appraise his subordinates in person and see whether they measured up. He planned to select two or three as his deputies.
He hadn't forgotten about the importance of delegation. Ves could not possibly keep his eye on everything that needed to be done. The software change alone might stall to a month if Ves lacked capable underlings to check all the work being done at his direction.
Picking a handful of mech designers elevating them to a position of power over their colleagues should help with widening his reach. While Ves had no delusions that the people he promoted would turn into his loyal subjects, Ves would always be able to strip them of their authority if they abused his trust.
"Do you want to invite Venerable O'Callahan's design team as well?"
Ves froze for a moment, before coming up with a response. "No. They require a special touch. I'll address them separately at a later date."
The expert pilot's design time nominally came under his purview, but Ves felt much less confident about being able to command their respect. These mech designers worked hard and tried to do their best to enter the venerable design team.
"They've probably turned into total fanboys for O'Callahan by this time."
The hero worship surrounding expert pilots often reached a dreadful state. Some even enjoyed the adoration of trillions of people across the galaxy as some of their exploits would be broadcasted throughout the galactic net.
Even a washed-up senile expert pilot like O'Callahan enjoyed a lot of renown with the Vandals. Whenever Ves ate his meals at the mess hall, he occasionally overheard the spacers treating the expert mech pilot's presence in their task force as a point of pride.
Only a few Vandals knew about the true character of O'Callahan. The first time Ves heard his voice, the expert pilot refused to sortie on command! He directly disobeyed an order from Major Verle. Even worse, the venerable got away with it without a scratch!
"Maybe that's why the major is rather sensitive about this issue."
Due to O'Callahan's unique position, Major Verle could never sanction the proud symbol of their mech regiment. If word got out that the Vandals quarreled with the venerable, morale would instantly drop to the bottom, because the men might start to believe that O'Callahan wouldn't defend the Vandals with all of his heart.
Once Iris sent out the invitations, Ves began to make his preparations. He studied the software package and began to draft up a plan that would implement them on any machine related to resource usage.
He also made some other preparations to accomplish his other goals at the same time, and also diverted some time in studying the profiles of the other mech designers. These would be the only people he possessed the authority to command.
"They won't be happy for a relative newcomer like me to obtain the position of head designer."
The Mech Corps managed its mech designers in two different ways. The internal mech designers consisted of careerists who voluntarily signed up to serve for at least ten years. They contributed a lot of work to their mech regiments and accumulated a lot of seniority.
Ves fell into the category of external mech designers. He wouldn't have been here if the Mech Corps hadn't drafted him due to the outbreak of the current war. The difference between him and the internal mech designers was that Ves held no seniority at all.
Having mixed with the Flagrant Vandals for a long time, Iris explained it succinctly. "Some of these internal mech designers are very ambitious. They've been working diligently for a promotion. Those who do well even get the privilege of receiving Professor Velten's personal tutelage. Think about how they must feel how their hard-earned merits are ignored when the position of head designers has passed over their heads."
This was a serious contradiction that Ves needed to deal with as early as possible.
Chapter 507
The Verle Task Force transitioned out of FTL at the outer edge of a boring red dwarf system. Due to minute variances in the FTL drives, tiny discrepancies got magnified into substantial divergences. Major Verle's ships spread out in a messy shotgun pattern that opened them up to a devastating ambush.
Fortunately, none of the ships detected any ships or mechs or weapon emplacements in the immediate vicinity.
Nobody let down their guard. The combat carriers adopted an immediate defensive posture and the entire fleet contracted in a defensive formation.
It took fifteen minutes of intensive scanning before everyone eased up the tension in their bodies. Besides a light rebel presence, the uninhabited star system contained no overt threats.
The fleet cautiously approached an asteroid field. It would take some hours to arrive and many more hours to mine some low-quality ores. While the asteroids didn't contain anything valuable, there were many uses for common materials, such as replenishing their ammunition which they used up at a massive scale during the Detemen Operation.
"The mech designers are on their way, boss." Iris reported to Ves. "Their shuttles will dock at the Shield of Hispania no later than twenty minutes. Inter-ship traffic is currently hectic so expect some delays."
"That's okay. Has anyone declined the invitation to meet?"
"Surprisingly not. Every high and low-ranking mech designer answered your summons."
With no problems there, Ves waited for the moment to arrive while Iris went off to prepare the conference room. He thought about his job and found fulfilling it to be a demanding job. Trying to solve every problem within his scope was frankly impossible, but somehow he had taken a liking of trying to achieve the impossible.
It was different from growing a business. Back when he built up the LMC until it could stand on its own two feet, he enjoyed a lot of freedom and held the ultimate authority over how it should be run.
Yet now he answered to Major Verle. Not only that, he needed to maintain relationships with everyone involved in order to get things done. It demanded a different approach where he became dependent on others to reciprocate.
Ves cherished this opportunity because it allowed him to build up valuable experience in leading design teams later on. As long as he got the knack of managing the mech designers assigned to the Flagrant Vandals, he would easily be able to manage design teams working for the LMC.
Half an hour later, the conference room became packed with mech designers arranged in classroom-style seating. When Ves entered the room, he observed an obvious division between two types of mech designers.
Those at the front looked familiar to Ves. He recognized many of them from the Inheritor, Akkara and Hellcat design teams. Excluding Ves, there were only nine of them present in the Verle Task Force. All of them had been cut off from the Wolf Mother which accompanied the primary Vandal fleet.
A larger number of mech designers sat at the rear. Iris must have arranged an obvious gap in the seating between the two groups to emphasize the differences between the two. Despite numbering around thirty people, none of them had a say due to their inferior standing and skills.
When Ves stared at the low-ranking mech designers. He memorized their names beforehand out of due diligence, but he didn't expect to call on any of them unless they screwed up their jobs. His weighty stare intimidated the low-ranking mech designers. All of them chose to lower their heads in a sign of submission.
Only a handful of mech designers tried to keep up a confident facade. Ves deliberately carried himself in a compelling manner and concentrated his mind in an attempt to conjure up an aura of blood and war.
The results were inconclusive. Some of the weaker-willed mech designers appeared to be affected, but any mech designer that worked alongside the Vandals got used to working with professional killers and raiders. Compared to a genuine mech officer such as Captain Orfan or Captain Branser, his own aura fell short.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the flagship." Ves began as he approached the front of the conference room. "I'm sure you already know this, but my name is Ves Larkinson, and I'm the temporary head designer of the Verle Task Force. I've called you here to explain my vision to you so that we are all on the same track. I'll also be introducing some new policies and directives so that we can be of more help to the fleet that has landed itself in a precarious situation."
Someone raised his hand.
"Mr. Mercator, you wish to say something?"
Ves encountered Bovis Mercator a couple of times when they worked aboard the Wolf Mother. He never saw too much of Mercator because the man had been assigned to the Akkara design team.
Mercator happened to be one of the older Apprentice Mech Designers among them. His outward appearance suggested that he reached his early forties.
"Mr. Larkinson, forgive my rudeness, but the leadership issue isn't settled yet. You're too new to the Vandals, and you've only been appointed to become the task force's head designer because you happen to be the closest mech designer to Major Verle. Now that we aren't fleeing at full tilt from the Vesian reinforcement fleets, we should revisit some of the decisions made in haste."
"Oh really?" Ves narrowed his eyes at Mercator.
The careerist mech designer didn't hide his ambition. In fact, he stood with a confident demeanor, as if his words made a lot of sense.
Over half of the high-ranking mech designers happened to nod in agreement. Most of them belonged to the same clique of careerists as Mercator. If it came to a vote, Ves had no doubt that he would lose. He was never one for popularity contests, and his background was too shallow among the mech designers working for the Vandals.
Ves minutely shook his head. He would never let this discussion come to a vote.
"Mr. Mercator, I think you misunderstand something. My appointment to head designer is arranged by Professor Velten. Major Verle might have a say in the matter, but it's the professor who put her stamp of approval in my field promotion. If you believe the professor has made an error, you are free to bring your complaints to her doorstep."
The older mech designer's face quickly turned red. Obviously, nobody had the guts to question one of the professor's decisions. Even if her mind was wracked with senility, her dignity was inviolable to mech designers in the same way that mech pilots would never dare to offend Venerable O'Callahan.
Surprisingly enough, Mercator remained standing. "Even if that is true, it still doesn't change the fact that your abrupt elevation is highly unusual and irregular. As a young, conscripted mech designer, you are too new to the Flagrant Vandals. There are many, more experienced mech designers in this room that are a tad more suitable to the position."
The lower-ranking mech designers smelled a power play. Most of them kept themselves as still as possible to avoid getting caught up with a particular side. There was no advantage for them to commit to a single high-ranking mech designer when they would likely need to work under several of them in the foreseeable future.
Only a handful expressed support for Mercator's suggestion. There was no question these designers were in his camp.
Ves crossed his arms and smirked. "I suppose you're volunteering for the job, then?"
Maybe his confidence unnerved Mercator. Things weren't entirely going according to his script. The careerist visibly hesitated for a moment before he firmed up his resolve.
"I am." He stated and turned around to address the other mech designers in the room. "Most of you have seen me around. I've been working with the Vandals for over four years, and while that may not sound so much, I have worked in several other mech divisions of the Mech Corps over a span of fifteen years. My extensive experience in working in many different design teams makes me the best choice to lead you all. Think for yourself who you want to rely on more, a conscripted young designer whose heart isn't in it, or a mech designer who is fully committed to the Vandals?"
A low thrum of conversation broke out as several mech designers nodded or started to discuss the matter. Ves didn't enforce a silence because it hardly affected his own plan. It might even be better to keep them talking.
His evident decision to keep his mouth shut gave the mech designers the sense that Ves had no power to avoid this leadership struggle. Some even believed his silence at this moment was a tacit admission that Mercator had a point.
As expected, someone else couldn't let the older man hog all of the momentum. A woman in her thirties stood up. "Bovis, there are several mech designers among us that can lead us, but you aren't qualified. Just look at you! You're almost fifty and you're nowhere near advancing to a Journeyman Mech Designer! A talentless hack like you will command our respect!"
"Emlanin! Just because your uncle is a mech captain of the Vandals doesn't mean you're suitable! The only reason why you're so prominent lately is because your uncle constantly puts a good word for you in everyone's ears!"
Ves looked at the woman who stood up. He remembered her. Emlanin Trozin, a fellow colleague in the Hellcat design team. For her age, she possessed a decent amount of talent, and it was obvious that she used that advantage to attack Mercator's prestige.
"The job of head designer should fall on someone who can grow into the job!" Trozin claimed.
"Nonsense! Head designers must be capable right at the start! Someone like you needs years to get used to the job! The mission can't wait that long!"
Ves coughed and raised his palm. "Quiet down."
Raising his palm was a signal to Iris to dampen the conversation. She sat unobtrusively in the corner of the conference room. The moment she spotted the raised palm, she quietly activated a setting on her comm.
The conference room immediately fell into silence as everyone that opened their mouths only let out empty air. Hidden dampeners built along the walls neutralized all the sounds that escaped from their throats.
"Good. If I can have your attention please. It's obvious that the leadership issue needs to be settled today. I won't be a tyrant and insist on sticking to my job. In the interest of fairness, I believe that anyone who wants to throw their hats into the ring should compete against each other. Now, who wants to be the head designer?"
Four high-ranking mech designers raised their heads, including Mercator and Trozin.
Ves nodded. "Alright, that's five if you count me in. Now, we can settle the leadership issue in multiple ways. Rather than flap our mouths with endless boasts and empty promises, I think it's better to resort to a more objective means of comparison."
This was where he sprung his trap. His grin grew wider.
"Let's hold a five-way design duel."
Iris released the sound dampening at that moment, causing the 'contestants' to erupt in protest.
"That's not fair, Mr. Larkinson!" Mercator yelled in a shrill voice. "We are not brutes like mech pilots who like to settle every difference with a duel! We are mech designers! More than that, we work for the Mech Corps, not for ourselves! This isn't the private sector that you are used to. We work in cooperation, not in competition with each other!"
Trozin put in her own objection. "I don't often agree with Bovis, but he's right. Design duels simply aren't done in our circle. As mech designers of the Mech Corps, we are always put to work on smaller aspects of specific projects. We have never been given the opportunity to design a mech or variant on our own. It's highly unfair for you to propose we duel someone like you who possess ample solo design experience."
Both of them put up valid objections, but Ves chuckled in amusement. "You want to take over my job? Then show me that you're qualified! I don't care about seniority, connections or other nebulous factors, and neither do our enemies! I will never surrender my post to someone weak! Show me your strength. Prove to our audience here if you are skilled enough to take on this responsibility."
His argument immediately turned the mood against their favor. The four aspirants all looked ill in some manner.
Though a few of them tried to squeeze out an excuse or two why design duels shouldn't be the deciding factor, none of them sounded convincing. The more they whined, the more they damaged their standing.
Chapter 508
Ves smirked as the aspirants who wanted to take over his position tried to weasel their way out of a design duel.
He had to admit that he worried about the issue before he came up with the idea of a duel. He anticipated some of the reasons that others might bring up, and he couldn't completely retort them all.
The main sticking point lay in the seniority argument. Though the oldest and most experienced mech designer wasn't necessarily the most qualified one for the job, they offered a lot more assurances to everyone compared to an external mech designer that had been drafted into the Mech Corps.
Ves spent hours wracking his head on this issue when he first got the news. He came up with various arguments, lies, schemes and tricks before he metaphorically smacked himself on the head.
"Why am I trying to accommodate a bunch of weaklings? As far as I'm aware, I'm the best mech designer within a range of several light-years. In terms of knowledge, design experience and skill, nobody can hold a candle to me. They want to pick a fight with me? I'll show everyone what fools they are for challenging me!"
He really needed that kick in the butt. Ever since then, he dropped most of his schemes and simply aimed to steer the gathering into a design duel.
Ves ignored the half-hearted arguments between the most ambitious mech designers and threw his gaze at the high-ranking mech designers that kept themselves out of contention and the low-ranking mech designers who formed the silent majority.
Both these groups appeared to be unconvinced by the counter arguments put forth. A mech duel might inherently benefit Ves, but that did not mean it was a bad choice. It was the most direct and uncomplicated option available, and relied directly on the personal capabilities of the mech designer to get ahead.
As for votes or other means of deciding the winner? All of them looked weak in comparison. How could anyone think to take over the position of head designer by currying favor among the mech designers?
No matter how good the likes of Mercator and Trozin built up their reputation among the mech designers, their refusal to accept a duel marked them as a coward.
Ves maintained his ever-present smirk as he sat back and let his rivals come to terms with the inevitable. Once he threw out the suggestion of a duel, nobody would be able to retract from the challenge without affecting their reputation.
Personally, he never liked duels. It was a barbaric practice that had initially been revived by mech pilots wanting to prove their mettle.
Mech designers picked up the tradition and tweaked its format to allow for an even playing field for competing designs.
Design duels formed a controversial means of settling an argument, because it could never be completely fair. Nonetheless, it wasn't outwardly unfair either, and the outcome would always be clear and unambiguous.
Once the mech designers in the crowd started to nod off, Ves decided that he let the aspirants prattle around long enough. He clapped his hands, forcing everyone into silence.
"If my esteemed colleagues are finished, let's proceed to the design duel. I've already prepared the venue."
He spoke of his rivals as if they were children, causing their faces to sour even further. Compared to their evident frustration, Ves looked like a beacon of calm. His confidence oozed out of his body. It was as if he never doubted he would lose at anything.
"Come along now, we don't have all day."
In actual fact, Ves booked eight hours in one of the large-scale training rooms. When he booked the training room, a ship officer immediately got on the line and asked him why he needed so much time.
Training rooms were very valuable because they allowed for extensive simulations with high-quality projectors. The mech squads aboard the Shield of Hispania competed against each other for time in the training room, and here came Ves to snatch their favorite cookie from their grasp.
He answered the ship officer in the simplest terms. "I need this training room to put some unruly children in their place."
Once the Vandal officer heard that Ves intended to hold a design duel, the man smiled in understanding and wished him luck.
The duel was sacred and enjoyed a lot of respect in human society. That was why none of the mech designers retreated from the challenge. Backing out before a fight brought a lot more shame than suffering an outright loss. At least in the latter case, the losers proved their valor to go through with a fight.
Over the next eight hours, a slow-moving tragedy took place. The mech designers looked on from a distance as Ves and four ambitious mech designers took the time to design a mech out of a selection of random parts and mech sections.
From time to time, small groups of off-duty mech pilots and servicemen strolled into the training room. Word of the duel spread throughout the entire ship, and everyone who arrived expected to witness a riveting battle.
All they saw were five mech designers meticulously putting their designs together. To those who lacked a technical background, it was as exciting as watching paint dry. Though some of the ship engineers chose to remain, the disappointed mech pilots always left immediately after.
In the interest of maintaining a veneer of fairness, Ves set a completely random selection of parts at the spot. This way, Ves proved that he hadn't prepared a complete design beforehand.
He wouldn't be able to prepare beforehand because the selection process only picked out a couple of hundred components out of a basket of billions of different options. Each new scramble drew out a completely different selection of parts.
All of the parts came from mech and component designs published over two-hundred years ago. Their simple and outdated nature allowed his competitors to work with them more proficiently as they didn't need to spend too much time trying to figure it out.
Of course, Ves enjoyed a more lopsided advantage as nobody could match his knowledge and raw Intellect.
He also let the duel take place over a fairly lengthy period of eight hours in order to give everyone plenty of time to go through their design process. While he could have cobbled up a design in two hours or less, his rivals would cry out if he went through with that. Most designers needed at least six hours to come up with a decent dueling mech.
The generous conditions failed to close the gap. Ves designed a simple but exquisite space knight. He thought about designing a hybrid mech instead, but rejected it because a space knight could handle ranged attackers by closing in with its flight system.
Ves limited the design duel to spaceborn mechs because most mech designers possessed more proficiency in this mech classification. That became evident when most mech designers presented mech designs that shamelessly ripped off the Inheritor and Hellcat designs.
"As expected." He smirked.
The design duel happened entirely in a virtual setting. They couldn't afford the resources nor equipment to test their designs in the physical universe.
To avoid complications, Ves also stipulated that the duels proceeded with non-iterative piloting AIs. This meant that they would reset after each duel and negated any learning advantage when the next duels took place.
Though the AIs piloted the simulated mechs like overactive teenagers, the distinct strengths and weaknesses of each design sprung forth.
Each design dueled with every other design, so four duels took place in total.
His design easily beat the Hellcat ripoffs. While he had to admit that the two designers who chose to design a hybrid mech understood the mechanics of the design, it remained a fact that hybrid mechs were exceedingly complex and introduced many inefficiencies in their construction.
The designers completely disregarded the fact that hybrid mechs derived their value from their ability to affect morale. The Hellcat worked great in larger skirmishes and pitched battles, and only against human opponents.
Against an emotionless AI that lacked the capability to feel fear, the Hellcat ripoff strong burst performance crashed against the indomitable shield of the opposing space knight designed by Ves.
Frankly, Ves was disappointed in the performance of the Hellcat imitations. Mech designers like Trozin who aimed for a promotion should have known better than to resort to hybrid mechs for a duel.
If Trozin became their head designer, Ves predicted that she would eventually screw up in a catastrophic manner. Her blind spots could compete against black holes in how much space they distorted!
"They're so stupid." He whispered softly to Iris as they stood at the side while he projections of the virtual duels proceeded apace. "The Hellcats are meant to rally allies and intimidate enemy mech pilots. Their greatest strengths are entirely negated by the duel format."
Iris shrugged. "They only know how to design something familiar to them. They've been exposed to the same three designs for several years, with few opportunities to develop any other designs. The Akkara heavy cannoneer isn't suitable for a duel in space, so that effectively leaves only two design templates."
The Inheritor ripoffs put up a better fight. The light skirmishers possessed the speed advantage. Against the medium space knight that Ves designed, his creation could never catch up if the skirmishers insisted on staying out of range.
Yet according to the standard mech dueling conventions, the faster mech needed to take the initiative to attack. An endless chase where the slower mech tried to catch up to the faster mech in vain was more of a farce than a proper duel.
The AIs piloting the dagger-wielding skirmishers wasted a fair amount of fuel before they got it in their heads that they should initiate the attack. They switched from evasion to offense and tried to charge his space knight which took up a basic but solid defensive stance.
None of the skirmishers ever got in more than surface scratches. Knights formed the bane against skirmishers no matter if the battle took place on land or in space. Their comprehensive armor coverage meant that skirmishers couldn't sneak around the back and get an easy kill.
In fact, Ves anticipated that his space knight faced a light mech, so he deliberately lightened the frontal armor in order to free up the capacity to strengthen the rear armor. This wasn't a good idea under normal circumstances, and even without this tweak his space knight would win, but the victory became a lot more lopsided as a consequence.
Mercator's expression grew uglier and uglier as his pride and joy ineffectually danced around the space knight designed by an external mech designer. The pathetic performance of his Inheritor imitation reflected back on him. Some of his allies even started to back away from him, as if they were afraid that others would associate them in the same group.
"This isn't fair!" He hissed. "A spaceborn skirmisher is naturally restrained by a space knight! My design never stood a chance from the start!"
"What is it with you and fairness?" Ves jabbed back. "I've iterated the format and all of the rules beforehand in a transparent manner. Nobody forced you to design a skirmisher."
"This doesn't count! Trozin is just incompetent for designing such an awful hybrid knight." Mercator incisively stated. "You may have won one round, but I demand another duel with landbound mechs! The design I've worked on the most is the Akkara heavy mech! Do you dare to pit yourself against my land-based creations?"
"Hahahaha!" Ves laughed. "There are no do-overs here, no second chances. As I just said, I've stated the duel format before and nobody brought up any objections. Mr. Mercator, I sincerely ask you to temper your ambitions. Right now, the Verle Task Force depends on their spaceborn mechs to escape from the Kingdom. A mech designer who can't design a decent spaceborn mech is wholly unfit to become their head designer!"
This argument practically formed the death knell of Mercator's ambitions. The majority of the mech designers knew what was at stake and which kind of mechs they needed to depend on to survive.
The day ended in an anti-climactic manner. It went without saying that Ves was the only one who won every duel. No rematch or runoff duel was necessary to prove the crowd who won.
Chapter 509
"You went too far, Ves. You demolished them completely. You showed no mercy to Bovis."
"Mr. Mercator had it coming." Ves waved his hand dismissively as they returned to their shared office. "
"It's one thing to put down a rabid dog. It's another thing entirely to torture the poor creature all the while you laughed like a maniac! Did you see your face at the end? You reveled in your bullying, and don't say it's not! You crushed them by abusing your superiority!"
"And that's supposed to be a bad thing, sir? It's not my fault they're so incompetent. For all of his ambition, Mr. Mercator doesn't have the skill to back it up. I'm sure he can give me a run for my money if we compete on designing heavy cannoneers, but the Akkara mechs only take up a small part of the Vandal mech roster."
The design duels exposed the inadequacies of his challengers. This was the privilege afforded by strength. Though he did not measure up to a genuine Journeyman Mech Designer, out of all of the mech designers in the task force, he came closest to meeting this standard.
The entire spectacle revolving around the duel showcased his strength in a way that a boring resume never could. He could talk and boast about his accomplishments all he wanted, but humans but the lesson only hit home when Ves smacked his superiority in their faces.
Unfortunately, Iris brought him back to reality. "They're not resigned to this loss. You can see it in their faces. They think you cheated somehow, or stacked the deck against their favor from the start. I can imagine that Bovis will quickly try to stir up trouble to destabilize your position."
"I know."
"You do, sir?"
"Yeah, that's why I stomped them all so hard. These ambitious mech designers can try to build up support all they want, but their standing among the Vandals and the other mech designers has taken an enormous hit. The perception of their strength is their foundation. Now that I've undermined their basic qualifications, they'll face an uphill battle trying to pull people in their camps."
Iris sighed and shook her head. "That's not sufficient to silence dissent. People are impressed with you, but there's a long road ahead of you if you want to make them loyal to you, boss."
"I'm not thinking that far ahead. The Verle Task Force will only take two months to reach the Reinald Republic. They'll dither around for a few weeks perhaps before they return home. A round trip will actually take a shorter amount of time since we don't have to worry about sneaking through enemy-occupied space. So in total, I expect this arrangement to last four months at most. Once we reunite with the main fleet, my position becomes redundant."
"Regardless of how short you get to enjoy your temporary powers, it will be a valuable boon on your record. As long as you do a decent job, you'll be on the shortlist whenever Professor Velten needs someone to take charge of something. That's what Bovis and Emlanin are scheming for. They'll do anything to secure this opportunity."
"Then it's good that I've appointed Mr. Mercator and Miss Trozin as my deputies." Ves grinned. "After all, even if they lost their duels, they achieved the best overall results. It's only fair to assign some responsibilities to them, and that's the key. I've curtailed most of their options, since if they try to screw something up, it will inevitably reflect on their performance instead of mine."
Iris hummed on that. "Keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer. That's a double-edged sword, you know. Enemies this close can easily stab you in the back when you least expect it, sir. I'm not saying you've taken the wrong course of action, but your approach leaves you with few friends and even fewer allies."
"That's a fair point." Ves grunted. "At first, I wanted to elevate Pierce as one of my deputies, but he doesn't have the stomach for it. He would do an awful job if I forced the responsibility on his shoulders."
While Ves couldn't call Pierce his friend, he felt he could trust the man somewhat. It was too bad that Pierce wasn't up to the task. He grew up under his father who was a mech designer from the Friday Coalition and enjoyed an enormous advantage in his upbringing that others would kill for. Despite his generous endowments, Pierce turned out to be no better than a mech designer from the Republic.
This basically proved that Pierce lacked the drive, talent and ability to be a good deputy to Ves. Forcefully elevating him to a position beyond his means would invite a lot of criticism about nepotism. It would also undermine the principle of strength that Ves leaned on to secure his leadership role.
Ves rubbed his head. "All this politicking is a pain in the butt. Why can't people accept my appointment with grace? From what I've witnessed, the Vandals never question their superiors."
"It's because mech pilots are simple brutes, sir. They don't have any complicated thoughts. Mech officers gained their position because they're better pilots or better commanders. Their strength in these qualities directly affect the survival of their subordinates. In the perspective of mech pilots, if their mech officer screws up, they die."
"In contrast, if the designer screws up, other people die." Ves added succinctly. "My screw-ups won't affect Mercator and Trozin's lives. They'll be rooting for my downfall regardless of the human cost."
"I can see Bovis might be ambitious enough to do that, but Emlanin definitely won't. She's too attached to the Vandals to put their lives at risk. That's not to say that you shouldn't worry about her. I'm acquainted with her enough to know that she's like a viper in the grass. She won't attract any attention while she lies in wait, but she'll deliver a fatal blow when the time is right."
That sounded somewhat worrisome to Ves, but not to the point where he felt ill at ease. Whatever crisis may come his way, he'd deal with it like he dealt with every crisis.
Ves turned his attention back to his work. The recent conference meeting settled the leadership issue. Not only did he introduce some new policies, he also issued a set of preliminary orders. Right now, every mech designer should be facilitating the transition to a new resource management system.
The new software shared the similar capabilities to the old one, but put more emphasis on different priorities. In particular, the new software offered better tracking of the input and output of a production process.
For example, if someone put 100 tons of raw material in a machine and spat out 20 tons of product and 79 tons of waste, there was an obvious discrepancy of 1 ton of materials. Where did missing ton this end up? The new software wouldn't let the operators get away with this without immediate alarm.
Of course, this was an extremely simplified example. In practise, the perpetrators wouldn't be stupid enough to leave such an obvious trail. Nonetheless, the new software had seemingly been geared against untrustworthy subordinates. It left the machine operators with much less leeway to pull something off.
Ves hoped that everyone got the message that he tried to convey with this change. It wasn't a coincidence he opted for this particular software package.
"Now that all of the distractions are out of the way, it's time for me to start my planning."
His main responsibility as a head designer was to plan out the task force's mech composition. This was an exceedingly complex task as Ves needed to take into account the skillsets of each mech company, the resources at his disposal, Major Verle's priorities and the mech composition of their opponents.
The latter element introduced a lot of complexity to the challenge. Its introduction turned the chessboard from a solo game to a competitive game. Ves needed to anticipate the mech models that the different duchies would bring to bear against the task force.
"Iris." Ves turned away from his terminal. "Can you tell me about the territories that the Vandals will likely pass by on their way to the Reinald Republic?"
"You're curious about the duchies, sir?"
"Yes. I have a better understanding of their traits and mech doctrine in order to plan against their retaliation."
"Hm, I've been thinking about that as well." Iris said. "While I can't say for sure which territories we'll cross, there is only one practical route if we wish to reach the Reinald Republic within two months. We'll encroach upon the territories of four duchies in total."
She sent him some files that enumerated these duchies.
"First up, there's the Imodris Duchy. They form one of the pillars of the Vesia Kingdom because of their strength and core position. Imodris is also very prosperous because it jointly controls one of the Kingdom's two port systems. This has led them to pursue a balanced mech doctrine. The Duchess of Imodris feels that she doesn't need to focus her budget and research initiatives on only a handful of mech types. Her territory has the resources to pursue everything."
Ves nodded in understanding. Bentheim was the same. The sheer amount of prosperity and the abundance of private industries fostered a very diverse development climate. "That lack of specialization will still have consequences, though. A jack of all trades is strong at nothing."
"True, but you shouldn't underestimate the Imodris Legions regardless. Each complete legion is capable of fulfilling any role on the battlefield."
"I'm fairly familiar with Imodris already, you don't need to explain that. Since we struck their star system, it's likely that they've got a fire lit under their butts. The Duchess of Imodris is a ruthless lady from what I heard, so she'll definitely try to catch up to us."
"While that's true, the Duchess sent her strongest legions to the frontlines. While she's still holding back her crack troops, she needs them to defend her powerbase."
The Vandals needed more time to recuperate. They just completed a massive operation, and while they achieved all of their objectives, they also faced some unexpected setbacks. The mech pilots needed rest and the mechs needed to be fixed up.
"I really hope she's not crazy enough to send in her elites, then. We're almost out of her hair anyhow." Ves sighed. "What's the next territory in our way?"
"Next up is the Venidse Duchy, which is another Vesian core territory. They're almost as strong as the Imodris Duchy. The two territories are rivals in fact, but the difference is that the Venidse Duchy doesn't have the advantage of a port system."
"How come Venidse can match up to Imodris then?"
Iris smirked. "That's because the Vendise Duchy enjoys a high endowment of natural resources, though not to the point where they can match the benefits of a port system. Nevertheless, Venidse holds their own against Imodris because the duchy adheres to a very disgusting mech doctrine."
"That's an interesting choice of words." Ves chuckled. "Tell me more about this disgusting doctrine."
"Well sir, their rationale is like this. No matter what kind of mechs Imodris throws at them, the Venidse Mech Legions will always be able to come up with a response if they slow their opposition down. Venidse is all about attrition warfare. They will do everything in their power to pull their enemies into a quagmire. Once their opponents fall into their trap, the Venidse mechs will grind them all to pieces."
"Okay, I see now why you call that disgusting. If that's their main mode of combat, then every skirmish against Venidse will always spiral out of control. Their enemies need to think twice before they decide to engage in combat against their forces."
"It's a good thing that their doctrine has a lot of holes. Their mechs are geared towards endurance, so their burst performance is atrocious. They highly lean on laser weapons because they last longer, but that also means that you can prepare an easy counter against them."
"I suppose it's not as easy as that." Ves commented. "If their strategy is so one-dimensional, they don't have the grounds to compete against Imodris."
"That's right. There's a tricky aspect to Venidse's mech doctrine."
Chapter 510
"The Venidse Mech Legions try their best to pull their enemies into a contest of attrition. They're good at slowing or hindering their opposition so that they won't be able to get away in time. Once they've trapped the enemy mechs, they'll deploy their killer strike."
"Ah, the old classic hammer and anvil tactic." Ves nodded in recognition. "The anvil pins the enemy forces in place while the hammer slams them from the rear."
"I wouldn't hit a hammer, sir. It's more of a poisonous dagger. Venidse is very good at forming stealth squads that act like commandos. These stealth mechs are piloted by exquisitely-trained elites who make it their life's work to sabotage critical enemy infrastructure. They have a habit of assassinating enemy leaders if they can get away with it. Their stealth technology is so good that they've become something of a terror."
"I have to admit, that sounds very dreadful." Still, Ves recognized a couple of shortcomings. "Venidse must have poured a lot of resources and training into establishing these stealth squads. They should be their most prized elite. If it isn't necessary, they would not deploy these precious mechs."
Stealth mechs gained the ability to avoid detection by sacrificing their armor. Instead of utilizing conventional armor plating, they replaced them with active stealth plating. This turned them into fragile machines that absorbed less damage than a light mech.
A surprise attack involving an entire squad of stealth mechs needed to be planned and carried out to perfection, because it wasn't cheap to build them up. Any failure reflected badly on the commanding officer.
The question was whether Venidse found it worthwhile to commit their most valuable stealth units to stop the Vandals in their tracks.
"We've got to hope for the best but plan for the worst." Ves summed up. "While there's no guarantee that Venidse will go as far as to employ their stealth mechs against us, we should bolster our stealth countermeasures regardless."
Even so, countermeasures only worked up to a point. Since Venidse committed to this strategy, they would have gained a lot of proficiency in developing countermeasures against the countermeasures.
"Ugh, that's another headache." Ves rubbed his head. "Is there anything else about Venidse that I should take into account?"
"Not really, boss."
"Okay, so after passing through Imodris and Venidse, what's the next territory in our way?"
"That should probably be the Klein Duchy, sir. Different from the other two duchies, the Klein Duchy is a peripheral territory. It falls outside the core regions of the Kingdom and isn't as prosperous or as developed. It occupies a lot of space, though. We'll have to spend some time traversing their domain."
Ves read up on the Klein Duchy on his terminal. It was larger but sparser, sort of like a backwater region to the Vesian core region. It didn't offer any noteworthy resources or industries.
"The Klein Duchy isn't an economic powerhouse, so they can't be as wasteful as Venidse which happily engages in costly battles of attrition. They've poured their limited resources into their long-ranged firepower doctrine. Their main mechs are lightly armored but have extreme reach. They favor keeping their enemies in sight and at long range. The moment any mechs come closer, they collectively pull back in order to maintain their range advantage."
Ves laughed at that. "What a conservative strategy! Sure enough, the Klein forces will be able to maintain their strength this way, but will lead to a lot of lost ground as well. They can't keep backing off in a defensive situation. They have to stand their ground in some cases."
"Oh, they do maintain some decent defensive units, but they're fairly bog standard so you don't need to employ a specific strategy against them. Klein focuses most of their development in strengthening their long-ranged units, and to be fair they've become quite good at that. They mainly rely on lasers because their beams travel at light speed, but they also throw in plenty of kinetic and explosive firepower into the mix. Their heavy artillery mechs form the crown jewels to every mech legion."
Their long-ranged prowess sounded very worrisome. They couldn't let the Klein mechs pull the Flagrant Vandals into their game. Ves started flitting through ideas. "Light mechs will do the job. They're fast and their high evasion will allow them to close the distance."
"Oh, don't rely on light mechs only, boss. Plenty of enemies have tried to do so, but the House of Klein still manages to hang on to their duchy. I suggest you read up on their past battles to find out how they dealt with light mechs."
Iris reminded Ves that he shouldn't take these generalizations as truth. The territories adopted these mech doctrines as a high-level development strategy. The actual mech forces at their disposal doubtlessly exhibited a greater variety of mech types. In addition, private sector outfits pursued their own strategies that might run counter to that of the military.
It would be a mistake to paint every duchy in a broad stroke.
"Even though the Klein Duchy sounds fairly tricky, they're not as strong as Imodris and Venidse, right?"
"That's correct, sir. The Klein Duchy needs to defend a lot more territory but has fewer mech legions at their disposal. The only downside is that they haven't sent as many mechs to the frontlines as the core regions, so there is probably a high chance we will bump into one of their patrols."
Ves took note of that and more. Plans continued to whirl inside his mind, and the more he learned, the more he fleshed out his own strategies.
"Then if that's all there is to Klein, what's the next territory in the way?"
"The Hafner Duchy borders the Klein Duchy on one end and the Reinald Republic on the other end. It's a border territory, and is as sparse as the Klein Duchy. The only problem is that because it borders the Reinald Republic, the Kingdom subsidizes its mech forces in order to strengthen their border defenses. Hafner is therefore stronger than Klein, though their military can't match up against Imodris or Venidse."
"So what are they good at?" He asked. There was no way their final stop would be so simple.
"Hafner's mech legions are geared towards deterrence and anti-piracy efforts. They follow a two-pronged mech doctrine. First, they employ a lot of light mechs. Skirmishers, saboteurs, light riflemen, you name it, Hafner has it. Their light mechs never gather together in the scale of regiments or legions, but rather operate in smaller batches in order to patrol the border systems and chase after individual pirate ships."
"I see. Since these light mechs are aimed towards pirates, they don't fare well against a frontline mech regiment."
"True, but don't forget the Flagrant Vandals isn't a normal mech regiment either." Iris warned. "Our mech composition is ideal for raiding, which just happens to match the modus operandi of pirates. In Hafner's eyes, the Flagrant Vandals are no different than pirates. We're just better organized, that's all."
Just like how the Vesian mech forces became good at some aspects and bad in other aspects, the Vandals exhibited their own dimensionality. As a raiding regiment, they exhibited a lot of speed, but wouldn't last in a battle against tough opposition.
The Hafner mech legions pursued a familiar mech doctrine to the Vandals.
"Hafner has an enormous hatred against pirates because they suffer a lot from their raids near the border. You can imagine that their light mechs are all fast. Yet anti-piracy is only one of their missions. They need to show off their strength against the foreign states at the border as well, so they've poured in some of their resources in hard-hitting cavalry."
In mech terminology, cavalry meant mechs that hit hard and fast.
"Ah, so they're focused on shock attacks, is that right?"
"Guessed it right, boss." Iris nodded with a smile. "As you can imagine, the Hafner shock troops are predominantly medium mechs that excel in charges. They take some time to build up their momentum, but once they get going, they're almost impossible to stop without suffering more damage in the process. Still, Hafner hasn't managed to circumvent the shortcomings around this strategy."
Medium mechs that specialized in shock attacks didn't necessarily have to be light, but they couldn't carry too much armor either. Most of the time, their frontal armor was very decent, but their flank and rear armor was as thin as light mech armor.
Furthermore, while these mechs exhibited a high level of peak performance, they quickly ran out of steam. They never lasted very long in battles of attrition.
Despite these obvious weaknesses, Ves kept frowning as he mulled over Hafner's mech doctrine. "They don't sound very defensive."
"That's because they believe a good defense is a good offense. Hafner is very aggressive. They attack in order to defend."
Out of all the mech doctrines that Iris listed out, Ves worried about the one developed by the Hafner Duchy the most. The Flagrant Vandals could easily manage to work around the other doctrines, but the strategies employed by Hafner formed a direct counter.
"The final step will be the hardest. Out of all the different territories in our projected route, the Hafner Duchy poses the highest threat to us."
As mech designers, both of them understood what a bad matchup it was. If Hafner brought enough mechs to bear on the Vandals, the task force's very existence was at stake.
More than that, Hafner's extensive focus on chasing pirates turned them into excellent trackers as well. Ves imagined that the Vandals wouldn't be able to hide from Hafner's scrutiny as they tried to cross their territory. Several pitched battles might very well erupt between them before the Vandals finally reached the Reinald Republic.
Ves scratched his chin. His plan needed to be changed now that he became aware of Hafner's strengths. "Every territory is challenging, but it's important to maintain our strength up to the end. We need all of the mechs we can get to get through Hafner's blockade."
He dove into his studies and investigated the territories further. Now that Iris provided an introduction on each of them, Ves had no trouble interpreting the data. He drew on the central database of the Mech Corps to obtain estimates on the mech disposition of each duchy.
"Damn!" Ves exclaimed. "The Hafner Duchy hasn't shifted any of their mech legions to the front! They're essentially at full strength!"
Iris was already aware of this fact. "It wouldn't make sense for the Hafner mech legions to cross the entire Kingdom to reinforce the front. They have their own responsibilities. The Duke of Hafner won't be able to reassign too many mechs from the border. Otherwise, the Reinald Republic and its neighbors might take advantage somehow."
Perhaps that might be a silver lining to the Flagrant Vandals. Iris was right in that most mechs that belonged to Hafner needed to defend the border. They wouldn't easily be pulled from their posts to pursue the elusive Vandals.
"Okay, so we still have a chance."
As long as they had an opening, Ves would do his best to squeeze the Vandals through the gap. He refined his understanding of the opposition and dove into the disposition of the Vandals. By comparing them with each other, he drew up a variety of ideas.
Not all of them would be workable. The most ideal solutions also happened to be the most expensive ones. Ves was forced to discard most of his fantasies because the Vandals faced a lot of limitations.
"This is harder than I thought."
Ves hadn't even factored in the expert pilots yet. Every expert pilot was unique, and most of the time their mechs didn't conform to conventional strategies. Ves had never seen Venerable O'Callahan in action. The one time when the Vandals wanted him to deploy, he outright refused to exit the ship.
"I'm going to have to talk to his design team." He grumbled.
He wanted to know why they guzzled up so many resources.
Chapter 511
While the Flagrant Vandals split their fleet in two, the ripple effects of the Detemen Operation still reverberated in the Vesia Kingdom and the Bright Republic.
The two third-rate states had been locked in a perpetual cycle of war and peace, and even the peace was a lie. Through centuries of war, they experienced a lot of events. The Vesians always put the Bright Republic on their back foot, and if not for the upswing in desperation among the Brighters to stem the tide, the Republic might not be standing anymore.
The entire Komodo Star Sector already became engulfed in war. Besides certain exceptions such as the isolationist Ylvain Protectorate that bordered the Republic on the side, most states entered into a conflict of some sort.
The conflict between the Vesians and the Brighters might as well be a scuffle between toddlers compared to the clash of the two giants of the Komodo StarSector. The multifaceted Friday Coalition threw tens of thousands of ships and millions of mechs against the unitary might of the Hexadric Hegemony.
Whenever the rest of the Komodo Star Sector watched these behemoths wage war, they felt envious and afraid. None of them could withstand the destruction being wrought after a single day of combat.
"The Coalition and the Hegemony are the only states in the Komodo StarSector worth a damn."
The Glowing Planet Campaign brought their conflict to the fore, and messed up their well-laid plans. The rogue planet's value couldn't be underestimated, and both sides ruthlessly carved out city-sized chunks from the floating rock in space until they stripped its crust, demolished its mantle and crushed its core.
An enormous amount of low-value exotics came into their possession, more than enough to enhance the performance of millions of mechs. More than that, they also obtained a generous stock of high-value exotics, most notably Rorach's Bone which suffused the core of the planet for some reason.
Mech manufacturers and military design teams already started incorporating the wondrous substance into their mechs. Blending trace amounts of Rorach's Bone into their mechs enhanced the durability of alloys and opened them up to resonance.
When mech designers made use of Rorach's Bone as a core material, then the designs they put out achieved a myriad of wondrous effects. The mechs became capable of self-repair over time if fed with energy. The machines also became highly conductive to resonance, though it was generally thought to be wasteful to utilize the material to facilitate fake resonance.
In short, the battle between elites took on a new dimension with the introduction of Rorach's Bone and other exotics. The mechs piloted by expert and ace pilots became tougher. The extra materials also amplified their resonance effects, which led to devastating massacres if these elite mechs ever deployed against standard mechs.
"Normal mech pilots have become ants in the battlefield! This is an era of gods and heroes!"
The Titanium Garden. A massive artificial planet composed out of a massive amount of titanium, which was one of the more valuable mundane materials in the galaxy. A huge expense had been made to fashion such a planet out of nothing, and the worst thing about it was that it served little practical use.
Who was crazy enough to build their own artificial planet when the galaxy possessed trillions of them? Anyone wealthy enough could lay a claim on a lifeless rock that orbited a random star and build them into their own domain.
Only those with sick minds or something to prove bothered with the extravagance of building their own planet.
Many citizens of the Coalition spoke of the former. Master Carmin Olson threw an enormous amount of money in the drain just to satisfy her vanity. That and other extravagant purchases shortly after her elevation to Master Mech Designer branded her with the reputation of a profligate diva.
Olson cared little for the opinions of the masses. Her thoughts and calculations took place on a higher level than normal human beings. In fact, it was doubtful that she could even be considered a member of the human race. Though outwardly she looked like a woman in her prime with a different color of hair each day, inwardly her genes and flesh had undergone a huge transformation.
Despite their enormous progress in this area, mankind still dabbled in the art of modifying their frail bodies. Mech designers mainly focused on enhancing their longevity and intellect, but both of them were still fairly poorly understood. These modifications often introduced strange and incidental side effects, which most often expressed itself as a physical mutation or a mental disorder.
Nobody calls Master Olson insane, though the thought sometimes flitted in their minds. In any case, she comported herself as a human when she met with others, and that was sufficient to allay people's worst fears.
Much of the upper portion of the Titanium Garden consisted of spatially confusing latticeworks.
Beams of titanium crossed or meshed into each other in an intricate geometric pattern that hinted at a profound mathematical truth of the multiverse.
These beams supported a small number of great islands covered by all manner of greenery. In one of the larger islands, a highly secure vault surrounded by many layers of titanium and compressed alloys, Master Olson led her youngest disciple inside.
"Carminnnn, I'm bored! Why can't I go off to the frontlines or visit my good friend Ves?"
A fair feminine hand gently smacked the adolescent man in the face. "Address me properly, Oleg."
"Oowww! Sorry Master!"
Master Olson tediously went through the process of unlocking the mech-sized vault doors. "You have just advanced into the ranks of Journeyman Mech Designer. This marks your transformation from a learner of the arts into a full-fledged creator of wonders. From the perspective of the mech industry, you've grown from a teenager and reached adulthood."
"Does that mean you're a granny?"
"Ooww!"
Olson gave her direct disciple another slap, though her motions possessed a touch of playful indulgence.
"Progressing up the ranks isn't an advancement of age. It is a transformation of the mind. Do you think you are the same young boy as before? Your knowledge and skills surpass almost everyone in the Komodo StarSector, and that disparity will only grow in the future. You must become more aware of your place in the galaxy."
"And what is my place? Competing at the Rimward Games? Oh please, I'll breeze through that show in a jiffy."
"There are more freaks and talents than you, Oleg. Do not think you are unique among every mech designer in the galactic rim. Even within the Coalition, you still need to defeat your rivals in order to obtain the nomination to represent our state."
"Don't remind me." Oleg grumbled. A human with an abnormal level of intelligence like his was rare, but not unique.
Many more mutations and deviations from the norm existed as well. Most abnormal humans suffered from detrimental mutations due to exposure to dangerous exotic substances or exceedingly rare stellar radiation. Only a tiny portion lucked out and benefited from a beneficial mutation.
No one could explain Oleg's anomalous level of cognition. His parents were normal citizens of the Coalition, and they lived on a quiet planet under the Vermeer Group for decades.
The most plausible idea any researcher came up with was that Oleg's mother became exposed to a bizarre ray of energy that transformed the fetus inside her womb a short time after conception. It was as good of an explanation as any, because no one succeeded in replicating the phenomenon.
The pair remained quiet until Master Olson finished unlocking the vault doors. The huge mechanisms behind the doors moved the enormous obstacles around until the way forward became unbarred.
"Let us enter."
The two strode forward with measured steps. The metallic compressed armor that formed the floor of this vault clanked with sharp noises as the two mech designers entered the dark and hollow vault chamber.
They passed through another set of gates before they entered the inner vault, which held the only prize in this enormous structure.
Arrayed before them stood a transparent case made out of extremely durable composites. Oleg didn't recognize their exact formula, but he recognized the expense of this glass-like material. It could even give compressed armor a run for their money!
Yet what the mech-sized construction encased blew away his mind. Oleg guessed plenty of possibilities of what lay inside the vault that Master Olson wanted him to see. He guessed that it might be some sort of historic mech, or maybe an exclusive new machine made entirely out of Rorach's Bone.
Never would he have expected to witness a giant, mech-sized skeleton. The sheer size of it sent existential tremors through Oleg's mind. His mentality received a substantial amount of strengthening upon elevation to Journeyman, but in the face of this once-living humanoid giant, all of his confidence bled away like nothing.
"W-W-What is this, Master?!"
"It is a skeleton. The Coalition fleets retrieved it from the crumbling remains of the Glowing Planet. It was buried deep within the core, and was almost discarded as waste as it was buried beneath trash materials."
"It's remarkably intact. If not for the hole at the top of its skull, it would have been an excellent display at a galactic museum." Oleg commented as his fascination never ceased. The skeleton of this massive being possessed some sort of compulsive charm that spoke of absolute dominance. "Do you know anything about its race?"
Master Olson stayed impassive as she stared at the giant. Unlike Oleg, Olson viewed the giant as her equal rather than a superior biological being.
"There are secrets surrounding this race, and much of them are out of my reach. The MTA has expressed an enormous interest in the remains. The Coalition has come to an agreement to let every Master Mech Designer study the remains for months before selling it to the Association."
Oleg looked really impressed now. "It's that valuable?"
"It may even be the only prize we've obtained that is worth mentioning from the Glowing Planet. Rorach's Bone may be rare in the galactic rim, but it is still a commodity in the end."
A few seconds passed in silence before Oleg spoke up again.
"This thing looks like an upscaled human skeleton. Are we.. related somehow?"
"We don't know. Perhaps the MTA might know more, but have decided to withhold the answer for some reason. Yet... My intuition says that it is not a coincidence. I've spoken about it often with my colleagues and the possibility that frightens them the most is that it is the forefather to all humanoid life in the galaxy!"
"That's huge!" Oleg exclaimed. He couldn't fathom the connection between this race of giants and modern humanity, but if a link between the two existed, then everyone's conception of what it meant to be human needed to be dumped in the trash! "Err but wait, what are you doing with this skeleton then? Shouldn't it be studied by exobiologists or something?"
"We've already set some exobiologists loose, but their results are inconclusive. The mystery surrounding this skeleton is far beyond the means of the Coalition. Let the MTA puzzle about its origins. The true value of this skeleton is that it is a remnant of a being the size of a mech. Do you understand the importance of that to us?"
They were mech designers, not exobiologists. They poured over mech designs for a living, so Oleg didn't need to think very hard to come up with a guess. "You mean, we can study this skeleton to improve our ability to design mechs?"
"There is more to it than that, but that is essentially correct." Master Olson nodded. "There are layers of mysteries behind this skeleton. For the time being, you and your fellow disciples will remain here to peel back as many layers as you can. What you can learn from these ancient remains will depend on your luck and your thinking. No matter what you get out of this inspection, your mechs will never be the same."
Oleg nodded in a rare moment of solemnity. "I understand. I will do my best to understand this giant!"
He immediately dove into his own mental world as his eyes raked over the ancient bones. He may not know what intricacies they held, but hopefully he would obtain some clues that would help him clinch the upcoming nomination for the Rimward Games.
Chapter 512
Elsewhere, the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom long threw the fate of the Glowing Planet to the back of their minds. After all, once the two dominant second-rate states of the Komodo Star Sector laid claim to it, they lost rights to contend for ownership of the rogue planet.
The conversation of the day instead revolved around the daring raid of the Flagrant Vandals. This obscure mech regiment under the 3rd Tarry Division never registered in the minds of the Brighters. The Vesians were better acquainted with the Vandals, but often mistook them as wayward mercenaries and pirates.
Their time of obscurity was a thing of the past. The bombastic events at the Detemen System opened everyone's eyes to what this vagabond-like mech regiment was capable of. The
Vandals sneaked into the core regions of the Kingdom and wreaked havoc at the unsuspecting star system, smashing the garrison fleet in the process! Then they split up. The Vandals under the command of Major Verle overran a moon base, plunged a capital city into chaos, robbed half of its heavy industries of their assets and captured the planetary leader in a spectacular hunt!
Blood boiled in the citizens of the Republic!
"Hahaha! Look at how clueless they are when faced with an invasion! A planet of the republic would never fall into confusion like that when the Vesians intrude upon our star systems!"
"This is the true face of the Kingdom! For all their boasts, they live under tyranny! How else is the rebellion so strong!"
"Who are the 6th Flagrant Vandals? I've memorized every mech regiment under the 3rd Tarry Division, but I always thought they were understrength!"
"They look like pirates with funding! Did we hire some washed-up frontier scum and organized them into a regiment or something? They're way too good at raiding the entire place!"
"Did they really capture the heir of a count? The Vesians must be going mad right now!"
Each piece of news buoyed up the Republic's flagging spirits. It provided them with a timely victory to stall the decline in confidence over the war.
While the accomplishments at Detemen IV attracted the most attention, the Vandals also inflicted a lot of damage at Detemen II. The resource-processing plant used to watch over a score of solar foundries. They utilized the incredible heat and energies from the binary stars to transform raw ores and metals into processed alloys.
All of them had been wrecked, which set back House Jier enormously. As the Vandals made landfall on the scorching hot planet, Count Reizen proved himself to be the better of Lord Javier in every way by taking personal command over the defense of their valuable renewable exotics mine.
There was little of value to be found on the surface of Detemen II, but the renewable exotics mine stood out as a massive outlier. Sources of endless exotics were rare, as most of them formed in extreme and highly peculiar situations at the center of the galaxy. The galactic rim only uncovered exotics from ancient stellar objects flung from the center to the outer portions of the galaxy many eons ago.
While stars and planets still ejected from the fulcrum of the center of the galaxy on a regular basis, they always got lost in the vastness of the galactic rim.
The renewable exotics mine was a unique byproduct of a set of coincidences in the galactic center. It was very rare, and formed the basis of House Jier's long-term prosperity. Every force aligned to the House pulled back from defending unimportant facilities in order to safeguard the mine.
They failed. Over two days of hard fighting where Colonel Lowenfield ordered the launch of several waves of artificial asteroids, the defenses around the mine finally crumbled in the face of Vandal determination. Count Reizen's custom mech fled through a tunnel in a bedraggled state, leaving the mine exposed to the Vandals.
Nobody knew what happened to it. Some people guessed that the mine hid some sort of natural treasure that was responsible for making the mine renewable. In any case, the mine lost its essential quality, and no longer generated new junk exotics. Once House Jier mined all of the existing deposits, the mine became exhausted.
These accomplishments fully smacked the face of the Vesians, who had grown arrogant at their continued successes at the frontlines. Their indomitable fleets and mechs slowly pushed forward since the outbreak of the war, but the sudden raid on the Detemen System poured cold water over their shoulders. The shock was so great that some of the Vesians pulled back their aggression. This unintentionally gave the Mech Corps a rare and precious moment of reprieve.
This highlighted the power of the dissemination of information. In an age where every planet was connected to a vast galactic network, every citizen and serviceman became easily swayed by the news, rumors and propaganda circulating in the void.
Joshua finished reading the news bulletins in his comm and felt his blood boil. Right now, he attended a military-funded mech academy that rushed their mech cadets through years of training.
Many promising cadets couldn't handle the pressure. They washed out after a couple of weeks of high-intensity training and got kicked back to their home star systems.
Though Joshua turned out to be of average ability and talent, his willpower and grit impressed the instructors. Through hard work and focused training, he kept up with the grueling pace and accepted every abuse the instructors flung in his way.
He would not be deterred. It was a dream for a native from Cloudy Curtain to attend a mech academy in Bentheim, and he resolved to never squander it. For it is in this ruthless pace of training that Joshua improved the fastest.
"Damnit." He cursed as he browsed at his rankings in Iron Spirit. "I'm still too far away from unlocking 5-star mechs."
Nobody in his class understood his drive. Joshua felt a little ashamed in telling his fellow cadets why he trained so hard. The main reason why his willpower pushed him through was because he wanted to unlock the ability to pilot the LMC's best virtual mechs!
Sadly, it appeared that it would take at least another year for him to improve enough to escape the bottom of the Gold League. Joshua regularly competed against mech pilots at least three years older than him. Only until he could overcome this barrier would he be able to enter the Gold League properly, thereby qualifying him to pilot Iron Spirit's 5-star mechs.
"The Marc Antony Mark II, the Blackbeak, the Crystal Lord... why are you still so far away?"
The latter two products gained an enormous amount of fame in the mech industry. Joshua wasn't too exposed to that, but even he heard plenty of stories about their excellence. Even the hardcore virtual athletes started to take note of the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord. Out of all of the virtual designs published by Chasing Clouds, it was these two that formed the crown.
While Joshua dreamed of piloting the LMC's wonder mechs, elsewhere on Bentheim two women met each other at a quiet rooftop cafe. Among the elegant plants and wood-fashioned furniture, the women stared at each other with varying levels of tension.
"Melinda."
"Raella."
The two Larkinsons happened to grow up together as their ages closely matched. Nonetheless, their current occupations couldn't be more different.
"How's the Guard?"
"It's been hectic, and it doesn't help that I've been promoted to lieutenant." Melinda replied as a couple of service bots floated into their midst and delivered some refreshments. "Thank heavens for the Flagrant Vandals. They've lifted everyone's moods so there's fewer troublemakers out there trying to make a fuss with their mechs."
Raella grinned as she sipped on a multicolored smoothie. "Heh, the Vandals really sound like my kind of people. If I knew they existed, I would have signed up to them instead! Not that I'm unhappy with my current lot. I've finally been able to pursue the dueling career that I've always dreamed about."
Melinda pressed her lips. "Yes. A mech duelist. What a wonderful career. Yet I don't see your matches on the galactic net."
"That would spoil the whole show! The underground dueling circuit isn't about reaching the highest number of viewers. It's about experiencing the exhilarating clash of multi-ton machines close-up and personal, where lives are at stake! There's no substitute for that kind of rush!"
"It's too dangerous! It only takes one accident to claim your life! No one can win every duel. The Larkinsons back home are worried sick about you! Even if you renounce the Family, there's still a place for you to return!"
"Hey, it's not like everyone kills each other all the time in the underground dueling circuit." Raella waved away her cousin's concern. "We only go through with it when the crowd is wild or someone pays me to do it. I don't like to admit it, but my last name is a powerful talisman among the gangs. Nobody wants to piss off a Larkinson. They're all afraid Uncle Ark will run out of Citadel Havensworth and crush their entire gang, haha!"
"That's not funny. There are many insane duellists out there who don't care a whit about the Larkinsons."
"Then you better avenge me, Guard Lieutenant Larkinson." Raella spoke with mirth.
Melinda sighed and stirred the spoon in her coffee cup. "Would you believe me if I told you that the Larkinsons are willing to subsidize your entry in a professional dueling team? You won't be able to enter the Rittersberg or Bentheim circuits, but there are many teams elsewhere in the Republic that are looking for talent. Why don't you think about it?"
"Nada. Absolutely not, Melly. I enjoyed my time in the amateur circuit, but I've already seen what a rotten place the pro games are. Sponsorships, merchandising, celebrity outreach, the entire circus around mech duels takes away from the actual fight. I've never felt more like a mech athlete until I began to take part in the underground duels. The gangs don't bother so much with all of that commercial crap. They only care about entertaining rumbles!"
No matter how many times Melinda pleaded with her cousin, Raella never relented from her stance. Her frequent duels finally injected a sense of confidence and self-worth in her bearing. She didn't flinch at all in front of a lieutenant from the Planetary Guard.
"I'm my own person now! Even if the Vesians push through the frontlines and try to take this life away from me, I'll be joining the rest of the Blood Claws in thrashing them out of Bentheim! You can at least be assured of that!"
Both Larkinsons pursued different careers with success. They would never be able to see eye-to-eye with each other. If not for their shared family heritage, they would have never come together in the first place. Yet the bonds of family proved stronger than the animosity engendered by their professions.
More Larkinsons dealt with their own issues in life. Benjamin Larkinson, former expert pilot and one of the foremost heads of the Family, received a call from a surprising source.
"Miss Calsie, how are you today?"
"Not doing well, to be honest." She replied over the comm. Right now, she was calling from her office at the LMC in Cloudy Curtain to Benjamin who was relaxing at the Larkinson Compound in Rittersberg. "I need your help with something."
"What is it?"
"The Ministry of Economic Development has been knocking at my doors to demand a stake in the LMC! It turns out we've become a bit too successful and eye-catching in their eyes, so now they want a piece of the pie!"
Benjamin instantly turned serious at that news. "As expected."
"You expected this?!"
"The Republic's mech industry is too important to be allowed free reign. If you look closer at the ownership structure of other major mech manufacturers, the Ministry of Economic Development is a significant shareholder in all of those companies."
The news came at an enormous shock to Calsie, who never heard about this arrangement before. "Why didn't Ves tell me about this?"
"Because it's only relevant to mech companies that have reached a certain scale or developed something of strategic importance. The LMC should have been a few years away from growing large enough to attract attention, but perhaps some people have stirred things up in the background."
"According to the latest toady from the Ministry, since the Crystal Lord was the runner-up to the Best Mech Design of the Year award, we should be privileged to receive their care."
Her tone betrayed her cynicism at the Ministry's offer. This was a typical case of suffering from too much success.
Chapter 513
"I think you are mistaken about something, Calsie." Benjamin gently lectured. The old Larkinson wanted to be kind, but sometimes people needed to learn a harsh lesson. "For all the Bright Republic's claims about upholding the standard of freedom, the government isn't about to let an uncontrolled element have their way within their borders. The economy is always within their grip."
This really came as a surprise to Calsie. Previously, she was just a law graduate who turned into a temporary caretaker of a multibillion credit company. Though the responsibility initially overwhelmed her, she grew in the position with the help of capable friends within the LMC.
Now though, she found out that her vision was much too narrow. Like a frog within a well, she never became exposed to the truth about the Republic up until she hopped out of hole.
"What are my options?"
"As Ves' agent, you'll have to bend the knee in the face of authority. If the Ministry of Economic Development has their eyes on a stake in the LMC, then it's best to accept the fact that Ves and you won't enjoy an absolute majority anymore. How many shares are they demanding from Ves?"
"They're asking for twenty-one percent, though it will be a different proportion if I choose to issue new stock."
"That's their way of saying that no matter what kind of financial wizardry you pull off, they want to achieve an outcome where Ves no longer runs his company like a tyrant."
"So they want to diminish Ves' ownership in his own company until it dips into 49 percent?"
"That's correct. You can decide to sell his shares or issue new stock. The former will swell his bank account while the latter will infuse new funds into the company. I don't advise you to do the latter, and that's not just because our Larkinson Estate will stand to lose. The Ministry of Economic Development often likes to meddle in how mech manufacturers are run, and they'll demand you spend the influx of money into their pet projects."
This was valuable advice from an insider who walked the halls of power in Rittersberg. Calsie frowned at the old man's words. She recognized their import, but Ves had insisted in the strongest terms to never sell away his shares.
"Ves will not be happy."
"Ves is not here. He appointed you as his agent for a reason. Even if it breaks one of his commands, you do not want to stand against the Bright Republic's industrial policy. This is the way that almost every state works. The government doesn't care about the small fries, but the moment a company grows to the point of being able to affect their prosperity, they will definitely take action. This is the reality of running a large corporation."
Calsie knew that this was no joke. Whenever the Bright Republic, they almost always knew what they were doing. They wouldn't back off from this demand now that they issued it. The only thing she could do was to mitigate the damage.
"So how do I have to treat the negotiation between the LMC and the Ministry?"
"Fill in the Financial Department and the Legal Department and let them handle the details. Some of our retainers will know what to do. Whatever you do, don't let the MoED run over you with their demands. Everything is negotiable, and their negotiators won't push too hard if you demonstrate some spine."
"Why is that so?" Calsie frowned. "From what I've witnessed so far, they're never satisfied with what's on offer!"
"That's because the Ministry is wary about chasing Ves from the Republic if they push him to the brink. It's counterproductive for them to chase away a promising mech designer within their midst."
"Can we negotiate an alternative to giving up his majority stake?"
"That's not possible. You should thank yourself that we live in the Republic. Many other states demand a much higher proportion of outstanding shares."
"So even if Ves decides to move the company's assets and settle in another state, he'll face the same thing over again, is that right?"
"It's worse in that case, because a foreign entrant will always attract more scrutiny. It's best for Ves to start anew in that case and found a new company from the ground up."
All of this largely neutralized the threat of moving their industries elsewhere. Calsie vaguely recognized a common understanding between the states. They kept their grasp on their domestic industries so long as everyone else played along.
"So how will the company be run from now on?"
"Well, the board of directors will have some actual teeth. The MoED will appoint some of their people to the board who will aim to steer the LMC in a way that benefits the Republic as a whole. This won't always be good for Ves or the company, but they aren't out to ruin your business either, so you don't have to worry about that part."
"And if Ves or I disagree with their representatives?"
"Then it comes down to a vote. The main reason why the MoED wants to strip Ves' majority is because they believe it is detrimental for a large company to be controlled by a single person. Even if Ves is the founder and lead designer, there are many companies that have ruined themselves in a single day due to missteps from the majority shareholder. The Republic doesn't want its economy to turn into a commercialized version of the Vesia Kingdom. Power must be shared, and no one should have the ultimate say."
"Splitting up power comes with its own downsides. Ves has told me all about that when he prepared me for this job."
"And all of that is true, but in general the risks are minimized if the LMC transitions away from being under the reigns of someone who holds an absolute majority. With a controlling stake of 49 percent, you will need to think twice on every proposal you put forward, because you need to convince at least one of the other shareholders to go ahead with your ideas."
"That also means that the Larkinson Estate can collaborate with Mrs. Bollinger and the Ministry to vote through your own plans." Calsie incisively pointed out.
"That's a distinct possibility. This is how actual corporations are run, you know. Even if the LMC went public, the MoED would still find a way to obtain at least ten percent of the shares."
"This is really unfair to Ves."
Benjamin smiled and shook his head. "Welcome to the big leagues."
As Calsie grappled with the fact that the LMC prematurely came to the MoED's attention, Ves himself was oblivious to the possibility. He never studied the Republic's laws to a great extent, and the lessons he learned when he attended school neglected to mention any of the sort.
It couldn't be helped, since most graduates from the Rittersberg University of Technology never amounted to anything. Ves was in fact one of their most prominent alumni in the last decade.
If Ves attended the much more prestigious Ansel University of Mech Design in Bentheim, then he would have received some forewarnings about the Bright Republic's economic and industrial policies.
Mech manufacturers played an extremely important role to a state. The fact that they mass produced machines of war only made the matter more important. No state wanted to have a rogue mech manufacturer within their borders selling dangerous mechs to pirates and every other type of scum.
It was no wonder states wanted to bring them to heel in some fashion.
Ves strode exited the shuttle and arrived at a special combat carrier called the Gorgon's Gaze. As far as combat carriers went, she was as old as any other carrier owned by the Vandals. She possessed a balanced mix of attributes, though her designers put a light emphasis on speed over armor.
The Gorgon's Gaze would have been an unremarkable combat carrier were it not for the fact that she hosted the task force's only expert pilot.
Ves read up a bit on Rixt O'Callahan during the shuttle ride. The man was around a hundred years, but failed to prove himself worthy to anyone who would pay for any age-prolonging treatment.
While mech designers had easier access to these exclusive treatments, mech pilots needed to work much harder to obtain the same privilege. Their brains simply worked differently from normal humans and posed additional challenges to those who provided such treatments.
As Ves read through the expert pilot's record, he found out the reason why nobody picked him up. At his prime, O'Callahan managed to resonate up to a strength of forty-four laveres. If he was able to maintain this level of resonance or continued to grow, then he might have been eligible to extend his biological lifespan.
Unfortunately, he only maintained his peak for a short amount of time. His mental faculties and his piloting ability started to slide. This was a cardinal sin among expert mech pilots because it signified that they exhausted their potential.
After bouncing around the Komodo Star Sector trying to convince others to invest in him, he finally returned to the Republic and accepted an invitation from the Vandals.
"This guy is pretty much a washed-up geezer among expert pilots."
That said, Venerable O'Callahan still possessed a formidable amount of strength, measuring up to thirty laveres on average. This meant his resonance was stronger than rookie expert pilots.
"The strength of resonance is only one factor in an expert pilot's toolbox."
Other factors also played a role, from the quality of their mechs to the reflexes of the expert. A crude description of resonance was that it was responsible for giving an expert mech their superpowers. Even without this awesome power, an expert mech was still a dreadful machine to behold. The disparity only became a bit narrower if resonance was left out of the equation.
Though Ves had heard about Venerable O'Callahan's irascible temper, he couldn't ignore the massive drain on resources his presence demanded. For better or worse, Ves needed to talk to the expert pilot or someone from his entourage.
Some expert pilots cultivated their own team of mech technicians and mech designers, but O'Callahan lacked this luxury. Instead, the Vandals assigned their own people to serve the expert pilot.
Ves had scheduled a meeting with the head of his design team. Before he spoke with her, he first wanted to get a glimpse on the mech itself. He followed the route projected by his comm and entered into one of the hangar bays of the Gorgon's Gaze. It was smaller than the other hangars, and was obviously arranged to service a single elite mech.
The thing that struck him the most was the mech itself. Ves finally got a glimpse of O'Callahan's famed lancer mech, the Parallax Star. Venerable O'Callahan's mech was basically a cavalry mech on steroids. It amplified the speed and impact damage of the mech. It could build up an incredible amount of speed and was able to pierce through heavy armor with ease with its foldable lance.
If the Parallax Star ever got caught up in a close-ranged duel, then it could retract the length of its lance or abandon it in favor of the backup spear attached to its back.
The mech possessed no ranged weapons of any kind, but this was less of a priority in spaceborn combat. That said, when Ves read up on the customized expert mech, he learnt that the Parallax Star could be converted into a capable aerial mech with some extensive modifications. This allowed the mech to remain relevant when it operated alongside landbound mechs.
As impressive as the Parallax Star sounded, Ves somehow felt that reality fell short. The magnificent burgundy-and-black expert mech looked worn and disjointed. To a layman, its outward appearance seemed fine, but to a skilled mech designer like Ves, the mech appeared to scream in pain.
"There's something wrong here. This mech isn't in a healthy state!"
When Ves extended his meager Spirituality at the mech, he encountered a morass of confusing portions. The mech's intangible spirit wasn't a morass of blended chaos like other mechs that had been worked on by many people. It contained portions of strong focus, but it was cut up in macabre pieces somehow.
Thus, both technically and spiritually, the Parallax Star exhibited a lot of flaws.
"What has its design team been doing?!"
Chapter 514
A woman in her late thirties and a significantly older man wearing the coveralls of a chief technician arrived next to Ves, who still stared at the Parallax Star in fascinated horror.
The woman who wore the standard green uniform of a mech designer smiled and stepped forward. "Head Designer Larkinson, welcome aboard the Gorgon's Gaze, home to Venerable O'Callahan and his Parallax Star. My name is Lisbeth Eta-Denmersken, and I'm the leader of the design team. This old man here is Chief Leo Keys."
Ves snapped out of his attempt to make sense of the mechanical butchery at the end of the hangar bay. "Chief Keys. Miss Eta-Denmersken. I'm.. glad to meet you."
"You can call us by our first names."
"Alright then. I've seen enough. Lead me to a compartment where we can discuss things in private."
As the pair guided Ves towards an unoccupied compartment meant for briefings, he considered how to approach their discussion. He already held some misgivings about the Parallax Star's budget, and what he had just laid eyes on only furthered the sense of wrongness about the entire arrangement.
Once they seated themselves in the briefing room, Ves decided to ask the questions that needed to be asked. One way or another, Ves needed to determine if O'Callahan was squandering the precious resources given to him by the Vandals.
"Let me begin by saying as the new head designer, I expect you two to help me tide us all over until we complete our mission and return to Republic space. We're deep into enemy space and cut off from easy access to supplies. We need to get used to leaner times for the next couple of months."
Lisbeth kept smiling at Ves as if she understood his pains. "We are understanding of the difficulties facing the fleet. However, Venerable O'Callahan will pull us through no matter how many Vesians stand in our way. You have nothing to worry about under his care."
This was not the direction that Ves was going for. "Miss Lisbeth, it is admirable for you to place so much faith in our resident expert pilot, but he is but one man among many. The main combatants will always be the regular mech pilots in our midst. The Venerable needs to save his strength and deploy only when necessary."
"That is exactly our thoughts." Lisbeth nodded, all the while she maintained that strange and incessant smile. "The Parallax Star is always ready to deploy. While it takes some time to rouse our Venerable into readiness, you can be assured that the mech under our care will always be in tip-top shape."
Ves awkwardly coughed. "I believe we should speak about the state of the Parallax Star, but first I'd like to address its budget."
"Oh?" Lisbeth smiled wider. "Have my requests for additional funding finally been accepted?"
"Sadly not. In fact, I am thinking about dialing your generous resource allowances."
Both Lisbeth and Chief Leo blinked at that. It was as if they never thought to hear something like that. The female mech designer's eyes appeared completely befuddled, though she maintained her smile.
"Mr. Larkinson, that's impossible!" Chief Leo uttered.
"Head Designer, you are new in your position." Lisbeth said in a gentle tone. "You might not have been briefed with the full scope of our activities yet, so let me explain to you what we do here."
She stood up and beckoned Chief Leo and Ves to follow her. They walked out of the briefing room and headed over to the Parallax Star. Once they reached the bottom of its feet, she put her hand over its surface.
"Look at this mech." She began. "Feel its heartbeat. Can you not tell how much care we put in its construction and maintenance? We polish it every day by hand to the point where it has become one of our rituals. The Parallax Star is designed by Professor Velten herself, and we are the executors of her will. This mech showcases the full potential of a Senior Mech Designer at work."
"That's not all we put our work in." Chief Leo interjected. He walked away from the Parallax Star and headed over a partitioned section in the hangar bay. Come and see what we've prepared.
When Ves looked inside the partition, he became shocked at what he saw. "Are these.. spare parts?"
"Indeed!" Lisbeth clapped. "So far, we've prepared six lances, four short spears, three pairs of legs, seven pairs of arms, five flight systems and three heads. These only concern the outer parts. We have another space that's devoted to storing internal parts such as engines or power reactors. All of these parts are of a different configuration, but all of them are compatible with the Parallax Star."
"It's a semi-modular system that Venerable O'Callahan insisted that we implement." Chief Leo explained. "He wants to have the right tools available at the right time. For example, if O'Callahan needs to fight against an expert ranged mech, he'll order us to configure the Parallax Star with parts that emphasize speed. If he needs to duel against a space knight, then the Parallax Star needs to focus less on speed and more on power and armor."
"How fast can you transition in a different configuration?" Ves asked.
"A simple switch will only take an hour or two at most. A more complex exchange of parts will take up to two days. We're very proficient in this switch because we've trained on it endlessly."
"That's too slow."
"Pardon?"
Both Chief Leo and Lisbeth couldn't process his comment.
"I said, it's too slow." Ves repeated bluntly. "The exact type of expert mech our enemies will deploy is often unknown until their combat carriers are close enough to launch their mechs to fight. Do you really think you have hours or days of preparation time to make your leisurely switch? Impossible! This exercise is horribly redundant and wasteful in terms of resources."
Chief Leo stopped smiling, but Lisbeth didn't appear to be affected. She smiled at him in a different light, however. Before, she looked cordial and friendly. Now, her smiling expression took on a nefarious shade.
"Mr. Larkinson, as we said, you are new to your position. I am sure that if you study our methodology, it will begin to make sense. In any case, I will not allow you to make unilateral decisions without Venerable O'Callahan's approval. In no way will he accept a cut in our budget."
His worst fears came true. Lisbeth Eta-Denmersken joined the cult of O'Callahan and became their head priestess. Ves turned to Chief Leo, but the old man silently shook his head and stood in a differential manner behind Lisbeth. He had turned into a cultist as well, it appeared.
"I don't understand the need for more resources." Ves said, trying to approach this issue from another tack. "You've already fabricated loads of spare parts. It's more than enough to handle any situation. Why do you insist on maintaining the same level of resource allocation?"
"Because it's never enough." Lisbeth answered without any doubt. "Venerable O'Callahan wishes to expand his flexibility to the utmost. We must be ready to address any possible crisis. The more parts we prepare, the better we will be able to address a crisis in the future. It is like adding more tools in the toolbox. We may not need to make use of every tool, but the option is there when we need one of the rarer tools."
Ves shook his head. "That's not how I see it. As far as I'm concerned, the Parallax Star only needs two or three tools to perform most of its jobs. Right now, you are reproducing multiple copies of nearly identical tools that solve the same problems! The toolbox is practically bursting apart!"
"We disagree. No matter what analogy you use, the only thing that matters is this is the will of Venerable O'Callahan."
"Okay then. Let me speak to him. Maybe I have better luck convincing the pilot."
"We refuse." Lisbeth responded with an irritated smile. "Venerable O'Callahan is far in his age and needs his precious rest. The longer he sleeps, the more his aging process slows down. Every minute awake is eating at his limited lifespan. I cannot in good faith allow you to rouse him from his slumber to make a request that we know for certain he will refuse. A budget cut is not in contention."
"What if I force this change over your protest?"
"Then the Verle Task Force will lose its only expert pilot."
"Maybe we're better off that way. As far as I know, O'Callahan only deployed into combat a couple of times over the past five years. That's an abysmally low deployment rate even for an expert pilot that needs to stay in reserve. There were several battles where our resident expert pilot's intervention would have saved the Vandals a lot of pain."
The woman calmly retorted while maintaining her smile. "Expert pilots aren't meant to hold our hands. They are the ultimate weapons to be used in the most dire threats to the Vandals. Intensive combat only accelerates his aging. His personal doctor has warned us that highly stressful moments may even accelerate the degeneration of his cognition and motor functions. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we will not allow Venerable O'Callahan to squander his life."
While the explanation made Ves more sympathetic to the expert pilot, he had grown under the auspices of several other expert pilots. He long outgrew the instinctual need to worship a strong pilot.
"Besides," Chief Leo spoke up. "The Venerable has long come to an arrangement with Professor Velten. She agreed to the existing terms in order to retain our expert pilot. This is not a deal you meddle with on your own."
Ves was afraid of that. O'Callahan obviously extorted an enormous amount of privileges from the Vandals, all the while he spent the majority of his time in sleep. The Venerable shamelessly squandered billions worth of high-quality exotics into fabricating endless spare parts, most of which would likely never even see any use!
Now he knew why the Parallax Star appeared to scream in pain. The mech was made out of disjointed parts, and had switched into a multitude of different configurations over and over again. Any mech would go mad with such senseless treatment.
Ves lamented the craftsmanship and expensive materials that went into their fabrication. Professor Velten demonstrated the prowess of a Senior Mech Designer in the Parallax Star's design. It was too bad that most of it had gone to waste.
After half an hour of touring and fruitless pleading, Ves departed from the Gorgon's Gaze with a drained expression.
"Crazy bint! And that old chief, why is he such a doormat?!"
Lisbeth Eta-Denmersken was obviously a lost cause. It was actually within his power to relieve the Apprentice Mech Designer from her current post. Ves toyed with the idea of pulling the trigger, but held off because he knew he would face a storm of protest from the design team and the Venerable himself.
Between Ves and O'Callahan, Major Verle would certainly choose to appease the latter. He needed the expert pilot's protection, and that meant appeasing the senile mech pilot's insane demands was a small price to pay for the mech officer.
As for Chief Leo, the easy-going old man was unlike every other chief technician he had seen. A chief needed to be authoritative and assertive in order to keep their mech technicians in line. Chief Leo demonstrated none of those qualities in front of Ves.
Both of them were problems to Ves. Perhaps no one aboard the Gorgon's Gaze had the guts to stand up to Venerable O'Callahan. This bred a situation where his cult had firmly taken root on that combat carrier.
"This is an impossible situation."
While Ves was not resigned to give up, he had no choice but to address the matter at a later date. Right now, he lacked a silver bullet that could resolve the problem in his favor.
Chapter 515
"How's it looking, doc?"
"Some of your cells are wearing out faster than when you had your previous checkup. Your body is undergoing a subtle transformation. Towards what, we can't determine, but whether it is beneficial or not is hard to say."
In other words, the doctor knew as much as anyone. Ves exited the scanning chamber and dressed himself in his green uniform.
"Have you made any progress in your research?"
"I'm afraid not. There is much we don't understand about your so-called Jutland organ. All we can determine is that it contains an incredible amount of biological programming in an encrypted form. The good news is that it is largely dormant. The bad news is that anything can trigger some of the programming."
Nothing changed in that regard. Ves thanked the doctor for his work and left the Shield of Hispania's medical bay.
Ves remained compromised due to his biological gifts from Dr. Jutland. He only hoped the doctor hadn't put anything unpleasant in the programming. "He likely didn't anticipate that I would be able to call for rescue."
The doctor wanted him to live in the hostile underground environment of Groening IV, so the Jutland organ probably wasn't out to kill him. At least he hoped so. The madman might have included a failsafe in the energy organ's programming that only its originator could resolve.
"I've got to get rid of this organ or at least decypher its programming."
This wouldn't be easy. While the CFA took samples and cloned his body, Ves didn't expect to hear from them again. He needed to solve this problem on his own initiative.
"I'll need to enlist the help of a biomedical institution from the Friday Coalition at a minimum."
Not just anyone could knock on the doors of these prestigious institutions. Perhaps he could ask Master Olson for an introduction, but Ves preferred to solve his problems through his own means. As long as he progressed to Journeyman, a lot of doors would open for him in the Friday Coalition and in the Clifford Society.
"My best ticket to solve this problem is to earn lots of merits in the Society. As long as I have merits, I can spend them on exclusive services that aren't open to regular people."
The more he saw of the galaxy, the more he understood the importance of relationships and networks. For example, the Flagrant Vandals could have never pulled off the Detemen Operation without cultivating an alliance with the Vesian Revolutionary Front.
Each of them excelled at something that the opposite party wanted to make use of. Recognizing this fact opened up an opportunity for mutual cooperation.
Ves needed to do the same with regards to puzzling out the secrets locked inside his body. The energy cycle quietly circulated within his chest without fail. Though his questionable ghost of a mother alleviated some of the pressure early on, it had already returned to its old level, and actually began to compress more energy in the cycle.
He was worried that the pressure would be too much one day and blow his entire body up.
While he didn't know how much time he had left, he figured that he still had a good decade to go before some serious side effects cropped up.
"How did Dr. Jutland deal with this problem?"
The internal energy cycle must have been a deliberate design choice. Ves had the feeling he was missing something important. His body was basically an incomplete product.
To compare his current state to a mech, Ves imagined himself as a strengthened mech with a supercharged power reactor that constantly ran at full capacity. He didn't possess any weapons or systems where he could drain all of his excess energy.
"Still, it's dangerous to make too many assumptions about something I have no idea about."
For now, he pushed the issue to the back of his mind and turned back to the problems that fell within his area of expertise. After meeting the team that maintained Venerable O'Callahan's Parallax Star, Ves mentally wrote them off as potential allies.
"Miss Lisbeth is a total cook and Chief Leo is a firm believer."
Ves heard about how people would go crazy around expert pilots from his family. In the Age of Mechs, the popularity of mechs was at an all-time high. The norms worshiped the mech pilots, and the mech pilots worshiped the expert pilots.
It was almost impossible for an advanced mech pilot to succeed in breaking through an expert pilot. Their rarity and miraculous circumstances turned every expert pilot into an object of envy. Some people equated them to demigods for their amazing skill and mythical abilities.
When Ves returned to his office, he greeted Iris and looked at her with appreciation. He found her presence to be remarkably helpful. She stopped being annoying once she saw that her attempts to get him to waver in his loyalties only made him more suspicious.
Now that she became the perfect assistant to him, Ves truly appreciated the benefit of having a second mech designer at his beck and call. He could tell her to relay his instructions to others and take care of all manner of trivial tasks. He could take advantage of her connections and friendships within the Vandals and the VRF.
Most importantly, she was a pretty decent mech designer as well, so Ves often used her as a sounding board for some of his ideas.
"I'm at my wits end with the Venerable's design team." Ves sighed. "Do you have any suggestions on how to restore their sanity? If I can just adjust their budget, I can allocate a lot more resources to where they are needed, such as strengthening the fragile Inheritor mechs. I've estimated that I can strengthen every Inheritor mech by five percent if I halve the Parallax Star's budget!"
That five percent didn't sound so much, but the Inheritor light skirmisher was the most prevalent spaceborn mech in the mech roster. A comprehensive strengthening of five percent could mean the difference between a narrow escape or a devastating loss.
"I'm not a miracle worker, boss." She responded with a flat expression. "You're not the first head designer who's been cracking their head over this issue. Alloc hasn't been able to do anything and neither will you. Just face it, the Venerable knows we are desperate and don't have any other expert pilot to turn to. As long as Venerable O'Callahan can maintain his monopoly on expert-tier mech deterrence, he'll milk his advantage for all it's worth."
Ves let out a grunt in frustration. "It's wasteful! That selfish old man is squandering our resources! The worst thing about it is that the resources are literally going to waste! He's got so many spare parts that his design team can assemble at least two complete copies of the Parallax Star! The rationale for fabricating all of these different parts is impractical as well! The enemy won't stop their attacks and wait for them to assemble the right configuration of parts."
"Efficiency seems to be one of your pet peeves. You can't stand it when someone is making suboptimal choices."
"I guess you're right." He sighed. "I feel incredibly frustrated to see something so wrong be allowed to continue without change. My mind just itches when I think about it. I constantly feel I have to do something about it. I'd do anything to make it stop!"
Normally, Ves was never a stickler for perfect efficiency. He fostered a slow and meticulous work culture at the LMC's Mech Nursery. He could have opted for more speed in order to increase their efficiency, but he wanted to maintain the best possible quality.
Too much efficiency wasn't always a good thing. The production methods he witnessed at Vaun Industrial pursued an extreme of efficiency that was endemic to large, well-run mech manufacturers.
There wasn't anything wrong with their pursuit, as it obviously allowed them to mass produce the largest amount of mechs at the lowest cost possible at very high speeds. These all sounded like ideal qualities to an industrialist who pursued the maximum amount of profit.
A consummate craftsman like Ves couldn't accept the pursuit of profit above all else. A mech was a wonderful machine and deserved some consideration. It took time and effort to build a quality product, and a naked pursuit for efficiency neglected many subtle and indefinable attributes that separated a masterpiece from a mass produced commodity.
In this paradigm, expert mechs are always measured at the other end of the extreme. Each and every expert mech was a highly customized machine designed to interface with only one unique customer. It was a mech that was designed, fabricated, modified and maintained for the use of one expert pilot.
It wasn't worth it to go through all of that trouble for a single regular mech pilot. It only became cost-effective to do so for expert pilots because their amazing capabilities more than made up for the investment.
The only problem here was that O'Callahan is pushing it way past common sense. The Parallax Star didn't get any stronger. At most, it had a few more tools at its disposal, but it would take too much time to swap the parts.
"I hate to say it to you, boss, but you're going to have to deal with it." Iris said when she saw that Ves was still struggling to come up with a solution. "The multiverse isn't perfect. You don't always get what you want, and perfection is never easy to obtain. Maintaining the status quo is the least-bad option. Every other option would weaken the task for or see you fired."
She was right. Ves didn't want to admit it. He felt he should have been clever enough to come up with a golden solution that would have addressed the problem without making things worse.
In the end, he shrugged. "I don't have any options right now. I'll leave the issue be, but I'll definitely return to it once the situation changes."
Ves proceeded to distract himself by throwing himself to the complicated task of planning out the task force's mech composition. He already had a good idea of what he wanted to adjust.
The scarcity of certain critical resources limited much of his options. Though the Vandals looted a huge amount of valuable exotics and other materials from the Detemen System, they prioritized exotics known with a high volume to price ratio. Most of these materials weren't suitable to be the main ingredients to repair or enhance their existing stock of mechs.
If Ves planned his mech composition around the meager strategic stockpiles in the cargo holds, he found out that the task force would quickly run dry within a week.
He remembered that the Vandals arrived in the Detemen System with largely empty cargo holds in order to carry away as much loot as possible. This didn't leave much room for critical supplies that could keep the Vandals going.
The task force would never be able to reach the Reinald Republic without obtaining more supplies.
"Iris, please schedule a meeting with Lieutenant Commander Soapstone. I'm going to need her help and advice. Make it a longer appointment if possible."
"On it, boss."
A few minutes later, she confirmed the appointment. "You can meet with her after the fleet jumps back into FTL. Right now, she's busy with allocating the resources we've mined from this system's asteroid belt."
"Understood."
The Vandals couldn't do anything outside their ship as long as they traveled through FTL. Thus, the fleet cherished any moment they popped out of the higher dimensions in order to cycle down their FTL drives and mine some extra resources from the local star system.
"We won't always get lucky and emerge in an empty or rebel-controlled star system." He whispered. "Iris, do you know how many transitions we have to go through before we're out of Imodris?"
"One or two more jumps, no more." She said, Since she was also a representative of the VRF, she knew a little more about Major Verle's intentions. "I think we'll only do a larger jump rather than two smaller ones because Major Verle really wants to shake off any pursuers from Imodris. They're mad as hell."
"Alright."
A larger jump enabled them to cover more distance, but made it easier for the enemies to track and anticipate their destination. It was a decision that traded security for speed.
"Hopefully we won't get caught by Imodris at our next destination."
Chapter 516
Ves emerged from Soapstone's office with a tired but energetic look. In the last three hours, he finally got to meet with Lieutenant Commander Soapstone who apprised him of their logistical situation.
The entire discussion ran on for hours as Soapstone patiently educated him about her own challenges. Most of it was boring and tedious, but Ves forced himself to memorize the points she raised.
In any case, Ves received the answers that he wanted to hear. With Major Verle's approval, she arranged numerous trades with the regional rebel groups that haunted the Venidse, Klein and Hafner duchies.
"Venidse's rebel movement is able to channel most of the resources that you need to use. Mind you, we aren't acquainted with this particular group, and they know that they're our only effective supplier. This means they'll certainly try to take advantage by charging triple of what they're selling while paying a fraction of the valuables we've obtained from the Detemen System."
Ves sensed her unspoken message. "So you want to keep the trade as small as possible?"
Soapstone nodded. "Our profits from the Detemen venture will evaporate if we try to fulfill every item on your wishlist. It's simply not economical for us to fulfill your ambitious plans."
He quietly cursed at that. Couldn't these rebels recognize that the Vandals could be their allies? Ves was forced to set his sights lower and acquire the bare minimum of what was necessary to keep all of the piloted mechs in fighting shape. He couldn't spare any extra attention to the spares.
Even then, his means fell short of being able to bring every mech to a functional condition. The attrition some of the Vandal mechs endured on Detemen IV needed an extensive overhaul.
As a result, the task force needed to get past the Imodris and Venidse territories while slightly understrength. "Fortunately, our spaceborn mechs haven't suffered too much damage compared to our land bound machines."
Yet that didn't mean the landbound mechs would be mothballed. Venidse was relatively rich in resources and many of its star systems contained valuable mines. Soapstone quietly revealed to Ves that Major Verle and his staff were considering the possibility to raid one of Venidse's prosperous star systems to supplement their deficient resource outlook.
Soapstone explained the rationale to him. "The rebels charge so much because they're short on resources and need the money as much as we do. Rather than let them rip us off, it's better for us if we can cut out the middleman and go for the source."
Ves almost had a heart attack when he heard this notion. "Many of our landbound mechs aren't up for a planetary raid!"
"Tough luck then, head designer. Major Verle doesn't want to hear it. We Vandals have endured worse situations. If our mech pilots have to pilot damaged mechs, then so be it. We really need those resources."
Soapstone also hinted that they would perform more raids along the way, because every rebel group was simply demanding too much. The Flagrant Vandals already paid a substantial amount of money to facilitate their passage through hostile space.
"Can you tell me about any large-scale deployments in the works? It would help me out if I know what I can expect in the future."
"There are two important missions that we will likely accept in exchange for obtaining extra assistance from the regional rebel groups. The first one consists of destroying an important defensive installation in the Klein Duchy. The second one entails freeing important prisoners from a jail in the Hafner Duchy."
Both of them sounded like it would require the Vandals to put in their best effort, especially the first mission. Attacking a defensive fortification head-on was not a light matter, and the more mechs on the field, the better.
Ves groaned yet again. "This is really too much. You're running the Vandals ragged at this rate. I'm sure your mech pilots are able to tough it out, but mechs are exceedingly complex machines. It's easy to see them as invincible machines of war, but their impervious performance is only possible due to the incredible amount of work being done behind the scenes."
"I'm aware of that." Soapstone retorted, reminding Ves that she excelled in logistics, which most mech officers plainly never thought about. "Yet we are also under a lot of pressure. We made it out of the Detemen System with a lot of riches, but until we are able to reach a friendly or neutral trading system and sell them off at acceptable prices, we won't be able to derive any benefits from our loot at all. Our current resource-rich state is an illusion. All of our wealth is locked away in hard-to-dispose, illiquid goods."
He understood then that the task force was in a much worse state than he initially believed. It was as if a group of robbers infiltrated a mansion in the middle of a city and stole some precious jewels. Now, the entire city turned hostile against the robbers, leaving them nowhere to sell their ill-gotten gains.
Only by escaping the city and reaching a neighboring one would the heat die down. By then, they could calmly enter any store to sell the jewels at fairer prices.
"So there's at least three different landbound deployments on the horizon. A raid in Venidse, a mission in Klein and another one in Hafner, is that all?"
"That should be all. We're reluctant to plan for more because every deployment slows us down. We still need to reach the Reinald Republic within less than two months."
Thank the heavens for that. Ves quietly sighed in relief since they at least remembered that they needed to adhere to a deadline. Otherwise the sheer amount of deployments would have turned him crazy already.
The rest of the discussion mainly revolved around the details and finer points. At first, it didn't seem to Ves that any of it mattered, but he slowly realized that it was important for him to know some crucial details.
The information he received encompassed tidbits such as what kind of resources Venidse extracted from their mines to where they would be able to obtain medium-density mech-grade fuel.
With his expanded Intelligence, Ves easily memorized all of these important details. If Lieutenant Commander Soapstone found it important enough to mention it to him, then it was worthwhile for him to memorize it all. Some of this information may come handy in the future.
With a bucket load of information stuffed in his head, Ves returned to his office and reworked his own planning according to the new information. He had to get over the fact that his plan left no options but to deploy mechs that still needed some repairs.
The main issue he faced was that it took too much resources to repair all of their land bound mechs. Through some possible trades in the following three territories, the task force might be able to supplement their most critical needs, but this was just a metaphorical drop in the ocean compared to the actual problem.
Making this planning taxed his mental capacities to the limit. In truth, Ves should have involved some capable assistants to share the load, but besides Iris, Ves could only turn to his supposed deputies.
Thinking about trusting the likes of Mercator and Trozin with this responsibility made him feel ill at ease. "They're not trustworthy enough, and much of this information is sensitive."
Ves was resigned to work at it by himself. As the planning came together, he felt as if his head started to overheat. He needed to lay down his work.
He turned off his terminal and looked around and noticed that Iris was already gone.
"The shift is already over?"
The clock that displayed the standard time revealed that it was midnight right now. Ves stretched his limbs and eased his mind onto other matters.
"I wonder how the LMC is doing?"
As head researcher, Ves had limited access to the galactic net. Much of his access only allowed him to receive data in a passive manner. He wasn't allowed to transmit any information except what was necessary to access some of it in the first place. In essence, his access to the galactic net amounted to a read-only limitation.
He browsed some of the articles and tried to look up the winner for the award of Best Mech Design of the Year.
"Damn, I lost!"
His mech design only received an honorable mention from the Bentheim Mech Court. In the segment that his Crystal Lord was competing on, the Senior Mech Designers that made up the Court decided to hand over the award to an admittedly worthy and brilliant striker mech design.
A brief look told Ves that the Crystal Lord didn't lose unjustly to this striker mech. He couldn't fault the Bentheim Mech Court for being biased. "The Crystal Lord is a good design, but it has its limitations."
He read up on how the LMC was doing, but the public news reports only mentioned what they perceived from the surface. For example, they could tell that the Mech Nursery ramped up their production, but they couldn't determine how many production lines had been added to the underground manufacturing complex.
One interesting development was that the Crystal Lord gained two different categories of clients. First, some of the Bentheim mech regiments ordered dozens of silver-label Crystal Lords on a trial basis. The news portal that reported this rumor claimed that some of the mech regiments wanted to pimp out the mechs piloted by their officers.
Ves had mixed feelings about the idea. "The Crystal Lord isn't a military-grade mech."
While he was confident his mech could keep up with most other military-developed mechs, the widespread adoption of the Crystal Lord would certainly introduce some difficulties to these mech regiments.
His perspective was wider now. Having access to all of the information at the disposal of a head designer, Ves was keenly aware of the complications that ensued by mixing military-grade mechs with machines meant for a different audience. The Vandals suffered substantially from this problem because much of their mechs consisted of salvaged or stolen Vesian mechs.
The main benefit to military-grade mechs was that they're designed to work with a common set of standards, parts and measurements, even among different designs. This streamlined the maintenance process and lightened the burden of fielding several different models of mechs.
It was not to the extent of incorporating every separate model in a single product family, but just a handful of commonalities was enough to ease a mech regiment's logistical concerns.
As for the Crystal Lord, not only did it make use of fairly unique components derived from Coalition licenses, its laser rifle and chest crystal could only be produced at the Mech Nursery. The silver and gold label mechs distinguished themselves from the bronze-label version fabricated by third party manufacturers by carrying activated alien crystals.
As far as Ves was aware of, there was only one crystal cube in existence that could activate the synthesized crystals.
"This is going to be a problem for the LMC. I hope Calsie won't be stupid enough to give up the crystal cube."
Besides closing some deals with the Mech Corps, the Crystal Lord also proved to be a surprising hit in the Ylvain Protectorate. They even loosened up their harsh import restrictions to obtain more copies of his premium rifleman mech.
Though he was a little confused why the Ylvains adored the Crystal Lord model all of a sudden, he wasn't about to turn away a customer.
Ves looked up some other news about home, but only for an hour or so. He couldn't let himself be consumed by thoughts at home, not while the Vandals still needed to fight their way out of Vesian space.
He initially thought it would be a difficult but manageable ordeal to leave the Kingdom. Now that he became responsible for the task force's mechs, he realized what an uphill battle he faced.
"Heh. It's more of a cliff than a hill. Try climbing that."
Chapter 517
He finished it . While it took some time, he completed an entire plan for the task force's mech roster that took every major factor into account .
He took into account the skills and capabilities of every mech company, the inclinations of their commanding officers, the available resources that logistics agreed to release for repair work, the likely opposition they faced at various points of time and a projection of what kind of resources they would be able to obtain .
The latter two variables introduced an incredible amount of complexity to his work . Ves had been forced to make assumptions and use his own judgment to fill in the gaps . His increasingly more intricate plan became more flexible as Ves added options in case his assumptions turned out to be wrong .
The dynamic planning took up a lot of time to read and understand, but the basic point of it was to deploy the best possible Vandals mechs at any time within their limitations . Ves minimized as many intervals as possible where they could be caught with their pants down, for example by transitioning hundreds of mechs from one configuration to another . Most of the mass overhauls could take place within the safety of FTL travel .
Ves smiled as he deactivated the privacy screen around his desk and leaned back on his chair . The work was demanding, and he frequently felt as if his brain overheated, but once he finished his work, he experienced a rare moment of fulfillment .
"Did you finish it, boss?"
"I did! It's too bad I'm not allowed to show it off to you . It would be fatal for us if this plan gets leaked out . "
He meticulously cleaned up his terminal of any traces of his work . Fortunately, the Vandals like every mech regiment of the Mech Corps utilized highly-developed routines that did most of the heavy lifting .
Once he ported his data over to a secure data chip, he stood up and left his office, and navigated the Shield of Hispania until he reached Major Verle's door .
After a brief security check and wait, the major commanded him to enter his stateroom . Ves took a seat behind the desk and passed over the data chip .
"Took you long enough, Mr . Larkinson . " The Major grunted as he immediately inserted the chip into his terminal .
"I had to do all of the planning alone . I don't quite trust my subordinates to keep their mouths shut . "
"That's not a good sign . Even if you're the head designer and the best of the bunch, you need to get a grip on your direct subordinates . The point of a hierarchy is to distribute the workload . You can't do that if you don't trust your own underlings . "
Ves shrugged at that . It wasn't as if he could tell Verle that he wouldn't be able to command Mercator and Trozin's loyalty unless he became a Journeyman . Mech designers of their level acquired an innate arrogance that became hard to tame unless they faced a higher-ranking mech designer .
Even if Ves displayed more ability than them, he couldn't suppress them by virtue of that alone . While most Apprentice Mech Designers could never match his extensive knowledge and skills, they still subconsciously thought they were on the same level .
He waited quietly while Major Verle perused the expansive plan . While Ves provided summaries, it took at least half an hour of reading to get the gist of his decisions .
"I see you've provided three different options for me . " Verle said and looked up from his terminal . "What are the differences?"
"They differ mainly depending on which kind of mechs you want to retain when we reach the Hafner Duchy . I anticipate we'll need to be at our strongest at that point, sir . "
Verle nodded in agreement . "Venidse and Hafner will be our toughest opponents . The former because it will be difficult to disentangle ourselves from their forces and the latter because they're good at sniffing us out . "
The older man palmed his stubby chin after mentioning those two powers . The Vandal commander did not relish facing both of them in battle, but their current circumstances compelled them into a possible collision course .
Ves proceeded to spend the next hour guiding Major Verle through a broad outline of his plan .
"Right now, we're on our way out of Imodris and still have to carry out essential repairs..."
"When we reach Venidse, I've heard there will be a possible raid on the horizon . My men will direct the mech technicians to make some essential repairs on these landbound mechs..."
"I don't project we'll face a lot of challenges in the Klein Duchy, but their long-ranged firepower focus can be devastating if they wish to harass us . We're going to have to lean on the Inheritor mechs to teach them a lesson..."
"I don't think we can avoid a pitched battle against Hafner . They'll track us down and force us into battle eventually, so I've planned for the worst . We'll bring up the heavy stuff and modify our spaceborn mechs to withstand their initial charge..."
Ves justified each of his decisions with evidence, and if he lacked enough backing from that, he supplemented it with reasonable assumptions . The plan also possessed a lot of branches that provided alternatives to Major Verle . The three major options that Major Verle took note of could be described as three different flavors that put more emphasis on a particular strategy .
Personally, Ves favored the option that elevated the Inheritor light skirmishers into their mainstay mechs . He always felt a bias for this poor underdog of a mech model and wished that the Vandals took them seriously for once . Out of all of their spaceborn mechs, the Inheritor was one of their most prevalent models . It was well worth investing them in his eyes .
Sadly, Major Verle had other ideas . "I like this option . The Hellcat hybrid knights provide me with the most tactical flexibility . They're excellent whether they are spread out among the mech companies or gathered into specialized squads . "
"Sir, I think you should take a serious look at the Inheritor option . It's our most numerous mech, after all, and their speed is their best asset . "
"They are useful, but they only serve a narrow role . " Verle shook his head . "Their biggest demerit is that they do not excel at defense and that they're countered by Hafner's mech doctrine . There is no little use in trying to maintain their strength for the final stretch . It is better to use them up beforehand . "
And with those heartless words, his suggestion died a silent grave . Ves bowed his head in apology for the Inheritor mech pilots that would soon be running the gauntlet . There was no way they'd be able to take it easy .
"There are a number of points that seem dubious to me . I'd like you to change some of these aspects . "
Major Verle provided a small number of key changes . Most of it concerned the modifications that Ves suggested to be made in order to gear the mechs against specific opponents . For example, to counter against Venidse stealth attacks, he planned to turn the Inheritor mechs into mobile sentries that meticulously scanned their vicinity for any anomalies with upgraded sensors .
"This upgrade is too demanding in terms of resources . Instead of incorporating the sensor upgrades on half of the Inheritors, it's sufficient if only twenty percent of our complement carry this sensor system . We should have just enough Inheritors to provide full spherical coverage around our fleet . "
"That will be cutting it close, sir . The coverage wouldn't have as much depth . It's easier for Venidse to sneak their stealth mechs past our patrols if we only put up a single detection layer around our ships . "
"We won't be relying solely on the Inheritors to do their jobs . Don't forget our combat carriers . They can provide us with a second detection layer . "
"By the time the combat carriers detect something wrong, it's already too late, sir . "
Ves had a good point, but Major Verle wanted to allocate more resources elsewhere . Since the major was in command, Ves had no choice but to yield and adjust his plans .
They talked over many other issues, and while Ves had to change many details, he was able to convince the major to stick to the plan . Overall, they refined the plan in a way that made more sense to a true Vandal . Ves had only stuck to them for less than half a year . It was natural that his knowledge of the Vandal fighting style contained a lot of holes .
"I'm satisfied with the work you've done, Mr . Larkinson . I'll provisionally approve of this plan for now so we can start pouring our resources where they are necessary . I want you to attend the next meeting that I'm holding with my staff so that we can benefit from their input . "
"I'll be there, sir . "
Ves was satisfied that Major Verle largely accepted his plan . His hard work hadn't gone to waste, and the mech officer didn't fault too many of his assumptions . Ves felt as if he made a genuine contribution to the survival of the task force .
Major Verle kicked Ves out of his wardroom shortly after . The meeting ate up a lot of their time, and they needed to fulfill their other obligations . Ves neglected many of his other responsibilities while he became consumed with planning out their mech roster .
"Planning our mech roster is a head designer's most important responsibility, but that doesn't mean I can sit back and relax once I've finished planning . "
His second major responsibility as a head designer was to lead the other mech designers and make sure they weren't up to no good . Even if mech designers were smart, it wasn't a good idea to loosen their reins .
He paused to consider his most pressing issue . Major Verle already issued a warning to him, and he didn't intend to neglect it any longer .
"I have no way to command my subordinates except to invoke my official authority . While it works in a pinch, it won't work in the longer term . I've got to work on cultivating some trustworthy subordinates . "
Ves cast his eyes to the future when he made this decision . Even after the task force completed their mission, Iris was right in that the Vandals might appoint Ves to another leadership position in the future . The Vandals were awfully short-handed and they didn't have enough Senior and Journeyman Mech Designers to supervise every important project .
While Ves didn't necessarily dream of a career within the Vandals . If possible, he didn't wish to clash against other careerist mech designers who wanted to climb up the ladder like Mercator . Yet their relative lack of competence compelled Ves to compete against them, if only so that he would be spared from following the orders of someone who didn't know what he was doing .
"At the heart of it, the only reason why the mech designers attached to the Vandals are in such an awful shape is because there aren't enough of us!"
It wasn't too hard for the Flagrant Vandals to recruit low-ranking mech designers through their own recruiting channels . Yet these people didn't really bring too much to the table . In order to obtain mech designers with several successes to their name, the Vandals needed to rely on the generosity of the Mech Corps .
"Heh, even if we've pulled off a daring raid in the Detemen System, I don't think they'll change their mind . "
Many other Vandals expressed the same cynical sentiment . Their disdain for the Republic and the Mech Corps made it hard for them to hope for a helping hand .
In other words, Ves needed to work with the mech designers they already had . No matter if they were conscripted like Ves or volunteered like Mercator, both of these types possessed their own competencies .
Still, thinking about their low numbers, Ves thought back on his observation that all of the Apprentice Mech Designers had only entered into the mech regiment's service for less than five years . Except for the Journeymen and Professor Velten, every other mech designer transferred away for one reason or another .
When Ves returned to his office, he turned on his terminal and entered the personnel files . Ves used his head designer privileges to investigate the reason for the transfers, but it turned out that this matter was not as simple as he thought .
"Insufficient clearance? What? I'm the head designer!"
This obstacle reminded him that he only scratched the surface of the Flagrant Vandals . Ves always felt as if something ominous hid behind their simplistic nature .
Chapter 518
Ves scheduled another comprehensive meeting . Every mech designer in the task force had been ordered to attend it, though it was sufficient for them to show up as projections . They could hardly enter a shuttle and transfer over to the Shield of Hispania while the entire task force entered FTL .
In the meantime, Ves fulfilled some of his other responsibilities . He paid a visit to each of the Shield of Hispania's hangar bays to provide consultations for the resident mech pilots and mech technicians .
He spent days drawing upon the full potential of his formidable mind to fill out an expansive but fairly abstract plan . Staring at the developing mech roster all day disconnected him from the mechs and people that the numbers represented . Ves couldn't let himself become too detached to reality .
"Mr . Larkinson, can you teach us how to increase this laser rifle's heat capacity?"
"I don't understand why this mech glitches out whenever its power reactor reaches twenty-seven percent capacity! We've been thinking about replacing it with another one, but it's too costly if we proceed with this solution!"
"I heard you've got a good touch for mechs! Every mech you laid your hands on feels great for every mech pilot! Can you bless our mechs as well?"
The low-level problems didn't require much effort for Ves to address . He found it relaxing in a way to forget about his heaviest responsibilities and return to basics . Ves always believed that the best mech designer needed to rely on both theory and practice to advance their understanding of the craft .
"Knowledge advances our technical understanding of mechs, but practice allows us to develop our artistic side . "
Not every mech designer agreed that their profession incorporated art or craftsmanship . This was different from other design professions such as architects who constantly try to influence the people that inhabited the structures they designed .
Ves found it kind of sad that most of the mech designers he had met among the Vandals ascribed to a different school of thought . They leaned more towards a functional or utilitarian perspective of mechs .
This viewpoint expressly rejected any subjective attachments to mechs and only cared about their objective performance . The spec sheets were holy and the numbers never lied .
Having corresponded with the likes of Iris, Pierce and Laida, Ves understood that this was common among the mech designers who worked as grunts in design teams .
"They don't have the power to exert any influence on the designs they are working on . They are only there to perform some menial tasks . "
Only the highest-ranked mech designers that led the design teams had a use for their artistic side .
"The high-ranking mech designers among us don't just need to reach the rank of Apprentice, they also have to develop their first original design by themselves . How did they even manage to accomplish this?"
Independent mech designers like Ves who founded their own businesses turned out to be very rare . While Ves himself knew that most mech designers shied away from the risks and the high barriers to entry associated with going it alone, too many mech designers opted to go for the easy road .
While these mech designers pursued honest careers, their overspecialization atrophied their ability to design a complete mech by themselves .
"A mech designer who specializes in legs won't know what to do when they have to design the other portions of a mech . "
At the very least, there would be a noticeable imbalance of quality . Yet even then, mech designers like Mercator and Iris somehow made the cut . How did they do it?
Ves checked the MTA's expansive archives and looked up their first original designs . He quickly found out that they used the same strategy they employed during the design duel .
"They ripped off another design . "
Truly, the definition of what constituted an 'original' design was hard to pin down . If Ves copied the Caesar Augustus but coated it black instead of white, then nobody would accept he designed an original mech . Yet if he attempted to design a vague copy of the Caesar Augustus while making use of different component licenses, then he arguably designed an 'original' mech .
Even if the imitation possessed highly similar specs to the original, it still constituted an original design to the MTA . Their exact criteria on the matter was a secret . Suffice to say, the actual hurdle wasn't very high to most mech designers .
"Did I make too much of a fuss when I debuted my own work to the public?"
No . A proper first original design attracted a fair amount of publicity . Ves followed the tradition sincerely and got rewarded for it with plenty of coverage that boosted the marketing for his Blackbeak design .
As for the poor imitations and ripoffs designed by his colleagues within the mech regiment? The MTA may have validated their designs, but their only practical use was to collect dust in the archives . No one spared a glance at their so-called debut works, and this lack of distinction would certainly become a hindrance to their careers if they tried to make something of themselves in the private sector .
"They may be able to get past the MTA, but they can't fool the market . "
Time passed until the time for the meeting began . Ves sat himself at the front of the conference room . The seats had been constrained in concentric circles this time to foster a sense of equality . The main reason why he called for this meeting was to address the concerns of lower-ranking mech designers who did most of the actual grunt work in the fleet .
Emitters flared up as lifelike projections of people appeared inside the conference room . They quietly took their places and wondered why he scheduled this meeting .
Familiar faces such as Pierce, Mercator and Trozin sat in the inner circle . Numerous lower-ranked mech designers sat in the outer circles . Ves focused his gaze on each and every one of them . Some met his stares, others instantly bent their heads or shields away .
This was what he expected, and frankly hoped for . Ves placed much stock on these Novice and fairly junior Apprentice Mech designers that revered him . In his eyes, they were like loose clay, ready for him to be shaped in any form he wanted .
As for the higher-ranked Apprentices, none of them really looked at him with reverence . Oh, they respected his skills and acknowledged his prowess, but they never thought he was better than them . Only Pierce feared him a little bit because he witnessed what Ves was fully capable of during their boot camp .
Iris didn't fear him at all, but Ves already had a good rapport with her . As the only physical mech designer present, she stood out from the other occupants as her body appeared just a bit more real than others . Despite the excellent quality of projectors, human eyes were much more capable in certain aspects than machines .
When everyone's virtual avatars arrived, Ves stood up and began the meeting . "Thank you for coming here today . We've got a number of points on the agenda to go through . First, let me announce to you that a provisional plan for our mech roster has received Major Verle's approval . I don't expect any major changes to the plan, so it is essentially a done project . "
"Can we obtain copies of the plan, sir? It's hard to work while blind! I don't know if I need to enhance a mech's speed or armor for the next deployment . "
Ves shook his head . "I'm afraid I can't do that . A lot of sensitive information can be derived from the full plan . Even the summaries are enough to plunge the Vandals into a crisis if someone leaks them out to the Vesians . For now, I'll only release information to you on a need to know basis . "
Mercator raised his hand . "Head designer, as your deputies, it would be helpful for us to be acquainted with your plan . Will you allow us access to some of the details? We only need enough to make some preparations . "
"As I've stated before, you'll be informed when you need to know at that point in time . " Ves glibbed while trying to keep his smile hidden .
He really didn't like Mercator, but he thought it would be unprofessional to show his displeasure at his own deputy . He wouldn't give Mercator or any snake the satisfaction to see him make a blunder . In any case, words were cheap, and Ves felt no guilt in answering with a lie or non-answer .
In any case, Ves could tell that Mercator hadn't been taken in by the nonsense, but wisely refrained from making a fuss .
"Mr . Larkinson, if nobody gets to access the details beforehand, will all of us be working blind?" Trozin asked her own question .
"I'll essentially drip-feed your assignments when they need to be done . It's not ideal, but it minimizes the damage should any of this leaks out . I don't want to hand over our entire itenary for the next two months to the Vesians .
Everyone chuckled at that, though the prospect wasn't all that funny .
Ves explained a few more things and even revealed the first step of the plan, which wasn't too complicated . "A possible landbound deployment is in the air, so make sure you divert at least half of your focus on landbound mechs that can be fixed with ease . Prioritize the easy cases first and leave the heavily damaged mechs for later . "
Some of them looked surprised that they needed to work on the landbound mech . After all, wouldn't a straightforward flight from Vesian space be a straight run to the border? Ves didn't let out anything about the topic after that, but he figured the inquisitive mech designers would figure out the motivations on their own soon enough .
"Now, I'll be demanding that you work as hard as possible for the next two months . We need to maximize our productivity and minimize our waste . Anyone who slacks off or fobs off their assigned to a mech technician or something will be punished harshly!"
Ves emphasized the importance of hard work because the plan demanded a lot of changes to be made at critical intervals in the next two months .
Perhaps someone foresaw the sheer amount of work Ves would soon pile up on their shoulders . "Sir, we aren't bots who can't work all day! We need our rest moments!"
"Tough luck, then . We're at war, and we're knee-deep in enemy territory . Relax when you sleep . Otherwise, go to work . The more we get things done, the stronger the Vandals become . "
More people started to furrow their brows . They faintly suspected that Ves would start to become their slave driver .
Ves grinned and gestured towards Mercator and Trozin . "My deputies will keep an eye on your productivity . If you haven't been meeting your targets, they'll be sure to whip you back into shape!"
The two deputies looked surprised at Ves for giving them this duty . However, it made sense for them to be their supervisors because that was what deputies should do . In any case, Ves wouldn't have to bother with the tedium while the other mech designers became a little more guarded in front of the deputies .
Naturally, since Ves showed off his stick, he should also introduce the carrot . "I don't expect you to work for nothing . Anyone who meets their targets for the week will receive the right to borrow one Journeyman-level textbook from the central database of the Mech Corps . It'll be yours to peruse for an entire month!"
That lit a fire under their butts . No mech designer wanted to stay stagnant, and for most of them, a quality Journeyman-level textbook from the Mech Corps was a highly sought-after commodity!
"That's not all! Those who exceed their targets by a fair margin will receive greater privileges . Those who are eligible can either exchange it for the right to borrow another textbook for half a year, or the opportunity to receive my personal tutelage for an entire hour!"
That caused the mech designers to really take notice . Textbooks weren't easy to digest, and the mech designers also needed to fulfill their other duties before they had time to study new knowledge . Being allowed to borrow a textbook for half a year would be enough for them to understand at least ninety-five of its contents!
As for an hour's worth of personal tutoring from Ves, this potential reward turned out to be very polarizing!
Chapter 519
Ves lacked many advantages that could shore up his position .
First, he wasn't a genuine Journeyman, so he wouldn't be able to command respect by virtue of his status . Even if he had the biggest fist at the moment, many mech designers subconsciously believed that this would be a temporary state .
It was much like how older advanced mech pilots all considered themselves as equals in skill . They all ran into the bottleneck that barred their way towards metamorphosing into an expert pilot . Even if they excelled in different skills, all of them were the same in the eyes of an expert pilot .
Second, Ves was an outsider . He didn't know anyone from before the Mech Corps drafted him and even his fellow alumni from the Rittersberg University of Technology didn't know him . To be honest, back then he was so mediocre that no one bothered to pay attention to him . He wasn't like Patricia Schneider, who stood out as a genius out of place from the start .
Bandying out his connection to Master Olson didn't help much either . It explained his superiority to them, but rather acknowledging his accomplishment of gaining a Master's attention, they envied him instead . Jealousy was a powerful human emotion that motivated countless people to irrational decisions .
Third, their current conditions made it hard to form any bond . With the fleet moving through FTL for most of its two-month journey, every mech designer needed to interact with each other through comms and projections . Though virtual technology made it easy to connect to each other, it was no substitute to being physically present in the same room .
Besides, with the work schedules that Ves planned to hand out week by week, everyone would be too busy to socialize . Those who reached their work targets faster than scheduled might squeeze some moments together, but those would be few and far in between .
He thought back on his resolve to leverage what he possessed in order to get what he wanted . If he could leverage his unique talents in mech design to trade for the assistance of a biomedical institution to figure out his body, then why not use those same talents to achieve other goals?
Mech design was the only thing he was good at, and for a long time Ves thought himself as an ant among giants . With the existence of higher-ranked mech designers such as Journeymen, Seniors, Masters and Star Designers, Ves truly felt as if he had been playing with the sand .
Even if he had the fortuitous assistance of the Mech Designer System, the device only let him catch up a little faster .
It was only recently that his opinion of himself had undergone a shift . Interacting with so many different mech designers during his tour with the Flagrant Vandals allowed him to understand his place .
"I am more than an Apprentice but less than a Journeyman . "
He wasn't close to advancing . He could feel that deep within his bones . Yet he happened to be closer to the threshold than anyone else in the Verle Task Force, so Ves happened to possess the most qualifications to be a teacher .
What did other mech designers desire the most? They shared the same dream as Ves . They wanted to reach past their limitations and progress their ability to design mechs until they reached the pinnacle in their profession .
To do that, they needed to learn and improve . Studying textbooks was one way they would be able to absorb new knowledge, but having someone more knowledgeable teaching them the essence of what they missed was of incredible value .
Ves liked to think he would make for a great teacher . After all, his unorthodox learning process through the System crammed him with an extensive understanding of several fields . It lacked the holes, biases, misunderstandings and outdated theories that everyone else had to struggle with as they read their way through stuffy textbooks .
As Ves announced the option to choose for an hour's worth of tutoring from him, most of the higher-ranked mech designers adopted a disdainful look . What he achieved, they could achieve as well . That was what they believed in their hearts .
Only a couple of people that knew him better possessed an inkling of its value . If they could let go of their pride, they definitely stood to benefit a lot .
As for the lower-ranked mech designers, they didn't have much pride to begin with . In front of their colleagues who achieved substantial success, their self-worth had long been ground to dust . As far as the Vandals were concerned, these bunch of failures never got off the starting line .
They weren't 'real' mech designers, not like Ves or Pierce or even the likes of Mercator .
Yet because they never got a proper start, they desired what their more successful peers achieved more than anything else . Ves could see the hunger in the expressions of their projections . Some hid it better than others, but almost every mech designer sitting in the back seats felt their long-dormant hope beginning to ignite .
Ves smirked inwardly at that . He successfully planted the seeds within their minds . Time would tell whether they germinated .
The rest of the meeting didn't contain any more bombshells . He handed out schedules of the work that needed to be done in the next few days . He tasked Mercator and Trozin to keep track of every mech designer's progress on top of their current duties . Ves didn't care if it ate away at their time .
He threw out one more warning before he ended the meeting .
"Be careful when the task force arrives at our next destination . It's our last stop before we leave the Imodris Duchy, so it is the only star system where our pursuers have a hope of stopping us . Everyone will be called to battle stations anyway, but I hope you realize there is a chance we'll be plunged into combat as soon as our ships emerge from FTL . "
Some of them shrugged them off, injured to their positions as non-combatants who wouldn't be exposed to much danger . What happened to Ves and Alloc was an exception . Maybe a few of them would take his warning seriously, but Ves didn't bet on it . In any case, he performed his due diligence .
The projections winked out at the end of the meeting . No doubt everyone hurried to study the work schedule that Ves just sent to their comms .
Over the next few days, every mech designer settled into a new routine . Some still worked on spaceborn mechs while others started piecing together landbound mechs . Through various indicators that directly fed into his terminal, Ves kept a good gauge on everyone's progress .
Compared to past performance, at least half of the lower-ranked mech designers achieved more results . They acted like they had a fire lit under their butts and obviously attempted to exceed their weekly quotas .
When Ves showed the changes to Iris, she whistled in appreciation . "Your little offer works better than I thought, boss! I never realized how desperate these Novices are . Just an hour's worth of tutoring is enough to increase their productivity by a third!"
Perhaps not everyone would be able to maintain this level of hyperactive work, but that was good for Ves as well . He didn't relish staying stuck in his office tutoring over a dozen individual students .
"Not all of them are aiming for a tutoring session . " Ves added . "Some value the privilege of being able to borrow a textbook for half a year . Personally, I would go for this first before opting to receive a tutoring session, as the tutor can help me understand the contents of the book . "
A tutor only helped when the student already progressed their studies to a good extent . Only a full-blown teaching course would be able to help them understand a complete field from scratch .
As much as Ves was willing to be a teacher for a period of time, he didn't have the time to spare on such distractions . Maybe once the war came at an end, Ves would reconsider the matter .
In fact, the idea appealed to him in a way . Though Ves was never one for lofty thoughts such as feeling the obligation to contribute to the growth of the next generation, he at least felt some understanding for other mech designers that decided to take up a teaching position .
"I don't think you've offered to teach them out of a whim . What are you getting out of it, if I may ask?"
"Teaching is a good way to get in touch with some good seeds . " Ves responded . "If I work at it hard enough, I can begin to build my own network . "
Even Professor Velten used to teach at an institution in the Republic before she worked for the Flagrant Vandals . The MTA provided incentives to anyone that took up a teaching position, but even without that carrot mech designers still sought to pass on some of their knowledge .
Now that he reached a height where he could tentatively call himself a qualified teacher, Ves already started scheming on what kind of advantages he could get out of this side activity .
"Ah, so you're aiming to build your own influence among the Vandals . " Iris nodded .
"To be honest, forging some relationships during my stay with the Vandals is a bonus . A friend who is just a Novice Mech Designer isn't very useful to me . What I'm really trying to do is to reel in some promising seeds and invite them to join my ventures after the war . "
Iris looked at his with widened eyes . "That's really far-sighted of you, sir . This is an excellent idea! Comrades who've gone through thick and thin during a war share the most lasting bonds . "
Ves thought back about his uncles and aunts who told him stories when he was young . Those veterans often spoke fondly of their unbreakable connection with their comrades in arms . Some even visited them regularly to catch up on old times .
If the Mech Corps hadn't dragged him into the war, Ves would have resorted to cultivating relationships through teaching sooner or later . It was a good means to get in touch with promising mech designers that deserved some investment .
Naturally, there was always the possibility that Ves would pull out a gem from the rough, however minute this possibility actually turned out to be . If he taught someone half as smart as Oleg, he would quickly have a capable assistant at his beck and call .
Still, there were risks involved with teaching as well . Some might abuse his trust or aim to steal his secrets . If someone knew about any of his major secrets such as the existence of the System or his one attempt at breaking the taboo against weapons of mass destruction, Ves would instantly be hunted down by the most powerful organizations in the galaxy .
Others might turn out to be so talented that they might quickly surpass Ves . Before, they lacked the opportunity to show off their excellence . Poverty, lack of connections or just being a late bloomer doomed them into the lowest echelons of mech designers . Once Ves recognized their talents and pulled them up to his level, they would finally be able to spread their wings and show off their brilliance .
Ves didn't fear these occurrences, though he would definitely feel uneasy if any of these occurrences happened to him . That was the extent of it . "If I feel uncomfortable about something, then it's not something to reject . "
He believed he protected his secrets well enough . Also, if some prodigy managed to shoot up and become a Journeyman Mech Designer in record time, then that was nothing shameful . He wasn't petty to the point where he couldn't tolerate someone being better than him in mech design .
"There are already so many Senior and Master Mech Designers in the Komodo Star Sector alone . What is the harm of one more addition?"
Ves believed that with the help of the System, he could definitely become a Master within a century . He set his sights much higher, so it was more important that he laid the best foundation possible than to race up the ranks with no regard to the end run .
He couldn't help but think back on Morgan's theory that Apprentices shouldn't rush to advance to Journeyman . The mech designer that Ves briefly acquainted back at boot camp might possess some very odd ideas, but this one kept lingering in the back of his mind .
Chapter 520
The gains and benefits of teaching took time to ferment . Right now, Ves felt like a farmer who just sowed his seeds . He needed to wait at least an entire season for the crops to grow ripe before he harvested the fruits of his labor .
Unexpectedly, an opportunity to practice his teaching came after they wrapped up the meeting . As soon as they returned to their office, Iris came up to his desk .
"Can you teach me?"
Ves blinked at the sudden request . Iris hadn't done anything to merit such a privilege . She had her own work to perform, so asking him to tutor him right now was highly inappropriate .
Still, he was never a stickler for rules . "As long as it doesn't affect your work too much, I'm fine if you want to receive some pointers . "
Iris put her hand on her hips and smirked . "I'm not expecting you to pass on your knowledge for nothing . Don't forget that I have my own strengths as a mech designer . My fundamentals aren't as solid as yours, but when it comes to neural interfaces, I dare say that even Professor Velten can't match the depth of my expertise!"
That was an extremely bold claim to make, and if Ves thought a little more highly of the old woman, he would have reprimanded his assistant .
"You shouldn't say such things out loud . " He responded mildly . "Also, the study of neural interfaces is severely restricted by the MTA . I need to obtain a permit from the Association before I'm allowed to immerse myself in this field . "
"That's only important if you actually do something with your newly-gained knowledge, such as designing your own neural interfaces . The MTA will let it slide if I am just 'giving you some pointers' instead of trying to raise you up as a fully-fledged neural interface developer . I'm not allowed to pass on the core teachings of the Jupiter Family anyway . "
Ves mulled the proposition carefully . After committing a heinous war crime behind the MTA's back at the System's behest, his instinctive reverence towards the all-powerful organization had taken a significant hit . The idea of bending some of their rules to his advantage didn't sound as bad .
"Well, if you are sure they won't act, I'm open for an exchange . "
When Ves explained the Skills he was proficient in and revealed some of the extent of his depth in Physics, Iris looked very impressed at him . Somehow, her astonishment pleased him and spurred him on .
"It takes years of study and access to a lot of good textbooks to reach my level . However, I can grant you access to a handful of helpful titles to get you starting on shoring up your fundamentals . "
"That's great! I can't thank you enough! Still, I'll feel guilty if you give me all of this help . I know I don't deserve it as I am right now . " Iris tapped her delicate chin . "How about this? Let me teach you more than a few pointers about neural interfaces . In fact, if you don't have anything urgent on the agenda, let's start right now!"
Ves recalled his current schedule and knew there was nothing on the agenda for today . "That's fine . I can determine whether this topic fits with my interests . "
"From the Jupiter Family's perspective, a mech designer who neglects the importance of neural interfaces is stunted in their growth . In the eyes of my elders, the MTA has gone overboard in restricting the study and development of neural interfaces after the infamous Farund Affair . "
"Well, brainwashing through interfacing with your mech is a horrible nightmare that no sane person would wish on another . " Ves pointed out . "The sanctity of the mind is a core value for humanity . When your thoughts have become the property of others, our race will cease to flourish . "
"Hmph . " Iris huffed and waved her hand dismissively . "Neural interface technology can be abused just as much as laser weapon or power reactor technology . In the wrong hands, they can achieve an enormous amount of devastation, but you never hear of any reactor developer getting arrested for designing exploding products, do you?"
"Abuse of other technologies are easy to spot and easier to prevent . The damage that neural interfaces do is often invisible and pernicious . The fear of the unknown is often scarier than the planet-cracking superweapons of the past . "
"Well, let's agree to disagree then . " Iris gave up on this argument . To her, Ves had hopelessly been affected by too much MTA propaganda . "The point I was trying to make is that while neural interfaces can do a lot of damage in the wrong hands, the flip side is also true . A well-designed neural interface that is geared towards specific mech pilots can boost their effective performance by the same margin!"
Ves had often heard these kinds of claims, but it sounded fantasy back then . "How is this possible? A mech has a defined level of performance . It's impossible to exceed the parameters of a spec sheet . "
"I'm not talking about breaking the specs . " Iris shook her head . "As a mech designer, do you believe that a mech is constantly pushing its performance to match the upper limit of the specs in the spec sheet?"
Ves paused at that question . Just because a mech exhibited a top speed of a hundred kilometers per hour didn't mean it ran at that speed all the time . Most of the time they would briskly walk to their destination, if only to minimize their energy consumption .
"The spec sheets only define the upper limits of the specs . Mechs don't push that far most of the time . "
"This is where a good neural interface can make the difference . They smoothen and facilitate the man-machine connection so that the thoughts of a mech pilot will lead to more responsive performance from the mech . This enables the combination to switch between high and low states of their parameters on a whim . The best analogy that my Family came up with would be like comparing a rubble-filled street with a well-paved street . Mechs are able to walk through a cleared street much more easily than a street that suffered the aftermath of a destructive battle . "
"So in other words, thoughts flow faster and more effortlessly with a better neural interface?"
"I wouldn't call it a better neural interface . There are ways you can elevate the absolute quality of an interface, but much of our craft concerns accommodating the unique minds of every mech pilot we've come across . "
"Then are interfaces doomed to be a customized product that's bound to a single mech designer?"
"Not to that extent . Instead, you can say that mech pilots fall into a couple of hundred different types . Do you know that some mech squads from the galactic center are grouped together because they possess the same neural profile? This allows them to pilot any mech in their squads without worrying about incompatibility . "
"Ah, but is it worth it? The mechs we are working with so far are doing fine without any fancy tricks with their neural interface . "
"That's because the MTA-mandated standard models are designed to be as compatible and complication-proof as possible . They're the safest and most limited models, and if you knew what neural interfaces are really capable of, you'll realize how crippled they really are!"
"Well, in exchange for opting with these limited neural interface models, I'll at least benefit from some peace of mind . " Ves retorted . "I don't think any standard neural interface model has ever malfunctioned since the MTA started promoting their use . "
Iris laughed at that . "To me, it sounds as if you are willingly taking the hardest road when there is a much easier path over to the sides . Neural interfaces that are able to demonstrate the potential of what they could do are highly precious because they enable a mech pilot to modulate the parameters with much less effort . Practically speaking, mech pilots that make use of tailored neural interfaces are able to push their mechs to their upper limits without any strain!"
Now that finally caught his attention . If she was telling the truth, then the risk of catastrophic failure wasn't enough for Ves to abort this plan .
"What's the difference between a standard neural interface and a better one? Besides the advantages that you already mentioned . "
"Hm, the foundation of the control scheme of a mech relies on conveying the thoughts of the mech pilots to their mechs . Do you know how difficult that is? Mech cadets need months to get used to the disparity between controlling their human bodies and operating their mech bodies . A good neural interface is able to shorten this adjustment period until it's nonexistent! This is the difference that good design and access to the best materials could bring to the table . "
"That doesn't entirely answer my question . I get it that better materials allow you to construct a better interface, but what are the factors in the design that provides such a specific improvement . "
Iris smirked at him in an intrigued manner . "What I'm about to say is a little controversial, but here goes . Neural interface developers are able to . . . influence the man-machine connection . There are many dangers involved with this, the Farund Affair being one of the more subtle outcomes, but with careful prodding we're able to push a mech pilot into various patterns of behavior, such as improving their reaction speed or making them more alert to attacks from the rear!"
She was right . This was a massive bombshell to Ves . "Isn't that brainwashing?"
"Every manipulation of the mind is a form of brainwashing . It's a meaningless catch-all term . We'd like to call it influencing . Through our predetermined designs, we're able to influence the set behavior of specific mech pilots into performing actions they normally wouldn't take . Of course, as mech designers we exclusively try to come up with outcomes that will increase the odds of survival . "
"That still doesn't change the fact that you're talking about unwilling manipulation! Do the mech pilots even know that their own neural interface is messing with their minds?"
"We generally abstain from disclosing the truth to regular and advanced mech pilots . Registered neural interface developers like myself received special dispensation from the MTA to withhold the truth . Mech pilots aren't the smartest bunch of people in the galaxy . Telling them the full scope of what our neural interface does will only incite panic and fear . "
"Maybe some of that panic and fear is justified . " Ves retorted . He hadn't completely calmed down from her earlier revelation . "The more I heard about this, the more I'm leaning away towards accepting your teachings . No offense, Iris, but messing with the free will of man and machine deeply abhorrent to me . "
Like hacking mechs, manipulating mech pilots through their neural interface clashed directly against his design philosophy .
Still, despite his reactions, Iris kept smirking at him . It was as if she had encountered plenty of skeptics before .
"Let me in on another secret, boss . You should know that every expert, ace and god pilot receives a tailor-made custom mech, right?"
"Of course . They're worth the investment and they can't express their full abilities without a mech that fits their strengths . "
"A custom neural interface is the key to facilitating resonance! While it's possible to achieve resonance with a standard interface, it's ten times easier with a connection that is already programmed to strengthen the association connected to the resonance phenomenon!"
That meant that every elite mech pilot above the expert level willingly submitted themselves to a benign form of brainwashing!
Ves could not receive any more shocks for today . He held his heart and felt awfully conflicted . If Iris spoke the truth, what did it mean for his design philosophy? He held a lot of ambitions . He had no doubt that in the future that he would design plenty of elite mechs for experts and aces worthy to receive his assistance .
With the current direction his design philosophy developed towards, Ves would have to accept a handicap if he wanted to design an elite mech!
Time seemed to freeze as his doubts and mental conflicts came to a head . He felt as if he needed to make a clear decision on the spot .
Chapter 521
A question bubbled up from his mind. "Why does the MTA tolerate mind manipulation to this extent?"
"Why does the CFA prohibit everyone from building armed warships while they field countless armadas of them? Why do the Big Two prohibit the use of weapons of mass destruction while employing them liberally in punitive actions? All of them stem from the same reason. Can you guess why?"
Ves frowned and puzzled over what they shared in common. "Is it because the CFA and MTA are powerful enough to ignore their own rules?"
"That's part of it. They aren't being hypocrites for the fun of it. The reason why they break their own rules is because doing so increases their power. It's as simple as that. Do you think humanity will last against the aliens occupying the other half of the galaxy if we outlaw all of our warships? That's too naive! It's the same story with weapons of mass destruction. Just because our society moved past their use doesn't mean we can afford to abandon them entirely!"
This was a familiar refrain to Ves. The Common Fleet Alliance often justified the necessity of wielding enough power to wipe out every inhabited planet in human space by claiming that they needed it to stop the aliens from doing it themselves.
It helped that the two trans-galactic organizations largely kept their promises and didn't abuse their power. Humanity had begun to take their neutrality and self-appointed caretaker roles for granted.
Despite their obscure leadership and murky governance, trust in the two overarching organizations never wavered after the commencement of the Age of Mechs. They guarded the current order and most humans in the galaxy thought they did a pretty decent job.
Anything beat the waning days of the Age of Conquest.
"Okay, just because the CFA and MTA are allowed to get away with breaking their own rules doesn't mean that mech designers should be allowed to do the same. Is the power boost really worth the risk of irrevocably damaging the brains of elite pilots?"
"Your tone suggests that even the slightest risk will lead to disastrous consequences. That's not the right way to look at this issue. Everything of value carries some risk. Take fire, for instance. Long before our race has left for the stars, our primitive ancestors hunted animals and foraged berries to sate their hunger. The discovery of fire advanced their civilization to a remarkable degree. Fire can hurt, yes, but it can also cook our meals or help with forging the building blocks of a permanent civilization."
"Fire is different from mental manipulation through a neural interface. You could argue that the former is absolutely necessary for the advancement of humanity, but mechs work fine without the latter."
"I disagree." She said, "Beyond a certain point, there is a limit to how much we can maximize the performance of a design. Highly advanced technologies and miraculous exotics are extremely expensive to license and reproduce. On the other hand, up to a certain point, neural interfaces are mostly identical. It's not the hardware, but the software that gives them an edge. An exquisitely-programmed neural interface can elevate the performance of a man-machine combination by as much as fifty percent, all without adding to the material cost of the mech!"
Ves shook his head. "Just because it's cheap isn't a good reason to resort to such a dangerous practice."
"Then let me give you a more practical reason. Even if you decline to make use of this tool, others won't. The entire reason why every elite mech makes use of mental manipulation is because their competitors are certainly trying to maximize their utility. Not only can they complement the mental blind spots of their mech pilots, they also make it a lot easier and more intuitive to call upon resonance. Remember Lord Javier's flashy last stand. You might think he's an idiot for naming and calling out his special moves, but it's a way to trigger a predetermined routine that facilitates the activation of a specific resonance effect. Granted, most mech pilots don't broadcast their moves in the open air."
"Hold on for a couple of minutes. I need to think this through."
This was new information to Ves. Perhaps that was why Lord Javier didn't go down easy. Constantine Reeve must have incorporated a custom neural interface that covered for the weaknesses in his piloting style. In addition, if the neural interface registered all of his special techniques beforehand, then it was extremely easy to trigger them by calling out specific phrases.
This puts the issue in a complicated light. Though Ves had only heard about this from Iris, Ves didn't need to corroborate her claims from another source. She was an expert in this matter and had no reason to lie. His intuition also led him to believe that she spoke the truth.
Where did that leave him? Should he revise his entire stance towards manipulating the minds of mech pilots?
In truth, it wasn't as if Ves did something similar with the X-Factor. As he grew increasingly more proficient in Spirituality, his designs began to make a definite impact on the moods and thoughts of the mech pilots that used his products.
Was he a hypocrite to accept his own brand of affecting minds while rejecting something similar through the use of neural interfaces?
Ves closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
No, it was not the same. Neural interfaces were exceedingly delicate and it only took a single misstep to damage a mech pilot's mind. As for the X-Factor, though they might push a mech pilot to do things they didn't want to perform, as far as Ves was aware of, a mech's spirituality never hurt any mech pilots.
They worked on two completely different levels. Neural interfaces manipulated through physiological means, while the X-Factor worked in the imaginary realm. The former imposed specific behavior onto mech pilots, while the latter expressed the living thoughts and instincts of the imaginary entity that Ves attached to the designs.
One was dead, while the other was alive.
"That's the difference."
Other mech designers treated mechs as a lifeless tool. Tools weren't alive, and certainly wouldn't be able to express their own thoughts.
In contrast, his mechs possessed the spark of life. As living entities, they deserved a say in the manner of which they would be used. Through the X-Factor, mechs transferred some of their thoughts, instincts and skills to their pilots so that the latter wouldn't dominate the man-machine connection.
"It's a partnership."
Perhaps his rationalization sounded a little dubious, but it resolved his dilemma concerning the use of X-Factor. Ves no longer felt conflicted about influencing the minds of mech pilots through this transcendent method.
Ves could describe his forays into the X-Factor and Spirituality as an attempt to elevate mechs into becoming equal partners to mech pilots. It was a noble if fanciful goal that Ves aspired to achieve some day.
As for resorting to crass manipulation through the neural interface, Ves felt nothing but disgust at the method. It was like trying to get a mech pilot to adopt a certain pattern of behavior by injecting them with stimulants.
Strangely enough, Ves felt as if something changed within him as he resolved his internal struggle. He suspected that his nascent design philosophy became a bit more substantial after defining some of the thoughts he previously took for granted.
He turned back to Iris. "I don't agree with your notion. I believe that mechs can still be good without the use of such a dangerous method. Do elite mechs exist that don't resort to manipulative neural interfaces?"
"There are, but they're very rare. A mech simply isn't responsive enough if they come with the most restrictive neural interfaces. I don't think I've heard of any mech designer who advanced into a Master Mech Designer while ignoring the obvious advantages of a custom neural interface. What you're pursuing is a dead end."
Maybe she was right, but Ves didn't give up. His design philosophy pushed him to make a stand. He may be able to lie to everyone, but he couldn't lie to himself. Even if he opted for the hardest choice, he didn't regret his decision.
"I'm sorry, Iris, but I truly can't agree with your proposition. Call me a fool, but as a mech designer, I believe that every dead end can be engineered around. An alternative just hadn't been found yet."
"Many mech designers have tried and failed." She sighed. "Will you follow in their futile footsteps? Trying to avoid one dead end simply leads to other dead ends. The best and brightest of the galaxy have tried to tackle this problem and failed to come up with a solution without any exception. Do you believe yourself to be a messiah who can save us from the oppression of manipulative neural interface? Give me a break, boss."
Ves sensed that he might have lowered her regard for him with his mule-headed resolve. He couldn't help it. In order to maintain the integrity of his design philosophy, he couldn't allow himself to compromise on his ideals. Even a single exception could introduce a crack in his design philosophy, and might even bar him from advancing to Journeyman for the rest of his life.
"Even if we disagree on this matter, that doesn't mean I don't find your lessons useful." Ves spoke in an attempt to placate her. "I'd like to learn the ins and outs about neural interfaces, if only so I can understand their workings and recognize if they are being fudged. You can tailor your lessons in this direction."
Though Iris looked as if she wanted to leave the office, she relented and resumed her teaching, if only begrudgingly. Ves attentively listened and with his incredible Intelligence, he had no problem trying to follow the theories she espoused.
At the end of the shift, Ves received enough of a crash course to embark on his own studies, though it would be very troublesome to get his hands on the restricted books.
"Does your access to the central database allow you to access a textbook on neural interfaces?" Iris asked.
Ves tried it out but quickly faced a block. Even head designers couldn't unlock any materials regarding neural interfaces. He'd have to knock on Professor Velten's door to remove this block.
"It's a shame, but maybe it's for the better. I can't imagine that those who read these books from scratch have a high chance of screwing up."
That meant he would be reliant on continued lessons in order to develop a shallow but broad range of neural interfacing technology.
"You better teach me well for my trouble, sir." Iris demanded. "I'm in a lot of trouble for telling you this much already."
"You definitely won't lose out, Iris."
They seperated at the end of the day. While Iris left the office first, Ves stayed back and did some last-minute work to prepare for what might happen next.
"We're scheduled to arrive at the next star system sometime tomorrow."
Throughout the past few days, Ves received word of intel that their destination star system might host unwanted guests. From Iris, he heard that the regional rebels hadn't managed to deliver on their promises. What that actually entailed, Ves didn't know. Iris directly brought the news to Major Verle, upon which he quickly issued some orders that increased the battle readiness of his task force.
All signs pointed out to immediate trouble at the other end.
"Is it Imodris? Have they finally caught up with us?"
As one of the most powerful duchies in the Vesia Kingdom, Ves had long believed they wouldn't let the Flagrant Vandals go without a fight.
The past week of inactivity only increased his unease. If Imodris wanted to take revenge for the raid of their star systems, then the next star system should be their last chance to do so themselves. Once the fleet crossed into the Venidse Duchy, Imodris wouldn't be able to follow them through as they would encroach on the territory of their rival.
"We'll see what happens tomorrow."
Chapter 522
Ves felt grateful to Iris for opening his eyes. Learning the truth about the incorporation of manipulative neural interfaces in custom mechs and elite mechs gave him another goal to work towards.
Rather than lamenting the deplorable practices of today, Ves aimed to effect a change. Whether he was being arrogant or inspiring remained to be seen. He believed that no matter whether he was right or wrong, the best mech designers should be bold and confident in their direction.
After all, if Ves followed the most popular path, he wouldn't be treading any new ground. What was the point of becoming a mech designer if every mech he designed was no different from anyone else's?
"It's safer to imitate than to innovate."
That sounded somewhat familiar to Ves. He thought back to the time he looked up the first original designs of his colleagues within the fleet. Many mech designers who never started their own businesses simply opted to tread the path of least resistance by designing obvious rip offs of existing designs.
Ves disapproved of such a lazy choice, but he was realistic enough to know that copying each other's works happened all the time. A mech designer with a limited skill set could flex their design prowess in so many ways. Though they should have taken the effort to expand their reach and learn how to design a true original mech, Ves didn't blame anyone for opting for the convenience of cribbing a famous existing design.
"They'll only be limiting their own future progress."
This wasn't any great secret. Opting to stick close to established designs allowed mech designers to overcome the difficult hurdles at the start of their careers. Many mech designers weren't even able to get off the starting point, so the desperation was evident. An easier start was well worth the price of facing a harsher bottleneck in the future.
Where did that leave Ves, for that matter?
"I'm different from the others. Unlike most of my colleagues, I can depend on my comprehensive Skills and my Creativity to design an original creation. I won't be lost if I don't have any recipes on hand."
Naturally, he had to admit that making use of the System made it a lot easier to get to this point. If Ves remained a conventional mech designer, then he might have needed at least a century of dedicated study and work to reach this level. Having reached this point in two-and-a-half years since the start of his career sounded very promising.
"I can afford to be bolder in my choices since nobody can match my specific advantage. I don't need to follow a conventional track to advancement."
Working for the Flagrant Vandals may have curtailed opportunities to design his own mechs, but the circumstances he became exposed to helped him in many other ways. Each difficult problem made him reflect on his design philosophy and forced him to make some tough decisions. No matter what answer he came up with, they all fleshed out his vision towards mech design.
"I probably won't be able to advance to Journeyman during my time here, but I'll be able to accumulate more insights."
Still, all of those thoughts didn't help him with the task force's more acute problems. Ves needed to rest before the fleet emerged from FTL. He wanted to be in the best condition.
Ves stretched his arms and retired for the day. Strictly speaking, he could go without sleep, but he still benefited if he kept to a regular human sleeping pattern.
The next day, the mood throughout the Shield of Hispania turned tense all of a sudden. The Vandal crewmembers traversing the corridors ceased their easy-going or jovial behavior and adopted a sense of preparation. Nobody appeared to slack off, and everyone aboard readied the combat carrier for heavy action.
Ves stopped by his office to confirm his last preparations and to see whether his subordinates hadn't slacked off. To his disappointment, the results the other mech designers had achieved in the last few days were inconsistent.
Many of the lower-ranked mech designers definitely worked harder than usual due to the reward he dangled in front of them. The real problem was that the higher-ranked mech designers failed to match the enthusiasm of their lessers. Certainly, a small handful felt motivated to compete for the reward, but other mech designers didn't even seem to try to win the privilege of borrowing a valuable textbook from the Mech Corps.
"Iris, can you explain something to me?"
She sighed. "What is it, boss?"
"Why aren't the higher-ranking mech designers valuing the opportunity to borrow a textbook from the central database?"
"That's easy to answer, Mr. Larkinson. They already enjoy similar types of access. Maybe they've earned a lot of merits, or maybe they are part of an organization that offers much of the same."
"Even so, good textbooks aren't easy to access."
"Don't underestimate the backgrounds of your underlings. Someone like Bovis Mercator isn't arrogant without a reason, you know. Though none of us have the benefit of being apprenticed to a Master Mech Designer, we all have our reasons for making it this far."
That was a fair answer, and it sounded logical as well. Higher-ranked mech designers almost always relied on a strong advantage or two to reach this point. To certain people, obtaining excellent textbooks posed no trouble at all.
"Seems like my first carrot isn't working for everybody. I'll have to figure out some other bait to attract the rest."
"I don't see why you need to bother, sir. You're obviously aiming to establish a connection with those who want to learn from you. As long as you've formed enough relationships, you don't need to befriend the rest."
Ves thought it over and figured that she had a better point than him. In any case, he would eventually relinquish the position of head designer, so it wasn't worthwhile for him to invest too much.
"Are you ready to find out what we'll face in the next star system?"
"Not really." Iris shook his head. "From what I've heard, Imodris has mobilized a significant amount of emergency assets to lock down this part of space. I don't know for certain what we'll face, but it won't be good."
"If we enter into battle, make sure your emergency gear is working all-right. You never know when you might be forced to evacuate the Shield of Hispania."
She laughed. "Thanks for your concern, boss, but I have a lot of tricks up my sleeves."
The next hours progressed agonizingly slowly as the time to transition out of FTL soon came to pass.
Just like last time during a space battle, Ves had been invited to the command center by Major Verle. This time, he invited Iris as well, more for her contacts with the VRF than any insights she could provide as a mech designer.
"Miss Jupiter." Major Verle greeted cordially. "Per our agreement with the Vesian Revolutionary Front, we've unlocked a communications channel for your use. You can find the option embedded in the menu system of your secure seat."
Ves sank his body down onto a familiar-looking chair. He knew that should the unthinkable happen again, his seat would envelop him in a crash ball and keep him safe as best as possible while they tumbled out into space.
This time though, they would likely fight away from any planets or suns. That meant if Ves got flung away in a random direction, his skeleton would very likely continue making this millenia-long journey through the void.
"Ah, major, the VRF has just transferred a new update to us." She said after reading the notice that had been queuing up in her comm. "Their scout vessels have been sniffed out from their hiding places by their counterparts from Imodris. They were driven out of the star system a short time ago. Some of their hidden bugs remain, but they don't have the numbers and fidelity to scan an entire star system."
"It's better than nothing. Provide me with their fleet composition."
"There are too many unknowns! Before they had been driven out, the rebels had counted at least twelve scout ships!"
"Damn! That many scouts means that the main fleet is right behind our heels!" Major Verle erupted. "How did they figure out our destination?"
He instantly set the fleet to the second-highest alert status. Anyone acting suspiciously or wandering in the areas off-limits to them would be arrested or fired upon immediately.
Ves looked fairly relaxed compared to anyone, but that was because he finished most of his work beforehand. He knew he needed to reserve most of his energy to serve as a mech analyst in order to provide Major Verle with sensible suggestions.
"Five minutes until transition."
He looked at Iris who was currently having a private conversation with someone from the VRF. She hadn't forgiven him yet for yesterday's clash. Ves hoped she would mellow out and forget the clash in beliefs after today. They had more things to worry about than a philosophical disagreement.
"Four minutes until transition."
Ves actually looked forward to resuming his lessons. Neural interfaces formed somewhat of a black hole to his knowledge base. Becoming familiar with how they worked allowed him to gain a head start compared to his peers."
"Three minutes until OOOPHHH!"
The Shield of Hispania lurched, and their stomachs lurched as well. Fortunately, everyone had strapped themselves down so nobody flew in wild directions. Only a couple of unsecured objects fell from the tables or other surfaces.
"Sitrep now!"
"We've been forced out of FTL! Detecting gravitic anomalies in the vicinity! An unknown force has planted an artificial gravity disturbance on our direct path to the destination star system! We are several light-minutes beyond our estimated emergence point!"
Ves, Iris, Major Verle and many others realized the significance of this act. Imodris or whoever laid in wait had reduced their exact trajectory and laid a trap at the end.
One of the combat carriers of the fleet lurched again as something exploded against her hull!
"Detecting mines! They are homing in on our ships!"
"Bring our Akkara mechs into position and sortie our mechs! We need all hands on deck to beat back this ambush!"
This was an ambush, plain and simple.
"Are there any mechs or ships in the vicinity?!" Major Verle asked the sensor operator.
"None found so far, sir, but they could be lurking nearby in stealth and with most of their systems off! The disruptors planted in the vicinity and the mines that are constantly exploding around us are interfering with our proximity scans!"
A minute passed as several ships got battered by mines. Ves understood that whoever laid this field opted to go for quantity instead of quality. The mines also didn't seem to be of the most expensive variant, so most of the combat carriers could cope with the blasts.
The real danger lay in what was next. This mine field appeared to be endless and they hadn't even met the actual culprits in combat yet. Furthermore, while the combat carriers could cope with the mines for now, their transport and logistics ships wouldn't be able to survive more than a single mine. Protecting them from the mines that homed in on them proved to be a demanding task, especially since it appeared the mines received some sort of signal that changed their targeting priority.
"The mines are trying to go around our combat carriers! They are targeting our logistics ships!"
"Keep firing upon them!"
Mechs emerged from the hangar bay hatches and moved to intercept the rather stealthy mines. While their payloads weren't very impressive, they made up for it in speed and maneuverability. Many ranged mech pilots exhibited a lot of trouble in trying to shoot them down.
"Our adversaries are trying to exhaust us!" A tactical officer asserted. "From what our scans have detected so far, this mine field encompasses an estimated amount of 100,000 mines!"
That was enough to blow up the entire task force ten times over if they all hit their ships!
Chapter 523
Interception happened fairly frequently in chases. A force with a superior number of ships would cast a net over a range of star systems and observe every ship transitioning in and out of FTL. If they spotted a fleet heading into a specific direction, as long as the sensors captured enough details, it was possible to trace a line between the starting point and the end point.
Naturally, the line only served as a rough guide. FTL travel followed curves instead of straight lines, and a more turbulent gravitic environment distorted the actual route even further.
Therefore, intercepting a ship in FTL by laying down gravitic disturbances at the midpoint was plainly unrealistic. It would be like casting a man-sized net into an enormous river.
In addition, the current level of FTL technology at the Komodo Star Sector's disposal didn't allow ships to stop midway. Ships could only set their destination on some sort of gravitic anchor such as star systems, black holes or rogue planets.
Thus, setting a possible ambush at a possible midpoint was moot, because the ambushing force wouldn't be able to reach that area of space in the first place.
The best solution would be to ambush a fleet at or near the end destination. The closer a ship reached her destination, the more it funneled closer along the line that ran through the starting point and the destination point.
This made it possible to lay down a minefield and sprinkle it with gravitic mines to act as FTL disturbances.
Even then, the odds of catching a fleet was minimal due to unreliable intelligence and the randomness involved with FTL travel. In truth, the star system laid down several different minefields spread out over other possible approach angles.
This increased the odds of catching their prey.
In truth, the Verle Task Force was bound to be caught in a net of gravitic mines once they decided to jump to this system. The trapping force had cast too many nets at the mouth of the river.
"Identify those mines!"
"I got it!" Ves said as he finished matching the parameters of the mines to the ones in the database. "It's the MEX-LIGHT 25-E, from the same manufacturer as the XX-REX missiles! They're military-grade light mines fabricated from Imodris!"
Imodris had finally caught up to them!
"Tell me more!"
Ves quickly read through the traits of these mines. "The MEX-LIGHT mines are meant to be employed as traps. They're stealthy, light, networked, cheap and are built to be fast! They aren't very evasive but due to their speed it becomes possible to spread them very wide, covering the highest volume possible. Their only weakness is that they don't have much of a payload, but because they're employed in an enormous volume that isn't too much of a problem!"
"We are getting stung by a hive of bees." Major Verle concluded.
This succinctly described their current predicament. Bees couldn't deal much damage to a human, but once they gathered in a swarm, they gained the ability to deal fatal damage.
Because the minefield encompassed a huge volume, it took a lot of time for the mines to boost towards the ships in their midst.
Every space mine possessed powerful but short-ranged thrusters that allowed them to mimic missiles in some sense. Though they lacked some of the capabilities of true missiles, it nonetheless allowed them to approach their targets instead of passively waiting for their targets to bump into them at point-blank range.
Every second, more mines converged onto the task force. Fortunately, the Vandals had been prepared for every eventuality so they deployed remarkably quickly. The ranged mechs took out mines from afar while the Akkara heavy mechs that hid behind the bunkers built along the hulls of the combat carrier acted as the last resort.
Mine impacts began to decrease, but they never ceased!
The Flagrant Vandals never employed enough ranged mechs. Their bias towards melee mechs came to bite them back with vengeance. It would be suicide for melee mechs to destroy the mines up close, as they possessed just enough power to take out a mech in a single blast.
Still, while the Vandals didn't have much experience in dealing with minefields, they encountered this kind of situation a number of times.
"Arm the useless melee mechs with any spare rifles we can give them!" Major Verle ordered.
"Sir, that would put us at risk of a mech ambush!"
"No enemy force would want to mingle in this minefield! The odds of friendly fire are too great! Still, leave twenty percent as guards but arm the rest!"
The Vandals fielded an overwhelming amount of humanoid mechs, and this provided them with a lot of flexibility. Swordsman mechs and spearman mechs holstered their primary weapons for bog-standard laser rifles. The melee mechs wielded the rifles awkwardly, as their limbs lacked the delicate precision that was necessary to handle them with accuracy.
Nonetheless, the melee mechs didn't need to be too accurate. As long as they kept shooting, they were bound to hit one of the mines, especially since the mines single-mindedly approached the fleet at the cost of evasion.
The situation came under control as the task force intercepted most of the mines on approach.
"Damage report!"
"Light to moderate damage to armor cover throughout the fleet! The Antecedent sustained the heaviest damage!"
"Good!" Major Verle grinned.
The Antecedent was one of their fatter combat carriers. Though she lost her original compressed armor coverage, the bulk of her cheaper armor made her more resilient than the Shield of Hispania. During this ambush, the Antecedent released the strongest signals, acting as a beacon for ordnance to home in on.
Other ships suffered a fair amount of damage as well. Some impacts even targeted the same armor section, causing it to lose all protection and exposing the closest compartments to the vacuum of space.
Bee stings or not, successive mine explosions hurt the combat carriers a lot.
Even worse was this might only be the start.
"Minefields are never left alone! There should be some ships from Imodris lurking in the vicinity! Watch for signs beyond the minefield!"
Unfortunately, their sensors detected nothing at all. The constant mine detonations only made it harder to find an enemy that tried their best to hide.
"Identify the shortest distance to the edge of the minefield and orient our heading towards that direction! We need to escape this field!"
It took some more scanning but they finally managed to develop a vague estimation of the scope of the minefield. The Vandal ships had emerged from FTL in the lower portion of a massive sphere. They only needed to traverse a third of the sphere's radius to escape the minefield.
The only problem was that the sphere was in the process of contracting. Every mine received instructions from a hidden vessel that transmitted the exact coordinates of the Vandals. Thus, it would take a lot of time to build up speed and shake off the mines.
Major Verle ordered the ships to move in any case. Mines generally couldn't move for long before running out of fuel, so the most effective way to shake off the mines was to wait for them to expire.
Yet to do so would take too long.
A change overcame the mines. They no longer tried to press into the Vandals as frantically as before. Their pacing became more measured. Fewer mines came in, allowing the defenders to relax and even rotate their defense.
"We haven't managed to detect any enemy vessels in the vicinity, sir." The tactical officer reported. "This tells us that Imodris likely hasn't deployed enough ships to threaten us. This minefield has been laid out on a contingency. If Imodris has readied a fleet, it must be elsewhere. It will take at least an hour to several days for that fleet to converge on our location. The minefield has gone from trying to destroy our ships to trying to delay our escape."
Though this reduced the chances of sustaining significant damage, no one smiled, including Major Verle. "Reinforcements are on the way. If we fall for their stalling tactics, it will be too late to escape once their main fleet arrives. Seems like Imodris has learned from Venidse."
Ves and Major Verle expected to face these kinds of situations from Venidse. It was right out of their playbook. First, they spread out mines and mixed them with gravitic emitters. Once their nets caught a fish, their heavy fleets converged on the fish that frantically tried to escape. Once Venidse's forces caught up with the trapped fish, they would ground it down and make it impossible for it to escape.
"We need to get out of this trap!" Verle stated. "Find me a solution!"
The endless mines made it impossible for the ships to transition back into FTL. It was as if someone tried to sleep but the person next to them snored like a trumpet. There was no escape from their predicament unless they changed their situation.
Ves tried to look through the central database to see if they developed any hacking solutions for the MEX-LIGHT mines. He found nothing. "The mines are too new. The Mech Corps hasn't been able to crack their programming yet."
Relying on the hackers serving with the Vandals to hack the mines was unrealistic. They needed months or years to overcome their virtual security. Imodris would only give them a day at most to get away.
Ves concluded that unless they retained a genius hacker, the Flagrant Vandals wouldn't be able to do a thing about the mines. Other than shooting them, they would continue to obey the programming of the hidden Imodris stealth ship lurking just outside the minefield.
Even destroying the stealth ship wouldn't change anything as the mines would continue to follow their last instructions. Even without any human holding their hands, mines could persist for decades trying to follow the same order.
"How long until we escape this minefield?!"
"At least six hours, depending on their fuel reserves!"
"Too long!"
The mines obviously switched to some sort of fuel-efficient mode. This allowed them to move around for an extended period of time. That the controllers opted to switch to this mode meant they felt confident that their reinforcements would arrive in less than six hours.
As the command center's officers attempted various solutions, often without result, Ves continued to scour the database for possible solutions.
He couldn't find any viable solution. The military-grade space mines left no loopholes for them to exploit. Ves also lacked the expertise to attempt to hack the mines himself or interfere with their programming.
He wanted to pull out a solution so badly, but with no mechs in sight, most of his expertise couldn't be brought to bear.
Right now, the mech officers kept it all together. Their mechs had been split up into three shifts. Each of them took turns to shoot down the relentless mines. Once a shift ran low of energy or ammunition, they swapped with the next shift and replenished their supplies. This happened on and on for hours because they couldn't think of anything better.
All the while, a hidden doomsday clock ticked above their heads. At the predestined time, their end would come in the form of a massive Imodris punitive fleet.
"Iris. Is there no way the rebels can lend us a hand?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry but all of their assets have been chased away from this star system. Besides, they won't be of much help even if we do enlist their aid. They aren't particularly well-equipped."
This highlighted their helplessness in the face of an enemy trap. No matter what, for their FTL trajectory to be predicted accurately to this extent meant that they had some traitors among the Vandals. At the very least, an insider leaked valuable navigation data to the enemy.
The traitor might even be transmitting their telemetry to the enemy right now!
Ves looked up and activated a rare command. He wanted to speak to Major Verle in private.
Chapter 524
Ves conveyed his suspicions about a traitor among the Vandals to Major Verle after the latter accepted his request for a private conversation. Privacy screens enveloped them both as they talked among themselves.
The mech commander didn't look pleased. "Even I can figure that out Mr. Larkinson, but what will that help? My ships and mechs are surrounded by mines and it will take hours for us to disentangle from them! If your solution doesn't help us get out faster, it's not worth my time!"
"Sir, we already inferred there is at least one Imodris stealth ship in the vicinity that is directing the minefield. What if the traitor in our midst is transmitting our telemetry to them? I want to find this traitor not to shut him up, but to piggyback on his signal to the enemy presence. Once we know the approximate coordinates of the enemy ship, we have more options available to us."
Ves actually didn't know how useful that information would be, but Major Verle definitely took note. "I'm intrigued, but I can't allocate any personnel to search for the traitor. You can be assured that our quantum entanglement nodes are locked down, so those who are attempting to transmit something will have to resort to regular methods."
The major basically foisted this task on his lap without any further help. Ves was only willing to pursue this matter because he didn't have anything else to do. Trying to crack the mines was impossible, while the enemy hadn't shown off any mechs for him to analyze.
Ves did keep one eye on the status of each mech designer in the task force. So far, they all remained at their stations and on standby. No mechs sustained any damage so far, and the most complicated operations the mech technicians had to perform was to replenish supplies.
They could do without his supervision. In any case, they wouldn't try to pull anything off while Imodris aimed to kill them all. With their survival at stake, the mech designers definitely did their best.
At least he thought so. "Could one of our mech designers be the traitor?"
The possibility was real. If they worked for the enemy, they could do a lot of damage. Their position enabled them access to many mechs, all of which they could tamper in various ways. They also possessed the technical acumen to screw around with computer systems, thereby installing some sort of backdoor through which they could transmit hidden signals to an unknown receiver.
After some thought, he eventually ruled it out. First, the Mech Corps already screened everyone's identities, and even if the Vandals got the dregs, they still passed at least a minimal security check. Secondly, mech designers never worked in isolation. All of their actions received scrutiny, whether it was from the everpresent security surveillance or from the mech technicians that received their instructions from them. A mech designer almost never worked alone.
Still, that didn't rule out mech designers entirely as a risk. Since they fell under his responsibility, Ves checked them out one by one. He pulled up live feeds that watched over the mech designers and skimmed them over, looking for any signs that seemed suspicious.
Though he eventually found a handful of figures who attempted to do some shady activities, Ves tentatively ruled out the possibility that they passed on information to someone else.
"Too many of them are working alongside the mech technicians."
He took a step back and regarded the Flagrant Vandals as a whole. If Ves wanted to put a traitor with the Vandals, who should he pick?
"Mech pilots are under too much scrutiny. It should be a ship crewmember of some sorts. Not enlisted personnel, since they often worked alongside their colleagues. It's more likely that the culprit is an officer. Perhaps a communications officer or a sensor officer."
Major Verle at least handed him a temporary boon that allowed him access to the task force's entire surveillance system. If Ves wished the Vandals ill, he could do a lot of damage with this expanded access.
Perhaps the only reason why Major Verle expanded his access privileges was because they occupied the same compartment. The mech officer would always be able to keep an eye on his actions while Ves did the heavy lifting.
Ves shrugged at that. They all shared the same goal in the end, and that was to make it out of this trap alive and free.
He began to scour through the feeds depicting the communications and sensor officers with a very wide sweep. He projected dozens of feeds in a grid and ran the footage simultaneously. He strained his enhanced mind to cope with the sheer amount of multitasking needed to interpret the footage.
"Nobody?"
None of the people looked suspicious. They all did their jobs with varying levels of enthusiasm, but Ves didn't care about that. Though there were many ways in which someone could hide something dastardly in front of someone's eyes, Ves wouldn't be able to tell. He didn't specialize in sniffing out deception. He only investigated these Vandals on a hunch.
"So it's not the officers, and looking through the enlisted spacers takes too much time."
Where did the traitor hide, presuming that the traitor even existed in the first place. This could all be a suspicion borne out of his habitual paranoia. Only a vague sense of intuition pushed him to continue his search. He thought it would be worthwhile to go through with his investigation. Even if he couldn't achieve anything else, he would feel better if he verified the trustworthiness of every Vandals.
After ruling out certain officers, Ves shifted his mind onto a different track. "What if it's not the ship officers at all? Many of our mech pilots come from shady or troubled backgrounds. Who's to say that they are all repentant and sincere in their time with the Vandals.
Questioning the loyalty of mech pilots was an exceedingly contentious issue. Nobody wanted to be foisted with a baseless accusation of being a traitor, and mech pilots often lashed out with physical violence.
"Eh, what do I care? They're either sitting in their mechs on standby or have deployed into space to intercept the mines. I only need a brief look to placate my concerns."
Ves began to do the same thing he did with the officers. He called up many feeds and stacked them next to each other so that he could save time.
From looking at their faces, Ves understood that the mech pilots lost some of their edge at the start. The constant and predictable stream of mines made it easier for the Vandals to cope. However, this in fact lulled the Vandal mech pilots into a false sense of security.
The worst thing about their complacency was that Ves couldn't tell them to pay more attention. The constant mine bombardment would definitely stretch out over hours, so every mech pilot had already prepared to deploy for the long haul.
As Ves swiped his hand over the projection and let another set of footage play in front of his eyes. The same pattern of complacency appeared yet again.
"This might even be the full scope of their trap. Imodris intends to delay our escape, wear down our nerves and lull us in a false sense of security."
Iris turned her head to Ves and nodded. "That's what makes it so important to get rid of this minefield. There are too many ways in which our opponents can mess with us. They're only stringing us along because it will take some time to gather enough ships that can match our half-regiment."
Ves already understood that. Imodris had cast a lot of nets, expecting most of them to accomplish nothing of note. The spread of traps over many star systems placed the punitive fleets in a fairly awkward position. They couldn't possibly split up their forces and garrison each planet with a small handful of military-grade combat carriers.
Ves bets that the main enemy force is parked in the most centrally-placed star system. This meant there was an inevitable delay before they arrived at the star system that hosted the net that caught their enemies.
"It's strange for Imodris to employ this kind of trapping strategy. Do you think that Imodris has let down some of their pride and asked Venidse to collaborate on our capture?"
"That's simply not possible! Even if their capital planets are bombarded from orbit, they would never deign to ask their rivals for help. Their mutual disagreement is intense. Imodris believes that Venidse's suppliers charge too much for their export materials, while Vendise thinks that Imodris is taking advantage of them. The rivalry between them reaches the very top, from what we've gathered."
"Okay, I can see the chances of collaboration is low. Venidse might not even want to stop us as long as we are still inside the borders of the Imodris Duchy. They want to see their rivals suffer a humiliating defeat."
"That only makes Venidse more eager to catch us themselves." Iris pointed out with resignation. "How better to show that they are better than Imodris than to catch a prey that their bumbling neighboring territory had let slip from their grasp?"
"We can worry about that tomorrow. Right now, we need to get out of our current fire."
Ves kept flitting over footage of mech pilots out in space or held back until their shift came up. His eyes raked over hundreds of faces, which all responded in a variety of ways at their current predicament.
Suddenly, Ves stopped swiping his hands to bring up the next set of pilot footage. His eyes narrowed into slits as he studied the peculiar behavior of one of the pilots.
He read out the brief summary of the mech pilot's profile. "Nemo McAllister. Male, twenty-eight years old. Three-year veteran. Light mech specialist. Known for being a violent drunk. Never let him close to a drink."
Nemo piloted an Inheritor mech. The light skirmisher didn't come with any ranged weapons that would have been useful in shooting down the mines, but the Vandals handed it a light laser rifle they had in stock. Nemo frantically fired at the mines that entered his arc like his very life depended on it. He wasn't too bad of a shot either.
This immediately caught his attention. "A three-year veteran isn't really a veteran at all. We might be facing an onslaught of mines, but they haven't reached the point of threatening our lives so far. This guy is way too panicky to match our current circumstances."
To Ves, it felt as if the man tried too hard to convey his fears to his observers. This act might not have looked out of place immediately after they dropped out of FTL, but now that a lot of time had passed, everyone should have calmed down somewhat.
"Iris, look at this fellow, will you? Do you think he's a fake?"
Iris took a brief glance at Nemo. "If he's a spy, he's a really bad one. Maybe he's faking it for another reason. No matter how long I stare at him, I can't see him as a spy at all."
Even if Nemo wasn't the phantom that Ves was looking for, his abnormal behavior still merited a closer look. Ves leaned forward and pulled up the Inheritor's telemetry. Having studied and worked at its design for an extended period of time, Ves gained a good understanding of its workings.
The biggest advantage to becoming head designer was that the Vandals finally pulled open the curtain that hid some of the inner workings of the core components. Parts such as the power reactor or the flight system no longer appeared in the form of black boxes. Ves could intimately study how they ticked at his leisure, though the risks of contaminating his design philosophy still remained.
Though Ves had been busy ever since he became the head designer, he hadn't neglected this opportunity entirely and briefly studied the uncensored versions of Inheritor, Akkara and Hellcat designs.
This was why he immediately spotted an anomaly in Nemo's Inheritor.
Chapter 525
Who was Nemo McAllister?
Ves didn't know. He appeared to be one of the younger and more recent Vandal mech pilot recruits. His proficiency in piloting light mechs matched well with the Inheritor light mech, causing his performance to be better than some veterans who normally gravitated towards medium mechs.
Initially, Nemo drew attention due to his panicking expression. It looked very genuine, which was strange since the Flagrant Vandals currently had the situation under control. So long the ambushers from Imodris aimed to stall their escape, they didn't have to worry too much so long as they continued to shoot down the converging space mines.
This discrepancy prompted Ves to look over the telemetry of Nemo's Inheritor to see if it exhibited any anomalies.
Ves immediately detected something strange with his sharp eyes. Oh, to a normal mech designer, the telemetry being broadcast appeared absolutely normal.
Its power reactor fed enough power to its flight system and weapon.
Its borrowed light laser rifle heated up and expended a predictable amount of energy with each beam being unleashed.
Its sensors entered the most appropriate scanning mode and linked up with the Vandal battle network to share its readings with the combat carriers.
All of it showed that the Inheritor worked properly, if not for one subtle mistake. The fuel for the emergency boosters embedded in the cockpit did not react properly to the changes in the interior of the mech.
Oh certainly, the fuel warmed up when the interior warmed up, and it cooled down when the heat got shunted away. Yet the rate in which it changed temperature seemed a little strange to Ves. He knew what kind of fuel the cockpit utilized.
Cockpit fuel needed to be steadier than normal in order to ensure it wouldn't spontaneously ignite. They underwent expensive treatment in order to make them safer. It wouldn't have been cost-effective to let fuel-based mechs run with stable mixtures of fuel, but it was worth it when it came to infrequent purposes such as feeding the boosters of a cockpit as it ejected from a dying mech.
Ves happened to know the traits of the fuel, so the temperature shifts that Ves witnessed from the telemetry didn't match up. He came to a quick but incomprehensible conclusion.
"The telemetry in this section is faked."
He scratched his head at the puzzle. Why would anyone attempt to fake the readings for cockpit fuel? Was there something else taking the place of fuel for the ejection system?
Ves tried to dig into this issue a little deeper, but he failed to find out more due to his lack of privileges. It was extremely dangerous for a mech to be too networked. As a remote mech designer, Ves barely possessed any rights besides being able to access the Inheritor's telemetry.
"I need physical access to inspect this mech."
In the meantime, he couldn't come to any conclusions. Why would anyone try to tamper with the fuel? And was this the reason why Nemo seemed panicked?
"If someone fudged the cockpit's ejection system, then Nemo has no escape. If his mech ever got damaged, he'll have to go down with his mech."
This might be why Nemo constantly looked like he wanted this battle to end as quickly as possible. If he knew about this strange anomaly, then he should certainly cherish his life. At least the other Vandal mech pilots could count on ejecting in time.
He still didn't understand the point of this. All he knew was that a small part of Nemo's Inheritor was not as it seemed. The best Ves could tell, some mech designer or mech technician removed something in order to make way for another component.
Something important and sensitive enough to hide. Perhaps a hidden transmitter?
He shook his head. It didn't appear to be a transmitter, as none of the mechs in the vicinity detected any transmissions from the Inheritor. None past the usual transmissions, anyhow.
Ves looked up Nemo's berth and noted down his Inheritor's mothership. He dug up some logs and saw that the same trio of mech technicians serviced his mech.
Working on a hunch, Ves inspected some of the other mechs serviced by those mech technicians. Most mechs appeared to be normal to his eyes. Yet his persistence was rewarded when Ves found the same anomaly on another Inheritor mech.
"Again?! What is the purpose of this?"
Besides the two Inheritors, all the other mechs that this group of mech technicians serviced appeared normal and untampered. All of this puzzled Ves to the point where he questioned whether this was an issue he should be digging into right now.
"My goal was to find a possible spy in the crew. Nemo and that other fellow don't seem like spies."
Nemo looked afraid while the other pilot seemed unaware of his predicament. No matter what was going on, Ves couldn't allow these unauthorized modifications to persist. Who knew what the suspicious bunch of mech technicians tried to pull off.
The question that came to Ves was what he should do about it. He thought about reporting it to Major Verle, but the issue might only distract the mech officer from the battle. Since mechs came under his purview, Ves decided to solve it on his own.
Since the two mechs were compromised in some fashion, Ves needed to treat them as if they could blow up at any moment. In no way would he feel secure in bringing the mechs back to their berths where they could potentially explode and devastate an entire hangar.
Whether this strange occurrence had anything to do with spies or something else, Ves thought they would be better off if the two suspicious mechs could be cleared before he decided to bring them back to the Finmoth Regal, the high-capacity combat carrier from whence they came.
Ves began to smirk as he began to come up with a devious idea. He turned to his comm and called his deputies, putting them in an impromptu conference call.
"Head designer?"
"Mr. Larkinson."
Ves nodded at Mercator and Trozin. The two most senior mech designers under his command hadn't outwardly worked against him in the past week. They faithfully discharged their responsibilities without fault, so Ves couldn't pick a bone with them on that.
No matter. He could still jerk them around in other ways.
"A situation has come up. Two Inheritor mechs that are currently deployed in space exhibit anomalies in the telemetry they send back to the battle network. Both of them happened to be serviced by the same group of three mech technicians. I can't determine what is different with these mechs, but the lack of documentation or permission for these changes as well as the attempt to hide them from our network warrants an immediate investigation."
"What do we have to do, sir?" Mercator asked impatiently. "Do you wish us to send some guards to detain the mech technicians?"
Ves waved his hand in dismissal. "I'll leave that to someone else. Your jobs are much more important. Those compromised Inheritors have to be inspected as fast as possible, but it is too risky to bring them back to the Finmoth Regal. I want you two to board a shuttle and go to each Inheritor mech and make an inspection of its cockpit and the internals around it on the spot."
Both of the mech designers looked shocked.
"That's suicide, sir!" Mercator suddenly blew up. "This is an outrageous demand! You'll be sending us out into space where hundreds of mechs are firing all kinds of ordnance! You'll be sending us out into an active battlefield where space mines are constantly exploding all around us!"
Trozin objected as well, though she at least maintained her cool. "Head designer, I respectfully urge you to reconsider. We are currently engaged in a running battle. Our ships and our mechs are constantly accelerating in order to outrun this mobile minefield. If we need to perform an inspection on a mech under these circumstances, the mech needs to stay online with its flight system engaged in order to avoid being left behind. It's too difficult to inspect a mech's internals with all of these complications!"
Ves attempted to stare sternly at the two. "Orders are orders. Those mechs could either be carrying bombs that are meant to cripple one of our ships or transmitters that is feeding valuable data to the enemy. I can't tell, and that's bad, because this issue might concern the safety of the entire fleet. You two are my best mech designers, so there is none who are more suitable to be sent out than the two of you. Or do you want me to report you two to security for insubordination?"
Both of them shuddered at that threat. The Mech Corps took a dim view on insubordinate behavior, especially when it popped up during battles. Mech pilots could be willful and rebellious, but when the fighting started, they came together as brothers and sisters in arms.
Mech designers might not completely fit in the hierarchy of the Mech Corps, but they happen to share most of their penalties. During an active engagement, Ves was their superior and could issue any reasonable orders to them. Of course, the exact definition of reasonable differed from person to person.
That made the order to investigate the two Inheritors so dangerous. Mercator and Trozin took a brief look at the telemetry that Ves had shown them, who pointed out the anomaly. Though they wouldn't have been able to detect anything suspicious at the start, once Ves told them what to look for, they sensed the strangeness of these mechs as well.
"What if it's a bomb?" Mercator tried again. "This is a reasonable possibility, sir. Getting close to probe the suspicious may even cause them to detonate prematurely."
"Haste is of the essence. I'll generously allow you to borrow some diagnostic bots from the workshops. You can inspect them first via remote. However, we can't rely on machines to do the probing for us. Once the bots clear the Inheritors of apparent threats, I want the two of you to do a personal inspection. Both of you must exit the shuttles to do so."
Despite their objections, Ves refused to be swayed by them. What he suggested might be risky for his deputies, but it was the safest decision when considering the entire fleet.
Actually, it would have been safer to order the mech pilots to abandon the compromised mechs on the spot, but that left his questions unanswered. Ves really wanted to know why that same group of mech technicians tried to hide.
His deputies eventually gave up as they saw that Ves was determined to send them off. With his authority, they requisitioned shuttles for themselves and some crew to man them and assist them with the inspection. The vehicles soon set off.
In order to hasten the inspection and reduce some of the risks, Ves marked the two mechs out with his authority. As the highest-ranking mech designer among the Vandals in the task force, his word carried a decent amount of weight. If he claimed that the two mechs needed to be pulled out of the line of battle for an emergency inspection, the Vandals didn't argue against his expert opinion.
Thus, Ves watched with trepidation as the two Inheritors pulled back from the defensive envelope and neared the shuttles launched from the fleet. Once a shuttle came close to one of the suspicious mechs, they matched velocities and acceleration, keeping their relative distance stable.
The shuttle hatches opened up soon after, releasing bots that hovered around the Inheritors while performing scans. Ves stared at his console and saw that the bots hadn't helped very much. Their scans lacked the power to penetrate the deceptive readings.
"Enough dallying around!" Ves ordered. "Go out there in person!"
The bots returned to the shuttles after another minute of fruitless scanning. Moments later, Mercator and Trozin emerged from the same hatch and began to float towards the mechs. Both of them had chosen to be encased in the thickest hazard suits they could get their hands on, and carried a whole pack of tools on their backs.
Once they reached their assigned mechs, they began to make a thorough investigation. All the while, mines continued to detonate around them while laser beams and projectiles disgorged into space by the hundreds.
Chapter 526
"You're a bastard, you know that?" Iris remarked as Ves filled her in on his actions. "You sent your deputies out into space with nothing but shuttles and hazard suits to protect them from mine blasts and errant projectiles! If Professor Velten was here, she would have overruled your decisions on the spot!"
"Well, it's too bad that she's not here." Ves said as seriously as possible. Even if he possessed ulterior motives, he needed to act properly in front of any hidden recorders. "The issue is too delicate to leave for later, for if the mechs are hiding transmitters we should shut them down as fast as possible."
"And what if they contain bombs instead? Sending your deputies out to their deaths will not look good on your record."
"I don't really care about a leadership position among the Vandals anyway. I'd rather let a proper Journeyman Mech Designer take charge. All I want is to coast through this war with my life intact."
Ves had no opinion on whether Mercator and Trozin came back alive or not. If the mechs hid some sort of bomb or self-destruct sequence, then it would have been a shame for them to perish deep behind enemy lines. Ves would shed no tears for their passing.
He only accepted his appointment as head designer because he didn't trust the rest to do as well as him. The moment someone competent arrived, Ves would willingly relinquish his authority on the spot.
"I'm only doing this job because it's necessary."
He valued developing his abilities as a mech designer over learning how to lead. If it came down to it, Ves would always be able to find some trusted helpers to manage those matters on his behalf. The most important priority to Ves should always be to push his Skills to their limits.
Minutes passed as the two mech designers carefully opened up some ports along the frame of the Inheritors. They peeled aside some layers of armor and began to peer inside the hot and active internals. If not for their hazard suits, the hot rays would have cooked their flesh even through vacuum.
"They aren't carrying any bombs."
This news came as a relief to the deputies out in open space. Somehow, this news disappointed Ves somewhat. Still, he remained intrigued as the scans pierced past the clever electronic camouflage and revealed the truth.
"It's a transmitter!" Mercator exclaimed as he parted the veil a little faster than Trozin. "I've never seen a transmitter of this design in my life! It's larger than any other communications device I've seen on a mech!"
Trozin happened to know a little more of the hidden component. "It's a one-way transmitter that is built for stealth. It's ideal for subtle transmissions over a fairly short distance. The gravitic coils you see on its exterior are meant to propagate according to special frequencies. It's a way of communicating through gravity!"
"Does it contain any self-destruct?"
"None so far as I'm aware of in the rest of the mech, sir, but I'm unable to say for sure when it comes to the gravitic transmitter."
"That's good. I want the two of you to dismantle this gravitic transmitter in order to make certain the mechs don't contain any hidden threats!"
"What about the mech pilots?"
"Have them put the mechs under remote command and tell them to board the shuttles. I don't want to take the risk of sparking a panic or emotional outburst."
Ves closed his eyes and sighed. So the Vandals carried some spies after all. From the looks of it, the culprits shouldn't be mech pilots who cluelessly or apprehensively brought their mechs out in the open.
It was possible to control mechs without a mech pilot. Some mechs came installed with so-called autopilots. While they wouldn't substitute for an actual mech pilot in battle, these stupid AIs still found some use as valets and if a mech pilot fell unconscious.
The autopilots of the two Inheritors kept up with the fleet as Nemo and the other pilot dutifully emerged from their cockpits while in space. Even though the mech pilots had a lot of questions, the current crisis didn't allow for them to make any requests. They needed to get out of the way as quickly as possible.
Ves had to hand it to them, but his deputies didn't get flushed. They utilized a variety of bots to operate their tools from a safer distance. This was fairly delicate work, but Mercator and Trozin appeared to possess some experience with operating tools through bots.
Thus, the transmitters carefully lost their protective layers, allowing Ves and his deputies to study their inner components.
"There doesn't seem to be anything dangerous, but it looks as if the transmitter might fry itself if someone tampered with it. This is a little difficult." Ves determined from his own inspection.
"What do I do, Mr. Larkinson?"
Both his deputies had finally realized the import of their findings. Despite their complaints to Ves, they withheld their acid tones because they truly needed to cooperate at this moment. This crisis was bigger than their internal rivalries.
"Continue to take it apart. Even if everything gets fried, it's better than leaving them active."
As his deputies resumed the dismantlement, Ves finally composed a report to Major Verle. The situation had grown to a point where the commanding officer needed to be informed. As soon as Ves sent the command, the major immediately began to read his words.
Verle looked up quickly. "Gravitic transmitters? Inside one of our mechs? Unacceptable!"
He quickly issued an arrest order for the trio of mech technicians that presumably installed the gravitic transmitters. Major Verle nodded to Ves in appreciation.
"You're doing a good job, Mr. Larkinson. You're more diligent than Mr. Brandstad in some ways. However, don't make any major decisions without my say so again."
"Understood, sir. I'll try to bring you into the loop sooner."
Now that Ves handed over his findings to Major Verle, he could rely on the Flagrant Vandals to continue the investigation without his help. Right now, they still needed to fight, but once their current crisis faded away, he definitely intended to follow up on the matter.
Ves thought about the implications. He strongly believed the gravitic transmitters had been installed to communicate with any nearby Vesian assailants. There shouldn't have been any other purpose to their inclusions because the gravitic waves easily lost a lot of strength as the distance stretched further.
"Who would do such a thing?" Ves asked aloud. "How can spies even infiltrate our ranks?"
Iris paused her own work and patted his back. "The Flagrant Vandals isn't a standard mech regiment, boss. They get the dregs of the Mech Corps, remember? Their background checks aren't as formidable as the ones performed by an elite mech company. All manner of scum could have slipped past."
"I happen to be one of them." Ves stated for some reason. "The Mech Corps was evidently concerned about my conflicts of interests and foreign ties that they didn't dare send me anywhere important. I think they must have wanted to put me away in some forgotten corner of the front. They probably never thought the Vandals intended to perform a deep raid."
"Well, it seems like the Mech Corps has proven their point, sir. This kind of sabotage would never work with a genuine mech regiment."
Ves couldn't completely rule out the Vesians as the culprits, but for lack of a better explanation, Ves simply rolled with it. He found the idea that a third party lurked while the Vandals and the forces from Imodris duked it out to be implausible.
"Occams razor. The simplest explanation for these gravitic transmitters is that they are intended to convey data to the Vesians, or perhaps Imodris in particular."
While Ves waited for the strange modules to be dismantled from their mechs and the battle to enter a new phase, he reflected a little more on what he discovered. He eagerly wanted to patch into the interrogation of those mech technicians, but internal security appeared to operate through a completely different set of channels, denying him the opportunity to request anything from the people who kept the Vandals in line.
This mystery really nagged at his mind. He felt as if he bumped into a huge threat, of which he uncovered the tip of the iceberg.
Fortunately, a mutation in the battlefield distracted him from this half-resolved issue.
"Detecting numerous FTL transitions!"
"Give me a count!"
"Seven ships have emerged from FTL! Our systems have tentatively identified them as three scout vessels, two transport vessels and two combat carriers. The combat carriers are launching mechs! Their hull markings match the emblem of the 3rd Imodris Legion!"
"Lady Amelia's bloodhounds! They're here to stall us while the rest of Lady Amelia's disposable forces can catch up to us!"
The Vesians didn't hide their intentions. This small flotilla of seven ships emerged right at the point where the Vandals tried to emerge from the minefield. This added an additional hurdle to their escape plan. The eighty-odd mechs of the Vesian combat carriers would never be able defeat the Vandals, but clever tactics might easily enable them to stall the task force for hours on end.
Trouble continued to pile up on their shoulders!
Ves didn't need to receive any orders to begin to analyze the Imodris mechs. If the Vandals wanted to fight past the newly emerged force after exiting the minefield, they needed to finish the battle quickly.
The automated system connected to the central database quickly identified the mech profiles to the ones that had recently showed up in the morale-crushing Bentheim raids. "The mechs match the profiles of the 2nd Calico Dancer Bats! They're a light to medium spaceborn mech regiment!"
The Calico Dancer Bats acted as the scouts, raiders, harassers of the 3rd Imodris Legion. They utilize some of the same designs as the Flagrant Vandals. While the latter fielded more medium and heavy mechs in order to operate independently, the Calico Dancer Bats exclusively focused on light and skinny medium mechs in order to fulfill their niche very well.
Their light mechs all obtained proper development support. Up to a hundred mech designers must have contributed to the refinement of each of their main designs.
All of this bodes fairly ill for the Vandals. The Calico Dancer Bats was a proper military mech regiment, while the Flagrant Vandals routinely struggled to pay the bills. The disparity not only touched upon the design quality of their mechs, but also their relative cost.
Ves only needed to take a simple glance to see that the Dancer Bats employed significantly more expensive designs for their mainstay mechs. The Inheritors wouldn't stand a chance in an even fight.
Their only advantage so far was that the Dancer Bats only arrived with two mech companies! Faced with the five-hundred-or-so spaceborn mechs of the Vandals, the difference in quality wouldn't make any difference.
Ves conveyed all of his findings to Major Verle, who figured most of this out by himself. He opened a private channel. "The Dancer Bats are true frontline fighters. They have a rich tradition and enjoy ample support from Imodris. Yet worse than the two mech companies is the thought that Lady Amalia and her main force won't take long to arrive. The fact that they only sent out this light flotilla so far proves that they are confident that their reinforcements can catch up in time."
"Sir, if I may suggest something."
"Go ahead, Mr. Larkinson."
"I believe this minefield, while annoying, poses no threat to us. However, facing the experienced Calico Dancer Bats in a delaying action will only lead to further entanglement that we cannot afford. Their light mechs are faster, deadlier and more durable than our own. Our Inheritors are plainly not up to the task of defeating them all within a short amount of time."
"What is your point?"
"They only sent two companies of light mechs. While our regular mechs will find it very challenging to destroy them fast, it shouldn't be an issue for Venerable O'Callahan to do so."
Ves put forward the only suggestion that made sense to him. Only an expert pilot could save them from this predicament.
However, Major Verle did not appear to be relieved. "Impossible. O'Callahan will never choose to deploy in this situation."
Chapter 527
"Deploying Venerable O'Callahan at this junction is not a good idea." Major Verle responded with uncharacteristic patience. Perhaps Ves had proven himself enough times for Verle to appreciate his help. "There are two major problems with asking the Venerable to fight. He won't easily rouse himself from his sleep. If he finds out we woke him up just to ask him to take care of some small fries, he'll immediately quit right after this action."
Ves had hoped that Major Verle would try to convince the Venerable of the necessity of their situation. After all, if the Vandals got stalled long enough for Lady Amalia's main forces, even an expert pilot wouldn't be able to escape the calamity that would ensue.
No matter how skilled or fantastic an expert could pilot a mech, it was impossible for them to resist an onslaught of thousands of mechs at a time.
At his current aged and decrepit state, Venerable O'Callahan could only muster a resonance strength of thirty laveres. This figure was around the middle when it came to expert pilots, and would be barely enough to mop up a hundred mechs at once.
The second problem compounded on the first one.
"You know what type of mech our resident expert pilot utilizes, Mr. Larkinson. We distinctly chose to retain him for his ability to deter and restrain opposing expert pilots. Mopping up a swarm of cannon fodder has never been his job description."
Just as regular mech pilots specialized in different types of mechs, so did expert pilots. They continued to hone their skills and newly developed resonance abilities on top of the foundation they built before they advanced.
No expert pilot would choose to switch to piloting a different type of mech. A laser marksman would never dabble with swordsman mechs, while knight mech pilots wouldn't dream of piloting a skirmisher mech. Such an abrupt switch invalidated at least two-thirds of their hard work and all of their specialties.
Thus, as a rule, an expert pilot stuck to their specialty for the rest of their lives. Though this didn't bar them from piloting other types of mechs, it was just a massive waste to do so.
The issue concerning the Verle Task Force was that Venerable O'Callahan piloted a mech that excelled in battling elite opponents.
As O'Callahan piloted a lancer mech, he almost exclusively employed charges. His Parallax Star accelerated very quickly, and while it wasn't very agile, it only needed to connect its lance to an enemy mech for a single instant to demolish it. Ves may not have witnessed it in action, but he'd seen how the hapless mechs unceasingly disintegrated upon getting hit.
This ability to kill with a single charge came at a cost. It took a significant amount of time for the Parallax Star to reorient and build up an unstoppable momentum. Chasing down flighty light mechs one by one was an arduous task even for a lancer mech.
Even worse, light mechs formed something of a counter to the Parallax Star. It loved nothing more than to pierce through a fat, immobile target no matter how much armor they put up. Agile and flitty light mechs had a realistic chance of dodging the tip of the lance as it honed in on them as long as the mech pilots kept their heads cool.
Compared to the only other expert pilot Ves had witnessed at close hand, the difference couldn't be greater. Ves mingled with the 4th Bentheim Division during the Glowing Planet campaign, where Venerable Stanton Drake piloted an aerial striker called the Fire Drake. With a single charged flamethrower attack, the Fire Drake would easily be able to engulf a closely-packed formation of enemy mechs, vaporizing dozens of them at a time.
Yet even with these disadvantages, Ves still made another attempt. "Sir, I understand your concerns, but this is a good chance to achieve a victory without significant losses. Maybe if he's alone, Venerable O'Callahan wouldn't be able to take care of the opposing mechs. However, if we combine his threat with our own mechs, we'll be able to roll them over through overwhelming force."
An expert pilot backed up by hundreds of regular mechs could split their focus and cover each other's weaknesses. The regular Vandal mech pilots would be able to tie down the enemy light mechs while O'Callahan demolished their ships.
Without their combat carriers, the enemy mechs became homeless. Their morale would inevitably plunge and they would lose the support and coordination of their officers.
Yet Major Verle shook his head again. "It's complicated. Maybe it's time to fill you in. The truth is that we've made a deal with Venerable O'Callahan. The man is old and far past his prime. While his body condition isn't too bad, his lifespan is nearly at an end. Every second is precious to him. The only reason he still manages to live is because his body is put in a state of artificial hibernation. This slows down his aging process and stretches out his remaining lifespan."
"How much time does he have left, sir?"
"A couple of years at most. Mr. Larkinson, you have to realize that no human wishes to die. Especially to former heroes like O'Callahan, the closer they come to death, the more they fear their inevitable end. Those among us who fall in the ranks of elites treasure their lifespan above all else. It is an obsession that drives the likes of O'Callahan and Professor Velten to extremes."
Ves closed his eyes and recalled the old elites he met. Eminent figures such as Lord Kaine, a noble from the Constance Grand Kingdom, and Professor Velten, a Senior Mech Designer, all achieved incredible success in their lives. They climbed on top of many rivals and peers and reached heights that only few could surpass.
Yet despite their abundant wealth, power and achievements, age cared nothing about those matters. Death would come from them whether they were as poor as paupers or as rich as someone from a first-rate superstate.
Ves knew that both of them benefited from at least one round of age-prolonging treatments. This expanded their natural human lifespan by at least a hundred years, allowing them to live at least two-hundred years if nothing happened.
Both of them had also enjoyed a second round of age-prolonging treatments. Ves knew very little about this privilege that was only handed out to the best of the elites, and that the treatments differed in cost, stability and outcomes.
Master Olson didn't look older than her thirties, and she was over a hundred years old. Everyone could tell that she benefited from at least one round of very high-quality age-prolonging treatments that rejuvenated her body and turned back her biological clock in a fashion.
In contrast, the second round of treatments applied to Lord Kaine and Professor Velten had evidently suffered complications. It was clear to Ves that their treatments hadn't prolonged their ages at all. As a matter of fact, the opposite happened, and their aging process accelerated several times over.
Such outcomes made it clear to Ves that age-prolonging treatments always came with risks. If even a former patriarch of a noble House of a second-rate state suffered a botched treatment, then it could be seen that the odds of failure were significantly high.
Yet even then, these elites accepted the treatments without reserve. What did this signify?
Nobody wanted to die! Especially not when they had the opportunity to stretch out their lives by another hundred years!
In comparison to Lord Kaine and Professor Velten, Venerable O'Callahan was younger by at least eighty-years, but he looked just as senile and decrepit as the former two elites.
This was the tragic fate of expert pilots who didn't make the cut. Their brain mutations meant that ordinary age-prolonging treatments didn't work for them. They needed to undergo a modified treatment that was significantly more expensive and troublesome to arrange.
As much as expert pilots enjoyed the worship of millions or billions of people, their worth ordinarily didn't merit an expensive treatment.
As callous as it sounded, a state could always nurture more expert pilots over time. They only emerged through happenstance, but with a large enough population base, a state would generally be able to count on a steady trickle of younger expert pilots to replace the older ones who became wracked with age.
The Bright Republic evidently wrote off Venerable O'Callahan as an elite worth investing in. With his peak performance of forty-four laveres at his prime, it was evident that he would never be able to come close to advancing to ace pilot even with hundreds of years of practice. His potential had already been exhausted.
Due to the cost of pilot-compatible age-prolonging treatments, states only prolonged the lives of expert pilots that stood a chance of advancing into ace pilots. As long as their resonance strength didn't stagnate, they would be deemed as possessing enough potential to continue to grow.
In practice, these expert pilots with a lot of promise ahead of their lives almost never showed up.
The Larkinsons nurtured a decent number of expert pilots since their establishment during the founding of the Bright Republic.
Even then, none had been found worthy of benefiting from age-prolonging treatments.
Nobody except for the Larkinson Ancestor, at least.
In short, the scarcity of lifespan and everyone's demand for extending it was a natural human obsession. Venerable O'Callahan couldn't be moved by threats or enticements. Money held no value for him, and even the prospect of piloting a better mech wouldn't excite him very much.
The only factor that could make him move was when it concerned his life.
O'Callahan would fight if the Vandals risked annihilation, because he stood to lose his life as well if the Vandals lost all of their mechs and ships. Besides that, he would only move if someone offered him some additional life.
"Everytime O'Callahan wakes up, his remaining lifespan diminishes at a faster rate than when he slumbers. This cost is magnified when he pilots the Parallax Star into battle. The stress and exertion accelerates his aging by a month in a lengthy battle. Do you understand, Mr. Larkinson?"
Ves reluctantly nodded. "I understand, sir. Chasing down two companies worth of light mechs is not cost-effective in the Venerable's perspective."
In other words, the gains they made from his deployment didn't match the cost of his decreasing lifespan. Venerable O'Callahan would likely demand a ruinous price from the Vandals if he was forced to follow the plan proposed by Ves.
"That still leaves us with little options." Ves said, resigned to the idea that they wouldn't be able to borrow Venerable O'Callahan's power. "The two companies from the Calico Dancer Bats can run rings around us. Their light mechs are so fast, I'm not even sure our Inheritor mechs are able to catch up."
"You're not alone in your concerns, Mr. Larkinson. However, don't forget that you are not alone. We'll figure something out, or we won't be able to call ourselves the Flagrant Vandals. Trust in our officers."
With that, the major closed the channel and shifted his attention to other matters. The problem concerning the Vesian reinforcements didn't need to be addressed until they exited the minefield, which should still be a couple of hours away.
Still, the seven ships that arrived first might just be the vanguard of what would come. Ves figured that the Calico Dancer Bats split up their companies to cover several star systems in order to insure they had enough spread to catch the fleeing Vandals.
It would take some time for those split elements to converge on this star system, but it wouldn't take more than a day for the Dancer Bats present in the neighboring systems to arrive.
"There's not enough time. If a second wave of reinforcements decide to tangle with us, we'll be tied down for days. That's enough for at least half of the 3rd Imodris Legion to arrive and cut off our escape."
Chapter 528
An alert sounded out in the command center just as the task force was about to emerge past the minefield. The mines turned out to be a slightly modified version with shorter reach in exchange for a reduction in cost. This was why the 3rd Imodris Legion hadn't hesitated in laying down millions of mines.
Ves didn't recognize the alert, but most of the officers looked up in alarm.
"The Finmoth Regal is reporting internal damage! Explosions have set off in one of her hangar bays and engineering. Her thrusters have lots of propulsion!"
The Finmoth Regal! That was the ship where the two suspicious Inheritor mechs came from. After Ves identified the strangeness in Nemo McAllister and the other pilot's mechs and passed it on, Major Verle immediately tasked the security department to pick up the thread.
No matter what, a hidden and unauthorized transmission device represented a profound betrayal to the Vandals!
"Give me a sitrep! Why is the Finmoth Regal losing propulsion?!"
"Sir, the security department has attempted to apprehend the three mech technicians that have serviced the suspect mechs. When the mech technicians at the hangar saw the approaching officers, they panicked and self-destructed. The hidden explosives on their bodies killed the security officers along with several other mech technicians! In addition, another explosion went off at engineering that killed two junior engineers and heavily damaged the engines!"
"The Finmoth Regal has stopped accelerating! She's falling behind!" Another operator warned.
Major Verle clenched his fist but maintained control. "Command the Antecedent and the Gorgon's Gaze to hook the Finmoth Regal and drag her out of this minefield! Tell the Regal to get her engines back online!"
The ships adjusted their formation as the Antecedent and Gorgon's Gaze drifted in front of the faltering Finmoth Regal. Major Verle deliberately picked out these two combat carriers because they possessed some of the more powerful engines among the ships in the task force.
After aligning themselves in a triangle, hatches opened up from the rear of the two carriers. Thick but flexible alloy cables shot out from the openings and latched onto specialized slots embedded along the exterior of the Finmoth Regal.
Once Regal secured the cables through various means, the two ships in front increased the power to their engines and thrusters. In truth, every ship in the task force matched their speeds with the slowest ships in the fleet. In this case, the fat, lumbering logistics ships weighed them all down.
However, this also served as a benefit in their current circumstances as the powerful combat carriers never engaged their sublight engines to full capacity. Right now, the Antecedent and Gorgon's Gaze almost managed to catch up to the rest of the fleet even as they towed the entire weight of the Finmoth Regal.
Major Verle ordered his other ships to match their pace to the acceleration of the towing combination. This extended the time they would be able to escape, but no one disagreed with the choice. They didn't want to leave anyone behind.
Ves had seen towing actions like this before. Evidently, towing happened often enough for the ships of the Vandals to incorporate a standardized system of cable launchers and attachment points.
"Thank heavens we haven't slowed down too much."
Besides him, Iris nodded in relief as well. "The combat carriers are very powerful. If not for the need to accompany and shield the supporting vessels, we could have raced out of this minefield hours ago."
Certainly, the one course of action everyone had in mind was to evacuate and abandon the transports and logistics ships. Taking none but the extra crew, the unburdened combat carriers would be able to depart from this star system with significant haste.
The only problem was that they would lose virtually all of their gains from the Detemen System, as well as make their supply crunch worse. Verle couldn't afford to destroy their long-term hopes by pursuing a drastic short-term benefit.
After the immediate problem was dealt with, Major Verle directly called the chief security officer that presided over Finmoth Regal.
"Explain to me why your ship has blown up from the insides! Is every threat taken care of or is there still an ongoing crisis?"
Against Verle's pressing questions, the chief security officer looked haggard and not at all prepared.
"We're still surveying the damage. Several fires have broken out that we are in the process of putting out. One of our hangar bays is completely locked down while the other ones are paralyzed due to fears of other bombs. We are sweeping the Finmoth Regal back and forth but it will take at least an hour to scour every nook and cranny. Even then, I'm afraid we won't be able to catch everything, sir."
"I don't care about that! How long do you need to get the engines back to work?!"
"Sir! The chief engineer has told me that the damage is limited but precise. Key components need to be fabricated on the spot, while the damaged engines need to be disassembled and reassembled almost completely. The shortest time frame our engineers can give is four hours."
Four hours was a long time to go for the task force to traverse. Major Verle heavily depended on the acceleration of the ships under his command to shrug off their pursuers.
As long as they possessed enough speed, they could outrun every opponent and transition back to FTL where they would be safe!
"If it speeds up the repairs, don't hesitate to borrow additional engineers from our other ships! Every second that the Regal is immobile will only delay our departure further!"
"U-U-Understood, major! We will get on it and restore the engines as quickly as possible!"
That was the best they could hope for. Like any ship component, their engines converted an enormous amount of power to propel the vessels forward. They served different purposes from mech engines, and all of them looked huge and imposing in many ways.
Ves knew that damaging a critical part such as the engines of a ship needed a lot of time to resolve. Their size added a lot of complexity to their workings. While that made the engines more powerful or flexible, it also made it harder to get around their dimensions and weight when they needed to repair or service them. Repairing damaged ship engines within four hours already sounded like a stretch.
Fortunately, a ship didn't require any working sublight engines to transition into FTL.
Ships traversed through the higher dimensions through some esoteric means via their FTL drives. The principles involved were exceedingly complex and not something that Ves would ever understand. He only knew the bare basics that were taught to any school child.
In any case, they hadn't fallen into despair yet. A ship could lose its sublight engines, but it could never afford to lose their FTL drives.
The FTL drive and power reactor therefore enjoyed the highest level of protection. They would be much harder to tamper with compared to a slightly less important component such as the engines.
No matter how Ves looked at it, the suspect mechs and the three suspicious mech technicians shouldn't have led to catastrophic damage to the Finmoth Regal.
"Did everyone let down their guard or something? That chief security officer doesn't inspire much confidence."
"That's how it is with the Vandals." Iris remarked. "They receive way more incompetents than any other mech regiment of the Mech Corps. It shouldn't be a surprise that the ranks are rife with incompetents. Positions still need to be filled even if there is no one suitable to take the place. I would argue that your temporary field promotion is out of helplessness as well. They wouldn't have chosen to promote you to head designer."
Ves couldn't refute her words, especially since he directly benefited from it. Still, Ves inwardly complained about the lack of competence and professionalism around the Flagrant Vandals. The mech regiment's inherent nature forced them to accept subpar recruits even if they wished to kick them away.
The entire mech regiment still needed running somehow! If the Vandals constantly tilted up their noses and arrogantly rejected most of the people they received, they would quickly lose their strength and reputation.
Ves tried to dig in more at what happened at the Regal. The latest updates on the internal network suggested that the Regal's security officers had already flagged the three mech technicians as people that warranted extra attention.
Somehow, the security contingent aboard the Regal never followed up on the early warnings. The alert notices got lost in the system and became forgotten, all the while the trio started to scavenge and cobble up something together during their off-hours.
Naturally, the incompetent security officers of the Finmoth Regal only found out about the latter after the explosions occurred.
The issue didn't appear to be so simple. An average mech technician would never be allowed to enter the hangar bay. It was off-limits to anyone except ship crew that needed to be there for some reason.
"Are the mech technicians really spies, or did they have something else in store for us?
The most obvious signs pointed towards a straightforward infiltration by pirates. His overactive imagination blanked out for a bit as he considered various alternatives. Yet without any proof, it was useless to speculate.
In the end, this incident only served as a distraction for the main event. If nothing else, the sudden sabotage prompted every other ship in the fleet to double-check their critical sections for similar signs of sabotage.
This was mainly a concern for the ship officers. The mech officers on the other hand urged some of their squads to return to the hangar bays and replenish their supplies before going back out again.
Within minutes, the mechs would shift their priorities from shooting down mines to taking down the Calico Dancer Bats. The coming engagement was a critical one where the Vandals needed to escape the entanglement of the Vesian light mech regiment.
Ves felt regretful that he hadn't come up with any clever tactics or any other tricks that could land them an easy victory. The Dancer Bats were simply too well-funded to field mechs with numerous vulnerabilities.
On the face of it, the entire match-up seemed ridiculous. How could eighty light mechs contend against a force of over five-hundred spaceborn mechs?
"The answer is speed, or rather distance."
The flotilla from Imodris split up in two. The corvettes nimbly spread out to serve as additional eyes on the battlefield while the lumbering transports escaped before they could be targeted.
Only the combat carriers mattered. They possessed slightly better specs than the combat carriers fielded by the Vandals. Even when it concerned their combat carriers, the Calico Dancer Bats never stopped prioritizing their speed!
This absolute suppression of speed gave the Vesian mech regiment ample confidence in preventing their prey from escaping. The only thing they needed to do to prevent the Flagrant Vandals from escaping into FTL was to throw a bunch of gravitic mines at them. These didn't need to be expensive or all that powerful. If they brought enough gravitic mines, they could even drag it out for several days.
Ves looked depressed when the Vandals hadn't managed to come up with another solution besides a risky one he happened to disagree with. The only way to overcome the acceleration gap was to overload their fastest mechs, which in their case happened to be the Inheritor mechs.
He couldn't help but warn Major Verle of the consequences of his decision. "Those mechs will be ruined after an hour or more of fighting. Even if they can end the battle faster, they'll need extensive servicing to bring them back to a usable condition."
"At this stage, we don't have any other choice. The only way we can satisfy our thirst is to drink poison. Considering our options, overloading the Inheritor mechs is less lethal than any other poisons we can opt for. It should be sufficient to overload a hundred of them for a start."
Chapter 529
The time for battle arrived. Though the Flagrant Vandals already spent hours reducing the space mines homing in on them, they posed a nuisance at best.
In the eyes of mech pilots, only other mechs could threaten mechs.
The 2nd Calico Dancer Bats of the 3rd Imodris Division enjoyed a rich martial tradition.
The martial tradition of a mech regiment formed the core of their identity and strength. Measured in years, they served as a convenient measuring stick to compare to other mech regiments.
The Flagrant Vandals had only been founded less than two generations ago. With less than sixty years of development since their founding, they built up an adequate but lackluster martial tradition.
As for the Calico Dancer Bats, their founding was several hundred years ago. Entire generations had been raised to serve in the Dancer Bats. Some mech pilots could even point back to their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so-on as generational Dancer Bats.
Over hundreds of years, the Dancer Bats evolved into a unique mech regiment that was truly unique in the galaxy. With a rich culture and strong camaraderie, their willpower was practically unbreakable. No matter how badly a battle progressed, they never faltered in the line of duty. They fled only when ordered to and they wouldn't hesitate to fight to the last man if the stakes were high.
Their rich martial tradition not only strengthened their belief, they also refined their battle methods. With their abundantly-staffed design teams, they designed the most optimized mechs for the roles the Calico Dancer Bats demanded out of their mechs. Over many decades, they practiced, tested, and revised their tactics and strategies with their unique mech models until they honed themselves into a razor sharp killing machine.
The Calico Dancer Bats nominally consisted of a spaceborn light regiment, but that belied their ferocity in battle.
Some light regiments exclusively dealt with reconnaissance, harassment, stealth and anti-stealth warfare. Such regiments acted as support for the heavier regiments that did all of the fighting.
The Calico Dancer Bats didn't believe in letting other mech regiments do the fighting in their stead. While they often fulfilled support roles, more often than not they sought to enter the fray in earnest. This earned them a lot of renown over the years as a true battle regiment.
The Vesian regiment's rich tradition and exemplary battle record weighed down heavily upon the Flagrant Vandals. They hadn't even clashed yet, but already most mech pilots started to feel suppressed.
It was ridiculous, but over five-hundred mech pilots felt apprehensive about going into battle against a meager force of eighty Calico Dancer Bats.
That was because the Dancer Bats embodied their name in battle. They developed exquisite tactics and routines that allowed their light mechs to pose a serious threat against a larger but clumsier force. Their favorite tactic was to disperse into a chaotic sphere around a slower group of mechs and pelt them endlessly with their light submachine guns.
Though the Dancer Bats wouldn't be able to deal much damage at the start, neither could the enemies do anything to the annoying circlers. The Bats were too hard to hit with ranged weapons and they were too fast to be caught by melee mechs. Their marksmanship with their famous submachine guns wasn't too shabby either.
Ves had quickly read up on these facts from the intelligence section of the central database. As their mortal enemies, the Bright Republic possessed a good understanding of each Vesian mech regiment, especially one that showed up often during every Bright-Vesia War.
"The difference between the Calico Dancer Bats and the Flagrant Vandals is too big." Ves spoke softly.
Iris nodded in agreement. "The Calico Dancer Bats are one of the premier light mech regiments from the Imodris Duchy. Their mech pilots throw themselves into battle without hesitation. That's not so unusual, but the remarkable thing about them is that they are crafty in battle. They always manage to survive or turn around a bad situation. Their adaptability is their strongest trait."
Perhaps the Calico Dancer Bats wouldn't be as good in raiding ships and facilities as the Flagrant Vandals, but when it came to large-scale mech brawls, the Vesians would feel right at home.
In this situation where the Vandals almost lost heart even before the battle had begun, Major Verle stood up and activated a fleet-wide broadcast. Every serviceman halted their work as projections of their commanding officer emerged in the middle of each compartment.
"Vandals. We stand at the precipice of annihilation. I won't mince words with you. If we don't depart from this star system in the next hour, we might never be able to leave forever. Standing in our way are the fine warriors of the Calico Dancer Bats. They are but eighty active fighters among them. Will we allow ourselves to be disgraced by an outnumbered force?"
"No!"
Indignation swelled among the Vandals.
"The Calico Dancer Bats are formidable, but so are we! With our numbers and our grit, it's impossible for the Dancer Bats to overcome us! Don't be fooled by their reputation, their mechs are just as vulnerable as ours! There is nothing to fear from them, because they are but an egg trying to smash against a rock! Believe in yourself and believe in your comrades! Remember who you are! We are the Flagrant Vandals! We take what is ours!"
"We take what is ours!"
Major Verle didn't let his speech go on forever. The mech pilots only needed a slight reminder to regain their confidence.
Ves witnessed as the various mechs finished their resupply. By now, most of the mines had lost most of their fuel. They only retained a fraction in the case the minelayers returned to retrieve them. In any case, the mines had done their job. The initial strikes peeled away a significant amount of armor from several combat carriers while the rest had rattled the Vandals and exhausted some of their stamina.
Thus, the Vandals deploying into battle at this moment weren't fresh anymore. Though they had been trained to endure adverse conditions, their readiness couldn't compare to the eighty Calico Dancer Bats that stood in opposition.
Their pristine mechs split up in two companies and awaited the arrival of their adversaries. In any case, the Vandals needed to take the initiative, leaving the Dancer Bats free to react whenever they wanted.
Against the menacing burgundy and black Vandal mechs, the mechs of the Calico Dancer Bats coated their mechs in their namesake calico-colored pattern. On their left chest, they bore the emblem of their mech regiment, which depicted a stylization of a cheeky calico-colored bat.
The two companies employed two different mech models in equal proportions. They consisted of a submachine gun-wielding skirmisher mech and a longer-ranged frontline spaceborn mech. Ves already read the details on their designs. The former was called the Pinprick and the latter became known as the Brain Scrambler.
Both the Pinprick and the Brain Scrambler served as the mainstay mechs of the Calico Dancer Bats. They hadn't brought any other models along, but the two that showed up so far enabled them to employ plenty of tactics already.
If the Flagrant Vandals couldn't overcome a force that deployed their two lightest and cheapest mechs, then they might as well disband their regiment on the spot.
Compared to the cohesion and uniformity of the ranks of the Dancer Bats, the Vandals appeared a lot shabbier despite fielding over three-hundred spaceborn mechs.
Major Verle decided to throw almost all of the Inheritor mechs at his disposal as well as some frontline mechs of their own to chase after the enemy mechs. Meanwhile, he would put their slower mechs on reserve, which included the Hellcat hybrid knights.
He was rather helpless in this decision because the mechs and combat carriers of the Calico Dancer Bats were all capable of swift acceleration. They could both outpace the Inheritors in ordinary circumstances.
Unfortunately for them, this wasn't a regular circumstance.
"Sir, the Inheritors are ready to be deployed."
"Send them in! Follow the plan and don't overload too early."
A sweeping number of Inheritors and a smaller group of frontline mechs that provided ranged support accelerated away from the task force. They started to close the gap to the Calico Dancer Bats and would eventually bridge the entire gap in fifteen minutes.
The Bats didn't want to get caught so early, so they immediately increased their propulsion to match the pace of their pursuers.
Naturally, they also didn't forget their primary duties. Their long-ranged mechs occasionally fired long-range laser beams at the Vandal ships. The attacks dealt little damage against the armored prow of the combat carriers, but nobody felt good about being pelted all day.
The Vandals replied with at least double the number of laser beams. However, their level of marksmanship was much lower, so they missed more often than not. They focused most of their fire against the enemy combat carriers, but the ships waded through the laser grids like graceful dolphins.
The few laser beams that scorched their exterior hardly affected any section of armor.
This was just an appetizer for both forces. Nobody took these errant laser beams seriously. What mattered more was whether the Vandals would be able to catch up with the fleeing Calico Dancer Bats.
Their reputation was not for show. As soon as it appeared the Vandals inched closer with each passing second, the ships and mechs and the Dancer Bats accelerated at full power. The distance widened yet again.
In these circumstances, the Inheritor mechs had no choice but to overload their power reactor and flight systems in order to have any chance of catching up.
Every minute they overloaded their systems, the affected components suffered months worth of wear and tear. Fighting for an hour at this level would already be a commendable feat.
They needed to finish this in half an hour or less. Otherwise, the Inheritor mechs would degrade up to the point where they became total write-offs after the battle.
The Vandals couldn't push their Inheritor mechs too much. They still needed them in subsequent battles.
With that in mind, Ves minutely calculated the most optimal overload level to push their systems. Too little, and the speed boost was too marginal. Too much, and the mechs wouldn't be able to last the entire battle.
Because the mechs hadn't received any significant modifications to accommodate such abuse, Ves had been forced to pick a somewhat conservative overload level of twenty percent. This basically meant the mechs performed twenty percent better in certain areas.
With the sudden twenty percent speed boost, the Inheritors suddenly appeared capable enough to catch up to the Calico Dancer Bats.
This definitely surprised the Vesians. Several minutes went by as the Vandals waited for how their enemy would respond. Would they overload their systems as well to drag out this chase?
"What are the odds they will choose to overload their systems?" Iris asked Ves.
He shrugged. "How would I know? I'm not too familiar with the Calico Dancer Bats. If they want to fulfill their mission, they should choose to reciprocate. However, unlike us, they not only need to overload their mechs, but also their combat carriers. I can tell you that the consequences of overloading the propulsion of a combat carrier is no laughing matter."
The bigger and more complex propulsion systems of these robust vessels granted them greater leeway in overloading their systems, but the expense was also ruinous. In addition, anything that could go wrong might blow up an entire ship. Thus, the Dancer Bats needed to decide whether to continue to stay out of reach or counterattack in order to preserve their carriers.
In the end, the Dancer Bats continued to flee without adjusting their current course. They chose to stall for time but preserve the integrity of their mechs.
"Looks like we won this first round." Ves sighed. He silently applauded Major Verle for being able to pressure the Dancer Bats without inflicting too much damage. "It looks like the Dancer Bats are too arrogant. For an aggressive mech regiment like theirs, fleeing to the point of overloading their systems is probably a step too far. They would rather let us catch up to them in order to beat us down."
Chapter 530
Soon enough time passed for the Inheritors to enter into engagement range to the two Vesian combat carriers.
Ves kept an eye on the telemetry of a sample of Inheritors throughout the ordeal. He watched carefully for anomalies and other dangerous signs.
Several times, he detected latent dangers such as an excessive buildup of heat in one section or a weakening of the power draw in another section.
He was quite good at detecting these kinds of dangers. Each time he spotted something worrisome, he came up with a solution and sent the entire package to the mech pilot.
Naturally, every mech pilot that read the message attached to the setting tweaks couldn't understand a thing of what Ves proposed. All of the jargon and technical numbers looked like a maze to these brutes.
What, did you think mech pilots studied advanced calculus or engineering in the academies?
None of the pilots understood his tweaks, but since they came from the head designer, they all accepted them without too much consideration. After all, the head designer was the most knowledgeable mech specialist among them. Their belief in his capabilities was naively high.
These on-the-fly adjustments compensated for the quick and dirty last-minute modifications made to the Inheritors.
Throughout the time the task force waded through the minefield, Ves ordered the mech designers to supervise a frantic modification of the Inheritor mechs in order to squeeze more speed out of their skinny frames.
The suddenness of the Vesian ambush and the shortage of time precluded any major overhauls.
"If only we had a week's worth of warning." He sighed in the command center of the Shield of Hispania. "With that much time, our mech designers and mech technicians could have bolstered the internals of those Inheritors to withstand the overload."
Iris smiled ruefully at him next to his seat. "You can't predict anything in war. Events never progress the way we want to, because Lady Luck and our opponents are playing the same game as us. Be thankful that we are only facing two mech companies. This is far from our worst-case scenario."
The worst-case scenario would be getting cornered by an entire Mech Legion. There could be no escape if the famous Lady Amalia managed to throw all the mechs at her disposal at them. Even the arrival of two additional mech regiments cut down their chances of escape by ninety percent.
The Flagrant Vandals needed to mop up the two companies in record time in order to avoid more complications.
Ves was relieved to see that the overloaded Inheritors held themselves together so far. In order to speed them up even further, he enacted some modifications that didn't take much time to implement.
The mech technicians worked around the clock to complete these modifications. They deployed with only half of their energy cells, which saved them a fair amount of mass at the cost of halving their uptime. They also stripped various other components that wouldn't be needed in the coming battle.
Considering that they needed to finish this battle quickly, Major Verle approved of the changes. Fighting a lengthy engagement was no different from getting annihilated, so they needed to pull all the stops.
All of that sacrifice served their purpose. The Inheritors inexorably caught up to the Pinpricks and Brain Scramblers. Both of the latter mechs primarily relied on ranged weaponry, so the Vesians attacked first.
As their model name suggested, the Pinpricks didn't deal much damage. Their submachine guns fired light caliber ballistic shells at a rapid rate of fire. Nevertheless, they carried a fairly high amount of ammunition, so they could keep up their harassment for a fairly lengthy time.
Compared to laser weapons of the same power and capacity, ballistic weapons had the edge in lethality. The Pinpricks weren't meant to last forever in a battle of attrition. Their designers only opted for ballistic submachine guns because a laser weapon version simply possessed too little threat.
One of the downsides of the submachine gun was that it wasn't very accurate at long ranges. The Pinpricks needed to wait until the Inheritors came into medium range before they had a chance of hitting them. Even then, the inherent inaccuracy of the weapons and their awkward postures due to the chase didn't allow them to hit the Inheritors very often.
Still, even if they got hit a couple of times, the Inheritor mechs couldn't handle too much damage. They were light mechs after all, and many people likened their armor to fabric rather than plates of alloy.
If not for the extremely light payloads of the submachine gun shells, the Inheritors would have been forced to turn away after suffering a couple of hits at the same section.
As for now, they could probably endure half a magazine, but no more. The Inheritor mechs didn't allow their opponents the luxury to aim at the same spots. They dodged and weaved even as they continued to close the distance.
The only mech they needed to be wary of was the Brain Scrambler. As the spaceborn frontline mechs of the Calico Dancer Bats, the Brain Scrambler served as their medium to long-ranged fire support.
Frontline mechs stripped everything that wasn't essential to a mech to minimize their production cost and complexity of piloting them. The Brain Scrambler resembled a spacecraft more than a mech as it resembled an armed shuttle with gun barrels for arms more than some humanoid or bestial creation.
In truth, calling it a mech at all would be stretching it, as it completely lacked a pair of legs and a head. Everything except its weapon was embedded into their center body.
The only reason why people called such spaceborn crafts a mech rather than a fighter was because it needed a mech pilot to interface with the machine. Of course, due to lacking all of those complicated limbs, even the most untalented pilots could make a contribution with these simple mechs.
Replacing their humanoid arms with rotating gun barrels might have reduced their flexibility to a low point, but it gave them a considerable amount of firepower.
The worst thing about the Brain Scramblers was that they fired higher caliber high-explosive shells. Though they couldn't carry a lot of ammunition for that reason, their threat level was much higher despite being much less valuable than the Pinpricks.
"Boss, why are they called the Brain Scramblers?" Iris asked.
"The Brain Scramblers are mostly employed in large numbers and in pitched battles on the frontlines. Their purpose isn't necessarily to kill their targets. Instead, they're meant to disrupt heavily armored mechs by rattling them with constant explosions."
"Is that why they run out of shells so fast?"
"Yeah. Their shells are heavier than what light mechs ought to fire, so the trade off is fairly serious. They won't be able to sustain this bombardment for very long."
A dozen Inheritors already fell through focused fire. The Brain Scramblers didn't scatter their fire over hundreds of targets and instead concentrated their fire on a handful of unlucky Inheritors. Dozens of miniature cannon shells bombarded a small box around their position.
The Brain Scrambler's advanced targeting systems did most of the targeting for the mech pilots. They linked up with each other and consistently targeted a small area around an Inheritor, which ensured it would get hit no matter where it tried to dodge.
Through this tactic, they steadily reduced the Inheritors arrayed against them, though their ammunition stores also dwindled quickly. The Vandals suffered badly from this round of fire as the Inheritors didn't even bring their backup pistols to retaliate. The extra weight, however miniscule, would detrimentally affect their speed.
The only mitigating factor about the unilateral exchange of fire was that not a lot of pilots actually died. Though the Brain Scramblers possessed a fair amount of firepower, they were light mechs in the end, so their shells weren't immediately lethal to the Inheritors upon impact. Many Inheritors simply dropped out of the chase as their core components malfunctioned. Other mechs ejected their cockpits in time as their mechs started to show signs of breaking up.
The fallen mechs and ejected cockpits would be picked up later on by the task force as they trailed the chase.
Sometime later, the Brain Scramblers expended most of their reserves. They started to reduce their firing rate by a drastic amount. The Calico Dancer Bats wanted them to remain relevant, so they started to stretch out whatever ammunition they had left.
The cost to the Vandals was fairly grievous. Over fifty Inheritors either turned to scrap or sustained too much damage to continue the chase. Ves practically bled from his heart when he calculated the cost of restoring and replacing them in his head.
Even if the Inheritor mechs was one of their cheapest mech models, the nominal cost to replenish those mechs could easily reach a billion credits, and that only applied to normal market conditions.
In their current condition where they needed to scavenge for resources or get ripped off by trading them at vastly inflated prices, the effective cost was several times higher!
"Waging war is like throwing money into a gluttonous black hole! There's hardly any profit to be made!"
This was good news for mech manufacturers that supplied the mechs to the military. More fighting meant more mechs got wrecked. More losses meant a higher demand for replacement. Although the LMC wasn't worthy enough to partner with any mech regiment, even the private sector would sustain heavy losses during the war.
If they managed to survive these turbulent times, Ves figured that his company would be able to make a killing in sales.
With roughly a hundred-and-fifty Inheritors remaining in the vanguard wave, they finally came close enough to threaten the Dancer Bat mechs. Every aggrieved Vandal mech pilot must be grinning right now as their mechs brandished their twin knives.
Major Verle issued a command. "Double Chevron Assault!"
The Inheritors immediately formed into double squad-sized chevrons that were two files deep. There was a fair amount of distance between the forward chevron and the rear chevron. For what purpose, Ves didn't know.
In any case, this tactic appeared to be more than a simple charge. As soon as every Inheritor took their places, they collectively raised their overload from twenty percent to thirty percent!
Ves almost stood up when that happened! The internal damage sustained by those light mechs was at least twice as much now that they endured an additional ten percent strain!
Nobody told him that the Vandals would do something like this! If Ves knew what they intended to do, he would have been firmer in his warnings!
Although an additional ten percent overload didn't sound like much, it supercharged the Inheritors. With the extra bump in speed and power, the chevron formations rapidly surged towards the Pinpricks that had been firing their submachine guns at the Vandals in a leisurely fashion.
The sudden acceleration came as a shock to the Calico Dancer Bats, but true to their rich tradition, they didn't panic. It took only a second for their commanding officers to reassert command.
Towards the incoming chevrons, the Calico Dancer Bats didn't choose to take them head-on. After all, the Brain Scramblers possessed no melee capability at all while the Pinpricks only treated their knives as a secondary weapon.
Their response appeared soon enough. The two companies split up into two. One angled upwards and the other angled downwards. They didn't separate too far, only enough before the chance of friendly fire became too great.
"What is this formation?" Ves asked. "It kind of looks like..."
"A hamburger." Iris finished for him. Though it looked comical, neither of them were in the mood to laugh. "It's the famous Hamburger Chaotic Bat Formation. It's a variant of their signature Chaotic Bat Formation, the one where they circle around their targets while pelting them with their SMGs. The hamburger variant is more suitable against larger formations."
True to form, the chevrons started to scatter in various directions as the hamburger buns that made up the Dancer Bat mechs tried to turn them into their meat patty.
Both sides pretty much lost their cohesion. The Double Chevron Assault never came into play, but the Dancer Bats didn't manage to sandwich the Vandals either.
The battle quickly devolved into a chaotic mass dogfight.
Ves initially thought that the Inheritor mechs should have the advantage in such a confusing melee, but Iris quickly disabused his notion.
"The Calico Dancer Bats are sometimes known as the Chaotic Dancer Bats. Don't think that they're at a disadvantage right now. The battle has just begun!"
Chapter 531
Humans used mechs as war machines. It sounded simple, but in the Age of Mechs, they became ubiquitous. For various reasons, regulations on owning a machine that could wipe out an entire town in a handful of minutes was fairly lax. Anyone decent enough and with the right paperwork could own one.
These days, much more mechs circulated on the market than in the military. Of course, the former couldn't compare to the latter in quality. Nevertheless, when it came to earning money, the private sector was the way to go.
Institutions that taught mech design groomed their students for the private market. Some did a better job than others, but the starting point was always focused on preparing future mech designers to the harsh realities of trying to compete in a cutthroat market.
This inevitably biased his studies and practical experience towards private sector mechs. He learned all about how to market his product and what he needed to pay attention to in order to maximize its sales.
Ves thought that knowing how to design a private sector mech was enough to encompass almost every standard mech variation. No matter how esoteric their design turned out to be, the fundamental goal was to turn a profit.
The battle currently raging a fair distance away from the ships of the task force turned his conception upside-down. Though he already experienced the humongous battles on land and in space at the Glowing Planet campaign, the scale was just too massive for Ves to relate. He also worried about other priorities back then. Now, he realized that he missed a lot of opportunities.
Perhaps because he was invested in the Flagrant Vandals and the Inheritor model, Ves cared a lot more about how mechs actually fought.
Mechs meant for the private market mostly relied on their individual characteristics as their selling points. Their performance, the quality of their materials and the technologies incorporated into them served as the fundamental measuring stick for their ultimate value.
When Ves initially began to take up his new duties with the Flagrant Vandals, he needed to readjust his commercial mindset a little bit. He couldn't help but look at every element of a design and make a mental calculation of their cost and price to performance ratio.
Not every mech designer looked at mechs in this light, especially the careerists. While they certainly needed to deal with budgets and other constraints, they only followed the rules because they'd been told to by their superiors, not because of an individual need to minimize their expenses.
In the end, the military and commercial mech industries differed too much.
The current battle between the fastest Vandal mechs and the Dancer Bat mechs revealed that mech battles revolved around more than just the raw performance of the mechs.
Formations played a significant role as well.
Mechs meant for the private market often ended up in the hands of mercenary corps and company forces. The mech pilots employed by these outfits only had a tenuous grasp on discipline, and their coordination was primitive at best.
Two private sector outfits going at each other resembled more of a street brawl than a proper battle.
Thus, Ves never had a proper introduction in the use of formations up to now.
The Calico Dancer Bats responded with the so-called Hamburger Chaotic Bat Formation. In this formation, the Brain Scramblers took a backseat due to their depleted ammunition, but the swift and agile Pinpricks picked up the slack.
Despite being outnumbered by the enemy, the Dancer Bats largely held on. It looked kind of silly to Ves. He even had a misconception of an oversized meat patty being sandwiched by two overly thin buns. The bread should have broken apart, but in fact they continued to pressure the somewhat constrained hamburger patty.
"Do you see, boss?" Iris noted. As a Vesian rebel, her understanding of the Vesian mech models surpassed his own. She knew the famous mech regiments such as the Calico Dancer Bats like the back of her hand. "The Dancer Bats thrive on chaos. It's what they've made for. Right now, we're losing our Inheritors at a rate of three-to-one."
Certainly, the performance of the Inheritors in this melee was frankly abysmal. The Calico Dancer Bats simply schooled them with the use of a particularly annoying sub-formation called the Batwing Ribbon Cutter.
Half-squads of five Pinpricks formed in a single file and looped around a single target. Each of them roughly followed the same trajectory and fired at the same target in a single instant, which almost always guaranteed a Vandal mech going down.
The Vandals switched up their own formation in response. Thankfully to Ves, the pilots pulled their Inheritors back from their overloaded state now that they didn't have to catch up anymore.
The Vandals employed the so-called Hungry Crow Attack, a formation that resembled the Batwing Ribbon Cutter but had been adjusted for melee mechs.
The Inheritors picked out a single target and dove at it in quick succession. The expectation here was that their target would definitely block or evade the knife attacks of the lead mech.
The second Inheritor followed up on the initial attack and stood a higher chance of inflicting damage. Even then, if their target still managed to get away, it should have certainly become more rattled. If the second Inheritor couldn't leave a mark, the third, fourth or fifth mechs all got their own opportunities.
Like annoying crows pecking at an increasingly feeble body, the Inheritors managed to take out more and more Pinprick mechs.
This tipped the balance in their favor. Even if the Vandals lost more mechs at the start, the Calico Dancer Bats only came with eighty mechs. Each mech that got wrecked weighed much heavier on them because it tilted the balance of power disproportionately to their enemies.
"The Calico Dancer Bats have done a lot of damage, but they're done for now. I'm impressed with their battle grit, but they've bitten off way more than they could chew." Ves guessed. "Their combat carriers are being threatened by our second wave of mechs."
While the Inheritor mechs kept the Pinpricks and Brain Scramblers busy, the Vandals also sent out a second wave of mechs to pursue the combat carriers that carried the Vesian mechs into this star system. Though the Hellcats and other spaceborn mechs of the Vandals couldn't quite catch up to the enemy combat carriers, just chasing it was enough of a threat.
As the battle progressed, Ves saw that the Flagrant Vandals got better at dismantling their opposition. Their early successes boosted their faltering morale and with the numbers growing ever greater in their favor, they began to crush the Calico Dancer Bats in numbers.
Naturally, the Bats didn't take this lightly and started to improve and adjust their tactics and formations. They started to get used to the fighting style of the Vandals and prevented a complete collapse.
Still, as much as both sides suffered, they couldn't let this battle of attrition go on. The Pinpricks simply didn't have the numbers to annihilate the quick and agile Inheritors anymore. In order to take down a single Inheritor, a half-squad needed to use up several magazines each just to strip away the surface armor to have a decent shot of hitting something critical.
Thus, as the Calico Dancer Bats declined to about fifty mechs, the previously lackluster Brain Scramblers simultaneously fired shells in the middle of the melee that quickly exploded into massive particle clouds that acted as obscuring smoke.
"The Calico Dancer Bats are pulling back! Both their mechs and combat carriers are overloading their flight systems!"
By letting the Flagrant Vandals close the gap, they let themselves be crushed by overwhelming numbers. The Calico Dancer Bats evidently hadn't been ordered to fight to the death. Their decision to perform a tactical repeat marked the end of the battle.
The Flagrant Vandals won!
"Clean up the battlefield and retrieve mechs and escape pods. Prioritize speed, I don't want to stick around in this star system longer than we have to. This is just the start. Imodris has more ships on their way."
"Sir, what about the enemy mechs and escape pods?"
"Leave them alone. We don't have the time to recover their mechs and tend to possible prisoners."
The Calico Dancer Bats sincerely fled from the Vandals. As the cleanup and rescue operation went underway. They received no obstruction from their distant opponents.
As for the enemy escape pods, it appeared that Major Verle didn't wish to offend the Dancer Bats. After all, the previous battle was fought in an open and upfront fashion. Although the Vandals lost a fair amount of Inheritors, the Calico Dancer Bats didn't go out of their way to destroy any flying escape pods.
The Vandals held no hard feelings towards the Dancer Bats.
While everyone rejoiced over their minor victory, Ves sighed and pressed his palms over his hand. He could already imagine the mountain load of work that needed to be done after the battle.
Perhaps the Vandals won the engagement by forcing the Dancer Bats to retreat, but they lost quite seriously in terms of mechs and resources.
"Is this what the Calico Dancer Bats are after? They attempted to force a fight not to delay us, but to starve us out?"
This was definitely a devious strategy! Lieutenant Commander Soapstone already told Ves that acquiring more resources was a titanic struggle in the Vesia Kingdom.
Ves gazed obsessively at the projections as they depicted the Vandal mechs retrieving the fallen mechs that hadn't made it to the end of the battle. This helped much to recoup some of their losses, but they still needed lots of supplements to repair most of the internal damage due to their reckless overload.
"I'm going to hate my job tomorrow. There are way too many issues with those Inheritors. Overloading their systems by thirty percent practically aged their mechs by several years.
Letting all of that wear and tear accumulate to such an extent was ruinous! Ves definitely needed to ride his people hard if he wished to get the Inheritors back to full strength.
The brief battle served as the prelude for their escape. The two companies made it off fairly lightly while the Vandals learned a brutal lesson that they still fell short of matching the military prowess of a proper mech regiment.
More importantly, it also taught him that Ves needed to pay attention to more than just the individual performance of a mech. Formations had the potential to leverage the strengths of the mechs that performed them and allowed them to exploit weaknesses they shouldn't have been able to do so by themselves.
"This engagement was rather short but devastating to us." Iris softly said. "Even if we drove them off, we won't be at our best in the following days."
"We'll just have to pull up our sleeves and work a little harder then." Ves replied. He already started to readjust his plans for the future. "The only thing we can't do is solve our resource problems. We're too short on repairing every Inheritor mech that needs servicing."
Iris didn't have a solution for him, which he already expected. Neither did Ves for that matter. He needed to think the situation through and consult with the staff before he implemented his plans.
With the lives of thousands at stake, Ves couldn't afford to be careful and make unilateral decisions on behalf of himself.
The Vandals limped back inside their hangar bays as the fleet prepared to transition into FTL. The gravitic mines that formed such a nuisance to them had been shot down by the marksmen among them. The retreat of their enemy left them with ample time to aim their shots.
Thirty minutes after the end of the battle, the entire fleet successfully transitioned into FTL. They truly fended off extinction, but only for now. The next territory was the Venidse Duchy. The Vandals would all face different circumstances there. At the very least, they needed to get their hands on a lot of materials to cover all the reports.
Ves hated his job.
Chapter 532
Now that the fleet entered into FTL, they didn't have to worry about any enemy attacks for the time being. Each ship could stand down and let the crew relax. Not too much, of course. Plenty of work needed to be done, especially for the mech technicians and mech designers.
Ves frowned at the list of resources the Vandals needed to replenish their losses. The total price tag increased by a third, which signified how many raw materials were required to plug all of the gaps.
"Just a brief skirmish already inflicted so much damage!"
Despite their material losses, the Flagrant Vandals treated it as a win. No matter how skewed their losses turned out to be, they successfully fended off the Calico Dancer Bats and forced them to abort their stalling plans.
Ves knew why the mood was so upbeat. The servicemen really needed a morale booster. Major Verle explicitly ordered everyone smart enough to know the truth to play along with this charade.
He pressed his lips into a line as he wandered across the Shield of Hispania. Everyone acted as if they had become indomitable against all adversity.
To Ves, the Vandals only made it out because of some extreme decisions and the benefit of luck.
If Imodris had been a little more prompt in sending out their reinforcements, the Vandals wouldn't have made it out at all.
Back at his office, Ves worked hours on end to adjust the timetable in response to the heavy damage sustained by the Inheritors. Even mechs that hadn't suffered a single scratch would have soothy smoke emerging from the internals.
"More than two-hundred Inheritors are crippled! This is too much!"
The brief period where the mech pilots pushed the overload from twenty to thirty percent represented a painful spike to the mechs they piloted.
Just as Ves thought he would be handling logistical issues for the entire week, Major Verle suddenly called him up to his office. After entering it, the mech officer immediately brought up a disconcerting topic.
"I'm here to discuss the situation with the Finmoth Regal to you. Our investigators have achieved some preliminary results. Read this first."
The major handed over a data pad to Ves, who quickly scoured through the heavily-summarized report. His expression sank as he realized how far this rabbit hole descended.
When Ves detected something strange from Nemo McAllister's mech, he traced the suspect work back to a trio of mech technicians aboard the Finmoth Regal. When Ves passed his suspicions to Major Verle, he ordered their arrest.
That was when the bombs exploded. The damage to one of the Regal's hangar bay was already bad enough, but taking out an engine almost forced the task force to leave her behind.
They couldn't afford to lose a combat carrier!
Fortunately, the Finmoth Regal was able to keep up by getting towed long enough for her to regain partial propulsion. She was also able to transition into FTL without a problem because FTL travel didn't rely on sublight propulsion in the first place.
Now that the immediate crisis had passed, Major Verle ordered an extensive inspection of the Finmoth Regal. From top to bottom, everything shady and dubious got exposed.
The data pad listed various minor infractions such as illegal gambling rings and fight clubs. None of those incidents really mattered too much so the Vandals who participated in these kinds of activities only suffered a slap on the wrist.
The investigators focused more on the serious infractions. A loose string of threats and blackmail eventually led to Chief Technician Michael Elin.
"I see now." Ves uttered with shock and disappointment. "Chief Elin was one of the ringleaders responsible for the embezzlement that we cracked down on. I can't believe he got mixed with traitors."
The three mech technicians who installed the unauthorized modifications in Nemo's mech couldn't be brought to questioning because they all blew themselves up. The investigators tried hard, but they couldn't identify any fellow conspirators. The three had always acted in a low-key manner and made few friends among the crew of the Finmoth Regal. The only person aboard the ship that had a connection to them was the chief that supervised their activities.
As their superior, Chief Elin should have kept a closer eye on what the hidden traitors had been up to. Letting them install unauthorized modifications without a single checkup was a massive act of negligence on the part of the chief.
While chief technicians couldn't possibly ride behind the shoulders of every subordinate, they should at least be diligent enough to check off any completed modifications.
"How did Chief Elin get mixed up with the traitors in the first place?"
"Money, basically." Major Verle sighed and rubbed his tired face. "The treacherous trio got inside his good books and helped him facilitate the embezzlement. They became his left and right arms and did all of the actual work. Through years of pretending to be his dimwitted but loyal henchmen, Chief Elin completely trusted their loyalty."
"Even then, regulations state that chiefs have to double-check everyone's finished work no matter how much they favor them. How did the traitors manage to get the chief off their backs?"
"They took advantage of the embezzlement that Chief Elin was engaged in. It's very simple, Mr. Larkinson. As the mastermind behind this scheme, would the chief want to get caught red-handed trying to manipulate the machines that siphoned away a minute portions of valuable exotics?"
"He would want to stay away as far as he can. In fact, it would be better if Chief Elin exposed himself as little as possible."
The traitors certainly outsmarted the greedy chief who thought nothing about his own benefits. The man whose job was to supervise his underlings completely neglected his fundamental duties.
A chief technician's main job was to direct the mech technicians and stop them from doing any damage! Any other responsibility only served as extras compared to this first demand.
Thus, with the traitors aboard the Finmoth Regal going out with a bang, how could Chief Elin not escape from scrutiny. It took a lot of digging to uncover the hidden files and other shady matters that he had done.
From there, they uncovered a network of over a dozen conspirators, from a security officer that hacked and wiped the ubiquitous monitoring system, to a cargo handler who smuggled packets of high-value exotics to black market dealers whenever the Finmoth Regal berthed at a space station.
The worst thing about it was that the conspiracy even extended to a low-ranking mech designer called Loke Vedette. The hapless chump had immediately been thrown into the brig.
Major Verle emphasized the breadth and depth of the conspiracy. "Chief Elin's network extended throughout the middle and lower decks of the Finmoth Regal. Through the enticement of profits, he subverted over a dozen pliable Vandals. It's a failure on multiple levels. Chief responsibility for this failure rests on the Regal's chief security officer, but the captain is culpable as well. As for Mr. Vedette, he has not fulfilled the responsibilities that we expect from our mech designers."
In other words, Ves shared some of the blame as well for letting Vedette be pulled into Chief Elin's schemes.
Rather than come up with some excuse that all of this happened prior to being field promoted to head designer, Ves readily accepted the blame. "I have not been thorough enough in my supervision. His failure is my failure."
"Good" Major Verle smiled. "Accepting your faults is the first step to turning this disaster around."
He only acknowledged the blame because he didn't care too much about his current job. As for blame, in actuality Vedette should have been supervised by Bovis Mercator. So when it came to actual blame, Mercator should have shouldered the brunt of it. Ves already planned a way to get back at his rival for this screw-up. He felt a lot of threat from this ambitious careerist.
"Our security department and I will pass judgment over Chief Elin and his fellow conspirators. The punishments will be handed out by myself as well. While the others have mostly been duped or charmed into participating in Elin's schemes, the chief himself will likely face the ultimate punishment."
Verle didn't need to elaborate on what this punishment entailed. Ves heard enough stories from his aunts and uncles to know that the victim deserved every bit of suffering that they had in store.
If Chief Elin was found guilty of gross negligence and betrayal during an active battle in a time of war, he would get what was known as the Cold Burial or Lonely Trek.
The punishment was known as the cold burial because it was pretty much the opposite to the space burial of the honored dead. While servicemen who fell in the line of duty would be flung into the sun to let his physical manifestation experience a rebirth, no such privilege would be granted to traitors.
Chief Elin would pretty much be pushed inside an air car-sized coffin and be locked with some loose restraints. The coffin would have a miniature life-support system that provided the former chief with a complete circulation of nutrient packs, water and oxygen. Naturally, the waste management system would recycle the waste products and blend them with cultivated organics to produce another batch of nutrient packs.
Basically, the coffin was a tiny prison where a human would theoretically be able to live out their natural lifespan. It cost a fair bit of resources to fabricate such a meticulous self-enclosed ecosystem, but the Bright Republic definitely had the technology to realize such a thing.
However, it was called a coffin and not a prison for a very good reason. Besides these basic amenities, the coffin held nothing else. No distractions, no connections to any networks, not even a shower.
On top of that, the coffin would be operated by an AI whose sole job was to keep the occupant alive as long as possible. The AI insured the prisoner kept being fed and watered while preventing them from committing suicide. To accomplish this, robust robotic arms would be affixed to the insides of the coffin. Like any other component of the coffin, these arms could not be broken by any human force and were meticulously built to last for centuries.
Any human occupant would die long before the coffin succumbed to time.
This cruel punishment where the occupant suffered an endless, lonely trek in the dark of interstellar space was one of the cruelest punishments that the Mech Corps could give out. Personally, Ves thought Major Verle was being a bit excessive by hinting at this punishment.
He much preferred a straightforward execution to end this matter quickly.
"Why did you tell me this, sir? While I'm not a lawyer, I don't think it's entirely appropriate for you to talk about Chief Elin's punishment before his formal trial."
"In this task force, I set the laws." Verle boldly stated. The man practically glowed when he said that. "Trial or not, Chief Elin's fate is sealed. On our flight from the Kingdom, we can't afford too many mistakes. Any treachery or acts of negligence puts us further and further away from crossing the borders. An example must be made. The slack that we've given the Vandals during peacetime was a mistake. This is the strongest message I can give that any further failures will not be tolerated."
Ves inched a little backward in fright. The mech officer was being really intense right now! "Ah, I understand. You want to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. That's a good idea, sir. Maybe the rest of the Vandals that are scheming against our mech regiment will think twice."
"I'm not so optimistic about that. Vandals will be Vandals. Obedience is not in our DNA. There will always be incidents. The key is to encourage my men to tone them down. At the very least, outright treachery and negligence that leads to deaths must not occur again under my watch."
The man shouldered the responsibility of shepherding the task force safely across the borders and reaching the promised land of the Reinald Republic. The pressure he faced was immense, so Ves somewhat sympathized with the mech officer.
"One more thing, Mr. Larkinson."
"Yes, sir?"
"You are responsible for building Chief Elin's coffin. Do it in person. Make it durable and make it last."
Chapter 533
The Flagrant Vandals used the next few days in FTL travel to pick up the pieces from the previous skirmish. Despite the relatively short and brief engagement, the fight resulted in a lot of material damage.
Fortunately, a lot of mech pilots escaped their crumbling mechs by ejecting in time. Though the task force had lost a fair amount of precious mechs, they could at least rebuild those in time. It was much harder to recruit and train loyal mech pilots. They represented the foundation of a mech regiment.
Ves spent a fair amount of time delegating the repair work. The Vandals recovered many Inheritor wrecks. Some came in incomplete pieces, and ordinarily Ves would have chosen to discard them, but in this time of scarcity they had no choice but to make the best out of what they gathered.
Thus, he formed plans to piece together and repair each Inheritor with minimum resource demands. He tried to puzzle together compatible pieces as best he could and rely on fabricating replacement parts as little as possible.
The repair work became highly complicated due to the inability of the ships in the fleet to exchange parts and resources with each other. They needed to wait until they transitioned out of FTL before they could perform all the queued transfer requests.
Carletta Haine, the chief technician aboard the Shield of Hispania, provided Ves with her own perspective when he dropped by the hangar bays for a visit.
"Kid, this ain't nothing yet. Back when I was a snot-nosed techie in the previous war, I've seen respectable mech companies descend into rags after they barely survived an extended pursuit. It's not the big battles that break their spirit, but rather the little fights here and there. Every battle saps their willpower and resources, and without any chance of replenishing both, they continue to fracture."
Ves frowned at her words. "Do you think we'll suffer through the same kind of ordeal?"
"I'm counting on it. Our mission is ten times harder than anything else like it. We're literally in the heart of the Vesia Kingdom. Do you expect us to breeze past the Vesians as if they're blind? Even if we are taking advantage of rebel help, the most they can do is pull off some tricks. We're essentially on our own here."
He didn't wish to argue this point, having heard it many times before, so he quickly changed topics.
"What do you think about Chief Elin's trial?"
"Ptuh!" The burly female chief spat. A cleaning bot quickly zipped close and cleaned up her mess. "I always knew he couldn't get his hands clean. It's no secret that some of us take liberties now and then, but as long as it isn't worth more than a few hundred credits, every chief wouldn't look too closely. That is until your new resource management system arrived."
"We need to save every milligram of materials that we can if we want to survive this gauntlet." Ves nodded in tacit acknowledgement to her implied words. "Fun times are over now. I believe that Alloc would choose to do the same if he was in my shoes."
"Mr. Brandstad is a decent man and a damn good mech designer! Chief Elin is the exact opposite! That man saw the Finmoth Regal as his own little kingdom. Nothing about mechs aboard that combat carrier escaped his sight. He was the Regal's own little shadow captain."
"Wow, if you knew about all that, why didn't you report it?"
Chief Haine looked at Ves as if he was stupid. "You're way too fresh to understand. Suffice to say, I'm glad that stain is gone. I can't wait to see him drift into space!"
Ves wanted to point out the fact that the trial hadn't come to a verdict yet, but he knew in his heart that the man's fate was sealed. Major Verle made his opinions on the trial very clear, and combined with the evidence collected over the course of a few days, a guilty verdict was practically guaranteed.
The reason why he left the office was to prepare the means of Chief Elin's slow execution. After waving goodbye to Chief Haine, Ves entered one of the Shield of Hispania's machine shops that normally fabricated ship components and utilized it to build up the cold coffin.
A cold burial happened enough times for the Mech Corps to maintain a standardized blueprint in its central database. They even came in many variants. The cheapest ones would crumble after being hit by a small piece of space junk, while others would bounce off and continue to go down their merry way in deep space.
Ves had been ordered to make a robust coffin, so he opted for a middle quality design that ticked all the boxes. Going for something more extravagant and expensive was a massive waste of time and resources.
He felt strange as he fabricated the coffin part by part. His personal involvement in building something which would be someone's grave forced him to reflect on his decisions as head designer.
He felt a little responsible for the mess that happened on the Finmoth Regal. "If I hadn't caught the anomalies and pointed them out to Major Verle, maybe all of those deaths could have been prevented."
If he saved his suspicions until the battle was over, perhaps the Finmoth Regal's security department could have tackled the issue with more finesse.
Still, the situation back then demanded an immediate response. The two suspect Inheritor mechs had replaced their ejection systems with hidden transmitters that sent out who-knew-what to the Vesians. By tackling the transmitters the moment they detected them, the Vandals might have avoided greater calamity.
Ves did not feel guilty for reporting the issue. He only felt as if he could have done something more before the battle erupted.
"Since Chief Elin is one of the most prolific embezzlers, I should have done something more than wash my hands of the past."
He could have talked to Elin or checked up on his past actions. Now, it was too late to remedy his mistakes. While Chief Elin didn't fall under his chain of command, he did hold some responsibilities for the low-ranking mech designer that Elin co-opted in his schemes.
Ves hadn't decided on what to do yet with Loke Vedette. The young mech designer that had been conscripted into the Mech Corps had been too impressionable against Chief Elin's devilish charisma.
Still, even if Vedette lacked a lot of experience, a mech designer should have never subordinated himself to a chief. A proper working relationship should have been the other way around.
For now, Vedette stewed in the Finmoth Regal's brig. Unlike most of his compatriots, he was fortunate enough to escape the fate of a court-martial. All in all, his involvement was very marginal so Ves had been tasked to carry out his judgment.
It didn't take more than a day to finish fabricating the coffin. It looked more like an oversized ball if nothing else. Built with pure metallic alloys and little else, it contained the bare necessities to form a functional coffin for the living. The shackles that restricted the victim were sturdy enough to resist fatigue and the passage of time, while the life support systems incorporated enough redundancies to keep it working even if thirty percent of its components stopped working.
Anyone who got thrown in this coffin would certainly live up the rest of their lifespan in existential agony. Ves made sure of that by fabricating it to the best of his ability.
The Vandals put it to the test the instant they emerged from FTL in some nameless Venidse star system. Fortunately, the system was barren from any Vesian presence, so they had the luxury to rest their ships and transfer resources.
Ves boarded a shuttle carrying Major Verle and several other officers to the Finmoth Regal. Once they arrived at the combat carrier, they carried out another burial ceremony for the few mech pilots and ship crew that lost their lives during the previous skirmish.
Just like last time, many Vandals throughout the task force attended the ceremony through their virtual avatars. Major Verle kept his words fairly brief, and the coffins had all been launched towards the Vesian sun.
"Now that we have sent off our honored dead, it is time for someone else to receive the fate that he deserves."
A floater platform carried forth the hefty cold coffin that Ves had fabricated. At the sight of the familiar object, every Vandal began to scowl or frown. They knew what it meant, and they knew who was about to be buried inside.
A pair of security officers dragged forth a heavily restrained prisoner to the coffin. Chief Elin's court-martial had been broadcasted throughout the fleet yesterday, where he hardly stood a chance against the overwhelming array of evidence against him. With Major Verle bent on setting an example, the former chief was destined for the coffin the very next day.
"MMmhhmmhmm! Mmhmmhmmm!"
Elin's bloodshot eyes looked frantic as he tried to speak around the gag that kept his mouth shut. Maybe he wanted to profess his innocence. Maybe he wanted to curse the brass. Maybe he wanted to drag his comrades down with him. Nobody moved to take away his gag, because the words of the traitor were not worth listening to.
Ves happened to sit besides Loke Vedette. He took the mech designer that had been duped by Chief Elin out of the brig so that he could witness the ultimate fate of someone who's negligence had led to deaths.
"Look closely Vedette. This is the chief you thought who knew how to do your job better. I hope you learn not to lean on others too much for guidance next time."
"Y-Y-Yes sir!"
The two hardly differed in age. Both of them had not yet reached their thirties. Yet their wide gulf in status and capability separated them at different heights. Ves constantly improved and had a bright future ahead of himself, while Vedette was someone who failed to make a name for himself after graduating as a mech designer.
Thus, Ves had no compunctions in treating Vedette as a junior. He even felt a lot of pity for Vedette, to the point of giving him a slap on the wrist.
In any case, the task force was short on mech designers. They couldn't afford to throw capable help in the brig where they would rot for the duration of this mission.
In any case, Ves looked pleased at Vedette's outward reverence towards him. It made him feel powerful and put him in a good mood. He resolved to keep an eye on the young man and see whether he could grow from this potentially career-ending ordeal.
The final ritual almost came to an end. Major Verle stepped down from the podium and approached the well-made coffin. "Mr. Michael Elin, as the former chief technician aboard the Finmoth Regal, you have betrayed your oaths and your fellow Vandals in the naked pursuit for profit. Yesterday, you were found guilty of every charge laid on your foot. Frankly, it disgusts me to be on the same deck as you."
Some of the more unruly Vandals broke the solemn silence by jeering at the gagged and frantic chief. Even now, Elin tried to weasel his way out of his macabre fate.
"We treated you as a comrade and a brother. When every other mech regiment rejected you on, we welcomed you with open arms. Whatever transgressions you had done in the past was irrelevant in our eyes. However, that does not mean that our ability to forget extends to the present time."
The major's eyes hardened as his full weight as a mech officer bore down on the former chief. Elin shied away at the intensity of Verle's stare.
"Out of everyone involved in this conspiracy, nobody is more culpable than you. There is no forgiveness for scum like you. Not even a quick death will suffice to atone for the damage you have done to us. I hope you will find some absolution in your endless trek into space."
Elin jerked his shackled body like his life depended on it, but the restraints and the grip of the security officers kept him firmly under control. The cold coffin's hatch opened up, allowing the security officers to haul their prisoner inside and affix him to the restraints of the interior of the coffin.
By all intents and purposes, it was a perpetual cell which would keep Elin locked without any chance of escape. Freedom from captivity and life would never grace the guilty chief until his natural life span ran out.
The Finmoth Regal turned around and oriented her hangar bay away from the sun and directly into deep space. With a soft anti-grav push, the hefty cold coffin began its Lonely Trek across the galaxy.
The Cold Burial came at an end.
Chapter 534
The Vandals moved on quickly after the two seperate burial ceremonies. Ves noticed that the Vandals had become much more honest and subdued after witnessing Chief Elin's gruesome fate.
Before he took the shuttle back to the Shield of Hispania, Ves stayed behind on the Finmoth Regal for a few hours to take a brief round of inspection. As the head designer, Ves had access to all of the hangar bays, mech stables and mech workshops.
Vedette walked behind Ves in a subdued fashion as they took in the state of the maintenance department aboard the Finmoth Regal.
Ves took in the lethargic expressions of the mech technicians. All of them suffered badly from the revelation that Chief Elin and some of their colleagues dabbled in treachery. To the Vandals, betraying their fellow brothers and sisters in arms was the worst crime imaginable.
Even if the entire galaxy turned against the Flagrant Vandals, their bonds would never break!
"Take a look at these mech technicians at work, Mr. Vedette. What do you see?"
"Uhmm.. they're not working as hard as before. Chief Elin used to be our ultimate boss. Without his presence, no one knows what to do."
"This is the consequence of your missteps." Ves bluntly said. "What is this section supposed to do?"
"They're tasked with dismantling a partially-damaged Inheritor."
"Why are they slacking off?"
The junior mech designer's mouth gaped like a fish. Ves really wanted to smack the young man's face for his indecisiveness.
"Remember who you are! You're a mech designer, not a mech technician! These men and women should listen to you, especially now that they are devoid of a chief!"
"B-B-But I'm too new at this!"
"Your brains are ten times larger than all of theirs put together. Go out there and get those mech technicians back to work!"
Ves gently pushed Vedette's back. Due to his enhanced body, this turned out to be a hefty push that caused the junior to stumble straight into the mech technicians.
"Eh? Watch where you are going!"
"Hey, it's Vedette!"
The mech designer regained his balance and tried to speak to the mech technicians. "Guys, please go back to work. We're way behind schedule, so please disassemble this mech."
The mech technicians laughed as if a little boy told them to scram.
"It's our break time right now! We need our rest. Do you expect us to work around the clock? We'll fall apart if we can't enjoy some peace!"
"Get lost Vedette! Chief Elin isn't here anymore, so go grovel to someone else!"
"This ain't a place for you to hang around. Go back to your office and let us grease monkeys stew in the muck!"
Just around the corner, Ves palmed his face. Vedette's lack of spine reminded Ves of that Vesian mech designer he met back in the outskirts of Neron City. Ves already forgot the name of that Novice, but the sheer lack of courage both men shared meant that neither of them had much of a future in the mech industry.
Normally, Ves didn't care too much whether another mech designer possessed the grit needed to make something out of their mech design careers, but Vedette happened to be one of his subordinates. Even if he lacked any promise, Ves had a duty to do something about this sad state of affairs. The Finmoth Regal's maintenance department couldn't afford to proceed without any direction.
Ves stepped around the corner and slowly strode forward. He carefully composed his face and unconsciously channeled some of his inner steel.
The entire compartment experienced a drastic change in atmosphere. It wasn't anything a sensor could measure, but when Ves stepped into view, the mech technicians instantly lost their jovialness.
"Ah, Head Designer Larkinson! Fancy seeing you here!"
All eight mech technicians stood at attention as if they faced Major Verle himself. In truth, Ves merely imitated the air of command that the mech officer projected so well during his speeches.
Inwardly, he nodded in satisfaction. Learning from the best may not always be the most appropriate course of action, but it always guarantees a measure of success. He was satisfied enough with what he achieved.
"You mentioned your former chief back then. As I recall, we just chucked him out into the wrong direction of space. Do you know why we sent him out?"
"Uhhh.. because he was a traitor?"
"WRONG!" Ves barked, which instantly caused the mech technicians to shrink back. Unfortunately, Vedette reacted the strongest against his eruption. "Chief Elin was a piece of work, alright, and he was charged with many crimes. However, his most principle failure was his enormous negligence on the job! To put it into terms your tiny brains can understand, he failed to do his job!"
Everyone's eyes widened. Though they understood the gravity of Chief Elin's failings, they only treated it as something that had nothing to do with them. Certainly, they missed their former chief who acted as a firm but reliable supervisor to them, but they did not connect his failings to their own.
Ves shook them from that idea. "The entire reason Major Verle reserved the punishment of the Lonely Trek to your former chief is because his tolerance for such failings is at an end. Now, look at yourselves. Disassembling this damaged mech will take at least an entire shift if you don't want to aggravate the damage. Looking at the time, and a third of your shift has already gone by. Do you think you can afford to slack off with two-thirds of your shift left to go?"
"No, sir! Sorry, sir, we'll get right back to work!"
"Then do so! I'll be keeping an eye on your work. If I don't see this mech disassembled at the end of the shift, I'll make sure you'll regret it!"
The mech technicians picked up their tools and scampered around the damaged Inheritors as if hyperactive demons possessed their bodies.
Vedette witnessed the entire exchange with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. The man trudged after Ves like a zombie after the latter gestured him forward and moved out of earshot from the mech technicians.
"Did you see how it's done?"
"You're the head designer, sir." Vedette whined. "I can't hope to match your authority!"
This time, Ves couldn't resist his urges. He lightly smacked Vedette's cheek, causing the man to yelp in an annoyingly girly fashion.
"Authority or not, you're a mech designer! Have some pride in our profession!"
In the natural order of the galaxy, a mech technician stood in the lowest rung and followed the instructions of a chief technician. In turn, these chiefs received their instructions from a mech designer.
Even with the temporary absence of a chief, a mech designer should still be able to command a bunch of mech technicians.
Ves had been in the trenches himself a few times during the Groening Mission and the Glowing Planet campaign. Taking charge of mech technicians should have been an essential skill to every mech designer.
A bit helplessly, Ves had to spoon feed some methods for Vedette to command authority and force the mech technicians to listen to his orders.
"The Vandals will need some time to sort out the hierarchy. Last I heard, Major Verle isn't too happy with Chief Elin's deputies. All but one turned out to be his accomplices, and the remaining chump lacks the qualities we expect from a chief. Therefore, it's likely that a trustworthy deputy from another ship will be transferred to the Finmoth Regal to assume his duties as your new chief technician."
Vedette appeared relieved at the news, which was exactly the wrong response to make in front of Ves.
"Don't think you can slack off as well once the new chief takes charge! Your responsibilities are still the same whether a chief is present or not! Keep watch over the mech technicians and help them solve any complicated problems that might come up, but don't forget to maintain their productivity at the highest level possible!"
"Ah, I'll try my best, sir!"
"Trying is not enough. Confidence comes from belief in yourself. Every mech designer ought to be confident in the superiority of their knowledge. If there is any crutch you need to lean on, then lean on that if nothing else."
"I'll take that under advisement, sir!"
After performing his deed for the day, Ves left Vedette to figure things out on his own and boarded a shuttle that brought him back to the Shield of Hispania.
In truth, while Ves could have propped up the junior, he wasn't strictly obligated to provide so much guidance. Still, Ves took up some of his valuable time to guide Vedette to the right path because he wanted to practice his ability to teach.
"It also helps to make a connection with Mr. Vedette."
Ves didn't have much hope that Vedette would amount to anything, but he never ruled out the possibility. If Mr. Vedette turned out to be a gem in the rough, then Ves would be glad to have the foresight to lay down a connection at a premature stage.
He wanted to build more bridges like this with other mech designers, but it was impossible for him to waste so much time by interacting with so many subordinates.
Another reason why he interacted with people this way was to borrow a position as head designer to temper his leadership abilities. Back when he founded and expanded the Living Mech Company, he relied too much on readily-available retainers from the Larkinson Family to do all of the heavy lifting.
Their competence satisfied the needs of his company, so Ves had nothing to complain about with the help provided by the Family. The presence of Jake and Chief Cyril lifted a load off his shoulders and freed him from the trifles of managing the company and his subordinates. This left him free to pursue his primary passion, which was to work on designing better mechs.
Thinking back on that period of rapid growth, Ves recently started to doubt whether he made the right decision. "It's hard to hire competent and trustworthy help."
Sometimes, he believed these qualities to be mutually exclusive. Either he could hire someone trustworthy like Carlos that wasn't very good at his job, or he could hire a seasoned veteran like Chief Cyril who was highly capable and practical but also deferential to Ves. Yet the chief's lingering ties to the Family made Ves question sometimes whether he would ultimately listen to those who had nurtured him for decades.
There were even times when his paranoia spiked to the point where he became disillusioned with the company that he founded on his own. Much of what the LMC did was seemingly out of his grasp. He could hardly wrap his mind around the scope of their strategies and activities.
His temporary promotion to head designer shone a light through the fog that had slowly accumulated in his mind. His doubts about leadership began to fade as he tackled his new responsibilities with a motivation to learn as much as possible.
It was like a second start to Ves. Already, he learned an important lesson. "Nurturing subordinates who are both competent and trustworthy takes time. There aren't any shortcuts to growing my own following. Not if I want to do it properly."
He already resolved to invest in any promising seeds he could find. Ves owed the Flagrant Vandals his gratitude for pushing him into a leadership position, however brief it might last. As head designer, Ves believed he could start to learn how to exert leadership properly instead of outsourcing it to someone else.
"Some responsibilities shouldn't be shifted to others. It's best if I learn how to perform them on my own. Otherwise, who is actually the one in charge?"
Ves had plenty of items on the agenda to flex his leadership muscles. From dealing with the fallout of the skirmish to reprimanding Mercator for dropping the ball on Vedette, Ves faced an endless tide of problems that required the Vandals to do their best if they wanted to escape from being engulfed.
Chapter 535
They spent a decent time skulking about in Venidse space. As one of the larger territories of the Vesia Kingdom, its vast space offered the Flagrant Vandals lots of desolate star systems to hide. For now, they hadn't seen hair nor hide of Venidse patrols.
There was a very good reason for that according to Iris.
"Do you think Venidse can become a worthy rival to Imodris without effort?" She began. "Imodris is closer to the core than Venidse. In addition, it jointly operates a strategically important port system. While the amount of wealth that flows through their hands can't match the trade that goes on in your famous Bentheim system, neither does the government siphon vast majority of wealth to subsidize the rest of the state."
Bentheim's wealth distribution was a fact of life to the Bright Republic. Otherwise, the Bentheim Liberation Movement wouldn't have grown so powerful and pervasive.
"So Venidse has to do something to match their rival in strength, then. You said that it's relatively well-endowed with resources. Is that enough to offset the trade that's captured by Imodris?"
"That's the complication. It's true that Venidse encompasses a lot of resource-rich star systems, but it takes a significant amount of labor and capital to extract them. That means people, equipment and bots."
Ves started to get an inkling of what she wanted to say. "The latter two are expensive, and relying too much on machines opens up a lot of vulnerabilities. So they have to rely a lot on labor as well."
"Living in Venidse isn't very charming. Aside from a couple of model planets, most of their planets are low-class hives where human lives are treated as valuable as cattle."
When he was young, the Bright Republic often showed how life in the Kingdom was awful for the lower classes. Their poorest had to toil in dangerous mines or spend endless hours supervising bots that did the exact same thing over and over again on the off-chance it glitched or caught a virus.
He recalled the city of Haston on Bentheim. That place was a concentration of the poorest on Bentheim and was a hotbed of BLM sympathy.
If Haston's circumstances magnified into entire planets, then Venidse's rebel group should be as powerful if not more than the BLM!
"The Venidse Liberators is one of the largest and most influential rebel movements in the Kingdom. Though they aren't particularly good at anything, they have access to a fair amount of resources and they are extremely numerous."
Ves paid a lot of attention to the fact that the VL accumulated a lot of resources. Perhaps that was why Major Verle chose to raid one of their facilities and trade with the rebel group during their passage through the territory.
"How powerful is Venidse's military?"
"Very powerful. Very numerous. I already told you about their mech doctrine. Since they have a lot of fingers in the resource extraction sector, they have the enviable ability to obtain much of their materials at near-cost price. This means they can fabricate more mechs at the same cost, which eventually accumulates into fielding more mech legions than any other territory."
"I see. It makes sense. A preference for attrition warfare can only be sustained if you have enough mechs to throw at the enemy." Ves said contemplatively.
"However, most of their numbers advantage is negated by the existence of the VL. The rebels have caused so much trouble over the decades that most of Venidse's military is burdened with guarding population centers, industries, mines and important installations. While that doesn't give us carte blanche to saunter in Vendise's space, we at least don't have to fight Venidse's troops every step of the way."
When Ves attended meetings with Major Verle and his staff, they all echoed the same refrain. Despite the might of Venidse's mech legions, they treated it as an opportunity to bounce back. The only point they argued about was deciding on which star system to raid.
Attacking a prosperous star system would go a long way in reducing their resource deficits. Attacking a less prominent planet came with a lot less risk as they didn't have to face any significant defenses.
Whatever the case, the Vandals only had enough time to attack a single star system. Attacking two systems at a time would delay their schedule and make them miss the two-month deadline.
Ves mostly stayed silent on this topic during the heated discussions in the conference room. He only provided some advice on which star system held the resources they needed and would be worthwhile to raid.
Up to now, Major Verle still hadn't made up his mind.
Besides taking part in those deadlocked discussions, Ves also began to make good on his promises by teaching the mech designers who worked hard enough to win a carrot. Predictably, most opted to borrow a valuable textbook from the central database, but one person happened to request personal tutelage.
"When I heard you wanted me to teach you, I was surprised." Ves said to Pierce over the projection. "If you wanted me to give you a few pointers, I would have given it for free."
Pierce shook his head. "I have my own pride, and I don't want to take advantage of you. Knowledge that comes free is not as sweet as knowledge that I've earned through my own efforts. My time learning the craft from my father has taught me that. I'm not as talented as you. I need to work for it. Otherwise, the knowledge won't stick."
Ves hadn't paid much attention to Pierce the past few days. They traveled on different ships, which made it inconvenient to chat with each other. In addition, Ves has spent most of his time with Iris lately. The rebel-aligned mech designer was an attentive conversation partner who patiently brought him up to speed with regards to the Kingdom.
That said, he should have kept more in touch with Pierce. The Coalition-born mech designer had been assigned to the Beggar's Bounty, one of the two logistics ships of the task force. This was an important posting as Pierce had access to vastly more resources and facilities than anyone else. Though that made his work more complex, the man nonetheless persevered and exceeded his weekly quota.
Ves admired such dedication from his acquaintance, especially since he knew that Pierce was a rather mediocre mech designer.
His background as a mech designer from the Friday Coalition also held some promise. Though Ves did not need to establish any ties with his father, just his citizenship was valuable enough to open some doors that would be closed to a foreigner like Ves.
This was why Ves immediately changed his stance towards Pierce and beheld him with a bit more care.
"Well, you've earned the privilege of receiving my teachings fair and square. You'll get a full hour from me, which should be enough to solve most of your bottlenecks and burning questions. Don't waste it. While I'm proficient with most of the fundamentals, I happen to excel in Physics and lasers. So ask your questions."
Pierce dove into the questioning with glee. He started out with basic but tricky questions on multiple fields, and when he found out that Ves answered his questions without any effort, his questions began to encompass more and more complexity.
To Ves, answering the questions forced him to be thoughtful. As an Apprentice Mech Designer, Pierce wasn't stupid, and he didn't ask any stupid questions. Though the level of his questions didn't exceed the Journeyman-level, he nonetheless tread into territory that even Ves would pause at. All he could do was to use his superior Intelligence and Skills to churn out an answer on the spot.
At the end of the tutoring session, Pierce quickly excused himself from the call to digest the answers he received. Ves was left alone in his office to stew over the teaching session. Surprisingly, he enjoyed flexing his brain in this manner. There was something enjoyable about guiding a junior into understanding the problems that perplexed him for months or years.
"Heh." He chuckled. "Maybe I'll be a professor someday."
While he didn't feel too strongly about becoming a full-time teacher, he figured he could still treat it like a side activity. A lot of Journeymen and Seniors who owned successful businesses diverted some of their valuable time to teach at various universities and institutions. Obviously, they gained a lot of benefits for doing so. Since Ves happened to enjoy the act of teaching, he seriously started considering whether he should take a teaching position in the future.
"No one hires an Apprentice to teach at an institution. It's too soon for Journeymen to pass on their knowledge. I'll have to advance to Senior before I can become a respectable professor."
That would be a very long time away. Ves did not dare to predict when he would be able to advance to such an exalted rank, but it should at least be several decades away. Even with the help of the System, Ves did not belittle the difficulties involved with advancing past the vast majority of his peers. It wasn't easy to become a Journeyman, let alone a Senior.
"That is something to consider after this damned war is over. Right now, I've got to get back to work."
After the brief tutoring session, Ves returned to his duties. He checked with the mech technicians and made sure they didn't slack off on the job. He corresponded with his deputies and made sure they did the same. He liaised with Lieutenant Commander Soapstone and begged her to tap more into the task force's material reserves. He listened to the staff trying to argue which star system they should raid.
He also planned and supervised the repairs of the Inheritors. The good thing about the damaged Inheritors was that the skirmish with the Calico Dancer Bats didn't lead to a lot of material losses. Most of the damage the Inheritors sustained turned out to be self-inflicted as the lengthy twenty percent overload combined with the thirty percent spike led to a lot of internal disarray.
This meant that cables got fried or melted and circuits got heat-blasted. While that sounded bad and time-consuming to repair, Ves vastly preferred this type of internal damage because the Inheritors hadn't lost any materials. Fried components could easily be recycled and be used to fabricate new components.
The only issue was that it took a lot of time to effect the repairs. The damage ran throughout the entire interior of the frame, so every overloaded Inheritor mech pretty much required a complete disassembly. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to repair or replace the innermost parts which happened to be the most vital ones that ensured the continued operation of the mechs.
All of this took time, too much time for them to adhere to the original timetable. Ves had to go back to the original planning and scrap some of the procedures he had in store just to make room for the unexpected repair work.
Naturally, the Inheritors that sustained actual battle damage required a bit more effort to bring them back into working capacity. The worst wrecks they retrieved from the battlefield were woefully incomplete or had been riddled with holes. To bring these Inheritors back online, the mech technicians demanded a lot of resources.
They didn't have enough to go around.
"We really need more resources, and they have to be the right ones as well."
The task force still carried valuable exotics and other materials in their cargo holds. Major Verle hoped to hold on to them until they reached a market system where they could dispose of their ill-gotten goods at fair market prices. Trading them away at this point wouldn't help the Vandals reduce their debt burden.
It was obvious that if the Major Verle didn't wish to give away their wealth to unscrupulous rebel traders, they urgently needed to get their needed supplies through another method.
After several days of uncertainty and procrastination, they finally decided on which star system they wanted to raid.
Chapter 536
The Shield of Hispania's conference room hosted a lot of contentious meetings lately. Ship captains, mech officers and staff officers all congregated in a single room to decide on which Venidse star system they should descend upon.
Everyone had their ideas. The hawks, which predominantly consisted of mech officers, wanted to raid a resource-rich system. Of course, they didn't aim their sights to systems comparable to the Detemen System. They couldn't afford to get bogged down by several hundred mechs.
The hawks picked out a number of targets that seemed very ambitious to Ves. Even if the Vandals rolled over the opposition, they would still pay a significant price.
The risk-averse crowd that consisted of other mech officers and the majority of the staff officers advocated for caution. The fleet was running low on certain resources, and they weren't at their best. Attacking a smaller, safer target should be the way to go.
These two groups had been at loggerheads for days. Ves watched on as the majority swung back and forth, all the while Major Verle showed uncharacteristic indecisiveness.
Ves was about Verle's stance. Throughout all of their time together, his impressions of the grizzled veteran had been as a staunch leader and a ruthless decision maker that wouldn't hesitate to take the most expedient course of action.
For him to withhold his decision at this junction puzzled Ves a little bit. Did he truly hesitate on his decision right now, or did he wish for the argument to play out?
His instincts believed that it must have been a deliberate choice. Ves mostly sat on the sidelines, so he could look at the entire situation with some detachment. Looking at the various officers attending the meetings via their projections while arguing passionately about their opinions, perhaps it all served as one giant distraction.
Every leader in the task force focused their energies into deciding which star system to raid. Some spent hours in research and preparation to present the most compelling arguments on why their targeted star systems were the most suitable ones to attack.
The momentous discussion distracted them from the misfortune they suffered in the past. Rather than allowing them to dwell at their failings, Verle sneakily used the meetings to direct his most important subordinates into thinking about their next steps forward.
Ves would have applauded the shrewd commanding officer if he wasn't afraid of giving the game away. He felt as if he constantly absorbed new tricks by staying in Major Verle's vicinity.
Eventually, the game had to come to an end. After yet another exhausting back-and-forth, Verle abruptly stood to announce his decision.
"We shall change course towards the Hachew System."
As expected, Major Verle chose to settle on a compromise. His answers didn't satisfy any of the participants, but it hadn't snubbed anyone either. An awkward atmosphere descended as everyone came to grips with the decision.
"The Hachew System isn't as well-defended as prosperous systems, but neither is it barren to the point of calling it a rural system. It hosts a moderate military presence and a handful of mines. Its value is nothing special, but it happens to extract some of the materials we are desperately short on. This should be sufficient to replenish some of our scarcity."
Ves quietly nodded as he read through the basic details of the Hachew System from the panel projected in the middle of the conference table. While it wouldn't enrich the Vandals and allow them to gain more trade goods for them to exchange for what they needed from the rebels, it did happen to contain some of the ores and materials that were vital in repairing and strengthening the Inheritor mechs.
The Hachew System actually looked like a destination that Ves would recommend himself if he didn't wish to refrain from taking part in the internal politics of the Flagrant Vandals.
"Prepare for battle. The Hachew System isn't very far away. Make sure our mechs are ready to deploy with as much strength as they can muster."
The task force had been drifting deeper into Venidse. It wouldn't take too much of a course change to reach the Hachew System. This told Ves that the entire show had been premeditated from the start. Major Verle already had a destination in mind before they even crossed into Venidse space!
Ves could tell that some of the other Vandals came to the same realization. However, they only amounted to twenty percent of the participants at most.
After the meeting came at an end, every projection winked out while those who were physically present left the compartment.
"Mr. Larkinson."
"Ah, yes sir?"
Major Verle walked up to him and asked an important question. "The next raid will require both spaceborn and landbound mechs. Can we field a sufficient amount of both at this stage?"
"Our spaceborn mech contingent requires more time to get back up to full strength. I'm sorry, but it will take at least two weeks to recover the majority of the Inheritors that sustained internal damage. The material damage was light but very comprehensive, so we have to rebuild them from the ground up. This is a necessary but time-consuming process. Even if you exhort my mech designers to work faster, it's unrealistic to expect them to be up and running in time for the Hachew raid."
The major furrowed his brows. "I did not anticipate the damage had reached such an extent. This isn't the first time we've overloaded the Inheritors. Every time, they bounced back fairly swiftly."
"I know, sir. I've browsed the archives. This is different, though. Previously, we had access to the Wolf Mother, which is an ad-hoc but fully functional factory ship. The production lines aboard that ship are capable of mass-producing an enormous amount of mech parts as long as we can feed enough materials into them. That's not possible now that we split up the main fleet. The two logistics ships our task force has retained can only do a fraction of the work of a factory ship."
To put it simply, the Verle Task Force got the short end of the stick when it came to the split. The Wolf Mother, Colonel Lowenfield, Major Verle and two of their remaining Journeyman Mech Designers had all been retained by the diminished main fleet that was on their way back to Republic space.
"Our land bound mechs?"
"They require a lot of repairs as well. We've never had the time to recover all of the damage our landbound mechs sustained in the Detemen Operation. It's been something of a low priority for us. According to our original schedule, we should have shifted more workers towards repairing the land bound mechs after crossing into Venidse. The destructive aftermath of the recent skirmish delayed that plan."
This put Major Verle in a worse position than he wished. Though the task force was still capable of fielding a respectable amount of spaceborn and landbound mechs, the shortages would hurt. Less mechs meant less reserves and a smaller margin for error.
Verle should have access to most of this information already. Ves was very punctual in his reports. It seemed to him that the man was desperate for hope.
Unfortunately for the both of them, Ves couldn't magically conjure up additional mechs. Hope didn't work that way.
"I will endeavor to ready as much mechs as possible in time for the raid, but don't expect too much from us, sir."
"We shall settle on that."
Ves walked away with a lot of uncertainty from that. The longer this trip progressed, the more he understood Verle's burden. Despite knowing little about the mech officer's history, he felt he became more in tune with Verle with each passing day.
The Hachew System shouldn't pose any threat to the Vandals. It was a system whose wealth sat between a rural system and an industrial system. In other words, wealthier than Cloudy Curtain but poorer than the Detemen System.
Unless Venidse predicted their destination beforehand, the Hachew System shouldn't be capable of inflicting heavy casualties to the Vandals.
Yet hadn't the LMC once trounced a Vesian raiding party?
"Don't underestimate the locals."
The Flagrant Vandals chose to raid the Hachew System because it held a number of strategically important mines to them. Any mine of value would be guarded. Fighting past these company forces was a nuisance at best, and a serious hindrance at worst.
"Besides the company forces, there's also reinforcements to consider."
The Vesians were still up in arms about their mortal enemy gallivanting in their space. Venidse might have felt a lot of schadenfreude when Imodris failed to stop the escaping Vandals from leaving their territory. Now that they ended up in Venidse space, the duchy couldn't afford to be as incompetent as Imodris back then. They would be hard at work trying to seek and destroy their vulnerable fleet.
The next couple of days, Ves threw himself into his work again. He exhorted his subordinates to speed up their repair work. Even one extra mech could make a lot of difference on the battlefield.
He even decided to pull up his own sleeves and perform some hands-on repairs of the most difficult cases aboard the Shield of Hispania. A lot of mech technicians looked perplexed when the head designer got his hands dirty, but Ves had been able to shorten a broken Inheritor's repairs in a single day where it took a full crew of mech technicians an entire week.
The work served as a nice distraction from the difficulties he had to deal with on a daily basis. That was also why he didn't show up again after repairing two of the most difficult mechs. It wasn't appropriate for him to devote all of his time to grunt work.
Back at his office, Ves got to play the manager. He juggled various responsibilities and priorities at once. All of this work and effort sent him into a contemplative mood.
"Is it worth it?"
Iris looked up again from her corner desk. "What's that, boss?"
"Do you ever think about how much effort we put in fabricating, selling, using, repairing and recycling mechs? How much money and resources are we expending on using mechs? The Flagrant Vandals alone are wasting billions of credits on an annual basis to maintain their strength. It's mind-boggling once you think about it. Are we working in vain?"
"I hope not." Iris furrowed her brow. "We're mech designers. If everyone stops using mechs, we'll all go out of business."
"The mech craze that has infected humanity four-hundred years ago is pretty much an artificial phenomenon. If not for the restriction on warships and the enforcement of the taboos, we would still be waging war with mighty ships."
"We would have been extinct by that time, sir. We were too eager to wipe out our own planets. I'm glad our race as a whole has managed to come together and agree to switch to mechs as a way to resolve our differences. We don't have to fear genocidal maniacs anymore."
Ves shrugged at that. "All I'm saying is that there is a price for that. If you compare mechs to warships, which one do you think will prevail?"
He once witnessed a single small warship tearing apart a horde of spaceborn pirate mechs in the Glowing Planet campaign. That image of complete annihilation had been seared into his brain like a trauma that would never go away.
Ever since then, his faith in mechs had been cracked.
"Much of humanity has been proven to be too irresponsible for their own good. The intervention of the CFA and MTA was necessary to save our race from a spiral of destruction. Even though they treated us as kids playing with fire, it's for the best."
"Being treated like children means we aren't allowed to grow up." Ves retorted. "It's been four-hundred years. I think we've learned enough lessons now. All of this mech warfare seems like play-acting to me sometimes."
Iris looked concerned. "Are you ill, sir? Do you need to visit the infirmary again? I've never heard of a mech designer who questions his own craft!"
"I don't know what's wrong with me either, but I'm not sick. I just have a premonition that the status quo can't go on forever. One day, the system will break."
Even without any solid proof, Ves believed what he said. Mechs were fine tools of war, but when it came down to it, a mech could never match the destruction that could be unleashed by a proper warship.
Some day, all of humanity needed that destruction.
Chapter 537
"When we made plans to raid the Hachew System, I expected our mechs to batter the Vesians every step of the way." Ves spoke with a perplexed expression. "Rather than acting as the barbarians at the gates, I feel as if we are more like the tax collector coming to collect the annual tax."
When the Verle Task Force emerged from FTL in the Hachew System, the local garrison immediately panicked. Instead of readying themselves to fight to the death, the outnumbered and outgunned defense squadron immediately fled to the nearest Lagrange point and transitioned to anywhere but here.
This allowed the Flagrant Vandals to waltz towards Hachew III, the only inhabited planet in the system. Once the combat carriers that conveyed their landbound mechs made landfall, they came across deserted cities, open warehouses and meagerly defended industries.
Not a single inhabitant took up arms to defend against the invaders. Without any signs of organized opposition, the Vandals practically acted with impunity on the surface of Hachew III!
While the Vandals remained alert and ready to switch to battle mode, there was also a palpable sense of ease running through their heads. Nobody in the command center seemed suspicious that they had entered a trap of sorts.
After slogging through the Detemen Operation and getting their butts kicked by the Calico Dancer Bats, Ves had a hard time trying to adjust to the lack of obstacles put in their way. What was it about the Hachew System that made them lose their will to fight?
"Iris?"
"It's simple, really. The ruler of Hachew III is Baron Imica of House Sabanet. His lineage isn't as long and storied as that of a count. His defense force only consists of three companies of spaceborn mechs and four companies of landbound mechs. Do you think that's a lot? The Flagrant Vandals can easily smash them apart, especially considering we are talking about garrison mechs!"
"Even then, it would benefit Venidse if House Sabanet puts up a fight. They're outnumbered, but not to the extent where we can win an instant victory. If they resort to harassment and guerilla warfare, they can easily ruin our raid."
"There's the key, boss. What does Baron Imica have to do with Venidse? The Duke of Venidse doesn't care about a tiny baron at all! Certainly, Baron Imica can order his household troops to put up a valiant fight against us, but what will that accomplish? Victory is impossible, and at worst he might lose all of the mechs he painstakingly funded over several decades. The Hachew System barely ekes out a profit for the house, so each mech is extraordinarily valuable to him. Unless he stands to gain more than he loses, Baron Imica will absolutely refuse to throw away his mechs to a lost cause."
"That's surprisingly rational of the baron." Ves remarked as if he had never seen a rational noble before. "Won't he get punished by Venidse?"
"Hah! No duke can compel a baron to send the foundation of his power into a suicide mission. Garrison mechs stand no chance against proper military mechs, and that's not taking into account that we outnumber them. Conserving your strength and denying us an easy victory is par for the course. At worst, House Sabanet will suffer a couple of years of disgrace and become a pariah in high society, but as long as they maintain their strength, they won't have to worry about their rivals deposing them from power."
Ves frowned at that. "This sounds as if House Sabanet are more wary of their domestic rivals than a foreign enemy."
"This raid is a one-off chance. The chances that Vandals will return to raid their planet again is practically nil. They've probably written off their material losses as a consequence from a massive freak accident. Wealth and goods are easy to replenish, but control over an entire planet is harder to regain when lost."
What Iris said probably rang true. The Vandal mechs that made landfall sauntered over the planet like they owned it. Though many industry complexes brandished their company forces, when push came to shove, the company goons retreated without firing a single shot.
The previous displays of intimidation always turned out to be bluffs. The company forces had orders to dissuade the Vandals from picking a fight with them, but because they were vastly outnumbered, their owners were loath to throw them away in a senseless battle.
House Sabanet already set an example for the smaller players to follow. If the big guys refused to make a sacrifice, why should everyone else be selfless? It was every Vesian for themselves!
"Compared to foreign aggressors like you, their rivals are more immediate opponents to House Sabanet." Iris continued her explanation. "In the eyes of their neighbors, they want nothing more than to see House Sabanet lose all of their mechs in a lopsided battle. Once the Vandals take their spoils and leave, the rivals can swoop in to claim Hachew III from the hands of the now-toothless House."
"That sounds really messed up. If House Sabanet sacrifices their mechs in battle against us, they should receive a commendation!"
"Who would give them their commendation? Hm? Mechs are expensive. Even Venidse can't magically compensate two-hundred mechs to a small baron on a whim. The game's nobility is a ruthless one. When it comes down to it, the best players don't care about duty, honor or accomplishments. They only care about how many mechs you can field and how hard it is to dislodge you from power. Even between liege lords and vassals, relations are frosty to the point where they won't hesitate to stab each other in the back when they can get away with such an act."
All of this neatly explained the cynical decision-making of the nobles who ruled the various demesnes of the Vesia Kingdom. The more Ves heard the details, the more he grew confused. "I don't understand. How can this mutual lack of trust even work? The more you explain it to me, the more I think of the Kingdom as an unwilling collection of selfish Houses."
"Ah, but that's exactly why the Kingdom still stands! Relations, connections, favors and rules all prop up its stability, but only at the surface. Underneath it all, friends can turn into enemies on a dime, favors can easily be forgotten and only the victors make the rules. The fundamental basis that allows a House to stand on their own is whether they possess the power to defend what is theirs. Newly enfeoffed nobles are often met with a rude awakening when they are first introduced to the ways the powerful play the game."
The sordid way the Kingdom ran its power plays made perverse sense to Ves, but he still couldn't quite adjust his mentality around this reality. "If every Vesian yields in front of the Vandals when they are coming to raid them, what stops us from taking advantage of it?"
"Oh, this is only because the Vandals are currently in the inner reaches of the Kingdom. Normally, these well-off territories are protected by the peripheral and border territories, so they never had to deal with any foreign raids. It's different at the border system. At first, these poor and struggling border systems yielded without a fight when the Vandals came to steal their riches. After doing it once, don't you think the Vandals will do it again?"
"So the Vandals actually took advantage of this?"
"Yup, up until the border systems wised up. Letting the Vandals treat them as their personal bank account was just encouraging them to suck all of their wealth away. Once they wised up and banded together, the Vandals could no longer roll over an under-defended star system. No matter how badly they were outnumbered, the garrison forces always fought as if their lives depended on it. This deterred the Vandals from raiding their systems with regularity."
It was much like how a bully pushed around someone weak for the first time. If the victim acquiesced to the bully and let them do whatever they wanted, the bully would just keep coming back and pushing even harder. Only by standing up would the bully have to contemplate whether it was worth it to push the victim again.
Evidently, the border systems had all become jaded enough to learn that they should never let anything go for free. Compared to the tough border systems, the star systems in the core territories of the Kingdom hadn't learned this lesson yet. They continued to obsess over their closest rivals and dismissed the threat of the Vandals!
Even though Ves had a lot of misgivings about this situation, he sobered up enough to take advantage of the lack of opposition. He helped guide the Vandals in picking out the best locations to raid. He felt like a kid entering the biggest toy store in the galaxy with an unlimited credit balance. The only limitation that restricted him from robbing the whole place blind was time.
They didn't have enough time. Even with the lack of fighting, they still couldn't afford to stick around for long before reinforcements arrived. Fortunately, the Hachew System wasn't close to any military strongholds.
After some time, Major Verle came to ask him a question. "Since we aren't facing any opposition in this raid, we are gathering much more goods than we expected. Will it be sufficient to meet all of our needs?"
Ves shook his head. "Far from it, sir. The stockpiles we are obtaining are very much needed, but they don't come in enough volume. I'd say we can only meet eighty percent of our current needs, and that is only with regards to these specific materials. We need other metals and compounds to round out our other needs. All in all, our supply situation looks a lot better now, but it's far from perfect."
"Hm. Once we are out of this star system, we'll be conducting a trade with the Venidse Liberators. I hope we can obtain some of what we need from them. It's going to be our only trade until we cross into Klein or Hafner."
They wouldn't trade much but the bare essentials, Ves knew. After a bit more talk, the major turned his attention to other matters, leaving Ves free to direct the raiding Vandals into pillaging more goods.
It felt rather strange for him to wield such power. Though the Vandals only treated his directions as suggestions, they placed so much faith in his judgment that he might as well be commanding them directly. His every decision decided whether a business survived or fell in this ordeal.
Sometimes, Ves had the illusion that he was playing god.
He didn't feel particularly guilty in ruining the Vesian businesses. Their states were at war, after all, and stripping and destroying each other's industries was as common as drinking water.
Perhaps this was what a proper raid looked like. Ves only had the botched Imodris Raid on the Mech Nursery and the Detemen Operation to go on. In both cases, the attackers and defenders fought with conviction. Here, Hachew III didn't even wait for the first blow to arrive before it collapsed.
Ves found the experience to be oddly hollow. There was a break in tradition. An imperfection in an otherwise perfect image. There should have been more fighting before they obtained their prize.
Was the Vesia Kingdom really so weak? The way the nobles distrusted each other practically weakened their state by half.
He would never want to live in this confusing and contradictory state. The Bright Republic might not be perfect, but Ves gained a new appreciation of how sane it was being run.
After an entire day of peaceful ransacking, their landbound mechs packed everything up and entered their combat carriers, which slowly ascended into space. Laden with much-needed resources and supplies, the invigorated Vandals leisurely disappeared from the hairs of House Sabanet after transitioning into FTL at a Lagrange point.
Chapter 538
Despite fearing the might of Venidse's mech legions, the Vandals had seen neither hair nor hide of their formidable ships or mechs.
The effortless raid on the Hachew System allowed them to replenish some of their critical resources and supplies, but it also exposed their position to the entire Kingdom. As a powerful duchy on par with Imodris, Venidse could not afford to leave an impression that they would let any enemy walk over them at their leisure.
From the intelligence reports that Ves sometimes received, he understood that the shameful procession at Hachew had really kicked Venidse into action. They sent out much more scouts and leveraged more vassals into making more than a token attempt at obeying their instructions.
Considering what he knew about their relations, that wasn't saying much. The Duke of Venidse was pretty much on his own, and that allowed the Venidse Liberators to run rings around his intelligence gathering operation.
Unlike the Detemen League, the Venidse Liberators spanned more than just a single planet. The general undercurrent among the underclass in Vendise was so dissatisfied with House Venidse that they had a presence in virtually every star system in the territory.
Their reach, clout and numbers gave them a certain amount of strength. Their cells accumulated a fair amount of ships and mechs that had proven themselves to be a real nuisance to Venidse. Their nuisance factor was compounded by the fact that the Liberators weren't stupid enough to fight Venidse's mech legions in open combat.
Instead, they stuck to classic insurgency tactics and fought where Venidse was at their weakest. Ves admired their prudence. Even as they grew in strength, they didn't let their power get ahead of themselves, but continued to bide their time until they arrived at the right moment.
Under the guidance of the Vesian Liberation Front and the Venidse Liberators, they arrived at another quiet star system to conduct their trade. Lieutenant Commander Soapstone spearheaded the transaction with the Liberators while Iris Jupiter tagged along to represent the interests of the VLF. Ves was explicitly excluded from contacting the rebels due to his special status.
He didn't really mind. After a while, one rebel group was the same as any other. Ves had already given his input on the goods they urgently needed to obtain. Soapstone had not been entirely clear about her commitment to fulfill his wishlist. She probably had her own priorities in mind, and needed to fulfill the needs of other departments as well.
Mechs were important, but the ships also needed repairs. Their cracked and pitted armor still bore the scars of recent missile and mine impacts. Some of their less robust combat carriers didn't have much of a buffer left.
As the Vandal fleet floated motionlessly in space next to a rebel trade convoy, Ves spent his time on making the rounds. He rode a spare shuttle to visit the Antecedent, the Gorgon's Gaze, the Finmoth Regal, the Beggar's Bounty and every other important ship.
Each visit, he would meet with the mech designer assigned to ship and check up on their work. Though Ves had a pretty good idea of their results from the reports he received, he found it best to verify their work first-hand and ask some pertinent questions.
The lower-ranked mech designers mostly took the opportunity to ask some questions, and since Ves felt a bit generous today, he casually gifted them with a couple of insightful pointers.
When Ves visited Vedette aboard the Finmoth Regal, the timid low-ranking mech designer seemed to get his act together. Though the mech technicians obviously didn't respect a wimp, Vedette managed to instill the impression that Ves backed his every move. Defying Vedette was the same as defying Ves, and no one wished to do the latter.
Ves applauded his junior's solution and clapped his back. "It's not as good as earning the rabble's respect, but at least you're getting there. If the mech technicians give you any lip, don't hesitate to give me a call. The thing about borrowing someone else's name is that you have to be sure that they're willing to back you up. Right now, you're an extension of my will, so it's a given that I'll help you out."
"Thank you, sir. I was hesitating whether I was doing the right thing, but I'm glad I have your permission." Vedette nodded in gratitude.
"This is only a stopgap solution though. You need to earn their fear or respect. I can't help you much there, but from my experience showing off your superior knowledge always works."
"That's easier said than done, Mr. Larkinson." Vedette smiled ruefully. "Although I can call myself a mech designer, I am but an ant compared to you. The gulf between is too wide for me to catch up."
"You don't need to reach my level to instill some appreciation from the techs. Just work on it and you will see."
"That's the problem. I know some stuff, but not enough to impress the Vandals."
"Then learn some more!" Ves clapped Vedette's back again. "Have you forgotten about the rewards I've dangled in front of you?"
"It's too challenging! I'm barely meeting my weekly quota, and I don't have the spare time to catch up on my studies. I appreciate the option to borrow a textbook from the central database, but the reading material is too opaque! Even after half a year, I still won't understand the essence of what they are trying to teach!"
Ves sighed in exasperation. "Doesn't the central database have beginner books? Maybe you should start with that instead. Don't chew off more than you can bite."
"That seems like a waste, sir. Those beginner books for Novices are so simple that I understand ninety percent of what they say."
"That's sad, Mr. Vedette." Ves shook his head as if he was a disappointed parent. "A mech designer of your age and level should understand the entire contents of a basic book. That ten percent you are struggling with is needed to make sense of more advanced knowledge. What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't put the cart before the horse."
That put Vedette to thought. It was difficult for him to admit he needed to shore up his fundamentals, but that was for him to overcome. Ves didn't have the time to waste on guiding Vedette to the right path.
Frankly, Vedette didn't look all that bright, but if there was one thing that Ves didn't worry about, it was talent.
He would rather recruit a talentless but earnest mech designer to a talented but scheming bastard. In fact, Vedette happened to tick most of the boxes that Ves was after. His junior in the craft possessed so little self-esteem that Ves relished in molding the man into his desired image.
It was much like constructing an image for a mech, in a way. Instead of working with metals and alloys, he was trying to manipulate an innocent being of flesh and blood.
Sometimes, Ves felt guilty about his interactions with the weak. It was as if he was brainwashing them into forms that pleased him more. He quickly soothed his conscience by convincing himself that he was merely talking to them instead of sticking a neural interface on their heads and force fed their brains with arbitrary rules.
A handful of other low-ranking mech designers proved pliable, though they lacked that special reverence towards him that made it easier to pull them into his orbit.
The only mech designers he would rather avoid were Mercator and Trozin. The former never resigned himself to losing against Ves, and had stirred up trouble more than once.
The worst instance so far was his attempt to blame the fiasco and the bombings at the Finmoth Regal to Ves. Nevermind that Mercator was supposed to keep an eye on Vedette. As the ultimate mech designer responsible for the entire procession, Ves held ultimate responsibility.
"Did you hear? Our head designer dropped the ball! If he was actually smart, he would have caught wind of what went on at the Finmoth Regal!"
"Mr. Larkinson is only the head designer because of his famous family name. If he was called by any other name, he wouldn't have been promoted to this high status."
All of that led to a number of sordid rumors among the lower ranks that collectively cast some shade on him. While they didn't inconvenience Ves so far, he still felt peeved that he gained an ambivalent reputation.
Of his two main rivals for his job, Ves regarded Emlanin Trozin with a bit more wariness. Iris always treated the female Apprentice Mech Designer as a snake in the grass. While Ves did not pay much attention to Trozin these last few days, he began to realize that may have been the point.
Not one for letting things fester, Ves paid more attention when he boarded her ship. As soon as the security checks and the ceremonies were dispensed with, Ves pulled Trozin into the nearest available conference room.
"If I may ask, sir, why did you seek me out?" She started, eying Ves with a wary expression. "I have work to do. I'm sure you don't want to deal with more delays."
"Just wait a moment, Miss Trozin." Ves held up his hand. "Work is important, but communicating with each other is also something which must be done. Ever since my field promotion was set in stone, I haven't heard much from you. From the latest reports, you've delivered no more than what is required."
"Meeting the quota is a significant burden." She replied. "I've compared my quotas to others and I've noticed that you've piled a lot more demands on my shoulders. It is taking me every waking moment to figure out a workable solution. In addition, I have to supervise a bunch of talentless mech designers as well!"
"It is not my intention to crush you under so many responsibilities! In fact, I was pretty certain that a mech designer with your capabilities would grow into the demands I've set upon you."
"We are just different mech designers, sir! What you find eay is an impossible challenge to me!"
Was Trozin telling the truth? Ves thought he had gauged his deputies pretty well. He couldn't determine whether Trozin was pulling off a trick or not. In the absence of any evidence, Ves had no choice but to believe she genuinely couldn't keep up.
"What is it about the work that you are having trouble with? As I recall, your record states that you specialize in kinetic weapons."
"Correct. Back in the Hellcat design team, I was one of the few mech designers that fully understood their nail drivers. I excel in working with weapons. As for mech frames, not so much."
"That sounds as if you are an equipment designer rather than a mech designer."
"My career is what it is." She shrugged. "I'm catching up with my studies. Ah, I have access to my own books. I don't need your help."
"You have family among the Vandals as well, I take it. Is Captain Branser stationed at the Wolf Mother your uncle?"
"He is, though we're not in touch right now."
Trozin refused to elaborate on the matter. Ves found it hard to probe the woman and gain a measure of her personality. She stonewalled him at every opportunity, and it went so bad that Ves couldn't figure out where she studied or why she had been assigned to the Vandals instead of a better mech regiment. THe records Ves recently accessed only extended up to a point.
Ves sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Okay. Leaving aside your work, do you need some help? Is there anything you want to pass on to me?"
Her eyes seemed to glow at him. "There is one question that's been nagging me all this while. I wonder if you are willing to tell me the truth."
"As long as it doesn't touch into classified territory, I'm more than willing to answer your question."
"Good, because this one has been consuming me ever since we left the Detemen System." Trozin took a deep breath before she faced Ves. "Tell me this, is our task force playing the role of bait to the Vesians?"
Chapter 539
Trozin's question came out of the blue. This wasn't the first time Ves heard something like this. One thing about the Flagrant Vandals was that they incessantly chatted about topics that ordinarily shouldn't be discussed. Besides strictly classified material, everything was fair game.
Her question echoed the concerns of many Vandals assigned to the Verle Task Force. Why did the main fleet split in two, and why had Colonel Lowenfield gathered all of their best assets to the fleet that fled in the direction of home?
The Verle Task Force could have fled to the Bright Republic as well after taking a small detour. In fact, their chances of making it through hostile space was significantly higher if the main fleet reconvened. Splitting their strength at this junction only allowed the Vesians to defeat them in detail.
If nobody questioned this dubious progression, then the Vandals were too stupid to live.
From his occasional inspections, he gathered that the Vandals among the task force felt a bit ambivalent about their supposed mission. The Reinald Republic was a non-entity in their eyes. If the Bright Republic wanted to make contact with Reinald, then they could have sent a simple courier on a roundabout path.
Thus, the most popular theories that circulated among the rank and file attempted to explain this situation.
The first theory was that during the Detemen Operation, the Detemen League hadn't taken their most important captive with them. Instead, Lord Javier of House Eniqqin had actually been handed over to the Flagrant Vandals, who kept this important noble captive within their midst!
If this was true, then they truly carried a hot potato. Count Loqer would never rest while his only natural heir slipped out of his grasp! He would surely wield his influence into intensifying the search for the slippery Vandals.
The second theory that made the rounds was that Colonel Lowenfield or someone higher up the chain of command cold-heartedly cast them off as a distraction to the furious Vesians. If the Vandals fled in a single cohesive fleet, not only would their size make it harder for them to hide, they would also attract an inordinate amount of attention.
Halving their concentration reduced their threat profile because it made it harder for them to raid well-defended star systems along their escape path. This gave some reassurance to the Vesians and lowered their priority to chase the Vandals down. As long as their interests weren't threatened, they had little reason to commit to the hunt.
Although this sounded like a good outcome, it also made it easier for the Vandals to suffer a defeat. If not for the split, the Vandals would never sustain such exaggerated losses against two mech companies of the Calico Dancer Bats.
The Verle Task Force walked a dangerous path right now. Compared to the diminished main fleet that included Colonel Lowenfield, the Wolf Mother, their remaining Senior and Journeyman Mech Designers and more, Ves and Trozin had the illusion that they'd been orphaned.
Of course, even if the Vandals heartlessly decided to write them off, Ves couldn't give in to the cynicism. "I can't answer your question. Even if I knew, there's no reason for me to clear up your confusion. No matter the intentions of the brass, it's not our job to concern ourselves with whatever strategies the Vandals are cooking up."
"Sir, I can't accept that answer." She said in a terse manner. "I've heard that you're close to the major. Surely you must have figured out a hint or two."
"Just drop it, Miss Trozin. No matter what our true mission is, our opinions won't make a difference. Our actions will. Do your work to the best of your ability in order to maximize our chances of survival."
It took some time for Trozin to accept the fact that Ves wouldn't tell her anything. They quickly ended their discussion after that. Since Ves lost his mood to talk, he took an immediate shuttle ride back to the Shield of Hispania.
After the Flagrant Vandals and the Venidse Liberators finished their trade, the two fleets separated from each other and went their separate ways. The Vandals quickly transitioned into FTL as soon as the coast was clear.
The new materials the Liberators traded to the Vandals increased the pace of the ongoing repairs. Many critical shortages had temporarily been addressed, but it wouldn't take long for this abundance to end. The Vandals withheld much of their valuable loot and only let go of the absolute minimum.
They still aimed to bring the valuables they obtained in the Detemen System to the Reinald Republic where they could expect to exchange them for fair market prices.
The difference between selling the loot to the rebels and selling it at a neutral market amounted to at least fifty billion credits! That sum alone wiped off a fourth of their debt burden!
No matter what, they couldn't let go of such a juicy prize. Even if their mechs and ships began to run ragged, the Vandals still hated to let go of so much credits. Some would even die for the Vandals to succeed!
More mechs received repairs. They temporarily decided to halt the restoration of the landbound mechs in favor of restoring their spaceborn combat capabilities. During the previous skirmish, a lot of Inheritors sustained damage.
The new materials allowed the mech technicians to begin with implementing more drastic repairs. Heavily-damaged or outright wrecked specimens of Inheritor mechs required a significant amount of resources to replace what wasn't there anymore.
Space combat had a tendency to fling debris and broken parts across light-years. Complete recovery of every piece of salvage couldn't be done on the battlefield. Besides, the Vandals had been in a hurry back then, so they didn't bother retrieving anything but the bare essentials.
This left the task force with a fair amount of partially-intact Inheritor mechs. As the light skirmisher model boasted fairly thin armor, the damage these mechs sustained often amounted to serious internal damage. Lost limbs and holes that ran through the entire frame was not an uncommon sight.
Compared to the mechs that only fried their internals, these seriously-damaged mechs required much more materials to supplement their losses.
Ves spent a fair amount of time to plan out the repairs. Over fifty heavily-damaged Inheritor mech frames each exhibited different battle wounds. Normal procedure would have been to delegate the repair plans to the mech designers on site, but Ves decided to draw up the plans himself due to his superior ability.
By making the plans himself, he prevented his incompetent subordinates from fumbling through the repair process and waste an inordinate amount of resources and time.
The work happened to stimulate him. Each individual mech was a unique creation. Though they all drew upon the same Inheritor design, months or years of continued use had led to the proliferation of small divergences and minor idiosyncrasies.
"Every mech is unique. The older they are, the more they take on their own life."
From a professional standpoint, this was a natural but not entirely welcome development. Each mech differed in small ways as mech pilots sought out the closest mech designers at hand to request modest tweaks and modifications to cater to their individual piloting style.
Mech pilots ordinarily stuck to their assigned mechs for years. This constant and continued use of the same mech by the same pilot inevitably led to a divergence in their evolution.
The reason why this wasn't a desirable development was that it made it harder to implement global upgrades to the design. It also complicated mass repair work. The Vandals worked with a fleet of fairly aged mechs, each of which had gone through three or more rounds of modification.
This meant that to repair these individual works, they each required their own tailor-made repair plan. If clueless mech technicians decided to apply standard upgrades, then the chances of introducing faults magnified to an unacceptable level.
The design of the Inheritor was exceedingly complex for such a cheap mech. It incorporated many nuances that Ves didn't entirely understand. Nonetheless, out of every mech designer in the task force, Ves tentatively believed his understanding of the design exceeded others by a wide margin. Thus, he straightforwardly snatched this task from the hands of his subordinates and returned with complete repair plans only a day later.
Out of every Skill that helped, Ves had to thank his Jury-Rigging Sub-Skill the most. The knowledge provided by this Sub-Skill enabled him to find substitutes for more expensive materials. In essence, it allowed him to do less with more. Although his makeshift solutions cut a lot of corners, the damaged Inheritors should at least be able to last long enough to reach the end of this mission.
Everything seemed to go well since they entered Venidse. The large and industrious duchy boasted lots of star systems, of which Venidse invested only a fraction of their wealth to inhabit them. If Venidse wanted to find their trace, they faced the same difficulty as finding a needle in a haystack.
With the Venidse Liberators covering their backs, the Vandals received some assurances of their safe passage. Ves heard some rumors in the corridors that one of the reasons why the Vandals allowed themselves to be ripped off in their recent trade was to increase their reward for performing this service for the task force.
After all, the relations between the different rebel groups and the Flagrant Vandals looked like a mixed bag. The Vandals had a much better relationship with the rebel groups that operated close to the border between the Bright Republic and Vesia Kingdom.
Now that they crossed over to the other side of the Kingdom, the Vandals pretty much traveled through uncharted territory for them. They had never come into contact with the Venidse Liberators before. If not for the introduction and mediation by the Vesian Revolutionary Front, the Vandals would have been forced to fight through countless mechs in order to cross through their territory.
Still, extending their trust to complete strangers had their downsides. Just as they arrived near the border between Venidse and Klein, the task force emerged into a tiny star system that wasn't as desolate as they thought.
The first signs of something wrong was when the alarms blared throughout the entire fleet! Explosive shells thundered out of nowhere and detonated against the engines of several important ships!
They were under attack!
"Everyone get to battle stations!"
"No signs of enemy mechs or ships in the vicinity!"
"We are being hit by close-ranged shells! Our assailants are in stealth!"
"Deploy anti-stealth measures!"
Over seven ships simultaneously incurred substantial damage to their thrusters and engines. Two more ships sustained heavy damage to their engineering bays. Besides felling a substantial amount of engineers, the shells also managed to damage the outer housing of their all-important FTL drives!
Without any FTL, they could forget about escaping!
The moment the alarms blasted against their ears, Ves and Iris looked at each other with panic and immediately changed into their hazard suits. After his previous ordeals, Ves made a habit out of cramming in a couple of emergency supplies in his cabin and workplace.
This came incredibly handy at this moment as it took barely a minute for them to become enclosed in protective armor.
Though they looked rather goofy, the rest of the Vandals adjusted their outer appearances as well. Decompression, lethal radiation and intensive temperature fluctuations all possessed enough harm to snuff out their lives if they gathered in strength.
The spacers aboard the Shield of Hispania largely didn't bother wearing anything bulky. They largely adorned their own brand of vacsuits that didn't hinder their precision work. In exchange, their suits only protected them from a certain level of damage.
Ves daydreamed about cladding himself with the most superior armor as he stepped inside the command center and took his usual seat. Only half of the console operators have arrived so far. The inconvenient timing made it clear that this attack was preordained.
"What happened?"
"Stealth mechs are attacking our mechs! They don't have the firepower to destroy one of our ships, so instead they are attempting to sabotage our mobility!"
Chapter 540
The war raged on. The fighting at the frontlines showed signs of subsiding. As predicted by the Republic, the Vesian aggressors began to run out of steam. Pushing into the Republic's territory expended most of their supplies. Casualties began to pile up, and the burden of maintaining a presence on the captured border systems slowly added up.
Further incursions happened now and then, but the Mech Corps constantly mobilized more divisions to the front. The Bright Republic may have started the war on the back foot, but they quickly showed their mettle once their mech divisions accumulated in sufficient numbers to match their Vesian counterparts.
The events surrounding the Flagrant Vandals impacted the see-saw battles in a profound way. Not only did the Vesians start to lose heart a little faster than projected, they also seemed to show signs of sending some of their forces back in order to join the manhunt for the two Vandal fleets.
In the end, they stayed put. They couldn't afford to waste away the opening invasion. The Vesian strategists knew that they needed to secure as many star systems as possible. The more star systems they conquered, the more they benefited from the added depth.
While the adventures of the Flagrant Vandals excited the Republic, the public eventually dismissed them as a sideshow. The real war was fought along the border of these two irreconcilable states. In that, the major trend hadn't diverged too much from everyone's expectations.
Melkor Larkinson read through the headlines published by all of the usual mouthpieces of the Republic and smiled sardonically. "Heh, if I really believe this crap, I'd be a fool."
According to the articles put out by the state, the Mech Corps inflicted heavy losses to the Mech Legion. For every mech the Republic lost, the Kingdom lost at least two mechs.
This was pure fantasy. While Melkor never fought in the war before, just like Ves he learned much from his uncles and aunts. One of their most important lessons was to disregard everyone's claims about how good or bad the Vesians fought. In all the ways that mattered, the Mech Corps and the Mech Legion pretty much matched each other in military prowess.
The Mech Legion boasted higher numbers as the Vesia Kingdom was blessed with a bit more space and population than their rival state. That said, their unity and coordination suffered enormously because every individual mech legion was controlled by the duchy that raised them from their own efforts.
No single war leader possessed the authority to direct the entire Mech Legion. That required mutual respect and trust from every duchy in their notoriously fractured state.
For example, if a war leader sought to ingratiate themselves with Imodris, Venidse would immediately halt any cooperation. To Venidse, empowering Imodris was worse than letting the Bright Republic off the hook. If necessary, Venidse would pull back all of their mech legions from the front in order to exert pressure on Imodris.
The periodic wars against the Bright Republic was pretty much a game to the nobles. In addition, centuries of deepening enmity between the states had driven the Vesian populace in a rabid frenzy against the Republic.
While the nobles played their games against each other, the commoners largely remained ignorant to their power struggles. In fact, the nobles didn't like it when the commoners became inured in their dirty laundry. They would rather direct their sheep to pay attention elsewhere.
The war against the Bright Republic formed a convenient way for the nobles to direct the energy of their commoners at. Many people in the Republic believed that the only reason the nobles tentatively fought alongside each other at the frontlines and committed so much military might was because they couldn't afford an extended period of peace.
The prevalence of rebel groups in their interior already spoke of the massive amount of discontent that was building up among their lower classes. While it seemed paradoxical for the Vesians to channel their best fighting forces towards fighting a foreign enemy rather than first cleaning house, the latter had proven to be supremely ineffective.
Rebels popped out all the time. With the way the nobles generally ran things, they would never be able to eradicate the scourge of insurrections. Like rats, each time the nobles painstakingly put down a single cell, two more cells would spring up elsewhere.
Only through waging a massive war against their bogeymen would the nobles be able to stir up everyone's patriotism and be able to deflect their attention from their own suffering.
Though it sounded like a precarious balance to maintain, the Vesians pretty much mastered the art of turning the Bright Republic into their bogeyman.
"Do the Vesians even want to win this war?"
Plenty of conspiracy theories circulated among both sides of the border. The wars between the two states had been so static that people couldn't help but think that both states played their own game with each other.
Still, no matter the truth, war was not a game, and plenty of people died during each and every outburst of violence.
Perhaps the only way the Vesia Kingdom might actually be able to win the war was if the royal family gained enough power to command the loyalty of the entire Mech Legion. In practice, this had never happened in their entire history except during the founding of both states.
By now, the royal family pretty much turned into figureheads for the Kingdom. Though they grasped as much power as any duchy if not more, they suffered from the combined suppression of every duchy under their rule.
In other words, they had become hostages to their own vassals!
This was a profoundly ironic circumstance in the history of the Kingdom considering the original intentions of its founder. The original founder of the Kingdom wanted to wield absolute power and rule over his state as their sole tyrant. This was why he adopted the feudal system in the first place.
It was a pity that his trusted subordinates who had been assigned as his dukes didn't necessarily agree. Though relations between the founding generation had been clear, once the subsequent generations grew into power, they began to chafe at their restrictions.
Eventually, the power wielded by the royals eroded to such an extent that they long since lost the influence to change the course of their entire state.
As the bogeymen of the Vesians, the Bright Republic wasn't as demonic as the commoners of the Kingdom thought. They styled themselves as a bastion of reason and rationality. Though they suffered from their own power struggles, it hadn't reached the self-cannibalizing state of their mortal enemies.
The Mech Corps was a consummate professional organization that largely steered away from the tribalism of the Mech Legion. While the commanders of the mech divisions still regarded themselves as rulers of their individual forces, they were very much aware that they didn't own the mech forces they commanded.
The Mech Corps funded almost every mech division from a centralized source. Frequent exchanges and transfers of funding, technology and personnel kept the mech divisions from becoming too isolated.
This allowed the Mech Corps to exert more effective military strength despite constantly being outnumbered by their Vesian counterparts. High command was not an illusion, and their individual forces actually followed their strategic planning.
Their coordination grew more potent with the addition of competent intelligence. The Bright Republic ran some of the more effective military intelligence operations. They easily exploited the divided nature of the Vesians and excelled in gathering critical intelligence. Sometimes, they even stole exclusive technology specifications before the Vesians had even begun to implement them in their own troops.
Nonetheless, the Bright Republic constantly teetered at the edge of defeat during each war. It was their conflict to lose. While the Vesians consistently hammered their defenses in the same one-dimensional offensives as before, the Mech Corps constantly needed to exert their full efforts just to place themselves on par with the Mech Legion.
It wasn't fair. The Vesians weren't actually putting their full effort in the war, yet they could easily push the frontlines if they exerted a little more effort on occasion.
Sadly, war was never fair. All it cared for was who had the biggest fist.
One of the main reasons the invasion stalled wasn't because the Vesians exhausted their men or ran out of supplies. It was actually because the nobles that held sway in the frontlines lost the heart to push through the turtle-like Republic.
"It's getting harder and harder to achieve a breakthrough. The hateful Republic is only focused on defending!"
"It's such a pain to sacrifice so many mechs to gain control over another dinky star system. The annual tax revenue of this star system isn't enough to fill the gap between my teeth!"
"I'm tired. Let's stop for a few months and go at it again when we are better prepared."
Of course, the desires of the nobles clashed against the professional soldiers who fought the actual battles. They deeply wanted to push through and defeat their rivals once and for all.
The differences in opinion changed nothing. In the Vesia Kingdom, the nobles held all the sway. If they all agreed to stop the offensive, then the push into Republic space would certainly stall.
Meanwhile, the Verle Task Force met with their latest crisis. The sudden sneak attack stank of a Venidse ambush. Every Vandal grew serious once the implications settled in their minds.
Surprisingly, rather than initiating combat with the Vandals with a large number of mechs, Venidse instead opted to begin their attack with an attack from stealth!
The Flagrant Vandals constantly maintained their vigilance each time they emerged from FTL. This time was no different as up to a hundred spaceborn mechs deployed from the ships at any time except when it was time to go.
The entire attack interval only lasted a couple of seconds. The stealth mechs that perpetrated the attacks obviously didn't wish to stick around long enough for the Vandals to grasp their locations.
Major Verle only arrived at the command center half a minute later than Ves and Iris. Despite his relative tardiness, he quickly grasped their actual situation and issued the right commands.
"Deploy the dust! As much as you can!"
"Order our mech patrols to comb through their quadrant of space! Any suspicious signs and signals should be reported immediately!"
Every Vandal ship immediately threw out vast clouds of dust. Like the particle grenades that the rebels once deployed in Neron City, the dust clouds acted as a proven low-tech solution to skulking stealth mechs.
The only problem was that the expanding dust cloud showed nothing suspicious. Not a single area in the expandings clouds deformed!
"H-How is this possible?!" Major Verle gritted his teeth. He instantly turned to Ves. "Explain!"
Ves felt the intensity of the major's gaze. "Modern stealth technology has derived countless ways to circumvent such a crude detection method. Venidse excels in developing stealth mechs. They would have certainly tried to plug this obvious hole in their ability to remain hidden!"
"Fine then! If the dust cloud doesn't work, then let us pump out more ordnance into our perimeter!"
Akkara mechs started firing lasers into empty space. Missiles launched from their few missile-bearing mechs and exploded at predetermined coordinates. Nothing worked. Within a range of fifty kilometers, there didn't appear to be any enemies!
Everyone's faces grew ugly. Even Ves began to sour as his own search attempts accomplished nothing. He had to hand it to Venidse, they really mastered the use of stealth technology.
All of this left the task force frustrated, rattled and crippled. At the very least, this star system didn't appear to host any follow-up forces.
Their main concerns turned from stopping any further attacks from stealth to repairing their extensive battle damage.
Seven ships lost their sublight propulsion. This was not as big of a problem as it sounded. The real concern was that their vitally important logistics ships lost their FTL drives. Without this vitally important component, they couldn't run away!
Chapter 541
The hidden assailants caught the Flagrant Vandals completely off-guard! Their premeditated attack not only immobilized seven important ships, but they also went a step further and damaged the FTL drives of their logistics ships!
With the Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan unable to flee from this star system, the entire task force turned into a sitting duck! If they couldn't get those FTL drives back online, they faced two very stark choices.
Either give up the logistics ships and force the rest to flee into FTL, or make a stand and attempt to restore their FTL functionality!
A matter of such import would be a bit awkward for Major Verle to decide upon alone. Therefore, he opened a communications channel to the Antecedent in order to connect with their fleet commander.
Ves had met with Captain Argil Rakeshir a couple of times during staff meetings. The man was a typical old salt with distinct spaceborn sentimentalities, though he kept that part of himself locked away when he met with others.
As the captain of the Antecedent, Rakeshir kept a very low profile. Nonetheless, he held the most seniority out of the ship captains and therefore took on the role of the task force's fleet commander. As such, he was usually the ultimate authority when it came to ships and fleet actions. Captain Rakeshir basically translated Major Verle's orders into concrete maneuvers.
"How bad is it, Rakeshir?" Verle asked. This time, he hadn't bothered to summon a privacy screen.
"Really bad." The fleet commander grimaced. "We can work on restoring our propulsion at our leisure once we dive into FTL, but the Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan are dead in the water. Not only that, they've lost at least half of their engineers, so any repair works will face significant delays."
"Give me an estimate. How long will it take to restore their FTL drives?"
"The good news is that we've got spares. The bad news is that they've been calibrated for combat carriers, not logistics ships. We can slap them onto the Beggar's Bounty and Linever Swan in an emergency, but it will take hours to configure the ships and the FTL drives. You may not know this, but the latter comes with an extremely stringent safety lock. There are too many ways for FTL travel to go awry, so unless everything is in tip-top shape, the drivers won't engage."
This prevented shenanigans such as capital ships attempting to transition into FTL with a tiny drive meant for corvettes. Any misconfiguration led to catastrophic effects. Therefore, FTL drive designers always erred on the side of caution and incorporated a very extensive safety check.
"How long exactly?"
"I can't give you an exact estimate. At best, eight hours, at worst, sixteen hours. This is already at our most extreme. Installing incompatible FTL drives onto damaged ships requires weeks of configuration if we want to do it properly."
"This is a time for haste, not caution. Sixteen hours is already too long. Venidse may arrive at any hour."
The captain shrugged. "This is the best our engineers can accomplish. It's impossible for them to cut corners anymore. Even now there is a substantial risk that the hasty repairs will turn out to be botched. You don't want to see the result of the aftermath of such an event."
Major Verle and Captain Rakeshir argued about this point for several minutes. No matter what Verle said, Rakeshir couldn't give them a better time frame for the repairs.
"Alright, do what you want, as long as you make it quick." Major Verle replied in an exasperated tone. "Since half of our ships lost their sublight propulsion, is there any way to get our fleet moving? If Venidse has sent a follow-up force after us, they'll be homing in on these coordinates. We won't be able to defend ourselves as well if they drop right on top of us!"
Captain Rakeshir frowned. "There is no practical way to get our ships moving. Our undamaged ships lack the propulsion to tow away our damaged ships. While I've already prioritized the restoration of their propulsion systems, they actually need a lot more time to restore because the material damage is very extensive."
This must have been Venidse's strategy from the start. They focused the bulk of their firepower in penetrating deep into the Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan to anchor the Vandals to this star system. They then swept half-a-dozen combat carriers to paralyze their in-system maneuvers!
If not for their allegiance, Ves would have applauded Venidse! With just a single attack, they set the entire task force in a deepening spiral of doom!
"Can we utilize our mechs to help tow the ships?" Verle suggested.
"Impossible! A combat carrier is unimaginably heavy! Even with hundreds of mechs, we don't have the cables to support them all. This move is only viable if the ship being towed is as small as a frigate or corvette."
There went that idea.
Major Verle ended the call after determining there was no way they could regain their mobility in the short-term. For better or worse, the task force continued to drift through space at the exact same pace, allowing any ambushers to calculate their position at any given time.
This level of exposure made the Vandals very uncomfortable. Part of their modus operandi was to stay unseen as they skulked behind enemy lines. They never fought upfront if they had the choice. In fact, unless they stood to gain a lot of wealth, they wouldn't hesitate to run with their tails tucked between their legs.
This was their definition characteristic as a raiding unit. They stole what they could and ran whenever they met an opponent.
The only problem right now was that they couldn't run at all. Their legs had sustained damage and it would take approximately eight hours at minimum for it to heal. Until then, any enemy could come up to them and beat them black and blue.
Having listened to the high-level discussion, Ves knew that they had decided to commit to a turtling strategy. Neither Verle nor Rakeshir contemplated the option of abandoning the two logistics ships.
Though they contributed little in actual engagements, their true value lay in their ability to process ores and raw materials. They also formed miniature factories that fabricated and restored batches of mechs by the dozens.
Therefore, even if it seemed that evacuating and scuttling the logistics ships guaranteed a safe retreat, their subsequent situation only became more precarious over time. By the time they crossed into Hafner, all of their combat carriers might have exhausted all of their remaining resource stockpiles.
Times like these reinforced the limited power of a mech designer. Even vaunted Master Mech Designers such as Master Olson or Master Katzenberg had to resign themselves to the inevitable if they faced the same situation.
There might be a possibility that they dabbled in FTL theory. Ordinarily, mech designers never encroached upon starships, while ship engineers never involved themselves with mechs. While ships and mechs shared much in common, they exhibited a lot more differences. Mastering either of them required a lifetime's worth of study and dedication.
Understanding FTL drives was already an extremely high task for ship engineers. Only the most seasoned chief engineers among the Vandals possessed the bare qualifications to work with the drives.
If Ves forcefully tried to help, he would only make things worse as he possessed no foundation in FTL technology at all. "Let alone FTL technology, I don't even have a proper foundation in starship engineering."
He felt awful for being so useless at the moment. Every Vandal felt likewise, and they all prayed that their chief engineers got the newly-installed FTL drives to work again.
In the meantime, Major Verle tasked Ves with helping their mechs with setting up an anti-stealth perimeter. They never caught the stealthed assailants, so the possibility of another attack was very high.
Ves felt that he was lacking yet again in this matter. Venidse's stealth technology was a notch ahead of anything else he had encountered. Whereas other forms of stealth could be broken by throwing dust at them, Venidse had obviously developed specific countermeasures that ensured their stealth forces blended in seamlessly in the most chaotic environments.
Breaking their stealth required more than a light puff of dust.
Obviously, Ves couldn't do much on his own, so he drew in Iris, Mercator and Trozin for support.
"Comb over the logs and try to pin down how Venidse ambushed us. Understanding how they snuck up on us is the first step in preventing a repeat of the same attack."
With those words, he left the three to do their own research. In the meantime, he helped the Vandals set up their mech patrols in a way that maximized their stealth detection. Each mech carried different sensor models, and some were more suited for anti-stealth than others.
Compensating for the extreme effectiveness of Venidse's stealth systems, Ves basically fixed the smallest detection ranges for every individual mech model. At those conservative ranges, it mattered little how well the enemy hid their traces.
For the worst mechs, this range did not surpass fifty meters, while the best mechs only boasted an effective detection radius of only two-hundred meters.
In the scale of landbound mech combat, those distances amounted to a couple of footsteps. In the scale of spaceborn mech combat, those distances were equivalent to two humans standing only centimeters away from each other.
The detection range was far too short to cover the entire task force!
He contacted Major Verle. "Sir, I have a problem to report."
"I'm busy, Mr. Larkinson, so this better be good."
Ves briefly explained the dilemma with the detection ranges. "Our fleet formation is too dispersed. Every ship is maintaining a distance of several kilometers away from each other. While I can understand the logic for assuming such a large minimum distance, our circumstances have changed. If you want full coverage against stealth infiltration, then we need to contract our formation."
A monumental decision like this directly affected their survival. Verle's frown only grew deeper as Ves burdened him with another concern.
"Have you identified how Venidse got the drop on us?"
"My men are working on it, sir. So far, we haven't turned up any results, which means Venidse has employed some new breakthroughs. It is possible that we won't be able to find any records of their latest advancements."
Verle nodded in understanding. "Even at the frontlines, Venidse never shows their hand too often. They cherish their elite stealth units. The more Venidse makes use of them, the more the Mech Corps is able to understand their underlying principles and develop a counter for them. Since your mech hasn't found an immediate match, it is unlikely you'll find anything relevant in the database."
"I was afraid of that, sir. I'll still let my subordinates continue their research. Who knows if they can figure out a clue. About the issue I brought up, have you made a decision?"
"Not yet. I'll need to bring it up to Captain Rakeshir. If he thinks the risk of collision or getting caught in an area effect is smaller than the risk of suffering another close-ranged stealth attack, then I don't see a major problem in contracting our formation."
Ves could not decide this issue for them. He dared not overrule Captain Rakeshir when it came to controlling ships. He had already done his due diligence by informing them of this vulnerability and providing them with an option to address the holes in their defense.
In the end, their paranoia overruled their common sense. Having failed to detect their initial attackers, Major Verle and Captain Rakeshir feared their enemy would grow bold and go for a reprise.
Several minutes later, every ship received orders to converge into a tighter formation. Ships with working propulsion helped get the immobilized vessels into the right position and heading by towing them one by one.
Slowly, the Vandals adopted the stance of a turtle.
Chapter 542
Hours went by as the Flagrant Vandals contracted their defenses and turtled up. Conventionally, starships tried to maintain a distance of at least five kilometers from each other. This rule of thumb varied from state to state and from star sector to star sector, but generally speaking it was unthinkable for ships to stray closer than a kilometer to each other.
There was no reason to do so. If ships needed to transfer passengers or goods to each other, they only needed to let their shuttles or transports do the work. These smaller spacecraft flew fast enough that a distance of one kilometer or ten kilometers didn't matter very much. The launch and docking maneuvers alone took up a lot more time than the brief trips.
Machines always pose a risk to their environment. If anything went wrong, their immediate surroundings came under threat. This didn't matter too much if it concerned an aircar. At best, it would crash against something and kill a couple of people.
When mechs malfunctioned or went rogue, it could do a lot more damage. A critical explosion may even take out half a city block in the process, though such an outcome was very rare these days.
More concerning was when something as large as a combat carrier suffered a disaster. Their power reactors outputted so much energy that they could easily power several mech companies without a sweat. If all of that energy ended up in the wrong destinations, the combat carrier could easily explode with the fury of a miniature nuclear warhead.
This was only one worry fleet commanders had to deal with when they drew up their formations. Many other concerns led to the convention that ships generally avoided sticking too close to each other.
The only reason why Major Verle and Captain Rakeshir went against their screaming instincts was because they genuinely feared a repeat of the attack that crippled the task force's mobility.
Now, they stood a fair chance of detecting any hidden approaches in the immediate vicinity. Inheritors and other light mechs formed the main line of defense against their hidden opponent. All of them entered into a spherical formation that provided overlapping detection coverage in every angle.
Their medium mechs on the other hand patrolled the outer perimeter. Their inferior sensors couldn't be used to sweep up stealthed enemies, but they were mainly there to defend against overt attacks and to catch any stealth units that attempted to flee after another successful attack.
In this way, they posed a certain level of deterrence.
"Boss! We've figured out how Venidse snuck up on us!"
Ves turned around to Iris. "Explain."
She summoned up a projection of a sensor recording. "This is the rear-facing sensor of the Beggar's Bounty immediately before the attack. Visually, there is nothing present. Only after a weapon is launched are we able to detect a minor disturbance. Through hours of painstaking research, we've finally been able to define the silhouette of the stealth unit that attacked us."
"Doesn't this look rather... small?"
Their attacker appeared to be a half-sized mech. It was severely undersized compared to what he expected, especially since their attacker employed an instant burst of firepower deadly enough to penetrate through several layers of ship armor.
Granted, the stern of a starship was always their most vulnerable facing. The thrusters and other systems that occupied the rear end of the ship couldn't operate if too much armor obstructed their functioning.
Even then, a mech that was substantially smaller than a light mech shouldn't have been able to inflict so much damage.
"Do you think this is a mech?" She asked.
Now that he thought about it, the silhouette didn't match any mech that he could recognize. It kind of looked like an unbalanced shuttle married with an oversized weapon mount.
"This isn't a mech. This is a commando shuttle!"
"That's what our consensus has led to as well. Stealth is harder to maintain on bigger vehicles than smaller vehicles. It would make sense to employ a shuttle instead of a mech if the latter isn't needed. The only thing that is strange about this silhouette is that a very large torpedo tube is welded onto its hull. And yes, Venidse employed ultra-short range torpedoes against us. Each of them packed enough explosive power to tear through our ships."
Iris calmly explained the traits of the commando shuttle and backed up her inferences with sporadic evidence. Though much of it remained guesswork, Ves believed her assertions.
"I see how this can work for Venidse." Ves nodded. "Instead of endangering their precious mech pilots, they can apply their same superior brand of stealth to disposable shuttles. Slapping a torpedo mount on them is sheer genius. It wouldn't work on a regular shuttle, but a stealth shuttle has no problems getting up close."
The threat level of commando shuttles could not match the threat level of stealth mechs. Unlike shuttles, mechs possessed a lot more flexibility. Who knew what weapons or gadgets they brought if Venidse sent them to this star system.
Once Major Verle received the files, he finally started smiling again for the first time in hours. "Good work, Mr. Larkinson! At least someone scored some results. That's more than I can say for the rest!"
The Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan both required a lot more hours before they regained some of their space worthiness. Every ship engineer aboard the other ships had converged to the two cripples logistics ships in order to lend a hand with restoring their FTL capabilities. This was an extraordinary collaboration that left the engineering departments of the other ships dangerously thin.
Ves politely smiled back at the commanding officer. "We live to serve."
Iris softly bumped her elbow against his ribs. She probably built up some resentment when Ves failed to credit their contribution.
Once Major Verle turned away to adjust their defensive envelope to cope with the commando shuttles, Ves turned back to Iris.
"Right now, Verle only wants to hear results. I'll mention all of your accomplishments in the after-action report."
Of course, Ves planned to do no such thing, because that would be giving more kudos to his deputies. At best, he could push all of the credit to Iris, not that she needed it all that much since she was technically a guest designer.
That made Ves question her continued presence in their midst. Their journey was fraught with peril. Pretty much the entire Kingdom was out to kill them. For Iris to continue to accompany them meant that there must be a profound reason why she stuck around.
One possibility was that she had been assigned to the task force for the same reason Colonel Lowenfield split up the main fleet. They'd been cast out as bait and were never expected to return. Maybe the Vesian Revolutionary Front arranged her demise.
Another possibility was that their mission mattered more than Ves initially thought. For whatever reason the task force needed to reach the Reinald Republic within two months, the outcome of this mission might have far-reaching effects.
Personally, Ves was partial to the second possibility. It conformed to his growing suspicion that the events at Detemen IV only served as the prelude of a greater undertaking.
It could be that Trozin's conspiracy theory was on the right track, only that it swapped the bait.
Rather than assuming that the Verle Task Force served as bait, perhaps it was more accurate to state that the main fleet took on this role!
The logic behind this assumption sounded a little dubious, but Ves couldn't discount this possibility.
"The main fleet brought all the attention-grabbing assets with them. With the Wolf Mother, Professor Velten, the Journeyman Mech Designers, and Colonel Lowenfield herself as high-value assets, she turned the main fleet into a priority target that must be destroyed at all costs."
Taking down even one of them could serve as a massive propaganda victory for the Vesians. Whenever Ves browsed the galactic net in order to keep track of the main fleet's attempts to return to the Republic, the news surrounding their passing outnumbered the interest to the Verle Task Force.
Could it be that Lord Javier was actually imprisoned inside one of their ships, and that for some reason he needed to be brought to the Reinald Republic on a time-sensitive basis?
Ves imagined himself being flung into a deep dark ocean with very little visibility. The more he fumbled around, the more he bumped into shadows of creatures and objects, some of which posed a significant threat to his life.
He faced two different choices in this situation.
One choice would be to remain passive and stop his underwater thrashing. This minimized the risk of bumping into something threatening, but this also left him blind to any incoming threats. The downside to being passive was that Ves had to submit to fate to make it through.
The riskier choice would be to become more active and start to swim about. Whether he would be met with fortune or calamity, Ves didn't know, but it sounded better than leaving his survival to fate.
He made a decision then. If they survived this crisis, he vowed to get to the bottom of this mission. It was way too risky and inexplicable for Ves to believe that this mission was anything routine.
"This is a matter to consider for later."
Right now, they need to wait for something to change. Either the two logistics ships regained their FTL functionality, or Venidse would finally reveal their fangs.
Unfortunately for him, the latter happened first.
Midway into the restoration process, a squadron of ships emerged from FTL.
"Detecting eight unknown vessels!"
The new ships consisted of four combat carriers and four inconsequential transports. Everyone ignored the transports and focused on the combat carriers. Upon emerging from FTL, they regained their bearings quickly and immediately began to approach the stranded Vandals.
It would take only half an hour for the newcomers to come into combat range.
"Identify the ships!"
"We've matched their visual appearances to ships of the 1st Frosty Meteors of the 6th Venidse Mech Legion!"
The majority of the Vandals in the command center reacted strongly after the sensor officer mentioned the Frosty Meteors.
The Frosty Meteors was one of Venidse's premier spaceborn mech regiments! As their moniker alluded to, they didn't tend to play around. Instead, they relied solely on force to crush their opposition!
They favored melee mechs and ranged mechs in equal measure. Their melee mechs acted as cavalry that relied on their powerful charge to smash apart their opposition. Their ranged mechs mostly consisted of gun platforms that unleashed a massive amount of firepower at medium range.
Worse, the Frosty Meteors enjoyed the best funding from Venidse, allowing them to field a substantial amount of heavy mechs. From heavy cannoneers that could outgun the Akkara, to heavy knights that could endure a mech company's worth of firepower, everything about the Frosty Meteors inspired dread.
Naturally, everything had a cost. The Frosty Meteors was a money pit. It cost Venidse a significant amount of wealth and resources to maintain this prestigious unit.
Their second and more relevant weakness to the Vandals was that all of their mechs were rather slow. Certainly, if their enemies let them build up a charge, then they could be very fast, but their actual acceleration was very sluggish.
If the Flagrant Vandals retained their mobility, then there was no question that they would be able to outrace the lumbering Meteors.
It was a pity that half of their ships lost their sublight propulsion. While a turtle may not be able to catch up to a hare, there was no question that it could catch up to it when it was crippled.
"Damn!" Major Verle slammed his fist against his armrest as he beheld the approaching might of the Frosty Meteors. Even though the four combat carriers could only field four mech companies at most, their quality was more than sufficient to smash their immobile fleet!
Chapter 543
The Frosty Meteors immediately showed their intentions when they emerged from FTL . They approached the stranded Vandal task force at full burn without any hesitation!
Their arrogance knew no bounds! Conservatively, they would be outnumbered at least three-to-one, yet they showed no signs of slowing down!
The most prudent decision to make from Venidse's perspective was to wait for other friendly elements to catch up . After all, taking on the task force with only four spaceborn mech companies left them with very little margin for error .
The unspoken message behind their brazen course of action came as a slap to the faces of the Vandals! The Frosty Meteors obviously thought little of their opponents!
To be honest, Ves couldn't blame them for viewing the Flagrant Vandals with contempt . The two mech regiments differed largely in purpose, funding, tradition and fighting ability .
A raiding regiment such as the Flagrant Vandals mainly relied on their mobility to attack when they were strong and flee when they were weak . This was their main advantage, but also their fatal weak point . The moment when their mobility became hindered, they lost almost all of their advantages .
It was pretty much the opposite for the Frosty Meteors . Almost every fighting attribute reached an extreme . As a medium to heavy cavalry regiment, they leaned more towards the use of hefty armor . Every mech of the Meteors was at least twice as resilient as an equivalent Vandal mech . This difference alone gave the Venidse mech regiment a decisive advantage!
Everyone in the command center could tell how serious a threat they faced . Nobody belittled the Frosty Meteors for their arrogance or their lacking numbers . The Meteors proved their mettle many times in the frontlines of the previous wars . Slow they may be, even the most premier mech regiments of the Mech Corps abhorred getting into a slugging match with the Meteors .
After venting his fury, Major Verle opened a private channel to Ves . "What is your analysis as a mech designer? Will our mechs be able to withstand the Meteors?"
"I don't rate our chances high . " Ves responded despondently . "With half of our fleet unable to move, we are forced to fight on their terms . The Meteors love nothing more than to bash themselves against soft targets like us . Neither the Inheritor or the Hellcat will be able to turn the tide . The only variable that I can't account for is how many heavy mechs they brought . Each heavy mech is an enormously difficult rock to crack . If they brought more than twenty heavy mechs, we basically stand no chance at all unless we adopt a clever tactic . "
Ves knew his mechs, but even his perspective contained holes . The one element that Ves couldn't predict was the effect of different formations and tactics . Depending on how well the Flagrant Vandals and the Frosty Meteors employed their formations, the outcome of the battle might very well swing drastically in one direction or another!
Therefore, even if everything appeared hopeless, Ves did not give in to despair .
"Can we employ our land bound mechs to enhance our strength?"
"It's very difficult . " Ves shook his head . Ves had seen such a drastic desperation move many times in action dramas . What worked in the dramas didn't necessarily work in reality . "Our landbound mechs aren't able to maneuver in space at all . They'll be sitting ducks against the enemy ranged mechs . There's also recoil and heat management to consider . "
Mechs with ballistic weapons especially suffered from recoil . Each time these mechs fired their weapons, they would spin their entire frames like a wheel .
As for heat management, landbound mechs reliant on high-heat weapons such as laser rifles relied a lot on heat convection to shunt away their excess waste energy . Since there wasn't any air or solid ground in space, such mechs wouldn't be able to get rid of their heat fast enough!
"Is there no other option?"
"There is one I can think of, but it's rather silly . Just as how we employ our landbound Akkara heavy cannoneers as an improvised turret, we can make use of other landbound ranged mechs in a similar fashion by strapping them against the hull of our ships . "
Such a tactic fell in the category of desperation move as well . While it came with a lot of malpractices, it had been used often enough during the Age of Mechs to be regarded as a viable way to leverage a mech force otherwise useless landbound mech force in space .
Affixing the landbound mechs onto the hulls of their ships neatly solved their heat and recoil problems . The only problem for the Vandals was that it took a lot of time and manpower to set up . With the Frosty Meteors less than thirty minutes away, they wouldn't be able to affix more than a dozen or so mechs onto the hulls of their combat carriers .
Major Verle must have thought the same . "I've already considered this option . It is extremely ruinous for the landbound mechs because they have lost all of their mobility . Besides, if we want to employ all of our ranged mechs into ad-hoc turrets, we need several hours of preparation time . "
Venidse timed their surprise attack fairly well . Only a couple of hours after they immobilized the Vandals, the Frosty Meteors arrived to deliver the coup-de-grace! Though it sounded simple, to plan and time such an outcome required extremely strong prediction capabilities on the part of the enemy!
They certainly faced a formidable opponent right now! Not only did they come with strength, they also showed an excellent level of coordination!
This was bad news for the Vandals because even if they fought back hard against the Meteors, they also had to worry about stealth attacks . This invisible threat constantly hovered over the heads of the Vandals . The moment the Vandals broke up their anti-stealth formation, their invisible opponents would have free reign to deliver another crippling blow to the task force!
Ves and Major Verle swapped a few more ideas, but none of them sounded promising . In the meantime the clock continued to tick . A few minutes into their burn, the enemy combat carriers finally launched their mechs .
A hundred-and-forty mechs launched in quick succession . As expected, the Frosty Meteors employed an even mix of ranged and melee mechs .
Their medium melee mechs carried a substantial amount of armor . Much of them consisted of space knights, which made them even more resilient as a whole .
Their ranged mechs on the other hand consisted entirely of ballistic weaponry . The Frosty Meteors famously eschewed laser weaponry because they preferred the tactile feedback of kinetic and explosive shells . Their rifleman mechs exclusively made use of heavy caliber rifles, while their cannoneers used even heavier barrels for maximum firepower .
What caused Ves and the others to despair was that the Frosty Meteors boldly displayed twenty heavy mechs . Half of them consisted of heavy space knights while the other half consisted of heavy weapon platforms akin to a spaceborn variant to the Vandal Akkara model .
Each and every mech model employed by the Frosty Meteors was state of the art . There was no question that the Frosty Meteors brought their best . This was no collection of rank-and-file elements like the previous appearance of the Calico Dancer Bats .
The Frosty Meteors basically believed that this battle was in the bag . No matter how much the Flagrant Vandals flailed, they couldn't change the outcome of the battle . It was a given that they would lose . The only question was by how much .
If the Vandals closed ranks, they risked total annihilation or capture . On the other hand, if the Vandals evacuated the immobilized ships and hurriedly ran away in their few undamaged ships, they might be able to run away before the enemy caught up .
Major Verle immediately shook his head when Ves suggested they cut off their tail and run . "We can't discount the enemy stealth units . Whether it's shuttles or mechs that are lurking in the vicinity, both can easily hinder our transition into FTL by throwing out disposable gravitic mines in the surrounding area . This is one of Venidse's favorite tactics . "
Even if they hadn't spotted any signs of enemy stealth units so far, Verle had no choice but to assume the worst . It might be that the Vandals overestimated Venidse's commitment and worked on false assumptions, but they truly couldn't afford to make a misjudgement at this time .
"The transports are emitting water!"
This was another tradition of the Frosty Meteors . The transports didn't carry any goods or supplies . Instead, their cargo holds had been converted into water tanks . Immediately before they entered into battle, the transports expelled their water from the tanks and allowed them to flash freeze in space, creating makeshift ice meteors .
Once the tanks ran out of water, the heavy knights accompanied by a handful of medium mechs maneuvered behind the meteors and began to push them forward using their powerful flight systems . Though this slowed down their overall approach, they also gained a shield of some sorts . If the Vandals wanted to damage the charging Meteors, they first needed to chip away at all of the ice in their way .
Just as Ves wanted to raise the option of splitting up the Vandal ships, Verle suddenly turned his head towards another private channel . For the first time since the Frosty Meteors emerged from FTL, he grinned .
"Mr . Larkinson, it seems we still have a lifeline . Venerable O'Callahan has decided to deploy into battle . "
Major Verle didn't hide his words this time . Everyone in the command center heard his words . Upon mentioning the expert pilot, everyone instantly lifted their gloom! Some even outright laughed as they thought that Venerable O'Callahan would single-handedly be able to turn the tide!
Ves had never witnessed O'Callahan in action . From the archival footage that he perused in his spare time, he had to admit that O'Callahan might do well against the Frosty Meteors . The only problem was that O'Callahan would never be able to finish off all hundred-and-forty mechs on his own before they crashed into the rest of the Vandals .
Battle couldn't be avoided . They just had to go about it in a smart fashion . As long as O'Callahan and the regular Vandals worked together, they might be able to pull off a miracle .
Major Verle didn't need his advice on this matter . He probably knew much more on how to employ his mechs than Ves, so the channel immediately closed .
Several minutes passed by as the Vandals prepared for battle . Not only did they need to guard against any stealth ambushes, they also had to commit enough mechs to support O'Callahan's counterattack . This required a lot of judgment . If they committed too few mechs on either demands, then they risked a fatal flaw .
The wait was agonizing to Ves . RIght now, he couldn't do much except to uncover more details about the enemy mech models . He had no illusion that he would be able to find a critical weak point in their excellent designs .
Fifteen minutes until the Frosty Meteors arrived, the Parallax Star finally launched from the Gorgon's Gaze . As he witnessed the resplendent lancer mech take to the stage, Ves withheld his enthusiasm . While others showed their awe at the presence of their resident expert pilot, Ves felt some contempt at the Venerable .
Iris noticed his disaffection . "Why so glum, boss? We might be saved!"
"Hmph . The only reason why he dragged his corpse out of his hibernation chamber is because the Gorgon's Gaze is one of the ships that lost their sub-light propulsion . If not for that, he would probably be the first person to suggest we split and run . The Venerable is selfish to the bone . "
It was a given that Venerable O'Callahan needed to expend a significant portion of his remaining vitality into the upcoming battle . If not for their hopeless situation, the stingy death-fearing old expert pilot would never use up his precious lifespan .
Even as the rest of the Vandals experienced a lift in morale, Ves crossed his arms and in expectation . The Vandals sacrificed a lot of resources to put O'Callahan on retainer . The expert should better reciprocate this time .
"Show us what you can do . "
Chapter 544
Among mech pilots, expert pilots occupied a special place. Often likened as demigods, these experts display inhumanly good skill in piloting mechs.
Every basic parameter concerning piloting received an overall boost. From battle sense, weapon accuracy, resilience, willpower and more, any expert pilot was able to beat ten advanced pilots without any effort if they all piloted the same mechs. In some cases, their best attributes even surpassed the human limit.
Therefore, people considered every expert pilot to be an elite by definition.
However, this was not enough to elevate experts into objects of worship. The true worth of an expert pilot was that their cognition experienced a specific mutation that opened them up to resonance.
This wasn't the fake resonance that mostly relied on passive exotics and a little helping of mental compulsion from a customized neural interface. The resonance that expert pilots could call upon was at least ten times stronger, and each could achieve a much greater variety of effects.
This was what true resonance looked like. It was the power that elevated expert pilots into heroes on the battlefield, and enabled them to fight a hundred enemy mechs by themselves.
"An expert pilot is a one-man killing machine. Where one treads, hundreds of mechs will fall apart. Entire regiments despair when an enemy expert pilot stares at them. Sometimes, a grueling battle has been made irrelevant due to the outcome of a duel between experts."
Of course, such sayings left out a host of factors. Not every expert pilot and expert mech was the same. Nonetheless, even the weakest expert possessed a level of strength that was almost impossible to overcome by any other mech pilot.
Befitting their status as demigods, the life of an expert pilot was filled with difficulties. No expert pilot came about from greenhouses. Not even the MTA or the first-rate superstates could reliably engender expert pilots among their ranks. They all came about by chance, though good genetics sometimes played a role.
In any case, nobody could predict whether a potentate was destined to advance to the rank of expert pilot. They could come from descendents of a small military dynasty such as the Larkinsons or emerge from the underclass of an overcrowded city.
As long as enough mech pilots received the opportunity to pilot a mech, their hidden talents would inevitably emerge. However, this happened only when the mech pilots received enough stimulation. Heated combat and the threat of death was the simplest and most effective way to draw out an expert candidate's potential.
The amount of expert pilots that emerged from the battlefield vastly outnumbered their counterparts from the dueling arenas. This was the strongest proof that to raise an expert pilot, lots of mech pilots needed to be thrown into a conflict.
The more mech pilots entered battle, the higher the odds of uncovering an expert pilot. Some people say this was the principal reason why war was still so prevalent throughout human space. If states didn't wage war against other states, they often tended to wage war against themselves. No matter where anyone turned in human space, there was always a fight to be found.
No one succeeded in fostering a specific mech pilot into a vaunted expert. Many have boasted the ability to do so, but most training programs simply aimed to push their mech pilots to their limits.
It wasn't uncommon for the training programs to turn deadly.
The only way for states to foster expert pilots was to play the lottery enough times. An extremely low probability event almost always delivered no results, but if it was repeated many times, then eventually the jackpot would fall.
Each expert pilot that fought for a state added to their overall strength. Yet even then, the advancement of an expert pilot had only just begun.
Beyond their current rank existed even more powerful existences called ace pilots, and that was not the end.
Beyond ace pilots, a rare crop of mech pilots had attained power unimaginable. So much so that people couldn't help but call them god pilots.
Only several hundred god pilots existed in the galaxy. They were just as rare as Star Designers, and both enjoyed a similar status in human space.
The only difference was that Star Designers generally transcended human division and employed their apex abilities for the betterment of the human race as a whole.
God pilots on the other hand remained more willful for some reason. While some join Star Designers into declaring neutrality, others have decided to remain attached to either the Greater Terran United Federation or the New Rubarth Empire. No other state possessed the appetite to retain a god pilot.
Even if they had been declared as divinity in human form, god pilots still hungered for what lay beyond. None of them had ever advanced to the rank after god pilot, but all of them sensed a vast fog of possibilities. In their pursuit to surpass their god-like existences, these peerless warriors believed that they could only reach a greater height through continued struggle.
Rixt O'Callahan was no god. Right now, he could be called a demigod as best, and a decrepit one as that. With one foot in the grave, his body had long lost the fitness of his sprier years. If nobody knew that he was an expert pilot, they might mistake him as a walking corpse!
Yet no matter how awful his body looked, it still retained a large portion of its inner strength. It was generally known that the mind of an expert pilot had broken the shackles of the human limit. What others might not be aware of was that their physiology also followed suit.
Though expert pilots generally didn't bother training their bodies to a superhuman level, they did seek out treatments and medicines that strengthened their flesh in order to endure the physical demands of piloting a mech.
Thus, even as O'Callahan emerged from his hibernation chamber, he only needed a couple of minutes to return to his peak state. After apprising himself to the current conditions of the Vandals, O'Callahan immediately entered the cockpit of his personal steed, the Parallax Star.
This wasn't his first expert mech. Having lived for over a century, O'Callahan often piloted the best of what a state could offer to their precious experts. A champion without the finest armor and weapons would never live up to their potential.
He still remembered his first mech, so long ago. When he was still an advanced pilot, he was assigned to a mech regiment of the Mech Corps that fielded lancer mechs.
Back then, everything was simple.
"I was so young and stupid back then." The Venerable sighed as he boarded his exquisite mech. "How could I know that I needed to cherish my life?"
In truth, O'Callahan hated the Parallax Star. It did not match the grandeur of the mechs that accompanied him before. Those mechs were true beauties designed by multiple Seniors in collaboration. None of those machines failed to disappoint. Some even approached the quality of mastercrafted mechs.
That was a long time ago, when his skin was still smooth and when his hair still glistened in the light.
As he spoke a silent prayer, he begged whatever higher powers that may exist to spare his life some of his lifespan. Though he used to be an atheist during much of his life, when the onset of death came ever closer, he started to seek refuge in faith.
"How pathetic. I used to be a model citizen from the Bright Republic as well. What will my publicists think when they hear me praying to the heavens?"
That was a thing of the past. Now, his value had fallen to such an extent that he had to resort to joining the Flagrant Vandals to remain relevant. None of the other mech regiments agreed to his demands.
"How short-sighted of them! Even if my resonance strength is far from my peak, I'm still strong enough to be a terror on the battlefield!"
The magnificence of his youth and strongest years invigorated his old bones. His strong sense of confidence asserted itself, and as the Parallax Star finally launched into space, he cast aside all distractions.
"Come, my Parallax Star. Even if you are the weakest steed that I ever had the privilege to pilot, you are still a thoroughbred! Show me your strength!"
The aged expert pilot turned deaf against the mech officers that attempted to pass on instructions to his ears. He blinded himself against the glut of information being displayed on his consoles. The Venerable completely invested himself into melding himself with the Parallax Star.
The custom mech coated in burgundy and black and embellished with gold started to brandish its lance and power up its flight system. In a single instant, the expert mech flung itself away from the Gorgon's Gaze.
Soon, it bypassed the anti-stealth formation. Its exclusive flight systems accelerated the Parallax Star onwards. The two rod-like wings affixed to the rear of the mech glowed as hot as stars. Their radiance blended together, giving the mech the illusion that it was burning like a star.
The rest Vandals scrambled to respond to Venerable O'Callahan's unilateral approach. Major Verle originally intended for the Parallax Star to keep pace with the Vandal mechs. Now, all those plans had to be thrown out the window.
A large portion of spaceborn mechs separated from the stranded Vandal fleet and hurried after radiant lancer mech. The Vandals only retained enough Inheritor mechs to maintain a contracted detection envelope.
When the Frosty Meteors initially saw O'Callahan's approach, they laughed. Has the robber regiment gone crazy?
Then, the mechs started picking up peculiar sensor readings. Not only did the mech accelerate faster than any normal mech ought to, they also detected the faint but unmistakable signs of true resonance.
"It's an expert pilot!"
"T-T-Thirty laveres!"
"Who is it! What mech is it!?"
"No idea, sir! The mech isn't on our records! All we know is that it's a lancer mech!"
The Frosty Meteors ran a search on all Brighter lancer mech pilots with a projected strength of thirty laveres. They quickly came across a fossil in their search results.
"Venerable O'Callahan? Hasn't that sack of bones bit the dust yet? I can't imagine he's still alive!"
"Even if he clings to his life up to now, it won't take more than a bump to push him into his grave. Let us help him give him the rest that he deserves!"
Lesser mech pilots despaired when an enemy expert pilot showed up. Not so for the Frosty Meteors. As elites, they have encountered many crises in battle. The appearance of an unexpected Venerable failed to impact their morale.
It was unfortunate that they hadn't brought an expert pilot of their own. They didn't even know the enemy task force carried one, since Venerable O'Callahan hardly deployed into battle since he signed up with the Vandals.
To the Frosty Meteors, the entry of an enemy expert pilot only formed a minor hiccup. At most, they had to scrap their initial battle plan in order to accommodate the unusual abilities of the incoming expert.
Despite the vast distance separating the Frosty Meteors from Venerable O'Callahan, the latter seemed to sense the contempt directed against him. "Bastards! Don't ignore me!"
His mech glowed even brighter as he started to push beyond the limits of what his mind, body and mech could withstand. The resonance that accelerated his mech beyond its regular limit grew stronger, and the glow surrounding the Parallax Star started to extend towards the lance, enveloping it in a strange energy field.
The Parallax Star expended a massive amount of power just from its initial approach. It was an extravagant waste of energy that no clear-minded mech pilot wished to throw away.
O'Callahan wasn't in his right mind at the moment. The naked contempt of the Vesian mechs in front of him engulfed his mind with fury. Nobody affronted his pride as an expert pilot and got away with it! Frosty Meteors or not, everything fell before his lance!
"Come, Parallax Star! Charge as hard as you can!"
The distance between the two closed within minutes. The Frosty Meteors long adjusted their formation into a half-sphere. They might not be able to stop the initial charge, but they believed that they could easily strike down the expert mech after it lost its momentum.
"Brace yourselves! Here it comes!"
Chapter 545
The Frosty Meteors employed a number of iconic mech designs . Famed for their durable medium and heavy mechs, each of their designs served as a fine example of their types .
Their prestige mech was undoubtedly the Kenas Oliphant, their heavy space knight . Clad with thick and heavy layers of armor, it had also been paired with fairly powerful flight systems, which gave it a respectable amount of acceleration .
Armed with a sword and tower shield that was even thicker than its chest armor, a single Kenas Oliphant represented a pinnacle in defense . With the help of its flight system, the Kenas Oliphant was also able to keep up with a charging formation .
If the Kenas Oliphant charged into the Flagrant Vandals with its shield held in front, there was no question that the latter would buckle . The impact might even be strong enough to disintegrate a Hellcat!
That wasn't bad enough . The Frosty Meteors brought more . With ten Oliphants charging forth with a disposable ice mass serving as their first line of defense, there was no question that the heavy mechs could smash through even the sturdiest Vandal lines .
There was too much disparity between the two forces . Heavy mechs might be expensive and not very cost-effective compared to the lighter weight classes . Some even argued that they were wasteful toys . In general, to build a single heavy mech ate up the resources of at least three to five medium mechs .
This wouldn't be bad if heavy mechs performed three to five times better than lighter mechs, but the truth was that their specs hardly doubled . Several parameters remained the same, while others such as agility and speed suffered a severe slide . These weaknesses sometimes enabled agile light mechs to dismantle heavy mechs that cost ten times as much with ease .
Nonetheless, heavy mechs served as a powerful singular package on the battlefield . Whether a mech contributed to victory or defeat was the only criterion that mattered .
Against the charge of the Parallax Star, none of the mech pilots of the Kenas Oliphant panicked . Not only did their mechs benefit from an improvised ice shield, their mechs also boasted over alternating alloy formulas .
Their armor system consisted of a sandwich of different alloys . The main protective alloys came in the form of compressed armor while the other alloys only served to absorb shock and thermal energy, thereby eschewing expensive compression treatment .
It was a wonderfully effective and intricate armor system that required weeks of fabrication work just to produce a complete set . It was also fairly affordable for the level of protection it afforded . If not for its propensity for faults, it would have been more widespread .
This armor system was perfect for the Kenas Oliphant because the Frosty Meteors possessed an ample amount of funding, more than enough to cope with the low success rate . Every Kenas Oliphant was a product of hard work and excellent craftsmanship . None of these heavy space knights ever left the production lines in a less than perfect state .
"Give me an Oliphant, and I will tear through the Republic!"
As the standard bearer of the Frosty Meteors, the Kenas Oliphant model carried the hopes and dreams of the Frosty Meteors . Rarely did they falter . Only their best knight pilots received the privilege of piloting a prestige mech, and they knew the parameters of the Oliphant like the back of their hand .
Every pilot of the Oliphant fought with courage, but more importantly they fought with clarity . They had been trained to recognize the signs that the Oliphant neared its breaking point, upon which they would pull back before the mech pulled back before it could break .
This led to an excellent track record over the years since it had been adopted by the Frosty Meteors for this current war . Everyone expected it to emulate its predecessors in the mech regiment .
It should never fall in battle . The only acceptable reason for it to face defeat was if the Frosty Meteors encountered a vastly superior enemy force and needed to retreat in a hurry . They could forgive the Oliphant for being too slow to keep up with a retreat . It was a mech that had been designed to be an unbreakable bulwark or an unstoppable forward vanguard after all . Stepping back was not in its job description .
Yet of all the enemies the Oliphant had been built to withstand, its designers could never account for the myriad of wonders that expert pilots embodied .
"The instant the glowing Parallax Star hit the ice shield, it immediately broke apart before the energy field . The expert mech encountered virtually no obstruction until the tip of its energy field along the lance touched upon the Kenas Oliphant's tower shield .
"Parallax Star! PIERCE FOR ME!"
Propelled by fury and the glory of old, Venerable O'Callahan dauntlessly charged into the heavy knight without any hesitation . He deliberately picked the staunchest and most durable mech of the Frosty Meteors as the beginning of this baptism of fire .
The tower shield, which could withstand the firepower of an entire company of ranged mechs for a significant amount of time, melted before the energy field and broke upon impacting with the tip of the lance . The hole in the shield expanded from a pinprick into a giant cavity that bisected the durable object!
That wasn't all! Just a split-second had passed while the shield gave way before the invincible lance . The Parallax Star hardly lost its momentum and continued to drive its weapon forward!
The lance drove onwards until the energy field and the physical lance point dug into the chest of the Kenas Oliphant and brute-forced its way through the alternating layers of armor . No matter how many plates were in the way, all yielded before the incredible momentum and unyielding supernatural force of the Parallax Star!
"Charge! Charge without fear! Charge until the end of the galaxy!"
The lance dug through the most durable mech in the lineup of the Meteors as if it was made out of cloth . An incredibly expensive and incredibly powerful mech lost twenty percent of its torso mass right then and there . Even worse, the incredible kinetic impact and the corrosively hot energy field burned through the heavy space knight's more vulnerable internals . No matter how hardened the internals had been built, all of it had been friends, including its heavily fortified cockpit!
Its highly-trained mech pilot never had the chance to eject! Even before she recognized the imminent crisis, the lance's energy field already burned through the cockpit's protective cover and seared the pilot's body into carbon and ash!
The entire miracle seemed to take forever, but in actuality the Parallax Star had punched through the Kenas Oliphant without any halt . While the impact slowed its momentum, it only lost twenty percent of its peak! Venerale O'Callahan still had enough juice to continue the charge!
"No matter how many mechs I have to knock down, my mech will never falter!"
The Parallax Star might have slowed down a bit, but the glowing lancer mech was still a blur to others . Even Ves couldn't distinguish between the Parallax Star and an asteroid dropping from orbit .
Only the most highly-trained mech pilots among them possessed the cognitive perception to follow the Parallax Star's incredible progress . This was why the second mech in the line fired its rifle straight at the approaching expert mech .
The rifleman mech was a copy of the Caca Similas, an important ballistic rifleman mech of the Frosty Meteors . It wielded a heavy ballistic rifle which could fire both shells and kinetic projectiles of incredible force . The rifleman mech opted for a solid kinetic projectile, as the Parallax Star's incredibly fast approach would only make the impact worse .
It was the right choice to make, but it didn't make any difference this time . Just as the projectile spun into the Parallax Star's chest, the projectile made out of sharp and dense alloys splintered apart like fragile wood before the energy field!
The pilot of the Caca Similas barely had enough time to panic, let alone command his mech to dodge . Even with his brain revolving faster than ever before in his life, his mech simply didn't possess enough reaction speed to make any further moves! Even though the Vesian pilot mentally commanded his mech to eject, it still took at least five-hundred milliseconds for the cockpit to begin its blastoff!
That delay might as well be an eternity in this situation! The force of nature that was the Parallax Star eventually punched through the Caca Similas with even greater ease than before! After all, a rifleman mech could never match the toughness of a heavy space knight!
Even if the Frosty Meteors prioritized the durability of the Caca Similas, which was unusual for rifleman mech, it didn't make any difference before the Parallax Star!
O'Callahan's mech lost a further five percent of its forward momentum, which was fairly neglibile to him . Sadly for him, no other mech floated in its way!
The Frosty Meteors utilized a broad and shallow half-sphere formation that held very little depth . Their original intention was to trap and contain the Parallax Star after it ran out of steam . However, they miscalculated the charging power of the Parallax Star!
While the expert mech inevitably lost some momentum, it was still substantial enough to make it difficult for O'Callahan to steer . It couldn't make any sharp turns to charge down the enemy mechs positioned at the sides . Like a meteor descending upon an innocent planet, nothing could alter its path that was destined to wipe off all forms of life on the globe!
However, O'Callahan didn't feel too disappointed about the lack of targets . The Venerable deliberately chose this angle to charge because there was one more enemy asset in the way .
"The Parallax Star is charging towards an enemy combat carrier!"
What guts! Before the Frosty Meteors could turn around and pelt the enemy expert mechs with their ranged weapons, the Parallax Star already left the sluggish Frosty Meteors in the dust! Instead, it continued to aim its lance point at the closest combat carrier in alignment!
In their initial decision to charge the stranded Vandal task force, the Frosty Meteors decided to keep their ships close . Besides the water-carrying transports that had already departed via FTL, the combat carriers were still needed for command and control as well as to retrieve their mechs if they needed to escape into FTL for whatever reason .
The Meteors gathered a substantial amount of intelligence on the Flagrant Vandals, so they knew that they faced a slippery opponent . If the mechs of the Meteors separated from the combat carriers, then Major Verle would certainly order his light mechs to circle around and sabotage the combat carriers .
The only way to prevent a sneak attack on their carriers was to leave behind some guards or to bring them alone . The Meteors couldn't afford to take too many mechs out of their battle lines so they opted to keep their combat carriers close with their main force of mechs .
This kept the combat carriers safe from harassment, but also exposed them to the ravages of battle . This time, the Frosty Meteors had made a grave miscalculation as the Parallax Star only shifted a few degrees to bring it on a direct collision course against the enemy combat carrier .
"I-Impossible! How can a lancer mech be reckless enough to charge a heavily armored combat carrier!"
The proper way to fight combat carriers was to bombard them from range or to sneak inside their hangar bays and wreak havoc from within .
Venerable O'Callahan directly ignored those roles and brought his Parallax Star into an inexorable collision against the hapless enemy ship! Everyone who thought fast enough to keep up with the action cried madness in their hearts! A lancer mech charging straight against the armored bow of a combat carrier was sheer madness!
Yet the expert pilot would hear nothing of it . His maddened fury drove him to utter hatred against these arrogant Venidse mechs! They probably called him a fossil or the like! Before his charge arrived, none of the mechs of the Frosty Meteors showed any caution to him . No way could O'Callahan tolerate such callous disregard!
"Combat carrier? It's all the same to me!" O'Callahan laughed . "Yield to me!"
Chapter 546
When the Parallax Star's lance hit the forward prow of the combat carrier, common sense went out the window .
In any other situation, the mech should have yielded . Yet this was an expert mech driven forward by an expert pilot . Advanced in age he might be, but every expert pilot possessed the power to defy logic .
Even as the thick layers of the combat carrier's hull plating began to buckle, the Parallax Star's energy field rapidly began to dim as it struggled to protect the expert mech it enveloped against crushing itself apart . Yet no matter how dim it grew, it never winked out .
Like an everlasting sun, the Parallax Star shredded through the prow of the ship and punched into the much less durable interior of the ship! Compartment after compartment parted into the mech and its indomitable charge brought it deeper into the heart of the vessel!
However, everything came to an end . The ship's interior might not have been as durable as the outer hull, it still formed a substantial obstacle to the Parallax Star because there was so much of it the mech had to bore through . Its momentum rapidly bled off until it barely reached the inner half of the combat carrier .
Secondary explosions quickly started to rattle the combat carrier as the sudden cavity set off a chain reaction of catastrophic effects!
Over a hundred crew members lost their lives instantly as the mech bore through their compartments, and a hundred more became at risk as their bodies floated away into vacuum! If they didn't wear their hazard suits as a precaution, they would have suffocated in an instant!
The combat carrier was as good as crippled . The Parallax Star punched its lance into the compartments beyond . From his extensive experience, O'Callahan knew that he had reached deep enough inside the combat carrier to approach its highly fortified bridge, command center or combat information center . No matter which lay beyond, all of them served a key purpose for the Frosty Meteors .
Though the Venerable's instincts screamed at him to depart from this ship, he persevered and forced his mech through one more compartment! He ignored the flailing figures his lance had breached and mercilessly raked the tip back and forth until he blended every human into unrecognizable meat .
No human could withstand the force of a mech weapon!
"Serves you right for belittling me!"
Though O'Callahan's fury abated a little after finishing his first charge in years, he still needed to teach the rest a lesson they would never forget!
The Parallax Star quickly climbed out of the hole it had made and left the crippled combat carrier behind . With a flaring of its powerful flight system, the expert mech propelled itself to the sides, away from any enemy ships or mechs .
The expert mech wasn't fleeing . It was arcing around for another charging pass!
The impact of the charge and its devastating result against a Kenas Oliphant, Caca Similas and a combat carrier knocked the Frosty Meteors out of their sense of complacency . This was no aged fossil they faced! The threat of death and the excitement of facing a formidable challenge invigorated the Meteors into taking this battle seriously .
A highly regarded mech regiment such as the Frosty Meteors never lost heart after suffering a setback! If the Vandals suffered something similar, then they would have immediately fallen apart as a cohesive unit .
The smarter Meteors also knew that their opponent wouldn't be able to replicate that devastating charge . All kinds of factors fell into place to make that initial charge so destructive .
First, the Meteors didn't think much of Venerable O'Callahan . The thirty laveres that measured from his resonance during the approach hadn't reached a level that would be a cause for concern .
However, in the final seconds before the Parallax Star crashed through the Kenas Oliphant, the Parallax Star's resonance readings spiked in the forties all of a sudden! Such a significant boost in resonance strength had qualitatively transformed the strength of the expert mech's charge!
The second factor that played a role was that both sides had been approaching each other . A shuttle crashing against an immobile wall unleashed a lot less energy than two shuttles flying straight against each other . The impact of two converging forces resulted in much more damage than anticipated when combined with the spike in resonance .
Now that the Parallax Star matched velocities with the Frosty Meteor formation, it would take at least thirty minutes of circling in order to build up an equivalent amount of momentum . The Frosty Meteors would never give the Parallax Star that much time! Even if the Venidse didn't bother chasing after the much-faster Parallax Star, they could still vent their aggression on the immobilized ships of the Vandals!
Though Venerable O'Callahan didn't particularly care about the Flagrant Vandals, they were his only ticket out of here . For better or worse, he needed to attack immediately . It wasn't enough to apply some pressure . The Flagrant Vandals would only prevail if the Frost Meteors were beaten back!
Back inside the Shield of Hispania's command center, Ves still had to catch up with what had happened . Others didn't think so much and cheered as if their favorite mech athlete downed an enemy mech within the opening minute of the duel . Though the Vandals quickly got back to work, the joy and faith engendered by Venerable O'Callahan fantastic performance still lifted their moods .
Ves rewinded the moment where the Parallax Star bore straight through a heavy mech, a medium mech and the front half of a combat carrier of all things . He didn't pay attention to the flashy energy field or the unwaveringly straight lance . Instead, he drew his eyes to the telemetry .
Much of the Parallax Star's parameters spiked to unheard of levels .
"Is this the power of resonance?"
He noted with great interest that the Venerable's resonance spiked in proportion with the rise in parameters . There was a definite relation between the two . "Still, forty-four laveres at its height? Isn't that O'Callahan's record when he was at his best?"
Iris leaned over to take a peek at the parameters . "That's pretty impressive, but it's costly as well . I don't think the Venerable can withstand the consumption that is required to pull off such a performance . That single charge must have burned through at least a month of his lifespan . There's always a price for power . Especially at his age, the more he pushes beyond his limits, the more he exhausts what remains of his potential . "
It was a fair statement to make . Ves didn't completely understand all of the mechanics behind resonance and how expert pilots evoked resonance, but he certainly believed it couldn't be replicated so easily .
"You're right . Everything has a price . I hope that Venerable O'Callahan can pay enough to redeem our lives . "
No matter how little he thought of the expert pilot, the man fought to preserve their lives . Even if his intentions were selfish, Ves still couldn't help but root for the Venerable .
"Come on! You can do this!"
The Parallax Star might not have the time to build up its former earthshaking charge, but it could still accumulate sufficient momentum to threaten the Frosty Meteors . After several rounds of circling, the expert mech dove in yet again . Against the heavy mechs arrayed against the Vandals, the Parallax Star hardly required any effort to land the perfect hit! The heavy mechs couldn't dodge to save their lives!
Just as O'Callahan was about to initiate his charge, the haze of fury that engulfed his mind had begun to fade a little bit . He regained enough of his senses to listen to his military advisor screaming over the comm channel .
"Don't focus on the heavy space knights! It takes too much time to dismantle them! Aim your charges at their medium mechs! You can run them down a lot more often than the heavy mechs!"
Right now, the Flagrant Vandals wanted O'Callahan to prioritize diminishing the numbers of the Frosty Meteors . Though the heavy mechs posed the highest threat to the Vandal fleet, the only way to accomplish a victory was to exact a heavy toll on the Frosty Meteors and entice them to abandon their attack run .
Though O'Callahan dearly wished to pound the heavy space knights into a pulp, his better sense took over and he obediently shifted his target towards the softer mechs .
"I can still run you down two at a time!"
The Frosty Meteors adjusted their formation in a way that put the medium and heavy knights in front of their more vulnerable mechs, but there was a limit to their maneuvering . Their deficient mobility worked against them as O'Callahan easily maneuvered his faster and nimbler mech around their formation and plunged into a neatly chosen angle that enabled the Parallax Star to graze its lance against two rifleman mechs at a time!
"Two more down! A hundred more to go!"
The Parallax Star turned from an unstoppable bull into a stubborn wasp that circled around the lumbering Frosty Meteors . No matter how many guns fired at the Parallax Star, its energy field never reached its limit, though it had grown dangerously dim at various times .
O'Callahan didn't attempt to charge the center of the enemy formation . Instead, he directed his mech to nibble at the edges, taking one or two mechs out at a time . He never chewed off more than he could bite, so after each charge the Parallax Star hadn't lost too much momentum .
Every time the Parallax Star charged, it always managed to preserve a large proportion of its forward momentum . It circled gracefully after each charge and dove back in with renewed enthusiasm .
Mechs continued to drop out of formation after each charge . The wary combat carriers that trailed behind tried to pick up every wreck as best as possible, but the crippling of one of their combat carriers had put a serious dent in their cohesion . They didn't have the time to retrieve every wreck, and due to the Parallax Star's exceptional lethality, hardly any Vesian mech pilot survived the aftermath of the enemy charge!
"Vandals! Assist the Venerable! Encircle the Meteors! Take what is ours!"
"Take what is ours!"
The Vandal spaceborn mechs finally caught up with their expert pilot . Around half of their Inheritor light skirmishers dove around the Frosty Meteors, not daring to come any closer . The Hellcats hung back with the rest of the Vandal medium mechs, holding back for now as they knew their shock attacks wouldn't be able to put a dent in the Frosty Meteors despite their deteriorating state .
"Don't get pulled into a pitched battle! Harass them from the flanks and distract them from focusing their firepower on our expert!"
The Vandal mechs showed what they were best at and employed a number of harassment tactics . For example, the Inheritors constantly moved to threaten the heavy cannoneers and medium rifleman mechs . Both ranged mechs might pose a threat to them at range, but once the Inheritor came into melee range, they could easily tear them apart .
This forced the Frosty Meteors to position most of their knights to cover their ranged mechs .
The Frosty Meteors were known for their awesome shock attacks and their ability to endure . Their defensive formation left few holes for the regular Vandal mechs to exploit .
Nonetheless, they succeeded in distracting the Meteors, opening up more opportunities for Venerable O'Callahan to charge down several mechs at once . The battle increasingly swung in their favor as the combination achieved a lot of results!
Yet no matter how fast the Venerable broke down the Meteor mechs, it simply wasn't fast enough! With five minutes to go until the Frosty Meteors crashed into the propulsion-less Vandal ships, something needed to change in order to swing the battle even further in their favor!
"Can we threaten their combat carriers?" Ves asked all of a sudden . "If we can threaten their mech berths, they might decide to draw back more strength . "
"It's too late for that . " Major Verle mused . "It's highly unlikely they will decide to yield . Don't forget that we are in Vesian space . Even if we destroy their rides out of this star system, they can still float in space for a week and wait for reinforcement ships to pick them up . "
The Frosty Meteors already suffered a substantial amount of losses . Only victory could redeem their shame!
Chapter 547
The Vesians lost over forty mechs, which was more than enough to cause any commander to disengage their attack run . Not so for the commanding officer of the Frosty Meteors . Their mech doctrine emphasized an attitude of committing to an attack . No matter how many mechs they lost, they wouldn't break and scatter .
Why?
Because they were the Frosty Meteors . Billions of Vesian citizens looked up to them . They upheld their creed of getting hit but hitting back harder . In no way should any mech pilot of the Meteors falter before they reached their targets . Their myths said nothing about abortive attacks .
Still, the Flagrant Vandals made it harder for them to reach the stranded enemy vessels intact . Venerable O'Callahan picked off several mechs of the Frosty Meteors with disturbing regularity .
In front of the Parallax Star, no amount of armor could save a mech from doom . The famed heavy armor of the Frosty Meteors turned from asset into a liability .
The Caca Similas, their rifleman mechs, their Rwindo Secundus, their medium space knight, and their Charix Magansus, their medium lancer mech, all benefited from some of the finest mass-produced compressed armor from Venidse .
The benefits all of this armor brought to the Frosty Meteors enabled them to excel in frontal clashes .
However, getting pelted from all sides by the Flagrant Vandals was a whole different beast . Besides the unstoppable attack runs from the Parallax Star, the rest of the Vandals proved their mettle as well . The copies of the Caca Similas barely endured the focus fire from the harassasing Vandal mechs . Due to the low firing rate of their heavy ballistic rifles, the Caca Similas mechs barely managed to land a hit on the agile Vandal mechs .
However, any Vandal mech that did manage to get hit often went down for the count . Even a single hit was sufficient to disrupt them, leaving them open to follow-up attacks that instantly wrecked the disoriented mechs .
Vesians and Brighters screamed in fury as they let the battle consume their fears . None of them held back from doing their best in the battle . Every now and then a mech of the Frosty Meteors or the Flagrant Vandals spun out of formation with debris expanding from the wreckage like a cloud .
Sometimes, cockpits ejected in time, and these would navigate back to the safety of the combat carriers . Other times, the cockpits hadn't escaped in time, and their occupants suffered the fate of those who died in space, with their piloting suits breached and their bodies broken, frozen and decompressed .
The entire battle showcased the determination of both sides . Two different mech doctrines clashed against each other in a brutal confrontation . While it appeared the Flagrant Vandals held a decisive advantage with the help of their expert pilot, in fact they were running out of time!
They couldn't pick off the mechs of the Meteors fast enough!
Back at the command center, everyone who hadn't changed into their hazard suits had already done so . With the Frosty Meteors reaching the ships of the Vandals in just a couple more minutes, the odds of sustaining heavy damage was high .
Nobody could be sure how many ships would be left after this battle .
Ves worked frantically to discover any weak points in the Meteor mechs, yet nothing stood out that was worth focusing on except for their flight systems, and even those had been clad with armor .
"We're all out of cards . " He sighed . "Even though we're downing the Meteor mechs by the dozens, we don't have much time left . "
Iris placed her armored gauntlet over his own . Their suit armor clanked as they collided against each other . "You're wrong . We haven't put in everything in the battle . There is still one more decision that the Vandals can make . "
She looked onwards to Major Verle, who seemed to struggle with an invisible dilemma behind his helmet's faceplate .
Eventually, the commanding officer gave the fateful orders . "Go all in . No holding back . "
Those words set off a chain reaction as the captains of the different mech companies in the field received orders to switch up their tactics . Instead of using their superior mobility to peck at the edges of the Frosty Meteor formation, they had been ordered to commit to a charge!
The Inheritors took the lead . As the lightest, fastest and most expendable mechs of the Vandals, their pilots had become accustomed to their role as cannon fodder . They all spiraled towards the hedgehog-like formation of the Frosty Meteors .
In this, their excellent acceleration and agility preserved most of their mechs . The heavy ballistic rifles of the Caca Similas mechs fared poorly against such agile targets . It was as if they attempted to shoot a cannon against an annoying fly that flitted around them with zippy wings .
Once or twice, the rifleman mechs took out an Inheritor, but the Vandal mechs came as a swarm . It didn't take long for the Vandal mechs to reach their formation, and that was when hell broke loose .
"Inheritors, decoys!"
The Inheritors couldn't penetrate the Meteor's formation . All the melee mechs formed into a ball with their weapons and shields directed outwards . The ranged mechs hid safely inside as they shot their weapons through the gaps of the formations .
The light skirmishers instead turned into a nuisance . They harassed the melee mechs and baited them into making a fruitless attack . Very few Inheritors sustained any damage because they always managed to dodge long before the sluggish mechs finished swinging their weapons .
A short time later, the real attack arrived .
"Hellcats, impact!"
The Inheritor mechs at the rear of the charging Meteor formation dispersed just in time for a substantial volley of missiles to crash against the hefty mechs . Their defensive formation held up against the explosions, but solid spikes of giant nails followed soon after . The kinetic energy behind the nails further unbalanced their defensive posture .
The Hellcats themselves arrived soon after . The hybrid mechs had been designed for shock attacks, and right now they attempted to pull one off against mechs that could arguably do much better!
The results turned out to be rather mixed . The Vandals had taken the initiative, and they somewhat succeeded in unbalancing some of the Meteor mechs .
Unfortunately, the Meteor mechs had been built to withstand much worse . Virtually none of their mechs suffered any damage from the collision . Instead, the Hellcats arguably suffered substantially worse . The hybrid knight design fell short compared to the Kenas Oliphant and the Rwindo Secundus .
Both models of pure knight mechs viciously counterattacked against the Hellcats . Several precious Hellcat mechs went down from the combined attacks of the enemy knights and other mechs .
"Vandals! Fight until there is nobody left!"
Salvation arrived when the rest of the Vandal mechs came close . The ranged mechs kept a fair distance from the melee and pressured the Meteors from the flanks, well away from any angle that increased the odds of friendly fire .
The ranged mechs only served to pin some of the Meteors down, particularly their ranged mechs . The true threat to the Meteors consisted of the Hellcat and the other melee mechs of the Vandals!
With numbers on their side, the Vandal mechs attempted to gang up on the Meteor mechs and attempted to drown them in mechs! Any knight mech could ignore a single enemy mech in its face, but two would be stretching its defensive capabilities .
Three mechs at a time posed a substantial threat to its continued operation . Right now, this happened on a large scale as the Vandal melee mechs attempted to pry open their hardy shells with countless hands!
The mobbing tactic lacked the grace and forethought of the other tactics and formations that the Vandals demonstrated so far . Ves winced as he saw the casualty numbers pile up . Fighting the Frosty Meteors in formation was almost as futile as barbarians storming a Roman shield wall .
It was a good thing that the Vandals made a lot of progress . Many Meteor mechs fell out of formation as the flood of Vandal mechs overwhelmed their capacity to defend!
Employing huge crowds of mechs against a disciplined enemy was usually folly, but Major Verle proceeded anyway because they didn't have any choice! The Vandals could only trust in their numbers!
The dense collection of mechs made it difficult for anyone to judge how the battle progressed . However, Ves started to notice an encouraging pattern . The Vandal mob succeeded in destabilizing the defensive formation of their opponents . With so many enemy mechs crowding against them, they started to suffer unnecessary losses .
Each mech that fell diminished their numbers . They went from a hundred mechs to eighty mechs in quick succession, and their numbers declined even more now that the Vandals exploited the openings .
The only problem was that the Meteors retained much of their heavy mechs! If necessary, the Meteors wouldn't hesitate to abandon their medium mechs as long as their heavy mechs pushed through!
"We're making progress!"
The Parallax Star dove in for another attack run . Any Vandal mech in the way quickly disengaged from the brawl and and an opening for the Venerable to feast!
The energy field around the Parallax Star might have become a bit more frayed, but the Venerable still held on as if he bore the weight of the galaxy!
Surprisingly, he refocused his attack towards the heavy mechs! He spent a little more time circling around for this attack run, and it showed as his glowing mech plowed through a Kenas Oliphant, a Caca Similas and heavy cannoneer!
"Two enemy heavy mechs are incapacitated!"
Still, seven more heavy mechs remained! This time, the Parallax Star couldn't afford to dilly-dally with building up its momentum any longer . By the time it had readied its next attack run, the Frosty Meteors would have annihilated the vulnerable Vandal combat carriers .
The only choice was to join the mob!
"The Parallax Star has discarded its lance for its shortspear!"
Ves winced again . That lance was made out of an expensive mix of medium-grade exotics laced with trace amounts of high-grade exotics . Venerable O'Callahan just threw away a lance worth more than a billion credits!
He couldn't help but pass on a low-priority order to the queue . "Someone retrieved the Parallax Star's lance! Don't let it drift away in space!"
To his vast relief, a heavily damaged Inheritor mech that lost its entire right shoulder and arm had disengaged from the melee and chased after the lance .
O'Callahan deliberately halted his most effective attack in favor of helping the Vandals tear apart the remaining heavy mechs . The Kenas Oliphants remained the most acute threat to the Vandals . Once those heavy space knights fell out of the picture, the rest of the Frosty Meteors should be easy pickings .
With a guttural war cry the old man dove into the fray . Vandal mechs willingly made way for the expert mech as it charged towards the nearest heavy space knight . The Oliphant mech held up its tattered tower shield in an attempt to block the Parallax Star's diminished charge .
"Just because I like to charge doesn't mean I only know how to attack from one direction!"
The Parallax Star may have been designed for its powerful charges, but it possessed enough agility to slide around the Oliphant, dodge its slow but powerful sword slash, and stab the heavy mech in its rear .
Though the spear stab didn't have much power behind it, a casual blow from an expert mech couldn't be underestimated! With a light whiff of resonance, the spear successfully punched through the Oliphant's rear armor and damaged something vital!
The Oliphant wasn't down for the count yet due to its high redundancy factor, but other Vandals already started to kick the weakened mech now that it was down .
Venerable O'Callahan already shifted his attention to another Oliphant . Time was running out and all of the heavy mechs needed to be taken down!
"Heavy mechs or not, none of you can stand against my spear!"
Chapter 548
The Frosty Meteors broke . There was no way around it . With the Parallax Star fighting alongside the rank-and-file Vandal mech pilots, the entire mob fought harder than they had ever done so before .
The Flagrant Vandals knew they had to stop the Frosty Meteors from completing their doom charge against the Vandal ships . Several hours had gone by since Venidse's commando shuttles crippled their propulsion . It would take days for these ships to regain their mobility, time which they couldn't buy unless they could transition into FTL .
Fleeing into FTL meant abandoning their vitally important logistics ships . Every chief engineer in the task force gathered at the Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan to get their replacement FTL drives operational as fast as possible . The battle raging out in space seemed to have fired up their motivation to get them fixed, even managing to find a way to cut even more corners that shortened the repairs by two hours!
Still, the FTL drives couldn't be brought online immediately, so the Frosty Meteors had to be stopped at all costs .
The final tally was fairly gruesome . Ves glanced at the panel showing a summary of the mechs the Vandals deployed . "
"Two-hundred casualties . More than a hundred mechs are wrecked while the rest have suffered heavy damage . Over seventy pilots have been killed . "
The death toll for this battle was particularly brutal . Even with Venerable O'Callahan doing all of the heavy lifting, the mobbing tactic at the end resulted in a huge amount of casualties in just ten minutes of time .
The Flagrant Vandals succeeded, though, and that ultimately mattered more . After Venerable O'Callahan slaughtered the heavy mechs, the remaining Meteors had been torn down in quick succession . When their numbers diminished to only fifty mechs, it became clear that the Meteors wouldn't be able to inflict any fatal damage to the Vandals .
The Frosty Meteors called for a truce .
"Enough have suffered for today . " A tired voice began from the other side of the line .
Though the Vandals ate through the four mech companies of the Frosty Meteors until they were only a shadow of their former selves, the remnants could still take a ship or two down in their death throes while the aggravated Vandals extinguished them . Nobody wanted this tragic battle to escalate up to that point .
Major Verle quickly assented to the cease-fire .
"We'll stop killing you if you stop killing us . However, make no mistake, your survivors are only alive due to our benevolence . From the way I see it, we've won this battle . Salvage priority should go to us . "
According to the terms, the Frosty Meteors would halt any offensive actions for the rest of the day . They had thirty minutes of time to retrieve their dead and wounded mech pilots from their wrecks or escape pods . They had also been allowed to retrieve as many wrecks as they could, but only their medium mechs .
In the meantime, the Vandals did the same . They suffered a lot more casualties so buying this reprieve was much more important to them . A myriad of shuttles emerged from the combat carriers and headed towards the expanding debris field that was on a ballistic trajectory towards the local star .
Rescuing the wounded took priority over the dead and healthy . The faster they retrieved the wounded Vandals, the more they would be able to save at the end . Other mechs joined in the rescue effort as well, though they kept their guard around the remnants of the Frosty Meteors .
An awkward situation ensued as both sides tried their best not to pick up the fight again . The Vandals also kept their guard around their vulnerable ships for any stealth attacks . Just because Venidse's commando shuttles hadn't shown up again didn't mean they already left .
Complacency at this stage might doom them all, so the Vandals didn't dare to let down their guard .
Truly, this battle was an enormous shame for the Frosty Meteors . Only rarely had they ever admitted defeat, and they certainly never expected a lighter regiment such as the Flagrant Vandals to get the upper hand .
In the end, they had been too arrogant . They never accounted for the presence of Venerable O'Callahan . If not for the drastic intervention of the expert mech pilot, then they should have been able to defeat the Vandals by a very wide margin .
Venerable O'Callahan regained his cool after the battle . Once the heat and adrenaline of the battle against the Meteors faded into the background, his body became wracked with aches . His old body caught up to tiredness with a vengeance, and he slowly realized that the battle took a greater toll on his lifespan than he thought .
"I lost an entire year! Maybe more!"
Whatever the case, the hysterical O'Callahan immediately returned to the Gorgon's Gaze and hopped into his hibernation chamber as fast as possible . Every second counted in his view .
As the nominal winner of the battle, the Flagrant Vandals abused their privileges as much as they could . Ves hadn't been very useful during the actual battle, but at this moment he and every other mech designer became relevant as they picked and choosed which wrecks to retrieve .
"Should we salvage their heavy mechs?" Pierce asked over the comm . "They're extremely powerful if we can get them up, and we can also earn a lot of money if we simply sell the wrecks as is . "
There wasn't an easy answer to this question . Pierce was correct that the mechs could be powerful in their hands, but they didn't fit in with the Vandal mech doctrine . They also lacked the design specifications of the Kenas Oliphant so it would be impossible to repair the heavily damaged mechs up to their previous standards .
In addition, the Vandals probably didn't have any mech pilot with the right training to pilot a heavy mech .
Still, salvaging the wrecks for their material worth alone was very worthwhile . The mechs were made out of highly valuable alloys that still held their value in pieces . Retrieving them now and selling them down the road would allow the Vandals to trade for lots of essential supplies .
"Let's retrieve them, but only for resale . You don't have to be gentle with them and it's fine if you only retrieve portions of the heavy mechs . In any case, we don't want to leave the wrecks to the Frosty Meteors who will be able to piece them back together in no time . "
The Vandals on the field followed his instructions . The greedy Vandals had an eye for value, and they instinctively knew that the wrecks of the heavy mechs could be sold for a decent fortune . They didn't need much convincing to nab all of the valuable pieces, though finding some place to store the more intact wrecks turned out to be a challenge as well .
Slowly, half an hour went by as the Meteors finished rushing to retrieve all of their men . As previously agreed, the Meteor mechs returned to their combat carriers, which promptly transitioned into FTL immediately after . Since FTL travel couldn't be interrupted through regular means, this ensured that they would no longer be able to play a role in this star system .
Of course, the truce only applied to the Frosty Meteors . If any other mech force from Venidse happened to drop by, they would start all over again .
Nobody wanted to see that . During the negotiations of the truce, the Frosty Meteors had been tight-lipped on the subject of reinforcements . They might arrive in a couple of hours, or they might only arrive a day later . It was imperative for the Flagrant Vandals to leave this star system as soon as possible .
"We're completely exposed here . Venidse not only knows we are in this star system, they also know our exact coordinates . Maybe the next batch of Venidse mechs will transitioned out of FTL right next to us instead of half an hour's flight away!"
The Flagrant Vandals continued to rush through their repair and cleanup efforts . They policed the battlefield as best they could and salvaged the most valuable wrecks in record time .
Two-and-a-half hours after the end of the battle, the Beggar's Bounty and Linever Swan finally regained their FTL functionality . Sort of . Maybe . Tentatively .
The chief engineers hadn't been too certain about their work . If they had an extra hour or two, they could provide more assurances, but Major Verle wasn't willing to stick around any longer and let another wave of Vesian reinforcements catch them at their weakest .
"We leave immediately!"
They let the two logistics ships transition into FTL first, if only to make certain that they could make the jump . With a hazy flicker, the two ships transitioned into FTL with obvious difficulty . Still, the chief engineers declared their work a success .
"The FTL drives require a lot of servicing after the ships come out of FTL, but we are confident that the FTL drives are working as intended, sir . "
"What are the odds of failure?" Major Verle asked .
"That is difficult to pin down . Our rough guess would be five percent . "
Any chief engineer would be horrified to hear such words . Twenty percent of failure meant that one out of twenty FTL transitions led to horrific disasters . If such odds became the norm throughout the entire galaxy, all FTL travel might collapse after a couple of years .
Right now, their dire situation didn't give them the luxury to lower this error rate . If the task force still remained in this star system by the time the next wave of reinforcements arrived, their odds of failure would reach a hundred percent!
"Let us leave this bloodied star . Begin transition!"
The rest of the task force followed suit and disappeared into FTL .
The battle had finally come to an end .
Some people cheered . Others cried . More simply turned numb . This was because the battle truly hadn't been good for the Vandals . Sure, they fought and beat the mechs from one of the most formidable Vesian mech regiments . This certainly brought a lot of glory to the Vandals once they sent word of it back home . But did that bring the dead back to life?
"At least seventy dead so far . More may follow suit in the coming days as some of the wounded might not make it through . "
Any mech pilot that suffered injuries would certainly be in a very bad state . This was their fate should a cockpit be breached . A human body could not withstand the level of damage inflicted by a mech .
Most of the Vandals couldn't sit still yet in order to mourn the fallen . They still needed to process the aftermath of the battle . Of acute importance was to repair the sublight propulsion systems of every combat carrier that suffered from the previous stealth attack . This would take days as the damage required both interior and exterior repairs .
Fixing up the engineering bay and the interior systems didn't require any special circumstances . Engineers had already begun the repairs .
The exterior repairs on the other hand could only be done when the ships transitioned out of FTL . It wasn't safe for humans to crawl over the hull of a starship in FTL . Very weird things tend to happen to humans that find themselves exposed to the higher dimensions in a direct fashion .
Most tend to... disappear . Where they went, nobody knew .
This meant that once they arrived at their next star system, the task force required at least several days to finish the repairs to the thrusters and other exterior elements .
Combined with the need to service the newly-installed FTL drives on the logistics ships, this basically meant they would be stranded yet again .
Everyone hoped that Venidse wouldn't be able to catch up to them before they finished repairs at the other end .
"Our engineers have their work cut out for them . Mech designers like us have our own duties to fulfill . " Ves said as he read through his increasingly large to-do list . "We're short on at least a hundred spaceborn mechs, and hundreds more require essential repairs . Let's get to work . "
Chapter 549
As far as Ves was concerned, no one won the battle against the Frosty Meteors .
The Meteors lost ten heavy mechs and around a hundred other mechs . Such losses only amounted to five percent of the Venidse mech regiment's total strength, so they haven't suffered very much at all . Certainly, replacing the expensive mechs and highly-trained mech pilots lost in the battle was going to be a pain, but their abundant funding easily allowed them to recoup their losses .
The Flagrant Vandals on the other hand might have won the battle, but they also lost the war . They outright lost over a hundred spaceborn mechs and many more required urgent servicing before they could be put back onto the field .
The task force's ability to defend itself against spaceborn threats had reached its lowest point since their departure from the Detemen System . According to the latest data accessible to Ves, the Vandals could barely launch more than two-hundred space-capable mechs, most of which disproportionately slanted towards ranged mechs .
During the final phase of the previous battle where Major Verle basically threw his hands in the air and gave permission for the Vandals to discard all tactics, a lot of melee mechs got thrashed . It was the logical outcome when lighter melee mechs clashed against a tight, disciplined formation of heavier mechs .
"Fighting the Frosty Meteors on their terms is a road to defeat . "
The Vandals only resorted to such a wasteful attack because they had no other choice . They needed to take out the incoming Frosty Meteors before they reached their vulnerable starships, and the mobbing tactic was the only one in which they could tear down the Frosty Meteors quickly .
Right now, every Vandal has become numb . While the task force might have succeeded in saving their logistics ships and escaped into FTL, the hefty losses certainly felt like a massive loss . Every serviceman Ves walked by in the corridors appeared to be torn with grief or resigned to a grim outcome .
Their confidence in the Flagrant Vandals had evaporated . No one could take such a massive loss and remain upbeat . The usual air of casualness and nonchalance that Ves found so charming about the Vandals couldn't be maintained in the aftermath of the battle .
"Too many mech pilots have lost their lives . "
Another burial ceremony was on the agenda . Despite the urgent need to conduct repairs, some of the 3D printers stopped their current fabrication jobs in order to churn out coffins that would either hold bodies or mementos of the dead .
Ves did not like this diversion of vital production capacity, but he understood why it needed to be done . The Flagrant Vandals completely lost heart . In between the mourning of the dead, Ves heard an increasing amount of whispers of discontent from the rank-and-file .
"Why are we heading to the Reinald Republic? Can't our bosses send a message over the galactic net? This journey is pointless!"
"Jerry is gone . Akness is gone . Moezi has lost both his legs . How many mech pilots need to die? It's too much!"
"I don't know what we are fighting for . Aren't we supposed to defend the Republic? Why are we moving further and further away from our homes?"
"You know, the Bright Republic hasn't done anything to help us out . I say it's time we cut ourselves off from the Mech Corps . We've done our duty and more . Let the rest sort out the mess . "
Calls for abandoning the mission and changing course grew ever-louder . Ves merely shook his head when he heard talk like this . It wasn't as if they could turn around and leave the Kingdom from any other angle .
Back in his office, Ves had his hands full trying to organize a coordinated repair effort . It was safe to say that his original timetable completely became untenable . Though it still served its use as a guide on what to focus on in future missions, they couldn't adhere to the schedule anymore . Their backlog of repairs threatened to overwhelm their logistical capacity .
Rather than sit back and give up, Ves decided to work with what he had . In his next conference call with the mech designers, he laid out their priorities . "The mission isn't over . We aren't out of the woods yet . I've prepared new assignments for you to fulfill . Right now, Major Verle has confided in me that we will be attempting to stay out of trouble when we are crossing through the Klein Duchy . Nonetheless, that doesn't preclude another ambush, so our highest priority is to get as many spaceborn mechs back online as possible . "
Mercator's projection raised his hand . "What about our land bound mechs?"
"Frankly, they're irrelevant for the duration of this trip . '' Ves answered . "While I can't state whether we have any land-bound operations on the horizon, they're in pretty good shape since the Detemen Operation . I don't see the need in allocating precious manpower and resources into polishing them into a shine . Our spaceborn combat capability is the foundation of our survival, so I want all hands on deck into lifting it to a smidgeon of its former self . "
"How many mechs do you expect us to repair?"
"We've retrieved enough damaged and mostly-intact wrecks to restore about a hundred mechs, more or less . Any more and we'll need to dip into our stock of heavily damaged wrecks, which are a real pain to restore with the limited equipment at our disposal . It's safe to say that we'll be having our hands full with the easiest repairs for now . I expect this to be done within a single month . "
"A month?! Sir, that's asking too much of us!"
"I'm not . I know we can do it . Some of you will need to work harder than before, but I'm certain you are up to the task . Make no mistake . Our survival is at stake . The more mechs you can fix, the more mechs the Vandals will have at their disposal when the next batch of Vesians come knocking at our door . "
The mech designers swamped Ves with questions, some of which he replied with the same generic answers .
One question resonated a lot among the mech designers . It was the same issue that plagued the regular Vandals as well . Mercator stood up and asked the question that Ves expected to be asked .
"Why are we fighting? What is our true mission? Don't tell us that we have to reach the Reinald Republic! This ordeal is too unusual for it to be so simple!"
Ves wagged his finger, causing Iris to press something on her control panel . Mercator's projection instantly became muted .
"I would like to remind you who you are speaking to, Deputy Mercator . " After giving the offending mech designer the stink eye, Ves turned his gaze upon the other projections . "I just met with Major Verle in private this morning . I asked the same question that you have . Did you know how he answered?"
The silence in the conference room became palpable .
"It is not our place to ask these kinds of questions! I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you can bet that most of the Vandals in the fleet are similarly left in the dark . Letting our curiosity get the better of us is not in our job description . Just as how the mech pilots are expected to pilot their mechs, we are expected to service those machines . Nothing more is required from us, and continued inquiries will only land you in trouble with the Vandals . "
Ves had made his stance clear, even if he didn't entirely agree with it himself . He hadn't spoken the truth just now .
Although it was true that Ves stormed into Major Verle's office to demand an explanation, he also conducted his own investigation beforehand .
It wasn't easy trying to peer into a secret that the brass wanted to remain hidden . Ves first started off by revisiting his earlier speculations .
His first assumption was that the Verle Task Force was required to head over to the Reinald Republic because they carried something very sensitive .
His second assumption was that the object of value that required an immediate extraction from Vesian space was something utterly unique and irreplaceable . This ruled out important data, which could have easily been conveyed over the galactic net .
The only thing that stood out to Ves was Lord Javier . He had to admit that the conspiracy theories the Vandals spouted to each other when they were bored made the most sense . Having witnessed Lord Javier's arrest on the ground at Detemen IV, Ves became aware that the noble heir was in possession of something vitally important to the Detemen League and the Flagrant Vandals .
Like the brat he was, Lord Javier refused to hand over the so-called 'things' . Whatever they were talking about, Ves suspected that these things might have been important enough to justify a long-distance raid on the Detemen System in the first place .
Therefore, sending the Verle Task Force off into a crazy journey off to the Reinald Republic from the heart of the Vesia Kingdom sounded a bit more plausible if their objectives concerned these things .
Through logic, Ves tried to deduce where Lord Javier might be held among their fleet . He quickly ruled out every ship except two .
The Gorgon's Gaze was the most strategically important ship because she was the mothership of Venerable O'Callahan and the Parallax Star . Though the Venerable stated that he would only be able to deploy for battle one last time, he still posed a huge deterrent to anyone aiming to rescue Lord Javier .
The other possibility was that Lord Javier was imprisoned aboard the Shield of Hispania . From what Ves had understood of Major Verle, the mech officer appeared to be the type that prepared for the worst . He wouldn't want their VIP to be out of reach . Thus it made a lot of sense for Lord Javier to be stuck on their flagship .
Ves took some time off his busy schedule to wander around . Despite the massive pile of work that demanded his attention, he made up an excuse of performing a personal inspection in order to get an impression of the mood among the crew to explore the entire ship .
He went from bow to stern, port to starboard, upper decks to the lower decks, and so on . His keen cognitive functions constructed a mental map of the layout of the Shield of Hispania . While Ves never obtained a full map of the combat carrier, he still spotted several deviances from the schematics that Ves had gotten his hands on through various channels .
Certain compartments turned out to be a little more compact than usual . In other areas, the decks weren't quite even, though the standard artificial gravity made it hard for anyone to notice the discrepancy .
All in all, through various tricks, the original ship designer of the Shield of Hispania managed to incorporate several hidden compartments within the massive ship . They might not be very large, but they very much existed according to the mental map that Ves drew up in his mind .
The only problem was that Ves couldn't stick around long enough to investigate these cavities, let alone force an entry in them . He decided to resort to the one method that the Vandals certainly hadn't anticipated .
Ves attempted to employ his Spirituality . What he used to call his sixth sense was in fact a new and practically unheard-of way for him to interact with the spiritual side of reality .
Though he mostly employed this sense to design mechs or detect danger, he sometimes flexed it in other ways . Though he hadn't figured out how to turn his body into a semi-corporeal state like Lucky, he did sometimes succeed in brushing against the minds of other humans .
Every human possessed a unique mind . Like fingerprints, they were never the same . One remarkable feature about sensing minds was that stronger or more eccentric individuals stood out from the crowd .
Having seen Lord Javier in person, he instinctively memorized the noble's unique flavor . Ves scoured throughout the entire trip, making himself as circumspect as possible in an attempt to probe his spirituality through the bulkheads into the hidden compartments .
Most didn't contain anything alive . Ves had the sense that they only held a lot of important machinery .
One hidden compartment was different . Unlike the others, Ves faintly sensed a mind that matched the flavor that Ves remembered .
He was right! Lord Javier was truly aboard the Shield of Hispania!
Chapter 550
After his discovery, Ves acted out a play . He pretended as if he was as frustrated as the other Vandals, not even hesitating to demand a meeting with Major Verle to obtain some answers .
The rigid mech officer refused to spill the beans, just as Ves expected . The man had a point that a secret as momentous as this should only be known by those who needed to know . Ves did not actually require an answer to perform his duties, so he was firmly on the very large list that definitely didn't need to learn the truth .
Ves couldn't blame them for withholding the fact that they imprisoned Lord Javier and was attempting to bring him out of the Kingdom . Though their greater motivations escaped him, the Vandals would surely be doing it for a reason .
That reason may be a great cause, or a selfish cause . Whatever the case, Ves had no further leads to pursue . Walking close to the hidden compartments already raised some flags, so Ves planned to keep his head down for the time being and pretend that he knew nothing more than the rest .
After the conference call, the mech designers all tackled their work with urgent effort . Ves was glad to see that nobody slacked off time, and many had in fact exceeded their former standards .
"When other people's lives are on the line, there's no sense of urgency . Now that there's a substantial chance that we might all go down, it's no wonder that they are working so hard . "
With a deficit of more than two-hundred mechs, the Flagrant Vandals would be hard-pressed to regain their former strength . Ves deliberately set their goal post to restoring a hundred mechs within a month as an aspiration . He didn't expect the mech technicians and mech designers to reach this target, but getting close enough already helped out a lot .
As the task force finally left the accursed territory of Venidse, the Vandals kept themselves while they crossed through the space claimed by the Klein Duchy .
During this time, they managed to drop their work to hold another solemn space burial .
Over a hundred coffins had been laid out in the hangar bay of the Shield of Hispania . The sheer amount of coffins weighed down upon the survivors like a boulder . Pretty much every Vandal knew someone who rested in those coffins .
Seeing the coffins placed on the decks with the banners of the Vandals draped on top of them emphasized the peril they still hadn't gotten away from yet . How many more Vandals would lose their lives in the coming days and weeks? A hundred? Two-hundred? Maybe all of them? Nobody knew, but all of them feared the answer .
The Vandals plainly weren't in a fighting condition at that time .
Fortunately, Klein appeared to be as equally fearful of the Vandals as the Vandals feared getting entangled with their mech legions . From the intelligence the local rebels passed on to the Vandals, Klein wanted nothing to do with the scrappy enemy force that thrashed the Frosty Meteors .
Pyrrhic it may be, word of the victory had already spread throughout the Kingdom and the Republic . The victory cemented the reputation of the Flagrant Vandals as devious but capable warriors .
While Venidse had a lot more mechs to spare, Klein faced the opposite situation . As a peripheral territory in the Kingdom, they could afford to be lavish with their mech legions . They hoarded their mechs as if they were their own children, and rarely deployed them against formidable enemies .
Though the Vandals had lost over half of their spaceborn combat capability, Klein didn't know that . As long as the Vandals kept their true condition silent, the Vesians wouldn't have any reason to hunt them down .
This was why the Vandals acted very circumspect around the VRF and the local rebels . Ves even received orders directly from Major Verle to limit the amount of information Iris could access .
Telling their guest designer to fob off was not a pleasant conversation for Ves .
"Our mechs are in a bad shape, Iris . I think it's best if you lend your skills to the mech technicians . They're awfully short-handed . "
Iris glowered at him . "Don't you need me anymore, boss?"
"Ah, eh, you're not the only one who needs to get their hands dirty . Some of the most complex repairs can't be performed by anyone in the fleet except me . That should give you an idea how urgently we require more technical expertise . "
With that quick excuse, Ves packed Iris off . Naturally, he wasn't wrong either . He did plan to allocate some of his time to restore the more difficult cases . He even took the time to select some promising wrecks and requested the Vandals to transfer them to the Shield of Hispania .
Thus far, the Vandals managed to keep Klein guessing and their rebel partners mostly in the dark . The only time where Ves thought the gig may have been up was when they converged in a desolate star system to trade away a substantial amount of loot and salvage mechs for much-needed resources . If the rebels had someone smart on their payroll, then they would have recognized the significance of the materials that the Vandals had requested .
They couldn't do anything about it . During staff meetings and private talks with Lieutenant Commander Soapstone, Ves reiterated the importance of replenishing their stockpiles .
"You either get me the supplies on this list, or you'll have to accept the fact that we're going to be short of at least fifty mechs . "
Presented with that argument, Verle and Soapstone couldn't resume their penny-pinching ways and continue to hoard their useless riches . What they needed the most right now was to supplement their battle strength . The odds of making it out of the Hafner Duchy at their current strength was small .
It would already be hopefully optimistic that the Vandals would be able to field around three-hundred mechs . That was the number of spaceborn mech pilots the task force had left that could still go into battle . The rest had died or suffered grievous injuries that their onboard medical bays couldn't treat .
A small number of mech pilots even suffered neural damage that permanently disabled their ability to interface with a mech .
Ves knew there was no going back from such an injury . Even his grandfather suffered from the same affliction, and despite his prestige as a former expert pilot, he had no choice but to resign his commision .
All the suffering throughout the entire fleet affected Ves on a spiritual level . His heightened spiritual sense picked up the waves of grief, apathy, and other unpleasant emotions . The mech pilots in particular acted as beacons of despair, whose negative emotions propagated stronger and further than any other human .
Ves even suspected that they were responsible for exacerbating the negative mood that descended upon the task force .
"It's as if the mech pilots are infecting everyone's moods with theirs . "
That wasn't good news, because all of the casualties of the previous battles happened to be mech pilots .
Mech pilots interacted the most with their fellow pilots . They developed very strong bonds of brotherhood with the people that fought by their sides, so their deaths impacted the surviving mech pilots most of all .
Ves sometimes wondered if this dark cloud of emotions would doom the Vandals to defeat . If Klein ever summed up the courage to track down the task force and force a battle, the outcome wouldn't be in question as long as the Vesians brought enough mechs .
"This can't go on, but I don't know what to do . "
It was hard to cheer up the Vandals . While they were professional enough not to let their emotions get in the way of their duties, it was easy to see that they couldn't match the steel of their recent opponents .
Premier mech regiments such as the Calico Dancer Bats or the Frosty Meteors wouldn't enter a spiral of doubt and self-blame . Their grit was legendary . Even if they lost over ninety percent of their fighting force, the remaining ten percent would still cling onto their tradition and rebuild what they lost .
"It's all about belief and willpower . "
These traits couldn't be measured on an objective scale . Yet their importance ranked at the top . Even if the Vandals fielded better mechs, they would still be considered trash if they couldn't bounce back from a modest defeat .
Though Ves mourned alongside the Vandals, he plainly didn't feel as much grief . "In the end, I'm not a Vandal after all . "
As the head designer, Ves needed to keep the bigger picture into account . He couldn't afford to get hung up on the past while the future still seemed turbulent .
The hierarchy also reinforced this detachment . Mech designers didn't directly integrate with the mech regiments . Instead, they stood apart and formed their own self-contained group . They answered only to the highest ranking mech officer on-site .
This separation came in handy as the other mech designers also appeared to be less affected by the doom and gloom that had overtaken the Vandals . Ves ordered them to push the mech technicians to get over their grief and work hard .
Though the mech designers only partially succeeded in kicking the mech technicians back into gear, any increase of productivity was welcome .
Thus, a long period of tranquility ensued . The task force continued their silent trek to the border of the Kingdom, meeting very little setbacks along the way .
The Vandals even managed to slip into the Hafner Duchy without encountering any hostile forces at all . Klein hadn't managed to sum up the courage to go after them in the end .
"Thank the heavens that the Duke of Klein is a scaredy-cat!"
"It's as if angels are watching over our shoulders!"
"Well, you better brace yourselves, because the Duke of Hafner is nothing like his neighboring peer . That man is responsible for guarding the border . The big ponce won't tolerate any incursions from Reinald . He'll be even more determined to stop us from making a getaway . "
Ves agreed with that sentiment . Although the Hafner territory was situated on the other side of the border to the Bright Republic, they nonetheless heard some stories about how seriously they guarded their space .
The main threat did not come from the Reinald Republic . In fact, the neighboring state was actually only a third the size of the Bright Republic .
Ordinarily, the aggressive Vesia Kingdom should have invaded Reinald as intensely as they attempted to invade the Bright Republic .
The only reason the Vesians curbed their aggression towards Reinald was that the latter forged a defensive alliance with two other minor republics . Both the Roppo Principality and the Council Stars of Lisv banded together with the Reinald Republic to present a united front against the Vesia Kingdom .
Everyone referred to their defensive pact as the Frozen Leaf Alliance . Though each individual alliance member was weak enough to be crushed by the Vesians, together they formed a formidable line of defense .
The Vesians had tested them over and over, but their bonds to each other turned out to be stronger than the relations of competing Vesian duchies .
This could still be overcome, if not for the possibility that other neighboring states might decide to join the Frozen Leaf Alliance . If Reinald, Roppo and Lisv fell to the Vesians, the states beyond that might be next .
This effectively curbed the desire of the Vesians to aggressively expand in this direction . As long as they didn't make any threatening moves, the Frozen Leaf Alliance wouldn't grow to the point of becoming a threat to the Kingdom .
"Still, even without a war, their citizens still need somewhere to vent . "
The mech pilots of the three alliance states didn't face the threat of war like their counterparts in the Bright Republic . Too much complacency bred weakness, so officially the Frozen Leaf Alliance encouraged the establishment of mercenary corps and treasure hunting outfits as a way for adventurous mech pilots to get their fighting urges out of their system .
Unofficially, they encouraged the establishment of less-than-legal outfits, and often turned a blind eye when these shady outfits decided to do their business across the border .
The Vesia Kingdom suffered a lot of damage from pirates that originated from the Alliance . Though the evidence was never there, both sides knew the score .
The Hafner Duchy took on the important task of curbing every pirate incursion that crossed the border from the Reinald Republic . Over the centuries, they became very adept at hunting pirate outfits .
Unfortunately, the Flagrant Vandals happened to share a lot in common with pirates .
