Chapter 951

Ves and Commander Dise spent more than an hour in the Jaded Sword's conference room. Amidst the trophies, flags, banners and other impressive artifacts, the two haggled two concurrent deals at once.

A confluence of interests sped the negotiations up. The Vandals and Swordmaidens both suffered heavy damage from the mission so far and wouldn't turn their backs to additional help.

The key was to make a credible agreement that provided plenty of incentives for both sides to stick to the deal. While Ves mainly negotiated on behalf of the Vandals, he also tried to make sure the Swordmaidens had no reason to renege on the deal once they thought it over.

Overall, Ves faithfully stuck to the points and priorities laid out by Major Verle. No matter what, he needed to forge an attractive enough deal for Major Verle to show off to his superiors. As long as this deal provided sufficient benefits to the Bright Republic, the decision makers who possessed the final say would definitely be more inclined to put their stamp on the agreement.

Of course, alongside the public deal, Ves was much more interested in hammering out the details of their private deal.

"Right now, you Swordmaidens lack a competent Journeyman Mech Designer." He began when they drifted to this topic. "Having benefited from Mayra's presence all these years, I'm sure you know what kind of benefits a genuine Journeyman can provide to your organization. While I'm not able to take over her role and provide the same level of services as she once did, I'm more than open to lending a hand every now and then in exchange for favors."

The bald and dark-skinned commander smiled warily at him. "Favors can be expensive and hard to pay back. What kind of favors do you have in mind, Ves?"

This was the point where Ves laid out his demands. For now, he didn't dare ask for anything too major. Their partnership still needed to go through a lot of time and successful cooperation before he could reveal his ambitions for the frontier.

"First, I want you to represent my business interests in the Faris Star Region. More specifically, I want the Swordmaidens to act as a secret channel to the various black markets and other exchanges open to pirates. There are a lot of rare exotics and other valuable goods that are hard or almost impossible to come by in civilized space. Even if they are available, all the middlemen involved will usually balloon the base price by five to ten times. I want a more direct channel to the frontier's most valuable exports."

Commander Dise didn't seem surprised that Ves started with this demand. "We can do that, for a price. Obtaining these kinds of hot goods and smuggling them to your hands will take a lot of effort."

The exact commission they agreed on was rather tentative and subject to change, but it definitely made it worthwhile for the Swordmaidens to fulfill his needs.

Ves knew he'd be better off paying a generous commission to the Swordmaidens rather than access any of the black markets he could access in civilized space.

With the Swordmaidens, he'd be able to purchase his goods from the source or at least close to it. In contrast, those markets and exchanges in places like the Harkensen System truly charged exorbitant prices for the same goods and services!

Not only did the middlemen needed to be paid for all the risks they took, separate organizations probably already reserved much of the good stuff for themselves at preferential rates.

This left the black market vendors at the very end of the chain with only a fraction of what had been obtained at the source. Demand for it hadn't changed, but the supply of it was much less. Raising the original price by a hundred or even a thousand times wasn't out of the question!

Nonetheless, while Ves valued this clandestine black market channel, he wanted more out of this relationship with the Swordmaidens.

The opportunity to forge ties with an established pirate organization didn't come every day! More than that, the Swordmaidens incurred significant losses and experienced a lot of upheavals at the moment.

They needed help. A lot of help. It wouldn't be easy for them to recover decades-worth of accumulation. In order to rebuild the Swordmaidens in a timely manner before their old enemies ganged up on them, they urgently needed a helping hand.

The main deal that Ves just closed with the Swordmaidens was the first helping hand. The secondary deal that Ves currently tried to make was the second helping hand.

Two hands were more than enough to lift the Swordmaidens back to their feet.

"Aside from opening up a channel for me and my company, I also want you to act as guides and escorts to any mech forces I send into the frontier." Ves stated, proceeding to his second demand. "It would be a similar arrangement with the Vandals right now. If I ever need something significant done in the frontier, I won't ask you to do them in my stead. I'll instead send my own forces, if I have any. Your role would be to guide them to their destination and let them do their thing before escorting them back to the border."

Commander Dise appeared much more hesitant about such an arrangement. "This isn't unheard of, but it depends on whether my Swordmaidens are available. While we know the lay of the land and we can depend on our name and friendships to get us by, we also have a lot of enemies as well. Your forces might get caught up in our own troubles."

"I'll take the risk. I believe in your sincerity. What I truly need from the Swordmaidens is your reputation and standing among the local bullies in the frontier. It will save my forces a lot of time and effort if they can avoid needless fights and reach their destination without stepping on the toes of other pirates."

Because Ves did not intend to draw upon this service until several years later, the two quickly agreed to this commitment on a trial basis.

"Are there any other desires you wish for us to fulfill?" Dise asked. Though she didn't seem too enthused about indulging Ves, for the sake of money and skilled mech designer support she seemed willing to hear him out.

Going into bed with someone like Ves who survived the same harrowing experiences as her was a lot better than doing business with some stuck-up business who never stepped foot in the frontier! At the very least, Ves had proven himself worthy of their trust!

"Perhaps in the future, I'd like something done in the frontier. For example, eliminate a specific outfit or expedition that's inconvenient for me or my forces to be associated with the deed. Having the Swordmaidens take care of these dealings without leaving behind a trail that leads back to me is something I would definitely be appreciative of. It's even better if you can fool another pirate gang into doing the job instead."

"I see." Commander Dise said as she crossed her arms. Her various beast bones and trophies jingled with the motion. "I won't say no, but..."

"I understand. It is risky and it might incur enemies to the Swordmaidens. However, we can definitely negotiate the prices for this service."

Like the other points, they didn't set more than a vague baseline. The exact price Ves needed to pay to get the Swordmaidens to 'take care' of a force in the frontier depended on the strength of their targets and the risks they incurred when attempting the deed.

Ves expected that killing a small force would already cost him hundreds of millions of credits while taking care of a larger force would easily force him to cough up more than a billion credits.

For some foes, this service was more than worth the hefty price tag.

It was unfortunate that Ves couldn't arrange the Swordmaidens to 'take care' of some of his domestic enemies. The Swordmaidens generally kept their noses clean in civilized space in order to retain their ability to cross over the border and access the Harkensen System.

"Anything else?"

"This is something a bit more personal to Ketis. It's not a demand per see." He said before turning to the young mech designer who mostly turned dizzy by all the negotiations so far. "Ketis, I think it's best you return with me to civilized space and come work for my company for a time."

She immediately shook her head. "I know that's what Mayra want, but the Swordmaidens really need my help. They can't do without a mech designer!"

"Many pirate gangs manage fine without one. As a Novice, you really don't bring too much benefits to the Swordmaidens at your current state. The deal I'm hammering out with Commander Dise will allow them to draw upon my assistance from remote, which is a lot better than anything you can do in person."

"Even so, I'm perfectly fine with the Swordmaidens as is. There's no reason for me to run off to civilized space."

"I disagree. Haven't you benefited from my tutelage already? How far do you think you'll be able to go in your career when I'm gone? The frontier is already an extremely poor and difficult place for a mech designer to progress and advance. At best, you'll be able to advance to Apprentice in a decade, but what then? It takes more than determination to reach Journeyman."

His words struck a mark. Ketis wordlessly blinked at Ves. She knew enough about her capabilities that it was extremely unlikely for her to ever match Mayra's prowess without any assistance.

Mayra herself lucked out when she caught the Skull Architect's attention, but Ketis failed to spark his interest. Ves also suspected that there was much more to Mayra's background than met the eye. She was way too refined compared to the rest of the Swordmaidens to have started off as a nobody from the frontier.

The key here was that Ketis lacked the various advantages and opportunities that Mayra enjoyed in the past.

Now that Ves, a skilled mech designer who she held in high regard, offered to be her new mentor, she'd be a fool to refuse!

Yet she still hesitated due to her strong affection and loyalty to the Swordmaidens!

Seeing that Ves couldn't break past Ketis' inner struggle, he instead turned to the other Swordmaiden in the room.

"Commander Dise, please think it over. You can easily pick up a random exile or refugee mech designer from the frontier to meet your basic needs. In the meantime, I can take Ketis back to civilized space where she'll be able to progress by leaps and bounds under my mentorship. Wouldn't the Swordmaidens be better off with a future Journeyman taking the reins again?"

Dise gazed suspiciously at Ves. "That is awfully generous of you, but I can't help but question why you insist on bringing Ketis out of the frontier."

"It's Mayra's last wish." Ves shrugged nonchalantly, at least outwardly. "She's also a mech designer with promise, though she'll need active guidance in order to bloom her potential. If nothing else, consider my tutelage to be another form of payment for your services."

In truth, Ves wanted to bring Ketis under his wings for two other reasons.

First, he trusted her. He would be able to reveal some of the secrets related to the Mech Designer System to her like the attribute candies and she wouldn't ask too many questions. Her gratitude to him for all the help he provided was the strongest assurance that she wouldn't turn against him anytime soon.

Second, grasping Ketis meant that Ves would be intimately connected to the Swordmaidens. While he'd never be a part of them, the chances of betrayal would drastically decrease as long as Ketis studied under him. She was basically a disguised hostage in this regard!

Even if she eventually finished her studies and returned to the frontier to become the head designer of the Swordmaidens, her close and unforgettable ties to Ves would ensure their continued cooperation.

Fulfilling Mayra's last wish was just a convenient excuse to Ves. What he really wanted was to get the Sword Maidens on his side on a permanent basis!

After all, as long as he continued to grow in power and wealth, it wasn't out of the question for him to displace their original backers one day...

Chapter 952

Having encountered many different pirate outfits, Ves knew that a trustworthy one practically didn't exist.

The value of the Swordmaidens was that they cared about their reputation for honesty. While this didn't rule out the possibility of betrayal, Ves nonetheless felt much more confident about going into bed with them than with any other gang of pirates.

If Ves let this opportunity to hitch his wagon onto the Swordmaidens go, then he would have to approach some other pirate outfit to do business with the frontier. Without a shared history of fighting and working together, and without approaching a pirate gang that used to be strong but was temporarily down on their luck, he would never obtain such good conditions for a private, under-the-table deal.

Certainly, even though he figured he got off rather cheap, maintaining a relationship with the Swordmaidens could easily cost him billions of credits a year, so the deal he just secured wasn't cheap in absolute terms.

However, Ves believed the business opportunities that opened up with this deal would more than pay back his investment.

While he might not be able to apply rare exotics to any of the LMC's standard mech models due to issues with explaining how he obtained them in the first place, they were enormously useful in designing custom mechs.

While he already had a lot of designs on his plate, he did not intend to neglect the top end of the market. Customized, high-quality mechs took a lot of time and effort to design, but it earned Journeyman Mech Designers a lot of fame and reputation if they became known for delivering hot mechs.

The more extravagant and powerful the custom mech, the more he and his products entered the news cycle.

Publicity and exposure was key to building his brand and gaining a higher profile without dumping in billions of credits each year on marketing.

Ves quickly shook his head to get his mind off the future. Right now, he was just laying the groundwork for his future ascension. Rather than fantasizing about advancing his career, he should go back to trying to survive the return trip!

"I believe that's all?" He asked.

"There are no more issues to address." Commander Dise said.

After wording and enumerating the two agreements on separate data pads, they shook hands as well, though it didn't have any greater meaning as of yet. Only after Ves returned to the Shield of Hispania and have Major Verle sign off the main agreement would the deals truly be closed.

Of course, some words in a virtual documents and a cheap handshake didn't mean the deals would pan out. There was no way anyone could enforce contracts made with pirates.

In fact, if Ves arrived at the Jaded Sword with just the deal on behalf of the Flagrant Vandals and the Bright Republic, Commander Dise would have probably doubted their sincerity.

The Swordmaidens would have to incur the burden of protecting the Flagrant Vandals while crossing the entire frontier. Yet their payment only came afterwards and it was a question whether the Bright Republic would honor this agreement in the first place.

What pushed Commander Dise into accepting it was because Ves wanted to close another deal at the same time. Not only did he show sincere intention into cooperating with the Swordmaidens, he also promised to 'compensate' them in the future if the Bright Republic reneged the main deal for some reason.

However, with Ves clearly aiming to build a closer relationship with the Swordmaidens, they felt a bit more assurance that both of the deals would be honored. This was because it benefited everyone involved if they played along. Achieving a win-win condition was the most secure kind of deal that they could make.

After they chatted a bit, Ves made to leave, but Ketis called for him before he left. "Wait a moment! Dise, tell him about the backup we arranged."

For a moment, Commander Dise glared at her. "You're not supposed to know that."

"Heh. I can't help it if I overhear some things using the sensors of my fancy new armor." Ketis grinned and knocked her gauntlet on her piratized CFA combat armor. "I know Ves has a way of blocking electronic devices from listening in. We just made a deal with him, maybe we should ask him for one."

Ves raised his palm. "Ah, I only have a single signal jammer for now. With the resource shortages we're suffering through right now, I don't think I can make a signal jammer that's effective enough to block out the sensors of her CFA combat armor. By the way, what's this about a backup plan?"

Even though Commander Dise glowered at them both, somehow Ketis' puppy eyes softened her up a bit. The new leader of the Swordmaidens sighed.

"You aren't supposed to know this, but Commander Lydia left a lot of plans behind. One of them involves calling in favors to gather a large number of friendly pirate outfits to meet us halfway. Once we enter their embrace, there are hardly any enemies that can muster the numbers to defeat us all. It's how we deter most enemies when they pursue us, actually."

Ves widened his eyebrows. He knew how significant such a plan would be, especially to the Flagrant Vandals who didn't owe anything to the pirates. "What would have happened to the Vandals if we jumped into a system with half-a-dozen or more of your 'friends'?"

"Well, who can say?" Dise smiled coyly at him. "It's very hard to control our friends, you know?"

This meant that the possibility of stabbing the Flagrant Vandals in the back definitely entered her mind!

Right now, the remnants ships and mechs of the Vandals and Swordmaidens roughly matched in strength. Once the balance of power tilted decisively to one or another, it would be hard to say if either of them remained staunch allies.

After all, each of them retrieved a lockbox from the Starlight Megalodon. The temptation to snatch the other lockbox away from their erstwhile 'allies' should have crossed their minds all the time.

If not for taking the initiate to propose a deal to Major Verle, thereby allowing him to visit the Jaded Sword to negotiate several deals in person, Ves would not have been aware of this looming disaster to the Flagrant Vandals!

Ves threw a grateful smile at Ketis. Even though she was a Swordmaiden, she cared about Ves and didn't want to see the Vandals and the Swordmaidens at odds for that reason.

All the effort he put into nurturing her so earnestly already paid off in spades.

He turned back to Commander Dise. "Now that we have made some deals to cooperate in the long-term, I suppose you'll put in a good word for us?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged. My friends are your friends."

"How certain are you that your 'friends' will still stay friends even in your weakened state?"

"Because they're our friends." Commander Dise smirked. "To an outsider like you, all pirates are scum who would kill their own mothers for money. That's not how it goes."

Ketis nodded. "I already told you about this, Ves. Our friends will stick with us just like we stuck with them when they fell into a bad patch. We independents have to cover each other's backs if we don't want to get eaten up by the pirate blocs."

Certainly, if the small, independent pirate gangs constantly preyed on each other, they would only pave the way for the rise of the Dragon Alliance and the Ravienne Alliance. Yet Ves couldn't quite wrap his head around pirates helping each other sincerely.

"Just trust us. We pirates have each other's backs."

"Not enough to help you rebuild, I guess." Ves observed.

"That's true." Dise admitted. "Solidarity doesn't extend to charity. Each of us has to show that they are able to stand strong in the frontier through their own efforts."

Ves caught the implication of her words. "It's not a problem to your friends if you fell into a rough patch and lost your strength. However, if years have gone by and you haven't been able to get stronger, it's questionable if your friends still have your backs."

"That's why these deals are really important to us, Ves." Ketis emphasized. "We need a lot of money. We used to get by with a large mech force, but now that we are like this, it's not so easy to earn as much money."

"In the frontier, your power and might directly affects your earning potential. With more mechs and more ships, you can go after much more lucrative scores." He surmised.

After the meeting ended, Ves returned to the Vandal shuttle and returned to the Shield of Hispania. He met up with Major Verle and handed over the data pad containing the deal he negotiated with the Swordmaidens.

Verle read through the entire document line by line. He didn't miss any detail. After he finished reading through the document, he put the pad down.

"The deal you've negotiated is relatively complete and covers all the points my superiors might find interesting enough to put their stamp on it. The only aspect I'm concerned about is the price we have to pay for the services. Aren't you being a bit too generous on this front? I know you're intimate with the Swordmaidens. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you are allowing them to rip us off."

"The prices are subject to adjustment depending on the services they provide, sir." Ves mentioned. "Besides, if you hear what I have to say next, I think you'll be glad that the Swordmaidens received a deal that's slightly to their benefit."

When he briefly brought up the Swordmaiden backup plan, Major Verle instantly turned grave. "Are you absolutely certain that they have called upon their pirate allies to meet them up in the frontier?"

"I don't think they are bluffing, sir. I already know that they are very well-connected among the independent pirate community. The lie detector module integrated in my Squalon also tells me that they are likely telling me the truth."

While Major Verle still expressed some skepticism, he couldn't afford to discount the possibility. A good leader wouldn't pretend that an awful outcome wouldn't come true just because they didn't like it. At least they became aware of what the Swordmaidens had in store.

"It's not all that bad, sir." Ves consoled the major. "They informed us of their backup plan ahead of time. This shows that they'll probably honor our new agreement and extend their protection to us. All we have to do is to pay them back. They are truly starved for cash and resources right now, and that is what we can depend upon for them to uphold their end of the deal."

Now that Verle thought about it, Ves did make some sense. While the deal paid a fairly high price for certain services, that didn't mean the Bright Republic would scoff at it. More options for engaging with the frontier was always worth it as it was hard to find reliable partners.

The promise of earning a handsome sum ensured the Swordmaidens wouldn't be tempted to betray them in order to make a quick but short-term profit.

Ves raised another point. "I have something else to add, sir. Commander Dise didn't tell me this, but I get the idea that the Swordmaidens aren't very content with their current backers. Right now, they have an opportunity to please their backers if they manage to snatch our lockbox from our hands. However, I don't think they're inclined to do so as long as they don't value their relationship with their backers."

"Hmmm, but you have no proof of this, right?"

"Mayra, their Journeyman Mech Designer who went missing in action, expressed some dissatisfaction towards finding out that the Swordmaidens are actually beholden to some powerful entity in civilized space. I get the idea that not many Swordmaidens knew about this connection in the first place. The fact that this mission led them to being used up until they only have three ships left is bound to alienate them against their backers even further."

"It's a good thing then that they aren't pinning to exert their utmost in satisfying their backers, then." Major Verle smiled in a strained manner. "Did they tell you where they are meeting their friends?"

"No sir, but their first destination is to reach a specific star system that's still within the deep frontier. They hid a backup ship there that's loaded with some supplies as well as a working quantum entanglement node. Once the Swordmaidens retrieve the ship, they can call ahead to their friends to prepare a welcoming party."

"Right. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask if we can borrow their comm connection to call ahead."

The Flagrant Swordmaidens permanently shut down most of their quantum entanglement nodes and lost the remainder due to the spacetime distortion in the Aeon Corona System. This left them without any means of calling for help!

Chapter 953

If the Vandals and Swordmaidens regained their ability to access the galactic net and communicate with the rest of the galaxy, they could do a lot.

Even if the Comm Consortium and many others listened in to their conversations and data transmissions, it would still be fine as long as Major Verle managed to relay a brief message to his superiors in the Bright Republic.

Just like how the Swordmaidens called upon their friends to back them up, the Vandals would also be able to muster up some help.

The only difference between the two was that help from the pirates would arrive much faster by dint of their proximity. Any help the Bright Republic could offer would be limited by the fact that they could only draw upon assets from home, which was very far away from the frontier.

Therefore, the crucial point in the coming month for the Vandals was to stay in the good graces of the Swordmaidens.

This was the most precarious situation the Verle Task Force ever came across! As long as they crossed over this difficult hurdle, the remnants of this once-great mech force would return home soon enough.

In the next couple of hours, the Vandal and Swordmaiden vessels successfully escaped the envelopment of the pirates attempting to corner them. The hole blown open by crippling the Finmoth Regal's mobility successfully allowed them to fly to the edge of the star system without bumping into any other human opposition.

As for the sandmen, they mostly congregated towards Aeon Corona VII for some unfathomable reason. Those close to human ships attempted to hunt them down if possible, but such chases mostly went nowhere.

Some human vessels already managed to escape this cursed star system!

Due to the weird behavior of the sandmen, no one wanted to stick around in this star system any longer than they had to! Beside the Dragons of the Void, every other force just wanted to get as as soon as they could before they all got swamped by a swarm of sandmen ships!

As Ves sat in his office and called up the long-ranged scanners pointed towards Aeon Corona VII, he wondered in his head if this was all Sigrund's doing.

He had the feeling that Sigrund attempted to take control over his fellow sandmen. While the hybrid AI managed to draw the motherships towards him, taking control of them was easier said than done.

If Sigrund already managed to co-opt the sandman motherships, then he would have certainly sent them all out to hunt down all the escaping human ships!

The less humans made it out, the lower the chance that his existence would be exposed! It was already bad enough that the ships that just jumped out of the Aeon Corona System.

As half a day went by, the remnant fleet finally managed to cross the point where the system's gravity finally fell below the danger threshold.

[ALERT! FTL TRANSITION IS IMMINENT!]

The surviving crew all prepared for the activation of the FTL drives. After locking everything down and securing themselves into place, the Shield of Hispania and all the other ships successfully transitioned into FTL.

Practically the entire crew and refugee Vandals aboard the combat carrier erupted into a spontaneous cheer!

"Yes! We're finally out of this goddamn dangerous star system!"

"We're safe! We're safe! We're safe!"

"This calls for a celebration! Let's head to the ship's bar and drink until we pass out!"

A palpable sense of relief overcame every Vandal as they finally put down their guards for the first time in months.

To some, this respite gave them the opportunity to come to terms with losing so many of their fellow comrades. Not only did they lose virtually every member of the ground forces, they also lost the majority of their space forces as well.

To others, the temporary reprieve allowed them to relax their shoulders and unwind in order to forget their worries. Many Vandals started to drink, gossip, gamble and even entered into fistfights against each other.

In general, the security officers mostly allowed the unruly Vandals to vent and decompress even if they became a little bit too rowdy. The Shield of Hispania picked up way too many Vandals, and concentrating so many people together in a single ship was bound to lead to problems.

Ves watched on as Vandals did their best to... cope. He found that word fit the current circumstances best. All of them incurred some trauma or another in the Aeon Corona System, and they couldn't be more jubilant when they finally exited this blasted place.

Even Ves felt as if he needed to do something else. However, he didn't feel the need to lose control like the rest.

He chalked it up to his vastly altered body and mental states. "All the genetic treatments are at least good for something."

The documentation left behind in his CFA comm told him little about the concrete effects. They only vaguely explained that the gene optimization treatments would improve his human nature in a comprehensive and holistic manner.

How this actually translated into benefits differed from person to person. These benefits also affected more than more concrete and measurable variables such as his lifespan, immune system, energy intake and muscle and bone strengthening.

As he projected a mirror image of himself in front of him, Ves studied his appearance and noted that despite the faint increase in maturity, he also transformed in many other ways.

"I don't look all that different, but there's something about me that gives a different charm now."

Besides his maturation and his increased confidence in himself, he also exhibited that transcended human quality that made it obvious that he went through many augmentations.

He would never be mistaken for an average baseline human. Ves found that to be a little bit annoying. Even if he thought he looked a little more dashing than before, he would rather prefer to look plain and unassuming.

The more people underestimated him, the more they wouldn't look too closely into the secrets he tried to hide.

"Still, it's not as if looking distinct is all that bad."

As a mech designer who presided over his own company, Ves was well aware of the power of the cult of personality. A distinctive-looking mech designer attracted much more media attention and became a lot more memorable to the public.

While a part of him deeply disliked adopting a high profile, he knew that it would be necessary to step into the limelight in order to grow his business.

These days, a mech designer wouldn't be able to stand out from the pack just by designing good mechs.

As Ves mentally tallied up all the changes the medical procedures caused, he focused foremost on his mind.

He didn't think his mentality changed all that much, but his cognitive functions definitely improved. His thoughts came a little faster, he memorized everything he read a little more thoroughly and generally felt as if he could subject his mind to a bit more pressure.

"I know know exactly how much better I am at thinking, but it is sure to be substantial."

The CFA's gene optimization treatments mainly aimed to improve the performance of their officers. This was one of the key methods of maintaining their superiority over every other human organization in human space. Everyone knew that CFA spacers were significantly better than baseline humans in almost every aspect!

Ves wished he had access to the System so that he could call up his Status to find out how much his Attributes actually increased. In truth, he didn't expect too much of an increase considering he already augmented his mind to a very major degree.

These heavy changes didn't leave too much untouched areas where the gene optimization treatment could provide a measurable improvement to his cognitive functioning.

"Nonetheless, every little bit adds up."

The only downside to these drastic changes was that he didn't entirely feel comfortable in his own skin. The rushed treatments and the lack of structured therapy and adjustment left Ves flailing on the move sometimes.

At some quiet moments, Ves even felt as if his own body started to reject him. Other times, he was caught with the impulse of rejecting the abomination that his body became.

He never asked to be operated on by an insane exiled doctor from the Five Scrolls Compact. Yet that incident irrevocably set him on the path of alien hybridization and genetic modification.

The only reason why he hadn't spiraled into a cycle of self-destructive loathing was because many of the changes brought a lot of benefits, especially recently.

"I'm a transhuman now." He declared. "Since I'm already like this, I should embrace this aspect of myself. There's no point in beating myself up."

Some of his restlessness eased up once he made peace with this issue. No matter how many augmentations and modifications shifted him further and further away from his original state, as long as he remembered his humanity, he wouldn't be at risk of losing the essence that comprised his identity as Ves.

He chuckled to himself. "I think I went over these concerns a lot easier than I ought to. Is this one of the beneficial effects of gene optimization treatments?"

A big part of why the CFA pushed their gene optimization treatments on everyone was because they wanted to avoid the reckless genetic modification in the past. When leaders became unhinged due to unintended side-effects of enhancing their bodies and minds with alien DNA, they forever stigmatized these kinds of transformations to the public at large.

Ves always thought that humanity stopped dabbling in modifying their own genes and playing with alien traits, but after all he'd been through so far he knew that it had only gone underground and out of sight.

"The need to improve our bodies and minds is too irresistible. How else can we get ahead in our life and careers if we are still average?"

He didn't have a good picture of the extent of human augmentation, but the more he came in touch with the upper echelon of human society, the more he realized how much humans relied on it to get ahead.

The CFA's gene optimization treatment ranked near the top, but many other individuals and organizations probably offered something similar, if not as good.

"Humans are competitive by nature, and there are only a small amount of positions at the top. If I don't try to keep up, I'll forever be left behind."

Ves lamented the hyper-competitive nature of today's society. He realized that a baseline human without any special endowments simply didn't possess the chops to make it far in their lives.

It was at this time someone rang just outside his office. Ves accepted the call on his comm. "Who is this?"

"Mech technician Davis Sollerent." The projection of a middle-aged man's head replied. "There's something I need to discuss with you about the state of our workshops. It's far too crowded there and Chief Haine isn't helping matters along."

Ves frowned at that. "Even if you are dissatisfied with Chief Haine, there are other chief technicians who you can turn to with your complaints."

"All the chief technicians are in it together. Talking to one of them is the same as talking to Chief Haine. Nothing will change."

"Okay, come in then. I'll hear you out at the very least." Ves decided while activating the command to unlock the hatch to his office.

To be honest, Ves really couldn't be bothered with such mundane tasks such as listening to the concerns of a random low-ranking mech technician. Yet he also knew that someone in his position shouldn't ignore any inadequacies with regards to the way the mechs were being serviced, repaired and maintained.

As Davis Sollerent nervously entered his office, Ves gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Please take a seat."

"I would prefer to stand, sir. This won't take long."

Ves shrugged. "Alright. Suit yourself. Please explain why you feel the need to bring up this issue to me. I generally don't involve myself in the running of the workshops."

"I understand." Davis said as his nervousness increased as he got closer to Ves. "It's like this. You should die."

"Oh hell, not again."

Davis whipped out an oversized ballistic pistol from his belt holster and instantly fired a round at his target's head!

Chapter 954

Before Davis even applied pressure to the trigger of his hand cannon, the Squalon already unfolded its helmet and encased the wearer's head.

A powerful round smacked against the visor of the Squalon shortly afterwards. It deflected and pinged off the incredibly resilient surface without leaving behind a single scratch!

To his credit, Davis continued to pull the trigger even after he fired the first round. The powerful hand cannon in his grip didn't possess a high rate of fire, but the mech technician-turned-traitor fired as fast as his sidearm allowed.

As the Squalon's helmet continued to ward off the incoming shots without fail, Ves even had the time to admire Davis' trained shooting posture and accuracy. By far most of the rounds his helmet!

Ves had the impulse of telling the foolish assassin that he would have better luck aiming at the joints of his armor. Even though the back of his elbow and knees likely wouldn't suffer any damage either, Davis should have known better if he was truly a mech technician.

"DIE DIE DIE! WHY WON'T YOU DIE!" Davis raged with sudden fury as his hand cannon clicked empty. Without much pause, Davis changed its magazine and continued to fire more rounds at the mech designer across the desk. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO SURVIVE WHILE MY WIFE DIED A WORTHLESS DEATH ON THE SURFACE!"

Ah. So it was personal. Ves sympathised with fellow all of a sudden. He knew that the Vandals tended to shack up together despite the regulations against fraternization. It was a natural tendency for them to do so after spending years and decades together.

Davis expended four whole magazines worth of ballistic rounds in less than a minute. After firing all of those rounds that could have killed an entire crowd of humans, Ves was no closer to dying and Davis was no closer to venting his grief!

"NO!" The unhinged mech technician despaired as his pistol ran dry. The useless weapon slipped from his grasp. His shaking eyes bore right through the Squalon's undamaged visor. "What gives you the right to live while my wife and friends are all dead?! All of you Vandals are complicit in their deaths! None of you deserve to live!"

Ves strangely retained his calm at the man's violent outburst. Perhaps the knowledge that there was nothing that Davis could do to threaten him in his Squalon gave him the leisure to treat this incident with patience.

"Mr. Sollerent, if that is your name? Ah, I just accessed the personnel files. It seems that much is true about you. Please indulge my curiosity for a moment. Why did you think it would be a good idea to shoot me?"

Davis collapsed to his knees and laughed. "Hahahaha! I didn't think! I didn't think you'd be so tough to kill! Damnit, if I only I brought a plasma cutter to shear my way through your armor! No. That wouldn't work. The chiefs would never allow me to bring out a plasma cutter without permission."

Ves pressed his lips into a thin line. At the beginning, he thought that this entire asssassination attempt was part of some grand scheme to sow chaos on the Shield of Hispania. Perhaps a band of traitors and mutineers plotted to destabilize the crew in order to turn them against the brass.

Since the Finmoth Regal mutinied, why wouldn't the Shield of Hispania be any less vulnerable? The entire combat carrier turned into bomb ever since her personnel rolls tripled or quadrupled with the amount of Vandals they absorbed from other ships now doomed to become sandman fodder.

To find out that his killer was just a grief-stricken widower who felt as if the few survivors of the ground expedition didn't deserve to live anymore disappointed Ves. Compared to a scheming, hyper-intelligent foe like Sigrund, this emotionally unstable mech technician far didn't even register in Ves' danger senses.

"Now that you've got all of that out of the system, I hope you can move past your grief. That is, if the Vandals don't execute you. Have a nice stay in the brig."

The hatch opened up quickly after that to allow a pair of security officers to storm inside. One of them immediately whacked Davis with an electrifier baton which put him out like a light.

The other officer checked the rest of the office for any threats and tried to see if Ves sustained any wounds.

"Mr. Larkinson! Are you injured?!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Ves waved away their concerns. "Davis here couldn't have hurt a single hair on my body."

"It's not secure here. Please allow us to escort you to the Security Department."

"Very well. Lead the way." Ves sighed and stood up. While he figured the likelihood of a repeat attack was very low, the security officers would rather that he be safe than sorry.

Half an hour later, Ves just finished recounting the assassination attempt and how pathetic it unfolded. Those involved all looked green with envy as Ves boasted about the quality of his Squalon.

That was genuine CFA armor! Despite the fact that it was merely one of their light combat armor models for field engineers, it nonetheless rendered a hefty hand cannon completely ineffective!

"I'm not even mad." He told the interrogators. "Davis is just someone who snapped. I'm more concerned about others like him. While I'm not that easy to kill, the same couldn't be said about the others like Captain Orfan or Major Verle."

"We will be adjusting their protective detail in light of this event." The security officer nodded as he typed something in his data pad. "Please answer us. Do you think that Davis Sollerent has an accomplice or is working together with a band of like-minded people?"

Ves sighed. "I already answered this question. No, I don't think he's working with someone. The monitoring system in my office must have recorded the entire event. You can go watch the footage."

"You know how it goes. I have to keep asking, Mr. Larkinson." The security officer said in a respectful manner.

No matter how much Ves understated himself among the Vandals, he couldn't help but become one of the most high-profile individuals on the fleet.

As someone who already assisted the Vandals many times and as one of the two survivors to the ill-fated ground expedition, Ves was bound to attract a lot of attention and respect.

It didn't surprise the crew all that much that a consummate mech officer like Captain Orfan managed to survive the events on the surface. Yet for a noncombatant like Ves to make it out alive when so many others failed to make their way out spoke much about his competence.

Or his cowardice, depending on who you asked.

Nonetheless, a survivor like Ves long left the ranks of average people.

Once the interrogation finally ended, Ves finally received permission to depart, although this time he gained a permanent escort.

Ves let out an exasperated breath at the goon in heavy combat armor stomping his heavy boots against the deck behind his back. "You know I don't need protection, right? My Squalon is more than capable of shrugging off anything a troublemaker can throw at me. You're better off protecting someone more vulnerable."

"You're a high-profile target, Mr. Larkinson. My presence will deter anyone who is thinking of starting an incident." The security officer responded politely but firmly as he gripped his menacing-looking assault rifle.

Ves looked at himself and his unchanged CFA armor. Even though it clearly bore CFA colors and CFA markings, the average Vandal probably didn't recognize the significance of it. If anyone looked at the Squalon, they would probably mistake it as an unnaturally streamlined suit of light combat armor with a rounded rectangular hump at its back.

Its size, stature and overall appearance looked far too small and modest for the amount of protection it actually offered. The heavy combat armor worn by his security escort looked far more capable and intimidating. This was a heavy, motor-assisted suit of armor with enough armor plating that an average person would strain enormously if they attempted to move in it under their own power.

Yet despite the combat armor's tough and bulky appearance, the security officer was far easier to kill than Ves due to the enormous quality difference in materials and protective technology!

He chuckled at the thought that he was tougher to kill than his guard. It should have been the other way around.

"Can you tell me about the state of unrest and dissatisfaction among the crew of this ship? How many more people like Davis Sollerent are aiming to take me down a notch?"

"Not much, sir." His guard grunted. "We Vandals are better than this. We're soldiers."

"I don't think telling that to yourselves will make that anymore believable. Underneath your discipline and soldierly exterior lies a vulnerable human being that is subject to your own emotions."

"I'm not trained to think about all of that psychological crap. I'm just assigned to guard your life and scare off any scum who think they can kill you under my watch." The guard replied simply.

Ves shrugged. What else could he expect from chatting with a goon?

Since he felt the need for more sophisticated conversation, he diverted from his route to the office and instead headed down to the workshops again. He sought out Chief Technician Haine and asked for another private meeting.

Before he entered her office, he turned to his guard. "Will you be following me in?"

"Orders, sir. I'm not allowed to leave you alone?"

"Even when I'm doing my business in the toilet?"

"I'll wipe your butt for you if I have to." The guard replied humorlessly.

Ves shook his head but allowed the guard to enter the office. In fact, he joined another security guard who had already been assigned to tail Chief Haine.

For some reason, Ves started to become a little more ambivalent to the presence of these guards, especially when they insisted on attending a private meeting between two loyal Vandals.

Did the security officers receive orders to monitor every cadre aboard the ship for reasons other than protection? Were they afraid that mid and hang-ranking Vandals would be plotting a mutiny behind everyone's backs?

His levity with regards to the new security arrangements soured at that realization. While he understood the necessity of taking precautions, he found their presence to be insulting as well.

It spoke of a certain lack of trust.

Still, Ves tried hard not to read too deeply into these measures. Besides, he didn't intend to talk about anything too sensitive with Chief Haine in the first place. Nothing that necessitated the activation of his signal jammer.

"Did you want to talk about miscreant Davis?" Chief Haine began with a minor scowl on her face. "That little bastard had always been a loyal Vandal. He wasn't very good at his job, though, but you can say that about half of our mech technicians. Davis is one of those veteran members of our mech regiment, and when he married one of our other mech technicians, none of us saw anything wrong."

"Do you Vandals regularly ignore the rules on fraternization?"

"Sure! Who cares, right?" Haine snorted her nose. "Headquarters is far away, and the Tarry region where we are nominally stationed at is one of the border backwaters of the Bright Republic. Our Vandals shack up, have one night stands, become friends with benefits, and if they're really lucky enough, they meet their soul mates and tie the knot."

"And the Mech Corps never even intervened?" Ves asked with mild amazement.

"What they don't know won't hurt them. It's not as if we file the paperwork. All the marriages between the Vandals are undocumented. You don't need a stinking marriage license to affirm your love to someone."

Ves didn't have any particular opinion about this issue. It seemed par for the course for the Vandals to ignore the expectations of the Mech Corps.

"How many of these 'marriages' have taken place?"

"Oh, quite a lot actually. At least a thousand. Maybe a few hundred more. They span across every position and rank."

Ves saw a problem there. "More than a thousand, you say? How many more examples like Sollerant do you think exist?"

Chief Haine grew grim at that question. "Accounting for all of the losses in our space and ground forces, I'd say there are at least several dozen widows and widowers in our midst."

If all of them lashed out at once, they could do some serious damage to the Shield of Hispania!

Chapter 955

Once Ves and Chief Haine ascertained a huge problem in the amount of Vandals who lost their loved ones during the mission, they quickly brought it up to Major Verle.

To his credit, the commanding officer acted fast. Through accessing the records and through informal inquiries, the security officers quickly sought out every serviceman that posed a risk.

While not everyone appreciated being grabbed from their posts or their bunks by some armored goons, most of the crew showed understanding. They already heard about the attempted assassination attempt on Ves. What if these unhinged servicemen lashed out to the people next to them? What if they decided to go out with a bang by sabotaging a core component of the ship?

Within a single day, the security officers took over seventy basket cases into custody. Some resisted. Some even discharged their weapons. None of their resistance made a difference.

By the time the fleet emerged in a quiet star system close to the Aeon Corona System, the Gorgon's Gaze underwent the same upheaval.

As for the Jaded Sword and the two Swordmaiden light carriers? No one heard anything amiss from their ships. The Swordmaidens possessed a much sterner outlook on matters of life and death. Their harsh training along with the realities in the frontier already inured them against tragedies.

"If only the Vandals are as mentally resilient as the Swordmaidens."

If the surviving Vandals all underwent the mental resilience training sessions that Ves had devised on the ground, perhaps they wouldn't be so susceptible to their darker thoughts. Yet almost no one except Captain Orfan survived.

Having spent a long time working and fighting alongside the Vandals, he became intimately familiar with their good and bad points.

Ves liked them for their relaxed, liberal, tolerant and inclusive nature towards the conduct of their own men and women.

Yet compared to proper soldiers such as the Larkinson veterans that he often interacted with back on Rittersberg, the Vandals also seemed to fall short in many ways. Being treated as damaged and abandoned goods by the Mech Corps at large depressed their confidence and made them feel as if no one appreciated their earnest efforts.

This actually posed a huge threat to the Vandals whenever they suffered a major loss. In ordinary circumstances, the Vandals would never be involved in high-risk operations like this, so that was also why they were a bit slow on the uptake this time.

Fortunately, Major Verle moved quickly enough to take out the risk factors and made several moves to stabilize the morose morale that began to engulf the Vandal ships.

The most important measures to provide closure to the Vandals was to rush the military funeral ceremony.

Same as last time, the crew aboard the Shield of Hispania almost all filed into the largest mech hangar bay. Projections of the crew of the Gorgon's Gaze appeared in their midst as well.

Previously, the projections of the crews of the other ships had to be shrunk in size to make room for all the Vandals.

All the losses they suffered made that measure redundant. This only further emphasized that the Vandals lost many thousands of their own people.

The huge disparity made the hangar bay seem so empty and hollow.

Ves stood solemnly besides Chief Technician Haine and Chief Engineer Avanaeon. Shortly after his return from his negotiation session with Commander Dise, he realized that it would be inappropriate to continue wearing CFA colors and insignia.

He personally paid a visit to the armory and asked Chief Mandelsen to recoat his custom XV-99 Squalon in the dark green colors denoting his status as a mech designer in the service of the Mech Corps.

The new paint job covered up and removed the lieutenant commander insignia and all of the other symbols associated with the CFA. In their stead came the insignia that stood for his current position as head designer, technically temporary, and the sigil of a burning city that stood for the Vandals.

"You look a lot better now in your new colors. I don't feel as if I'm within the company of a poncy CFA officer now." Chief Avanaeon remarked quietly as Vandals kept pouring into the hangar bay.

Ves smiled at him. "CFA officers aren't as bad as they seem. They are only rather stuck up in the presence of space peasants."

"Is that how you see us now that you've ascended into their exalted ranks?"

"Don't joke with me, chief. I'm still a citizen of the Bright Republic. I won't be picked up by the CFA anytime soon."

The banter quickly died down as soon as everyone filed into ranks. In contrast to the last major funeral ceremony, only a single space coffin rested in the center.

In a major deviation from standard protocol, the Vandals who fashioned the coffin amplified its size by more than a dozen times. Ves heard that the coffin had actually been fashioned out of scrapped mech parts!

Such a huge coffin covered by the black-and-burgundy colors of the 6th Flagrant Vandals imposed a suffocating presence on the people present.

The ceremony started with a trumpet and a band of musicians playing a solemn tune. This helped up everyone in the appropriate mood.

When Major Verle finally stepped up to the raised podium, not a single Vandal showed any unruliness.

"This coffin resting before you stands for those we lost at Aeon Corona VII. Many of our fellow brothers and sisters will never see the light of the galaxy again, but are instead buried forever on the surface or in orbit of that deadly, forbidden planet."

The man spoke on for ten whole minutes. His simple, unpretentious speech lacked the usual tricks and wordplay intended to pump up everyone's morale. This time, the losses were far too severe for the Vandals to get over them with a single ceremony.

They needed much more time to make peace with the events in the Aeon Corona System. They also couldn't wait until they returned home to start their grieving process.

At the end of the ceremony, antigrav modules pushed the giant coffin out of the hangar bay and into the cold emptiness of space. Eventually, it would drift into the local sun, whereupon it would melt and break down into particles that would one day be turned into new stars or planets.

It wasn't a pompous ceremony, but it forced every surviving Vandal to undergo a period of introspection. The wild and unrestrained celebration of a few days ago had all but disappeared.

They could no longer push off the inevitable. Though morale dipped even lower throughout the ship, Ves saw it as a good thing as it was bound to happen sooner or later. The brass would rather keep it under control than to let every individual Vandal cope with the losses by themselves in a long, strewn-out manner.

"Still, we're not out of the woods yet." Ves said to himself. "We are still well into the deep frontier."

Under the guidance of savvy Swordmaiden navigators, the remnant allied fleet proceeded to transition in a slightly circuitous route back home.

They transitioned into several familiar star systems they once passed by on their way to the Aeon Corona System. However, the navigators also deviated from the route, sometimes landing them in empty star systems and other times interrupting the placid lives of the local sandmen colonies.

The aliens were definitely alarmed by the presence of human ships in their territory!

Fortunately, the Swordmaidens only intruded in the territories of marginal sandmen colonies. The sandmen admirals who patrolled these quiet systems may be numerous, but even a six-year old kid outmatched their intelligence.

Even so, a steady train of sandmen ships trailed after them even through FTL. The slow but persistent pursuit forced the Vandal and Swordmaiden vessels to keep transitioning as soon as their FTL drives finished cycling.

The only good thing about attracting dozens of sandman motherships was that it deterred the Dragons of the Void from continuing the pursuit.

"Haha! Those pirates won't be bothering us now that the aliens want to have their turn first."

"I don't know about you, but attracting all of those sandman motherships makes me nervous. What if they catch up?"

"I'd rather have a hundred stupid sandman motherships than half-a-dozen human pirate vessels on my tail."

Although not everyone agreed to this strategy of provoking and attracting the sandmen to deter their human opponents from continuing the chase, Ves couldn't help but admit it worked.

As long as they avoided attracting an old and highly developed sandman leader, the quicker vessels of the Flagrant Swordmaidens possessed ample confidence to remain ahead of any tagalongs.

More than a month passed by as they both skulked and raced towards the shallow frontier. Everyone slowly resumed their work, and there was plenty to do even if the carriers carried far too much personnel.

At some point, the remnant fleet reached an empty star system close to the Woolox System which hosted the further known human-owned space station in the Faris Star Region.

The Dragons of the Void stood behind that space station, so the remnant fleet had no intentions of dropping into the Woolox System for resupply.

Unfortunately, the remnant fleet really needed to supplement some of their supplies, especially with regards to fuel!

The situation couldn't be more clearer as Ves tallied the overall situation of the two surviving Vandal ships.

"Our supply situation is dire." He inputted into the logs. "In our pressing need to repair as much spaceborn mechs as possible, we've long run out of almost all essential rare exotics and bulk metals. The only critical materials left are reserved to maintain the Shield of Hispania and the Gorgon's Gaze."

He accessed the files that relayed their current fuel and energy supplies.

"Starship-grade fuel is running out and our overall energy reserves are dipping into dangerous territory. The lengthy mission and the route the navigators insisted on following has not been very efficient in terms of fuel usage. The Vandal combat carriers don't even have enough fuel left to make it all the way to civilized space. On the upside, we didn't waste too much time and we should be out of the deep frontier within a week."

Everyone from the inner circle already knew how dire their fuel situation had become. Ves was sure that Major Verle had a plan in mind for that. Perhaps they would be able to obtain some from the pirates or from an independent star station.

Ves turned his attention to the state of the crew. "Morale is low but stable. Many Vandals are simply tired of fighting and just want to get home. I doubt anyone even cares about the war anymore. While everyone still hates the Vesians, they're much too worn out to give a damn about taking revenge. They lack the confidence to win against our mortal enemies."

Their overwhelming defeat against the Meandering Monkeys and the Hostland Warriors in the final ground battle practically scarred the Vandals. While Major Verle did his best to keep the details and the logs about the battle under wraps, word nonetheless leaked out. The lack of solid details left every Vandal to imagine their own version of events.

It frustrated Ves a bit to see the Vandals so traumatized at the thought of facing the Vesians in battle again. Even the Swordmaidens showed more courage!

"Speaking of the Swordmaidens. Even through my regular chats with Ketis, I don't know what Commander Dise is up to these days. They're still undergoing a transition period. I don't think they're plotting to stab our backs, but we'll see what happens in the future."

One change from the monotonous pattern was that the surviving Swordmaidens finally met up with the backup ship they hid in this unremarkable system.

After the Jaded Sword transmitted an encrypted signal to a specific coordinate in a dense asteroid belt, a small and zippy corvette launched out of a hiding spot within an asteroid.

The corvette that emerged was called the Saffron Poke! While she only served as a courier vessel for the Swordmaidens, the most vital point about this little ship was that she carried a working, functional quantum entanglement node!

The survivors of the Flagrant Swordmaidens could finally reconnect with the galactic net!

Chapter 956

Due to the continuing pursuit of the sandman motherships, the remnant fleet couldn't stick around for long. The Swordmaidens made their calls first before the Vandals had their turn.

Of course, they expected no privacy when the Vandals sent various encrypted and nonsensical messages to obscure comm addresses registered all over the galaxy.

Nonetheless, only very few people would be able to decipher the meaning of these messages, and that was sufficient.

Ves knew that Major Verle definitely informed the relevant authorities of their state. What help they would send, he had no clue, but it would definitely come!

Shortly before the remnant fleet with the addition of the Saffron Poke transitioned back into FTL, Ves made a short comm call to the Jaded Sword.

"Hello, Ves. Why did you call me this time?" Ketis asked.

"Can you hook me up to the Saffron Poke's quantum entanglement node? I'd like to send some messages to some of my people back home as well."

She frowned at Ves. "We're not supposed to let individuals access the galactic net. That's bad information security, you know. Major Verle told us to block all individual requests unless they are cleared by him in person."

"Oh come on, Ketis, you know who I am. Would I ever betray the Vandals or exercise poor information security? I urgently need to arrange some personal matters. Please?"

Fortunately, the Swordmaiden mech designer proved to be susceptible to her emotions. She quickly softened at his appeals.

"Okay, I'll take up with Commander Dise. She's the only one who can unlock access to the quantum entanglement node."

After a few minutes of arguing with the new leader of the Swordmaidens, Dise finally allowed Ves access on account of their private dealings.

"I hope you don't abuse your new access." Dise warned him. "It will go very poorly for all of us if you inadvertently lead us into an ambush."

"I know what to do. Don't worry."

Once Ves obtained the authorization codes, he cut off his call to the Jaded Sword and initiated a new call to the Saffron Poke.

After a few seconds of authentication, he finally obtained a connection.

As soon as his CFA comm connected to the galactic net, he didn't get to make his call immediately. Instead, his device locked up and automatically exchanged a host of data to somewhere!

[Redirecting connection to the galactic fleet network... Connection established... Synchronizing data and uploading logs... Checking device versions... Downloading mandatory updates...]

Ves looked at his comm in alarm! It actually connected to the CFA's exclusive fleet network without his say so! This was deeply troubling to Ves because while the connection was shielded by heavy CFA encryption that prevented any snoopers from knowing what he sent, that didn't apply to the CFA themselves!

While Ves wasn't stupid enough to store sensitive data relating to the Vandals or the mission in his CFA comm, he hadn't been able to delete all of the logs.

Fortunately, the CFA practiced extremely good information security, so it never recorded anything in restricted sections. However, that still left it with a couple of logs and records about his forged identity's recommissioning to a missing CFA battleship!

Ves almost felt like vomiting. No matter what buttons he pressed, his CFA comm refused to disconnect. Even activating his signal jammer didn't help because his CFA comm somehow circumvented the interference. It blocked anything else but the comm's direct connection to the Saffron Poke's quantum communication node, which completely bypassed the regular communication channels of the Shield of Hispania.

The enhanced transceiver built into his Squalon actually possessed sufficient range to stretch out all the way to the corvette! More than that, the quantum communication node's programming treated CFA communications differently from regular communications!

"Damn CFA! Stop hijacking my comm!"

His comm's fast processors rapidly applied the updated software packages despite their size and complexity. While Ves could do nothing about the outdated hardware of his comm, its software experienced a sea of change, bringing it fully up to date!

[Updates completed. Checking for further updates... Downloading mandatory updates for the XV-99... Applying updates... Updates completed. Welcome to the galactic fleet network, Reserve Lieutenant Commander Longhorn. You have pending messages in your inbox.]

Ves looked at the projection of the slick new interface of his CFA comm with a nauseous expression. He lightly poked at it and it didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss nor raised any alarms. He checked the settings of his Squalon and quickly noted many new additions and enhancements.

While he appreciated the updates, he didn't quite know what it meant to him. Surely he couldn't keep pretending to be someone he wasn't? The Starlight Megalodon didn't even exist anymore!

"Hopefully I'll just be forgotten in the crowd. There are billions, if not trillions of CFA personnel and their dependents. Surely they won't pay attention to my entry in their vast network, right?"

While he didn't feel too sure about that, he already spilled the milk. Ves pushed aside his concerns about the implications of this connection and proceeded to follow his original plan.

Due to the forced changes, his updated CFA comm now connected to the galactic fleet network with state-of-the-art encryption at high priority. The galactic fleet network operated outside the regular galactic net operated by the Comm Consortium, which everyone believed leaked like a sieve.

"As long as I don't mind the CFA listening in, the galactic fleet network is probably a lot more secure than the Comm Consortium's net."

After familiarizing himself with the modern interface, he finally managed to send a couple of comm messages to several dormant comm accounts he set up once before. Just like Vandals, Ves prepared his own encrypted communication methods that Calsie, who led the Living Mech Corporation in his stead, and Melkor, who led the Avatars of Myth, regularly checked.

So long as they checked the inboxes of those comm accounts and received his encrypted messages, they'd be able to unlock them in their own ways and find out what Ves demanded of them. If more than a week passed by without opening the messages, the comm accounts automatically removed them from their inboxes.

"Hopefully Calsie and Melkor are capable of following my instructions. I would hate it if the LMC or the Avatars of Myth are affected by the war."

Every company and every mercenary corps needed to pitch in to the war effort in some way. While the Bright Republic didn't treat them as rigidly as their own soldiers, they nonetheless needed to commit to defending the state.

"I should stop now."

While Ves was tempted to explore the galactic net and see if the LMC still did business, he didn't want to keep this comm connection any longer than he ought to. Who knew what this out-of-control CFA comm would do next!

After cutting off the connection, he regained full control over his gear. Ves sighed in relief as he determined his comm wasn't maintaining some covert connection to the Saffron Poke's quantum entanglement node.

As the remnant fleet transitioned into FTL less than fifteen minutes later, Ves tentatively explored all the new updates to his gear. Almost every system of his CFA gear experienced a sea of change in terms of their software.

"At least I don't have to worry about hackers anymore." Ves chuckled without much humor. "On the other hand, I'm pretty sure the CFA can snoop in whenever they want to. It's way too risky for me to continue using this comm. I'll have to mothball it once I get home."

The troublesome part about putting down his CFA comm was that his XV-99 Squalon wouldn't function without authorization, which only that very same CFA comm could provide!

On second thought, Ves probably wouldn't need to wear the Squalon in his daily civilian life. He still possessed the shield generator gifted by Master Olson, and that would be sufficient to protect him from assassination attempts.

"If something awful does happen to me one day, I can always take my CFA gear out of storage and don them again. Compared to a threat against my life, it's not a big deal if the CFA collects some sporadic logs that will probably be thrown into a forgotten database."

He would just have to make sure he never wore any of his CFA gear around the System or any other sensitive secrets. The mandatory updates already spooked him enough about their susceptibility to outside forces and reminded him that every comm connection was inherently insecure.

No wonder someone like the Skull Architect would rather communicate with someone by remote with the use of Tzianti crystals.

With nothing much to do as Ves already delegated most of his responsibilities, he idly explored the new functionality of his comm and Squalon in case he ever needed to call upon them during a crisis. Even if Ves was less than pleased about the forced updates, he couldn't help but admit they substantially improved the performance of his own gear.

"Just software updates can make a huge difference in so many aspects!"

Ves admired the way the new programming streamlined the performance of old hardware and added many new functions. It reminded him of Alloc Brandstad, the Journeyman Mech Designer who went missing in action during the Detemen Operation.

Thinking of Alloc put a dampener on his mood. Although Ves didn't spend much time under Alloc's supervision, it did show him a new appreciation of what a difference good software could make in the performance of mechs.

Ves regretted that he didn't excel in this area. His design philosophy also made it difficult for him to dive deeply in this important field.

As time went past, the Flagrant Swordmaiden fleet silently slipped out of the territory of the sandman and crossed back into the so-called 'shallow frontier'. The amount of sandman motherships following behind their FTL transitions dropped sharply.

The sandman admirals who controlled the motherships all learned that it became increasingly dangerous for them if they ever encroached into human space.

Only a handful of sandman motherships didn't get the message, but the Flagrant Swordmaidens hardly concerned themselves with the stragglers.

The only downside about the remaining pursuit was that the Vandals and Swordmaidens couldn't stop to mine an asteroid to replenish some of their dwindling resources.

"This can't go on." Ves observed as he checked the diminishing fuel levels of the Shield of Hispania and the Gorgon's Gaze. "We'll run dry in two weeks or less!"

When Ves brought this issue up with Major Verle during a private meeting, the commanding officer didn't show any alarm.

"We're already on top of our fuel and supply issues, Mr. Larkinson. We've already made arrangements with the Swordmaidens to address all of our problems. Right now, we can't afford any leaks, so you'll have to keep your curiosity to yourself."

"Fine, sir." Ves said, knowing that the major wouldn't tell him anything even if he entered his inner circle. There were some secrets that Verle could never share to anymore. "Let me ask you this. I've been thinking about what you told me last time about the opportunity to retain all of the gear and equipment I've obtained from the CFA."

"Oh? Do tell what you have in mind."

Ves briefly explained his intentions, causing the major to change his expression.

"I don't think my superiors will be pleased with your solution except yourself. However, considering your substantial contributions, I'm inclined to turn a blind eye to your shenanigans."

"Thank you, sir. That's all I ask." Ves said in relief.

"By the way, while I haven't been able to transmit anything too detailed through the Saffron Poke's quantum entanglement node, I already sent a glowing report about your performance to the relevant institutions. While I'm not entirely certain what's in store for you back home, the Bright Republic aren't misers when it comes to recognizing stellar performance."

"Ah, thank you, sir." Although Ves didn't quite know how this would benefit him in concrete terms, he hoped he at least earned a cushy job in the rear for the remainder of the war.

"I'm telling you this not to stroke your ego, but because we may have need of your earnest efforts one last time." Major Verle stated grimly. "You see, the Swordmaidens received intelligence from their network of allies and friends that the Dragons of the Void are amassing a fast strike force to intercept us before we rendez-vous with friendlies. By all accounts, it doesn't seem likely we can avoid another battle!"

Chapter 957

The Dragons of the Void were some of the most persistent and annoying enemies that Ves had ever encountered! Even now, they hadn't given up on intercepting the remnant fleet.

The only consolation was that the remnant fleet barely exited the deep frontier. They currently passed through one of the most desolate areas of the Faris Star Region. Very few outfits made their homes here due to the lack of human presence. Ves figured that sandmen ships still outnumbered human ships this far from the border.

Nonetheless, the Woolox Star System hosted a small space station where a number of dependents of the Dragon Alliance made their home. The Swordmaidens received word that some of those subordinate pirate outfits suddenly mobilized into action and transitioned out of the star system in a hurry!

Not only that, but their destination brought them closer to the route the Flagrant Swordmaidens would likely pass!

As Major Verle informed him of the approaching threat, Ves relax a little bit. "Just to be clear, sir. It's not the main forces of the Dragons of the Void coming after us, but some hick pirates that became affiliate members of their alliance, right?"

"Correct. Even so, the estimated number of mechs the pirates can muster is of great concern. If their carriers are all filled to the brim with spaceborn mechs, then we can easily expect over two-hundred mechs bearing down on us at once!"

As the head designer, Ves knew quite well how many mechs the Vandals could muster at this time. So far, the mech technicians all exerted their utmost to raise their strength to seventy operational mechs.

The Swordmaidens should be in a slightly better state. So the Flagrant Swordmaidens would probably be able to field a hundred-and-fifty mechs perhaps.

A complicating factor was that the lack of supplies and materials left many of their mechs in a state of disrepair. There was only so much the mech technicians could do to patch up all of the missing and damaged parts!

"Do we know what we're up against, sir?"

"We do. The agents in Woolox who sent word to the Swordmaidens also included every scrap of intelligence they gathered about the outfits arrayed against us. Individually, they're nothing to be concerned about, but together they are a force to be reckoned with. Here is all the information you need."

Ves accepted the data pad that Verle slid over his desk. He browsed the summary and raised his eyebrows. "Kaso's Remediers. Medium pirate gang. Slick hairs. Small pirate gang. Blind men. Small pirate gang. I didn't see these names the last time we visited the Woolox System, sir."

"The pirates that usually take refuge in the Woolox System aren't very well off. They wouldn't be forced to base themselves in the most distant known space station in the frontier if that's the case. Pirates continue to come, but most are never heard of again in time. The sandmen probably got to them. Yet new batches of pirates keep pouring in. From what the agents gathered, the three outfits you mentioned aren't exactly in the best books of the Dragon Alliance."

Ves looked at the number of mechs these pirates could muster. "We're going to have a hard fight on their hands if they managed to corner us and force us into a battle. Is there no way to outmaneuver them and avoid them entirely, sir?"

"The Dragons of the Void doesn't have much of a presence here, but we suspect that they planted many hidden listening posts in the star systems in this area. There isn't much of a chance to keep our route hidden from this strike force. While it is possible for us to take wide detours to prevent their interception, that will waste vast amounts of time, giving the Dragons of the Void enough time to muster up a proper interception fleet from their core territories and send them out to cut off each direction we can take."

In other words, time was of the essence. They needed to get past the obstacle of the Dragon Alliance's fast strike force in order to rendez-vous with the 'friends' of the Swordmaidens.

"What did the Swordmaidens say about the threat? They know our opponents better than we do, sir."

"True. As far as the Swordmaidens are aware of, Kaso's Remediers are the ones to watch out for. Not only are they able to field more mechs than the other two gangs, they also possess a very wide and varied mech roster. Kind of like us, in a way. Much of their mechs are garbage but there are a few notable machines reserved for their officers that can give us a run for our money."

Their modus operandi sounded similar to what the Flagrant Vandals did in civilized space. They excelled at raiding lightly-protected trade convoys and shipping fleets.

Of particular note was that they existed the longest as well, which meant they developed a substantial martial tradition and wouldn't make too many mistakes on the battlefield.

The other two gangs seemed less concerning than the Remediers.

"The Slick Hairs fancy themselves as sophisticated thugs. They're known for how much time they spend on grooming their slick dyed black hair."

"Sounds like they belong in a theater rather than the frontier." Ves snorted.

"It's a gimmick, yes, but it's one that unifies them and brings them together, much like the obsession of swordsmanship among the Swordmaidens." Major Verle replied, taking it much more seriously than most. "The Slick Hairs mostly field a mix of light skirmishers and other assorted cheap mechs. Visually, they've modified their mechs by giving them the same slick hairdos."

As Ves browsed the image captures of the mechs fielded by the Slick Hairs, he had to admit the hairdos gave the mechs a sense of class that they didn't actually deserve. Beneath their slick hairs and polished exteriors, Ves spotted the telltale signs of neglect and faulty repairs.

It reminded him of the shoddy mechs of Walter's Whalers.

Verle turned to the last pirate gang. "As for the Blind Men, they aren't blind. They just call themselves that for reasons I can't be bothered to explain. While their rituals and customs are strange, they are known for their marksmanship. Their spaceborn rifleman mechs are all armed with laser rifles tweaked for power. While their fire rate is rather poor, leading to an awful performance at close range, their rifleman mechs are quite fast."

Overall, three distinct pirate gangs joined forces to intercept the Flagrant Swordmaidens at the request of the Dragons of the Void. While the pirate mechs didn't look impressive, the mechs of the Vandals and Swordmaidens didn't look much better due to lack of supplies.

"I'll take these files and study them to see if I can ascertain their weaknesses." Ves said as he kept studying the details on the enemy mechs. "Almost every mech model in their roster belong to the bottom tier as far as quality goes, so I'm sure I can find some weak points that can be exploited, sir."

"Do your best to make life easier for our mech pilots." Major Verle dismissed him with a wave, evidently not expecting too much from his efforts. "If you have any other ideas that can make our lives easier in the upcoming battle, don't hesitate to bring them up to me. You've already surprised me several times with your suggestions."

"I don't think I can pull another rabbit out of my hat, sir. It's very hard to do things when we're so short on supplies, mechs and manpower." Ves sighed.

"Don't we all know it. Now get out. The battle will start in less than a week according to our projections so make sure you have everything ready."

As Ves departed the stateroom and shuffled back to his office, he began to study the contents of the data pad in greater detail. Having worked with so many damaged mechs due to Aeon Corona VII's breakdown effect, he developed a sense for damage and imperfections in mech frames.

Ves merely had to look at the outward appearance of a random mech for a moment to deduce its major shortcomings. As Ves flitted through images of the pirate mechs on patrol or resting in their mech stables, he gained a broad sense of how each of the pirate gangs treated their mechs.

"Kaso's Remediers has too many mechs but doesn't allocate enough of their budget on mech maintenance and repairs. The Slick Hairs treat their mechs with much more love, but they are obviously deficient in technical personnel. I'm almost certain they don't have a mech designer presiding over their mechs, and their mech technicians aren't any good. Only the Blind Men are of concern since their mechs seem the most well-maintained of the bunch. The only upside is that they predominantly use the same mech model so that all of them share the same flaws."

All three forces adopted different approaches to their mechs, so Ves needed to treat them separately and in different manners.

As Ves dove into analyzing the mechs, he started with the easiest and most numerous mech roster. Kaso's Remediers seemed to have prioritized the acquisition of any cheap mech they could get their hands on to expand their numbers.

"Much of their mechs are probably second or third-hand wrecks that have been restored to a functional state by shady repair businesses."

Ves spotted the telltale signs of cut corners and inadequate repairs. None of the mechs in the possession of the Remediers would be able to exert more than eighty percent of their peak strength.

"All of these mechs have holes in their current states!"

He enjoyed picking apart each documented mech. All of the analysis that Ves performed would be uploaded to the internal database and be made available for access to the Vandal and Swordmaiden mech pilots in battle.

Their mechs would automatically overlay the weak points that Ves identified as well as supply some advice on how best to exploit them. The Vandals already achieved substantial success with this method before, and they had come to expect this service from their resident head designer.

The only downside to using this approach to Kaso's Remediers was that they didn't make any attempts at standardizing their mech roster at all. They fielded countless different models spanning over several generations and mech types. The only thing they had in common was that they were all universally cheap!

The intelligence the Swordmaidens passed on also only included footage of half the mechs the Remediers actually owned. This meant that while Ves brutally identified critical faults of half of their mechs, the other half remained completely unknown.

"Oh well. On to the next gang then."

When Ves studied the mechs of the Slick Hairs again, he got the notion that they would make for very good display mechs. Their slick hairdos and dashing paint jobs would have turned them into the perfect mascots for casinos and similar entertainment establishments.

"Even if it doesn't look like they have the help of a mech designer, their style sense is really good if they can make their mechs look so slick and cool."

Nonetheless, appearances mattered less to mechs than performance. Ves already found out that the mechs hid a lot of inadequacies beneath their stylish appearances. Corroded parts, shoddy repairs and more marred the mechs of the Slick Hairs.

It became very easy for him to pick apart the weak points of the mechs of the Slick Hairs. It didn't help that they only fielded a couple of melee mechs models.

Once Ves finished with analyzing the mechs of the Slick Hairs, he finally turned his attention to the mechs of the Blind Men.

As he studied their rather decent-looking spaceborn rifleman mechs, he started to experience an uncanny feeling about them. Something about their design seemed awfully familiar to Ves!

"This looks familiar. Very familiar."

A memory of his Crystal Lord Design suddenly sparked in his mind. When he overlaid the mental image of his Crystal Lord over the design of the mechs of the Blind Men, Ves found to his horror that they had a lot of things in common!

"SOMEONE RIPPED OFF MY DESIGN!"

Chapter 958

People copying other people's works happened all the time. Why not? It saved them a lot of time and effort. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, why not steal someone else's design of a wheel and thereby save a lot of time and effort that could have been spent on more fruitful activities?

Even Ves did so himself a few times back on Aeon Corona VII. The incentive of ripping off other people's works constantly beckoned to him, and hardly anything held him back from using these shortcuts.

In ordinary circumstances, the MTA's licensing system did a good job of tracking how much other mech designers copied from other designs. Not only that, the MTA automatically allocated an appropriate proportion of earnings to the original designers.

In general, it was cheaper to license an existing design and use those rights to develop a derivative mech model. Mech designers who 'borrowed' elements from other designs in a blatant manner would usually get slapped with a heftier charge afterwards.

The entire point of the licensing system was to legalize the instinctive act of 'borrowing' or getting 'inspired' by the excellent works of others. Before the MTA instituted the licensing system, the mech industry became a wild west of corporate espionage and endless lawsuits about accusations of stealing someone else's designs or ideas.

The patent systems regulating the innovation of each individual state resulted in a horrible mess of endless litigation and confusion as different jurisdictions imposed different legal standards and customs. In addition, states tended to favor their domestic mech designers over foreign mech designers in pretty blatant ways.

Therefore, when the MTA finally laid down the law and introduced the licensing system to essentially legalize, regulate and monetize the act of stealing someone else's mech design or component design, the mech industry finally became more tolerable for the smaller players who couldn't afford the army of lawyers required to argue their sides of the story.

These days, the MTA's own people and AIs made their own judgement how much mech designers borrowed from other mech designers. While it was possible for the mech designers involved to dispute the MTA's judgement, few did so, as this organization enjoyed a very good reputation of impartiality.

Of course, no system was perfect. It didn't deal too well with concurrent innovations developed separately but shared too much in common. Usually such disputes ended in contentious compromises that pleased neither parties involved.

Another huge hole in the licensing system was that it mainly held force in the public mech markets.

What if someone ripped off someone else's design but never published them on the market?

Mechs designs intended for a specific client usually didn't go through MTA validation, thereby denying the huge organization an opportunity to get a good look whether they stole something or not. Chasing after this low-key, behind-the-scenes thievery required a lot of initiative on the part of the original mech designer's legal representatives.

Another big blind spot was the black market, the frontier market and any other unregulated market. Places where the influence of the MTA didn't extend became the favored paradises for mech designers with loose hands.

"I knew that pirate designers are completely shameless in ripping off other people's designs, but why does it have to be one of mine?!"

Ves gnashed his teeth as he studied the mech model that the Blind Men predominantly adopted.

"Blue Paradisio, eh? Let's see where this mech model comes from and who dares to copy my work."

Digging into the intelligence files provided by the friends of the Swordmaidens, he found out that the Blue Paradisio was a recent work from a young pirate designer called Ronnie Blast. Ves didn't look surprised when Ronnie Blast's record stated that he was an Apprentice Mech Designer who originated from the Bright Republic.

"Sounds like an alias."

The record failed to mention why Ronnie got exiled to the frontier, but he somehow became a pirate designer under the umbrella of the Dragon Alliance.

From there, this fellow pumped out various pirated mech designs that mixed and mashed elements of various legitimate designs into versions that were more practical to the frontier.

As Ves studied Ronnie's mech catalog in more detail, he found his works to be full of borrowed elements that were actually quite decent. This plagiarizer knew what to look out for and had an eye for practical quality.

Of course, the shortcoming of every plagiarizing mech designer was that they almost always showed inadequate ability when it came to designing something themselves. Ronnie's mashup designs attempted to fuse several existing design elements together, but it was exactly in these transitions where his designs exposed severe flaws.

A competent mech designer would have known better than to include these flaws and fault lines into their own designers. Someone like Ronnie who relied too much on copying good designs lacked the skill and experience to replicate the efforts of their betters.

Ves made a judgement about Ronnie as a mech designer. "Someone like Ronnie should be decent enough when making variants of existing designs. However, he isn't capable of making the transition to designing original mechs."

Fortunately for him, the frontier mech markets openly tolerated pirated designs to the point where they became ubiquitous. When Ves once asked Ketis if pirate designers ever respected the intellectual property of legitimate mech designers, she laughed in his face!

"Trash like Ronnie are only able to thrive in these lawless markets where the pirates who buy his mechs don't know any better."

The MTA's validation process would have issued a ton of negative marks on his designs. If they somehow to the MTA's approval to get sold, they would still have to reserve the bulk of their earnings to pay off the forced licensing fees.

"I'll remember you, Ronnie."

Having marked out this mech designer for later, Ves turned back to the mech model the Blind Men adopted recently. They actually incurred huge debts to modernize their mech roster, and actually fell into a somewhat bad spot in the Dragon Alliance for that. No wonder they ran off all the way to the Woolox System.

The Blue Paradisio appeared to be a cross between the landbound Crystal Lord and another spaceborn rifleman mech design. What Ves found fault with the design was that the Crystal Lord depended rather heavily on quality materials and good craftsmanship, both of which the Blue Paradisio lacked.

"The Crystal Lord is a design with strict quality requirements. It's a mech model that's always been geared towards leaders and champions. Ronnie completely missed the point of my second original design."

To Ves, it appeared that Ronnie took no notice of the vision for the Crystal Lord's intended use. He only saw something shiny and crudely copied the design while at the same time cutting all kinds of corners in an effort to make it cheaper and easier to fabricate in frontier conditions.

Ves estimated the cost of the Blue Paradisio to be more than half as less than the original Crystal Lord. One of the biggest faults of this pirated spaceborn rifleman mech design was that it completely lacked the partial compressed armor coverage. That turned the Blue Paradisio into something of a glass cannon.

"The Crystal Lord and the Blue Paradisio fight completely differently despite sharing many of the same design elements."

Ves palmed his face with his gauntlet, practically smacking it. He then slammed his face against his desk.

THUNK!

His Squalon's helmet immediately folded around his head to absorb the impact.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

"HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE, RONNIE?! IF YOU RIP OFF A PREMIUM MECH DESIGN, THEN YOU BETTER DESIGN A PREMIUM MECH! WHY DON'T YOU STEAL A BUDGET MECH DESIGN IF YOU WANTED TO DESIGN A BUDGET MECH!"

Ves wanted to take his gauntlets and strangle Ronnie in person for his abject stupidity! This numbskull didn't even plagiarize properly!

The contrasts couldn't be more obvious.

The Crystal Lord scored well in speed, endurance and armor.

The Blue Paradisio still remained fast, but its endurance and armor both dropped like a rock.

The Crystal Lord excelled in firing rapid volleys of laser beams with its lightened but still very potent laser rifle with integrated crystal builder technology.

In an attempt to shore up its new weaknesses, Ronnie configured Blue Paradisio into a long-ranged marksman mech whose laser rifles fired powerful, accurate laser beams but at an excruciatingly low firing rate. The overall efficiency of its laser rifles barely surpassed regular ones due to the very poor quality and implementation of imitation crystal technology.

As for the sad excuse of a crystal implanted in the chest of the Crystal Lord, Ves didn't even deign to mention them. "Where did Ronnie source these crystals anyway?"

Overall, if Ves read the Blue Paradisio's design evolution correctly, then it appeared to Ves that Ronnie blundered his way by borrowing some shiny designs on a whim. The most egregious fault with Ronnie's design methodology was that he never formed a coherent vision of his end product.

"This guy basically doesn't know what he'll get at the end. His design choices doesn't reflect a specific strategy or outcome, but instead only addresses the immediate problems he encounters along the way in the most expedient manner possible."

There were plenty of great mech designers who managed to do fine without forming a vision beforehand. Everyone was different and some just like to develop their mechs from the ground up without any preconceived notions. They only felt restricted when every major aspect was already set in stone.

"Still, just because there are alternative methods doesn't mean that they are appropriate to everybody."

The Blue Paradisio radiated a sense of quality at first glance. Its design obviously relied heavily on the contours and visual cues of the Crystals to reinforce the notion that it was a high performing mech. Its bright blue coating and markings also distinguished it from the partially corroded second-hand mechs that pirates generally favored.

Yet underneath that compelling exterior, the Blue Paradisio was riddled with so many faults and awful design choices that Ronnie would have been better off copying a proper budget mech design and making a variant out of it to earn some quick cash.

Ves figured that the reason why Ronnie didn't do so but instead tried to design something more radical was because he had something to prove. If he couldn't do anything except design variants all day, what reason would there be for the Dragon Alliance to keep him on retainer?

"Still, why did the Blind Men settle for this awful design?"

The records about the Blind Men mentioned very little detail. They were fairly new and hadn't come to prominence. They shouldn't have risen to this scale so rapidly at all, actually.

"The Blind Men have backers." Ves concluded.

By now, Ves knew that a decent amount of pirate gangs in fact relied on external funding to prop themselves up in the frontier. Those who lacked a backer usually envied those that did, and so tried to find anyone who was willing to fund their activities in exchange for favors and other services.

The Blind Men seemed to be a notch above the bottom feeder pirate outfits by adhering to a cult-like ideology. They widely applied a gene mod template to themselves that appeared to change their eyes into viewing reality at a much greater spectrum than normal.

These changes led their eyes to grow more dull, hence why they adopted their moniker. To the Blind Men, they viewed their surroundings in such a different way that they developed peculiar beliefs in an attempt to find meaning in what they observed.

In practical terms, their focus on expanding their eyesight and training their observation skills turned them into better-than-average marksmen. Their leader, the Blind Prophet, emphasized the recruitment of mech pilots who already specialized in mech marksmanship to reinforce their strengths.

The Blind Men's martial tradition completely focused on strengthening their marksmanship. Devoting so much effort in training their mech pilots in this aspect and adopting the Blue Paradisio as their signature mech model turned this outfit into a very capable opponent in this regard.

"As long as the Vandals or Swordmaidens aren't able to get close, these Blue Paradisios can chew apart our mechs over time."

Even if Ves brutally cut apart the Blue Paradisios many failings and shortcomings, most of those weaknesses didn't have much relevance as long as the marksmen mechs remained far away!

Obviously, Kaso's Remediers and the Slick Hairs would do their best to cover for their long-ranged fire support. Attempting to bypass their entanglement to get at the Blind Men's formidable ranged mechs would be key to winning the upcoming battle.

Ves dreaded the prospect of being defeated by a ripoff design of his own work. How humiliating it must be to die by such an awful imitation!

Chapter 959

In the preceding days before the inevitable confrontation between the Flagrant Swordmaidens and the affiliate pirate gangs of the Dragon Alliance, Ves stewed in his anger.

Ronnie Blast and his Blue Paradisio design profoundly offended Ves' professional sensibilities.

If someone ripped off his designs, they better do a decent job at it! This rank amateur completely missed the point about the original Crystal Lord, yet somehow felt daring enough to adapt it to his own work!

If Ves ever met Ronnie Blast in person, he'd probably smack his face into a mess of red. "I'll probably do more than that."

While it was something of an inevitability that any decently successful mech designer suffered from design theft, that didn't mean Ves would maintain his composure when confronted by such a case.

As several days went by, Ves couldn't help but go over the archival footage of the Blind Men's Blue Paradisios and pick them apart to excruciating detail.

Ves obsessively uncovered every flaw, every mistake, every imperfection and every weakness of both its design and the individual physical copies in the hands of the Blind Men.

He knew it was rather unhealthy to spend so much time on analyzing the Blue Paradisios to death. As long as his efforts resulted in more weaknesses that could be exploited, his peculiar hobby could be forgiven to an extent.

As Ves took a break and summarize his findings on the Blue Paradisio, he snorted in contempt. "I think I understand the Blue Paradisio even better than Ronnie Blast now. I can easily school him about the many attributes and faults of his ripoff design for days upon end!"

It would be a waste of time, of course. The lesson he would be teaching this thieving bastard would be a much more practical than theoretical one.

Almost a week went by after the Flagrant Swordmaidens got the news about the strike force heading in their path. While they attempted to circumvent the interception by taking a detour, once they emerged in an unpopulated star system with no planets worth noting, alarms immediately rang across the ship.

[RED ALERT! UNKNOWN MECHS AND STARSHIPS DETECTED IN THE VICINITY OF OUR EMERGENCE ZONE. ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!]

Not that everyone needed to run to their posts. The alert level had already been raised to yellow and everyone in the remnant fleet already took up their posts in full preparation of an imminent battle.

In the Shield of Hispania's command center, Ves sat at his regular observer's seat in his repainted Squalon. Besides his peculiar combat armor model, he didn't attract too much attention.

Major Verle observed the local plot of the surrounding space that grew increasingly more detailed as the after-effects of their FTL transition subsided. An unknown enemy force clearly parked in a region of space that fell within the emergence zone of any incoming fleet arriving from a specific star system.

It didn't take a genius to determine that these unknowns predicted the remnant fleet's route and moved to block their way.

"The enemy fleet is about an hour away from entering into battle range."

It took at least five hours for the Vandal and Swordmaiden carriers to finish cycling their FTL drives. The time to do so increased for many ships due to lack of supplies and lack of thorough maintenance.

This gave the enemy fleet more than enough time to catch up to the Flagrant Swordmaidens and force a battle.

As long-ranged sensors resolved more details, they conclusively matched the unknown fleet elements to the three pirate gangs that set out from the Woolox System.

"We are ninety percent confident that the unknown fleet consists of ships from Kaso's Remediers, the Slick Hairs and the Blind Men, sir." A sensor officer reported to Major Verle. "Every ship we've observed is a match to the ships that departed from the Dragon Alliance's space station at Woolox."

"Have you detected other ships?"

"Our sensors detected no additional ships so far, but our observations are ongoing, sir. We are attempting to scan the entire system, but so far we have failed to detect anything of note."

Ves considered this as good news. If the pirates arrayed against the Flagrant Swordmaidens received reinforcements, then the odds of winning decreased rapidly.

Right now, the disparity in numbers already provided plenty of headaches to the Vandals and the Swordmaidens. Even after all of their repairs, the Flagrant Swordmaidens could muster only a hundred-and-fifty spaceborn mechs or so at most.

The enemy force fielded at least seventy more mechs than that. While the quality of their mechs didn't impress Ves very much, he knew the folly of underestimating the disparity in numbers.

It would have been a bit better for the Flagrant Swordmaidens if they could have serviced and repaired their worn mechs to peak condition. At their full strength, the Vandal and Swordmaiden mechs stood a good chance of thrashing the enemy mech force.

Yet right now, the Flagrant Swordmaidens were nearing the end of their rope. The psychological weariness among the mech pilots combined with half-repaired states of most of their mechs severely impacted their effective battle strength.

"Everyone is tired. They are tired of fighting and running."

This weariness reflected in the resigned and moody expressions of the Vandals in the command center. No one looked forward to the upcoming battle. After Ves and the strategists analyzed the enemy mech force in detail, they all pronounced that the Flagrant Swordmaidens would have a hard fight on their hands.

No matter who won or lost, perhaps they'd only be left with a fraction of their mechs at the end!

By then, even a space fly could tear apart the remnant fleet!

Even the pirates themselves probably didn't wish to fight the Flagrant Swordmaidens. If not for the Dragons of the Void coercing them into action, they would have rather preferred to bully the weak instead of confronting a damaged but battle-hardened mech force.

"What's in it for them?" Ves wondered quietly. He wasn't too familiar with the circumstances of the Remediers and the Slick Hairs, but he read quite a bit of material about the Blind Men.

While their cult beliefs made no sense to him, on a secular level there was no doubt the Blind Men incurred a lot of debts. Perhaps the Dragons of the Void promised to write off their debts if they participated in this battle.

"Even so, they are in a pretty bad fix."

Minutes passed as everyone made their final preparations in a fatalistic manner. While the Flagrant Swordmaidens could have delayed the battle by several hours by attempting to fly away, they saw no point in delaying the inevitable.

The handful of sandman motherships that followed their FTL transitions still loomed behind them. If they took too long to wrap up the battle, the sandmen ships would eventually catch up!

Therefore, rather than avoiding the battle, the remnant fleet instead took the initiative to close in on the enemy fleet!

"Those pirate carriers are probably filled with fuel and energy." Someone remarked. "As long as we win the battle, we can force the ships into surrender and siphon away their fuel and supplies!"

"Heh. That's easier said than done. Let's try and survive this battle first before we talk about the spoils."

A nervous tension suffused the entire remnant fleet as both forces closed in on each other. It would take much less than an hour at this rate for battle to erupt!

"The enemy carriers are deploying their mechs for battle!"

The pirates only deployed fifty or so mechs on patrol, which didn't seem so threatening. Yet fifteen minutes before the inevitable clash, the pirate carriers began to disgorge mech after mech, each of them forming up in their own little groups with little regard for formations or order.

"We have confirmed sightings of over two-hundred-and-twenty mechs, sir."

The three pirate mech forces formed up in a simple arrangement, as they lacked the discipline and training for anything more sophisticated.

The mechs of the Kaso's Remediers positioned themselves in the main line. Their eclectic mix of melee and ranged mechs gave them a lot of versatility, but as the biggest and strongest pirate gang among the three, they took on the responsibiity of bearing the brunt of the Flagrant Swordmaiden's fury.

The Slick Hairs fast and nimble melee mechs positioned themselves at the flanks. There was no doubt they would attempt to bypass the Flagrant Swordmaidens at the front in order to hit them in the sides or rear. Perhaps they would even attempt to assault the Shield of Hispania and the other carriers directly!

As for the Blind Men, their Blue Paradisios formed up well behind and above the Remediers. This gave them a good overhead angle from a comfortably long distance to pick off the Flagrant Swordmaiden mechs.

Right now, Major Verle communicated privately with Commander Dise on how they should address the threat of the Blind Men's fire support.

Should they divert precious light skirmishers in an attempt to threaten the Blue Paradisios out of sniping their mechs? Perhaps that was a trap to lure them in only for the Slick Hairs to turn around and cut off their escape route.

No matter what response they offered to the enemy formation, the Flagrant Swordmaidens would definitely exact a very painful price.

As Ves called up a projection of the mechs of the Blind Men, he glowered even deeper. The mere sight of the Blue Paradisios made his eyes red! If that blasted Ronnie had more sense, he wouldn't have ripped off the Crystal Lord, making it so that the Blind Men fielded a poor facsimile of Ves' design against himself!

His fury boiled over until something finally snapped within his mind. "Major Verle, I have a request."

The major turned away from his argument with Commander Dise and frowned at Ves. "What is it, Mr. Larkinson? Please make it quick."

"I'd like to open up a comm channel to the Blind Men." Ve stated with forced calmless. It wouldn't do to come across as unhinged right now. "There is something I'd like to talk about them. It concerns their mech model, sir."

"Hmmm, I did hear that their main mech model resembles your old work. Fine, then. Just remember that you have only minutes before the battle commences."

"I'll keep it short."

He was grateful that Major Verle didn't ask too many questions. To be honest, Ves didn't entirely know why he wanted to talk or what he wanted to achieve. He merely wanted to vent his fury on the Blind Men.

As the communications officer took a moment to send out a comm request ot the Blind Men, to his surprise the other party actually accepted the call.

A projection of the Blind Prophet appeared in front of Ves. The man adopted the stereotypical appearance of a prophet, resembling an old man with a long and mostly ragged-looking grey beard. His eyes also looked rather murky, as if he was truly blind.

The only concession to practicality was that he wore a piratized piloting suit at the moment.

"Flagrant Vandals, I have foreseen your doom. Your flesh will freeze and rot in the void of space and your mechs will be strewn across this star system in the form of broken wrecks."

"Cut the crap, you charlatan." Ves hissed. "Let me tell you something about the mechs you're piloting. They're cheap imitations of my own design. Don't know what I'm talking about? Here, let me send you the relevant files on my Crystal Lord design. Do you see whose name is attached to the design? Me. Ves Larkinson. THAT'S ME AND THAT'S MY ORIGINAL DESIGN!"

The Blind Prophet appeared a bit bewildered at the person at the other end of the channel. "Mad ravings of a man already condemned to death. Your spittle is meaningless, so save us all the trouble. Our victory is assured and your defeat is only a matter of time."

"Hahahaha!" Ves laughed. "Confident, are you? Well tough luck, because you're facing against me, the original designer of the Crystal Lord, of which your Blue Paradisio is like a retarded cousin! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME WITH A MECH MODEL DERIVED FROM MY OWN WORK?!"

Practically the entire command center fell into silence as they heard Ves' outburst. They never expected the usually well-behaved mech designer to be so furious!

Chapter 960

"You Blind Men pretend that you can see further ahead than anyone else, but to me your names are right on the mark. As far as I'm concerned, all of you must be blind as a bat if you think the Blue Paradisios are any good!"

The Blind Prophet's projection shook and leaned back against Ves' increasingly more vehement tirade. "Mr. Larkinson, whoever you are, your infantile flailing amuses no one."

"What did you say?! Infantile flailing?! I'll tell you what infantile flailing means! Your Blue Paradisios are living proof of Ronnie Blast's infantile flailing! Your mechs are complete failures as an effective design! The only thing it has going for it is its mobility and accuracy, but at what cost?!"

"Ronnie's mech model shares none of the excellent armor coverage of my original Crystal Lord design! Not a single hint of compressed armor is retained in Ronnie's bastardized design, but he has the gall to keep its armor plating as thin as the thickness a data pad! I bet your mechs can't even cope with continuous micro-impacts from space dust! That's how pathetic the Blue Paradisio is able to withstand damage!"

"My authentic Crystal Lord design is a marvel of endurance! It is a sleek and compact design because locomotion on land doesn't require too much energy. It's a completely different matter when Ronnie mashes in a flight system all of a sudden without any regard of my design's existing internal architecture! The abomination that he created with blending the Crystal Lord with a spaceborn mech design has turned your mechs into the worst of both worlds: low-performing with incredibly poor endurance!"

"That sad excuse of a laser rifle you're wielding is a horribly overpriced piece of crap. You would have all been better off salvaging a half-wrecked laser rifle off a debris field than buy this hamfisted imitation from Ronnie! It is capable of firing a powerful laser beam, I admit, but what's the point when its firing rate is slower than the amount of meals I eat every day! Its knockoff crystal technology implementation is so crude and sloppy that it's obvious that Ronnie has no idea what he was working with! I bet those laser rifles are already giving you problems, right? That's because those cheap imitation crystals are burning themselves out! They barely last a couple of hundred shots before they give up the ghost!"

Ves lost himself in his tirade. He truly wanted to make the Blind Men see what an awful mistake they made by buying so many copies of the Blue Paradisio!

"Mr. Larkinson, I do not appreciate you finding fault of our mechs. A battle is fought and won by men, not mechs. We have already seen that your mechs are not in good shape. The condition of our machines will hardly be a detriment to our assured victory in the coming battle."

"Hehe." Ves nefariously chuckled. "Your victory is assured? You are truly blind to believe so! To me, your mechs are all one step away from falling apart! Let me see from what mech you are transmitting. Ah, that one in the middle and front, eh? I've studied this mech of yours. Is your flight system stuttering? That's because it's installed incorrectly during the assembly phase! Whoever fabricated this copy did such a poor job that it will only take a single strong impact from the sides to dislodge critical parts of your flight system! By then, your mech is a sitting duck, condemned to coast in space in a predictable path that makes it easy for us to shoot you down!"

"And that mech to the right of you. That machine is a particularly poor effort on the part of the manufacturer. Did Ronnie outsource the fabrication to a bunch of monkeys or something?! I bet its legs hardly function at all. Not that it's important in space battles, except I can tell you that if those legs are shot out from under it, the failure will cascade to the mech engine, causing it to shut down entirely and rendering the mech mechanically frozen! How would it be able to fight if it can't move its limbs?!"

"That mech at the rear has a severe sensor problem! Any half-decent ECM system can fool its sensors to such an extent that it will truly to turn blind! It's liable to fire its laser rifle at your own mechs rather than the mechs of its opponents!"

"The mech next to the last one takes the cake in terms of poor craftsmanship. Whoever fabricated this mech needs to be thrown out the airlock because its power reactor is no good! That mech already has jitter problems right? That's because it's constantly attempting to stall its inevitably reactor shutdown! One strong concussive shock will definitely force its power reactor to stall and undergo its emergency shutdown process! The mech pilot inside won't even have any power left to call for help by the time it becomes a floating statue!"

By now, the spectators and anyone else who listened in turned numb. The communications officer opened up an unencrypted channel to the Blind Prophet's mech, so plenty of other people listened in as well.

None of them expected to hear Ves turn into a maddened dog who couldn't let go of the Blue Paradisio's many faults!

As the primary recipient of Ves' angry ramblings, the Blind Prophet hardly got a word in response! It hardly even registered to the pirate commander to press the button to shut down the communication channel.

This was because the faults that Ves exposed so brutally about their mechs all described their current states to a disturbing degree of accuracy! The Bind Prophet simply could tear his ears away from the unvarnished exposure of all of the flaws of his outfit's mechs no matter how much it hurt to listen to Ves!

The pure emotion that Ves put behind his words practically drew the Blind Prophet into a forced introspection. Not a single fault exposed by Ves was inaccurate. This mech designer truly knew what he was talking about!

"Hahahaha! Tell me, Blind Prophet, are you still pleased about your new mechs? Do you still think you got a good bargain by purchasing these flying wrecks? Open your eyes, old man! The truth is that Ronnie Blast bamboozled you with a mech model that's horribly overpriced! How much did you pay for them all? I bet you paid at least thrice as much as they are actually worth! Hahahaha!"

"You blind idiots. If you're blind enough to fall for Ronnie's scam, how are you even confident of winning against us?! Your judgement is completely wrong! Let me tell you something. Fielding the Blue Paradisio against the sole mech designer of the Crystal Lord is the last mistake you will ever make in your lives. That's because I've already picked out all of the faults I mentioned and more and sent them all to our own mech pilots. It only takes a few well-placed prods to collapse all of your shoddy mechs! There is nothing about your Blue Paradisios that can confound my judgement! To you, they might have seemed like decent marksman mechs, but what I see is nothing but a collection of holes!"

The Blind Prophet shook. His expression had become grave at the start, before growing more resigned, until finally settling on fear.

Yes. Fear! The Blind Prophet didn't do anything to hide his obvious, naked fear towards Ves!

As Ves wound up for another angry speech despite both forces about to come into fighting range, the Blind Prophet finally shook up and pressed a button to close the channel. The pirate commander's projection winked out just as Ves wanted to berate the man some more.

"What?! How can you shut off the channel!?"

Without asking for permission, Ves connected his CFA comm to the CFA shuttle in the Shield of Hispania's shuttle bay. Using its advanced CFA communications technology that Ves had inadvertently updated previously with his connection to the galactic net, it forcefully intruded upon the communication system of the Blue Paradisio and reopened the comm connection by force!

"You again!" The Blind Prophet despaired as he kept pressing the button and activating the mental command to shut down the channel. His own mech refused to obey his commands! "Why won't you go away?!"

"WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING, OLD MAN?! I have much more to say! Just look at you flailing around trying to deactivate this channel! Hah! Tough luck! The security suites of your mechs are so poor and outdated that any three-year old child with a hacking comm can take over your mech! Just look at how easily I managed to forcibly reopen this channel!"

"Go away!" The Blind Prophet screeched. "Your poisonous words will not have sway on us!"

Ves cruelly grinned. "No chance of that, you blind old man! I admit that you're blind, but your ears seem to be working just fine! Let me tell you about your good buddy Ronnie. You see, Ronnie is a bad boy. Instead of licensing some proper software for his mech, he probably probably pirated some random mech operation system for his Blue Paradisio design. WHAT AN IDIOT! No mech designer should pirate a random software package off the galactic net! Your mechs are all riddled with backdoors and holes that it would probably take our hackers a couple of minutes to sabotage!"

"That's not possible! Mechs aren't supposed to be susceptible to hacking!"

"Oh, deny all you want, but how can you explain how easily my comm hacked into your mech's communication system? Face it, you old man. You not only got scammed by Ronnie, but you are piloting mechs that anyone with decent hackers can take control of! Your Blue Paradisio's software is so decrepit that even two-hundred year old mechs are harder to hack than yours!"

"No more! Please, no more, Mr. Larkinson!" The spooked pirate commander pleaded. "We'll go! We'll go! We won't disturb you any longer!"

After that, the Blind Prophet issued a quick series of commands that immediately saw the battle line of the Blind Mech turn around and flee back to their carriers!

Even their carriers started to turn around as if they couldn't wait to get away from Ves' acid tongue!

Ves grew even angrier as he saw all of the mechs of the Blind Men turn around in an attempt to flee his destructive rants. He stood up from his observation chair!

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING! GET BACK HERE! RUNNING WON'T SAVE YOU FROM THE REALIZATION THAT YOU BOUGHT THE WORST MECHS IN THE FRONTIER!"

Even though the Blind Prophet couldn't cut off the forced communication channel, the pirate commander did his best to ignore the voice of Ves.

"Lalalalalala! I am not hearing anything! I am not hearing anything! As soon as I get out of here, I'll make myself turn deaf!"

"Why are you running! Come back here pirate! I can talk all day about your faulty mechs!"

Even as Ves continued to yell at the fleeing Blind Men, Major Verle regained his senses first. He looked back at the local plot and saw that the sudden exit of around sixty rifleman mechs turned the Remediers and the Slick Hairs into complete disorder.

The two pirate outfits couldn't believe what was happening! One of their fellow gangs was actually running away before they even fired a single shot!

"Attack!" Major Verle forcefully commanded. "Send in our assault force! Crash into the Remediers! They're vulnerable as long as they remain in disarray! Break them apart before the Blind Men regain their senses and turn around!"

It took some time, but the prepared mechs of the Vandals and Swordmaidens began to move in against their unsettled and distracted opponents. The pirates had left themselves completely open by listening in on Ves' public tirade!

"Why are you running! I'm not finished yet! Not by a long shot!" Ves kept hounding the Blind Men even as they crashed into the hangar bays of their carriers in an attempt to get out as fast as they could! "No matter how many light-years you run, the truth will catch up to you! Just face it! You all bought crap mechs that are worth less than how much you can earn back if you scrap them all! Buying Ronnie's products is the biggest mistake in your blind, foolish lives! Next time, buy legitimate mechs instead of cheap knockoffs!"

Chapter 961

The sudden and completely illogical retreat of the Blind Men even before the battle properly begun put the entire pirate ranks into disarray!

No matter how much the pirate commanders of Kaso's Remediers and the Slick Hairs tried to admonish the Blind Men to return to the battle, their messages hadn't gotten through.

This was because Ves forcibly occupied the Blind Prophet's communication channel and kept it open using advanced CFA communications tech!

Now, it would have been salvegable if the Blind Men's second-in-command took over. Yet the Blind Prophet exerted such an overwhelming leadership position in the psuedo-cult-like organization that none of his subordinates dared to overrule his commands.

When the Blind Prophet spoke, everyone obeyed!

"This isn't part of the plan! Why are we running?!" A Blind Man mech pilot with a bit more sense asked his fellow pirates.

"You fool! The Blind Prophet will have your head if you disobey him! When he tells you to run, you better run!"

"This battle is already lost! Didn't you hear that angry mech designer?! Our mechs are scrap and only a single bump away from collapsing!"

"I think that guy is bluffing!"

"A mech designer doesn't lie about mechs, especially since ours is a ripoff of his own design! Don't you see how dangerous it is to fight against a mech designer with a mech that he can dissect to this degree!"

"Screw this! I don't want to have my mech shot out under me by a single well-placed shot!"

The Blind Men all kept running with no intention of rejoining the fight!

The confusion and the unexpected withdrawal truly put the remaining two pirate outfits aligned to the Dragon Alliance in a difficult spot. They didn't even particularly wanted to confront the famous Swordmaidens and their military allies in the first place.

Only their numbers advantage gave them sufficient courage to win, but the critical withdrawal of around sixty ranged mechs left a huge hole in both their numbers advantage and their tactical flexibility!

The lack of ranged fire support and suppression completely left the Swordmaiden melee mechs unchained! They blasted forward at great speed in their famous charges and immediately smashed a huge hole in the lines of the Remediers.

Commander Dise took the lead while piloting a spare Misty Slasher, chopping Remedier mechs left and right with her pinnacle expert candidate skills!

Even though Dise was a lot more comfortable piloting landbound mechs than spaceborn mechs, her recent ascension rapidly elevated her skills and learning ability. It was more than enough to tear apart the confused and disarrayed ranks of the pirates that thought to ambush the remnant fleet!

"Lift up your swords and hack them down to our foes! Let us teach these misguided men that the Swordmaidens are still alive!"

"Fight!"

"Chop the pirates into half!"

The Vandals mechs acted with a bit more caution, adopting their usual role of backing the Swordmaiden mechs up and preventing them from being outflanked by their foes.

Light mechs from both sides kept the Slick Hairs in check. The battle at the flanks went poorly for the pirate mechs that all donned slick hairdos, and the only reason they managed to stabilize their ranks was that the Flagrant Swordmaidens mainly aimed their weapons at the Remediers!

Both Commander Dise and Major Verle agreed on their strategy! They needed to take this golden opportunity and hammer the Remediers before they recovered their wits and regained their composure!

The brutal collision and the constant pressure against the mech pilots of the Remediers put them under enormous strain. Command and control, already rather poor among the pirates ranks, completely frayed to the point where the Remediers hardly communicated with each other effectively.

Who cared about orders when a relented Swordmaiden mech kept chopping at their cockpits!

If the Remediers and the Slick Hairs managed to maintain their composure, then they would have given the Flagrant Swordmaidens an even fight at best. Yet the differences in morale, preparation and readiness completely put the remaining two pirate forces on the back foot with no hope of stabilizing their lines!

"The Remediers are starting to route!"

When the Remediers lost a third of their mechs through the unrelenting assaults of the Swordmaidens and the tactical supremacy of the Vandals, the remaining pirates ceased to believe they could win!

Only a few cowards flew back to their carrier ships at the start, but that trickle soon became a flood when those who remained lost faith in the battle as well!

A cascade of chaotic retreats ensued as the Remediers completely lost cohesion!

"Chase after them! Don't let them return to their carriers!" Major Verle commanded. "Prioritize the capture of the Remedier and Slick Hair pirate carriers!"

"What about the Blind Men?"

"Let them go. They're already broken."

Everyone couldn't help but throw a numb, worshipful or impressed glance at Ves.

By now, he had run out of steam, having vented his anger and frustration about being confronted by a poor imitation of his own work. He plopped back in his observer's seat and blanked out.

He completely exhausted his emotional energy with his tirade!

While he possessed sufficient awareness of what a legendary feat he accomplished by verbally intimidating a significant force of pirates to turn tail and run, he couldn't muster up the energy to care at the moment.

Nonetheless, that didn't stop everyone's appreciation of saving the lives of many precious Vandal and Swordmaiden mech pilots! He single-handedly determined the outcome of the battle that none of the Flagrant Swordmaidens believed they could win without crippling losses in their favor!

His acid words and burning tongue not only tilted the advantage in their favor, but practically tilted it into a completely lopsided victory!

The Flagrant Swordmaidens hardly suffered any losses in the ensuing clash and pursuit! Aside from a dozen or so mechs that got wrecked to such an extent to force their pilots to eject, The Vandals and Swordmaidens managed to retain most of their battle strength!

"Capture their carriers! As many as possible! Don't stop until we force the surrender of at least four of them! Prepare our shuttles send in the boarding parties to hasten the capture!"

Once the pirate lines collapsed, victory became assured. The matters that followed merely consisted of cleanup and securing their gains.

In the end, they managed to capture four shambling pirate carriers with relative ease. The only reason why the Vandals and Swordmaidens didn't capture the remainder was because the Remediers and the Slick Hairs still retained enough mechs to put up a desperate fight if cornered.

By leaving them a way out, the Flagrant Swordmaidens ensured their foes would continue to take the available escape route.

"Four carriers is a decent enough haul, especially considering we don't have the time to convert them for our use."

With sandman motherships about to transition at the emergence zone, the Flagrant Swordmaidens didn't have much time to arrange their spoils. The salvage teams didn't bother with recovering any of the mech wrecks and instead started stripping the captured pirate carriers of their fuel and supplies with great haste!

Soon enough, the Flagrant Swordmaiden carriers transitioned back into FTL with their newly replenished stores of starship-grade fuel and containers worth of low-grade materials.

Ves didn't pay too much attention to the aftermath of the battle. His battle-turning performance earlier drained quite a lot out of him. Not only on an emotional level, but also on a spiritual level for some reason.

As he recovered quietly in the isolation of his office with just a fawning security guard standing in the corner, he tried to puzzle out why his spirituality became affected.

He eventually reasoned that he put his full passion into his speech. He inadvertently concentrated his whole mind into his spontaneous actions and channeled his fury in an even more single-minded focus than when he designed a mech!

This was the power of passion!

Whether channeling his Spirituality actually made a difference, Ves didn't know. In his judgement, as long as the Blind Prophet listened for a couple of seconds, he had already fallen into the pit!

There was no way out once the Blind Prophet heard the truth!

"Nothing hurts more than the truth." Ves nodded to himself. "There's no way the Blind Men can keep their composure once they hear how flawed their mechs really are. A mech is not like a sidearm that they can casually replace if they find fault with it! Mechs are investments that they have to rely on for years!"

Mech pilots entrusted their lives to their mechs. Their sometimes intimate relationship with their own mechs caused them to be hurt that much deeper when Ves brutally exposed their shortcomings. The fact that he mostly didn't lie at all when he listed out their many faults meant that they absolutely had no doubt that he spoke the truth!

Ves eventually received a notification from Major Verle. He finally got called to another private meeting with the big man.

"Let's see what he has to say."

He exited his office and stalked the familiar route to Verle's stateroom. As he passed by a large number of Vandal officers and ratings on duty, he received both respectful and fearful responses.

Some greeted him like a fellow Vandal buddy. Others saluted at him as if he was a Vandal officer. The rest shied away from him as if he was the devil.

No matter what, the distance between Ves and the rest of the Vandals had closed. Just like with the ground forces, Ves adequately proved himself to the men and thereby gained their acknowledgement.

Almost no one considered him an outsider anymore!

While that gave him cause to smile, he quickly dropped it once he thought of all of the Vandals who hadn't been able to make it off the surface of Aeon Corona VII. The ground forces respected him as well, but that wasn't enough for him to save them all at the hands of the Vesians.

"The only reason why my feat is so significant is because we have too few mech pilots left to put up a good fight."

This dampened his mood somewhat as he filed into Major Verle's office. This time, his ever-present security guard remained outside, giving the two senior figures some privacy.

"So." The commanding officer stared at Ves like he was an experimental specimen. "That happened."

"That happened." Ves echoed.

"Absurd as the events today have proceeded, there is no doubt that you have saved many of our lives and even ruled out the possibility of defeat. On behalf of the Vandals, thank you, Ves. You are as much a hero as the other famous Larkinson mech pilots. You are a credit to your family line."

Ves smiled deprecatingly at Verle. "It's true that I'm a Larkinson, sir, but I've been raised outside of their soldier circles. I have no desire to be compared to my fellow family members who are out fighting on the frontlines every day in their mechs."

"You give yourself too little credit. In my eyes, your impact on this battle is equivalent to what an expert pilot on our side can do. Sixty mechs! You turned away sixty mechs by yourself without paying a painful price! In the standardized evaluation criteria of the Mech Corps, your individual contribution value of this battle is through the roof! That deserves a medal and a commendation at the very least."

"Sounds good, sir." Ves shrugged. "I guess I can add that to the pile of contributions I've already earned."

The major smiled at him. "You're a real treasure, aren't you, Mr. Larkinson? From your exemplary performance and initiative you showed throughout your journey with us, and from your pivotal role in seeing the mission to success, you're due for an enormous reward. The Bright Republic isn't parsimonious when it comes to recognizing their heroes."

Ves didn't know how to feel about that. Perhaps in a normal state of mind, he would have felt jubilant about earning such recognition. Now though, he just felt tired. Tired of constantly falling into desperate straits and tired of being pushed to the brink of defeat.

He just wanted to go home.

Chapter 962

Talks about recognition from the Bright Republic still seemed far away to Ves. Right now, the Flagrant Swordmaidens hardly left the deep frontier and just survived an encounter with the Dragon Alliance's peripheral members.

If a real pirate fleet from the Dragons of the Void confronted the Flagrant Swordmaidens, then Ves had no way of replicating his feat. Such a feared and capable pirate organization would never resort to using cheap, shoddy mechs for their core mech forces!

Nonetheless, from the jubilant way Major Verle spoke to Ves, the mech officer acted as if salvation was already close at hand.

It wouldn't take too long for the remnant fleet to rendez-vous with the 'friends' of the Swordmaidens!

"By the way, the Swordmaidens are really impressed by what you've done, Mr. Larkinson. You didn't just save many of our mech pilots today. You also saved the Swordmaidens. My talks with Commander Dise are a lot more amicable now since you've earned their recognition, which conveniently extends to us. They are not an ungrateful sort, and I'm sure they'll show more sincerity with our ongoing agreement."

Ves genuinely smiled at that. "That's good to hear, sir."

"It seems you're not feeling very good at the moment."

"What I did just then took a lot out of me, sir. As a mech designer, I regard my designs as my possessions. To see such an egregious case of plagiarism in front of me just pisses me off. I take my professionalism very seriously!"

"Hmm. I see."

He probably didn't, but Ves let that pass.

After a while, Verle steered the conversation into another topic. "I feel as if you are not only tired, but disillusioned."

"How so, sir?"

"A lot of Vandals are either tired or lost. This victory has put a temporary cheer on everyone's faces, but that doesn't change the fact that we are far away from the Bright Republic and still have months to go before we are able to return to our home territory."

"I guess I'm the same as them, sir. We all wonder how long it will take to return."

"As I've said, there are plans in motion to facilitate our return. Let us talk about what that means for you. Please activate that interference device of yours."

"Alright, sir."

Ves activated his signal jammer and turned up its strength so that the entire stateroom would be blanketed with interference. The only problem was that his CFA comm was likely immune of this effect.

He conveniently didn't mention this point.

Once the disorienting effect settled in, Major Verle spoke with a bit more ease. "When you return home, you'll likely undergo a thorough debriefing and interrogation session. There are a couple of sensitive matters that are best left unmentioned, do you understand?"

"What if the interrogators insist on asking?"

"Just keep your mouth shut. The people from the Mech Corps will be indignant, but as soon as I'm able to file my report to Flashlight, you'll get pulled out in no time."

"What if Flashlights tries to push me instead?"

"They won't."

Ves raised his eyebrows? "Really, sir? They're spooks right? How can they not be curious?"

"Because I'll provide them with all the intelligence they want. As a Firestarter, my word weighs a lot more than an outsider like yours. Colonel Lowenfield and I will also pull some strings and cash in some favors to streamline your debriefing sessions. The gains from our mission and the substantial merits you've earned outweigh any other concerns. You'd be surprised what you can get away with as long as you get the job done."

"So Flashlight is much like the Vandals in this regard, sir? The ends justify the means."

"I wouldn't put it so simply." Major Verle hedged. "Flashlight is a formal military intelligence agency of the Bright Republic. There are many rules and regulations constraining their actions. It is not as if every operative is handed out a license to kill or a carte blanche to do anything they want."

"Then what's the best way to interact with Flashlight for someone like me? Can you give me some advice, sir?"

"Sure. Just consider that while Flashlight is large and influential in the Bright Republic, it also shoulders an enormous responsibility in keeping the Bright Republic on the winning side during the Bright-Vesia Wars. Internal politics is rather complex, and it's best for you to suck up to a senior official in order to secure their patronage."

Having recently dealt with such an instance on the Starlight Megalodon, Ves knew what Major Verle tried to convey.

"I suppose you're part of a faction within Flashlight as well?"

"The Firestarters form their own influence, one that leans towards taking proactive measures against the Vesians." Verle smirked. "However, I'm not sure which influence within Flashlight you'll finally be involved with. Just be prepared to pick sides early, because if you don't align yourself with any influence, you won't enjoy any protection."

"Thank you for reminding me, sir. I'll be sure to keep your warning into consideration."

Major Verle did him a huge favor by parting the veil of Flashlight's internal politics a little bit. The mech officer's words heavily implied that Ves would be substantially involved with Flashlight in the future, so learning how to stay on their good side became a high priority!

"If you're lucky, Mr. Larkinson, you will get to meet with the important official who set this mission into motion. If you're unlucky, that person will pay attention to you specifically."

"That sounds contradictory. How can I be both lucky and unlucky, sir?"

"You'll understand if you ever meet that official. Just remember that it's dangerous to associate yourself with this class of people. Try not to get entangled in the schemes that people at their height tend to hatch."

Ves nodded in understanding, curious to which high official from the Bright Republic that Major Verle actually felt apprehensive about to deserve a separate mention.

"Can I ask you something, sir? Since the Saffron Poke joined us, we regained our connection to the galactic net. Did you find out how the war is going right now?"

"The war has heated up again. The current pattern is similar to the last wars, except both the Mech Corps and the Mech Legion are accelerating their efforts. Bentheim is under enormous pressure and the Havensworth System is under a long-term blockade. Star systems are won and lost in a span of a few months, but otherwise brave mech pilots are dying in droves."

Ves could hear the cynicism in Major Verle's tone. "So this generation's war isn't much different than last time?"

"It's the same." Verle shook his head in resignation. "I've lived through the last one. While the battles are different, the outcome is the same. The Mech Legion is larger than the Mech Corps, but their individual legions and mech regiments care more about competing against each other and are never able to concentrate their efforts in any single major assault. As long as this basic deficiency holds, the war is destined to end with just a minor shift of the border between the two states."

"You make it sound as if the Vesians aren't trying very hard to overcome their mutual suspicion. Surely they aren't that stupid, right sir?"

The major nodded. "Oh, their nobles are quite devious and cunning, in fact. It is just that while they would dearly like to conquer the Bright Republic and add their territories to their own, they don't actually mind a stalemate."

"I think I already heard that conspiracy theory somewhere, sir. Something about the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom colluding with each other to fight these senseless wars in order to discipline their fighting forces and to quell the unrest within their borders."

"That is just a conspiracy theory. Take no mind of it." Verle smiled at Ves in a rather peculiar way. Obviously, it was up to Ves to interpret the major's true meaning.

The meeting wound down quickly afterwards. When Ves deactivated his signal jammer and left the office, he regained some of his good mood. He anticipated the rewards the Bright Republic might bestow him for his contributions. After all, his efforts proved pivotal in the success of this hellish mission.

While he didn't see how their efforts in the frontier influenced the war, Ves nonetheless felt a sense of accomplishment. No matter what causes the Vandals fought, bled and died for, at the very least they succeeded and furthered the plans of someone important in the Bright Republic.

"Even if it's to extend the life of some decrepit geezer." He whispered to himself.

The remnant fleet, having defeated and dispersed the only significant obstacle standing in their way, passed through a rapid succession of star systems without any further incident.

The good news didn't just extend to that. Their sandman pursuers hadn't continued following them, opting instead to park at the site of the battle and scavenge the remains of the mech wrecks and stripped-out carrier vessels.

This put a huge weight off everyone's shoulders. A week went by as the Vandals increasingly lifted up as the prospect of returning home became more probable.

Finally, after transitioning at a quiet red dwarf system, they completed their rendez-vous with a host of pirate fleets.

"Detecting seven distinct pirate fleets!" The sensor operator called out in the command center. "They are maintaining some distance between them, but they are all moving in unison!"

"So these are the dependable friends of the Swordmaidens." Major Verle remarked. "Let us hope they are hospitable to us as well."

The Vandal ships and mechs still kept their guard up, but the greeting they received from the pirates were rather tepid. Instead, they focused more on the Swordmaidens. As time went by, it became clear that the friends of the Swordmaidens truly came to assist!

"They have over fifty starships and more than a thousand spaceborn mechs!" Ves said with amazement. "The strength that we can muster is insignificant in comparison, but they aren't making any moves to take advantage!"

One unexpected but very welcome factor was that the most significant pirate gang among the agglomeration of independents actually consisted of the Omen of Misfortune!

Back at Mancroft Independent Harbor, the Omen of Misfortune got entangled into a fight against the powerful Castle Breakers. If not for the Swordmaidens coming to their aid, thereby also drawing in the Vandals in the process, the Omen of Misfortune would have certainly suffered a major defeat!

Considering the huge favor that the Vandals had extended for the Omen of Misfortune, it was somewhat reassuring for them to reciprocate in this manner. While the Vandals didn't recognize any of the other pirate gangs, the strong presence of the Omen of Misfortune lent credence to their sincerity and good faith.

"We should still remain prudent and keep a healthy separation between our forces and theirs." Major Verle reminded them all. "However, as long as everyone keeps their word, we shouldn't fear any complications."

Even so, that didn't prevent Major Verle and some of the officers to pay a visit to the Omen of Misfortune in order to express their thanks and perhaps offer some promises of payback. Ves didn't ask to accompany the delegation, as with his luck something eventful might happen due to his presence.

In any case, Ves felt leery about associating himself with a pirate gang that literally called themselves the Omen of Misfortune.

Fortunately, the Vandal officers had the situation well in hand. They returned half-a-day later with a bit more assurances.

Under the escort of so many pirate vessels and so many mechs, the remnants of the Vandals and Swordmaidens made their way back to the border of civilized with absolutely no challenge. Not even the Dragons of the Void mustered up a major fleet to go after them, though it helped that the independent pirates made a wide detour around their territory.

Perhaps only the sandmen posed a significant threat, as errant sandman fleets and motherships became attracted by such a high concentration of human vessels.

The pirates knew how to deal with that. Otherwise they wouldn't have remained standing in the frontier. Even without the aid of the Church of Haatumak, the independents successfully outmaneuvered any sandman pursuers over the course of a month until they made it all the way back to the border of civilized space.

At that time, the huge collection of pirates transitioned into the Mancroft System, formally crossing over the border!

Ves gazed at the plot and regarded the symbols of Mancroft Station and the light CFA warship presence near the gas giant with fond eyes. They finally made it out of the frontier, and with no further shenanigans or betrayals!

"We're back!"

Practically every Vandal stood up and cheered!

Chapter 963

Many of the pirate gangs that lent a hand to the Swordmaidens began to fly towards Mancroft Station. Since they dropped by here, they might as well do business or hang out at that hive of scum and villainy.

Ves knew that the Omen of Misfortune and the other pirates wasted a lot of time, fuel, energy and supplies just to escort eight measly vessels of the Flagrant Swordmaidens to safety. This was time that they could have spent on using their forces to more productive uses.

Yet somehow, the severely weakened Swordmaidens still enjoyed enough clout to have so many pirate forces answer their call for help!

He found that inspiring. He thought that true friendship didn't exist in the frontier, yet the conduct of independent pirate outfits such as the Swordmaidens and the Omen of Misfortune proved him wrong.

Whenever Ketis boasted about the friends of the Swordmaidens, Ves always took her stories with a grain of salt. How could treacherous and opportunistic pirates be so generous and altruistic all of a sudden?

In fact, Ves still couldn't quite explain the friendships between these independents. Their bonds transcended pure practicality and was substantially more than a relationship propped up by benefits.

As the Vandal and Swordmaiden vessels quickly stocked up on some essential fuel and supplies, the time they would travel together soon came to an end.

The Swordmaidens intended to travel to the Reinald Republic while the Vandals obviously set the Bright Republic as their destination.

While risks still existed in civilized space, both of them leaned on their backup. For the Swordmaidens, the Omen of Misfortune promised to escort them all the way to the Harkensen System in the Reinald Republic.

As for the Vandals, every serviceman aboard the Shield of Hispania and the Gorgon's Gaze heard with amazement that the other half of the mech regiment was present in the Mancroft System!

"That's the Wolf Mother! I recognize that huge factory ship anywhere!"

"We're saved! With Colonel Lowenfield escorting us personally, who dares to attack us?!"

This must be what Major Verle kept back from everyone. With the two remaining combat carriers of the Verle Task Force finally returning to the welcome embrace of the main element of the 6th Flagrant Vandals, their days of skulking about like rats were finally over!

As the entire Shield of Hispania erupted into a festive mood, Ketis quietly shuttled over at Ves' invitation. He met her at the shuttle bay as she stepped off the Swordmaiden shuttle.

This time, he was no longer followed by a guard. The threat level aboard the ship reduced to such an extent to make such precautions redundant.

"Have you finally made the right decision?" He gently asked.

She sighed. "I really want to stay. The Swordmaidens truly need a mech designer to keep an eye on their mechs as they rebuild. Yet... Commander Dise insists it's better to take the time to invest in myself."

"She's a smart woman and shaping up to be a great leader of the Swordmaidens." Ves nodded in acknowledgement. "She's right, you know. From a long-term perspective, the Swordmaidens are much better off if they retain a capable Journeyman Mech Designer rather than a middling Novice Mech Designer. It will just take a while for you to get there, even under my tutelage."

"It still feels as if I'm abandoning them right when they are at their lowest point." She pouted.

"I don't see it that way, Ketis. You are making a brave sacrifice by coming under my wing. You willingly chose to separate yourself from your sisters in order to work towards a better future for all of them. It won't be easy, and it won't be fast, but as long as you keep learning and improving, I'm sure you'll make it to Journeyman in time. By then, you can opt to stay with me or return to the frontier to take up Mayra's old position."

Naturally, Ves hoped that Ketis remained with him in civilized space if she proved satisfactory. He would have to find some way to bind her into a net that would keep her in his clutches, but that was a matter for the future.

For now, Ves waited for his other arrangements to happen. Once Ves confirmed her decision to go along with his plans, he took her to the CFA shuttle parked to the side.

"Where are we going, Ves?" She frowned as she boarded the shuttle and set her floating luggage containers down.

"I can't very well take you to the Mech Corps, can I? I'm still a drafted mech designer of the Mech Corps, while you are technically a citizen of the Reinald Republic according to your forged identity that Mayra prepared for you. For now, we'll have to remain separate for the duration of the Bright Republic's war against the Vesia Kingdom. I have arranged a stay for you at my company in the Bright Republic."

"So I'll be alone there?"

"Not alone. I have several trusted employees there that are holding the fort in my absence." He said as he engaged the autopilot. Even without a human pilot, the shuttle would still be able to fly. "Try not to piss them off. They're working on my behalf and so will you, so it's best to start on the same page."

The CFA shuttle departed from the shuttle bay of the Shield of Hispania and crossed the void of space for half an hour. Ketis kept asking questions about her new life on Cloudy Curtain and Ves did his best to answer.

At some point, the shuttle slowed down and appeared next to a corvette.

"What is that ship?"

"That is the Barracuda, my personal yacht!" Ves grinned.

Back when Ves first connected to the Saffron Poke's quantum entanglement node, he sent a series of encrypted messages that told Calsie and Melkor to send the Barracuda to the Mancroft System and wait for his arrival.

They got his message and sent out the corvette in time!

After Ves sent out a few codes to the Barracuda from his CFA shuttle, the cargo hold opened up. The shuttle squeezed through the open hatch and parked on the deck.

As Ves and Ketis exited the corvette, Captain Amber Silvestra saluted him. "Sir, welcome back!"

"It's good to see you again, Captain." Ves nodded with a smile. Both of them looked older and more mature since the last time they met. "I'm on a short timetable here so we'll have to do a proper reunion another time."

"I understand, sir. Several mech patrols of the Flagrant Vandals have already started to question the Barracuda's presence so close to their ships."

Ves wasted no time. After entering a spare compartment, Ves changed out of his Squalon and CFA underlayer vacsuit and changed into his standard dark green mech designer uniform that he brought along.

A couple of bots took his Squalon and lifted it into a heavily shielded crate whose sole purpose was to block all kinds of scans and signals from penetrating its contents.

Just to be sure, Ves demanded that Ketis do the same. Because it would be inappropriate for her to wear her piratized combat armor or uniforms in civilized space, she made do with a generic outfit supplied by the Barracuda.

"I feel awfully weak in this boring getup." She complained as she pulled at her plain white clothes. "And my sword! You even forced me to give up my super-sharp CFA sword!"

"You can fabricate a new wardrobe yourself or purchase a new set of clothes at Cloudy Curtain. Just bear with it for now." He said. "Right now, our CFA gear is far too hot and eye catching for us to flaunt around. We don't actually want to draw the attention of the CFA down on us. Just talk to Melkor when the Barracuda brings you to your destination. He'll be able to set you up with some new battle gear."

"It still won't be as good as what's stored inside those crates!"

As Ketis kept sulking, Ves ignored her and turned back to the captain of the ship. "You know what to do. Bring back this stuff and make sure they're locked in the vault of the Mech Nursery. By the way, how is my company doing?"

"It's still standing." The female captain shrugged. "I don't have much of an eye for business, but it seems the LMC is holding its head above the water for now. That's a lot better than most mech manufacturers. Thousands of them have already gone bankrupt and more are gobbled up by larger companies. I hear there's plenty of rumblings at the company board at the moment."

"How many mechs is the LMC selling these days? Are the Blackbeaks and the Crystal Lords still rolling off the production lines?"

"Don't worry about that, boss. The LMC is still selling hundreds of silver label mechs. It's the bronze labels that are giving the company a hard time. Something about inflation and increased costs wiping out the profit margins. The Mech Nursery also expanded their production a lot to produce more profitable silver label mechs. I heard that the quality of the mechs went down while debt is piling up."

Ves closed his eyes but didn't linger too long. As long as the LMC held long enough until he returned, he shouldn't be so critical. At the very least, the LMC still remained standing under wartime conditions. Many other companies lacked this luxury!

"Has Calsie done a good job as interim CEO?"

"I wouldn't say she's CEO material, but she has your grandfather Benjamin's guidance and support. With his help, she has managed to remain on top of the issues, mostly. She hasn't sided with anyone if that's what you're concerned about, although some of her initiatives is rather extravagant."

Ves didn't need to know much more than that. With his grandfather keeping an eye on her, Calsie should do fine. He pushed her to take up the chair he vacated not because he expected her to grow his business, but to keep it away from the hands of those who greedily pawed at it or tried to steer it in a reckless direction.

In the worst case, Ves left behind a contingency plan to replace her should she go out of her bounds, but it appeared that wasn't necessary.

After arranging matters with Ketis and Captain Silvestra, Ves boarded a generic civilian shuttle and returned to the Shield of Hispania much-diminished in stature and possessions.

He left behind his CFA shuttle, his XV-99 Squalon and all of its integrated gadgets and gizmos, his armored toolbelt along with his CFA tools and standard-issue CFA laser sidearm, and most importantly a bunch of crates containing many bundles of vintage nutrient packs!

"Of course, I can't forget about the Archimedes Rubal either."

Ves had plans for the bioimplant, but for now he couldn't make use for it, so he sent it packing off with the rest of the goods he recovered from the Starlight Megalodon.

As Ves stepped off the civilian shuttle, which quickly flew away since it wasn't actually supposed to be here in the first place, he met up with a familiar face.

Major Verle actually went out to greet Ves in person in the shuttle bay. "I've received a report that some of our recovered gear is 'misplaced'. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Ah, no, sir." Ves coughed. "However, I did happen to see a shuttle roll off the shuttle bay deck. Terribly sloppy, sir. The shuttle technicians should be reprimanded. That fancy CFA shuttle along with all of its contents disappeared into space before we knew it, and well you know how difficult it is to locate a CFA shuttle with its passive ECM systems constantly active."

This was the excuse that Ves came up with to explain the disappearance of 'his' loot. To be honest, it was an extremely poorly-constructed excuse that wouldn't hold up to any serious scrutiny, but Major Verle already promised to make sure nobody asked any uncomfortable questions.

This was the benefit of borrowing someone else's influence!

While the rules and regulations clearly stated what was allowed, it was up to humans to enforce them. Ves learned the importance of this difference during his time with the Vandals and clearly applied his lessons in this case.

Naturally, without earning the favor of the Vandals and Major Verle specifically, Ves could forget about making use of this trick.

"Well, I hope you don't think you're done here, because you have a number of appointments on your agenda. First, we'll have to stop by at Colonel Lowenfield's flagship to hand over sensitive materials and provide a verbal report."

Ves nodded, not surprised that he'd be called up to the desk of this notable figure. Colonel Lowenfield exerted a huge influence over the Flagrant Vandals! Ves actually felt slightly apprehensive about meeting her, especially since he heard rumors that she shared a contentious relationship with Colonel Ark Larkinson at Citadel Havensworth...

She wasn't his lover or something, was she?

Chapter 964

Ves, Major Verle, Captain Orfan and a bunch of other senior officers aboard the Shield of Hispania entered the shuttle and traveled over to the flagship of the mech regiment.

The large and well-armored combat carrier flew close to the Wolf Mother, and looked like a beast. Large, modern and expensive, every other combat carrier of the Flagrant Vandals seemed old and shabby.

"That's the Princely Jackal, a recent acquisition when Colonel Lowenfield turned the fortunes of the Vandals around." Major Verle noted when he spotted Ves studying the flagship's projection. "She can field sixty mechs, thirty landbound and thirty aerial mechs, and is extremely well-suited to make landings on hostile ground."

"I would have figured the Vandals would opt to go for a spaceborn-focused combat carrier as a flagship instead, sir."

"The Vandals already have that covered. Combat carriers show their true value in closer proximity to battle."

The Princely Jackal certainly radiated a sense of class compared to the other carriers and support ships which generally looked worn and past their prime. As the shuttle touched down upon the shiny deck of the shuttle bay, a large procession of security officers greeted the new arrivals.

After the obligatory salutes and other trivial ceremonies, Captain Orfan personally stepped forward and handed over the lockbox to a security captain, who immediately placed it into an even larger and sturdier lockbox.

The Verle Task Force finally managed to hand over the mission object to the main element of the Flagrant Vandals! This marked the formal end of their perilous duty!

"We'll take good care of the contents, major." The security captain said respectfully before bringing over half of his men away to secure the mission object in the Princely Jackal's vault.

A handful of other security officers began to escort the remainder deeper into the ship. As Ves looked around, he couldn't help but find the clean, sterile interior to be a stark contrast to the older but more homely interior Shield of Hispania.

The Princely Jackal's crew members that traveled back and forth also differed substantially from the survivors that barely made it back alive from the deep frontier. There was a sense of freshness in their faces, as if they had never been pushed to the brink.

Ves found their straight backs and their mild optimism to be a very jarring sight compared to the cynical, worn-out looks of the crew of the Shield of Hispania. Every survivor of the Shield of Hispania and the Gorgon's Gaze was a fellow comrade in his books. Each of them shared a deep bond with each other as they lived, fought and died together many light-years away from home.

The other Vandals who served under Major Verle also became affected by the subtle changes. An unavoidable sense of alienation welled within their hearts, but they mostly kept it within themselves. No matter how long they'd been separated, the Vandals were still on their own side.

A whirlwind of questioning and debriefings ensued. Major Verle already warned Ves that many people would want to read his reports and hear him retell certain incidents in person. This wouldn't be the last time Ves retold the same stories over and over again.

Fortunately, Ves didn't undergo a hostile interrogation, as he was one of their own. After answering some mild questions and elaborating on some points they wanted clarification, he finally got shuffled to a row of seats placed just outside Colonel Lowenfield's stateroom.

The commanding officer of the Flagrant Vandals called up every participant of the mission to an individual meeting. Major Verle and Captain Orfan already had their turns. After Lieutenant Commander Soapstone exited from the hatch, Ves got called up to enter.

Compared to Major Verle's rather plain and spartan stateroom, Colonel Lowenfield added a bit more personal touches to her work environment. Fresh plants, projections of iconic sights from the Bright Republic and a display of diplomas and awards gave the impression that she was a loyal and hard-working officer of the Mech Corps.

Having heard so much about Colonel Lowenfield, he became surprised by her mild, plain appearance. Her groomed brown hair and thin stature made her seem almost invisible if not for her mech colonel insignia. She lacked the heroic bearing or the restrained aggression of someone like Major Verle who used to be a genuine mech officer who fought on the frontlines.

To Ves, Colonel Lowenfield completely filled the stereotype of a bureaucratic logistical officer who mainly stayed as far away from the frontlines as possible.

Yet she was also exactly the kind of leader the Flagrant Vandals needed the most.

Ves also reminded himself that besides her considerable administrative ability, she also wore the hat of an agent of the Firestarters!

As soon as he sat down and the hatch behind him closed up, a subtle interference field suffused the entire compartment.

"Mr. Larkinson. How very nice to meet you." She began in her mild, wispy voice. Still, Ves sensed a strong intensity hidden behind her words. "As you know, I am Colonel Lowenfield. Major Verle must have told you a lot about me, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ves answered in a restrained manner. "He told me you were..."

Even though he didn't lack for confidence, he felt a bit subdued when talking face-to-face with the ultimate head of the Flagrant Vandals.

"There is no need to hold back here. It is true. Major Verle and I are both representatives of the Firestarters, which in official parlance is designated as the Unconventional Action Division of the Flashlight military intelligence service. You will be familiar with their meanings in time. Outwardly, you answer to the Mech Corps, but in reality you answer to Flashlight. Every Vandal already does so from the start, whether they know it or not. Most don't. Any questions?"

Ves couldn't help but frown a bit. "Are the Flagrant Vandals nothing more than a cat's paw for the Firestarters, ma'am?"

"That is not an unfair description of this mech regiment." Lowenfield replied in a slightly formal tone. "The 6th Flagrant Vandals are not treated fairly, and perhaps you share in their indignation. However, the truth is that it is set up to be expendable from the start. A certain amount of flexibility and resourcefulness is required to survive the tasks the Flagrant Vandals are meant to fulfill. From all reports, you have proven to be abundantly capable in both aspects. It's strange."

"Strange in what aspect, ma'am?"

She smiled at Ves. "You are so very different from the straight-laced Larkinson mech pilots. Compared to Colonel Ark Larkinson who is always as straight as a rod, Major Verle has described you as the most crooked mech designer he ever had the pleasure of working with. Do you agree with that assessment?"

How the hell should Ves even respond to that remark? "It has been a trying time for all of us. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Isn't that the Vandal way?"

Colonel Lowenfield actually chuckled. "You are very different from Ark. It is a wonder the two of you are part of the same family. Ah, but I digress. Your family lineage isn't on the agenda today. Instead, I've called you here is to ask for clarification on a few points of your report and to tell you what is in store for you on our return trip to the Republic."

The colonel then proceeded to put Ves into yet another interrogation. Though she asked a lot of uncomfortable questions about certain matters that Ves really didn't want to elaborate upon such as Miss Calabast or the reason why the Starlight Megalodon met her end so abruptly, she didn't press him too hard.

"I really can't elaborate on these points, ma'am." Ves said. He couldn't hide the fact that he deliberately left a lot of pertinent information out of his reports. "Some secrets of the CFA are best left in their hands."

"That's a decent excuse." Colonel Lowenfield gave him a mental thumbs up. "Be sure to mention that whenever the Mech Corps or Flashlight press you on those topics. There is much about the CFA that we find unfathomable, so there is a tendency for them to subconsciously cross out any further inquiries that may appear to be encroaching on their territory."

The meeting lasted for an hour but mostly progressed in an amicable manner. Despite his stiffness in front of Lowenfield, the colonel never did anything to make him feel uncomfortable.

Obviously, Colonel Lowenfield inherited Major Verle's trust and favor in him despite only meeting in person for the first time.

This also signified that the two were pretty much in cahoots and could be considered part of the same clique.

This was good. No matter what he thought about Colonel Lowenfield, at least he enjoyed her favor.

At the end of the meeting, Lowenfield finally dismissed him. "You have an appointment with Professor Velten aboard the Wolf Mother. For now, you are reassigned to serve directly under her at the factory ship. Don't keep her waiting."

After filing out of Colonel Lowenfield's stateroom, a security officer guided him all the way back to the shuttle bay whereupon he shuttled over to the massive factory ship that dwarfed anything the Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan could produce.

As Ves stepped out of the shuttle, he felt as if he returned back in time to the point where he first arrived at the factory ship. Back then, he was just another Apprentice Mech Designer who performed low-level duties in the development of several internally-developed mech designs of the Vandals at the design department.

It made for an extremely stark contrast compared to the hefty responsibilities he carried as the temporary head designer of the Verle Task Force. He shouldered an immense burden as he sometimes literally ensured that the Vandals kept their mechs functional enough to fight!

"I'd hate it if I have to go back to grunt duty after all I've done." He muttered.

Ves did not need an escort to navigate to the design department, nor did he need someone to knock at the hatch leading into Professor Velten's office. After passing by a handful of vaguely familiar faces, Ves finally entered the office of the only Senior Mech Designer presiding over the mechs of the Flagrant Vandals.

This old woman who seemed to have aged even further than before carried the real burden of the mech regiment! Having shared much of her responsibilities though at a smaller and more limited scale, Ves sympathized

Even though she looked as close to death as Venerable O'Callahan, Professor Velten still possessed enough lucidity to read his expression. She threw him a sharp glance.

"I don't need your pity, Mr. Larkinson. Now, sit and let's get this over with. I'm sure you are tired with all of the inquiries you've been through, but I'm not a security officer or a mech officer. I'm a mech designer, and so are you, so we will only discuss matters concerning mechs in this office. Let us begin with the very unique expert mech the Vesians have fielded at Aeon Corona VII, the Belisarius if I recall."

Ves mostly answered questions about the Belisarius, the breakdown effect and his methods of coping with it, the Enduring Protector design that never really saw an opportunity to fulfill its purpose, his stint as a 'Senior Mech Designer' in the hierarchy of the Starlight Megalodon, and more.

He generally satisfied Professor Velten's curiosity as none of these topics touched his bottom line. Of course, he still fudged a few details here and there, and he couldn't help but puff himself up just like he used to kiss up to Virtual Commander Cosit.

Unfortunately, the professor's senility acted up several times during the inquiry. She wasn't long for this galaxy, Ves privately concluded. He found it to be a shame that the life-prolonging treatment serum that so many Vandals had sacrificed their lives for wouldn't be used to give her a new lease on life.

A Senior Mech Designer such as Professor Velten simply wasn't worth the investment.

Chapter 965

Despite her age, Professor Velten showed keen interest in his descriptions of the many problems he faced and what kind of solutions he came up with. She also dug in quite deeply about all of the research projects he came in touch with at the Starlight Megalodon's Research Department.

"To think the CFA already set their sights so far three-hundred years ago." She sighed. "We are but children playing in the mud compared to the Big Two."

Overall, she seemed pleasantly surprised by his competence in taking over the position of head designer.

"Alloc should have held this position. He was ready for it. Unfortunately..."

The Journeyman Mech Designer was still missing in action even after all of this time. Professor Velten showed genuine regret about the continued disappearance of her final protege. It took some time for her to shake off her memories and return to business.

"We have talked enough for today. Right now, you must be wondering what your next duties will be. Colonel Lowenfield has informed me that you are due for a transfer upon our return to the Bright Republic. While she hasn't told me where you are being transferred to, she raised a few points to my attention that might be relevant to your next posting."

Ves raised his back a little bit. It sounded like he wouldn't be sent back to the design department to do grunt work.

"From today, I'll instruct you and have you study proper project management. Mech designers often collaborate on major projects and since you have mostly worked alone so far, you will need to be brought up to speed on how to contribute to design projects both as a participant and as a project leader."

"Professor, while I haven't participated in too many collaborative projects, I'm not unfamiliar with them. I think I know my around them already."

"You may think so when you think about small design projects involving four or five mech designers. However, it is a different case entirely when you talk about major design projects that involve a hundred mech designers or more. The more mech designers are involved, the higher the challenge of managing them all to make sure their talents and abilities are put to use."

Professor Velten's explanation insinuated that Ves would definitely be joining a large design team in the future. Perhaps he was even being groomed for a leadership position, though he highly doubted it because Apprentice Mech Designers generally didn't fill such big shoes.

"Leading a large number of mech designers is worse than leading mech pilots. Do you know why?" She abruptly asked.

"Uhm, the latter are soldiers who are trained to obey orders, while the former are scientists and engineers with strong beliefs, ma'am."

"Your answer is a bit simplistic, but true, in a sense. The smarter the mech designer, the more stubborn they become. This becomes a significant problem when you gather a large number of them together. There are theories, frameworks, methods and paradigms that specifically pertain to design teams involving many mech designers and component designers working together on the same projects. You will need to be up to speed with them as much as possible. We'll begin your lesson as soon as you have your rest. I'm sure you are exhausted by now."

He did talk a lot with various people. Ever since he departed from the Shield of Hispania, he answers the questions asked by professional interrogators whose job was to construct a detailed picture of how the mission progressed. He subsequently entertained Colonel Lowenfield and Professor Velten's many questions specific to their own interests.

The recombined Vandal fleet had long exited the Mancroft System and transitioned into FTL during that time!

All of this talking and trying to keep his nose clean throughout all of his answers exhausted him quite a bit on a mental level. Even if his fit and genetically optimized body could go on for longer, his mind dearly needed a reprieve.

When Ves exited the office, two familiar mech designers waited outside. Laida and a couple of other Apprentices welcomed him back to the fold.

"We heard you went on a grand adventure, Ves." Laida said.

Ves shrugged. "I'm sorry I can't tell you much about it. You know how it is with classified missions and all."

"Some of the tales about where you've been have leaked out. Is it true that you found a genuine crashed CFA battleship?!"

"I can neither confirm or deny that assertion." Ves answered robotically. "Just believe me when I tell you that it's been hell on us all."

"That's obvious." The female mech designer remarked. "Dozens of Vandal ships set off to the Reinald Republic and to the frontier by all accounts, but almost a year later the only ships that returned are two battered-looking combat carriers."

Ves really couldn't tell them much. His tiredness along with their inability to imagine living through those harrowing circumstances put some distance between him and his fellow mech designers.

He quickly separated from his curious two peers with the excuse that he had a long day and found his way towards his bunk on the Wolf Mother.

Starting from the next day, he began to study under Professor Velten. She handed over a lot of reading material that didn't really pertain to the sciences. Instead, she assigned a laundry list of textbooks pertaining to project management and leadership and the like.

As Ves started to hit the books, he already felt as if he already understood much of their contents from his previous stint as head designer. However, there was a difference between learning on the job and learning the theory behind it all.

Ves didn't find his homework to be redundant. Theory and practice complemented and reinforced each other. Even if Ves already had his experience to draw upon, it was always good to know if his methods were the best and if he could have opted for alternatives instead.

One of the reasons why Ves enthusiastically devoured the books was because all of this management theory would also be of use in his business career. He always intended to take a firmer hand in the running of the LMC once he returned. Getting to know how to boss around his subordinates better would doubtlessly help him rein in the beast that grew in his absence.

Weeks went by as the main fleet of the Flagrant Vandals passed through unclaimed territory and the territories of small, neutral states.

During this time, Ves found it hard to reconnect to Laida and the other Apprentices. While Ves took part in a mission that saw him assisting the Flagrant Swordmaidens in fighting for their lives against hundreds of pirate and Vesian mechs, the other Apprentices mostly spent their time assisting the development of the Inheritor, Hellcat and Akkara designs.

After the Detemen Operation, the Verle Task Force abruptly set off for the mission while the main fleet calmly snuck back to the Bright Republic and held a position in the rear of the war theater.

None of the mech designers and Vandals of the main fleet saw any action during this time. Even when the war heated up at the frontlines, Colonel Lowenfield kept all of her available forces on standby.

"What happened to Pierce, Ves?" Laida asked him quietly. "As far as I knew, he was assigned to the Beggar's Bounty. Yet the Bounty isn't among the ships that returned..."

Ves closed his eyes in sadness. He hadn't spent nearly as much time with Pierce as he would have liked. "Pierce Yuvalis is missing in action. The Beggar's Bounty is one of the many ships that we have been forced to leave behind. While many Vandals who abandoned ship managed to find other berths, Pierce isn't among the people who found their way to the Shield of Hispania or the Gorgon's Gaze. I'm sorry."

Both of them grieved for their fallen friend and peer. Ves found Pierce's fate to be a truly depressing tale. The young mech designer fled the Friday Coalition for the Bright Republic due to his lack of talent in mech design, but he always harbored an urge to improve himself to the point of being able to return to his home state with his head raised high.

Such a dream would never come to pass now that the sandman presumably sucked Pierce into a dry husk before crushing his remains entirely.

"Too many Vandals never made it back." Laida echoed in sadness.

Ves found interacting with his fellow Apprentice Mech Designers to be a bit of a chore. In matters of mech design, they still struggled with the basic questions that Ves already mastered long ago.

In his heart, only the Journeymen were his peers, but since he himself hadn't ascended to their heights yet, he couldn't just approach the other two Journeymen for a chat.

Therefore, he began to avoid spending his time with the other mech designers and instead poured his complete concentration into his studies.

Besides reading book after book from the internal database's library, Ves also listened to Professor Velten's rambling lectures as she conveyed some of her personal experiences to him. While Ves found her stories to be rather meandering and incoherent on her bad days, the leadership perspective she provided gave him a lot of insights on how to lead a team of mech designers.

"It used to be different, you know. Our profession has changed throughout the years." The Professor remarked. "I'm more than a hundred-and-fifty years old, which is half as long as the Starlight Megalodon went missing. You've already experienced how bold and innovative mech designers used to be at the early days of the Age of Mechs. When I came into my prime, the mech industry no longer played so fast and loose with the rules, but there isn't as much structure as there is now."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing, professor?" He asked.

"I can only say that the mech industry has grown more sophisticated. Structure is needed to cope with the increased amount of variables that affect our work. However, sometimes I reminisce about the good old days, where all you need to design a good mech is to gather a bunch of fellow mech designers together and lock them into a single room for a time."

Besides these interesting remarks, Ves also got to hear about her burdens as a Senior Mech Designer.

"A Senior Mech Designer is lifted up to a pedestal in the Bright Republic. You might think that we are at the top of our game and the envy of the younger generation of our state, but nothing could be further from the truth. The more capabilities you possess, the more responsibilities that you are expected to fulfill. Personally, I've made the mistake of taking these responsibilities too seriously. I spent too much time on pointless endeavors."

"What kind of endeavors?"

"Too many of them!" The professor cackled. "Where do I begin? How about collaborating with the Bright Republic's state-sponsored design teams in designing unicorn mechs that eat up billions of credits but are only fielded once or twice. Or how about becoming a tenured professor only to end up eating away precious years of my lifespan teaching stupid little brats who have no business entering this profession how to hold the right end of wrench?"

Obviously, Professor Velten held too much regrets in her life. Her fatalistic behavior implied that she knew the end of her life was near.

Right now, this dying woman who lost her final protege to the war against the Vesians treated Ves as a vehicle to leave behind some of her legacy.

It made Ves fear old age even more. He would hate to end up growing old and senile with all hopes of extending his lifespan cut off!

"Mark my words, Mr. Larkinson. If you ever advance to Journeyman or Senior and propel yourself to success, don't let yourself be distracted by the fawning of others! Nothing is more important to a mech designer than their own pursuits and initiatives!"

This was probably the most important lesson that Professor Velten tried to convey to Ves. A mech designer's time was limited, and time should be spent on improving themselves instead of fulfilling the petty desires of others.

While Ves didn't think he would ever fall into such a pit, he nodded seriously at her warning. "I will be sure to remember your advice, professor."

Chapter 966

The Flagrant Vandals made their way back to the Bright Republic without any incident by following the main commercial space routes between the frontier and the Bright Republic.

Many ships plied this route, and the Bentheim System formed an indispensable link in one of the main trade routes from the frontier to the coreward side of the Komodo Star Sector.

All of this traffic meant that the Flagrant Vandals constantly passed through well-trafficked and well-guarded star systems, precluding the chance of any attacks from pirates or Vesians.

While plenty of risks still existed, the Vandals already planned for their return trip. Nothing dangerous of note ever sprung in their faces during their long way back to the Bright Republic.

Ves breathed a little easier once the Flagrant Vandals actually passed through the borders. Now that he finally returned home, he didn't have to worry as much about being jumped by unknown forces trying to steal the lockbox they retrieved from the Starlight Megalodon.

Instead of heading to the Bentheim System or the Tarry System, the Vandal fleet instead traversed to the New Foundation System, the second-most important star system of the Rittersberg region!

While the capital of the Bright Republic formed the nexus of the Rittersberg region, the New Foundation attracted almost as much attention due to the sole fact that it housed the headquarters of the Mech Corps!

As a star system occupied by the military, several mech divisions constantly stood by or patrolled the system and its occupied planets. Countless fixed defenses, minefields and orbital defense platforms constantly defended the headquarters and all the other important military infrastructure of the Bright Republic's main military branch!

"Is this your first time to the New Foundation System?" Laida asked.

"Yes."

"Huh. I figured a Larkinson like you would have been familiar here."

"I'm not the average Larkinson."

Many Larkinsons passed through the New Foundation System at some point or another. It hosted the bases of many elite mech regiments on its various fortified planets.

If Ves ever bothered to look the information up, then he'd probably be able to learn that over a dozen Larkinsons were stationed in this military star system right now!

Of course, Ves couldn't casually lift his comm and call them up. Right now, the war still raged on and many active duty service members possessed a comm just like his which completely restricted any outside communications.

"I miss my CFA comm."

Compared to the magical capabilities of that highly-advanced device, the replacement comm he received from the Wolf Mother's armory was like a toy to him. Each military-issue comm was a toy, actually, but Ves once again went back to square one by receiving the most basic one that didn't do more than take notes and answer calls from officers.

His exasperation regarding his current comm aside, Ves did look forward to his visit to the New Foundation System. As the ships of the Flagrant Vandals took up orbit over one of New Foundation V's moons, Ves and a large number of Vandals transferred into shuttles that brought them all the way down to the surface!

New Foundation V not only housed the headquarters of the Mech Corps, but also housed many other institutions falling under their umbrella. The soldiers picking up the Vandal officers never told them where they were being transferred, but from what little Ves could observe, his shuttle flew all the way to the surface and entered a guarded tunnel that led deep underground.

The lack of windows, projections and other sights made it difficult for Ves to be sure. The only information he had to go on was the slight noise, vibrations and air pressure carried over to the interior.

After this lengthy trip, the shuttle finally touched down upon a landing pad in a vast underground parking hall which housed numerous shuttles and even transports. The hustle and bustle of all of this traffic showed that this place saw significant traffic.

It was only after Ves observed the emblems affixed to the walls of the massive hall that he learned where they landed.

"This is the Bureau of Sector Affairs!"

"Correct." Major Verle said as he stepped out next to him. "Sector Affairs is responsible for any deployments, commands and other matters of the Mech Corps outside the borders of the Bright Republic. In short, that means that most military expeditions outside our borders falls under their purview. We will have to account for our actions during the mission today, but remember your instructions. Your back is already covered, so feel free not to answer any questions that you don't want to answer."

Ves and the other Vandals saw little of the neat and brightly-lit interior of the Bureau of Sector Affairs. Instead, armed security personnel led them all through a familiar parade of debriefings and interrogation.

Having gone through this particular rodeo many times, Ves answered the questions that he didn't mind answering and kept his mouth shut on matters that he would rather not voice.

Of course, that didn't earn him any favors from BuSecA, as the bureau was sometimes called in shorthand. Still, the attempts at applying pressure on Ves mostly fell flat because they both knew the interrogators were toothless.

After several days of mostly pointless questioning and an endless amount of repeating himself, the people of BuSecA finally gave up on Ves and kicked him to a waiting area which housed various servicemen visiting the Bureau for some reason or another.

After spending a few more days in limbo with the rest of the Vandals that survived the inquiries, Ves and the rest of the Vandals were finally summoned again, this time to attend a closed award ceremony!

Major Verle clapped his back. "This is a good sign. It means all the bureaucratic boxes are ticked and all of the questioning is over. The most important point is that we fulfilled our mission and successfully handed over the lockbox to BuSecA, who will make sure its contents will be transferred over to Rittersberg where it will be immediately put to use."

Ves nodded in understanding. "Some lucky geezer will probably see a new lease in life, then. Is that right, sir?"

"Maybe." He smirked. "Now, chin up, Mr. Larkinson. Even though it's a shame that our award ceremony will take place in an empty hall due to the classified nature of our mission, it is still supreme honor to participate in it. If you look around, you are the only non-mech officer of the Vandals to take part!"

This was true. While Chief Engineer Avanaeon and Chief Technician Haine made plenty of contributions to the mission, they would only receive a smaller award along with the rest of the Vandals of the Verle Task Force.

The main stars of the show appeared to be Major Verle and Captain Orfan, with Ves coming along as a guest star. A handful of other mech officer and mech pilots that displayed individual valor in battle came along as well, but the former three stole the spotlight.

Their escorts brought them to the upper levels of the headquarters of Bureau of Sector Affairs, whereupon they went through several intensive security checks before being led inside a grand auditorium hall.

The cold beige interior and the formal banners and symbols representing the Bright Republic, the Mech Corps, the Bureau of Sector Affairs and many other institutions gave the place a sense of military grandeur.

Giant statues of mech pilots and officials holding torches lined the rectangular hall. In between, a vast amount of empty space that could have offered room for thousands of attending people made it clear that this award ceremony would happen completely out of the public eye.

Neither Ves, Major Verle, Captain Orfan or the rest would be able to show their faces to the entire state in a massed broadcast.

He found that to be a shame, because a public award ceremony would certainly boost his business prospects. How could he make people know he distinguished himself in the war if hardly anyone heard of his awards?!

After a long and desolate walk surrounded by giant statues of past heroes of the Bright Republic, they finally reached the raised stage where the Vandals all took up their assigned places.

A number of military officers and officials stood close. Behind the backdrop of the giant banners representing the Bright Republic and the Mech Corps, the award ceremony started in near-complete silence.

A major general that Ves recognized as the head of the Bureau of Sector Affairs stepped forward!

"Today, we are gathered here to recognize the collective and individual valor of the 6th Flagrant Vandals." Major General Reginald Clesse began.

The award ceremony followed through a few rituals, but the oppressive nature of the vast and empty auditorium made everyone present a little uncomfortable, as if the Bright Republic was too massive to care about their individual efforts.

The old, grey-haired and strong-bodied head of BuSecA treated the occasion in a solemn manner, doing his best to banish away the eerie nature of the empty hall.

Once they went through the rituals and the introductions, a soldier holding an antigrav pad that levitated a large number of medals and ribbons stepped forward. Major General Clesse stepped to Major Verle and began to bestow the awards to the Vandals present.

"Mech Major Quinlist Verle, for your commendable leadership and..."

"Mech Captain Rosa Orfan, for your individual bravery and going above and beyond the call of duty..."

Both mech officers received high awards. While Ves didn't pay attention to all of them, he did note that Captain Orfan received the Darkness Eater, which was the second-highest distinction that the Mech Corps bestowed to its servicemen!

After General Clesse finished gushing over Captain Orfan, not just because she was the principal Vandal responsible for securing the mission object but also because she was an expert candidate. It never hurt to suck up to a future expert pilot, even for the head of the Bureau of Sector Affairs!

The general finally walked up to Ves after that. The soldier bearing the medals in the air activated a command that sent over three of them in front of Clesse.

"Ves Larkinson, mech designer attached to the 6th Flagrant Vandals. When I heard that a mech designer is eligible to receive these rewards, I first thought it was a mistake. Mech designers aren't eligible to receive some of the awards of the Mech Corps, and the ones they are almost never find their way in their hands. Do you know why?"

"It's because mech designers are non-combatants, sir." Ves replied as neutrally as possible. It wouldn't do to say anything too sloppy in front of this important figure!

General Clesse chuckled. "It is because mech designers are generally known for their cowardice. Hardly a day passes by for another mech designer to be accused of severe dereliction of duty. However, brave mech designers, while rare, do exist. When I saw that you are a Larkinson, everything is explained."

This was one time where the Larkinson name saved Ves a lot of trouble. He didn't speak up to deny he wasn't like the other Larkinsons this time.

"Aside from the awards that are bestowed to the entirety of the Flagrant Vandals, Mr. Larkinson, you are entitled to receive three as recognition of your individual merit."

The general grabbed the medals and ribbons from the air and placed them on the chest of his dark green uniform, whereupon they automatically fixed into place.

He first received the Darkness Eater, the second-highest award which only Captain Orfan received as well! Just carrying the Darkness Eater was a massive recognition of individual merit, and even if Ves was forbidden from ever sharing the reason why he earned it, just showing it off would be a massive boost to his reputation in the domestic market!

The second award he received was the Torchbearer, which signified that Ves directly took action that saved a lot of lives! He received this award specifically for the initiative he showed in saving and assisting the remnant of the ground forces aboard the Starlight Megalodon, and also for his legendary feat of defeating the Blind Men pirate gang with words alone!

Personally, Ves thought that the Darkness Eater already covered for the latter feats, but he didn't say no to receiving more medals!

"The final award is one that is specifically reserved for mech designers that have performed a supreme service to the Bright Republic."

Ves' eyes shone when he received the Golden Mech. This was one of the most coveted awards to mech designers in the service of the Mech Corps!

Chapter 967

Overall, Ves was in line to receive six significant awards. Aside from the three he received from General Clesse in person today, he also received three more, either immediately or later.

The War Saint was an award to every active participant of the Bright-Vesia Wars. Even though a huge number of Brighters received them every generation, receiving them at all was a great mark on their record.

The Mech Corps additionally bestowed Ves the Frontier Service Medal just like the rest of the Verle Task Force. This signified that he served on behalf of the Mech Corps while deployed to the perilous frontier.

The third significant award he received was the Mech Corps Commendation awarded to every member of the 6th Flagrant Vandals. This was a unit award that gave supreme honor to the mech regiment as a whole, but every Vandal that served during the time of the commendation's given reason for bestowal received the right to wear this ribbon.

All of these awards and honors bestowed to Ves and the surviving Vandals seemed impressive at first glance. Yet some couldn't help but feel they served as an inadequate band-aid to the dangers and predilections they all suffered during their arduous mission.

Many Vandals never lived to make it home. Only two ships out of dozens made it back. The most galling fact was that many of those who died at the hands of the pirates, Vesians or sandmen never found out what they fought for all the way out in the frontier. Why did the Bright Republic send them all the way out to an isolated star system deep in the frontier?

What was so important enough that the sacrifice of hundreds of mech pilots and thousands of support personnel made the people awarding the medals to the handful of survivors so pleased?

Oh, Major General Clesse had the decency to recognize their sacrifices and appear solemn. Yet some of those bureaucratic official types standing at the side seemed inordinately pleased for what should have been a serious occasion.

This was because after General Clesse finished going over the Vandal survivors, he began to posthumously award the confirmed dead and missing-but-very-presumably-dead.

This put Ves and the Vandals into a somber mood.

People like Chief Dakkon and Dr. Tillman all contributed enormously to the ground expedition, but aside from the honors bestowed to them, their existence no longer mattered to the Republic.

The classified nature of this award ceremony basically meant their family members would never find out where and why they died. They would forever hear that their deceased relatives died as heroes, but that would be the extent of what they were allowed to know!

Perhaps Ves should follow up on the family members of those he'd been close with at the Vandals. Not now, of course, but after the war.

As Ves looked at his fellow comrades, he saw that he wasn't the only one who thought that way.

After the end of the award ceremony, one of the civilian officials gathered Ves, Major Verle and Captain Orfan to the side. "Our patron, the primary benefactor of your mission, cordially invites you to attend a private banquet with him on this planet in three days time. We have already arranged your schedule to accommodate this appointment."

Major Verle's lips twitched. Though the official's invitation was worded as a request, it really left no option for refusal. "Mr. Cordwraith, we would be delighted to accept your patron's invitation."

"Good." The slick-haired middle-aged man replied perfunctory. "The Bureau of Sector Affairs will prepare all matters on your end."

After that, Cordwraith rejoined his fellow officials and left through the side door.

As everyone returned to the guest area of BuSecA's headquarters, Ves asked a question. "Who is Mr. Cordwraith? Who is he working for? And is that person..."

"Mr. Cordwraith is the executive assistant of Senator for Life Camden Tovar of the Bright Senate. As for Mr. Tovar, I doubt you require a history lesson on the Tovars."

The mention of Camden Tovar came with such a shock to Ves that he temporary stuttered in his steps.

Tovar!

In the chaotic founding of the Bright Republic at the opening of the Komodo Star Sector shortly after the start of the Age of Mechs, a few leaders came to prominence.

During this time where all sorts of exiles, misfits and hopeful colonists flocked to the Komodo Star Sector to carve out a place of their own, one colonization fleet from the New Rubarth Empire set forth with hope.

They hoped to live a life away from the stifled, stratified and war-obsessed Rubarthans. Several somewhat well-to-do Rubarthan families pooled their resources together to fund the colonization fleet and set forth to the edge of the galaxy as fast as possible.

In total, seventeen families funded the colonization fleet and owned shares in it with the hope of founding a prosperous new state. If not for the clash between their idealism and the rampant fighting in the Komodo Star Sector, they would have occupied a much better territory than the stars the Bright Republic occupied today!

In truth, their colonization fleet suffered a humiliating defeat at the center of the sector where the fighting was most heated. After being kicked out of the area where the Friday Coalition now made its home, the much-diminished colonists dejectedly founded their homes elsewhere, immediately butting heads with the founders of the Vesia Kingdom who carved out those stars for themselves!

"Seventeen families funded the colonization fleet, but only five exist today." Ves recalled. "As one of the five remaining surviving founder families, the Tovar Family is one of the most influential family lines in the government!"

The Larkinson Ancestor may have fought on behalf of the newly-founded Republic as well, but he was merely an extremely talented mercenary. The founder families consisted of the true behemoths of the Bright Republic and still shaped much of its policies to this day.

Much of the public cynically considered the founder families to be noble houses in all but name. Ves tended to agree with their sentiment, but at least they pretended to be the first among equals rather than outright superior as with the case of the nobility in the Vesia Kingdom.

Founding a colony required an immense amount of funding to gather all of the manpower and assets required to set up a colonization fleet and all of the supplies necessary to accelerate the development of settlements.

Those who funded it often demanded a say in the running of the colony and a share in its profits. The states that emerged from these colonies often retained a vestige of their previous ownership. Some leaders or descendants of leaders held onto power outright by adopting a feudal system of some sorts.

Most of the duchies of the Vesia Kingdom actually shared such origins. The Royal House that nominally reigned over the state contributed the most.

In the Bright Republic, their emphasis on a more enlightened and forward-thinking society prompted the founding families to avoid going to such extremes.

However, some critics claimed that the founding families never relinquished the throne. They merely stepped back in the shadows to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves.

Ves knew that many ministers and other government officials shared the same five last names in the hundred years since the founding of the Republic. Their names also popped up from time to time in military or business-related news.

"Camden Tovar is one of the heads of the Tovar Family, right?" Captain Orfan asked with a little bit of confusion.

"Correct." Verle nodded. "Camdon Tovar is the oldest surviving son of Amtusa Tovar, one of the Bright Founders of our great state."

"How old is Mr. Camden?"

"Over two-hundred-and-eighty years old I think. It's really surprising how much longer he's managed to live. Hardly anyone from the Republic has become this old."

Orfan sneered. "I see. He's really getting on in years."

Ves nodded as well. No wonder Camden Tovar was so desperate for another round of life-prolonging treatment. That man was an institution of the Republic by himself! Not only was he directly descended from one of the legendary Bright Founders, he also held the office of Bright President for four terms of five years each.

Nowadays, he retired to become a lifelong senator in the Bright Senate, still very much involved in the highest level of policymaking.

From what Ves learned from the news and from the idle gossip of the Larkinsons, Camden Tovar was a diplomatic powerhouse. His distinguished age, background and stature allowed him to forge friendships with powerful individuals of the other states in the Komodo Star Sector and to maintain them for centuries or longer!

At the highest levels of power and influence, age mattered a lot. It was proof that someone made sufficient achievements to be able to prolong their lifespan. Someone who was five-hundred years old was definitely an immensely powerful and wealthy individual, and such a person wouldn't easily associate himself with hundred-year old upstarts.

Even though average people considered a hundred-year old person and a five-hundred year old person to be the same, in truth in their circles there was a vast gulf in status between the two!

Therefore, the extension of the lifespan of someone like Camden Tovar, who worked tirelessly to maintain the Republic's relationships with other states, not only benefited the senator, but also the Republic as a whole!

With Senator Camden Tovar being able to continue and even advance his friendships with other powerful influences, the Flagrant Vandals substantially changed the course of history of the entire Republic!

Ves softened up his stance regarding the meaning of the mission. Major Verle noticed his change of expression and nodded in confirmation of his silent conclusion.

Of the three, only Captain Orfan still hadn't thought that far yet. To her, the high-grade life-prolonging treatment serum or whatever was just a goodie that allowed this decrepit old Tovar fellow to cling to life a hundred years longer or more.

The three retreated to one of their guest rooms in the upper levels of the BuSecA building to talk more freely among themselves. Ves had a feeling these guest rooms were ordinarily reserved for dignitaries, as their size and splendor surpassed the average five-star hotel room.

Major Verle looked at Captain Orfan, who pretty much almost immediately went for the minibar to pour herself a strong drink, and shook his head. He instead drew Ves to a set of luxurious couches set before a panoramic one-way window that looked out of the high rise district of one of New Foundation V's main cities.

"Now that you know who our benefactor is, what do you feel?"

"I feel... conflicted." Ves responded.

"How so, Ves?"

"I can see how our mission benefits the bigger picture. Tovar is a bigshot in the Republic and he's also one of the most important diplomatic figures of the state. With him around for at least a hundred more years, we won't have to worry about any of the other nearby states ganging up on us. Our sacrifices have not been in vain."

"Yet you do not seem entirely pleased."

"No, sir." Ves sighed and glanced at Orfan who was already knocking back her third shot from the guest room's expensive liquor. "I feel I understand what Captain Orfan is going through right now as well. It's rather galling to think that the deaths of tens of thousands of Vandal servicemen is a cheap price to pay to extend a new lease on life for a single individual. Sure, we've definitely contributed to the Republic, but only vaguely in a long-term sense. Our main accomplishment is actually doing Mr. Tovar a massive favor that I'm not quite sure he even deserves."

"You best keep those thoughts to yourself, Ves." Major Verle clapped his back. "We are all servants of the Republic in one way or another. Also, the benefit we've brought to Mr. Tovar doesn't just benefit Mr. Tovar himself or the entire state, but also the Tovar Family as well. It makes a really huge difference if their patriarch gets to live four-hundred years or more. None of the other founding families has anyone close to that. The Tovar Family will definitely sprint ahead of the other four founding families as a consequence."

Ves knew that Major Verle implied more than what he mentioned. "In other words, we directly boosted the fortunes of the Tovar Family, disrupting the balance of powers between the founding families. The other four families won't be very pleased with what we've done."

"For better or worse, you and I and all the other Vandals have nudged towards the camp of the Tovar Family." Verle stated with a hint of helplessness. "For most of us, that's not good news."

Chapter 968

The three most honored Vandals remained in the guest area for three, boring days. The immense wealth and luxury on display in this section of BuSecA's headquarters formed an immensely stark contrast against the bare, utilitarian interior of the Shield of Hispania.

Some of them simply couldn't get used to decadence and pampering on offer. Many other citizens and foreign officials resided in the guest area as well. Some gathered in the bars and lounges in the common section to socialize.

Ves attempted to pass the time by lounging at a courtyard balcony, but the medals and ribbons pinned to his chest immediately attracted a lot of stares.

Due to the regulations of the Mech Corps, Ves was obligated to wear his dress uniform in this context. His dress uniform was a slightly more impressive version of his standard dark green mech designer uniform.

Normally, that wouldn't have drew much attention from the other guests. Even a couple of ribbons didn't seem so special.

Yet the regulations stated that three big awards he earned needed to be in full display.

The Darkness Eater and the Torchbearer medals drew immediate attention from the citizens of the Bright Republic. They all recognized the medals and knew how rare it was to be awarded with them. The main reason why they stared so long at Ves was because he earned those awards as a mech designer!

How could a noncombatant win two of some of the most coveted decorations of the Mech Corps?! It didn't make any sense! Mech designers generally never fought on the battlefield, but both the Darkness Eater and the Torchbearer could only be earned by earning supreme merit in battle circumstances!

In the history of the Bright Republic, the military awarded most of those two awards to mech pilots. Sometimes, members of the auxiliary regiments such as infantrymen or tank operators received these honors as well.

Yet a mech designer? Absurd!

It was like some field surgeon suddenly went berserk, picked up a machine gun and stormed into an enemy Vesian base and wiped out all of the hostiles by himself!

The addition of the Golden Mech proved to be the clincher. The addition of the Golden Mech reinforced the fact that Ves was a mech designer and contributed enormously to the state with his expertise.

Yet to someone like Ves who already carried the Darkness Eater and the Torchbearer, the addition of a supreme award that was almost never seen because of how rare they popped up reinforced the fact that he was a genuine mech designer and not some supersoldier in disguise!

The Golden Mech was an award designed by mech designers of the Republic to be bestowed under extremely stringent conditions relevant in their field of expertise. This was also the reason why the Golden Mech looked so ostentatious and thereby attract so much attention.

When these curious people walked up to Ves and asked how he earned those medals, Ves of course couldn't reveal any classified information.

"I'm not allowed to say." He responded, and that usually ended their questions in that direction.

Yet the lack of information continued to fuel their curiosity regarding him. When they asked who he was, Ves couldn't very well refuse.

"I'm Ves Larkinson, a mech designer in the service of the Mech Corps."

The people he talked to would instantly light up in recognition and say something like, "Ah, a Larkinson!" or "No wonder, you're a Larkinson!" or "As expected of a Larkinson!"

Ves didn't know whether to laugh or cry that they could instantly accept that he earned these attention-grabbing awards because of his family name. Nonetheless, a lot of people continued to push onto him for one reason or another, causing him to flee back to his guest room.

"They're just like the rabid clones back at that lab!"

Despite that unpleasantness, Ves knew that earning these noteworthy medals would definitely benefit him in his later business ventures. He was pretty sure that he was the only mech designer of the Bright Republic to hold all three of these awards at once!

"This will play well with the veteran demographic of the mech market." He predicted.

Although it would be crass to show off these medals everywhere he went, their mere mention in his record already raised his profile head and shoulders above his fellow competitors.

The Bright Republic was a state suffused with war, and those who distinguished themselves in the Bright-Vesia Wars always received bright prospects after the war. After all, it wouldn't do for the state to belittle or stigmatize their war heroes. All of them served as examples for future generations, and many citizens in fact did look up to them as heroes or idols.

Ves could already think of several ways to take advantage of his honors to enhance the performance of his businesses. It wasn't every day you could purchase a mech designed by someone who simultaneously held the Darkness Eater, the Torchbearer and the Golden Mech!

"If I manage to advance to Journeyman Mech Designer quickly enough, then that would be perfect!"

The one regret he held was that while his awards attracted a lot of attention from fellow Brighters, many foreigners weren't familiar with them. Certainly, there was still some appeal to buying a mech designed by a war veteran and war hero, but they would rather pay attention to the specs rather than the personal story of the person who designed the mech.

Therefore, Ves reminded himself that he shouldn't go in over his head. While the Bright Republic would always form the main market of his business, the LMC's reach already extended to much of the Komodo Star Sector.

As his company continued to grow, the proportion of foreign sales would grow larger while its home market would continue to diminish in importance. The Bright Republic's market was only so large, after all.

Ves mostly spent his time hanging out with Major Verle and Captain Orfan, reminiscing about the Vandals and talking a bit about the future. While Major Verle definitely intended to stick with the Vandals both as a mech officer and an agent of the Firestarters, Captain Orfan seemed much more disillusioned about the mech regiment she fought for all this time.

"I thought the Flagrant Vandals are scrappy fighters who depend on themselves and who don't take crap from anyone." She stated in one of her drunken rants. "Yet despite being neglected by the Mech Corps, we can't help but come running once they want something from us! This is complete and utter nonsense!"

To someone like her who held a lot of affection for the Vandals despite their many flaws, Captain Orfan couldn't get her mind around the purpose of the mission. She didn't know their true role as a hidden hand of the Firestarters, and even if she did she'd probably give them the middle finger.

After spending their time in an overly comfortable limbo, the time of the private banquet finally arrived. A number of bots entered their guest rooms and meticulously cleaned and brushed up their appearances. They needed to look as neat and impeccable as possible in the presence of Senator Tovar!

The three gathered back together in their neatly-pressed dress uniforms with all of their medals, ribbons, badges and insignia on prominent display.

The Darkness Eaters pinned on Ves and Captain Orfan's uniforms were the biggest attention grabbers. Major Verle had to make do with the Plasma Spark, which was merely the third-highest award of the Mech Corps.

Fortunately, they'd been spared from parading through the common section of the guest area by entering a nearby restricted elevator. They went all the way upwards until they arrived at second-highest floor!

A grand restaurant and dining room made up this floor, and was usually used to host various parties with foreign dignitaries. Such an extravagant occasion wasn't on the agenda today, and the three guests went through a quiet side entrance before entering a smaller but still very opulent private dining hall.

Aside from a row of attendants that did their best to stand against the wall and make their presence unobtrusive, the tall and luxurious dining hall hosted nobody else except for two notable figures.

One of them was Mr. Cordwraith, who fawned at the old and extremely distinguished gentleman slowly rising to his feet to greet the guests.

"Come." His rich and deep voice boomed, somehow encompassing the entire hall in a voice trained for public speaking since the moment he was born. "Let me greet my saviors in person."

The three crossed the distance until they arrived a few steps away from the simple but exquisitely-dressed senator who smiled at them. "Mech Major Quinlist Verle. Mech Captain Rosa Orfan. Mr. Ves Larkinson. It is an honor to meet you all. Let me start by expressing my profound gratitude at your heroic efforts to secure a new lease of life for me so that I can serve the Republic for a significant time longer. The entire Bright Republic owes the 6th Flagrant Vandals a monumental debt."

"We serve at the pleasure of the Republic, Senator Tovar." Major Verle shook hands with the senator. "The Flagrant Vandals always stand ready to do our part for the Mech Corps and the state."

"Good man." Senator Tovar nodded before turning to the next guest. "Captain Orfan, I hear you have undergone a peculiar transformation during your mission. Some of our researchers have expressed a lot of interest in the phenomenon. I hope you won't mind the monitoring team that will accompany you with the Vandals from now on. I will assure you that you will be adequately compensated for your cooperation."

Captain Orfan gave the senator a strained smile. "No problem, senator. I'm a loyal mech officer of the Mech Corps."

If Senator Tovar picked up on her sarcastic undertone, he didn't show it. Instead, he shook her hands with a surprisingly firm grip for someone so old and finally turned to the final guest.

"Mr. Larkinson. May I call you Ves? I have met so many Larkinsons throughout the years that it is easier on my mind if I call you by your first names."

The senator was a man who was already old by the time his grandfather Benjamin was still in diapers! Ves twitched back a polite smile. "I don't mind. You may call me whatever you wish, senator."

As they shook hands, Ves experienced the senator's powerful grip in person. Senator Tovar exhibited a lot of strength and vitality in that single handshake!

Compared to his past appearances in the news, Senator Tovar obviously appeared a lot more livelier now! His frame seemed more powerful, some black started to color in his grey hair and his skin shed its worn and leathery appearance.

The effects of life-prolonging treatments came into effect remarkably quickly!

When they finished their greeting, they sat down at a firm square table. The human attendants started to bring in various dishes that Ves recognized as regional and planetary specialties from various parts of the Bright Republic.

The senator carried the conversation over the table while they ate. Between the empty platitudes, the powerful man frequently thanked them for their services.

It didn't surprise Ves to see Senator Tovar so open with his gratitude. Anyone would if they heard they could literally live a century longer. That was a lot of extra years that they could use to experience the galaxy, see their descendants grow and leave behind an unforgettable legacy.

The senator also gave out hints on other matters.

"The 6th Flagrant Vandals have outdone themselves during this war. While many other mech regiments are content with doing the same thing over and over, only you dared to plunge all the way through the territory of the Vesia Kingdom and deal them a blow that they would never forget."

"We have only taken the first step to bloodying the nose of the Vesians." Major Verle modestly replied. "The mech regiments fighting at the frontlines are the real heroes for halting the invaders from ravaging our stars."

Senator Tovar gently shook his head. "Even so, the Flagrant Vandals has not shied away from going to even further extremes. The mission that has brought you all the way to the frontier is one that is hard to fulfill by even the most elite mech regiments, but the Vandals have proven themselves to be uniquely suited to fulfill it. Given your successful track record during this war, I think the Mech Corps needs to consider their stance regarding the allocation of resources to their mech regiments."

Chapter 969

The senator basically insinuated that on his say so, he could get the Mech Corps to stop treating the Flagrant Vandals like an abandoned child.

Such an offer sounded like a heaven-sent gift to the Vandals! As they lost a substantial amount of forces, they needed lots of funding to replenish their ships, mechs and manpowers.

Yet Major Verle did not respond in the way Ves expected. "The 6th Flagrant Vandals answers to the 3rd Tarry Division of the Southern Mech Army. Any decisions regarding the allocation of resources and funding is best left to the chain of command."

"I can facilitate the decision making of the relevant offices." The senator continued, emphasizing his clout. "While I am not in any way directly involved with the military, a single reminder is enough to make them reconsider their past decisions."

"We appreciate your intentions, but the budget of the Mech Corps is already fixed. Much more deserving mech regiments who have arduously fought in the frontlines of the war are already in line to obtain their share of the funding. It is best not to disrupt the current allocation of resources in order to avoid affecting the progression of the war to our detriment."

The senator pursed his lips but nodded. "You make a good point, major. The Mech Corps has already made their own arrangements."

Even though the Vandals could truly benefit from the additional funding that Tovar could arrange for them, Major Verle resolutely rejected the generous offer.

Not only did he warn Ves not to get entangled with a powerful influence such as Senator Tovar and the Tovar Family, but he also followed his own advice despite the attractive enticement!

Of course, Major Verle didn't reject Senator Tovar's initiative due to his integrity. He merely wanted to keep the Vandals from being associated with the Tovar Family.

While doing so might give the Vandals a lot of help, it would also earn them a lot of new enemies! Anyone who despised the Tovars or competed with them for power and influence would start to play tricks on the hapless mech regiment.

The Vandals weren't ready to deal with those kinds of games. Not by a longshot.

Certainly, Senator Tovar got the hint and stopped hinting about giving the Vandals a boost.

Nonetheless, the old man couldn't help but insist on 'expressing his gratitude' throughout the private banquet.

Sometimes, he didn't leave any room for rejection.

"Major Verle, meeting you in person has reinforced my good impression of you. The Mech Corps needs steady officers like you that can keep the bigger picture in mind. I will be sure to put in a good word to your superiors."

"My thanks, senator, but I am already pleased with the recognition that I've received already." Verle replied, trying to keep the vexation out of his voice.

"Captain Orfan, I see you are not entirely comfortable in this formal setting. No, don't apologise. Expert candidates come in all shapes and sizes. I can see that you are a mech pilot who is born for battle. That's great, as there are many mech regiments that urgently need a future expert pilot to champion their forces. Just say the word, and the most elite mech regiments will open their doors for you. For now, the Flagrant Vandals are no longer capable of supporting a mech pilot of your quality."

"The Vandals are family to me, sir." Orfan replied, likewise keeping her anger restrained. Ves figured she was hugely insulted by the senator's casual disregard for her mech regiment. "I intend to stick with them and help them rebuild their forces."

"Anyone can rebuild a battered mech regiment." Senator Tovar shook his head. "Ordinarily, I would agree with you, but this is a time of war. Talent such as you are best utilized in the frontlines holding back the Vesians. As a loyal citizen of the Republic, I'm sure you wish to do your part in the war, correct? I will ask around to see which elite mech regiment best fits your battle style and see if they have room for another exemplary mech pilot."

The casual way in which Senator Tovar rolled over them in his insistence on expressing his gratitude really opened up Ves' eyes. To a man at the top of the Bright Republic's power structure, nothing was impossible!

Even if the senator's authority didn't stretch that far in the military, his soft power in the form of his clout, reputation, and family influence could make many things happen! In the face of his power and stature, other decision makers would find it difficult to accede to his requests!

"As for you, Ves, you do your family proud. Even if you have not been given the opportunity to join your many brothers and sisters in fighting against the Vesians directly, your current career choice is no less impressive."

"Thank you, sir." Ves responded politely.

"I see you are wearing your awards with pride. There was a considerable amount of controversy regarding their bestowal to you. While no one doubts your contribution to the mission and the Bright Republic, to award a mech designer with not one, but two distinguished medals that relate to merit earned in combat actions is unprecedented. I hope you do not mind that I leaned on the handful of generals responsible for this decision on your behalf, although I do admit your Larkinson name helped smooth matters over."

Ves twitched another smile. At least he now knew that he didn't receive these extravagant awards easily. It seemed that Senator Tovar already did him a huge 'favor', likely irritating some generals in the process!

"Thank you, sir, but I am merely a mech designer temporarily in the service of the Mech Corps. Unlike my relatives, I do not envision a career in the military."

"Ah, your record stated that you started your own business and did quite well in a short amount of time. The Living Mech Corporation, yes? What a curious moniker for a mech manufacturing company."

"The name reflects our aspiration to sell mechs that come to life in the hands of our customers, sir." Ves replied, automatically going through his marketing spiel. "We aren't selling a product. We are selling enduring partners to mech pilots who have a need for dependable mechs of impeccable quality."

"What an interesting and thoughtful philosophy." Tovar chuckled at Ves. "That is a very sophisticated standpoint to take regarding machines built for war. Is it not the purpose of mechs to be expended in battle?"

"Respectfully, sir, I believe there is a difference between treating a mech as a commodity and treating a mech as an investment. Mech pilots with the former mindset may be content with cheaper products built to serve a specific purpose and nothing more, but there are also mech pilots who expect something more out of their machines. This is where the LMC comes in. Our mechs are premium products that are built to last. It is my hope that like living persons, my mechs will one day be able to grow stronger over time rather than grow weaker like every other mech in the market today."

The senator's eyes lit up in enthusiasm. "How bold! How daring! What a marvelous ideal! I absolutely agree with you! These days, the high volume of sales of mechs has encouraged a pattern of reckless use among mech pilots. Too often they change their mechs as if they change their coats. It is inordinately wasteful and while many of your colleagues and competitors are glad with the extra sales, it nonetheless lowers the efficiency of our forces."

For some reason, Ves and the senator both got pulled into a philosophical discussion on the use of mechs. While Ves could never match the depth and wisdom of Senator Tovar, his unique thoughts regarding this topic was like a breath of fresh air to the old lawmaker.

"At first, I presumed a Larkinson such as you who has managed to thrive under very arduous circumstances would be a consummate soldier or a battle fanatic like your relatives. Now, I have learned that your family is capable of spawning more than talented and dedicated mech pilots. How they managed to raise an insightful and successful mech designer such as you is a mystery for the ages."

"I have good parents." Ves replied simply. He was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable at the praises the senator piled up on him. While he felt flattered by the attention, he always kept Major Verle's warning in mind. "The Bright Republic has raised many talented mech designers. I am but one among many."

"Ah, but you do yourself a disservice to speak so lightly of your accomplishments. It is unfortunate to hear that the Mech Corps will not be able to enjoy your services for long. I can see you are easily able to thrive no matter if you work in the military or in the private sector. I read that your company sells two very notable mech models. They are obviously worth more attention if they are designed by a mech designer of your talents."

Damn, did Tovar intend to invest in his company or something?!

"My company is barely out of its startup phase. We are still very inadequate in many ways, and I have been absent from the company for about two years now due to my obligations to the Mech Corps. I would hate to embarrass you with our meager mech catalog. Right now, it would benefit my company more if we can keep growing organically without any undue haste or pressure. I believe it is too easy to disrupt a young company by taking too many risks."

Senator Tovar appeared to be weighing his words. "Hm, that is a very mature perspective for someone so young as you. I commend your patience, but I do not entirely agree. A company cannot do without risks. The Bright Republic's mech market is very competitive, and for every ten company that holds back, there is always one that doesn't hesitate to gamble."

"Many of those companies who gamble fail and go bankrupt."

"Only the inept!" Tovar emphasized. "Mech manufacturers founded by listless and incompetent mech designers deserve everything they get when they inevitably flounder. You are very different from the useless rabble of mech designers, Ves. Your exploits during the mission alone amply proves that you have the survival instincts that are necessary to thrive on and off the battlefield."

"Even so, the mech industry is very complex. It is too precarious for me to gamble on the success of my company, especially when it is dealing in assets worth billions of credits and is responsible for employing thousands of people."

"I have no doubt you will find a way should you choose to chart a bolder course." Camden Tovar shook his head. "Trust me, the Republic places very high expectations on young mech designers such as you who have distinguished themselves during war. Why do you think we draft so many mech designers every generation? It is not only to supplement our mech forces with desperately-needed technical expertise. Instead, the primary reason is to separate the wheat from the chaff!"

"The Republic... wants to know which mech designers are worth investing in by tracking our performance during the war, sir?" He asked.

At some level, Ves already suspected as much, but to hear this from the mouth of a former bright president of the Republic himself was very abrupt!

Tovar threw a friendly smile at Ves. "If we leave our mech designers be, their numbers will balloon and our economy will be dragged down by stubborn cockroaches who somehow manage to cling to their marginal existences. It is much better to pack them off to the war to see whether they have what it takes to survive! Only those who are brave and smart enough to survive the rigors of war are deserving of our support."

"That is... remarkably efficient of the Republic." He commented a bit flatly.

"I admit, our policy regarding mech designers sounds rather harsh, but it is only through hardship that we can raise strong mech pilots and strong mech designers. It is no coincidence that many mech designers are placed far closer to the battlefield than they ought to! Without some way of reducing their numbers, our economy would be flooded again with a deluge of useless mech designers after the war. The Mech Corps actually has to meet a secret quota in this regard, which is a policy I helped pioneer. We are really doing you mech designers favor by allowing the capable among you a chance to distinguish yourselves, of which you are the best exemplar in this generation."

"I am honored that you feel so, sir."

What the hell?! Ves wanted this banquet to end as soon as possible!

Chapter 970

"You did well in handling Senator Tovar's advances." Major Verle praised Ves after the end of that uncomfortable private banquet. "

Ves shrugged as they returned to one of the guest rooms where they all plopped down on the sofas. "Well, the senator may be a great figure of the Republic, but his opinions are... high-minded."

Captain Orfan snorted as she immediately returned to the bar and poured herself another strong drink. "That old geezer is more than high-minded! He practically treats us all like chess pieces! I get that he's feeling great now that he gets to live a century longer, but I can't help but feel if it would be better if someone younger would take his place instead."

"Camden Tovar is a born leader." Major Verle explained to the two. "As the son of Bright Founder Amtuso Tovar, he has watched his father lead the Bright Republic since young, and once he came into adulthood he has exercised leadership ever since. Senator Tovar considers himself a father of the state, and he believes it is his station in life to steer the fates of billions of citizens with each of his decisions."

Ves noted the implicit point that Verle tried to make. "In other words, his decisions make sense when taking the larger picture into account, but he doesn't have eyes for the little people in between who get hurt by his policies. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Hmph." Orfan sneered. "The only 'needs of the few' he cares about are his own. He doesn't care about anyone else but his own interests."

"That's obvious considering he claimed earlier about deliberately pushing the Mech Corps into driving mech designers to their deaths! I mean, what the hell?! Major, did you know about this secret policy?!"

Verle shook his head and sighed. "Not as such. We all suspected, though. Several standing regulations regarding the deployment of mech designers doesn't make much sense except when seen in this light. It certainly is polarizing way to sharpen the mech designers of the Republic."

"Yes, but this is far too extreme!" Ves exclaimed. "Why not let the market do the work! It's already doing a good job to force the incompetent mech designers into other careers. There's no need to set such an insane policy to push them onto the battlefield until enough of them have died!"

"I agree with you, Ves, but that's not how Senator Tovar sees it up from his ivory tower. I can see his perspective on the matter. We are one step away from the frontier and we are also at the very end of the galactic supply chains. Senator Tovar doesn't want the Bright Republic to breed complacent mech designers who are extremely well-suited in one particular circumstance. He wants hardier mech designers who are adaptable and deal well with pressure. To that end, he doesn't mind sacrificing half of you if it means the remaining half are hardened from their experiences from the war."

Ves frowned deeply. It explained the certain amount of bias the state bestowed to mech designers returning from the war. "I don't know if it works as well as the senator has envisioned it. I know that a lot of mech designers return broken and traumatized."

"Then that's even better! The mech designers who have somehow managed to survive but become useless will naturally drop out of the mech business, leaving more room for those the state regards as gems to thrive. You have to see it in this way, Ves. The Bright Republic doesn't want tens of thousands of mediocre mech designers who are fragile, weak-minded flowers that can't cope at all against various crises. They would rather have ten good mech designers that have proven themselves that they can cope with various extremes."

"The market already does that to an extent."

"Senator Tovar obviously doesn't think it does a good enough job. People like him believe that anyone, not just mech designers, are able to reach their full potential when subjected to the ravages of war." Verle replied. "The more important point is that Tovar appears to be one of the principal supporters of this policy. This means that he will be looking out for mech designers who validate his beliefs. Did you think he was praising you a bit too excessively during the banquet? That's because you exemplify his political narrative! As a brave and resourceful mech designer who saved many servicemen at many occasions, Senator Tovar wishes to parade you around in front of the naysayers of his policy in order to vindicate his standpoint!"

A spark lit up in Ves' mind. "So that's why Senator Tovar pushed for all of those extravagant awards. As a mech designer, it's already rather outlandish for me to receive the Darkness Eater. The Golden Mech is even more difficult to obtain. From what I know, only Senior Mech Designers who have designed war-winning mechs are eligible, and only one or two are awarded at most in each generation."

This likely signified that the secret policy regarding mech designers delivered mixed results. The opposition to it must be substantial. If the senator didn't wish to be humiliated by having one of his pet policy decisions reversed by his political opponents, then he needed to prop up someone like Ves who he could spin as a 'successful' outcome!

"Therefore, that's why I don't want you to get involved with him. Senator Tovar favors you because you're a useful pawn to him. However, you know what they say about pawns."

"Pawns get sacrificed as soon as it's convenient for the chess players. The senator is already used to doing so from his high position."

"Exactly." Verle nodded. "The senator isn't interested in you as a person. He's only interested in the political gains he can make if he has you under his thumb. Fortunately, you did a decent job in rejecting his advances in a tactful manner, so he doesn't have many avenues in pulling you into his camp. Nonetheless, it doesn't change the fact that you are a great example of the kind of mech designer that the senator wishes to breed. We can't rule out that he will arrange some circumstances behind the scenes to give you a boost in your career."

"Thereby giving his political opponents a reason to drag me down." Ves realized.

Even though he felt that it wasn't unjust to award him those prestigious medals, there was no doubt that this was also an attempt by Camden Tovar to manufacture a heroic mech designer!

"You've learned. Good. You desperately need to get your political acumen up to speed now that you've attracted the attention of Senator Tovar. I don't know enough about the other founder families to guess their stances, but it's known that the Tovar Family are in bitter opposition against the Ramzi Family. Their rivalry isn't necessarily based on politics or philosophy. They just hate each other's guts."

"Great." Ves said mildly. "Hopefully I don't catch their attention."

Now that the benefactor of the mission expressed his gratitude to the principal people responsible for extending a new lease on his life, the stay at the headquarters of the Bureau of Sector Affairs came to an end.

They only enjoyed a single night of sleep before they transferred out. Major Verle and Captain Orfan received orders to head to the Tarry region where the Flagrant Vandals currently recuperated well behind the frontlines.

As for Ves, he finally received transfer orders taking him to a confidential location somewhere in the Robach System in the Green Nebula region.

The Green Nebula region was situated somewhere in the middle of the Bright Republic, between the Rittersberg region to the left and the Bentheim region to the right in most standard two-dimensional maps.

That basically meant that nothing really important went on in the Green Nebula region, as the other two regions overshadowed it. Still, Ves knew better than to underestimate this region's importance.

Before they left, Ves met with Verle and Orfan one last time to say farewell. After bidding off Captain Orfan, Verle took Ves aside so she wouldn't be able to overhear them. "Make sure to cherish the opportunity given to you. Colonel Lowenfield and I called in some favors, but after yesterday I think we shouldn't have bothered, because Senator Tovar has likely pulled some strings."

"Will this be the last time we see each other, sir?"

"Probably." Verle nodded. "Flashlight is very large and expansive. You should read up on its history and familiarize yourself with its customs if you can. Remember my previous advice. Try to make some friends there and make sure you get on the good side of at least one of your superiors."

"You keep hammering on that point, yet you also warn me not to get involved with the Tovars."

"Flashlight is a military intelligence agency." Verle stated. "Do you realize what a difference that makes? It means that compared to the Republic's foreign and domestic intelligence agencies, we are allowed to get away with more. We don't want to piss off the other states, and we have to respect the rights of our own citizens, so our spies can't go too far. It's different when the intelligence activities directly change the course of the war."

Ves understood his message. "So Flashlight is allowed to go to further extremes than the other agencies, is that what you're saying? I guess I've already internalized this lesson with my time with the Vandals."

"Good man. When you're at Flashlight, I won't be around to give you these kinds of pointers, so make sure you get close to someone who's willing to take you under their wing. This can literally save your life."

"Is it that dangerous at Flashlight?"

"To paraphrase Senator Tovar, only for the inept." Major Verle smiled in a mocking fashion. "Flashlight is a large organization that employs many kinds of people, the most significant of whom are either sharks or wolves in sheep's clothing. You're not a careerist, so you won't have any say in the agency, but that also means the people there generally won't bother with you too much, as you'll be out in a few years anyway."

After some more sage advice, Ves finally said goodbye and followed a guide to a shuttle in the underground parking hall.

The shuttle took him back up to orbit to transfer him to a military supply ship carrying supplies and personnel to the Green Nebula region.

The ship only offered basic facilities to its passengers, most of which consisted of mech pilots and various support personnel.

Now that he was out of the headquarters of BuSecA, Ves could finally pack off his dress uniform along with his gaudy medals in exchange for a more sober work uniform without any ribbons or shiny pieces of metal.

He didn't attract too much attention when he mingled with the other servicemen this time, and that was exactly how he liked it in this setting.

Of course, he received the usual disdain reserved for drafted mech designers, but that quickly faded as Ves displayed some of the habits and mannerisms of someone who went through hell and back.

Soldiers possessed the remarkable ability to recognize the similarities in each other. At some point, Ves gained enough qualifications to enter into their circle.

It helped that his Larkinson background already made him familiar with their traits. The only difference now was that understood their perspective because he personally lived through some of what they experienced.

Meanwhile, the military supply ship accompanied a convoy headed for the Green Nebula region. Weeks went by as the slow vessels transitioned from system to system along the way. Some ships separated from the convoy as they reached their destination while many others still had more hops to go.

Almost two weeks went by until the convoy finally arrived at the Robach System. The military supply ship separated from the convoy and flew to a military space station orbiting Robach III, the only habitable planet in the system. From there, a secret shuttle covertly slipped him and a handful of other passengers out to a secret base dug deep inside Robach VI, a cold and uninhabitable planet.

Chapter 971

The shuttle went through a couple of detours before slipping through a hidden tunnel built inside a frigid mountain range on Robach VI. Powerful sensor arrays built into the tunnel subjected the entire shuttle to extremely powerful scans. Ves could feel their power and knew that if they scanned him for a minute or two more, they'd be liable to cook everyone's flesh!

Every passenger let out a relieved breath once the scans finished. Apparently, they found nothing suspicious, because the shuttle continued to fly through the tunnel until it ended in yet another expansive underground parking hall.

A man in uniform greeted their arrival. "Welcome to Frozen Point Research Base. This isn't the coldest base in the Republic, but we'll make sure you'll have a frosty stay."

As the passengers followed the man, Ves looked around the parking hall and saw that most of the people employed in this base consisted of various people in uniform.

They went through a very thorough security checkpoint where scanners and frisky guards both ensured that none of the new arrivals carried anything they shouldn't. Once that was over with, they headed to administration where they registered their arrival and received special comms that served as their all-in-one access key.

"Don't lose them while you are in this base." Their guide told them. "There are hidden turrets and other security measures integrated in each room and corridor that won't hesitate to turn against you should you fail to be recognized as an individual authorized to be in a particular area."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement. Even though Frozen Point seemed like a plain and rather dull underground base, it was obviously a site of some importance considering all of the safeguards in place.

After Ves completed his induction, his comm guided him to a section of the base called the Mech Design Department. This boring name didn't really describe its role all that much, so Ves was curious what mech designers actually did at Frozen Point.

He entered the department and met a receptionist who flicked him over to an office of a Senior Mech Designer.

"Ah, Mr. Larkinson, I have been expecting you." An older man greeted him as he looked up from his terminal. "Please sit."

Ves sat down on a chair on the other side of the desk and tried to look attentive. It appeared that this mech designer would be his immediate boss for the foreseeable future.

"I am Professor Bolsa Enoch, a Senior Mech Designer as I'm sure you already know. Here at Frozen Point, we perform various clandestine research and analysis on mechs under the umbrella of Flashlight's Mech Research Division. While your record hasn't stated much about your previous deployment, I understand that you've distinguished yourself in the frontier of all places."

"I don't think I'm allowed to say anything about that, sir."

"I understand. Here at Flashlight, we don't ask questions that we aren't allowed to know the answers to. Many of us have been involved in matters best left in the dark. What is more relevant to me is that you appear to have some friends in high places. While Frozen Point isn't the most well-funded or critical research bases of the mech Research Division, it is a very desirable place for young mech designers like you. Care to take a guess?"

Ves thought for a moment. "Frozen Point is well behind the frontlines and has likely never come under threat during its existence. Any mech designer drafted to the war will probably like it here because their life won't be at risk."

"Correct, although they are rather misguided." Professor Enoch shook his head. "Your transfer to this base has surprised us all at the Mech Design Department. Your record may have left out what you have done prior to your arrival, but the awards you've received... it has baffled us. Receiving the Golden Mech is especially contentious among us Seniors."

Ves suddenly frowned as he realized the negative implications of receiving such a coveted award. "Are the other Seniors... dissatisfied with my awards?"

"Officially, the Bright Republic and the Mech Corps has the right to recognize the contributions of its loyal citizens." Enoch stated perfunctory. "It is not in our purview to question the decisions of the brass. I am sure whatever distinctions you've made has made you worthy enough to receive such recognition. It is only..."

"I'm just an Apprentice Mech Designer." Ves replied with a sigh. "I don't know if a Golden Mech has ever been awarded to a junior of my rank."

"Indeed. Even if you are deserving, many of my colleagues can't help but wonder if what they have done in the service of Flashlight and the Republic can measure up to your 'contributions'. You are lucky that I am beyond such vanities. That is also why someone very interested in you has made sure that you are assigned under my watch."

It could be the influence of Colonel Lowenfield and Major Verle. Probably not. Someone that high placed would have only listened to someone like Senator Tovar.

"I am ready to work wherever I'm assigned to, professor." Ves stated.

From what little interaction they had so far, Ves got the sense that Enoch wouldn't be inclined to be so friendly and accomodating to an Apprentice like him without the intervention of someone above.

Enoch sniffed at his response. "That's nice to hear. In any case, your assignment here at Frozen Point will be to assist the Mech Analysis Work Group in our core purpose, which is to analyze and process the vast amount of scattered footage and sensor readings of Vesian mechs in order to pick out their strengths and weaknesses. I've been informed that this is not an unfamiliar task to you, is that correct?"

Ves tried to suppress a smirk. He was so good at it that in one instance he managed to scare away an entire pirate gang by exposing all of the shortcomings of their mechs!

"I have a decent amount of experience in this area, and I think I am quite capable of analyzing most standard mechs."

"Hm, you sound honest enough." The professor nodded in satisfaction. "You pass. Compared to my other subordinates, I'm pleased by your modesty. I feel easier to appoint you as a supervisor of the Second Analysis Team. A Journeyman who used to hold that position has been transferred to a more promising position, so you'll have to fill in some very big shoes, do you understand?"

It wouldn't be the first time Ves took up a position ordinarily held by a Journeyman. "I am confident that I can fulfill your expectations."

Professor Enoch looked a little skeptical at his boast. "We'll see. The Second Analysis Team can be a bit of a handful. I hope you won't come to me for any complaints. As the recipient of the Golden Mech, many of us have placed high expectations on you. Do not disappoint us."

After receiving a bit more instructions on what his new job actually entailed, the Professor transferred a lot of documents to his comm and ordered him to read them all before he started his new job.

"One more thing, Mr. Larkinson."

"Yes, professor?"

"Be sure to wear the right uniform while on the job. We have already supplied your quarters with the right outfits."

After that, Ves left the office and followed the guide on his comm to another section of the base which housed all the accommodation.

Ves entered the quarters assigned to him. The small and basic-looking room did not offer too much space, reminding him of the cabins back on the Shield of Hispania. He checked the closet and read up on the relevant regulations and saw that he needed to wear his so-called 'service dress uniform' during his stay in the base.

If Ves had been assigned to serve aboard a ship, then he could still keep wearing his unobtrusive work uniform. Yet now that he was formally transferred to Frozen Point, Ves needed to wear the service dress version of his uniform.

Overall, the uniform of mech designers didn't really differ all that much besides their cut and some embellishments. The only point where Ves had issue with was that he was obligated to wear his awards, though fortunately just in ribbon form so he could leave out the shiny metal. Apparently, the Mech Corps did give way to some practicality, unlike the Mech Legion which encouraged their servicemen to show off their bling.

"Damn, I'm going to catch a lot of attention again regardless." He cursed.

Mech designers generally didn't earn that much awards, especially ones related to combat.

After resigning himself to his fate, he spent the rest of the night going over the documents regarding his new duties before turning in for the night.

The next day, Professor Enoch brought him to the workplace of the Second Analysis Team.

An expansive bank of terminals and projections of various Vesian mechs dominated the expansive room. Around forty mech designers of various ages but mostly on the younger end worked behind the terminals.

Each of them halted and stood up at Professor Enoch's entry.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your new supervisor. Ves Larkinson is a distinguished Apprentice Mech Designer who has received special attention from the higher ups. Please afford him the respect that he is owed. That is all. I will let Mr. Larkinson take over from here."

As Professor Enoch left him to the wolves, Ves suppressed his irritation at the professor's overly short introduction. Obviously, the Senior wanted Ves to prove himself to his new subordinates and added some difficulties by mentioning that Ves got to this position only because someone pulled some strings behind the scenes.

The mech designers all waited for Professor Enoch to leave the work room before relaxing their guard.

"Are you really just an Apprentice?" A young man questioned.

"I am."

"Wait a minute! Look at his chest! That... That's the Darkness Eater!"

"Hell, he's wearing the Torchbearer as well!"

"That's not all! He's also carrying the Golden Mech!"

That caused the entire room of mech designers to grow from shocked to numb. All the other ribbons that Ves wore on his chest didn't catch as much attention as the three biggest ones, something which none of the mech designers would ever be able to touch in their lives!

The sight of those awards sparked a wave of disbelief. "This is absurd! There's no way a mech designer like him earned those medals for real!"

"He cheated! He cheated!"

"How many generals did he seduce to obtain those decorations?!"

Seemingly spontaneously, the prevailing theory among the mech designers of the Second Analysis Team was that Ves somehow had an affair with half the generals of the Mech Corps in order to obtain the three big awards.

This entire show exasperated Ves because he knew exactly what kind of mech designers he was dealing with right now. Their young age, their soft demeanor and sense of entitlement in their voices told him that they were the lucky ones who had been drafted by the Mech Corps but assigned to rear-guard duty.

These were the people with enough talent, wealth or connections to be spared from the ravages of war. No wonder Professor Enoch mentioned that Frozen Point Research Base was a highly desirable place to work at for mech designers. There was hardly any risk of danger here!

From the looks of it, the mech designers here were used to a looser and more tolerant work regime. It wouldn't have been much of a problem is a genuine Journeyman Mech Designer took charge of these high-ranking Apprentice Mech Designers, but the problem was that Ves was technically one of their peers!

Fortunately, Ves didn't entirely come unprepared. Along with his prior leadership experience, he also brushed up on some management theories under the direction of Professor Velten.

Ves started to take on the bearing of a leader and threw them all a sharp glance. Some of the mech designers couldn't help but falter in their disrespectful banter.

"If that is all, please follow me to the virtual workshop. Let us get acquainted with each other."

His voice cut through their irreverent banter. Even though he hadn't raised his voice all that much, it contained a magnetic quality that attracted their attention no matter how much they initially dismissed him. Ves expected his orders to be obeyed!

Chapter 972

The first step Ves needed to take in his new role as supervisor was to obtain everyone's acknowledgement.

While there were several ways he could earn the respect and obedience of his subordinates, Ves liked to be a little more direct. Why pussyfoot around when he could prove his ability to the other mech designers in the fastest and most efficient way possible?

Just like how he once took over the position of head designer at the Flagrant Vandals, this time Ves intended to prove he was the most qualified mech designer to become their supervisor by defeating them in a mass design duel!

"Many of you are probably skeptical of my qualifications. That's a fair question to ask." Ves began as they all filed into the virtual workshop.

This was an area where mech designers could experiment with designing virtual mechs or analyzing reconstructed models at a lifelike scale.

"Since we don't know each other, let us introduce ourselves and get to know each other better here. Let's start with names. As you all know, I am Ves Larkinson. I graduated from the Rittersberg University of Technology and I am currently apprenticed to Master Carmin Olson from the Friday Coalition."

His introduction did not elicit the reaction that Ves was hoping for. While a number of mech designers out of the forty gathered here looked impressed that he possessed a connection to a Master Mech Designer, two-thirds of them reacted differently.

First, they showed disdain at the mention of his alma mater. Admittedly, the Rittersberg University of Technology didn't particularly excel in bringing up notable mech designers.

However, many of them reacted quite negatively when he mentioned his apprenticeship.

Ves already had a creeping suspicion why most of the mech designers here felt that way.

"Please introduce yourselves to me. Let's start from left to right."

The leftmost mech designer proudly stepped forward. "Reginald Van Buren, Apprentice mech Designer, Ansel University of Mech Design. I am also the founder and former CEO of VBO Mechs."

The other thirty-nine mech designers stepped forward and announced themselves in turn. An overwhelming number of them graduated from the Ansel University of Mech Design on Bentheim, to the point where many of them were former classmates of each other!

Many of them proudly showed off some of their accomplishments. Some of them were mentored by notable Seniors of the Republic, while others founded successful mech manufacturing companies, often with the help of their rich and powerful families or backers.

Each of them were already used to success with the help of their advantages. Ves predicted that in time, many of them would grow up and mature to become the backbone of the Bright Republic's mech industry.

"Ansel, huh?" Ves muttered.

This institute had a tendency to shape their mech designers into loyal patriots of the Republic. This was generally a good thing because those mech designers wouldn't be tempted to run off for greener pastures at the Friday Coalition or elsewhere.

Unfortunately, they also tended to look down on graduates from the other universities of the Bright Republic. On top of that, they exhibited a deep suspicion against mech designers associated with foreign institutes or mech designers, of which the Friday Coalition wasn't excluded!

Therefore, Ves already saw that he had an uphill battle in store to gain the acknowledgement of his subordinates. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized he needed to act even harsher than he originally intended.

To stuck-up, entitled, elitist mech designers like these, only with a sufficient amount of shock would he be able to beat their prejudices out of their systems!

"Alright, I can see you are all doubting my qualifications to lead the Second Analysis Team. Very well. Today, I'll give you the opportunity to prove your point. Let's compete on designs. I'll give each of you as well as myself eight hours to design a mech according to a randomized set of parameters. At the end of the time limit, we'll pit all of our designs in simulated combat against each other. If my design loses against any of yours, I'll acknowledge that I'm not qualified. Is that okay?"

A couple of mech designers looked suspicious, but many of the Ansel graduates expressed supreme confidence in their ability. There was no way this upstart transfer could upstage all forty of them, right?

Ves smirked like a shark. These little brats had no idea who they were messing with. Spending all of their time in this isolated bubble in the Robach System may have kept them safe from any threats to their lives, but it also prevented from acquiring some essential survival skills!

"Let us begin. I'll set the randomizer up so that we'll be on a completely even playing field for this massed design duel."

For the rest of the day, the members of the Second Analysis Team continued to hole up in the virtual workshop. The time extended way beyond eight hours as Ves wanted to hammer the differences between him and the rest!

At the end of the extended session, all forty mech designers slumped their way out of the virtual workshop, looking utterly exhausted and defeated.

"I'm finally out! Thank heavens!"

"What a monster!"

"How is this freak not a Journeyman yet?!"

Ves walked out afterwards with a smile and a jaunt in his step. Just like with the Vandal mech designers, he showcased his superior knowledge and design ability in the fairest method possible by pitting them in combat against each other.

The only difference this time was that Ves competed against somewhat competent mech designers this time. All of them possessed sufficient chops to compete directly in the mech market.

Nonetheless, unlike Ves, even if they were close to becoming Journeyman, they still possessed some gaps in several critical areas.

Even after his design won handedly in all forty simulated duels against the other designs, Ves kept the defeated mech designers back. Many of them still looked unconvinced, so Ves needed to chip away at their confidence a bit more.

How better to do so than to pick apart the weaknesses of their hasty and sloppy designs? This was the main job of Professor Enoch's Mech Analysis Research Group, so he began to prove his qualifications to be their supervisor by brutally criticizing all of the faults and shortcomings of their designs.

No one even had a chance to defend their designs in front of his verbal onslaught.

Only then did he release his subordinates from the virtual workshop, because only now did he truly defeat their rebellious spirits.

"Tomorrow, let's get to work." He announced, causing many of them to groan or dread the next day.

Over the next couple of days, Ves began to ease into his role as supervisor. His main job consisted of herding all forty mech designers in analyzing the deluge of data of Vesian mechs sent from the frontlines.

The main challenge in this job was that there were truly hundreds, if not thousands of different mech models to go through. An additional complication was that many of their designs were updated over time or came in new and slightly different variants, thereby necessitating another evaluation to figure out what changed.

The amount of work never ended, and mech designers needed to work all day in order to have a chance at reducing the stockpile.

Still, Ves started to question the effectiveness of the method adopted by the Mech Analysis Research Group. Wouldn't Professor Enoch alone be able to pick out all of the weaknesses by himself? Ves knocked on the door of his office and sat down to ask this very question.

"It's too much." Professor Enoch replied simply. "Since you have done a decent job at acclimatizing to your new responsibilities, you must have surely found out that we are receiving data from hundreds of different Vesian mechs every day. If I do all the work all day, I won't just go crazy, I'll also grow tired and weary to the point where I misjudge the data at hand. Therefore, we are leaving much of the simpler and more obvious observations to groups of Apprentices. Only after they are done with their analyses will I check up on their work and add any details they have left out."

"Ah, so you are only responsible for analyzing and noting down the details that the other Apprentices has missed." Ves concluded.

"Correct, and it should be a responsibility for you as well. We aren't employing you just to manage the Second Analysis Team. You also need to start noting down your observations and analyses before you pass on the files to my desk, do you understand?"

Ves nodded. "I understand. The more traits we manage to pick out, the less work is left to you."

Therefore, to keep Professor Enoch happy, Ves needed to make sure that he and everyone else in the Second Analysis Team caught as many details as possible.

Days passed into weeks, and weeks passed into months. The initial tension between Ves and his subordinates started to smooth out, although a palpable distance still existed. The relation between Ansel alumni and non-Ansel mech designers would always stay frosty regardless how much Ves had proved himself.

Nonetheless, under his strict reign, none of the Apprentices dared to pull off any tricks. Those who tried received a fierce verbal beating from Ves.

As routine settled in, Ves found the work to be rather tedious if anything. Analyzing hundreds and thousands of unique iterations of mechs fielded by the Vesians quickly got old. There were too many of them, and while most of them were excellent designs, he had already seen more than enough to last a lifetime.

Professor Enoch became more and more pleased by his performance. The Second Analysis Team caught more details, saving the professor a significant amount of time and effort, allowing him to spend his time more fruitfully on another project at Frozen Point. Naturally, the professor's other activities were classified and Ves had no business poking around there.

Having stayed in the base for a couple of months, Ves realized that a lot more went on at Frozen Point than just keeping a couple of important brats busy by having them stare at mechs all day.

Ves knew that his current assignment was already vitally important. Mech designers in the field didn't always have the time or ability to analyze all the different kinds of mechs the Vesians fielded next. Just like the Mech Corps, the Mech Legion constantly iterated on their designs, evolving them or adapting them to different circumstances after every battle.

"Our work makes a huge difference, even if we never get to see the effects in person." Professor Enoch mentioned one day during their daily morning briefings. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. A thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a particular mech model will wipe away the doubt in the minds of our mech pilots. Studies have shown that we can increase the odds of winning by as much as ten percent!"

Even so, Ves started to miss the exciting days with the Vandals. Somehow, everything he did there felt much more meaningful than holing up in this secret research base far away from the action.

None of the mech designers never felt any effects from the war at Frozen Point.

What little Ves knew about how the war progressed came in the form of gossip and scattered clues from all of the data they received. He learned how to read the raw data they received to build a vague picture of the war.

Perhaps one day, a certain mech model fielded by a certain Vesian mech regiment showed up at the border. Perhaps a few weeks later that same mech model showed up much deeper into the Republic's territory, almost encroaching upon Bentheim. Perhaps a month after that a slightly updated version of that mech model appeared again closer to the border again.

Many of such designs see-sawed back and forth. Star Systems were constantly fought over, and many of them exchanged hands several times as defenders and attackers switched places.

To Ves, it seemed the war wasn't going anywhere for both sides. The Vesians couldn't manage to break through to Bentheim, but the Brighters failed to dislodge the invaders from their territory.

If it was anything like the past, the two sides would eventually exhaust themselves against each other and broker a peace at some point. Ves wondered if this time would be any different.

The only point of concern was that this time, the Vesians managed to penetrate dangerously close to Bentheim. Vesian mech regiments already sporadically raided the Bentheim System, disrupting some of the trade that went through the critical port system.

Would the Vesians be able to break through in earnest this time?

One day, Professor Enoch finally called him up for an office for a special meeting. Evidently, Ves showcased enough ability and leadership to be entrusted with greater responsibilities.

Chapter 973

Ves sat in front of Professor Enoch at his office. Just like the professor and any other mech designer, he wore his service dress uniform. The only difference was that the ribbons he showed off caught a lot of attention to those who knew how to read them, which was actually pretty much everyone assigned to Frozen Point!

"Mr. Larkinson, you've been with us for half a year, have you not? I hope that your comfortable and placid stay at Frozen Point hasn't distorted your perception of Flashlight. Analyzing and interpreting data is one of our mildest activities and only scratches the surface of our mandate. I hope you realize that your job for the last few months was a trial to see if you have what it takes to work for Flashlight. Even if you dropped the ball and failed to deliver the work that is expected from the Second Analysis Team, every report still has to go through my office, allowing me to catch anything you've missed."

He understood the Senior Mech Designer's underlying message. Having worked in Frozen Point Research base for months, he began to get a feel for the subtlety underlying the words of those who embodied Flashlight's secretive nature.

"So all this time, sir, I've been in some sort of trial period to see if I have what it takes to work for Flashlight?"

The professor smiled at Ves. "Indeed. The nature of your transfer is rather unconventional, to say the least. Many of us here at Flashlight questioned whether certain authorities stretched the rules too much when they issued your awards. Some of us wanted to wait and see if you have the ability to be one of us, while others investigated your background and recent exploits."

"And that took months?"

"We aren't in a hurry. At least we thought so. The investigation of my colleagues are still in progress, but events prompted by the latest actions of our enemies have overtaken us. You have followed the progress of the war, right? It has become clear to us that the Vesians are preparing a direct push for the Bentheim system at all costs this time. This has alarmed our entire military apparatus! At this critical time, Flashlight needs all hands on deck."

This sounded quite serious, as Professor Enoch was not prone to exaggeration.

"Therefore, there is a different assignment in store for me now?" Ves asked.

"Indeed. While we would rather use our more dedicated agents for the missions that needs to be done on Bentheim, this critical planet is so large and complex that we find ourselves shorthanded. This is why we are reaching out for alternatives, and your name has come up for one of our missions. You see, your Larkinson lineage and your awards has shown that you are not averse to danger. Have you not complained to me that you feel unfulfilled with your current duties? This is your chance to escape the drudgery of herding a bunch of brats!"

When Ves expressed his dissatisfaction, he hoped that Professor Enoch would transfer him to a design team or allow him to assist in research.

He did not intend to volunteer for a dangerous mission in the field as the professor hinted what was on the table right now!

If Ves knew that his complaints led to this result, then he would have kept his head down! After spending the bulk of his time in the war on the Aeon Corona Mission, he was more than tired of dangerous missions!

"The last months have allowed us to confirm that you haven't been promoted above your station. As the bearer of the Darkness Eater, Torchbearer and Golden Mech, it is an enormous waste for Flashlight to keep you behind enemy lines. No, a Larkinson such as you must crave for action! Well, I have good news for you, for there is a perilous but important priority mission that has a need for a mech designer that isn't averse to

Ves returned a brittle smile. "Oh, I do not wish to be presumptuous. I am not a trained intelligence operative. I barely know how to hit a target with a pistol! I am sure that Flashlight has better, more trustworthy and more reliable mech designers for the job."

"Ah, but that is the thing? We mech designers aren't known for our courage and daring. Our constant need for study and practice has left us with very little time to improve our survival abilities. You appear to be an exception to the rule, no doubt helped by your Larkinson roots!"

"I believe you are overstating my upbringing. Even if I share the same last name as the other Larkinsons, as a norm I have never underwent any of the focusing combat training that my mech pilots cousins have undergone."

This was one of the times where his Larkinson background bit him back in butt! Every Brighter seemed to have the misconception that anyone who bore the last name of Larkinson was trained to fight from birth! Ves enjoyed no such thing, and the only combat training he went through was the basic mandatory training courses he went through when he attended the Rittersberg University of Technology.

The professor practically ran over his objections. "Ah, you do not have to be so modest, Mr. Larkinson. The job that Flashlight needs fulfilling is a very special one. It requires a very good mech designer of Journeyman caliber to undergo significant risks. To send one of our precious Journeymen into danger is far too risky and the higher ups would never allow it. You, however, closely approximates the ability of one yet you are still an Apprentice."

In other words, Flashlight needed someone good but also someone expendable if anything went wrong. Even though Ves considered himself to be a single step away from advancing to Journeyman, the truth of the matter was that he was still regarded as an Apprentice!

The Bright Republic was already home to so many Apprentice Mech Designers that they didn't really care if thousands of them died. Senator Tovar's opinions made that painfully clear.

In contrast, the difficulty of advancing meant that the number of Journeymen that emerged never satisfied the Republic. Journeymen enjoyed special consideration by the state because each of them was a potential money maker for the economy. The most successful among them designed attractive mechs that sold well throughout the star sector or beyond.

Seeing that all of his attempts to fend off the request fell on flat ears, Ves sighed. "Can you at least explain what this mission entails, sir?"

"Not without receiving your commitment to participate in this mission." The professor shook his head. He reached down from his desk and placed a secure data pad before Ves. "The mission we have in mind for you is fairly sensitive, so we first need to bring you aboard before we can reveal the details to you. Please sign the documents in the pad."

Ves gazed at the secure data pad as if it was a venomous snake poised to bite his hand. He was practically being railroaded in participating in this special mission!

"I believe Flashlight would be better served if someone with the right training and qualifications undergoes their missions rather than an amateur like me. To be honest, much of my earlier accomplishments are highly overstated. The only reason why I got these awards in the first place is because it served the political interests of someone powerful."

Professor Enoch paused and tapped his finger against his desk. The small smirk on his face showed that he wasn't unaware of what Ves was doing right now.

"The Bright Republic is a meritocracy. We have to be. The Vesians, for all of their barbarity, are remarkably effective in motivating their commoners by dangling the hopes of obtaining peerage. As your awards have already shown, the Mech Corps can be generous to their heroes. Flashlight is no less reserved when it comes to rewarding success."

That caught Ves' attention. "What kind of... remuneration is in consideration if I make a good effort?"

"There are a number of benefits should you choose to engage with Flashlight in earnest. As only agents of a certain status within the organization are able to participate in this mission, we will upgrade your status from a conscripted mech designer attached to Flashlight into an external collaborator of our esteemed organization."

"Does that mean I'll formally join Flashlight?"

"Not exactly." The professor shook his head. "The difference between a collaborator and a member of Flashlight is that the latter are direct members while the former are merely people who cooperate with some of our initiatives. The benefit is that we will not expect you to dedicate your entire life to the service, but in turn you won't be able to climb in the service. It's a shame we didn't get to you earlier."

"If I'm upgraded to an external collaborator for Flashlight, what benefits am I entitled to receive?"

"Certain individuals in Flashlight has impressed upon us to take over the role over supervising your mech company from the Ministry of Economic Development. You have to know that this particular ministry is very greedy about the companies under their benevolent rule. We need to pay a substantial price to pry one of their companies from their grip. Therefore, I'm sorry to say that this particular favor hasn't been fulfilled. If you suddenly become an external collaborator, then the situation is entirely different."

Ves understood. If Ves maintained an ongoing relationship with Flashlight, then it would make sense for his company to come under their supervision. This would allow them to leverage his company to further their interests.

While Ves wasn't pleased at all to have any government entities interfering with his business, he slowly learned over time that all major businesses became subject to government control in some sense. This was the standard in the Bright Republic and much of the Komodo Star Sector.

Therefore, rather than surrendering his company to the bloated Ministry of Economic Development, Ves would rather accept some constraints from Flashlight which was much less inclined to exercise any overt control due to their covert nature.

It would defeat the point of maintaining a veil of secrecy if the LMC became a known front for Flashlight!

"Are there any other rewards for becoming a collaborator? What's in store for me if I perform the mission to Flashlight's satisfaction?"

"We have not fixed any concrete rewards as of yet, but success will firmly validate your perceived value to the service. On top of that, a good performance will also settle the doubts of skeptics and stifle the criticism of naysayers. Winning over the support of the bulk of the service is vital if you wish to cooperate fruitfully with Flashlight as an external collaborator."

All of the claims made by Professor Enoch sounded a bit too vague to Ves' liking. Yet he knew the importance of getting on the good side of Flashlight. Major Verle did warn him several times that he needed to find a backer in the intelligence agency in order to maintain a firm footing in their company.

Equivocating or refusing this mission would not only displease Professor Enoch and those that favored him, but would also strengthen the voices of his critics within the service!

The picture Professor Enoch painted for Ves all encouraged him to accept this dangerous venture. Though he knew that he'd be able to earn a lot of kudos from Flashlight if he did so, he had no idea of how much danger he'd be subjected to if he said yes!

Ves grumbled inwardly that he really should have been more appreciative of his boring and tedious job as supervisor of the Second Analysis Team. Riding herd on a bunch of entitled mech designers in a quiet place like Frozen Point sounded a lot better than participating in some murky mission in a chaotic place like Bentheim!

Chapter 974

After thorough consideration, Ves eventually signed the documents. Some of them dealt with disclaimers about how Ves would be on his own if his relationship with Flashlight became exposed. They also bound him under some very strict terms of secrecy.

All of these obligations sounded par for the course for an intelligence agency, so Ves did not feel too uncomfortable with signing them in his name. From now on, Ves became a part of the Flashlight family, albit only as a distant cousin instead of a son from the main line.

"Excellent!" Professor Enoch said as he put away the data pad. "I'll make sure those documents are processed as quickly as possible. While we don't expect a collaborator like you to act as a spy for us, it would do you good if you could read some manuals on how to keep your connection to us a secret. You can read them later from your comm. Right now, let us move on to the mission that is in store for a mech designer of your talents."

The man retrieved another data pad and unlocked its encryption before passing it on to Ves.

"Let me give you some background. As a mech designer who founded your company close to Bentheim, I'm sure you are familiar with the complexities of the port system. A small but significant proportion of trade in the Komodo Star Sector flows through the Bentheim System. The main inhabited planet that is simply referred to as Bentheim is additionally home to high density industry. Both of these endowments has led to Bentheim becoming a huge source of revenue for the state."

As Ves began to read the introductory documents, he began to get an inkling of what went on. "Not everyone on Bentheim is pleased that their hard work is used to subsidize the poorer regions of the Bright Republic."

"Indeed. Simpletons." Enoch threw out a contemptuous smile. "Many Bentheimers share this sentiment, but they have always been fairly manageable. The true problem lies with those with harder convictions. The separatists of the Bentheim Liberation Movement has been a thorn in our side for centuries. While rooting out the vermin in our state is ordinarily the responsibility of Spotlight, the Republic's domestic intelligence agency, they do not have the best track record."

"The Bentheim Liberation Movement has never been stamped out. Each time one of their hideouts get destroyed, another one pops up right after." Ves remarked.

"Very much so. While we here at Flashlight are inclined to let Spotlight handle this headache, the imminent Vesian invasion attempt on Bentheim has brought this issue under our mandate. That is because we have obtained evidence that the separatists are prepared to act in coordination with the Vesians!"

Ves did not show much surprise at this revelation. After all, hadn't the Vandals banded together with the Vesian Revolutionary Front to facilitate their raid on the Detemen System? It could only be said that the Vesians chose well in adopting the same methods!

"The separatists has to now that they are inviting a tiger to deal with the wolf." He said, expressing his own opinion. "Even if the BLM succeeds in dislodging the Bright Republic from Bentheim, the Vesians will probably be worse."

"Well, logic hasn't always been their strong suit." Professor Enoch huffed. "If they are actually clever, then they would have never embarked on this impossible crusade to fight for an independent Bentheim state. In any case, one of the reasons why the BLM is always able to bounce back with a new crop of rebel-owned mechs is because a small number of domestic companies secretly support them by supplying a considerable amount of funding, supplies and war materiel to their cells!"

While Ves already knew that something like this must be happening, Professor Enoch made it sound as if the scale was a lot larger than he thought!

"Why would these mech companies do such a thing? Most mech designers aren't stupid. They should know that throwing off the Bright Republic won't favor them. Once the Vesians come and take over, they'll displace all of the old companies with Brighter roots for newer companies that are unquestionably loyal to the various powers within the Vesia Kingdom."

"As I said earlier, logic is never the BLM's strong suit, and the same goes for the backers who enable them. With regards to the mech companies, some mech designers are native Bentheimers who are naive and misguided enough to be sympathetic to the cause. Other mech designers are loyal Brighters, but are being incentivized, blackmailed or coerced by the BLM to provide material aid."

The BLM mostly consisted of locals. It was no surprise to Ves that they became very adept at manipulating the mech companies that operated on Bentheim to their advantage.

As Ves read the mission briefing, he understood that his primary job would be to investigate a major mech manufacturer that came to prominence quite recently.

"You suspect this Kadar-Neyvis Group of collaborating with the separatists? Why don't you just send in the Planetary Guard to raid their offices and take their mech designers into custody?"

Professor Enoch's smile grew a little stringent. "That is because the KNG is not to be trifled with despite its relatively short existence. One of their founders is... politically connected."

"Ah." Ves gained some understanding of the sensitive nature of this mission. "Spotlight probably doesn't want to touch the KNG at all, is that right? So they shoved the responsibility of dealing with this potentially dirty laundry to Flashlight instead."

"The KNG came about as a merger between two mech companies founded by two Journeymen. Mrs. Estella Kadar originates from Rittersberg and provides the political connections from the capital to further the company's interests. Mr. Antoine Neyvis is a local Bentheimer from a well-off family and provides the local connections to allow their company thrive on Bentheim. Both of them are alumni of the AUMD and are also married with children."

The union of two Journeyman Mech Designers and their companies sounded like a match made in heaven! It was no wonder that the KNG rose quickly ever since their founders married and their companies merged.

In addition, as graduates of the powerful Ansel University of Mech Design, they were also a part of the school's very cohesive and interconnected alumni network.

All in all, their connections meant that no one wanted to touch them if they could help it! Likely, one of the reasons Ves came into consideration for this mission was that he never attended Ansel in his life.

"Okay, I get it. Somewhat. You've obtained scattered proof that the KNG is involved with the BLM, but you don't have confirmation." Ves summed up. "Therefore, they need to be investigated but not in a way that makes it obvious that the Republic has cause to suspect their loyalty. It states here that the KNG is currently producing a lot of mechs and replacement parts for several Bentheim mech regiments. So they have the support of several Bentheim mech regiments as well!"

What a nightmare to the authorities! With both political, local and military connections, the KNG covered their backs extremely thoroughly!

"While Flashlight is not afraid of exposing any misdeeds at any company no matter how well-connected they are, that does not mean it is wise to barge into their facilities without solid proof. Not only would that unnecessarily draw the ire of their backers, but it would also destabilize Bentheim if it became known that a powerful company like the KNG was in cahoots with the BLM."

"So the important aspect about the mission is that everything has to be done quietly?"

"Indeed." The professor nodded. "Flashlight prefers to operate with tact and discretion. The more our activities are exposed, the harder it is for us to get anything done. We would like to handle this matter without drawing anyone's attention."

"So how does Flashlight intends to slip me into the KNG to investigate their factories for any signs of misdeeds? Do I need to put on a disguise and pretend to be someone else?"

"Not as such. You are not trained as a spy, so it would be very unwise to employ you in that fashion. No, you will go in with your own identity. The KNG excels at designing and producing both spaceborn mechs and frontline mechs, so much so that they have several standing contracts with a couple of Bentheim mech regiments. Due to the KNG's association with the Mech Corps, it is not unusual for the military to send a liaison to supervise the production of their military mechs."

Ves nodded. Mech regiments all possessed some form of mech production capabilities in their bases. The Flagrant Vandals for example invested a considerable amount of funding and resources into acquiring the Wolf Mother, a gigantic factory ship which was capable of fabricating mechs and other heavy machinery on the move.

However, the military was the military. They didn't particularly excel at mass producing mechs. Domestic companies could do the same job cheaper, faster and at a much greater scale.

In the spirit of specialization, many mech regiments and mech divisions tended to source their mechs from trusted companies. With the KNG's abundant amount of connections, they must have been a great company to entrust with the production of mechs for the military.

That such a company actually maintained dealings with both the Mech Corps and the Bentheim Liberation Movement was exceedingly alarming!

He read through the mission briefing on the data pad and finally came to the section which described the nature of his role. "I see that Flashlight is putting my exploits to good use."

"Indeed. Even if your exact accomplishments are classified, there is no doubt that you have excelled in your duties." The professor said with a touch of mocking. "It wouldn't be out of place for the Mech Corps to take you away from the frontlines and reward you with a cushy job in Bentheim. Your skill in mech design along with the distinctions you've earned both allow us to convince the married pair of Journeymen that you are a legitimate liaison mech designer assigned to the KNG."

"Even so, won't Kadar or Neyvis or anyone else at the company be a bit suspicious about me poking around at their production facilities?"

"The Mech Corps already assigned a liaison at the KNG. That mech designer is already transferring out, so you will merely be filling in someone else's shoes. Besides, that previous liaison happened to be fellow Ansel alumnus, so he was rather overly chummy with the pair."

It sounded stupid for a graduate of the AUMD to supervise the activities of other graduates of that school. Ves had no doubt that someone pulled some strings to arrange such a circumstance.

"Even so, I haven't studied at Ansel so the pair is bound to be vigilant against me, right?"

The professor laughed. "Hahaha! Ah, but that's the beauty of it! We predict they won't put up their guard in your presence at all! First, you are a Larkinson and a war hero who has earned three very distinguished medals. The Golden Mech alone will make them more inclined to build a relationship with you regardless of your lack of connections to Ansel."

Ves understood that. It would be very impolitic for Kadar and Neyvis to disparage the holder of all those awards. The brats at the Second Analysis Team didn't know any better but the two middle-aged Journeymen knew better.

"Secondly, you are as good as a Journeyman but you are still officially an Apprentice. Kadar and Neyvis will still look down on you for that and won't suspect that you are knowledgeable and perceptive enough to pick up minute irregularities that would have tripped a Journeyman."

He agreed with that as well. Ves was very confident of his abilities, and his extensive experience in his own company and with the Vandals made him quite adept at navigating various workshops and production facilities.

"Third, you've spent half a year supervising numerous younger Ansel alumni. Your daily interactions with them haven't gone unnoticed, and while I am aware you do not have the best relationship with them, you have become familiar with their shared traits and identity. The familiarity that you have acquired by interacting with Ansel alumni will serve you well in keeping on the good side of Kadar and Neyvis."

All of these points sounded compelling. While Ves did not feel very enthusiastic about being sent alone into a possibly murky den by himself and with very little assistance.

It made him feel as if he volunteered to become a rat.

Chapter 975

"I have a question." Ves said. "My job is to leverage the identity of a liaison mech designer of the Mech Corps to investigate the Kadar-Neyvis Group for any subversive activities. Where exactly does the danger come from? Why does Flashlight frame this mission in a way that implies the potential for extreme danger to any mech designer that investigates the company?"

Professor Enoch closed his eyes for a moment. "Good question. This isn't stated in your mission briefing, but we are aware that the Bentheim Liberation Movement has a habit of placing their own men in the mech companies that have caught their interest. If the KNG is secretly collaborating with the separatists, then you will be sure that the both of them will be extremely hostile against those that nose around too much."

"I see."

"In the worst case, the BLM has not only planted their combatants in the KNG's production facilities, but also rigged them up to blow in the event of exposure."

"However, if everything goes well, it won't come down to that, right?"

"Correct. We are merely talking about the worse case scenario. If you do your job well and avoid attracting the attention of the pair or any possible BLM spies, it is sufficient for you to return to your handler once you have gathered sufficient hard proof of any suspect activities."

Sounded simple. Probably wasn't. Oh well. Ves had already signed on to this mission, so it was far too late to turn around.

"I have another question. I'm supposed to investigate for any signs the KNG is collaborating with the BLM, but that's not all, right? It states here that if I found definite proof of such a connection, I'm also responsible for following up on who at the KNG is responsible."

"Indeed." Enoch said and gestured with his hand. "There are many possible explanations why the KNG might possibly be involved with the BLM. It could be a disgruntled manager turning to the BLM out of a perceived grievance. It could be a chief technician that always sympathised with the separatists who is the main insider responsible."

"It could also be someone from the top that is the main driver to the KNG's activities, someone like Antoine Neyvis who is a native from Bentheim." Ves bluntly pointed out the most painful possibility.

"Even so, there are various levels of involvement with the BLM. The extent of KNG's collaboration might merely be a minor incident where they smuggle some parts fabricated off the books in exchange for cash. It could also be a more thorough cooperation where the KNG supplies the BLM with entire mechs. The reason for doing so may rest on a voluntary or involuntary basis. If someone like Mr. Neyvis is in fact involved with the matter, it is important to find out whether he is a genuine sympathiser or an unwilling collaborator who has been blackmailed into working with the BLM."

All of this sounded like a murky swamp, and Ves was about to dive head-first into the dirty water.

"While I'm confident I can ascertain whether there are any irregularities at the KNG's production facilities, I'm less confident about investigating the people responsible. I know mechs and I'm very familiar with their production environment, but if you expect me to be some kind of charmer like in all the spy dramas, then I'm afraid you barked up the wrong tree."

Professor Enoch smiled at Ves in a way that disregarded what he just said. "Don't worry, Mr. Larkinson. A handler and support team will be backing you up during the mission. If you encounter any difficulties during your investigation, just tell your handler. While liaisons are usually sent in alone, know that you are not alone in your endeavors. The entirety of Flashlight is backing you up."

"The documents I signed earlier stated that only holds as long as my true relationship with Flashlight remains a secret. If my connection with you ever comes to light, it will be as if I never existed in your eyes!"

"That's how the game is played, Mr. Larkinson. You shouldn't get in bed with Flashlight if you can't keep a secret. My advice? Don't let yourself be exposed! If Kadar or Neyvis ever has cause to suspect your identity, you should admit to being an agent of the Mech Corps. At no point are you ever allowed to reveal that you have been sent by Flashlight, is that clear?"

"Understood, professor." Ves replied in a resigned tone.

After his agreement and initial briefing, Ves quietly put down his responsibilities as the supervisor of the Second Analysis Team without saying farewell to his subordinates.

Even if he found the job to be very tedious, he would miss the safety it afforded him. While being sent to Bentheim wasn't equivalent to being sent to the frontlines, Flashlight possessed a high degree of confidence that the Vesians would be coming!

With the Vesians breaking through from the outside and the Bentheim Liberation Movement wreaking havoc from the inside, it would be like the chaos and anarchy at Detemen IV all over again!

After a few days of hasty instruction and preparation, Ves boarded a shuttle that brought him out of Frozen Point. The shuttle left Robach VI and spent a fair amount of time to slip him back to the military space station on Robach III whereupon Ves 'returned to the system', as it were.

It was as if the Mech Corps never let go of Ves in the first place.

Wearing his unremarkable work uniform devoid of any glaring ribbons and medals, he quietly boarded a generic-looking military supply ship that joined a convoy that cut its way through the Green Nebula region with Bentheim as the end destination.

A large amount of military convoys made their way to Bentheim every day, so this one didn't attract any attention at all. To those who investigated his movements, it would simply appear that Ves spent some in a hidden base of the Mech Corps before popping back into public to take up his new duties as a military liaison to the Kadar-Neyvis Group.

However, there was something different about the ship that Ves was on right now. While she was a legitimate supply ship, Flashlight actually fudged her internal structure in order to sneak in a hidden compartment.

It was there that Ves met the intelligence officer responsible for supervising his infiltration attempt.

A young but impeccably-groomed man stood up from his terminal and approached Ves for a brief handshake. "I am Leland Toll. I'll be your case officer for this mission. I'm aware of your identity and some of your capabilities, and I know that you aren't familiar with our tradecraft. That's okay. It's my responsibility to worry about the spy matters so you don't have to. For now, you are primarily needed for your competence in mech design."

"Is Leland Toll even your real name?"

The man smiled at Ves in a familiar mocking fashion. "Names are merely labels. While it is wise of you to doubt every scrap of information you get your hands on, that is not what is asked of you for this mission. If you want to grow close to Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis, you will have to restrain your suspicious impulses."

That was easier said than done, Ves inwardly muttered. "So what's in store for me here?"

"During the remainder of our journey to Bentheim, you'll visit this secret compartment every day for a couple of hours in order to prepare you for your role. You will assume your role immediately upon arrival at Bentheim."

"That's not a lot of time."

"As I've said, Ves, we don't want you to be a spy." Leland repeated. "We want to convince everyone that you are just a mech designer, and what better way to sell this story by presenting a version of you that's the truth? Even so, you will need to be brought up to speed with some of the tools and protocols that we'll be using on your mission. In addition, I want you to read through and memorize the names and pertinent facts on not only the two mech designers presiding over the KNG, but every other mech designer, manager, chief technician and so on. Any of them may be the principal culprit that has subverted the KNG."

Ves nodded in understanding. While Flashlight hoped that the collusion within the Kadar-Neyvis Group only extended to a middle manager type, Ves had a suspicion that the rot extended a lot higher than that.

While he did not possess any solid proof that told him so, his own experience as the founder and CEO of the LMC told him that mech designers cared a lot about their production facilities. While not every mech designer deigned to fabricate a mech by hand like Ves regularly did, they were nonetheless control freaks when it came to running a smooth fabrication operation!

Kadar and Neyvis both appeared to be very competent mech designers. No one incompetent ever advanced to Journeymen. This led Ves to believe that they wouldn't be so sloppy and neglectful when it came to supervising the production aspect of their company.

In the next week or so, the military convoy slowly meandered its way through the Green Nebula region. This time, the convoy didn't take the long way but made a fairly direct passage to the Bentheim System.

Evidently, this critical port system urgently required a lot of supplies.

During this time, Ves got up to speed on various aspects that Leland wanted to instill in him, though time was far too short to teach him everything.

He familiarized with the names, faces and backgrounds of the key personnel within the KNG.

He received some instructions on how to use the small spy gadgets that Flashlight sometimes employed.

He learned some methods and protocol that seemed trivial but was at least easy for Ves to pick up.

"A badly trained spy is worse than an untrained spy like you." Leland remarked. "Right now, you are still pure in this regard so you have that authentic quality that makes it hard for others to pick up your connection to Flashlight. If we attempted to instill you with some of our actual methods, you simply don't have the training and experience to hide the signs."

While Ves understood this logic, he still felt as if he was being dumped right in the middle of potentially hostile terrain with barely any precautions!

"Will I at least be entitled to carry a weapon to defend myself?"

Leland nodded and pulled out a drawer holding a fairly boring-looking holstered pistol. "Even a liaison mech designer of the Mech Corps carries a sidearm as a rule. We've prepared a modified high-performance laser pistol for you that is disguised as a stand-issue model of the Mech Corps. It can help you in a pinch, but don't mistake it for a fully-fledged assault weapon."

"Can I get anything else? A shield generator perhaps?"

That caused the intelligence officer to chuckle. "I wish. We aren't that flush for funding. Your role as a liaison for the Mech Corps is intended to reinforce the impression that you are exempted from any hazardous duties closer to the war theater. When you are on Bentheim, you should show the appropriate amount of apprehension towards the uncertainties about the war in the news, but no more. Above all else, Bentheim is friendly territory, and your behavior should reflect that belief."

Ves was indeed somewhat familiar with Bentheim. That reminded him of something. "Am I allowed to make use of my own connections on Bentheim while I'm there?"

"Officially, a mech designer in the service of the Mech Corps is strictly expected to dedicate themselves to their primary responsibilities. Even if you have friends on Bentheim or own a company that has a presence there, you shouldn't mix official duties with private interests."

The way Leland said those words seemed to invite an opening. "I think there's a caveat there."

"Very perceptive of you. In practice, many mech designers in the same position are regularly found to be... lax regarding this regulation. Your supposed 'cushy' job at Bentheim also affords you more allowances than normal. How you choose to conduct yourself in light of this is up to you. Just remember that you need to sell your role to the KNG."

Chapter 976

As Leland brought him up to speed on various matters related to the KNG, the military convoy emerged in the Bentheim System faster than he thought. After undergoing a thorough security inspection that nevertheless completely missed the secret compartment where Leland hid, the supply ship finally reached a military space station.

Ves sat debarked from the ship with a hovering luggage coffer while wearing his service uniform. As a liaison officer, he was tasked with the duty of representing the interests of the Mech Corps at the Kadar-Neyvis Group.

He did not come as part of a fighting unit like before with the Vandals. Therefore, he constantly needed to dress as a representative befitting the dignity of the Mech Corps, which meant he wore his service uniform with his awards in ribbon form.

In this case, he wore them on his chest in the form of a ribbon rack.

Now that wasn't anything unusual. Many liaisons mech designers carried something of the sort. Careerists especially tended to accumulate a fair amount of campaign, service and training awards.

Ves even figured that many of them were actually invented by mech designers for the sole purpose of padding a military mech designer's chest! This not only allowed them to stand out from the conscripts, but also made them look less pathetic when standing next to mech pilots.

Of course, in the case of Ves, his three top awards looked very out of place to a mech designer like him. As soon as he stepped aboard the public area of the military space station, those that glanced at him couldn't help but rub their eyes or question their judgement.

"Darkness Eater? Torchbearer? On a mech designer of all people?!"

"That's the Golden Mech! How can that be?! He's too young! And there's been no word of an award ceremony!"

He knew he would elicit this kind of reaction, though he found the servicemen in transit to be a bit more expressive in their astonishment than he expected. Still, this time Ves aimed to achieve this kind of reaction.

The more astonishment he received, the more attention he drew!

The more attention he drew, the higher his public profile!

Ves smirked at the thought of how he would spend his time as a liaison on Bentheim. "Private interests shouldn't interfere with public duty, but who's there to stop me this time?"

Ordinarily, a liaison mech designer stationed on Bentheim enjoyed very loose supervision. As long as the military mechs came out from the manufacturing complexes alright, the higher ups didn't tend to care too much how they spent their time.

"The entire purpose of the job of liaison mech designer is to pull mech designers from the frontlines so that they can spend their time in comfort and leisure far away from the action."

Just like the mech designers assigned to the analysis teams at Frozen Point, many mech designers with promise or connections aimed for these low-risk positions.

Each of them would be able to ride out the war in almost complete safety while still being able to claim they served in the war!

Ves shook his head at the thought that he worked hard to be just like them once.

While the role he adopted ostensibly spared him from the ravages of war, who truly knew how safe it was at Bentheim these days? In addition, he needed to snoop around the production facilities of the KNG. If the large mech manufacturer possessed no ties with the Bentheim Liberation Movement, then nothing would happen.

The dangerous moments came if they did, for Ves doubted that the BLM would allow any nosy mech designers like him to find out anything amiss.

In the end, he was merely acting out a role, which was a short distance away from embodying it. The only thing on his mind right now was how he could leverage this temporary role to his own advantage.

Since he wasn't really answering to anyone except Leland this time, he figured he could get away with a lot more than the average liaison on official duty.

To that end, his first goal was to raise his public profile and become a recognized figure in the public sphere. Right now, there was no better way to do so than appearing in public! The noteworthiness of his three top awards would do the rest!

Already, the visitors of the space station started to consult their comms. They began to ask around about any news regarding his exploits or looked up his record to confirm what they saw!

If they did look him up, they would see a very condensed record with very few details.

Yet that was enough! The combination of his Larkinson name, his top awards and his association with the 6th Flagrant Vandals should be enough to send tongues wagging!

As he calmly waited for the next shuttle ride to the surface, a couple of drafted mech designers on leave summed up the courage to approach him. "Sir? Could you tell us how you earned your Golden Mech? I thought only Senior Mech Designers won this medal!"

Ves smiled at them. They happened to be cute female mech designers. "I am not at liberty to say. You know how it goes. Classified and all."

"Oh, how exciting!" They giggled. His answer raised his mystique and sparked their interest even further. "Can you please tell us anything? How was the frontier? Why did the Mech Corps send you all the way out there?"

"I'm sorry, but to say anything about it would violate my obligations to keep everything a secret. My ride is just coming up. Good day, ladies."

A short interaction like that would be enough to spread more gossip around. While Ves was tempted to invent some stories about his travails in the frontier, it wouldn't do to skirt his vows of secrecy.

The shuttle ride brought him down to one of the many military bases on the surface of Bentheim. From there, he reported to his nominal superior, some bureaucratic officer who was actually a plant from Flashlight.

The meeting went short as the only purpose of Ves' arrival was to formally receive his new orders and get all of his administration in order.

After that, the Mech Corps let him off his leash. He smiled as he exited the interior of base and stepped out to a shuttle parking zone. He boarded a small armored shuttle and instead of heading to the KNG, he instead requested the shuttle pilot to bring him to the offices of Bollinger's Mechs!

"Pardon me? The shuttle pilot turned around his head and asked. "Mr. Larkinson, according to your itinerary you should be heading to the headquarters of the Kadar-Neyvis Group! Nowhere in the schedule does it state that you have to head to Bollinger's Mechs!"

Ves waved aside the pilot's concern. "Don't ask too many questions. I'm a busy mech designer. Not everything is put into the schedule, don't you know that? Bring me to Bollinger's Mech in downtown Dorum and better make it quick!"

His demeanor and imperious tone brook no refusal. Even if the shuttle pilot still had questions, he didn't dare to voice them, especially when word of Ves' prestigious decorations already spread through the military gossip network!

The armored shuttle smoothly lifted off the landing pad and flew to downtown Dorum, the capital of Bentheim and the most densely-populated city on the planet.

As he looked out of the view ports, Ves noted a bit fewer air traffic than before. Much fewer aircars flew around these days, but military shuttles and aerial mechs began to impose a heavier presence on the surface, depressing the freewheeling commerce that previously defined the planet.

"If Bentheim already looks depressing from here, who knows how awful the actual economic outlook has become." He muttered to himself.

After a quiet transit, the shuttle landed in the landing pad reserved for visitors to the nearby offices. The shuttle would keep waiting here for his next appointment, so Ves did not have to instruct anything to the pilot as he stepped out and faced the familiar facade of Marcella's downtown office.

Marcella owned several properties. The one at the outskirts of Dorum was where she stored and delivered her products to customers dropping by in person. The property here formed the front office where she received her customers and did most of her sales work.

As far as he knew, Marcella was a savvy mech broker who operated multiple lines of businesses. Besides Bollinger's Mechs which was a brokerage that mainly sold individual and small batches of mechs directly to customers, she also maintained a parent company called Bollinger Mech Trade. It mainly dealt with establishing export contracts and selling larger batches of mechs to bigger clients, though their high value made such transactions very infrequent.

Technically, Bollinger Mech Trade possessed a five percent stake in the Living Mech Corporation. However, Marcella Bollinger was the founder and owner of Bollinger Mech Trade, so in effect the legal distinction between person and company was meaningless.

Even though Ves hadn't come with an invitation, the receptionist took one glance at Ves and recognized his face. "Mr. Larkinson! What brings you here? Are you here on behalf of the LMC or the Mech Corps?"

He couldn't fault her confusion as he came in his mech designer uniform. "Let's say I'm her for a personal visit. The military has nothing to do with my visit this time."

"Very well. I'll call ahead and tell Marcella to expect you. You already have a standing invitation to meet with her whenever she's in her office!"

He entered an elevator which brought him to the top office where Bollinger didn't appear to have changed much since the last time he talked to her. Life as an injured, retired veteran mech pilot softened her up a little, though her stocky physique and artificial limbs still conveyed her military roots.

As for Ves, he hadn't grown taller or bigger. He even looked a little smoother as his previous gene optimization treatments elevated his physical appearance closer to the human ideal.

Nonetheless, the ensemble of his bearing, his service uniform and the decorations plastered on it completely transformed him in Marcella's perspective.

"Ves! You grew up!" She remarked with astonishment and rose up from her seat. "I've heard word about a mech designer bearing combat awards but I thought it was a hoax!"

"They're very much real." He smiled back as he walked close to shake her hand with a confident grip. "It's good to see you again after all this time, old friend."

She snorted. "I'm not that old yet even if I've lived through the last war."

The handshake completed the change in impression in her mind. Ves was no longer a young, inexperienced mech designer who barely ventured out of the Bentheim region anymore.

Now, even though only a couple of years went by, he already carried the demeanor of a veteran and someone who experienced what the wider galaxy had to offer.

"So, not to pry or anything, but are you even allowed to visit me? A man in uniform like you doesn't look like you're on leave."

"It's okay. As long as it doesn't take too long, I don't think anyone will mind." Ves dismissed her concerns. If there was anything he learned in his time with the Vandals, it was that he could get away with a lot more than he ought to as long as he had the prestige to back it up. "Let's talk about my business. Please brief me on how the LMC is doing right nowadays."

"Do you want the short version or the long version?"

"Short."

"Well, the short version is that the Bright Republic's economy is in a depression. Prices of everything have risen, particularly that of raw materials. The needs of the military take precedence over the needs of the private market, so most mech manufacturers have seen their profit margins dwindle."

"I've also heard about debt piling up at the LMC. What is going on with that?"

Marcella smiled sardonically at Ves. "It's the new shareholder that directly and indirectly have taken over the board. The TNC Holding Group now owns 21 percent of the LMC's shares, but their actual influence is much greater. It's a front for the Ministry of Economic Development."

"Damn. So it happened already." Ves sighed.

Chapter 977

"WHAT?!" Ves erupted . "The Ministry of Economic Development bestowed 21 percent of the LMC's shares to the TNC Holding Group in exchange for permits and approval!?"

"Those permits aren't worthless . " Marcella told him . "In fact, every large mech manufacturer with ambitions to sell a large volume of mechs per year needs to have the consent of the Bright Republic . Any company that doesn't play along will be stymied by the various government institutions that issue those permits and approvals . "

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"The LMC scaled up much faster than I anticipated . I always intended to inform you, but you were already off before I knew it . No matter . Even if you were still around, you'd surrender to the inevitable . Besides, it's not as if they paid for your shares for nothing . That girl Calsie you put up as your representative managed to negotiate a sum of around 13 billion credits in exchange for 21 percent of your shares to the LMC . For now, that money is stored in a trust fund in your name . "

Ves blew his top off . "What kind of biased evaluation is that?! The LMC may not have been around for long, but a fifth of my company is worth a lot more than 13 billion credits in my judgement!"

"The auditors in the employ of the Ministry of Economic Development don't think so . Are you questioning their judgement?" She sent him a deprecating smile .

Properly speaking, MinEcDev should have hired impartial auditors to determine the worth of the shares of the LMC . Yet according to Marcella, the ministry set its own rules so whatever it did was absolutely legal!

It was utter nonsense of course!

Using their own people to inspect the finances of the LMC in order to determine how much they should pay for its shares was like a kid pointing to a toy and saying that it's worth nothing so that he could get to play with it for free!

"What a scummy ministry . " Ves muttered . "If they're already like this at the start, I am dreading what I'll hear next . "

They moved on to the current share structure of the LMC . Marcella summoned up a flat projection that listed the current shareholders of the LMC to this date .

VES LARKINSON: 49 percent .

LARKINSON ESTATE: 25 percent .

TNC HOLDING GROUP: 21 percent .

BOLLINGER MECH TRADE: 5 percent .

Overall, the front for the Ministry of Economic Development wrangled just enough shares out of his hands to lose absolute control over his company .

He didn't think that was a coincidence .

"Why leave me with 49 percent?"

"If the ministry takes any more, you'd be less invested in your own company . " The mech broker explained . "Who won't say you'll neglect the LMC and start up a new company instead? The purpose of the MinEcDev isn't to drive you away, but to bind you and your company to the state . Every company that has gained some influence in the economy is a tool to enhance the power and prosperity of the Republic . They don't want this tool to fall into other people's hands . "

Marcella briefly explained the rationale behind this policy of taking a substantial minority stake in major companies . Not only did the Bright Republic wanted to keep the company in their clutches and prevent them from transferring their headquarters to another state, they also wanted to rein in the absolute control of the founders of the company .

"The Bright Republic isn't the exception here . " She said . "Many states have adopted similar industrial policies at the higher level . The states don't care about startups and small businesses within their borders . However, it is critically irresponsible to let their larger companies do what they want . Companies pursue their own interests and the interests of their CEOs and shareholders . Sometimes, those interests conflict with the interests of the state . "

Ves understood the logic of the inherent solution adopted by the states . Even if he didn't entirely agree with them in his position as a business leader, he could see why the states did not wish to be at the mercy of the whims of the companies within their borders .

"You can't fight against the Republic on this point, Ves . " Marcella warned him . "Many have tried and failed . Free market economies are out of vogue these days . "

They moved on to the role of the TNC Holding Group . Even though only a portion of the members of the board directly represented their interests, the other members actually deferred to the TNC and in extension the Ministry of Economic Development!

As someone who took liberties with power himself, Ves knew that the Ministry of Economic Development was throwing their weight around, making it difficult for others to refuse their demands .

According to Marcella, MinEcDev wielded a substantial amount of power in shaping the Republic's economy! Anyone who didn't play ball with them would find their business environment constrained while the conditions of their competitors eased up . In that fashion, MinEcDev's policy of holding only a minor say in matters within the company effectively morphed into a voice that couldn't be ignored .

Ves glowered at the description of the infamous ministry . While he heard some things about their overbearingness in the mech industry, he didn't think they took so many liberties and that his company would fall within their clutches so soon after he founded his company .

"It's actually remarkable how fast they moved to acquire a stake in your company . " Marcella half-complimented him . "That means they are paying special attention to you . MinEcDev sees promise in your career prospects and remain hopeful about the LMC's growth trajectory . To that end, they pushed aggressively to expand the Mech Nursery's production capacity . "

"And thereby piling mountains of debt on the LMC's balance sheet . "

"That as well . " Marcella smiled sardonically at him . "MinEcDev is making a gamble that sales of the LMC's silver label mechs will continue to grow in volume and popularity over time . "

"From what it sounds like, they've gambled and lost . "

"Not entirely . The operation is still profitable, just less so than usual . The main problem is that MinEcDev never expected the ongoing war to impact Bentheim so directly . With the Vesians encroaching on the Bentheim region, many trade routes are cut off and the supply of raw materials has decreased . Along with the economic depression, it costs significantly more to produce the same mechs . "

"Have prices of mechs risen as well? A lot of mech companies ought to have gone out of business by now . "

"Only the small players . The bigger, more established mech manufacturers with strong financial muscle can easily bear the temporary difficulties . They're led by far-sighted CEOs and mech designers who have accumulated an abundant war chest during the good times . Not only have they snapped up some of the more attractive failing businesses, they're also outright selling mechs at no profit in order to maintain and expand their market share!"

Ves really had to hand it to the bigger players . They certainly knew how to exploit this crisis, especially when they predicted years or even decades ago .

The conduct of the larger and more established mech companies meant that it was completely unviable for the smaller players who struggled with rising production costs to jack up the prices of their own products .

"The bigger fish are increasing the pressure on the smaller fish . " He remarked in an exasperated tone . "Are they deliberately trying to drive the smaller mech companies out of business?"

"Yup . And before you ask, the Ministry of Economic Development not only condones their behavior, but actively encourages it . In their perspective, any mech company that succumbs to a little difficulty like this does not deserve to stay in business . "

"Well, there's a problem there . Companies that fall into the middle like mine are small enough to be affected by the market actions of the bigger players, but also large enough for them to obtain a minority stake! Isn't there an inherent contradiction there? Shouldn't they lend a hand to the LMC or something to tide it over?"

Marcella shrugged . "MinEcDev is so large and possesses a minority stake in thousands of companies across multiple industries . Just because they are invested in the LMC doesn't mean it cares for the company to the point it will stop it from failing . Companies fail all the time . The officials at the ministry aren't inclined to subsidize failure . However, that doesn't stop them from profiting off the successes of the companies in their sphere of influence . "

It all sounded delightfully opportunistic on the part of the ministry . Ves couldn't help but laugh a bit helplessly at their shrewdness . If companies under their supervision went bust, then all they lost was other people's tax money . Yet if some of them went on to enjoy an explosively growth, then they stood to rake in a lot of money that falls directly under their control!

"The way you paint the ministry makes it sound as if it's a giant patronage center . " Ves remarked .

"Oh, the Bright Republic is fairly moderate in that regard . " She idly dismissed his concerns . "There are states where the equivalent government institutions have a much lighter touch, but there are even more states where the government is much more involved with their own companies . However, you have to remember that the most precious asset of a mech company are their leading mech designers . MinEcDev may want to push you around, but they don't dare to drive you away . "

Even if he'd be enormously disadvantaged for doing so, as a last resort Ves could always pack his bags and emigrate to another state .

He'd have to start over again, though, and compete in a completely unfamiliar market environment that usually favored their domestic producers over foreigners .

Even if his second company grew successful again, he'd still have to deal with the same government interference all over again, putting him back to square one .

"Alright, alright, I get it . It's not a good idea to fight against the Ministry of Economic Development at this point . " He concluded . "Let's move on, then . So the company's in debt and profit margins are slumping . How are our mech sales, by the way?"

"There's at least some good news there, Ves . While the bronze label mechs aren't being made anymore because there's no profit to be gained, sales of the silver label mechs are actually stable and have steadily grown over time as more mech pilots begin to appreciate them . The LMC sells two very good products, and word of mouth has continued to grow . "

Marcella handed over a data pad that described the overall sales patterns for his two main mech models .

The Blackbeak offensive knight mech model earned a reputation for being hardy, dependable and mobile enough among the mercenary community .

The Crystal Lord on the other hand became a small hit among well-off mech pilots specialized in rifleman mechs .

Due to the war, sales of both models in the domestic market rose steadily . Even though the mercenary corps and other outfits operating in the Bright Republic didn't fight at the frontlines, they were still tasked with protecting mines and production facilities not important or strategic enough to warrant attention from the Mech Corps .

These mercenary corps therefore experienced sporadic fighting against the Mech Legion or some of the more daring Vesian mercenary corps contracted to raid Brighter properties .

Both the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord models acquitted themselves well in actual combat . The mostly positive combat footage spread around in the galactic net continued to raise people's interest, though their premium price tags scared most potential buyers away .

The overall decrease in quality that Marcella briefly touched upon also started to discourage some buyers . Mechs produced later exhibited a notable difference in quality compared to the LMC's earlier products .

The toadies from the TNC Holding Group constantly pushed to expand the LMC's production volume and speed at the detriment of quality .

"Overall, the situation of the LMC could be worse . " Marcella said in a lackadaisical manner, as if Ves was making too big of a deal out of the ministry's shenanigans . "The key takeaway here is that the LMC has managed to stay above water under the economic malaise . Although the government has tasked the company with allocating several production lines towards producing military supplies at cost prices, at least you have a company to return to after the war . Many mech designers don't enjoy that particular luxury . "

In other words, Ves should count his luck . The problem was that he didn't feel so fortunate .

Chapter 978

His meeting with Marcella stretched out longer than Ves anticipated .

As Marcella was in control of five percent of the shares of the LMC and had a representative on the board, she was fully up to speed with its circumstances .

Ves listened and commented to her descriptions but overall he saw little need to issue new instructions .

"With Calsie, your grandfather and me in control of the majority of the shares, we have enough power to resist the worst excesses of the Ministry of Economic Development . None of us want the company to falter . "

"That's good to hear . How is Calsie doing as interim CEO by the way? I've heard that she's been holding the fort to an extent . "

"It's difficult to say . " Marcella replied . "She has her own ideas on company policy . However, she's done an honest job adhering to your interests where it matters . The only problem is that everyone considers her a pushover, so she isn't able to wield as much authority as you . She clearly doesn't have the chops to be the leader of a multibillion credit mech company . "

"The former is more important than the latter to me . Besides, as long as everyone else is doing an adequate job, the CEO doesn't really need to be an expert . If I put a more experienced executive at the helm, I risk inviting someone else's agent . I can't afford to take the risk of letting another influence gain an inroad into my own company . " He said .

"That's really paranoid of you, you know . Why not let someone from the Larkinson Estate take charge instead?"

"The Larkinsons look out for the Larkinsons . "

"You're a Larkinson as well . "

"I am my own man . "

That said a lot about Ves . Marcella declined to comment on that any further, as this was something personal between Ves and the Larkinsons .

Overall, even if it took a lot more time than anticipated, Ves learned enough about the company to reassure him somewhat of its continued existence even in his absence .

Marcella pressed the back of her hand against her forehead in a dramatic fashion . "I've worked very hard to keep the LMC's mech sales going, you know! The Bright Republic's mech market can only buy up so many expensive silver label mechs a month . I've constantly had to search for foreign partners in foreign states to export the rest of our mechs to . Word of mouth travels slower outside the Republic, and your mechs face much stiffer competition there . Still, I've managed to close enough deals to offload the bulk of the LMC's direct production to foreign states . "

"I appreciate your effort, but don't think I'm aware of the real reason why you're doing so!" Ves chuckled . "You don't want your five percent stake in the LMC to become worthless . When the LMC prospers, so do you . It's in your best interest to help my company grow . "

For now, Ves laid aside the fortunes of the LMC to the side . While he was tempted to take the reins again, his official duties made it highly improper to do so . In addition, with the Ministry of Economic Development continuing to exert their influence on the company, it wasn't as if anything Ves tried to do would stick .

He recognized that the only way to rid the LMC of this scummy ministry's influence was to replace it with a better government institution .

His current mission on behalf of Flashlight might pave the way for that if he performed up to their satisfaction . Ves should get a move on to performing his actual duties as opposed to spending time in Marcella's office .

That didn't mean he had no way of influencing the fortunes of the LMC while he was working for Flashlight, though . A devious light entered his eyes .

"Right now, I've been pulled from my previous assignment . " He explained . "The Mech Corps has seen fit to turn me into a liaison mech designer for the Kadar-Neyvis Group . "

Marcella looked impressed . "From the medals you've earned, there's no doubt you've earned a break . As for the KNG, that's a rising star among the local mech companies! They're substantially more developed than the LMC and they're continuing to rise under the leadership of their two Journeyman mech designers . I think it's a really good opportunity for you to learn the tricks of the trade from them if you're assigned to babysit the production of their military mechs . "

"I intend to do more than that . " Ves smiled . "The important thing here is that I'll be showing up in public in my current appearance from time to time . Tell me, how will the public respond when they see me like this?"

He tapped his ribbon rack for emphasis . There was no way Marcella missed the message .

"Darkness Eater, Torchbearer, Golden Mech, War Saint, Frontier Service Medal, Mech Corps Commendation... you sure know how to stand out, Ves . I can see the news portals and the discussion forums on the galactic net going wild for a time . " She snorted with amusement .

Ves smirked . "Let's capitalize on that . While I'm not allowed to shill for my company while I'm in the service, just showing up in public from time to time will be sufficient to arouse everyone's interests . I want you and the LMC to take advantage of all of that attention and help my company sell more mechs!"

Her eyes gleamed . "What a great idea! Although I don't expect the interest in your possible exploits to last, the LMC will surely be able to leverage your reputation to increase their sales in the domestic market! It will even have a ripple effect on your foreign sales, though not as directly . "

Both of them began to scheme how they could turn his dashing appearances into a short and long-term marketing advantage . The initial boost in interest would be the biggest, but as long as Ves didn't tarnish his reputation, his company would definitely continue to stand out against the competition by the mere fact that it was founded and led by a war hero!

Marcella showed some misgivings, however . "I don't disagree with you Ves, but don't think you are capitalizing on your elevated status a bit too blatantly? Earning those distinctions is a personal honor . I don't think the Mech Corps intended to give them to you just so you can profiteer off the good associations those medals carry . All the other honorable bearers of the Darkness Eater will resent you for being so shameless . "

"Every businessman has to learn how to be shameless . " Ves casually dismissed her concerns . "I'm no different than the winning athletes of the Rimward Games showing up in commercials to shill for various products . "

"I don't think the Mech Corps will appreciate some of their prestigious awards being devolved into devices for commercial gain . "

"Then they shouldn't have awarded them to a business owner like me in the first place . "

"I think I understand now why the Mech Corps almost never awards their more prestigious medals to mech designers . "

Nevertheless, the marketing push concocted by Ves and Marcella benefited her substantially, so she did not object too strongly . In the face of naked commercial interest, personal honor no longer became a concern .

After shaking their hands to conclude this new arrangement, Ves asked one more thing before he bid her goodbye .

"By the way, you seem to be a little familiar with the KNG . Can you tell me more about the company I'm about to liase with on behalf of the Mech Corps?"

"Sure . " As an insider in the Bentheim mech industry, she knew almost all of the larger players . "The KNG has a rich mech catalog in both spaceborn mechs and frontline mechs . Kadar specializes in designing spaceborn mechs while Neyvis excels in designing frontline mechs . The KNG therefore has a strong presence in the lower end of the mech market . They have a strong cross-border presence as well, but they still derive most of their sales from the domestic market . "

The KNG differed from the LMC in that their pair of Journeyman Mech Designers were good enough to compete directly against the mainstream mech models in some of the major market segments . While the mainstream mech models always won out slightly in terms of price to performance ratio, mechs designed by locals were a bit more suitable for use in practical terms .

Marcella showed him some of their publicly disclosed figures . "This is where the KNG's mechs excel at . Their mechs are easier on the pocket books compared to the well-engineered mainstream mech models that are lot more finicky to maintain and troublesome to repair . "

This was the predominant business model among mech manufacturing companies with the chops to compete directly against the popular mech models . While they still couldn't beat the sheer design talent and insane level of optimization in the hands of the big trans-galactic enterprises, their products nevertheless didn't entirely fit the local circumstances .

The disparity between a mech designed by an Apprentice and a mainstream mech model was quite big . The gap in performance when everything else was equal made it so that Apprentices couldn't charge the same price for their inferior products .

A Journeyman on the other hand possessed the ability to design a mech where the performance gap narrowed to a small enough margin that many customers could be persuaded to purchase local products instead . Of course, it took savvy marketing, a trusted brand and good performance in the field to be able to snatch up a significant amount of market share in multiple segments .

"It sounds as if the KNG are doing well for themselves . "

"Not exactly . " Marcella shook her head . "Their foundation is strong, but the adverse business climate that has swept over Bentheim affected the KNG much more severely than your LMC . Do you know why?"

It took a moment for Ves to recognize the crucial difference . "The LMC is a lot smaller, but my company mainly sells premium mechs with high profit margins! Even if production costs have risen lately, my company can still absorb the pain by giving up some of the profit . The KNG on the other hand has much less room for maneuver . "

"Exactly . I mentioned earlier that the KNG mainly services the lower end of the mech market . Their annual production volume is a lot larger than that of the LMC, but the profits of each mech sale is no more than one to three million credits for their cheaper offerings . A twenty percent increase in the cost of production can easily wipe out those razor-thin profit margins . "

"How has the KNG responded?"

"They're aiming to maintain their market share and market presence by selling their mechs at a loss . Keeping their manufacturing complexes operating at full capacity also allows them to retain their favorable bulk contracts with material suppliers as well as retain their large body of trained and loyal fabricators and mech technicians . All told, they are losing up to a million credits for each mech sold!"

Ves nonetheless widened his eyes . "Are they even allowed to do that, Marcella?! How can they even sustain such a loss-making venture!"

"Well, there's rumors that someone in Rittersberg is very friendly towards the KNG . The Ministry of Economic Development has a good relationship with Mrs . Kadar from what I've been told . MinEcDev has even offered to help the KNG absorb their losses with subsidies and interest-free loans . "

Ves wanted to vomit when he heard that . The disparity in treatment towards the LMC and the KNG couldn't be more stark!

"Also, Mr . Neyvis has the backing of his family which owns a long-standing company in Bentheim, so the KNG is not at risk of running out of funds anytime soon . The calculus of the company is to ride out the war and make everything back when they capitalize on the decreased competition and recovering market prospects . "

Even so, there was no way the Kadar-Neyvis Group could get away with this much without the advantages bestowed by their connections!

Ves always believed that government and business shouldn't mix, but evidently the KNG found a way to make that work!

Still, this entire situation sounded a bit too fishy . Selling mechs at a loss would definitely be a huge burden to the KNG regardless of all the help they received . Such a desperate circumstance may make them vulnerable to certain solicitations, perhaps even from the BLM . . .

Chapter 979

The armored shuttle finally touched down on the landing pad next to the headquarters of one of Bentheim's large mech manufacturers . The Kadar-Neyvis Group may not be the most established mech company on the planet, but everyone considered it to be on the rise .

This was mainly due to the rare fact that the KNG was led by two married Journeyman Mech Designers . While marriage between mech designers wasn't all that uncommon, it took a rare set of conditions to make two Journeyman, already not that numerous, fall in love and set the conditions to maintain a harmonious personal, business and design relationship .

That Mrs . Kadar and Mr . Nevis made their union work without a hitch made for a very encouraging sign for their business prospects .

The headquarters of KNG was located in downtown Dorum like many other notable mech companies . While companies fought hard to open and maintain an office building in the center of the city, a company as renowned like the KNG shouldn't have any problems setting up shop in the most coveted areas of the capital city .

The KNG even managed to place their headquarters at Mech Designer Row, a narrow but highly coveted city district with land prices that went through the roof! Mech Designer Row's prime position close to several important government institutions, convention centers, mass transit, cultural attractions, shops and more made it into an extremely attractive piece of real estate .

For example, the Old Commercial District next door hosted one of Bosworth's big mech show room . Ves remembered that he visited Bosworth's a long time ago to witness a mastercrafted copy of the Caesar Augustus design .

"It would be nice if my products entered Bosworth's product listing one day . "

The big mech wholesaler, distributor and seller built up an expansive commercial network throughout the third-rate states of the Komodo Star Sector .

A company like Bosworth's likely didn't put a relatively small player like the LMC in their eyes . Even the KNG still had ways to go before they became worthy of the big mech wholesaler's attention .

"Still, the KNG is a pretty big deal already in the Bright Republic . "

They took up a position in the mech market which Ves aimed to elevate the LMC to as well one day .

The LMC only offered two main product lines, a knight mech model and a laser rifleman mech model . Both of them were landbound designs priced in the premium segment, making them fairly niche products with relatively little competition but also little mass appeal .

The KNG pursued a much bolder product strategy . They designed dozens of mechs falling into a much wider range of mech types and roles . They didn't spread themselves too thin and aimed to achieve a stable market position in the market for budget spaceborn mechs and and very cheap frontline mechs .

From Marcella's analysis of the KNG's current business strategy, their Spaceborn Mech Division headed by Estella Kadar turned a small but steady stream of profits .

On the other hand, their Frontline Mech Division headed by Antoine Neyvis was much more susceptible to economic boom-and-bust cycles . When times were good, frontline mechs sold by the thousands every day . When times became slightly worse, a glut of supply and a shortage of demand meant that they became extremely unprofitable .

Right now, the KNG fell into a time where they became forced to sell their frontline mechs at a loss in order to maintain their perceived market position .

If they stopped selling mechs entirely, then they signalled to the market that the fundamentals of their company was weak . Mech buyers didn't like to purchase mechs from losers because who knew if the company would collapse one day, depriving the buyers of various support services such as repairs, the supply of replacement parts and upgrades .

Even if Marcella knew more about the KNG than the public had on hand, she wasn't an insider of the company . She couldn't accurately guess how long the company could keep up its loss-making ventures .

"Every healthy company saves for a rainy day, but it's a question whether the KNG's reserves are enough . "

A man in his thirties in a formal business suit greeted Ves shortly after he stepped off the military shuttle . "Mr . Larkinson, pleased to meet you . I am Jeffrey Arlet, a relationship manager of the Public Relations Department of the Kadar-Neyvis Group . I'll be accompanying you around our great company during your visits at our headquarters, manufacturing complexes and other facilities . "

Ves shook hands with the man and surprised him with a strong grip . "Please take care of me, Mr . Arlet . "

"Please call me Jeff, is that okay?"

"Sure . You can call me Ves . Right now, pretend my uniform doesn't exist . "

Naturally, no one could ever stop staring at his uniform . Jeff kept glancing at his decorations as if he wanted to confirm the rumors about Ves that already swirled around the galactic net .

In fact, much of those rumors gained a lot of momentum all of a sudden when Marcella tasked her company to proliferate them! Soon almost everyone would hear of the new mech designer hero that made the rounds in Bentheim!

The pair walked out of the shuttle parking zone and into the tall main structure that housed the main corporate office of the KNG . The structure radiated a sense of class and prestige . The interior's sterile, white and transparent interior but with a lively touch of plants and trees made Ves feel as if he entered an artificial paradise .

The relations manager began to introduce the company to Ves as they walked to a central elevator .

"The Kadar-Neyvis Group emerged after the merger of the Kadar Group and Nevyis Mechs . As such, we have spent years fusing all of our aspects together to form a new and stronger company that is ready to grow to the top!"

Ves looked very impressed at that claim . "That's a high ambition . There's a lot of competition at the top . "

"All of us within the company are confident that Mrs . Kadar and Mr . Neyvis will be able to turn their vision into reality . " Jeff boasted confidently . "We believe our mechs are sufficiently distinct and valuable enough that we are able to capture the hearts of many customers in the Bright Republic and beyond its borders!"

The two entered an elevator upon which Jeff sent an authorization from his comm to bring them straight to the top .

"What are the core values of the KNG?"

"With regards to our products, we aim to combine affordability with excellent after-sales support . Our mechs are priced competitively and they are often bundled with a range of support services where we provide long-term insurance, repairs and replacements to our loyal customers . Over the years, we have drawn a considerable amount of fixed customers who have fallen in love with our robust mech ecosystem and continue to purchase new mechs from us at favorable rates . "

Ves understood the KNG's business strategy from here . "It's a very far-sighted strategy to sell mechs at close to bottom prices but recover some profit with your after-sales services . I imagine it takes a huge upfront financial commitment to wait that long until you are finally able to earn a profit on an old mech sale . "

"The financial health of our company is extremely robust . " Jeff immediately emphasized with a bright smile . "With two very capable and experienced Journeyman Mech Designers as our lead designers, all of our products are competitive against the competing offerings on the market . Our market shares in several market segments is very significant . Customers are attracted by our competitively priced mechs and they know that they can rely on us to service their needs!"

Yeah right, Ves thought . If he hadn't heard Marcella's own take on the company, then he would have been fooled by Jeff's overly rosy descriptions . As a representative from the Public Relations Department, it was his job to impress the various stakeholders of the KNG . Obviously, such a person would never badmouth his own employer on a voluntary basis .

The elevator rose up fairly slowly, all considered . However, the transparent shaft gave Ves a very complete glimpse of some of the hallways and offices where various employees diligently worked for the company .

"As you can see, we employ a large amount of talented people . Many of them are old hands from the Kadar Group or Neyvis Mechs . We pride ourselves on the good treatment of our employees, no matter if they are top managers or lowly clerks . From the lowest mech technicians to the members of our esteemed design teams, the Kadar-Neyvis Group is a closely-knit community of like-minded people who are united in our desire to propel our company to the top!"

"Uh huh . " Ves nodded a bit lamely . This Jeff was laying it a little thick . "What kind of people does the KNG employ? Are they mainly Bentheimers?"

"We are a local Bentheim mech manufacturer, so it is a given that we draw most of our talents locally . Nevertheless, we pride ourselves on our diversity and we are always open for talent from other regions of the Republic . A substantial portion of our management comes from Rittersberg . "

It sounded like a contradiction to Ves . How could a company simultaneously be proud of their diversity while tacitly admitting they mostly employed people from Bentheim and Rittersberg?

While he didn't know exactly who came from where, it would be a really bad idea if the upper management consists of graduates from Rittersberg while most of the lower jobs were taken up by local Bentheimers .

"Ah, we are here . Please follow me . " Jeff said as the elevator finally reached the top . "Our founders can't wait to greet you in person!"

They walked through an impressive looking entrance hall that simultaneously served as a showcase of KNG's bestsellers . Various scale models of their most popular mech designs stood on both sides of the hall .

Ves recognized the care and attention put into manually fabricating and assembling each of these smaller mechs . Obviously, both Kadar and Neyvis felt the need to work on them personally .

This amount of care shown in their products lifted his opinion of the two Journeymen a little .

Once they entered through the tall double doors, they entered a very wide office space where the two famed mech designers stood in the middle .

"Welcome, Mr . Larkinson, to the Kadar-Neyvis Group!" A matronly woman greeted him with a bright smile . "Please come closer and let me see you!"

Both of them greeted each other politely and exchanged handshakes . Mrs . Kadar emanated a matronly vibe only seen among happy mothers .

"Leife! Aislin! Come here and meet our guest!"

Two rambunctious children playing in a playpen set aside in the office chamber scampered over to their mother while holding their plushy mech toys .

"This is Aislin, my lovely daughter . "

"Hiiiii . " The four-year old greeted shyly .

"And this is Leife, her older brother . "

"Mommy, is he a soldier or a mech designer?" He asked in a young voice as the six-year old admired his uniform and his ribbons .

"Oh, he's both . In fact, I dare say he's the bravest mech designer in the Mech Corps!"

Ves chuckled politely . "There are many brave mech designers in the Mech Corps . Your parents served in the previous war as well if I recall . "

"Oh, we were a bit too young back then . " Mr . Neyvis replied modestly . "We hadn't even graduated yet when we were drafted by the Mech Corps in the final years of our study . I can't say we served with distinction, but we did our duty to the Republic . "

What Neyvis didn't mention was that as promising students of the Ansel University of Mech Design, they almost certainly received cushy rear position jobs . This allowed them to claim they 'did their time' in the previous war while barely spending a year in actual service .

Of course, it would be very impolite for Ves to bring that up . Instead, he smiled at the children, for they were really cute . "What lovely mechs you hold! What models are they based on?"

"Uh-huh!" Leife proudly extended the plushy version of a spaceborn mech . "This is my mommy's latest model! The Kadar-Neyvis Group Havikon Executor AXA-2000! It's fast and its got lasers and pew pew pew!"

Ves felt as if he was watching a younger version of himself . He used to play with miniatures of plushies of mechs as well when he was their age .

Mrs . Kadar laughed in an indulgent manner . "The Havikon Executor is a new product that is popular with security companies . They are economic but capable enough to be employed in guarding space stations and other fixed facilities in space . "

"Ahem . " Mr . Neyvis coughed . "We can introduce our other products to Ves at a later date . Do you mind if I call you that?"

"I don't mind, Antoine . " Ves said, agreeing to the looser customs . One of his goals here was to lower the guard of his hosts, and going by a first-name basis helped allow him to get closer . "So what is on the agenda today?"

Chapter 980

Estella and Antoine brought their children and Ves to a shuttle landing pad at the top of the headquarters where they traveled to an exclusive restaurant called the Lyrical Kitchen in the Entertainment District.

Unobtrusive security guards accompanied each member of the happy family, while another shuttle with heavier armed guards followed them from the rear.

Meanwhile, Ves made do with Jeff, who looked like he couldn't even take a single punch.

The trip didn't last that long as the Entertainment District was very close to Mech Designer Row. As the shuttle landed on a parking zone which hosted many expensive shuttles and aircars, the processing walked a short distance before arriving at the famed Bentheim restaurant.

"I hope you don't mind inviting you to dine at the Lyrical Kitchen." Antoine said. "While there are many fine establishments in Dorum, the Lyrical Kitchen is a treat to our children."

"I understand." Ves nodded. "I admit this is my first time at the Lyrical Kitchen. I've heard they're famed for their musicians."

"You are in for a treat, my dear!" Estella smiled brightly at him as she ushered her children through the door.

It turned out that the happy family were regular customers and had a standing invitation to dine at this establishment, so the attendants quickly ushered them to a semi-closed corner in the fancy, multi-level restaurant.

As a projection of a menu along with food items emerged in front of all of them, Ves became a bit lost at the various exotic food options.

He enjoyed a solidly middle-class upbringing at Cloudy Curtain, and even his extensive stays on Rittersberg were never marked with excessive luxury and spending. Therefore, he never truly got exposed to the greater luxuries in life. He hardly knew the difference between all of the expensive food options on offer.

To Ves, the only item he recognized was cloud rice grown from his very own home planet! As for the rest, he saw no difference between them and the contents of a nutrient pack!

In fact, Ves much preferred the simplicity of a nutrient pack over some of the weirder options on the menu!

Fortunately, Estella noticed his hesitation and tactfully helped him out of his fix. "Is this your first time here? Let me recommend you some dishes for a start. The Lyrical Kitchen is known for their excellent meat dishes prepared in the local style of Bentheim cuisine. Half of their meat is sourced from wild exobeasts imported from the frontier!"

"My dear, Ves here wears the Frontier Service Medal."

"Ah, I forgot! How exciting!" Estella exclaimed while she quickly selected some dishes for him. "Did you eat a lot of exobeast meat on your deployment to the frontier?"

Ves smiled as recalled the time he had a bite of god species meat. "The taste of some of the exobeasts that you can find in the frontier is indescribable. I will never forget the first time I tasted the cooked flesh of a very formidable exobeast."

"What exobeast did you taste? Is it possible for the local restaurants to import their meat someday?"

"Unlikely." Ves shook his head. "Some bounties of the frontier are destined to remain out of our reach. It's too hard to bring back all of the treasures the Faris Star Region has to offer."

Right now, Aeon Corona VII must be in an extremely chaotic spot. He hadn't heard any mention about the Aeon Corona System in the news, but he was sure that Sigrund already made himself scarce while the CFA sent a war fleet to figure out what happened there or something.

As the appetizers arrived on hovering plates, a band of musicians arrived at a stage in their corner. Leife and Aislin both cheered in their raised seats and requested them to play a tune.

"One of the specialties of the Lyrical Kitchen is that they employ talented musicians who can improve a song for every occasion." Antoine explained to Ves. "They boast that their musicians never play the same song twice."

Ves knew that it took a lot of practice and coordination between the musicians to accomplish something like that. He half-suspected them to be carrying a brain implant that connected their minds together.

Still, the musicians played well and they easily managed to impress the two young children.

Seeing Estella and Antoine looking at their each other and their children with loving eyes made Ves feel inadequate. Compared to his lonesome self, the two Journeymen already found each other and developed a wholesome relationship that looked too perfect to be true.

"What is on your mind, Ves?" Antoine asked as he spotted Ves' melancholic eyes.

"I'm very impressed with your family. Your children are very lucky to have you as their parents."

"You are still young. You have lots of time to find the perfect girl." Estella smiled. "As a woman, I can state that a mech designer of your talents and accomplishments won't have any trouble searching for a suitable partner. I can introduce you to the daughters of some of our friends if you'd like."

"No thanks, Estella. Right now, my duty to the Mech Corps comes before my private matters. As you said, I still have plenty of time yet to find a partner."

At this phase in his life, Ves still aimed to spend all of his time on furthering his career and his company. Finding a girlfriend and planning for marriage seemed too far ahead for him right now.

As the main courses started to arrive, Ves began to chat about casual topics with the two other mech designers. Their children mainly clapped and asked for more songs from the musicians while Jeff and the guard stood quietly at the sides.

None of them discussed any serious business as of yet. Presumably, Estella and Antoine preferred to keep Ves away from poking his nose in their business. No one liked their guests to go through their dirty laundry, after all. Ves would do the same if another mech designer came to inspect his business.

Before he arrived at Bentheim, Ves already discussed the role he should adopt with Leland. The intelligence officer wanted Ves to present himself in a distinct manner that was different from his real self.

The whole point of sending in Ves instead of someone else from Flashlight was because they quickly needed to ascertain if the KNG truly collaborated with the separatists or not. Not only did Ves have to conduct his investigation quickly, he also needed to do so quietly without attracting any suspicion at all.

To that end, Leland wanted to craft a disarming version of Ves for him to adopt.

The key was to reinforce certain biases in those that Ves interacted. Instead of presenting himself as a very competent Apprentice Mech Designer, Ves instead pretended to be a more average mech designer.

During his talks with the leaders of the KNG, the topics strayed to his exploits from time to time. While Ves faithfully kept his mouth shut about the classified aspects of his mission, he did mention some tidbits expressly spoken to downplay his actual accomplishments.

"To be frank, the honors bestowed to me by the Mech Corps makes me feel ashamed." Ves 'admitted' to the married couple. "A powerful official from Rittersberg advocated for my case to the generals of the Mech Corps and magnified my modest accomplishments to serve certain political needs. The Bright Republic needed a war hero to keep everyone's spirits high. In truth, it's mostly propaganda."

"Even so, what you are doing is doubtlessly noble." Estella said with an understanding smile. "I'm from Rittersberg, so I understand the calculus behind their decisions. I can easily see why they would prop you up as a war hero. It's easier to settle on you as you're a Larkinson."

The three of them shared seemingly understanding gazes. Ves figured he accomplished the message he tried to convey.

In their minds, Ves must have been some average drafted mech designer that made a mild accomplishment during a mission. One of the political masters back at Rittersbers liked what he saw, so he exagggerated Ves' accomplishments and forced the Mech Corps to cough up some of their prestigious medals to manufacture a war hero to inspire the Republic.

Hopefully, Estella and Antoine bought this story. One of the strongest aspects about this story was that it was based on a very real truth. If Estella used her connections with Rittersberg to investigate the claims, she would find out that Senator Tovar himself pushed strongly to convince the generals to award medals like the Darkness Eater and the Golden Mech to Ves.

All of it actually happened!

The more the KNG regarded Ves as a political appointee, the less they thought of his actual ability and thereby lower his guard around him. This was just the first step.

Still, Even if he wanted to pretend to be a bumbling mech designer who earned his medals through political intervention rather than earning supreme merit, he still needed to make a show of being earnest in performing his latest responsibilities.

"I'm thankful for inviting me to this establishment, but the Mech Corps won't be pleased if I spend my time outside your company all day." Ves said, turning a little more serious. "I intend to discharge my duties to the best of my abilities while I'm assigned as your company's liaison."

"Of course, Ves." Antoine nodded while showing an understanding if slightly patronizing expression. "We wouldn't want to displease your superiors. We have scheduled an extensive tour of the company for you over the next few days. We plan to show you around our headquarters, our design center, our manufacturing complexes, our testing and distribution complex and our service complex to start with. While we own several other properties elsewhere, it wouldn't be convenient to visit them as they are located in other star systems."

"That's a lot of complexes." Ves commented.

"Our company is very large. Our sales volume is very large so we require a large number of facilities to sustain our activities. I don't think you'll be able to visit them all in a single day so we spread out your visits over a number of days if that's alright."

"That's okay. For now, a quick visit to each of your company's facilities is enough to get me started. My job is mainly to supervise the production of military mechs and supplies so it isn't necessary for me to pay attention to every aspect of your company. I'm fine with a short tour as a start."

Flashlight mainly wanted Ves to poke around the KNG's manufacturing complexes and the testing and distribution complex. If the BLM did infiltrate the KNG, then they would be sure to focus their efforts at the production and distribution sites. Where else would they be able to smuggle away mechs and supplies under everyone's noses?

Even so, Ves did not refuse the opportunity to learn how a larger and more developed mech manufacturer such as the KNG ran its various operations.

He knew that Estella and Antoine attempted to charm him with this upcoming tour. They hoped to build up a favorable relationship with Ves by showing him around and teaching him a bit on how to run a mech company.

Technically, they were competitors, so it took some consideration on the part of the married couple to give Ves a good glimpse on how they ran their company.

Besides, as Journeymen, they didn't feel very threatened by an 'average' Apprentice such as Ves. Perhaps they would even be generous enough to give Ves some pointers on designing mechs!

Ves tried to stifle a laugh as he perceived that Estella and Antoine bought his act. While Ves wasn't a great actor by any means, he didn't act completely outside the norm.

It was a wonder what a few lies and misdirections could do to shape a completely different image from the truth.

Chapter 981

After his sumptuous and extravagant dinner with the Kadar-Neyvis Family, Ves separated from them after receiving a schedule for his upcoming tour.

He hailed a military shuttle from his comm, which picked him up and brought him back to a military base which housed his assigned accommodation.

As Ves entered his private quarters, Leland Toll already waited for him there.

"I trust you made a good impression on Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis?"

"You tell me, Leland. Surely Flashlight managed to hook into the monitoring system of the Lyrical Kitchen, right?"

His case officer smirked. "Correct, and I'm sure that Spotlight hacked into it as well. It's not very useful however as guests know better than to discuss anything sensitive in such a semi-public location. From what I've witnessed, you did a good enough job in lowering their guard."

"Even if I lied, I didn't lie too much." Ves responded.

"That will remain the key throughout your interactions with the KNG. You need to be genuine enough for you to come across as authentic. The last thing we want to do is to evoke their suspicion that you've been sent to do some actual investigation."

Ves snorted at that. "Is the entire position of liaison mech designer even useful?"

"Oh, they are still very much needed. Especially to mech companies in the control of a single strong mech designer, they often tend to take weird directions from time to time. Having a liaison in place will force entrepreneurs to rein in some of their wildest actions. Liaisons aren't there to act as cops who will stop crimes when they happen. They are placed among companies as a form of deterrence in order to ensure stability and continuity in operations."

"I see then." Ves nodded. "Even if the liaison is overly friendly with the companies they are meant to supervise, just having another mech designer present that isn't completely loyal is already enough to stop most antics."

"Let's move onto Kadar and Neyvis. Having met them in person, what are your impressions of the two?"

"They're a very happy pair. I really like their children. It's hard to imagine that there is anything amiss at the KNG."

"That's what they wanted you to believe. Don't fall for their act." Leland shook his head. "Perhaps you are too close and taken in by their impression of a perfect family, but even the best of people can take a wrong turn. The fact that they have a wondrous family doesn't rule out that they are guilty of treason."

"I can see what you mean, Leland, but it's really hard for me to imagine that Kadar or Neyvis are willing to ruin everything they built up so far. Their family is bound to be ruined and broken up if it turns out that they are really working together with the BLM."

"The main culprits behind any possible collusion may not even reach that high up. Even so, I don't want you to develop the impression that the two mech designers are completely innocent. You need to keep your eyes open as you inspect each aspect of the KNG. Base your judgement on facts and logic instead of your emotions."

The two discussed some other matters related to the job. Overall, the first meeting didn't leave Ves with much to go on. He needed to wait for the tour of the KNG's various facilities before he could return with more intelligence.

"The various properties of the KNG are well-guarded against real and virtual intrusions." Leland said. "We won't be able to monitor what is happening inside without risking detection. That would be very bad."

"So I'll be on my own when I do my inspections?"

"Correct, but a strike team of operatives will always be a few blocks away. Even now, they are still in hiding outside this base. They will follow you around discreetly and come to your aid if there is a need for intervention. However, all of this rests on the premise that Flashlight's involvement remains unknown. The strike team that is backing you up are constantly in disguise."

Hopefully, Ves wouldn't see the need to call for their help. "That's reassuring to hear. So to sum it up, I'll have to do all the actual inspections myself?"

"Correct. Otherwise, why would we have a need of a mech designer of your caliber? Right now, we need you because Flashlight has faith that you are skilled enough to detect any irregularities at the KNG's facilities in a very short amount of time. The faster you spot anything amiss, the sooner we can decide upon an appropriate response."

"How much time do I have?"

"We're not sure, but by my reckoning you should return to us with a definite confirmation no longer than three weeks."

Three weeks sounded short, too short for Ves to develop a close trust with Kadar and Neyvis. He'd have to be a bit more brazen and assertive in his role as liaison to wrap up his investigation in that short amount of time.

"Why three weeks? Is that when the threat of Vesian intrusion becomes real?"

"I can't say. Just know that we can only spare three weeks for your investigation before we have to pull you out and move to another plan."

Leland quickly left after mentioning a few more things about the happy family. Overall, the spy wanted Ves to remain sober and not be taken in too much by the overly rosy picture painted by the happy family.

Once Ves was left alone, he sat behind his terminal and wrote up a report of his activities for his cover role. Even though he didn't include any important details in this casual report, it was nonetheless a necessary activity for every liaison.

The next day, Ves ate a quick breakfast at the base, thereby also showing himself off at the personnel present there, before boarding a military shuttle again.

"Where to, Mr. Larkinson?"

"Take me to the headquarters of the Kadar-Neyvis Group."

The time limit imposed by Leland gave Ves a lot of pressure. He canceled some of his initial plans of visiting other areas of Dorum for the sole purpose of appearing in public to show off his awards like a nouveau riche.

"Even if I spend most of my time with the KNG, I'll already be exposed as it is. There's no need for me to visit some busy street to attract attention from the public."

During the shuttle ride, he idly activated his comm and browsed some of the local news portals. He searched his own name and found that a few outlets already started to report on Ves' eye-catching awards.

He smirked. "This is just the start."

He already encountered some ads showcasing his connection to the LMC. The more people looked him up, the more people would see those ads, and thereby become exposed to his company's products.

The shuttle landed at the familiar parking zone. As Ves left the shuttle, a familiar relations manager greeted him again.

"Ves, pleased to see you again. Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis both have business to attend, so they are not able to accompany you on your tour this time."

"That's okay. They are busy mech designers and I know that time is money to them. I can still do my job without their presence."

In fact, Ves preferred not to be accompanied by the two Journeymen because he wouldn't be able to get away with as much. Mech designers knew each other the best. If Ves showed an undue amount of interest in some of the more sensitive areas of the company, Kadar and Neyvis would easily be able to observe his unusual behavior.

He much preferred to be accompanied by a technical neophyte like Jeff who was good with people but bad with technology. He just had to make sure he wouldn't appear suspicious to any of the security guards or monitoring systems while he made his inspections.

"Today, there are two visits on the agenda. In the morning, I'll show you around our headquarters. In the afternoon, I'll take you to the design center where most of the magic happens."

"Sounds good."

Jeff brought Ves inside the headquarters and gave him a brief tour in every department. Of course, he only obtained a shallow glimpse at the work being done related to the company's financing, marketing, strategy and public relations activities.

What struck Ves the most during his tour throughout the headquarters was that everyone appeared genuinely happy and loyal. No one appeared stress and none of the managers rode their subordinates very hard.

Jeff noticed his astonishment. "Our leaders are very concerned with the wellbeing of their employees. Treating our people as valued individuals instead of wage slaves is the first step to building an enduring company. We pay our people above average wages and we offer generous benefits as well as bountiful bonuses to them. Besides inspiring everyone's loyalty and devotion to the company, we've also managed to cut down attrition to a minimum while boosting productivity."

"It sounds really expensive, though. Can the KNG actually afford such generous treatment to its employees?"

"Our company is more than profitable enough to sustain such activities. The fact that very few of our people quit saves us a lot of time and money that we would have otherwise spent on retraining newcomers."

Even so, Ves still remained somewhat skeptical on the claim that the company wasn't wasting a lot of money on unnecessary benefits.

He found it somewhat regretful that the tour hadn't allowed him a deeper glimpse into the company's finances. Understanding their current financial state would help him a lot in determining whether they were desperate enough to look for... alternative sources of funding.

Even so, the accountants and managers at the Financial Department showed a bit less enthusiasm in front of Ves. Obviously, they coped with a bit more concerns than the other departments, but they did their best to show their best faces in front of Ves.

Ves realized that the entire visit so far consisted of theater. Jeff brought him along a guided tour through fabricated impressions of happy and productive workers.

Only once they neared the top of the headquarters did Ves get to meet with some of the top management team. An executive solely responsible for supervising the production of military assets greeted them at his office.

"Good morning, Mr. Larkinson." The older man said as they shook hands. "My name is Charlie Rosen, and I am the executive director for military production. Put simply, that means that all the assets we produce for the Mech Corps."

"Can you walk me over what the KNG produces right now?"

"Certainly. I have prepared a short presentation."

Once everyone sat down, Mr. Rosen presented the facts, most of which Ves already knew.

"We produce thirty-five different mech models for five different mech regiments of the Mech Corps at a time. That sounds impressive at first, but we don't run our production lines for each of these models at all times. We only need to produce enough military mechs to replenish the losses of the mech regiments deployed on the frontlines of the war."

Even so, trying to retain enough ability and know-how to be able to fabricate so many military mech models must require a considerable amount of skill and manpower!

"How many mechs have you produced in say, the last year?"

Charlie Rosen raised his eyes as if to recall the figure. "I'd say over seven-thousands mechs."

"That's quite a lot!" Ves replied with considerable surprise.

"The war is very hard on the mech regiments, as I'm sure you know from your own service. In most cases, mechs fall easily but their mech pilots are able to eject in time. Sometimes, the fallen mechs can be recovered, but there are many times when they aren't able to restore their damaged machines. That is where we come in. Five different mech regiments rely on our production to cover a part or even their entire mech roster!"

This was a very major responsibility! If the KNG was a loyal and trustworthy mech manufacturer, then there was nothing wrong about their supply contracts with the individual mech regiments.

However, such a strong responsibility could easily be turned against the military. If someone powerful enough at the KNG wanted to sabotage the mech regiments, they could easily tamper with the mechs intended for the military.

This was why the Mech Corps felt the need to send liaison mech designers to the companies contracted to supply the military. Ves realized that even as he was tasked with finding out if the KNG covertly supplied the BLM with mechs and supplies, he also needed to take his cover role more seriously.

He needed to investigate whether the KNG also fudged the mechs they supplied to the mech regiments!

Chapter 982

After his informative meeting with the executive director for military production, Ves became more aware of the KNG's importance in the Republic's war apparatus.

"Bentheim's industrial capacity is enormous." Charlie Rosen stated at the close of his presentation. "During our wars against the Vesians, every company has to do their part. While a mech manufacturer is already helping the Republic's economy by continuing their commercial activities, in many cases the state needs more direct assistance. The Kadar-Neyvis Group is proud to partner up with several military mech regiments and do our part in keeping them supplied with mechs and supplies!"

"That is a very admirable sentiment, Mr. Rosen." Ves nodded in apparent appreciation. "On behalf of the Mech Corps, we hope to continue our fruitful cooperation."

In the next couple of days, Jeff brought him to visit the KNG's design complex. Located in the outskirts of Dorum away from the hustle and bustle of the center of the city, the design complex exuded an academic mood. The mech designers who worked here all enjoyed the complex's rich greenery, peaceful parks and various recreational activities.

"Our bosses always state that designing mechs is a creative job." The relations manager told him as they calmly walked through a wooded area. Whoever designed the outdoor areas of the complex did a marvelous job, because Ves couldn't help but feel his stress levels decreasing amidst all of this peace and quiet. "Therefore, they specifically erected this design complex in order to provide a refreshing and uplifting environment for our mech designers."

"I can feel the remarkable design behind the layout and architecture here." Ves nodded in agreement. "Anyone who works here will probably feel as if they are in a paradise."

"That's the idea behind this design center. Here at the Kadar-Neyvis Group, we pay a lot of attention to the comfort and well-being of our employees. After all, how can we be one of those gauche companies where our upper management earns millions of credits while our backbone is barely making a pittance?"

"That's a very progressive attitude for the KNG to take." Ves commented without making too much of a judgement.

While Ves could see the appeal behind shaping the expansive complex into a peaceful, zen-like environment, he himself found it to be rather adverse to his own style of designing mechs.

Ves believed he designed the best mechs when fired up with passion. The higher the pressure, the more frantic he worked and the less he second-guessed himself. Even though he'd slip up from time to time, the creative solutions he formed under pressure made all of the shortcomings worth it in the end!

A calm and serene design environment like this may be able to lower a mech designer's stress level, but it would also douse their more excitable impulses! As a mech designer, Ves understood how deeply their profession depended on emotional outbursts to design original mechs.

Nonetheless, it also made sense for the KNG to offer this kind of relaxing environment to mech designers if they didn't contribute to anything substantial in the company's designs.

Flashes of inspiration and passion-fueled adrenaline rushes served the lead designers of a design project well, but their subordinate mech designers would never have a chance to introduce some of their own innovations to the design!

Mech designers who only did grunt work such as modeling and simulating mech designs in order to optimize them and expose any flaws did not depend too much on creativity. The tedious, mind-numbing work wore out any mech designer, so to offer this kind of placid environment to them was like injecting them with sedates and other mind-calming drugs.

This was perhaps the most nefarious aspect about this design complex! Anyone who worked here would be shaped by the environment into becoming an unthinking drone for the KNG. The subliminal messages suffused in the complex's design depressed all of their excitable aspects in order to reinforce a mood of numb compliance.

He didn't mention all of this Jeff. In fact, Ves thought it was a great example on how to treat lower-level mech designers. Such a well-designed complex for mech designers prolonged their usefulness and allowed them to last longer before burning out.

"I've seen enough of the periphery. Please bring me inside."

They entered the main entrance and went through a pretty thorough security check where Ves had been forced to leave behind his military comm.

"My apologies, Ves, but you will have to leave behind any electronic devices. The work we undertake here is of vital importance to the company. We cannot allow anything we do inside to fall in the hands of our competitors."

"I understand."

Once they passed the security check, they entered deep within the bowels of the main facility. The overwhelmingly white interior with round smooth shapes and lack of sharp angles only reinforced the impression that this entire environment had been shaped to reinforce a sense of peace and calm.

"Many concurrent design projects take place in this facility." Jeff started to explain. "The KNG offers over fifty different mech models, many of which are only the latest versions in their product lines. It is here that work on the Mark II's, Mark III's, Mark IV's of our existing models are constantly being refined."

"Do the lead designers of all of these projects solely consist of Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis?"

"For the most part, they do. Sometimes they invite their fellow Journeyman colleagues to collaborate on a special mech design, but in most cases they are good enough to set the tone for the projects by themselves."

"How can they juggle this many design projects at once?"

"Their approach to designing mechs is to lead the design projects through intermittent guidance. Mrs. Kadar or Mr. Neyvis only has to spend a day or three to set an overall design a specific aspect, whereupon the assisting mech designers flesh out the direction through careful study and examination."

Ves wasn't too unfamiliar with this approach to designing mechs. A mech designer like him always engaged in only one design project at a time. Each time he embarked on a major design project, he put down everything else and devoted his entire attention span on designing a mech at the cost of losing track of external concerns.

Kadar and Neyvis couldn't afford to be too engulfed by their own design projects. Not only did they hold many responsibilities such as meeting with stakeholders and spending time with their children, they also needed to keep all of those design projects moving forward!

Just going from one design project after another one at a time sounded extremely inefficient to Ves. Therefore, he saw the logic in this distant and more imperious style of designing mechs. It wasn't too dissimilar from Professor Velten's approach to designing the Inheritor, Hellcat and Akkara designs back at the Flagrant Vandals.

It put Ves to thought as they visited some of the project workplaces. The design methodologies he witnessed seemed much more suited to a large mech company that continuously developed many designs at a time.

With only two lead designers but so many design projects all calling out for their attention, it was impossible for them to dedicate their full time on each of them! Kadar and Neyvis would run themselves ragged if they spent as much time on each design as Ves did on his own.

Ves only designed two original mechs for the market, while the two older Journeymen designed more than fifty commercial designs!

As Ves visited several design teams, he noted that all of them consisted of Apprentices and Novices. Not a single Journeyman Mech Designer could be found in their midst, and even the Apprentices themselves didn't seem too bright.

"Are there any other Journeymen or talented mech designers working here?"

"How could we?" Jeff shook his head in an honest fashion. "Any mech designer that is good enough to run their own companies have already done so. A mech designer of your caliber is very hard to retain. The only way to realistically pull over a mech designer with promise is to offer them a substantial amount of shares in the company."

"Or you could partner up with them. That's the case with Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis, right?"

Jeff smiled brightly. "Exactly! A personal union between our two bosses is very rare, but the Kadar-Neyvis Group that formed as a merger between their two former companies is much more powerful than the sum of its parts. The combination of two Journeyman Mech Designers who share everything they have together has been an absolute boon to our company's rise!"

Overall, as they toured the different design teams, Ves didn't get too see too much of their work. It wouldn't do for Ves to press for greater access as none of the design work on the KNG's commercial mechs had any bearing with the military.

This visit alone was only just a courtesy to the new liaison.

Still, Ves picked up plenty of insights. For example, for all of Jeff and other people's claims that the KNG looked out for their employees, he could see that the KNG didn't particularly value their mech designers.

This overly placid environment and the company's overall treatment of their lower-ranked mech designers all served the interests of the company owners.

The mech designers all enjoyed stable positions in the design teams, but Ves figured they did not enjoy that many prospects for improvement and advancement. A mech designer who joined the KNG's design teams would be destined to stall in their careers.

However, this was how the mech industry worked. The lead designers captured most of the benefits that came with designing mechs by exercising their creativity and coming up with innovations.

As for the mech designers that came after to refine the initial concept and optimize it into a form ready for the market, they held no say in how the mech design would shape out.

All of the mech designs published by the KNG either came at the hand of Kadar or Neyvis! Besides the occasional guest designer, no other mech designer earned any credit for developing the company's many designs!

Ves fell into a slightly introspective mood at the end of his tour through the facility. Perhaps if he hadn't obtained the system, Ves might have aspired to work for the KNG in a similar fashion. Unlike all the other alternative jobs that desperate mech designers ended up with, working as an assisting mech designer for the KNG seemed like a wish come true, as at least he'd be able to exercise his design ability, although to a very minor extent.

As Ves ended the tour for the day and took a shuttle ride back to base, he wondered how he should shape the LMC's design teams in the future. Should he adopt the model used by the KNG?

"The important point is that it works."

He knew that many mech companies above a certain scale with robust design teams adopted the same design methodology as the KNG. It aimed to solve the problem of maintaining many design projects while having far too few design talents to go around.

For now, the LMC only offered two original mech models, but how long would that last? Any self-respecting mech company that did not specialize in a single type of mechs always offered a few varieties of mech types.

Ves himself dreamed of designing a dozen or so mechs belonging to the same product family. He wanted to design different mech models of different mech types but with several shared aspects and interchangeable parts.

A set of related mech models, each of which used several common parts and behaved in a similar fashion, was the dream of every mech designer! This was because many large customers often preferred to order large batches of mechs from the same seller. This not only simplified their logistical needs. Adopting mechs from the same product family also trained their mech pilots and mech technicians to excel in working with the same kinds of mechs!

Naturally, to develop an entire product family of mechs was easier said than done. However, Ves personally saw that the KNG made it work!

"The KNG maintains two product families, one for spaceborn mechs and one for frontline mechs. Some of them share the same engines, the same power reactors, the same energy cells, same performance profile and more!"

Chapter 983

Developing an entire product family asked a lot out of a mech designer. They needed to be skilled and creative enough to adapt the same set of component licenses to vastly different mech types.

In one perspective, the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord could partially be considered to be part of the same product family. Ves recycled many of the component licenses used in the Blackbeak design such as the Veltrex Armor System and the Trailblazer mech engine in his Crystal Lord design.

However, Ves never set out to make their designs share many aspects in common. Overall, they still diverged substantially with regards to their internal architecture, power usage and more.

"The only reason why I reused the same component licenses is because I'm not rich enough to afford better another set of licenses of the same quality."

Many mech designers ended up designing mechs in that fashion, sharing similar design traits out of helpless necessity instead of a predetermined plan to design an entire product family.

"It's still too soon for me to think on embarking on such an ambitious project."

Besides the incredibly stringent demands on his design ability, starting up an entire product family also required him to select versatile component licenses that worked well in many different mech types.

While Ves thought he had the skills necessary to do so, he was still short on money and manpower. Also, it took an extremely long time to finish designing all of those mechs, enough for him to give up any notions of doing so when the current generation of mechs soon came to an end.

"There's no point starting a major design project when new technologies and standards will turn my efforts into cheap, lastgen goods."

In the mech industry, only Journeyman Mech Designers embarked on the path of starting up a product family.

Once the shuttle returned to the military base, Ves met up with Leland in his quarters again. The Flashlight intelligence officer seemed to have a way to sneak into his sleeping place without letting any guard or security system pick up his presence!

The thought frightened him for a moment, but he quickly suppressed it. Flashlight had no reason to sneak up on him in the middle of the night.

"Ves. How was your day today?"

"I visited their design complex. It was a very informative visit to me as a mech designer and a businessman. However, it has nothing to do with my job as a liaison. There's nothing going on there that is relevant to the investigation."

"Everything is relevant as long as you ask the right questions." Leland retorted.

"Oh? Did I miss something today?"

Ves sat down at his bed while Leland took up the seat next to the desk terminal.

"Where do you think most of the mech designers who work at the KNG come from, Ves?"

Now that he thought about it, many of the design teams he visited shared the same vibe he had seen many times at Frozen Point.

"They are all graduates of Ansel!"

"Exactly. The Ansel University of Mech Design prides itself on being the most premier institute for mech designers in the Republic. While the AUMD is not as good as the prestigious institutions of the Friday Coalition, anyone who graduates from Ansel expects to be a mech designer of note."

"Yet the mech market can't accommodate that many mech designers." Ves replied, seeing the point that Leland tried to make. "Ansel is famous for their high selection criteria. Those that manage to get in and study diligently are always above every other mech designer from the Republic. Even so, too many of them graduate each year. There simply isn't room for all of them to start their own businesses."

"Therefore, unless they are truly excellent, wealthy or connected enough to start up their own companies and propel them to success, most of their careers aren't very distinguished. Their outcomes are better than the graduates of other institutions such as your very own alma mater, but if nothing changes, they will still be nobodies by the time they retire."

A mech designer hungered for success and acknowledgement. The best mech designers always dreamt of founding their own mech companies and grow them step by step towards a dominant market position.

Yet the mech market was cruel and vicious! The intense competition and finite amount of buyers left no room for every graduate of the AUMD to find carve out their own places in the market!

For some reason, even if the AUMD restricted their intake of students somewhat, they were just like every other institution and pumped out way too many mech designers, much more than the mech industry could take in fact!

"At the very least these Ansel alumni are better off than their peers who mostly have to abandon their design careers." Ves concluded. "I've seen many mech designers forced to give up their primary vocation in order to become a mech appraiser or mech repairer."

Leland sneered. "I'm not so sure the elite Ansel mech designers will be content with what you said. Ansel's way of bringing up their mech designers is meant to prepare them for success. That serves the winners just fine, but what about the losers? How would it feel to be treated as design royalty during your studies at Ansel, only to be begging for a design job once you are back on the streets?"

"It sounds like you take this problem is a lot more seriously than anyone else."

"Flashlight has a reason to be concerned. We admire Ansel for raising loyal and patriotic mech designers, some of whom are just as good as those who return after graduating from the famed institutions of the Friday Coalition. Yet we are also concerned what the disaffected among them will try to do when their dream careers fail to materialize."

"You think... they'll join the BLM?"

"We don't think. We know. A fair number of mech designers from Ansel that are collaborating or outright working for the Bentheim Liberation Movement is very substantial!"

This sounded completely incongruent to Ves! Even if many of the graduates from Ansel might not be able to succeed in their startups, they should still be able to work for the Mech Corps or the various mech companies like the KNG. How could they even contemplate working for the most notorious terrorist organization in the Republic?

"I see the question in your mind, Ves. You wonder how those proud Ansel alumni would even deign to work with the separatists. It is exactly because they are so proud that they can't accept becoming anyone's lackey! Working for the BLM is a form of rebellion for them. If they can't join the mech industry as a successful mech designer, then they would rather burn it all it down!"

"What twisted logic is that!" Ves exclaimed!

"It is not a logical response, but rather an emotional one. Ansel's hyperintense focus on producing winners who can compete with the best has a very significant downside. The AUMD is very poor at raising mech designers who can cope with setbacks and losses. These aggrieved mech designers are too proud to lower themselves to working on those alternative careers, and the BLM is shrewd enough to offer them a substantial amount of power and influence in their cells!"

This sounded incredibly concerning to Ves. However, while it surprised him a lot that the BLM employed many disaffected graduates from Ansel, he still question what all of this had to do with his current mission.

"You mentioned this for a reason, right? What does this have to do with the situation at the KNG?"

"If there is anything amiss at the KNG, their collaboration with the BLM may not be limited to providing material support. There is a possibility that some of the mech designers working at the KNG's design complex are in cahoots with the BLM." Leland revealed.

This sounded paranoid even to Ves. In addition, even if something like this really went on, it was very hard to catch the colluding mech designers in the act. The help that these mech designers provided to the BLM could merely be confined to leaking some data on the KNG's mechs.

"It sounds like Flashlight is not very comfortable with the AUMD."

"We have a reason to be concerned. Ansel's influence in Bentheim's mech industry is substantial and pervasive. While most of our Senior Mech Designers have emerged from that school, a lot of bad apples have come from there as well."

Unfortunately, even if some of those bad apples ended up at the KNG, Ves didn't have the opportunity to investigate them all. While a couple of mech designers did in fact got sent to the manufacturing complexes from time to time in order to supervise the complex production operations, most of them just spent their times in the secretive design labs deep inside the KNG's design complex.

"So what do I have to do?"

"While Kadar and Neyvis are two very capable mech designers, it's impossible for them to extend their awareness everywhere. They spent much of their time either at their headquarters or their design complex. As for the manufacturing complexes, the only times they visit there is when they need to ready the production lines for a major shift in production. Other times, they leave it to other mech designers to keep an eye there."

Ves learned from Leland that Kadar and Neyvis entrusted the overall functioning of each manufacturing complex to trusted subordinate mech designers.

Subsequently, if anything dubious happened at these sites, then those trusted mech designers would very likely be at the heart of those schemes.

"All of them are Ansel alumni with a lot of weight within the KNG." Leland mentioned. "While they don't have much influence in the design work, when it comes to production they are absolutely side bosses."

"Even so, being in charge of production is not as fulfilling as being able to design mechs." Ves observed. "Does the KNG really not allow any of their other mech designers to publish mech designs they developed themselves?"

"Nope. Publishing inferior products not only complicates their production efforts, but it will also tarnish their brand name. The KNG is very much a two-man show. Besides Kadar and Neyvis, no other mech designer is allowed to influence their product offerings."

At the end of the briefing, Leland left Ves alone to write his report for the Mech Corps. As he summarized his visit to the design complex, he couldn't help but think back on how a mech company ought to treat their mech designers.

"Sending mech designers to supervise the production or relegating them to grunt work in numerous design teams is not in their best interests."

The KNG basically treated their non-lead mech designers like commodities. For all of the company's claims of treating their employees well, they insidiously exploited them behind their polite facade.

It made Ves reflect on how he should shape his own company's policies regarding any mech designers he intended to hire.

From what he already observed at the KNG, he knew that any major mech company couldn't do without a design team. Ves already tasted the limits of operating solo and he simply couldn't dedicate that much time on designing individual mechs.

However, even if the LMC made use of design teams in the future, Ves needed to be very thoughtful about the treatment of his mech designers.

The central premise of both his design philosophy and his company was to elevate the dignity of mechs. Ves wanted his products to be treated with the respect afforded to living human beings.

However, for him to care so much about mechs, he should not neglect his own people. If Ves wanted to be consistent in his convictions, then he needed to find some way to allow his subordinate mech designers to express their design ability without compromising the best interests of the LMC.

"I'll have to think about this problem. There's no easy way to solve this conundrum."

Chapter 984

As his visit to the KNG's design complex only stretched in the afternoon, after Leland left his quarters Ves still had the evening to himself. He decided to abuse his privileges again left the base after appropriating another military shuttle.

In any case, as a liaison mech designer, he didn't have to pay too much attention on staying at his posts. He wasn't assigned to a ship of a base after all, so hardly anyone cared if he departed without asking for leave!

"Where to, Mr. Larkinson?"

"Take me to the center of the Rain District."

The shuttle pilot actually turned around from his seat. "The Rain District, sir? That's not advisable. That district is the turf of the Blood Claws!"

"Yes, I know. I'll be perfectly safe there. It's not as if they would ever dare to hurt a man in uniform. Now stop asking questions and get this shuttle in the air!"

Even if he didn't have much free time to spend on Bentheim, Ves still wanted to get some private matters done. It was a rare opportunity for him to be able to run around on Bentheim while the war still went on, so how could he not abuse this privilege until it was bleeding and crying on the floor?

The shuttle spent a short time crossing above the city before it landed in the Rain District, a less-well off city district of Dorum. A lot of visitors and locals at the parking zone looked at Ves with askance as soon as he stepped out.

His service uniform looked completely out of place in the seedier part of the capital!

Ves merely smiled at the gawkers and began to walk along the main avenues of the district. Everywhere he walked, he drew many stares. Word would spread and footage of him would leak out. Perhaps many of them would wonder why he entered the Rain District in this getup alone, and the uncertainties from that would fuel the spread of his appearance.

While he didn't intend to catch the public's attention this way, it was a nice bonus even if it slightly tarnished his reputation for entering the Rain District.

After all, everyone and their mother knew that the Blood Claws held sway here. The gang owned many properties here through various dummy corporations, and they operated many businesses in the dark.

For example, Ves knew that the Blood Claws operated an underground mech arena as well as a black market here. The scale of both wasn't that big or extensive due to their fears of attracting too much attention from the authorities. As long as these shady establishments didn't draw too much attention to themselves, the local authorities on Bentheim weren't inclined to spoil the party.

Ves couldn't help but smile at the implicit cooperation. What took place on Bentheim sounded no different than the shady businesses that operated in the Harkensen System.

The only point of consideration was that Bentheim cared a lot more about maintaining a clean reputation on the surface. As a legitimate port system, they derived most of their revenue from honest industry and legal trade.

The problem was that illicit activities always followed everywhere where the money flowed. Port systems drew even more gangs than usual because of the sheer amount of transactions that went on. Therefore, the dominant position the Blood Claws held in Bentheim's underworld was so strong that even the Planetary Guard closed their eyes to their activities as long as they upheld a social accord!

The three dominant gangs all effectively ruled their territories autonomously!

Having witnessed the blatant co-dependence of legal and less-than-legal activities, Ves knew that it reflected a sense of helplessness with regards to the authorities. Crime followed everywhere and have always existed since the dawn of time.

No matter if it was the galactic rim or the galactic center, plenty of people found ways to cheat the system or find a way to fulfill a need that the government frowned upon. Bentheim may be less safe and more chaotic with all the gangs vying for a slice of the pie here, but it could have been much worse if the Blood Claws didn't depress the violence on their turf.

Fighting was bad for business. While small rivalling gangs of lowlives constantly fought over the less desirable parts of Bentheim, a place like the Rain District maintained relative order in order to make visitors feel safe enough to frequent their establishments.

Ves entered a run-down bar called the Three-Legged Mech.

"Oi, you that Larkinson fella?" A thug who waited near the entrance called.

"Yep."

"The Blood Champion told me to bring you upstairs. Let's go."

Ves followed the fellow up some steps in the dinghy but strangely homely bar. He drew countless stares from the thugs and other lowlives drinking at this grungy establishment.

Once upstairs, they entered a private room where a single other person had already sank on a couch with beer stains on it. The woman looked up at his arrival and raised a lazy hand.

"Yo."

"We haven't seen each other in years, and that's all you can say to me, Raella?"

"What do you expect, Ves?" His brash cousin said in a heated tone. "Do you want me to get all googly-eyed at your well-cut uniform and your impressive decorations? I left the Larkinsons because I want to pursue my own career instead of mindlessly joining the military like everyone else!"

"Whoa there, I just wanted to meet, cousin. I'm not here to preach to you or drag you back to the family."

"Huh! Seeing you in your uniform just pisses me off. It reminds me of all the other aunts and uncles who are disappointed in me for not following the family tradition. It didn't help that you tracked down my comm contact and ordered me to meet up with you. Just like that!"

"I remember I specifically sent you a request. If you didn't want to meet me, you could have just said no." Ves replied aggrievedly.

"Yeah right. Who the hell would be able to say no to the latest darling of the family? Except for that fellow Ghanso, you're the most decorated Larkinson of our generation!"

Ves should have felt proud of that, but Raella made it sound as if he became a mindless Larkinson drone who followed the family's tradition of volunteering for military service.

"I don't want to argue with you about this. Can we move on? It's been a long time since we've last met, and even if you cut ties with the family, we're still related to each other."

"...Fine. You better not talk about anything that pisses me off, though."

As Ves sat next to the mech pilot on the couch, he regarded her with a curious eye. She didn't appear too different since last time, but just like Ves, she had gained an edge in her demeanor. She also matured a bit, and seemed more assertive and confident than before.

"How are you faring with the Blood Claws."

"I'm doing great! I've won and lost my fair share of fights in the underground arenas. There's something delightfully blood-pumping about those fights."

"Were you ever at risk of dying?"

"Sure! I usually know when to eject or give up in time, though. It's an essential skill to learn while you're fighting a mech duel with almost no rules."

Ves felt as if she was understating the risks. Even if the underground arena duels didn't always end in death, the possibility of fatalities was still substantially higher.

Likely, the main reason why Raella survived up to now despite losing some fights was because she was an insider and a very capable mech pilot. The Blood Claws would be crazy to treat her like dirt. Her Larkinson mech pilot training gave her an edge over most of the rabble that tended to compete in these kinds of underground mech duels.

"The guy at the entrance called you a Blood Champion. What's that?" He asked.

"Oh, that? It's basically their word for a mech champion. I've done quite well for myself lately." She grinned at Ves. "All those hair-raising fights finally allowed me to showcase my dueling talents. I'm nothing like the mech pilot I was before. As a Blood Champion, I've entered into the middle ranks of the Blood Claws. While I'm not in charge of any businesses or anything, I get paid really well and get any mech I want."

"That sounds very generous. However, it doesn't sound as if you're getting all of that treatment for free."

"Oh, it only lasts as long as I'm alive and in fighting shape. I also have to represent the Blood Claws in ritual duels whenever they fight against their rivals."

While Raella sounded very nonchalant about the risks, Ves figured that she was constantly at risk of dying or coming away with severe injuries. While he wanted to lecture her about the idiocy she volunteered for, he held himself back. It wasn't as if serving in the war was any less risky right now, and she made her own choice.

After a bit of chitchat on how they were doing, Ves moved on to the main purpose of his visit.

"Raella, the reason I asked to meet with you is not just to see how you're doing. I wanted to ask a favor from you."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Truly? The mighty Ves deigns to lower himself to my level to ask for help?"

"Don't make it sound like as if I look down on you. I never did!"

She threw a skeptical expression at him. "Yeah, right. Well, spit it out. What do you want?"

"I want to ask you to use your sway with the Blood Claws to gather all the information it has about a local mech company called the Kadar-Neyvis Group."

"Why the hell do you want something like that?"

"Right now, I've been assigned to the KNG as a liaison mech designer. I want to have a better understanding of the company, but it's hard to tell them to expose their dirty laundry to me. I figured that a gang as powerful and established on Bentheim as the Blood Claws knows more about the KNG than the local authorities. Therefore, could you please ask around and see if they're willing to hand over some of their dirt on the company to me? Quietly, please, I don't want anyone to find out."

Raella frowned deeply at his request. "It's really hard to do anything quietly within the organization. The Blood Claws is really large and I'm just part of their mech pilots. All the business stuff is handled by another part of the gang."

"Can you do it or not?"

She smirked. "Sure! Who do you think I am? I'm a Blood Champion! It sounds a little sad, but I'm one of their best mech pilots! Except for the old dogs who have fought at Monty the Beheader's side for decades, everyone respects my skills! I'm sure I can drop by at the organization's business offices and dig out the intel on that mech company for you. However... it'll cost you, Ves."

"Oh come on, aren't we family?"

"We are. That's why I haven't said no. I can't even promise you that I can get my hands on the dirt, but as long as you pay me back I'll do my best."

Ves thought for a while before he sighed. "As long as we're not talking about treason or something, then fine. What is it you want me to do?"

"I want you to give me three of your company's highly rated Crystal Lords. The silver label versions, not the crappy bronze label ones."

He almost grew sick. "Mechs don't grow on trees, you know? Do you know how many credits worth of mechs you're talking about? It's a much larger sum of money than you have ever spent!"

"I don't care! I want some mechs so I can give them to my seniors to curry favor with them. Besides, it'll help you out as well. The LMC and you will be able to get in the good books of the Blood Claws if you offer them this kind of tribute. All the other mech companies do something like this all the time, you know! That's how Bentheim really works! Any company who's too slow in offering tribute... Well, they don't exist for long."

While Ves wasn't aware of the exact state of the LMC's finances, he figured that they shouldn't be fragile enough to go bankrupt if they 'gifted' three Crystal Lords to Raella. If that wasn't the case, then he could always compensate the company with his personal funds.

Even though the upfront cost of this repayment was very high, as long as it furthered the mission and therefore improved his relationship with Flashlight, it was all worth it. No matter how shady it all sounded, at the end of the day it was all for a good cause.

"Deal."

Chapter 985

In the following days, Ves went on a series of tours through the Kadar-Neyvis Group's manufacturing complexes. They owned four in total, spread across different parts of Bentheim.

Jeff brought Ves to the Haston Complex first. Situated in the poorest city of Bentheim, the surroundings looked awfully rough, but those who worked here seemed happy and grateful to be working for the KNG.

"It must be very hard to base production in Haston." Ves idly commented as he casually inspected the entire plant under the guidance of one of the presiding mech designers.

"This is the old production plant of Neyvis Mechs back before the merger." The mech designer said. "We are a familiar institution in Haston. The Neyvis Family has a good relationship with the local Haston communities. By working together with the locals, we've managed to avoid the travails that other mech companies suffer when they think they can just drop down a factory here to take advantage of the cheap labor."

"What does the Neyvis Family do?" Ves asked, even though he already knew the question due to his prior studies.

Jeff answered this question quickly and confidently. "The Neyvis Family is a familiar mainstay in the Bentheim business community. They have long been in the banking and finance sector. Their Industrial and Commercial Bank of Bentheim has invested in many mech companies as well as many grassroots businesses. Eventually, Antoine Neyvis entered the mech industry and achieved great success, propelling him all the way to become the new head of the family!"

"Does that mean that Mr. Neyvis is also in charge of the family's ICBB?"

"Not directly. The bank's shares belong to the family's estate, and every major decision requires the approval of the family. Nonetheless, the ICBB has increased their cooperation with the Kadar-Neyvis Group lately."

As a capital-intensive industry, the vast majority of mech company startups went heavily into debt to get their foot off the ground. The harsh competition and relatively high barrier for entry did not deter many hopeful young mech designers in trying to make it as a mech entrepreneur.

Most failed outright.

Many more barely managed to keep their heads above water.

However, the few wild successes paid off extremely well, especially if the bank held equity in the newly-founded mech companies.

These huge successes made it viable for banks to earn a profit despite investing in many failed ventures.

Even if too many mech companies they invested in failed for some reason or another, the banks usually claimed the collateral which would be put to good use in another company.

Ves figured one of the reasons why Neyvis Mechs managed to achieve success early on was because the Neyvis Family accumulated a substantial amount of insider know-how on how to operate a mech company.

Having invested in so many mech companies through the years and having witnesses so many successes and failures, the Neyvis Family already knew most of the pitfalls of the mech industry!

As Ves continued his tour throughout the Haston Complex, he became struck by the numerous production lines, large amounts of motivated personnel and the extremely complex supply chains intertwined in this central location.

The mech designer brought them to the rear section of the plants where warehouses and landing pads stored hundreds of freshly-fabricated frontline mechs packed in compact containers. Transports occasionally flew down to offload raw materials and pick up the mechs.

"The logistics of running a manufacturing complex that can pump out an arsenal of mechs is extremely intricate. We are involved with hundreds of suppliers, logistics firms and distributors who ship our mechs to where they are sold. Keeping our supply chains running with all of the uncertainties of war and business has been difficult, but we are more than up to the challenge!"

The Haston Complex shipped in a huge amount of raw resources and subsequently shipped out a large amount of cheap but very sizable mechs. This in turn meant that the KNG's logistical efforts at this particular complex was the most large-scale and intensive operation of the entire company!

From the areas where the mech designer took him, Ves did not see anything amiss, at least on the surface. The large amount of people, the tight spaces and the overall level of monitoring and inspection left very little room for individuals to smuggle anything in or out of the complex.

However, as long as a substantial amount of key personnel were involved, something shady could still happen under the noses of everyone else. If Ves wanted to dig any impropriety out, then he needed to look into some of the personnel susceptible to these schemes.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to do so on this short visit.

"Thank you for the tour. Visiting this complex has opened up my eyes." Ves said.

"It is our pleasure to show off the KNG's splendor, Mr. Larkinson." The bland mech designer responded.

Ves visited the three other manufacturing complexes of the KNG in turn.

The Ansel Complex was just as large as the Haston Complex. It used to be the center of production of the old Kadar Group and still pumped out spaceborn mechs to this day.

While the frontline mechs produced by the Haston Complex mostly sold for about 4 to 8 million credits, the mechs at the Ansel Complex could be bought for around 15 to 30 million credits.

This was still an extremely competitive price point, and Ves figured the profit margins were already rather skinny even during the good times.

The workers at the Ansel Complex generally appear to be more competent and diligent in their work. Subsequently, they were also much better paid.

"Ansel is known as the mech capital of this planet." The local mech designer explained. "While Ansel is famous for hosting its premier mech university, it is also known for educating some of the most best mech technicians in the Republic. Most of our mech technicians working here at our Ansel Complex come from those institutions."

"They must be rather expensive to employ." Ves remarked.

"We are always known for our generous remuneration. We are always working hard to achieve the best possible quality in our output. The raving reviews and the excellent customer feedback of our spaceborn mech models proves that all of our efforts here has propelled the KNG to greater prominence!"

Ves nodded. The mech market did indeed appreciate the KNG's many offerings. They enjoyed good reputation for delivering good quality products.

However, Ves privately questioned whether all of these extra efforts were really worth it. Even though the good reputation helped them sell more mechs, would the additional revenue offset all of the extravagant costs incurred by employing so many highly qualified mech technicians?

The KNG already paid its employees above average industry rates and offered extremely generous benefits on top of that. Certainly, employee satisfaction and subsequently their productivity all rose to the top, but Ves couldn't help but suspect the KNG wasted far more money without getting enough in return.

To Ves, the mech company's overly generous treatment of their personnel had reached beyond the bounds of common sense!

It was as wasteful as employing one of the Lyrical Kitchen's top chefs for the sole purpose of warming up nutrient packs!

Frontline mechs never sold for very much. Subsequently, there wasn't much profit to be made out a single sale. The Haston Complex fabricated so many frontline mechs because the KNG needed to leverage their economy of scale to the utmost in order to make a decent living out of selling these low-value mechs.

As for their operations in Ansel, while Ves genuinely found the Ansel-educated mech technicians to be a pleasure to work with, they were paid much more than their regular counterparts.

Was it worth it to pay twice as much for an Ansel mech technician when they only performed twenty to forty percent better than some basic mech technician that barely graduated out of a local trade school?

Ves looked to his own business as an example. The LMC's first mech technicians consisted of a fair number of local mech technicians from Cloudy Curtain. Even though they weren't nearly as good as the mech technicians from Ansel or those working from the military, the LMC still managed to fabricate premium mechs just fine!

Therefore, Ves felt profoundly uncomfortable about all of the pampering the blue collar workers received.

He continued to feel that way when he quickly toured the KNG's two smaller complexes. Erected after the merger of the Kadar Group and Neyvis Mechs, the two newer sites attempted to accommodate the expanded needs of the rising mech company.

The Mosville Complex was a hybrid production and repair site, and served as the center of the KNG's after-sales support services. Not only did it produce a significant quantity of spare parts and various supplies, it also ran a substantial repair operation which constantly fixed up heavily-damaged mechs sent back by their customers.

The Dorum Complex on the other hand was the smallest but also the most extravagant. Even though the KNG excelled in selling cheap bulk mechs, they didn't entirely ignore the premium mech segments. Kadar or Neyvis regularly spent time here to design, develop and fabricate custom mechs, and even without them the plant still produced various specialty premium mechs for various purposes.

Overall, Ves found these two newer complexes to be more inefficient than the older ones. The Dorum Complex especially featured such low production volumes that he doubted it had ever turned a profit.

As for the Mosville Complex, Ves had much to say about the viability of their repair operations. Having supervised the extensive and continuous repair efforts of the Flagrant Vandal space and ground mechs, Ves was highly adept in the amount of manpower, expertise, supplies and time needed to repair the various kinds of damage that mechs tended to incur.

What Ves found most inefficient about the repairs being performed at Mosville was that the KNG allocated a substantial amount of manpower, resources and time to fix up cheap frontline mechs which incurred heavy battle damage. Many of them were even outright wrecked!

It was safe to say it cost a lot of time and resources to reconstruct these mechs, yet their inherently low value meant that the KNG couldn't charge full price to effect these repairs.

"The KNG also sells a huge amount of frontline mechs every year. The more mechs they sell, the more their customers will send them back for repairs and restoration."

Ostenably, the KNG sold its frontline mechs at bottom rock prices in order to earn a profit on their after-sales services. However, how much could they mark up their prices to service their cheapest products?

The mercenary corps and other customers that purchased these bargain bin mechs tended to be penny-pinching cheapskates. They would always compare prices on everything and never paid for anything that wasn't worth the cost.

Subsequently, the KNG couldn't charge too much for their repair services or otherwise those cheapskate mech owners would simply bring their damaged mechs to a cheaper repair business!

Although the quality between the two services differed quite substantially, most budget-minded mech owners probably found it wasteful to put their cheap mechs in the care of the KNG's well-trained but overpaid mech repairers!

As Ves finished his brief tours of all four manufacturing complexes, the questions in his mind continued to grow without abating.

The profligate way the KNG spent its money paired with its business strategy of focusing on selling large amounts of economy and budget mechs seemed incredibly contradictory.

"How can the KNG even expect to make a profit? Even if they are in the green, their wasteful spending ways means that their return on investment should be a lot more morose than comparable mech companies!"

Ves felt as if he was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle in the KNG's business strategy. What he really wanted to do right now was to storm into the KNG's headquarters, barge into their Financial Department and read through their financial records!

However, as a liaison mech designers sent to the KNG for the sole purpose of babysitting their military production activities, checking the company's finances fell outside of his purview.

As a private company, the KNG also didn't need to report their statements in public. Therefore, obtaining any accurate information on the true state of their finances would be very difficult.

Still, Ves had a feeling that understanding how the KNG's actually earned their money would help out his investigations.

Chapter 986

Back at his quarters at the military base, Ves explained his misgivings to his case officer.

Leland Toll listened calmly. "It is not so easy to peer through the accounts of a large mech manufacturer of this scale. The KNG is involved with thousands of stakeholders. From individual suppliers to massive conglomerates, each of them either obtain payment from the KNG or pays them to render a large volume of goods and services. While I'm not an expert in running a business, even I know it is impossible for any single person to get a complete grip on such a large company's financial state."

"I'm not asking for a complete record. It'd be swamped if I attempted to study all of their transactions. What I really want to obtain is their recent financial statement. As long as I can obtain their balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement, we'll know if their business strategy works as intended and if not, where they are really getting their money."

"Are you asking me to supply you with all of that financial data?"

"You're a Flashlight intelligence officer, right? Isn't it trivial for your agency to obtain those records?"

"As a private corporation, the Kadar-Neyvis Group indeed has to disclose some records to the state." Leland said with a wry smile. "However, it's a bit more delicate than you think. The KNG submits all of the necessary financial statements to the Ministry of Economic Development."

"Oh."

"Yes. MinEcDev is a particularly powerful ministry of the Republic, and they guard their territory extremely well. Even if we have planted agents in that ministry, they cannot casually rip out the relevant data from their databases."

This revelation emphasized how Kadar and Neyvis leveraged their connections to the point where their company was highly dependent on them. Ves already heard that the KNG maintained a close relationship with MinEcDev. The powerful ministry ostensibly offered a lot of financial assistance to the KNG to keep it alive during the current adverse economic climate.

"Does Flashlight has any clue where they get their money at all?"

Leland shook his head. "We aren't aware of any major inbound cash flows besides the company's own earnings and the financial assistance they received from the ministry. Even so, the financial statements they've submitted to MinEcDev might not even present the complete picture."

"It's pretty daring to lie to the ministry."

"As far as we are aware of, every mech company makes use of creative accounting to some extent. Right now, we don't have an accurate picture of the KNG's true financial state. Spotlight is supposed to keep tabs on the company, but the company's powerful connections to Rittersberg has left our colleagues leery of stepping on the KNG's toes."

Ves could hear the disdain in Leland's voice towards Spotlight. "How come that agency is so timid? I thought it's Spotlight's job to keep tabs on our own citizens and organizations. Shouldn't they be fearless in discharging their duties?"

A sneer appeared on Leland's face. "It's exactly because they're charged with watching our own people and organizations for treasonous behavior that they're so inconsistent. Many of the policymakers at Rittersberg have considerable economic interests throughout the Republic. How would they feel if Spotlight exposed all of their improper dealings by shining a light on them? The Bright Senate has constantly passed laws restricting the powers and privileges of our sister agency. In addition, political appointees have taken up a much more substantial role in the running of the agency at the top."

"In other words, you believe Spotlight's integrity and independence are both compromised."

"I wouldn't put it that strongly. Many of the people that work for Spotlight are genuine servants of the Republic. However, it's undeniable that Flashlight has taken on more and more cases that Spotlight used to handle."

Even though this was Leland's personal opinion, Ves became struck by how much rot had set in.

MinEcDev supposedly regulated the Republic's domestic industries. Instead, it morphed into a greedy entity that pursued its own profits above its stated goal as a regulator.

Spotlight should have kept tabs on its own citizens and organizations. Instead it turned into a toothless entity under the influence of the very same people it ought to keep an eye on the most!

"How can the Bright Republic tolerate such meddling?"

"Who in power can oppose these developments?" Leland asked back. "When it comes down to it, the Bright Senate that proposes and passes various laws and the cabinet that sets various policies are the ones responsible."

Basically, a conflict of interest from those in power caused various institutions to diverge from their intended role. Instead of serving the Republic as a whole, they instead benefited their masters that held the reins of power.

"So what does this have to do with our current mission?"

Leland sighed. "Flashlight is very concerned about these developments. The gutting of Spotlight particularly upsets us as the weakening of our main domestic intelligence agency exposes our state to various misdeeds of our own citizens. Therefore, your investigation is of vital importance. We MUST find evidence of impropriety at the KNG in order to shock the cozy, lacksadaisal establishment into action."

The fire of conviction burned within Leland's eyes. Ves found it to be very uncomfortable. "I'm working on it. While my tours at their various manufacturing and support complexes hasn't allowed me to detect anything egregiously amiss, there are several sketchy points about how they are run."

"Good. We don't have much time, so make sure to deliver a result to Flashlight within a couple of weeks."

"That's not enough time. I don't think I'll be able to dig up any dirty laundry in that short amount of time."

"You're a resourceful mech designer, Ves. I'm sure you can manage to come up with something. What Flashlight needs is evidence that the KNG is substantially involved with the BLM."

The way Leland phrased those words took on an oddly ominous tone. Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What if I don't find any after two weeks?"

"Regardless of your findings, I expect you to submit a report that isn't empty."

"Even if all I've managed to ascertain is that the KNG is squeaky clean?"

"No company is completely spotless, Ves. I thought you of all people knew that. The KNG should have plenty of skeletons in their closet. As long as we have probable cause, we can move into action and thereby warn Spotlight and their political masters that they really ought to be doing a better job safeguarding the Republic. We can also kick the Ansel University of Mech Design down a notch while we're at it. Maybe they'll finally temper some of the arrogance they instill in their graduates."

It took longer than he ought to, but Ves understood now what Leland tried to imply to him. The conclusion shocked him! "You want me to lie in my report even if I haven't found anything wrong at the KNG! Investigating the KNG has never truly been about rooting any possible BLM involvement to Flashlight. Instead, you want to surprise the current establishment by crucifying one of their pet companies!"

"Well done, Ves! You've figured it out." Leland grinned at him while leaning closer. "Consider it a backup plan in case your investigation is going nowhere. It's best if we can make an example out of the KNG based on the truth, but we can still manage if you can only come up with fabricated evidence at the end of your investigation."

A creeping sense of horror swept through Ves' body as he realized how Flashlight already condemned the KNG even before they obtained any evidence of wrongdoing. This sort of action went way beyond Flashlight's mandate!

The worst case was that Leland expected Ves to be complicit in this radical scheme! After some thought, he finally understood why Flashlight wanted Ves to undertake the investigation instead of any other mech designer.

"I see now." He said in a hollow voice. "The true reason why Flashlight wants me on this mission is because I'm much more credible than any of the spooks that work for your organization. As a Larkinson and as a war hero who earned three distinguished awards, it's a lot harder for our political masters to dismiss the 'evidence' that I bring up. Do you really expect me to fabricate evidence that the KNG is involved with the BLM?"

"We do. We need this in order to further our aims." Leland stated simply but with force. He softened up a bit after a few seconds. "Just know that you'll be doing a huge service to Flashlight. We know it's a heavy burden to drag down your fellow mech designers on fabricated charges, but if you do this Flashlight will seriously owe you. We'll fulfill anything we've promised to you when you agreed to perform this mission."

After that, Leland left shortly after, giving Ves even more food for thought.

In fact, Ves hadn't shook off his utter shock at Flashlight's audacious intentions as of yet. It wasn't enough to look for any evidence of impropriety at the KNG! If Ves really found nothing substantial, would he really be forced to cook up false evidence that Flashlight could use as an excuse to crack down on the KNG?

"This is way too perverse. How can I condemn an innocent company to this kind of heavy treatment?"

Even if Flashlight couldn't shut down the company outright or deal with them openly, the damage to the KNG and their owners would still be incalculable!

"So this is the true face of Flashlight." Ves muttered with a short, unhinged laugh.

Major Verle warned him several times that Flashlight played hardball. Yet up to now, Ves hardly noticed anything extreme. Only now did Leland expose some of the military intelligence agency's murky depths.

By all rights, Flashlight planned to pull off an outright conspiracy if they didn't get the evidence that they wanted!

The shady intentions of Flashlight along with Ves' possible involvement in their scheme made him feel profoundly conflicted.

Right now, the KNG happened to fall in the crosshairs. Who could say that his LMC would be targeted next? Who could stop anyone from coming up with trumped-up charges to bring down his company?

The search of BLM collusion was a sideshow at best to Flashlight. What really mattered to them was their political rivalry against against the government who they perceived to be too corrupt to police their own misbehaving magnates and companies!

Ves somewhat regretted accepting the mission, but he had already cast his lot with Flashlight. Succeeding in the mission, whether through finding or 'fabricating' evidence of separatist involvement, served his own interests.

"I'm not part of the exclusive club of politicians and officials that run the Bright Republic. Their policies don't benefit me and most of the government institutions won't favor me. I can't even make use of the connections of the Larkinson Family to help me out because we simply aren't that influential compared to the bigger and more prosperous families."

Since Ves had no hope of aligning himself to the ranks of the established elite, his best bet was still to cast his lot with Flashlight. Unlike Spotlight, Flashlight still held plenty of teeth because they were vital to the Republic's war effort against the Vesians.

Therefore, becoming one of their allies or external collaborators as they called it allowed his company and himself to enjoy solid backing from the state. The murkier portion of the state, to be sure, but one that comfortably stood on its own.

Even so, Ves decided to push aside his decision on the matter. There was still time left for him to uncover real evidence during his cover role as a liaison mech designer. He just needed to intensify his efforts in the coming days.

"I should be getting some dirt on the company from Raella soon enough."

Chapter 987

The thought of handing over three Crystal Lords for free pained Ves a lot, but Raella didn't lie when she stated that this was how Bentheim worked.

However, while unpleasant, the tribute he instructed the LMC to hand over directly benefited Raella's position within the Blood Claws.

Ves knew what she was doing by demanding this request. She intended to raise her value within the criminal enterprise by calling attention to her ongoing association with Ves and his multibillion credit mech company.

Even though she renounced her ties to the Larkinson Family, blood was thicker than water! If Raella proved to her superiors that she could ask Ves for favors, then they would surely place more importance to her in their ranks.

"I'll also benefit as well."

With Raella, Ves had a trustworthy contact inside one of the biggest gangs on Bentheim. His previous request to her was just one example in which he could leverage his connection with Raella to obtain something he needed from the Blood Claws.

The value of this connection was extremely difficult to come by for any other mech company. It wasn't every day a relative of a business owner outright joined the ranks of one of the three major gangs of Bentheim!

Even so, Raella became a huge black sheep to the Larkinson name for that reason. While it would have been okay to meet with her occasionally, Ves couldn't associate himself too closely to her. The press probably already had a lot of things to say about his earlier visit to the Rain District, but at least his new status as a war hero allowed him to get away with the act.

"I shouldn't push it too much, though. Next time I'll meet Raella I should ask her to come to me instead of the other way around."

Since he had some time left, he began to browse the galactic net. Over the past couple of days, his appearances in public already garnered a considerable amount of interest. The only problem that stymied the news portals was that when they looked up his records, all of the details about how he earned his decorations was firmly confidential.

So the various news portals began to speculate a number of wild tales instead.

"Urgh. Don't they have better things to do?"

Tales about punching aliens in the face, rescuing stranded Brighter women in the frontier and more started to make the rounds. They attributed all sorts of insane feats to him without possessing any shred of evidence.

Fortunately, only the sleazier rags deigned to exercise their imagination. The more respectable journalists merely stopped their stories there. This also meant they stopped reporting on Ves and moved on to other news.

"However, I haven't disappeared entirely." He grinned.

Small ads that tied Ves' recent appearance to his LMC could be found on nearly every news portal that reported on him. While these ads weren't too extravagant and would disappear in a week, right now they served their purpose in converting his raised public profile into increased exposure to his mech company!

He began to search for mention of the LMC in the various publications and found that it garnered abruptly more attention!

THE LIVING MECH CORPORATION: A HIDDEN GEM

THE MECH COMPANY FOUNDED BY A WAR HERO

VETERANS LOVE THE LMC'S TWO MECH MODELS!

Ves especially felt gratified by headlines and features where various veterans showed an increased interest in his products. He knew that fellow servicemen appreciated his awards the most, and therefore felt much more favorably inclined towards him and his products compared to the average civilian.

"Veterans make up an important demographic category in the mech market." Ves remarked with a smile.

A lot of former servicemen discharged from the Mech Corps still piloted mechs in the private sector. The ones that lusted for battle and excitement joined a mercenary corps while those who pursued steadier careers opted to work for a security company.

All of those respectable outfits loved to hire military veterans. Mech pilots who survived the war had proven their chops in battle and injected valuable battle-proven experience into their ranks. In addition, their systematic training left little doubts about their competence.

Ves once heard the Larkinsons talk about how this was a deliberate measure. The Bright Republic invested a lot of money and resources in training their mech pilots, so letting them go after a tour or two sounded wasteful.

However, if these discharged veterans subsequently joined the various private outfits of the Bright Republic, wouldn't that bring them more in line with the state?

Overall, veteran mech pilots fought better, harder and with more discipline than their non-military colleagues. Most of those outfits in fact tended to be founded by veterans or eventually came into the control of one through proving their ability to fight and light!

Thus, to say that all of the local mercenary corps and security companies was completely separate from the military wasn't entirely through. The influential and pervasive network of ex-servicemen formed a strong but unobtrusive means for the state to continue to exert control over these 'independent' outfits.

"That also makes them one of the most coveted demographics to win over." Ves chuckled. With Marcella, who was a veteran of the previous war herself, taking the initiative to blitz the local news portals with a concerted market campaign, Ves expected to become known to every veteran within a week! "And many of these veterans have buying power! The LMC will be sure to receive a lot of orders!"

For now though, his attempts to promote the LMC was ultimately a sideshow compared to his current mission. If he couldn't give Flashlight the evidence they sought, how should he deal with Leland's request?

Should he play along and fabricate fictitious evidence, or should he honestly report he found nothing of concern?

"The key is whether Leland speaks for himself, his superior within Flashlight or the entire intelligence agency."

Ves regretted that he missed the opportunity to clarify this particular point. Even so, a snake like Leland would probably lie or provide a nonanswer to this question.

He had very little to go on to determine whose interests he served if he went ahead and fabricated evidence.

"If the Ministry of Economic Development and Spotlight are susceptible to corruption, how can Flashlight remain an exception?"

Unfortunately, Ves knew too little about Flashlight to ascertain its true state. He only possessed a shallow relationship with them so far, and would remain firmly at arms length.

His intuition couldn't tell him the answer either, but he faintly believed that Leland hadn't gone rogue with regards to this additional request. If Leland hadn't distorted the facts too much, then kicking over the KNG would certainly provide a very welcome wakeup call to the various institutions that care more about their own profits than their actual duty.

Ves sighed and laid down on his bed. When he thought about fabricating damning evidence to drag the KNG through the mud, he couldn't help but recall the first time he met the happy family.

Estella's motherly care and Antoine's fatherly concern over their two lovely children touched his heart and melted some of the harshness that built up during his previous travails.

How could he bring so many troubles to such a loving and sincere family?

There was a small, yearning desire in his heart to start such a family himself. He too wanted to seek a more fulfilling life.

Still, when he thought about all of the benefits he could obtain from Flashlight, he regained his determination. Ridding himself from the shackles of the Ministry of Economic Development benefited him directly while absolving the Kadar-Neyvis of any crimes gave him no favors at all.

His self-interest came above any fanciful notion of morality. "As long as it doesn't happen to me, I can live with my actions."

He fell asleep shortly after.

The next day, he regained his composure and pushed the thorny matter to the side. Ves finally received a message from Raella stating that the LMC completed the transfer of three precious mechs in her care.

"Do you have the item I requested?" Ves asked over the comm.

"Yeah sure. It took a few favors of my own. You're lucky that I'm kind of a big deal in the Blood Claws or else they wouldn't have let me in at all!"

The two Larkinson cousins quickly agreed on a place and time where they could meet.

After freshening himself up, he rode a military shuttle to the Entertainment District where he previously reserved a private room at one of the upscale establishments there in his personal capacity.

Bots started to bring in various sumptuous breakfast dishes when Raella arrived. "Wow, that's some fancy looking chow! Don't mind if I take a bite!"

As they began to eat breakfast, Raella nonchalantly threw a data chip at Ves. He hastily dropped his fork in order to catch it in the air. Even though a data chip couldn't be damaged so easily these days, he didn't want it to drop in his glass of coffee!

"Is this...?"

"Yup. That's what you wanted."

The two were tactful enough not to mention the exact nature of the data chip's contents. Previously, they met in a bar at the Rain District, which was pretty much under the control of the Blood Claws.

This restaurant on the other hand was either completely independent or served some other influence on Bentheim. Either way, it would be a very bad idea to talk about sensitive matters without something like a signal jammer at work.

Even so, as long as they talked about the topic in a vague and indirect enough manner, it didn't hurt too much to ask some questions.

"How much do the Blood Claws know?" He asked carefully.

Raella munched on a croissant while speaking. "From what I gather, the people you wanted me to look into mainly fall pay their dues to the Peace Association."

"One of the Big Three?"

"The very same." Raella confirmed. "From what I gather, Three-Eyes Jackson who heads the Peace Association is an acquaintance of the family of one of the two."

"I see."

Raella probably meant that the Neyvis Family who owned the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Bentheim possessed a definitely connection to one of the biggest three gangs of Bentheim!

The Blood Claws had two rivals of roughly equal strength.

The Peace Association under Three-Eyes and the Fellowship of the Deprived under Great Siren Kjande all maintained a tenuous peace with the Blood Claws. The three of them collectively carved out the planet's choicest turfs among themselves, leaving the scraps that wasn't worth their attention to the rabble in the dirt.

"How far has the Peace Association's influence stretched?" He asked.

"Dunno. You can read that for yourself in the data chip. The Blood Claws constantly keeps an eye on their rivals, so you can be sure the intel I brought you is reliable. From what little I went through, their cozy relationship stretched back decades."

Ves nodded. While such a long and evidently fruitful relationship sounded very shady, it was just a normal business practice on Bentheim. No court in the Republic would condemn the KNG for maintaining a harmonious relationship with Bentheim's underground.

If the KNG fell for this reason, then pretty much every other company on the planet was equally as guilty!

Still, due to the improper nature of this relationship, the KNG needed to be very discreet about the exact ways they paid their tribute to the Peace Association. If the KNG already did something shady on the side, who was to say they didn't take it a step further and used the same means to collaborate with the BLM?

Obtaining this intel would help him narrow down where the KNG performed all of their shady activities. This not only saved him a lot of time by pointing him to the most suspicious aspects about the company, but it also gave him valuable ammunition for a possible plan B.

After all, mention of smuggling mechs off the books to the Peace Association could easily be distorted into an accusation of smuggling mechs the Bentheim Liberation Movement!

Chapter 988

After Ves returned to the base, he studied the contents of Raella's data chip. As promised, she really did retrieve a fair amount of dirt on the Kadar-Neyvis Group and also the Neyvis Family for that matter.

Ves decided to look into the Neyvis Family first, because the KNG could never have grown so fast and with such momentum without the capital to back up their ambitions.

"Turns out the Neyvis Family has been laundering money for the Peace Association." He immediately recognized.

Money earned through illicit means couldn't be spent so easily. Running them through legitimate businesses helped underground organizations clean up their dirty money so they could spend it in the open without drawing an excessive amount of scrutiny.

"I guess it's too much to expect a bank on Bentheim to keep their noses clean."

To their credit, money laundering only formed a small proportion of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Bentheim banking activities. It could even be said that the additional money injection allowed the ICBB to be more generous in investing in some of the local businesses with promise.

Through increasing the circulation of money in Bentheim's economy, the ICBB therefore formed a positive influence to the planet.

"Many other banks are probably engaging in similar schemes." Ves concluded.

The ICBB and the Neyvis Family's involvement in laundering money for one of the Big Three gangs of Bentheims made Ves apprehensive. If Ves ever damaged their business interests, then he'd be sure to draw the ire of the Peace Association.

Despite its seemingly benevolent name, the gang led by Three-Eyes Jackson could be just as cruel and ferocious of the Blood Claws!

"Pissing off the Peace Association is a very bad idea."

The Neyvis Family's relationship with the Peace Association extended to the Kadar-Neyvis Group. The mech company enjoyed a considerable amount of attention and protection from the gang since its inception!

"On top of the KNG's political, military and local connections, it also has a firm bond with Bentheim's underground!"

The sheer amount of connections the KNG forged almost made Ves faint. The more people cared about the company, the more people Ves pissed off if he dragged the company through the mud!

It seriously made him consider Leland's request yet again. Fabricating evidence in the absence of any legitimate evidence of treasonous behavior incurred numerous powerful enemies!

The calculus didn't seem very favorable to him. Was the backing of Flashlight really worth pissing off so many powerful figures?

After a moment of thought, Ves eventually narrowed his eyes in determination. "The only way to thread the needle is to dig up evidence of actual misdeeds. I don't believe a mech company of this size, background and history is completely clean. There has to be something fishy!"

The strange way that Kadar and Neyvis ran their company just didn't mesh well with Ves for some reason. The business of producing and selling lower-end mechs en masse pressured mech manufacturers into operating as lean and efficient as possible.

Yet the KNG seemed to reject that approach in their employment policies.

"Where do they get the money?" Ves asked himself.

The KNG spent lavishly on their employees, yet Marcella told him that she believed the company actually made a loss for every cheap mech they sold!

At such a time, the KNG should have tightened their belts and streamlined their operations, but Ves actually witnessed preparations for future expansions!

The company's cozy relationship with the Peace Association couldn't account for the entire shortfall. As Ves read through the intel meticulously gathered by the Blood Claws, the KNG only allocated around five percent of its profits and production capacity to servicing the Peace Association's needs.

This sounded like a reasonable proportion to which the KNG could just attribute at as 'inefficiencies' or 'spillage' in their administration. Handing over five percent of their stuff to a gang sounded like an unofficial industry standard for large companies.

In exchange for providing tribute, the gang subsequently extended their protection to the company. The documents provided by Raella frequently stated that none of the Blood Claws should ever touch the KNG and the Neyvis Family because the Peace Association would certainly retaliate!

Every business operating in an area where gangs held sway needed to accommodate the local powers. This was an unavoidable reality. Even his LMC continued to pay tribute to Walter's Whalers!

"In general, the KNG spends a lot more money than they get from the Peace Association. It wouldn't make sense for the gang to be generous enough to lose money to the KNG. Extra cash infusions by the ICBB can't explain it all because the bank needs to remain profitable as well."

This returned Ves to his initial question. Where did the KNG get the money to make up for their shortfall?

From the Ministry of Economic Development? Unlikely.

"Even if Marcella stated that the KNG has received generous subsidies and interest-free loans, the ministry is still a profit-seeking institution at heart."

From his logical deductions, MinEcDev wouldn't violate their basic interests when showing political favor to a particular company.

So where did that leave the company?

"Maybe I should look at their production capacity first."

He recalled the sights he saw when touring their manufacturing and repair complexes. He pulled up the reports he wrote after visiting the facilities and tried to draw mental maps for each of the four sites.

He loosely compared the figures of their claimed production capacity to how many mechs these complexes could actually pump out when running at full tilt.

This involved a lot of educated guesswork, but Ves was very familiar with how much time, manpower, resources and time it took to produce a single mech.

After he spent a full hour on projecting the theoretical maximum production capacity of each complex, he found out that there was around twenty percent left to spare.

"Either they lied when they told me their official production figures, or they are spending that twenty percent on producing off-the-books mechs." He guessed.

Ves ruled out the possibility that the complexes all ran below their maximum capacity. From what he personally seen of the hectic but tightly-run operations at all four sites, every available workplace saw an abundant amount of activity.

"The KNG is also in the process of expanding the facilities of all of their complexes. A company would only do so when there's no free capacity left to spare."

Of course, Ves might have made a miscalculation somewhere and overestimated the effective production capacity of the KNG's complexes, but he didn't think so. The company was too well-run! The productivity of their well-remunerated employees was near the top of the local industry standard!

Perhaps the key to answering the question where the KNG made up their shortfall was to look at how they made use of this twenty percent production capacity. Perhaps five percent could be attributed to providing tribute to the Peace Association, but where did that leave the remaining fifteen percent?

Ves simply didn't believe that a tightly-run company like the KNG just left that fifteen percent on the wayside!

Even so, they could have spent that fifteen percent production capacity for anything, from accumulating lots of spare parts to pad their inventory to selling more off-the-books mechs to various the various gangs in Bentheim.

"For the coming days, I should spearhead my investigation into finding out where this spare capacity is being spent."

He did exactly that as he revisited the manufacturing complexes in his capacity as a liaison mech designer.

Of the four complexes, the KNG allocated the least amount of military production at their Dorum Complex.

Therefore, Ves could not visit this facility with the excuse that he was overseeing the production of mechs for the Mech Corps seeing as there was none there.

Nonetheless, visiting the Hasten, Ansel and Mosville Complexes under Jeff's constant company didn't leave Ves with enough liberties to dig in too deep in areas that had nothing to do with the production of military mechs.

It was inspiring to Ves to see how the KNG handled the production of so many different kinds of military mechs. The Mech Corps imposed strict standards on their production, something which Ves used as an excuse to make a thorough inspection in this area.

He reviewed the records, interviewed key personnel and spent hours observing the work being done on fabricating the mechs destined for military use.

Besides doing his due diligence as a representative of the Mech Corps, his deep inspections also provided more data points which he used to corroborate his estimation of the KNG's true production capacity.

Each time he returned from his visits and revised the numbers, his initial conclusion didn't sway, though it trended downwards a bit. "There's around ten to fifteen percent spare capacity lying around."

It different from site to site. The company ran a very tight ship at the Haston Complex. As the center of production of all of their cheap, low-margin mechs, it was very important for the KNG to avoid unnecessary expenses.

Besides paying the Haston mech technicians a lot more generously than their competitors, the company generally did a good job keeping the Haston Complex running smoothly.

The Ansel Complex on the other hand fell somewhere in the middle. The highly capable Ansel mech technicians ensured that every spaceborn mech that rolled off the production lines adhered to a high standard of quality. However, they tended to be a bit too perfectionistic about their work and didn't deliver mechs as fast as possible.

"Even so, the very low rate of errors means that the Ansel Complex doesn't have to go back to fix them. It's rather inspiring to see them work."

Ves dreamt of running the LMC's Mech Nursery like the KNG's Ansel Complex even as he decried the cost. Still, he learned so many lessons on how the KNG ensured a high volume of production of many different mech models at a time while maintaining an excellent level of quality. Even if he didn't apply all of the practices in the LMC, just a handful of clever methods would be enough to raise the Mech Nursery's efficiency as it slowly expanded its scope of production!

Compared to the large and established Haston and Ansel Complexes, the Mosville Complex raised the most questions to Ves. As a hybrid site dedicated to producing spare parts and servicing heavily-damaged mechs, the variety of stuff going in and out was extremely hard to track.

According to the intel gathered by the Blood Claws, the Peace Association's influence here was the greatest.

"Lots of mechs go in and out. Lots of parts go in and out. Lots of materials go in and out." Ves described his observations of that complicated location. "The higher the complexity, the higher the level of confusion among the workers. Hardly anyone there has a total picture of what goes on there, including the residential mech designer in charge."

More stuff going in and out meant more openings to fudge the numbers or smuggle things out without drawing attention.

The main complication here was that the highly complex supply chains running through the Mosville Complex prevented any single person from acting out without permission. In order to divert a significant amount of spare capacity to off-the-books activities, it required the collusion of at least dozens of people, ranging from mech technicians to the security guards in charge of monitoring the facilities for impropriety.

"Are all of them in it?" He asked himself.

Probably not. If he ran something like this, he would have limited most of the shady activities to a trusted work crew.

As a fairly new addition to the KNG, the personnel working at the Mosville Complex consisted of a mix of old hands and recent hires from the city. When Ves looked over each work crew, he found one large group of mech technicians to consist almost entirely of old hands from Neyvis Mechs before the merger.

An experienced chief technician called Errel Nyquist headed this team of experienced mech technicians.

Chapter 989

Ves felt as if he acted out the role of an old-school detective in dramas as he investigated Chief Technician Nyquist.

The only problem was that Ves wasn't a detective, nor could he borrow his official authority to conduct his investigation openly. He needed to be discreet and circumspect in order to hide his true intentions from the Kadar-Neyvis Group.

Above all else, he could never let them suspect that he worked on behalf of an intelligence agency!

Fortunately, the scope of Chief Technician Nyquist's work also included the restoration of military mechs.

While mech regiments possessed robust repair operations, as Ves personally witnessed when he served aboard the Wolf Mother and subsequently took on the position of temporary head designer, they only possessed a limited amount of capacity.

Sometimes, a major battle which drew thousands of casualties and wrecked hundreds of mechs overwhelmed the repair capabilities of the mech regiments. It would take months for the mech regiment to restore the mechs back to working condition!

As long as they could ship their wrecked and damaged mechs back to Bentheim efficiently, why not make use of the abundant amount of repair capacity there?

This calculus resulted in a significant amount of military repair orders for the KNG's Mosville Complex. Of course, the KNG mainly repaired copies of mech models that it produced itself, as they were very familiar with its construction. The Mosville Complex also possessed an abundant stock of spare parts that saved the repair crews a lot of time in putting the military mechs back together.

Naturally, the delicate nature of entrusting the repairs and restoration of military assets to a civilian mech company required stringent controls. Even outside a liaison mech designer like Ves, the work being done on military mechs also involved other active servicemen.

Before Ves approached Chief Nyquist, he first wanted to talk to the highest-ranking serviceman sent to supervise the repair activities.

"I am Senior Mech Technician Darryl Roland, sir." The man saluted Ves even though he wasn't obligated to do so.

Ves eyed the mech technician and noticed the tell-tale signs of injury, even if he did a good job of hiding it. "Are you hurt?"

"Just some old injuries, sir. The war's been pretty bad to me. Got both of my legs blown off when the Vesians bombarded the carrier I was on with missiles. The docs regrew my legs, but it's easier said than done to work them in. Together with my other injuries, I probably need another year before the Mech Corps sends me back to my mech regiment. In the meantime, I'll enjoy this vacation while it lasts."

"Alright Darryl. I just want to talk about your work, is that alright?"

"You're the boss. I'll provide whatever you want, sir." The man said diligently.

Ves couldn't help but smile. His new reputation as a distinguished mech designer and war hero already saved him a lot of effort in earning Darryl's trust.

"Let's begin with your overall impression of the workers at the KNG. What do you think of the mech technicians, managers and everyone else who works here?"

The man shrugged. "Kind of normal, I suppose. They're not so different from the mech technicians back at our mech regiment. They're a bit more corporate in their priorities, but they've always done right when it comes to doing their part to help the war effort, sir."

That didn't tell Ves anything new. "Tell me one thing that dissatisfies you most about the Mosville workers. Don't be shy and don't hold back."

Obviously, Darryl didn't want to badmouth the people he worked alongside with, so Ves needed to be a bit more direct to force a critical answer out of the disabled mech technician.

"Well... it's awfully busy here. Even though the company planned some expansions down the road, work on that has been slow on account of how little free space there is left. Everyone is trying to squeeze in more work. The KNG's mech technicians do what they can to keep up their quotas for the mech regiments, but there is already so much going on that they can only do so many things at a time, sir."

Hearing this perked up Ves. It reinforced his own observations and strengthened his estimation of the KNG's utilization of its production capacity.

"So it's all hands on deck at the Mosville Complex?"

"Yes, sir. Recently the company went on another hiring spree, picking up various mech technicians laid off from the many mech companies that shut their doors in recent times. It's not that easy to integrate them into the KNG, and they can only be entrusted with the least important duties for now."

"Tell me about the workers in charge of working on the damaged military mechs sent back from the frontlines."

"Oh, they're a pleasure to work with. They don't try to shirk their duty and they don't cut that many corners. Ahem, even if they do, I always make sure to call them out, sir."

"Sure, sure." Ves dismissed that remark. "Give me your impressions of all of the chief technicians you've worked with. What are their quirks, how do they work, what are their good and bad points?"

Darryl began to ramble about the many chief technicians in charge of various aspects and work crews. There weren't that many of them, but each of them played a vital role.

At some point, Darryl came to Errel Nyquist, the chief technician that Ves most wanted to hear about.

"Chief Technician Nyquist is a veteran of the previous war. Served at a frontline mech regiment just like me. That makes it a real pleasure to work with him, as he understands the needs of the Mech Corps best. Many times, he even argued back against the managers on our behalf, sir."

"So you have a good relationship with Chief Nyquist?"

"Oh, we're practically friends! We regularly meet up for a drink in downtown Mosville every week along with some other buddies! Errel is a good man, both to the company and to the Mech Corps. This is also why the company entrusted him with repairing the most important military mechs shipped back from the frontlines, sir."

The glowing praise that Darryl continued to pile up on Chief Nyquist made Ves rather uncomfortable. He suspected that Nyquist deliberately grew close to Darryl in order to shape the injured serviceman's perception of the company.

This tainted the active serviceman's opinions. Ves probably couldn't get any unbiased information from this talk.

His mood lowered a bit and after asking a few more perfunctory questions, he dismissed Darryl.

As the mech technician awkwardly walked back to his job with his newly grown legs, Ves tried to figure out how to approach the pivotal Chief Nyquist. Obviously, a veteran mech technician who advanced to chief technician would be anything but clueless.

"Maybe I should just talk to him and go from there."

He decided to call up Chief Nyquist for a meeting. When the man dropped his current work and came up to Ves, he looked mightily irritated.

"Just because you've been sent by the Mech Corps doesn't give you the right to go pull workers off their jobs."

For some reason, Ves already earned the man's ire. It turned out the recognition he received from the Mech Corps only helped him up to a point.

In cases like these, Ves knew that he should put up a firm and unyielding front. He could not let this chief technician dominate this conversation. "Chief Nyquist, as a liaison it is important for me to gain a thorough and complete understanding of all of the work being done for the Mech Corps. You're the most senior and trusted chief technician in this complex, so I'd like your cooperation in helping me gain a better picture of how the KNG contributes to the Mech Corps."

Chief Nyquist shrugged. "I don't know what to say. We've partnered up with five Bentheim mech regiments, taking care of most of their military mechs. As of now, we've partnered up with the 5th Storm Enders of the 2nd Bentheim Division, the 1st Volari Starhawks and the 6th Mosville Mainstays of the 3rd Bentheim Division and the 3rd Carousel Clowns and the 5th Sparky Nuts of the 7th Bentheim Division. I'm a Sparky Nut myself, so I'm proud to serve my old mech regiment from Bentheim!"

Ves was familiar with all of the mech regiments that Nyquist mentioned. The 1st Volari Starhawks especially caught his attention because of the rise of Ghanso Larkinson, one of his cousins who seemed to have propelled himself into the ranks of expert candidates!

The thought of the KNG as the main supplier of Ghanso's mechs put Ves into an awkward position. As far as their diligence went to meeting the needs of the Mech Corps, Ves had very little to complain about. In fact, the KNG probably went above and beyond the expectations set by the state and made sure to deliver soundly fabricated mechs that were all robust enough to survive the rigors of war.

Dragging down a patriotic mech company that treated its obligations to the military with reverence put a foul taste in his mouth. Ves tried his best to keep his thoughts hidden in front of Chief Nyquist.

"Even if the Mosville Complex is servicing the needs of five mech regiments at once, this site is way too big to spend all of your time on repairing their assets. How much of this site's repair capacity is being spent on military mechs?"

"I'd say about twenty-five to thirty-five percent." The chief answered easily. "We're doing all of the repairs at cost. That's a lot of capacity that we could have used on more profitable jobs. In fact, no company ever manages to break even, really. There's depreciation, wasted opportunities, unmet demand and more that all drags down the company's profitability. However, we have all done our duty to the state without complaint."

"And I'm very thankful for that." Ves repeated, this time sounding much more sincere about it. He did genuinely recognize the KNG's earnest efforts. "However, you mentioned unmet demand. Since up to thirty-five percent of the company efforts are allocated away from meeting the needs of your customers, I imagine you are hurting quite a lot."

"Not as much. With the war, some outfits are taking part while others have skedaddled. Many mech pilots have also been lured into enlisting in the Mech Corps, so there's less demand for mechs."

"A lot of mech companies shut down as well, though. There's less competition so each company enjoys a greater share of the pie."

"That doesn't sound as impressive when the pie has shrunk by thirty percent or more."

As Ves continued to ask other questions about his work, Chief Nyquist kept answering only the minimum necessary. Getting pertinent information out of this man was very tough, especially since Ves couldn't reveal his true intentions.

He found little opportunity to talk about his work outside of the company's obligation to the Mech Corps.

After Ves finally dismissed the chief technician, he tried his best to keep the frown off his face. While he didn't know what he wanted to get out of this conversation, he felt as if he heard nothing except for what the KNG wanted him to hear.

"What a loyal company man." He sighed.

This only strengthened his conviction that Chief Nyquist served as the lynchpin to the KNG's illicit activities at the Mosville Complex. For some reason, Ves figured there was something more to Nyquist than his loyalty and his background as a former serviceman of the Sparky Nuts.

"Who is he, really?"

Fortunately, he wasn't alone in his investigation. At the end of the day, Ves returned to his quarters at the military base and met up with Leland for their daily briefing.

He put forth his request to his case officer.

"I want you to investigate Chief Technician Errel Nyquist who works at the KNG's Mosville Complex."

"Why?"

"Because if anything shady is going around at that site, he's sure to be involved. It will help me out in my investigation if you could handle this on your end."

"I'll see what I can do, Ves. He should have a detailed record if he's a former serviceman." Leland stared intensely at him. "Just remember that time is running out. Right now, I'm not very satisfied with the lack of progress on your part. My superiors expect a full report at the end of your investigation. You better be ready to give them one."

Ves got the message, as much as he didn't want to. "Understood. I will be sure to meet their expectations, one way or another."

Chapter 990

Flashlight worked quickly. At the start of the next day, Ves woke up to a data pad placed onto his desk terminal. He quickly picked it up and began to read its contents.

"Chief Nyquist's record!"

It was a fairly complete one at that. It began to describe all of the official events of Nyquist's life, from his birth, to his enrollment into a technical school, his enlistment in the Mech Corps, his service record of his time with the Sparky Nuts and his honorable discharge after the war.

As Ves read through the record, he found a lot of notable points that enriched his understanding of his current subject, but none bore much relevance to his investigation.

"Nowhere in this record states that he has any connections to any other entities."

His extensive but mostly boring record only tied him strongly to the Sparky Nuts and Neyvis Mechs, which eventually transitioned into the Kadar-Neyvis Group.

However, this time Ves' intuition slightly encouraged him to question Chief Nyquist's background. There was something about the chief technician's shifty ways in deflecting yesterday's questions. It felt a bit too practiced and deliberate.

While that wasn't enough reason to mark out Chief Nyquist as a suspicious fellow, Ves thought there might be more to him than his clean record suggested.

Despite the pressure on him to dig up something concrete on the Kadar-Neyvis Group, Ves did not spend all of his time on his investigation.

Besides his side activities in promoting his public profile in the hopes of increasing the public's interest in the LMC, he also got back in touch with another Larkinson.

"Ves! Looks like my favorite cousin is doing well! I'm really impressed with your uniform!"

"Melinda!" Ves smiled and greeted her at an establishment in the Entertainment District. He immediately noticed the new bars on her uniform. "You're a captain of the Planetary Guard now?"

"I have been for more than a year." She wearily replied. "It's not as good as it sounds. My responsibilities have quadrupled, and it's already a hectic job trying to keep the peace on this planet. There are hundreds of major incidents happening all over Bentheim every single day that require the intervention of our mechs."

"Even so, you're one of the few Larkinsons of our generation to make it to the rank of mech captain."

"Pah, compared to your accomplishments, this is nothing." She dismissed his praise and tried to remain sober. "The other Larkinsons serving in the Mech Corps such as you and Ghanso are the real heroes in the family."

Ves smiled. "I'm just a mech designer."

"A filthy rich one, and now a war hero to boot. I bet our aunts and uncles back at the Larkinson Compound have an entirely different view of you now. The money you rake in for the Larkinson Estate has made many of them greedy, but now that you've earned more valor in battle than most of our mech pilots of this generation, they'll probably rein in demands a bit."

"The family's been out for money, have they?"

"Never in their dreams did they realize that one of us could ever be so successful in starting up a business. The mech industry is notoriously difficult to get into. How did you ever manage to excel as a mech designer?"

"Oh, luck and opportunity, mostly. I'm also quite good at studying if I say so myself."

Ves didn't like to talk too much about himself, so he changed the topic by asking a few questions on her various encounters. As a mech officer of the Planetary Guard, she witnessed plenty of unsettling incidents, from a crazy mech pilot rampaging at a mech academy because he failed a class there once to stopping the usual BLM terrorist attacks.

"The Bentheim Liberation Movement is still keeping that up?" Ves asked with a puzzled frown.

He would have expected them to lay low in anticipation of the upcoming Vesian attack on Bentheim.

"They've grown less in scale, but they're just as destructive." The older cousin replied. "Instead of rampaging around with smuggled or unregistered mechs, they've sent squads of expendable foot soldiers to attack important infrastructure such as logistical centers, factories, strategic fuel depots and more. I don't know where they've come up with so many true believers, because almost none of the people they send out ever make it back alive."

"Ah." This sounded much more in line to a future preparation of an invasion. "However, even if the BLM hasn't deployed their mechs lately doesn't mean they discarded them all, right?"

This put Melinda in a foul mood. "Yeah. I'm not sure what the BLM is up to, but the brass thinks they're planning something enormous. Whatever the separatists are up to, it's enough to send the entire Planetary Guard into high alert."

"How goes the effort in rooting out their hidden mechs?"

"Feh." She snorted. "The investigators are pretty useless. The BLM is always good at hiding their mechs, and this time they've dug even deeper. I'm pretty sure they've got men on the inside to warn them of our raids."

This was the sad reality of trying to stamp out a separatist movement that had been around for centuries.

After some time of chatting and reconnecting, Ves got struck by a sudden impulse.

"Say, Melinda, as a Captain of the Planetary Guard, you do a lot of investigative work, right?"

"I'm a mech pilot, Ves. I mostly stop incidents as they happen. Tracking down the bad guys is a job left to others."

"Even so, you've witnessed plenty of shady stuff, so you must know a thing or two about it, right? Currently, I'm working as a liaison mech designer to the Kadar-Neyvis Group. Have you heard of this mech company?"

She nodded. "It's one of the rising mech companies on Bentheim. They're quite clean and proper compared to some of the other mech companies."

"Well, please help me out on this. There's a chief technician on their payroll who I can't quite figure out."

As Ves described Chief Nyquist to her, the mech captain smirked and crossed her arms.

"I know why he trips your suspicions. You've got good instincts, Ves."

"Please enlighten me. From what I've learned, there's nothing too suspicious about his background."

Melinda raised a finger. "There is one point you've neglected in your investigation. Two points, actually. The first one is his youth. Where was he born? Where was he raised? Which friends did he have, and is he still in touch with them? The second point is that these kinds of records only center around a single individual. What about his family? His record might be clean, but what about his father? What about his mother? Maybe he has a sibling who is also a delinquent."

Ves widened his eyes. "I didn't realize all of that!"

"A single record alone isn't useful enough in catching the bad guys. It's only a starting point where you can jump off into other directions. Right now, I don't know the exact reason why this Nyquist trips you to this extent, but in cases like these it's always worth following up on his background."

Ves looked at Melinda with a pleading expression. "I'd like to ask a favor of you. I'm not as experienced in investigating someone's background as the Planetary Guard. Can you look into his life for me? I'll owe you one."

She frowned. "It's highly improper to investigate a random citizen without cause. If you think I can abuse my authority within the Planetary Guard, you're completely mistaken. I'll have to file a report and receive permission from my superiors before I can embark on an action like that. I can't just tell them that I want to investigate an upstanding citizen of the Republic as a favor."

He forgot himself. Not every institution of the Bright Republic was susceptible to bribes and influence. At the very least, Melinda was completely incorruptible!

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Not without cause, Ves. That's the law."

He dropped his request as he saw the futility in attempting to convince Melinda to bend the rules for him. He belatedly realized that a straight-laced Larkinson like Melinda adhered to her training as a Larkinson to always serve with honesty and integrity!

Ves happened to miss this kind of training, and so had never been indoctrinated in these values.

That was probably a huge oversight on the part of the Larkinsons.

The problem was that Ves influenced so many people these last few years that he began to develop a cynical view of society. He thought he could get anyone to bend or break the rules as long as he paid a sufficiently attractive bribe!

Vse had trouble adjusting to the current situation. After spending so much time with people who believed the ends justified the means or those who tolerated any kind of misdeeds as long as they got a result, interacting with someone who was actually honest messed him up quite a bit!

It was as if he spent so much time with liars, cheats and low lives that he forgot how normal people functioned!

Ves shook his head. He couldn't deal with this problem right now. He decided to change his tack. "Is there anything else you can do to give me a hand?"

Melinda thought for a moment. "I can give you advice and my opinion on some matters, but that's the extent of the help I can give you. As a member of the Planetary Guard, there are many rules that dictate my behavior. While we are charged with ensuring public safety on Bentheim, we also have to respect the individual rights of our citizens."

"I understand." He replied, though he couldn't quite mask his disappointment.

"What's the matter with you, Ves? How come you care so much about this investigation? From what it sounds like, the Mech Corps just wants you far away from the fighting. There's no need to poke around at the KNG. We've never received any complaints about them or tied them to anything that crosses the line."

How could he open up to Melinda? Besides the inherent insecurity of this venue, he also couldn't let her know about his many sketchy deeds.

"It's hard to describe." He said a little lamely for lack of anything better to say. "The war has been rather hard on me. I can't tell you anything about what I've been through, but sometimes I wonder how many dangers the galaxy still holds."

"If there's anything you want to lay off your chest, just know that I'm here for you, Ves. That's what family is for. Us Larkinsons always have each other's backs."

He couldn't tell her about the secrets he learned at Aeon Corona VII.

The origin of the MTA and CFA. The hidden influence of the Five Scrolls Compact on humanity's history. The existence of Sigrund and the hybrid AI-alien entity's escape into the wider galaxy.

All of this was just a sample of the many revelations that burdened his mind and that he could never reveal without suffering the consequences.

Of all the secrets he just thought about, the continued uncertainty about Sigrund continued loom over his mind. Keeping to their current accord was tenuous at best. It could never last forever. Either the AI would expose Ves as a Holy Son, or Ves would expose Sigrund as an escaped sentient AI.

The moment one grew strong enough to disregard the consequences of exposure was the time the other one's secrets came out. Ves needed to hurry up and grow stronger as a mech designer and a man of influence if he wanted to survive the inevitable storm that followed!

The worst part about this lingering uncertainty is that Ves had no clue when Sigrund grew strong enough to bear the consequences of exposing Ves! It could be a year, a decade or maybe even a century.

However, there was no doubt in his mind that a sentient AI possessed an extremely remarkable capacity for growth. The longer Sigrund accumulated his power, the more frightening he became!

So Ves turned to Melinda and gave her a brittle smile. "I'm doing fine. There's nothing for you to be concerned about."

Chapter 991

When Ves came back to Leland to ask for additional investigation and monitoring of Chief Nyquist, the intelligence officer did not exactly acquiesce.

"The point of the mission is to find evidence of separatist collaboration in one of our domestic mech companies." Leland reminded Ves. "With the important requirements that it has to be done fast and discreet. Drawing upon too much Flashlight assets will increase the chance of exposure, which will be the end of us and investigation."

Ves frowned. "Is there anything you can do?"

"I can put a tail on him to observe what he does in his off hours. I can also assign an analyst to investigate his background. That's all the assistance I can provide. Can you make do with this help, Ves?"

"It's better than nothing."

Flashlight probably employed hundreds if not thousands of people on Bentheim alone. Yet all Leland could do to help him in this potentially critical mission was to assign two low-level people to investigate Chief Nyquist!

After Leland left, Ves laid down on his bed with a pensive expression. He felt he couldn't complete his mission in the short time remaining. With one-and-a-half weeks to go until he arrived at the deadline, he faced so many constraints that he could hardly move where he wanted to and ask the questions that he wanted answered.

"Fast and discreet. That's impossible."

If they could take their time to investigate the Kadar-Neyvis Group's suspicious activities, then they'd be bound to find a skeleton or two in the company's closet.

If they could perform abrupt raids on their properties and interrogate some of their key personnel, then they could also uncover the company's skeletons through those means.

Yet with neither of those options available to Ves, he felt as if he was bound in place with no way to make any moves.

Ves eventually came to a conclusion.

"If I can't succeed through conventional methods, then I'll just have to cheat."

In fact, Leland already intimated to Ves that he could be more 'creative' about the evidence of enemy collaboration in his report to Flashlight.

While Ves already resolved to do what was best for his career and his company, he still held some misgivings on this course of action.

He would much prefer to avoid this option unless he had no other choice.

Therefore, Ves reluctantly put it aside and tried to figure out other ways to solve the problem.

Perhaps... he might be able to find a way if he reunited with the System!

While Ves didn't dare to carry around the System while he served with the Flagrant Vandals, now that he returned to Bentheim, what stopped him from summoning Lucky and the comm that held the System wrapped around his neck like a collar?

Yet Ves quickly shook his head. "The risks are too great."

Bentheim possessed too many eyes and ears. Leland also indirectly told him that he was under constant surveillance whenever he stayed in public and in areas friendly to Flashlight.

In effect, that meant that he constantly risked exposure no matter where he went if he ever used the System, especially to achieve eye-catching effects. He couldn't even rule out that even now, some agent of Flashlight was monitoring him right now under stealth!

Struck with paranoia, Ves quietly concentrated his mind and began to engage his sixth sense. Finding nothing amiss, he became a little bolder and swept his quarters with tentacles extending from the ephemeral cloud of Spirituality in his mind.

Nothing.

That did not entirely reassure Ves. Normal people did not possess strong spirits that could interact with reality, and Ves did not know whether his Spirituality was sensitive enough to pick up their presence.

Suffused with paranoia, Ves couldn't find it in himself to relax and rest. After a while, he raised himself from his bed and sat behind his terminal.

In any case, he could easily go without sleep for a week, especially after his additional physiological enhancements. Since time was running short, Ves found it pointless to waste valuable hours to maintain a normal human rhythm.

He idly browsed the galactic net, checking up on the war but finding surprisingly little reliable information. The sentiment among the citizens of the Bright Republic grew more pessimistic due to the mounting casualties and the lack of success in dislodging the Vesians from their newly conquered star systems.

As he read back on some of the major battles of the current war, he couldn't help but grow a little cynical. He never did get a solid answer on whether the Bright-Vesia Wars was a sham.

What was the point of this war? To settle grievances that began during the founding of these two states? To avenge the fallen of the previous wars? To settle geopolitical tensions?

All of those reasons seemed distant and pale. To the average Brighter, they just fought against the Vesians because they tried to invade them every generation. As for the Vesians, both their lower and upper classes always hungered for territory and military exploits to further their careers and domestic ambitions.

"To most of us, the wars are real enough. Just the deepening hatred between our two states has grown too heated."

After a largely fruitless trawl through the galactic net, Ves resumed his investigation for the next few days. He revisited the Ansel and Haston Complexes in order to uncover anything amiss. While he found several points that he wished to study further, his cover role didn't allow him to do so without drawing suspicion.

Everywhere he went, either Jeff or some other goon from the KNG followed him around. Nothing Ved did ever escaped their eyes.

Many times, Ves just wanted to shed all pretences and turn over every rock the company placed to hide their shady activities.

As a mech designer well-versed in the production of mechs, his knowledge and experience both helped him map out where unregistered mechs and parts were being built and sent. Yet even if he knew or strongly suspected such activities, what could he do? As a liaison, it wasn't in his power to call these kinds of activities out. Preparing tribute to the Peace Association wasn't suspicious in itself.

Ves needed to uncover more concrete proof.

While a couple of people continued to look into Chief Nyquist, Ves deliberately cut short his visits to the Mosville Complex. Instead, he began to spend more time at the Ansel Complex.

Not only was this the site where the KNG produced its vital spaceborn mech designs, Ves also had a feeling that something significant went on here. Though it was only his intuition that warned him of something out of sight, as he spent more time here he slowly figured why he felt uneasy here.

Some of the Ansel mech technicians were too competent.

It sounded strange. The technical schools brought up some of the best mech technicians in the Bright Republic. Their proximity and partnership with the Ansel University of Mech Design insured that any mech technician that graduated from Ansel would be the perfect worker for any mech designer.

Therefore, the Ansel mech technicians were clearly a cut above.

However, no matter how talented a mech technician became, they could never match the depth of knowledge and theoretical know-how of a mech designer.

Having worked alongside many different kinds of mech technicians with the Whalers, the Blood Claws, the Mech Corps prooper and a deviant mech regiment such as the Flagrant Vandals, Ves witnessed almost every variety of mech technician that the Bright Republic had to offer.

Certainly, the high-quality mech technicians from Ansel was still somewhat new to Ves, but even so, their competence should have limits!

"People who are too good to be mech technicians can easily opt to study mech design instead."

The barrier to entry to study mech design didn't pose too much hindrance to those determined to become a mech designer. As long as any decent student was good in math and science, they didn't need to go through much to get accepted.

Many people including Ves actually thought that the barrier to entry was far too low. Too many institutions pumped out too many mech designers each year, far more than the market could accommodate.

Yet despite how overcrowded the mech industry became, people always dreamed of making it big.

Therefore, the competence of mech technicians always came up to a hard limit. The career of a mech designer was far more glamorous than a mech technician. Even if they failed, their starting point as a mech designer allowed them to get much better jjobs than any mech technician.

Therefore, Ves found it slightly weird that some of the mech technicians employed by the KNG in their Ansel Complex showed skill above the realm of their profession.

It didn't make any sense. Where did they come from, and how come they were content to work as average mech technicians in a boring place like this?

Ves only caught the discrepancies due to his familiarity with mech technicians of many different stripes. The average person or mech designer who mostly spent their time at work in a design lab wouldn't be able to sense the subtle differences.

The more time he spent here, the more these differences became apparent. While not a lot of mech technicians showed extra ability, they nonetheless held vital responsibilities within the plant.

However, the KNG openly treated them as normal mech technicians, not even elevating them to chief technicians which they ought to have become.

All of these questions in his mind continued to build up, but he couldn't voice them to Jeff or any of the managers at the Ansel Complex without drawing suspicion.

He needed to find their origin in another way.

Yet every other way demanded too much time or drew too much suspicion.

Ves felt as if every possible direction had been blocked off by some reason or another.

He began to hate this mission.

With time beginning to grow short, Ves felt more and more pressure to begin writing up a report where he creatively included some controversial claims. No matter how shocking and unlikely his fabrications sounded, the fact that they came from him, a member of the reputable Larkinson family and a decorated mech designer, already furthered Flashlight's political aims.

He realized why he felt so deeply uncomfortable about the act of fabricating evidence.

He would let his family down.

More than that, by abusing the credibility that the Larkinsons built up for so long, he would inflict untold damage to their reputation.

His recent meeting with Melinda only emphasized the current differences between a crooked mech designer like him and a straight-laced mech officer like her. Rather than regarding Melinda as an aberration, it was actually him that had deviated from the Larkinsons!

While Ves hadn't spent much time among the adults of the Larkinson Family, he knew that they were mostly simple mech pilots or norms pursuing boring civilian jobs. Even the highest ranking Larkinsons such as uncle Ark or grandfather Benjamin never showed an impropriety during their long careers.

Now that he thought about it, Ves found it rather strange. Why did the Larkinsons insist on staying honest in a society where nobody played fair?

"This is why the Larkinson Family never became big despite how much we've contributed to the Mech Corps."

Yet being a Larkinson himself, Ves also kind of understood why none of the Larkinsons ever reached beyond their means. They were perfectly content with their current role. Trying to hog for more power wasn't always a good thing, because the games people played at that level was incredibly risky.

"Families rise and fall all the time. It's admirable for the Larkinson Family to maintain the same height since the founding of the Bright Republic."

Integrity wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It gave the Larkinsons a trustworthy reputation, and while they would never climb up the upper reins of power, it provided valuable long-term stability to the family as a whole.

No matter what Ves thought of himself, he was still a Larkinson. Everything he did reflected back on his family in some way. Sure, he didn't feel much of a burden when he exploited some advantages through crooked means, but it was a different story if he implicated the rest of his family.

Therefore, Ves really didn't want to fabricate evidence. It wouldn't necessarily hurt him, but it would be stabbing the Larkinsons in the back.

"I need to find another solution."

Chapter 992

As time began to run out, Ves only came up with two strong leads that he felt might definitely lead to something that Flashlight would be pleased with. While he hadn't made much progress on figuring out why Ansel employed overly competent mech technicians, Leland did return one day with a much thicker set of documents.

"This is everything we can dig up about Chief Nyquist on short notice. Overall, his life isn't too remarkable for a military veteran. However, we did find something notable about him when we tracked down his former colleagues when he served with the Sparky Nuts."

"Oh?" Ves turned to Leland. His case officer wouldn't say anything if he didn't find it important. "Did you find something connecting him to the BLM?"

"Not as such. Instead, when we pried open the lips of one of his old buddies, they mentioned a very important detail that is missing in his record. He had a wife."

"What?! How come his record states that he never married?!"

In fact, Ves already found it rather questionable why Chief Nyquist never married after he returned from the war. The man did not even have a single girlfriend even though he should have appealed to many women with his military background and his stable, well-paying career at the KNG.

"His 'wife' was another mech technician on the same combat carrier he once served aboard. They both shacked up and tied the knot in an unofficial ceremony."

Ves understood now. "Fraternization is forbidden by the Mech Corps, but a lot of servicemen do it anyway."

"That's the practical truth." Leland smiled wryly. "Don't you think that Flashlight or the Mech Corps doesn't know what's going on? The monitoring systems alone catch thousands of intimate encounters aboard the ships every single day. Yet you never hear about anyone getting court-martialed over this offense. Do you know why?"

"Because they're just being humans. Love and affection isn't something which you can stop." Ves quickly concluded.

"Controversy over the regulations on fraternization has existed for thousands of years. In general, a military force operates better with them in place than without. Even so, we don't crack down too hard on this behavior as long as it doesn't affect the fighting strength of our units. Only the most egregious cases where a superior abuses his power to coerce someone in a relationship are addressed."

"So Nyquist used to have an intimate relationship with a fellow mech technician and the Sparky Nuts did nothing to stop it." Ves repeated. He began to feel some deja vu. "Don't tell me his secret wife got killed?"

"Killed in action. There's no ambiguity about it. She was one of the many confirmed casualties of the previous war." Leland stated unemotionally. "This affected Nyquist's performance for a while, but the war ended quickly before his slide became noticeable. He quit the Mech Corps shortly after to pursue a civilian career."

Ves closed his eyes and recalled the last time he met a widower who lost his unofficial wife due to battle.

Recalling how the grieving and unhinged Davis Sollerant pulled out a gun and shot at Ves' face made him shudder in unease. If not for wearing his Squalon armor, he wouldn't have brushed off the assassination attempt as an exercise in futility.

The Flagrant Vandals were all lucky that someone maddened with grief and loss like Davis acted impulsively rather than with deliberate calculation.

Yet what if they did the latter instead of the former? Those who lost the loves of their lives and never got over it couldn't be judged with common sense.

What would Ves do if he was in the same position? Would he hate the Vesians for taking away his lover, or would he be like Davis Sollerant and blame his own side instead for recklessly endangering his wife?

"What a huge mess." He uttered.

"Not necessarily." Leland nodded calmly. "Thousands of widowers emerge after the end of each war. Most of them are able to cope with their losses and restart their lives. From what the Mech Corps has observed of Chief Nyquist, he has never showed any animosity towards the Republic."

"Maybe he's hiding it well."

"Even so, more than twenty years have passed without incident. While that doesn't rule out anything, most people aren't that patient if they wanted to take revenge."

While Leland didn't read too much on Chief Nyquist's love life, Ves couldn't help but keep recalling the example of Davis Sollerant. Perhaps it was just his personal experiences biasing his judgement, but he felt that this detail about the chief technician's life was a critical clue!

However, even if Ves believed that Chief Nyquist held a lot of resentment against the Bright Republic for allowing his unofficial wife to be killed in action, this detail only provided a motive at best. It was hardly the smoking gun that Ves could use to prove impropriety at the KNG.

"Has the tail assigned to follow Nyquist found out anything of note?" He asked.

"No. Chief Nyquist works long hours at the Mosville Complex and only goes home to sleep. Occasionally, he gathers together with some fellow veterans and co-workers at a local bar, but other than that he's thrown himself in his work."

Such a boring pattern left very little clues to anyone keeping an eye on him. Even without Leland mentioning it, Ves already knew there was no point in following Nyquist around if he was determined to maintain a low profile.

"I think it's best if you put the tailing agent on his drinking buddies." He suggested. "Nyquist is way to vigilant and hardly exposes any openings for us to find fault."

Leland nodded in agreement. "That's reasonable, but it's highly likely you won't find anything. None of his drinking buddies possess sketchy backgrounds."

"It's better than nothing."

Right now, Ves gained a slight sense of progression in his investigation. It was nothing to go on as of yet, but it confirmed his feeling that Chief Nyquist was a person of interest.

The next day, he resumed observing the operations at the Ansel Complex instead of the Mosville Complex. He couldn't approach Nyquist directly without setting off alarm bells, so he basically bet on Flashlight's investigator to find out of his drinking buddies were involved with anything problematic.

In any case, in the name of inspecting the quality of the military mech production for mech regiments such as the Volari Starkhawks, Ves began to take a more hands-on approach in his inspection there. He stayed away from the KNG's commercial mech production but deliberately got close to the sections where all the military spaceborn mechs took shape.

He began to interact with the mech technicians assigned to their production. Openly, he displayed nothing but diligence in his cover role as a liaison mech designer. He asked pertinent questions, offered some advice in his perspective and generally found it reassuring that the KNG never fudged the production.

Even so, Ves couldn't help but find some of the oddly competent mech technicians to be a little fishy. The more he interacted with them, the more he felt how out of place they seemed.

Only a handful of these strange mech technicians were assigned to the production of military mechs. Most of them had been assigned to work on the more profitable and therefore more vital commercial spaceborn mechs.

"They're all Kadar loyalists as well it seems."

Different from Chief Nyquist who came from the Neyvis side of the mech company, the Kadar workers from before the merger held themselves to a higher standard. This was mainly because they worked on more expensive machines with slightly higher profit margins.

Right now, the KNG's murky finances made it difficult for Ves to figure out how much money they were losing. However, Ves already vaguely figured out that their spaceborn mech sales helped compensate for the serious losses their frontline mech sales accrued.

In fact, now that Ves noticed the discrepancy, he noted faintly that the Kadar workers resented the Neyvis side of the company for dragging down their financial stability.

"The merger isn't as seamless as it appears."

Perhaps Estella Kadar and Antoine Neyvis may have become a happy couple, but that didn't mean their employees felt as enthusiastic about uniting their companies.

Ves already knew that mergers often led to failure as the merged entity couldn't completely resolve all the incompatibilities or failed to settle on their new identity. The KNG's merger hadn't led to any extreme setbacks, yet some of the underlying differences still remained.

Unfortunately, none of that had to do with the overly competent mech technicians. Ves found out that all of them had been recent hires from the Ansel technical schools. In fact, many of the mech technicians here were already familiar with each other from their school days.

That shot down his theory that they were secret mech designers pretending to be simple mech technicians.

"What is up with them, then?"

Even as genuine mech technicians, they were far too good to work in a normal manufacturing complex!

With time running out, Ves felt he needed to do something more drastic. When he met up with Leland, he demanded something extreme.

"Do you remember what I told you about those suspiciously good mech technicians at the Ansel Complex? I'm not getting anywhere by hanging out with them at work. There's something fishy about them, and I need to question them more directly."

"What is it you're asking of me, Ves?"

"Help me interrogate them." Ves declared. "We need to take the direct approach and kidnap them and take them somewhere quietly so I can ask the questions that need answering."

Leland immediately shook his head. "That's way too loud, Ves. There is no way we can hide all of our traces from the KNG. They will know if something has happened to their own men."

"We only need to do it once. Accidents happen. As long as it doesn't occur twice, it's just a coincidence. The KNG employs thousands of mech technicians. They won't notice anything amiss from a single absence."

"Even so, that is a risk that we can't take. Flashlight's involvement might get exposed, and if there is one objective we have to fulfill at all costs, it is to keep that a secret!"

Ves turned around to Leland and began to stare at him intensely to the point of mustering up his concentration to blast his case officer with focused waves of Spirituality.

Even though it shouldn't do anything to a norm, perhaps some vestigial spiritual sense in Leland grew uncomfortable. That, combined with the intense stare, put the intelligence officer under faint pressure.

"Isn't Flashlight allowed to do whatever it wants? Right now, there is an obviously suspicious lead in front of me, but I need to go further if I want to get anything concrete out of it. Even if the interrogation doesn't lead to any explosive revelations, I'll always be able to distort what little we do manage to find out into a bigger problem for the KNG when it comes down to it. A lie with a kernel of truth at its basis is a lot more convincing than a total fabrication."

Perhaps that last argument persuaded Leland a little, because he buckled in the end. "Fine. I'll see what I can do. I'll prepare the backup strike team to pick up an individual of your choosing to take into custody. The preparation will take at least a day because we need to prepare a cover story for that individual's disposal."

"You're going to kill him after we're done?" Ves suddenly frowned. "Don't you have mind-altering drugs that can make someone forget what happened on that day or something?"

"We do, but they leave distinct traces behind. There is no way we can prevent the KNG from growing suspicious if one of their employees is met with a mishap. It's much safer for all of us if we get rid of this loose end in the most direct fashion possible."

Ves found it rather eery that Leland showed no remorse or hesitation about disposing a loyal Brighter. "There is no option to keeping him alive? Why not put him into a coma for a few years?"

"Don't kid yourself, Ves. Every condition that incapacitates someone can be reversed. Flashlight cannot afford to leave behind any living witnesses." Leland said with a tone of finality before taking a lighter tone. "Luckily, deadly incidents constantly take place on Bentheim. From shuttle crashes, rampaging mechs, gang shootings and terrorist attacks, it's trivial to dispose of someone who knows too much. It'll be even more believable if more people die as well."

This time, Ves couldn't help but stare at Leland with shock! In the name of secrecy, Flashlight would even be willing to kill innocent bystanders if it helped sell their cover stories!

Chapter 993

The arrow had already left the bow. Now that Ves threw out his request, Leland enthusiastically began to put the pieces together for the kidnapping and disposal operation.

While Ves only requested the kidnapping, the Leland insisted on the disposal part in order to cut off any loose ends.

Even though Ves had half a mind to cancel the request, the intelligence officer fully bought into his arguments as to why they needed to interrogate one of the mech technicians working at the Ansel Complex.

Ves truly needed to ask some questions. He just felt uneasy about the price to accomplish this without drawing any suspicion from the KNG.

After spending a lot of time around Flashlight's people, he should have been more cognizant of their modus operandi. Prizing secrecy at all costs, they weren't above dirtying their hands as long as they achieved their goals!

It made him wonder who Flashlight answered to. Which government official or institution did they have to account for their many shady activities?

To Ves, it seemed as if Flashlight did a lot of dirty things off the record. They couldn't be held accountable for their misdeeds if no one caught them in the act. Perhaps this was why Flashlight prioritized secrecy to the extreme!

They just wanted to cover their own butts, nothing more and nothing less!

It shouldn't have surprised Ves that Flashlight was no less self-serving than the other tainted institutions of the Bright Republic. The Ministry of Economic Development, Spot, the Bright Senate and so on all prioritized their own interests over their public duty.

Ves even began to doubt this mission had any relation to Spotlight in the first place. Did Spotlight and Flashlight really obtained word about possible separatist activity at the KNG, or did Flashlight target them for an unrelated reason from the start?

Right now, the latter possibility seemed more likely. It would be just like Flashlight to pick out a random functioning and highly productive company as a victim for their political crusade.

As for the reason why Flashlight picked the KNG specifically, Ves found many possible reasons.

First, the KNG was intricately tied with the Ansel University of Mech Design. That prestigious school held a lot of sway among the upper ranks of the Bright Republic's mech designers. Taking them down a notch by crucifying some of their prominent alumni would temper their arrogance, as Leland already stated.

The second reason was that while the KNG was a big mech manufacturer with an even bigger impact in the industry, they weren't too big to fail. Unlike some other monolithic companies, the KNG competed in markets with plenty of competitors to fill the gap if they ever abruptly closed their doors.

As for their military production, it would hurt the Volari Starkhawks and the other mech regiments to lose their fixed suppliers of mechs and parts. Yet this pain would only last for a few months before they partnered up with another company.

The KNG's many connections would all be implicated by this company's decline or fall, doing untold harm to many different people. Yet as long as the Bright Republic itself could endure damage, Flashlight wouldn't shy away from engineering such an event.

Perhaps they slept easier at the thought that the Bright Republic needed such a shock to prod the other institutions into working more sincerely. Or maybe Flashlight simply wanted to damage an arm of one of their rival organizations.

All of these cynical didn't get him anywhere, so Ves quickly pushed them out of his mind. No matter what, working with Flashlight at least allowed him to get on their side. In exchange for getting on board their train, Ves would at least be able to insulate himself from these kinds of incidents to an extent.

The Kadar-Neyvis Group, for all of their connections, didn't deter Flashlight at all. They might have even dragged the mech company into the military intelligence agency's crosshairs in the first place!

"Every organization has enemies."

The more friends you made, the more enemies you incurred. That seemed to describe the KNG's current predicament. All of their backing offered no protection against an enemy determined enough to take them down such as Flashlight.

"Maybe the Larkinson Family is wise to remain beneath their attention."

With their clean reputation and honorable service, the Larkinsons never faced any threats from within the Republic that they needed to be concerned about. Certainly, they had rivals and enemies, but none of them played on this level where the ruining of a large and successful mech company was just another tuesday for the big players!

"Unfortunately, I'm already in too deep to get out. I also have to pick a side if I want to get ahead."

The earlier argument he came up with to collaborate with Flashlight still applied. Compared to the Ministry of Economic Development which supervised so many companies that they couldn't even offer effective to the KNG, partnering up with Flashlight sounded like a better deal.

They were dangerous, for sure, but Ves would rather be on their side than align himself with their enemies!

As Ves performed some research from his terminal throughout the night, Leland returned to his quarters in the next morning.

"Get up, Ves. It's showtime."

"What?" He looked surprised. "Is it already done?"

"Yup. It took shorter than I thought to arrange all of the pieces of the plan. Flashlight is already very practiced in these kinds of ops so I only had to borrow some of their existing infrastructure and assets to cover every aspect. We've already caught the mech technician you wanted. If we go now and interrogate him, we can dispose of him before the afternoon and minimize the time he spent missing at the KNG."

Both of them moved quickly. This time, they didn't take a normal exit but rather left the quarters through an underground tunnel. It was through this passage that Leland could sneak in and out of the military base without being observed by anyone else.

At the end of the tunnel was a small underground hall where an unobtrusive-looking aircar with opaque windows greeted them. Once they entered, the vehicle automatically set off to a destination at the outskirts of Mosville.

There, the aircar entered a garage of an office building under construction. No work was being done today so Ves and Leland met no one else before they arrived at an unfinished underground floor.

Leland led them through the dark with only the light from his comm illuminating their passage. They came up to a reinforced door that was flanked by two burly operatives carrying weapons.

"These are two of the members of the strike team that is backing you up." He said. "I'd normally like to introduce them to you, but the less you know, the better you're off."

Ves gave him a bitter smile. "I am aware."

The two operatives silently allowed them to enter. Inside, the hollow room had been arranged in a familiar arrangement. A simple table rested in the center. Behind it, a drugged and sedated mech technician sat shackled to his metal chair. On the other end of the table sat a single seat.

"You should take a seat, Ves. I'll be standing at the side. For now, you'll be asking the questions."

"Okay."

Having been on both ends of an interrogation, Ves was already somewhat familiar with the dynamic. As the person asking the questions, he needed to get the person providing the answers to take him seriously.

Seeing as how his earlier trick against Leland seemed to achieve some results, if only tentatively, Ves concentrated his mind yet again. "Wake him up, please."

Leland pressed a button on his comm, causing some hidden module placed against the mech technician's skin to inject a substance in his bloodstream.

The kidnapped worker for the KNG abruptly shook off the drugs clouding his mind. "What the.. Where am I?"

"Sebastian Rohill." Ves spoke with command. His Spirituality echoed with his words. He belatedly caught the kidnapped man's attention. "You are in trouble, Stan. Do you mind if I call you that?"

Stan still seemed woozy from the drugs pumping into his bloodstream. Leland already mentioned that the various chemicals would make him more susceptible to answering his question at the cost of his lucidity.

It seemed the elephants pounding inside Stan's consciousness also caused the Spirituality trying to affect him to be completely ignored.

Ves only shrugged at that but maintained the effect in case it might give Stan a helpful push. In any case, it didn't take too much effort for him to maintain his concentration.

"This.. why am I not at work? I'm supposed to be at work!"

As Stan sobered up a bit, he finally realized his predicament. It didn't help that this barren and cold room seemed straight out of some crime drama.

"Where am I! Who are you?! Wait, I recognize you! You're Ves Larkinson!"

Neither Ves nor Leland did nothing to hide their faces. As Ves already spent a lot of time at the Ansel Complex, most of the workers there knew who he was. Now that Stan called him out by name, Ves already knew that there was no way for this fellow to survive the day.

Even if Flashlight didn't clean him up, Ves would have done it himself. He closed his eyes for a bit in resignation before opening them up again with greater concentration.

In order to make this dirty business worth it, Ves needed to succeed in extracting useful information out of his victim!

"Stan. As a liaison, I am not only charged with supervising military production at the KNG. I'm also tasked with digging out any improprieties. I'm sorry to say that your suspicious behavior has caught my attention. We know you are hiding something."

Ves spoke that last words while resonating with his own Spirituality, momentarily giving them more force.

"How can that be?!" Stan grew panicked. Perhaps the strong waves of that last phrase impacted him a bit, because the mech technician never questioned Ves' claims. "I have always worked hard for the company! I'm one of the best-performing mech technicians at the Ansel Complex! I'm due for a promotion!"

"It is exactly because you are so good that you have drawn our suspicions!" Ves retorted back. "There are limits to mech technicians and you have exceeded everyone of them. Someone as good as you should have been a mech designer. Why are you pretending to be a mech technician?!"

"That-that-that I am just a good study!"

"Nonsense! You were never good in school in your early years! You barely crawled your way into one of Ansel's technical schools, whereupon you somehow shaped up and became a qualific mech technician, but even then nothing about your school record suggests you're a prodigy!"

"I just became better at my job with the help of the KNG, alright?! They take care of us and helps us with our studies!"

"Again, that's complete nonsense. A mediocre learner would never make the amount of progress you've achieved in so little time. You have to be as good as a mech designer to do so, but you are definitely not smart enough to be a mech designer, at least normally! So tell me, Stan, what is your secret?"

The man shook in his seat and darted his eyes towards Ves and Leland and back again several times in a row. Ves didn't say anything but kept pushing his Spirituality towards Stan to pile up the pressure.

While it didn't appear the effect was as remarkable as being subjected to the force of will of an expert mech pilot, Ves nonetheless felt as if he did manage to achieve some effects.

One of the reasons why Ves picked Stan out in the first place was that he seemed most susceptible to pressure. The man already acted a bit nervously at work. He pushed himself harder than anyone else, as if he was desperate to gain a promotion.

A quiet minute passed by while nobody said anything to Stan. His nervousness combined with the drugs affecting his mind practically did most of the work in wearing him down.

Ves only offered a coy smile to Stan, as if he already knew what dirty little secret the man really hid. It was the kind of smile that gave the illusion that Ves had everything in control.

"Alright alright! I'll tell you!" Stan finally cracked. "I am taking Enoncolantis-3, alright?!"

This caused Ves to blink and interrupt his intimidating act.

"Enoncolantis-3 is a mental performance-enhancing stimulant." Leland explained, catching his confusion at the strange answer. "It's one of the more obscure stimulants you can find in the black markets because it's fairly expensive. The upside is that in pill form, it enhances someone's cognitive functions for at least half a day. It's also quite troublesome to detect by most scanners, so it is in high demand for many workers!"

So that was what Stan always seemed jittery! He was a substance abuser!

Chapter 994

Substance abuse existed for a long time. It still happened at an alarming frequency even during the Age of Mechs despite many, many measures in trying to stamp it out.

These days, the focus on the use of stimulants and drugs mainly fell into two categories: recreational substances and performance-enhancing substances.

Leaving aside the strong demand for recreational substances, many humans constantly made use of performance-enhancing stimulants in their daily lives.

From cramming for an upcoming exam, to performing more vigorously at work, performance-enhancing stimulants filled a very desperate need to humans who ordinarily lacked confidence.

To Ves, it sounded like a sad occurrence, but it wasn't necessarily a bad tradeoff for their users. By absorbing a potent stimulant, they could temporarily boost their performance in their studies or their work for a critical event.

As for the cost and side effects? As long as someone only used it for a short time when they really needed it, then they were acceptable prices to pay.

In exchange for credits and and some negative impacts on someone's health, they could achieve a critical chance to elevate their lives! From students trying to pass an entrance exam for a prestigious university to employees trying to pass through crunch time where work piled up for days, as long as they made use of a quick boost, they would all be able to further their careers!

"Substance abuse, huh?" Ves muttered after his surprise faded away.

He personally witnessed several instances of someone growing too reliant on performance-enhancing stimulants. Back when he studied mech design at Rittersberg, there were many students who failed to keep up with their courses.

To these marginal cases who were at the cusp of failure, just a simple stimulant gave them a lifeline that allowed them to pass their exams and continue their studies.

Yet a stimulant only lasted a few hours to a day at most. What then? Those who managed to pass an exam only passed a single hurdle at a single instant of time.

In order for anyone to obtain a degree in mech design, they needed to study for at least five years while and pass dozens of exams! That also didn't include the constant assignments and practical work that every aspiring mech designer needed to perform continuously!

Therefore, one stimulant was never enough.

Ten stimulants was never enough.

A hundred stimulants was never enough.

Someone who depended solely on performance-enhancing stimulants to perform adequately in their studies should not be qualified at all!

His university never bothered to screen out these edge cases. That was because after months or years of increasing use of these kinds of stimulants eventually led to self-destruction.

Usually, the substance abusers built up some sort of tolerance that made these drugs less effective. This pushed them into increasing their dose. When that didn't help, they resorted to more potent substances, which usually came with much heavier adverse side effects! This pattern repeated over and over until finally their bodies and minds became too damaged for them to function normally!

Ves thanked his luck that he was intelligent and motivated enough to study mech design at Rittersberg without having to resort to such desperate means.

Yet many people who faced a difficult choice might have made a different decision. It appeared that Sebastian Rohill happened to be one of them. Yet why did this mech technician feel the need to resort to this option in the first place?

"You don't understand!" Stan said with a desperate voice. "I have to work hard for the KNG! The company is going through tougher times! Anyone who slacks off or is too slow at their jobs get fired! Do you know how much the company pays us? We need to show that we deserve to work there!"

"Ah." Ves uttered. The other shoe finally dropped. It seemed the KNG's employment policy finally showed another crack. "Strange. I haven't seen any of that during my time at the KNG."

"We'd never throw any shade at the KNG! The company has been good to us! We all wanted to pay them back! If we aren't working hard enough, they'd fire us and replace us with one of the many others waiting in line to join the company! Lately, it's not enough to put in a hundred percent of my effort! I have to put in at least half as more to help the company go through these hard times!"

Ves crossed his arms. "There's more to that, I believe. The private market may be having a glut of mech technicians now due to all of the companies that have shuttered, but the Mech Corps is always eager to replenish their losses. You're afraid they'll draft unemployed mech technicians like you, aren't you?"

A pulsing shock ran through Stan. "I-I-I-I don't want to go to war! I'm just a mech technician! I don't belong on the frontlines!"

Someone like Stan was young enough to have missed the previous war. Therefore, he was eligible for the draft. The only reason why the Mech Corps hadn't snapped him up was because he already worked at the KNG.

The Mech Corps generally left mech technicians alone if they already worked for a company, especially one as large and productive as the KNG that already contributed to military production.

That afforded the mech technicians who worked there shelter against being sent to war. While the Bright Republic constantly encouraged its citizens to answer the call of battles, the horrendous casualties suffered in each generation scared many of them away.

Ves unconsciously looked down on Stan even more. "I get it. The KNG is bleeding money so they're pushing their workforce harder. You weren't originally a very good mech technician, so in order to keep up with the higher expectations of the company, you turned to help. My question is, how long have you been using?"

The mech technician didn't want to answer, so Ves slammed his fist against the metal table.

"TELL ME!"

"Damnit, I started using since I got hired, okay!? I wasn't confident I could keep up!"

"Stan here is a heavy user for sure." Leland spoke from the side. "You can tell from his nervous ticks and how he's always restless that he's been using performance-enhancing stimulants for years."

"I've been starting off with the lighter stuff." Stan said hopelessly. "Just a little bit, okay? Helped me learn stuff and keep up with the work at the same time. I kept trying to lay it off once I studied enough, but there's always more to learn. Then the war happened."

"The company suddenly demanded more from their workers at that point, right?"

"Yeah. It didn't happen immediately. Our workload got a little tighter and there was less time for me to study at the company library. Then we spent pretty much all of our time at the production lines, yet even then it wasn't enough! People started getting fired when they were just a bit too slow to keep up and that's when we all got spooked!"

At the start, Stan only injected himself with stimulants he obtained from the local gang in Mosville. Selling performance-enhancing substances was big business in Bentheim and pretty much every gang offered them, so it was trivial for Stan to get his hands on something.

Yet for Stan, the lighter stuff wasn't enough for him anymore. He needed more potent stimulants. The gang hooked him up with more expensive stimulants, and for a time the mech technician managed to keep up with his job.

Until even that failed to give him the boost he needed to hang on to the expectations set upon him. The downside of his excellent performance resulted in greater pay but also greater responsibilities. If he stopped taking stimulants one day, not only would he drop down to a standard below his previous track record, but he would outright crash to the bottom due to the severe withdrawal symptoms that inevitably followed.

Even so, Leland had something to say about the particular stimulant that Stan admitted to using.

"Enoncolantis-3 is a difficult drug to obtain. It's synthesized in the frontier because the core ingredients can only be harvested from exoplants that is found there. Not every sells it and when they do, the prices are inevitably high."

Ves frowned. "What's the use of this stimulant?"

"There are two major advantages. First, it boosts a human's cognitive functions more effectively with comparatively less side effects. Second, it's very hard to detect in ordinary circumstances. Most detectors installed in workplaces like the KNG's Ansel Complex is capable of screening out many ordinary drugs, but Enocolantis-3 is definitely not one of them. It's too rare and difficult to detect."

"The demand for this product is high but the supply is rather difficult." Ves summed up. "How much does it cost to take a single dose?"

"In pill form, I'd reckon no less than a thousand credits per brain pill!"

Ves turned around in shock. "That much?!"

Even though Ves earned enough money to fill a swimming pool with pills, he was still very much aware of the salaries of average mech technicians. Even the well-paid mech technicians of the KNG could never afford to take the drug continuously!

Considering that Stan looked as if he swallowed a brain pill every day, there was no way he could ever be able to afford his addiction through his own salary!

"Where do you get the money to pay for your daily fix?" He asked the man.

Stan didn't want to answer. He kept his mouth shut while his body was going through continuous shudders. Ves looked at Leland, who shrugged.

"I did not anticipate that Stan here is a substance abuser. The sedatives and other drugs we pumped in his bloodstream are clashing against his withdrawal symptoms. We picked him up from his apartment while he still slept, so he didn't have any time to take a brain pill."

That explained the exaggerated neurotic movements from the man. Back at the Ansel Complex, Stan didn't behave too different from a well-motivated employee. The slight oddities in his demeanor didn't necessarily point to any substance abuse, especially considering that each employee coming to work needed to pass through a scanner.

Yet those scanners only looked out for known substances. The massive underground pharmaceutical industry constantly cooked up new drugs and stimulants that creatively gave their users the fix they craved without running afoul of a detector.

Ves hadn't heard of Enoncolantis-3, so it must have been developed recently. However, he was very much aware of what kind of drugs that brain pills encompassed.

These kinds of upscale performance-enhancing stimulants sold very well among professionals. Their high prices offered no hindrance to promising talents who wanted to gain some sort of edge over their colleagues in order to obtain a promotion.

In fact, mech designers ought to be one of the most prevalent users of brain pills!

For a mech technician to be able to sustain the daily usage of such an upscale product was weird because no mech technician could afford its use for long. Therefore, no matter if Stan was already starting to go through withdrawal, Ves really wanted to know how the mech technician paid for it all.

"Tell me." Ves repeated, putting his strong Spirituality to bear.

Stan simply shook his head in a neurotic manner.

"TELL ME!" Ves slammed both of his fists against the table.

The abrupt impact caused Stan to jump, though his restraints kept him tied to his seat. The pressure bearing down on him from Ves and his own body was too much for him to endure!

"I passed on information, alright! They kept asking me questions and I had to answer them if I wanted to get my next brain pill!"

Both Leland and Ves lit up. This was what they wanted to hear!

"Who did you report to?" Ves pressed on. "Who supplied you with brain pills in exchange for intel on the KNG?"

"I.. I don't know! They never told me who they were! When you deal with stuff like this, you always try to find out as little as possible!"

At this, Leland sighed. "Useless. An indirect connection like this takes too much time to follow up."

"It depends on the information that Stan has provided." Ves replied before turning back to the mech technician. "What did you pass on?"

"All kinds of information I could get my hands on. Technical specifications. Production schedules. Personnel lists. Security arrangements. Maps. Stuff like that."

That didn't necessarily lead to the BLM. It could have been one of KNG's competitors trying to keep tabs on the Ansel Complex.

As Stan answered more questions, Ves did not find the smoking gun he was looking for. A loyal employee turned informant to some unknown party was not the major offense that Flashlight sought to indict the KNG!

Chapter 995

At some point, Stan's withdrawal symptoms grew so severe that he could no longer coherently answer any questions. Neither Leland nor his strike stream possessed the required medical expertise to counteract the effects, and trying to return to the man's home to grab his brain pills took too long and risked exposure.

Ves and Leland stepped out of the interrogation room. Ves looked disappointed while Leland adopted an expression of distaste.

"Incidents like this are all too common. The important point is that we're not dealing with amateurs. Anyone who is able to distribute enoncolantis-3 in Bentheim won't be so careless to leave a direct trail to their actual identities. It could be the BLM, but it could also be the Blood Claws or even the Peace Association that supplied Stan with the brain pills."

"So there is no way you can follow up on the source of the pills?"

Leland shook his head. "Whoever has been supplying Stan with the pills will probably lay low and disappear as soon as word of his disappearance and subsequent death spreads."

Damn. That meant that investigation that channel was a dead end.

"There are other mech technicians at the KNG with the same traits."

"One incident is a coincidence is enough. Another incident that follows close to the previous one will definitely alert the KNG and a number of other organizations. I won't authorize another kidnapping. I'm sorry Ves, but this line of inquiry ends here. If you want to follow up on this case, then you'll have to do so in another fashion."

With Leland closing the door to questioning another addict, Ves had very few options left if he wanted to uncover the identities of the suppliers.

Besides, there wasn't that much point to investigating the suppliers. Flashlight wanted to find evidence of deliberate, high-level collaboration with the Bentheim Liberation Movement.

Even if the BLM hooked up a dozen mech technicians with brain pills, so what? The KNG could always throw them under the aircar argue that they were clueless victims to the BLM's nefarious schemes.

What Ves needed to do was to paint the KNG as traitors instead of victims!

"Let us suppose the BLM is gathering intel on the Ansel Complex through the use of informers." Leland said. "This shows that it's unlikely they have a man on the inside at that site. While it might be possible that they do have their own man inside and that they are merely gathering information from other sources to verify the information coming from their agent, it's too much of an effort. It seems much more likely that the BLM is merely fishing for information to plan for a future terrorist attack."

Ves couldn't argue with his logic. Even he believed this was the case. "So all of this was a waste of time?"

"Well, you could always use that to back up your case that the KNG is in cahoots with the BLM." Leland grinned. "If you present the addicted mech technicians as separatists instead of informants, then you'd likely be able to strengthen your case against the company."

That entailed fabricating an accusation that Ves knew wasn't true. He didn't want to resort to this option if possible, so he merely shook his head and said nothing more of it. Instead, he turned to another subject.

"How will you take care of Stan?"

"The other members of the strike team has already prepared a cover story. We'll put him on his daily commute and shoot it down. His death won't attract too much attention among the dozens of other occupants going to to work. We'll blame the attack on Vesian agitators trying to destabilize Bentheim. They've already staged hundreds of random attacks like this to terrorize the populace, so one more attack will hardly seem unusual as long as we leave behind the right traces."

Ves regretted hearing this answer. Lots of people boarded air transit every day, and the biggest vehicles fitted hundreds of people.

Knowing that Flashlight did not shy away from dragging innocent people to their deaths just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time sat very poorly with Ves. As he stared at Leland, Ves figured the intelligence officer deliberately divulged this information.

For what reason? To test him? To try and see if Ves would still be committed to working together with Flashlight?

It might be all a lie. Ves didn't know. As they exited the construction site via their discreet aircar, Ves constantly pondered on the consequences of his actions.

He continued to do so once the aircar dropped him off at the military base, whereupon he showed up in public again and went to work in a normal fashion.

Once he arrived at the Ansel Complex, the news had already reached them. One of their colleagues had been killed in an air transit accident!

"Stan is dead!"

"Over thirty people got killed!"

"It's the Vesians again! Their spies are everywhere on this planet!"

Work at the Ansel Complex inevitably slowed as everyone couldn't help but become affected by this sudden tragedy. One of their own had been killed in a terrorist attack!

Ves watched wide-eyed as he tuned into a Mosville news portal reporting live on the event. The crash site of the air transit not only killed its occupants, but also crashed into an office building, killing several workers inside!

Leland hadn't bluffed at all. He truly did manufacture a tragedy to take care of a loose end. Over thirty people died, which was a truly excessive number of casualties just to silence a single person!

The only consolation to Ves was that the investigation on Chief Nyquist's drinking buddies bore fruit. The strange thing was that one of them slightly panicked when he saw the news and hastily ran to a suspected safehouse while being followed by an agent of Flashlight!

That evening, Leland greeted Ves as he tiredly returned to his quarters with the good news.

"I'm not sure whether the person we tailed is part of the cell or group that's responsible for supplying the mech technicians working at the Ansel Complex with enoncolantis-3. Perhaps word of an attack on a KNG worker has spooked our person of interest due to other reasons. Nonetheless, his haste and lack of precautions has given us a firm lead of suspected BLM activity."

"Who is the person of interest and why are you so sure he's related to the BLM?"

Leland handed him a data pad with a record of the man in question. "Delten Swan is a former ship rating from the Sparky Nuts. These days, he works for an industrial company based in Mosville. He married once but he divorced after a few years. We suspect he is a member of the BLM from the way he gained entry into the safehouse and what little we managed to observe of what transpired inside. As long as we prepare more listening devices to record Delten's subsequent meetings, we can firmly prove that Delten is a specialist."

"Yet that's not enough, is it?" Ves remarked. "Delten Swan doesn't even work for the KNG."

"It's good to see that you have a bright head on your shoulders, Ves. You're right. Our target is the KNG, not Delten and not this Chief Nyquist. Therefore, it's not enough to prove that Nyquist is aware of Delten's association with the BLM. We need to provide evidence that Chief Nyquist is part of the same cell, and even then we need to prove that he's more than an informant."

When Ves began to list what he needed to do, he became depressed. "You're asking for a lot, but there's not a lot of time left. From what we've learned, it's possible that Chief Nyquist is working for the BLM, but it might be that he's just feeding information to them instead."

Leland nodded in agreement. "I've looked into Chief Nyquist, and he's a careful and experienced man. There's a high chance he'll lower his head and do absolutely nothing that could draw suspicion on him. The BLM may be contemptible in many ways, but they are very competent in training their assets to blend in with the environment."

If they could just take Chief Nyquist into custody in an official and aboveboard fashion, they would be able to learn the truth. Yet such an act would also increase the chance of exposing Flashlight, so Leland would never go along with such a measure.

Again, Ves felt as if his hands were tied behind his back. The demand that this investigation needed to be done fast but quietly continued to stymy him over and over again.

Yet having spent some time with Leland, Ves became a little more familiar with his mindset, methods and priorities. Leland and by extension Flashlight wasn't above resorting to drastic actions as long as they didn't risk exposure!

Ves gave Leland a speculative look. "If I may suggest something. It's better to present genuine evidence of seperatist collaboration, right?"

"Right."

"Then why not take advantage of what we've found out to stir the pot and agitate the BLM even further?"

"Oh? Do you have a plan, Ves? You know that it's very risky for us to make a move right now, especially right after a terrorist attack."

From the clues they gathered about Chief Nyquist, they learned that he lost someone he loved to the war. They also learned that he associated himself with what appeared to be a core member of a BLM cell in Mosville.

Putting those two clues together strongly suggested that Chief Nyquist wasn't merely an informant like the recently-deceased Stan, but a true man on the inside.

Ves increasingly became more assured of his suspicion that Chief Nyquist was up to no good at the KNG. Yet even if Ves and Leland reported their current findings, the KNG would still be able to paint themselves as victims.

Whether real or not, Ves needed some way to tie Chief Nyquist's suspected affiliations and purpose to the higher ups of the KNG. A single chief technician, while holding a substantial amount of responsibly at his workplace, was not a representative of the company.

Leland knew this as well, so he wondered what Ves wanted to suggest to prove whether such a tie existed.

What if it didn't exist at all?

On this, Ves already resigned himself to bending the truth a bit if it came down to it. In any case, BLM involvement seemed extremely likely now so he did not have to fabricate a complete lie.

"A chief technician is not important enough, but if the presiding mech designer turns out to be a seperatist as well, what then? Every mech designer assigned to supervise the operations at the different complexes are directly handpicked for the job by Mrs. Kadar or Mr. Neyvis. An Apprentice Mech Designer called Carl Stoddard is currently in charge at the Mosville Complex. It would be a severe failure on the part of the founders and leaders of the KNG if they directly picked a separatist to be in charge of one of their four major complexes."

"How do you suppose we do that?"

"We know where one of their safehouses are, right? We also know who frequents that place. Couldn't you employ one of your operatives to plant some fake evidence there that suggests that Carl Stoddard is one of their own men?"

"It's possible." Leland said with a thoughtful but not entirely encouraging expression. "It's also exceedingly risky in many ways. I don't like this plan of yours. It's too much risk for too little reward. Even if we manage to implicate Mr. Stoddard, he's not the big fish that Flashlight is hoping to catch. The KNG will be able to weather the storm as long as they pay a price."

Ves knew this. Therefore, what he said next surprised even Leland. "What if I tell you that I'm convinced the KNG is facilitating the supply of mechs for the BLM at their Mosville Complex?"

Chapter 996

"I'm not a detective." Ves began to explain to Leland how he came to his conclusion. "But I'm a mech designer. More than that, I'm a business owner during my civilian career and spent a long time holding the position of head designer. I'm quite familiar with production and repair operations, both of which happen on a very large scale at the KNG's Mosville Complex."

Leland grew increasingly intrigued. "Have you managed to come across any hard evidence to back up your statements?"

"Not yet, but I've inferred it by combining the clues we've found with my own observations of the site. You have to be aware that the Mosville Complex stands out among the KNG's properties because it is their main service and repair center. Both the company's commercial and military clients send their damaged mechs to Mosville for servicing. Do you know how many parts get restored instead of replaced?"

"What's the difference?" The intelligence officer asked.

"Damaged and faulty mechs can be fixed up in two ways. Either you hammer its broken parts back together, or you take it out and replace it with a functional spare part fabricated on the spot or taken out of an inventory. The mech technicians at the Mosville Complex does both. In fact, most of the time they have a crew that is dedicated to identifying and ripping out broken and malfunctioning parts, another crew that is responsible for taking parts from the site's abundant inventory and assembling them onto the frame of the damaged mech, and finally a third crew which is solely tasked with processing the damaged parts."

Leland began to see which aspect about the operations at the Mosville Complex drew the most suspicion. "If I wanted to siphon away mechs from that site, I'd take control of the third crew."

"Exactly." Ves grinned. "In fact, it works best if the first crew is in collusion with the third crew. The first crew would pick out damaged but mostly functional parts for replacement and pull them out of the damaged mech. The third crew receives those valuable parts and assigns some of them for recycling or disposal despite the fact that they can still be used after some refurbishment."

"Even so, it sounds as if the third crew needs to be in on the entire scheme for it to work."

This also threw Ves for a loop for a while. "That's true. It's not easy to fudge the numbers of what can be recovered from 'recycling' or 'scrapping' the supposedly damaged parts. However, if the activity is small enough, it's possible to get away with it under everyone's noses. Chief Nyquist happens to be working for the third crew. Not only that, he's assigned to an important position in supervising the repairs for the military mechs that are sent back by the Bentheim mech regiments!"

This immediately alarmed Leland. "Do you mean that if Chief Nyquist is in a position to supply military mechs to the BLM?!"

Such an occurrence would be a huge scandal! Whether or not Kadar or Neyvis truly collaborated with the BLM in person didn't matter at that stage! Just the fact that the BLM got their hands on exclusive military hardware and in substantial numbers would be enough to tarnish the KNG's reputation and damage their relations with their backers!

If the separatists only got their hands on crappy bargain bin mech models, then the threat they posed could easily be dealt with by the authorities.

If they got their hands on more expensive budget and midrange mech models, then it would be a major crime for any company to supply them with these kinds of mechs. However, the damage wouldn't be too big of a deal if only a single mid-level manager or chief technician was responsible for smuggling commercial mechs to the BLM.

Once it became known that the KNG actually smuggled out mechs that belonged to the military, the crime was much more severe!

From his experiences with the internally developed mech models of the Flagrant Vandals, he knew that while they may not be the most expensive mechs in use. The true value of military mechs lay in how thoroughly they were designed. Almost always involving a Senior Mech Designer, they not only incorporated their specialties, but also made use of several exclusive military component licenses based on more advanced tech.

Mech regiments also wanted to avoid their military mechs falling into the hands of their enemies. If the Vesians scavenged an intact or functional mech, they could study its performance, quantify their parameters and identify their weak points.

This would be an absolute disaster for the mech regiment in question! The next time they fought against the Vesians, their military mechs might suddenly become ten or even twenty percent less effective!

Therefore, the KNG absolutely violated the trust extended by the Volari Starhawks and the other mech regiments that decided to entrust the production and servicing of their military mechs to the company!

"Just think about it." Ves said grimly. "Since the current war broke out, the five partnering military mech regiments sent back thousands of their mechs for repairs or replacements. If Chief Nyquist smuggled out enough functional parts to the BLM to reconstruct, say, a hundred military mechs, then the discrepancy won't grow large enough to alert the people around him. This is a scheme that slowly took place over the past several years!"

"It shouldn't be so easy." Leland retorted with some skepticism. "The KNG and the military mech technicians that are sent to assist in the work should have prevented such a major scheme."

Ves already interviewed people like Darryl Roland, a disabled mech technician sent back from the frontlines by the Mech Corps. The man's hero worship for a veteran like Nyquist was very evident!

"The way the repair crews are put together makes it easy to obscure the details. Chief Nyquist is a very popular chief technician among his colleagues and his former military service makes him very trustworthy among the workers sent by the Mech Corps. He won't be able to pull of this scheme alone, but remember that the KNG recently hired more personnel as well pressured them to work harder. The existing workers are either too new and inexperienced to know any better, too eager to suck up to a popular and powerful chief technician or too exhausted by their current workload to figure out if anything is wrong!"

"If I recall, Chief Nyquist holds a high position on the work floor, right?" Leland remembered.

Ves nodded. "Yes. That's an important point. He enjoys considerable authority within the Mosville Complex. Officially, he should also be in a position to pull some strings to allocate the right mech technicians to his work crew. Unofficially, he appears to be influential enough among his fellow chiefs to be able to influence the site's specific policies and procedures."

Both of them paused for a time after Ves explained his reasoning. Leland appeared to have bought the story, but then his skepticism took force.

"All of this sounds plausible enough, but you don't have the evidence to back it up. Mere speculation along with drawing upon indirect clues and observation is not enough to prove your case."

"We have a direction we can work with." Ves defended himself. "Look, I didn't really pay any particular attention to the third crew up to now, but now that I know what they might be cooking up I can look specifically for signs that point to such activities. In addition, your men can follow up on the company that processes the 'supposed' scrap. The workers at the Mosville Complex is supposed to pull apart and crush any damaged parts that are marked for disposal, but I believe this step might have been skipped occasionally."

The BLM needed to subvert several steps in the chain to put this scheme to work, but Ves didn't think it was impossible to do so. Chief Nyquist's vital leadership role as well as the overall negligence and distraction of the managers there due to the recent difficulties left a lot of openings for the BLM to exploit.

For example, Ves was pretty sure that plenty of recent hires assigned to work with Chief Nyquist might be moles sent by the BLM. As a chief technician, it wasn't too difficult for Nyquist to assign specific individuals to his work crews.

However, the key requirement to back up his assertions was to find real proof!

Leland promised to look into the recycling and waste processing companies responsible for processing the Mosville Complex's waste output. Perhaps it would be possible for his men to tie the recently-identified people holed up in one of the BLM's safehouses to one of those suspect companies.

However, he also questioned whether it would still be necessary to drag in Carl Stoddard, the mech designer appointed by Kadar and Neyvis to supervise the Mosville Complex.

"Is Mr. Stoddard even involved?"

"I'm forty percent certain." Ves replied. "As the man in charge of supervising the processes that go on in the complex, he's responsible for what is happening there. While I'm sure he's also distracted by the recent setbacks and difficulties the KNG is experiencing, as long as he's a semi-competent mech designer, he should have picked up some signs."

"And if he's innocent?"

Ves shook his head. "He's not innocent. If he's not sympathiser or a mole for the BLM, he's at least criminally negligent for allowing some of the workers under his charge to smuggle out a substantial amount of military assets. Only the severity of Mr. Stoddard's crimes is in question, and I don't mind pushing him deeper into the pit he dug for himself to strengthen our case."

To Ves, there was a substantial difference between accusing an innocent mech designer for treason as opposed to exaggering the blame on a criminally negligent mech designer. Since Mr. Stoddard was already doomed, why not make use of his fall to Flashlight's advantage?

Leland saw the merit in Ves' suggestion. "As the mech designer in charge, Carl Stoddard's implication in this scheme will definitely blow up the controversy even further by tying Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis more directly to the accusations. I would have preferred to implicate the two Journeyman Mech Designers directly, but I can live with tarnishing one of their most trusted subordinate mech designers."

That was when Ves smiled in satisfaction. If everything went well and he found the proof he needed, perhaps he could avoid an outcome where he dragged down Kadar and Neyvis directly.

As long as they could prove they weren't involved in this scheme, they could avoid being taken into custody. The company might be able to survive as well, though in a much-diminished form and without much of the backing it previously enjoyed.

Even if the company was forced to close its doors, Kadar and Neyvis could always start a new company on a clean slate. As Journeyman Mech Designers, neither of them lacked in competence. Even if they completely lacked any funding or assets, they could still attract plenty of outside investment willing to make a quick credit on proven winners.

To Ves, he felt better if the happy family would be able to stay together. Neither Liefe or Aislin Kadar-Neyvis would see their father or mother taken into custody and be locked behind bars for a couple decades.

Of course, Ves reminded himself that he actually needed to prove his assertions. With time continuing to grow short, he returned to the Mosville Complex the next day and paid particular attention to the work performed by the first and third crews.

He first paid a visit to the workers of the first crew, the ones responsible for identifying and ripping off broken parts from military mechs. It was difficult to observe whether they did their jobs properly as Ves couldn't come too close.

Another problem was Jeff, the relations manager sent by the KNG's headquarters. The man continued to annoy Ves by distracting him with his talk.

Like an annoying fly that buzzed around his head, Ves couldn't swat the representative of the company away.

"I must say, Ves, the Mosville Complex takes good care of the mechs shipped back from the frontlines. Everyone here works hard to meet the needs of the military! We here at the KNG pride ourselves on helping the war effort by saving valuable mechs that still have some life left in them! Not only do we work fast, but we work with utmost care! None of the mechs we have sent back has ever received any complaints about their soundness!"

Could this annoying fly please shut up?!

Chapter 997

As long as the right people were in on it, any kind of fraudulent scheme could take place at a mech production site. Security and monitoring systems ordinarily caught anything that took place on company property, but they possessed deliberate holes.

Ves half suspected that the monitoring and security systems had already been hacked or compromised in some way. If the humans in control of those systems had been bribed, coerced or deceived into shutting down the monitoring, anything could take place.

The Kadar-Neyvis Group already selectively compromised those very same systems in order to do their shady business with the Peace Association.

However, smuggling out parts of military mechs was a much more egregious offense. Anyone with a bit of common sense would know that anything involved with military mechs needed to be treated with the strictest care!

This was why Ves guessed that the BLM had definitely placed some men on the inside, particularly one of the controllers of the monitoring system. He figured that Chief Nyquist only needed eight to ten accomplices at minimum to be able to subvert enough security and prevention procedures to be able to maintain the scheme while keeping everyone else in the dark.

As he made his various inspections, he drew a lot of attention from the workers in the vicinity due to Jeff's noisy company. The relations manager seemed to do his best to stop Ves from observing the work in peace and without alerting anyone close of the presence of a guest.

Nonetheless, even with the distraction Ves managed to note several questionable points. He witnessed parts with heavy damaged exteriors but functional internal components marked for scrap.

Ves knew his mechs, so even at a distance he could already observe that those handful of parts were anything but unrecoverable!

Certainly, while the Mech Corps deserved to receive the best, and it wouldn't be getting that if they received mechs made out of refurbished parts. No matter how well a crew tried to repair a part, prior battle damage always left some marks.

Yet to fabricate new parts to replace lightly-damaged parts was a substantial waste of time, resources and production capacity. If a repair crew replaced every single scratched part with freshly-fabricated ones, then they would quickly incur a substantial amount of expenses!

Therefore, most repair operations found it much more efficient to restore salvageable parts whenever they could.

That the repair crews at the KNG's Mosville Complex sometimes violated that rule practically aroused Ves' suspicion. He hadn't paid any attention to it before, but now that he looked out for it, he realized that for every hundred cases, perhaps two or three would be fraudulently marked unsalvageable without good cause!

As Ves spent more time flitting around the shop floors, he noted that only a single crew responsible for assessment and disassembly was responsible for the fraudulent evaluations.

It happened to be one that contained several of Chief Nyquist's friends.

"That's one link." Ves muttered to himself before he resumed his seemingly random inspection.

Jeff saw no rhyme or reason for Ves' random inspections. They had walked throughout the entire complex more than once in the past few hours but never stuck around long enough.

"Is there anything you are looking for, Ves?"

"I am just doing my job." He said. "So far, I'm very impressed by the efficiency of your operations and the productivity of your workers."

Indeed, the KNG truly did its best when it came to working on their commercial mechs. Ves did not find that the workers pulled off any significant shenanigans when it came to the company's core products.

It should have been the same case for the military mechs entrusted in the KNG's care. Yet Ves found to his befuddlement that the suspect teams of mech technicians actually included some enlisted mech technicians who should have known better!

Either the mech technicians dispatched by the Mech Corps had been bought or influenced into participating in the scheme, or Ves misjudged the situation. This was because Ves determined that it didn't involve around a dozen people or so, but at least double that amount!

For a moment, Ves doubted whether he saw correctly. The more people involved in a scheme, the higher the chance of getting caught. Could the BLM really be so daring to involve that many people?

Evidently, they did.

The more Ves looked, the more his doubts cleared away. He definitely detected signs of fudging and it didn't concern a few bolts or plates here and there.

This wasn't the kind of fraud to overcharge the Mech Corps for costs that the company hadn't actually incurred. This was straight-up theft of military property!

As Ves left the first work crew and tried to observe the work being done by the third work crew, he saw more signs of fudging, though only once or twice among hundreds of legitimate procedures.

This was also how they kept their secret scheme so well hidden. The sophistication of their methods and the practiced way they blended sketchy moves among a ubiquitous amount of legitimate procedures made Ves suspect they had years of practice.

Ves turned to Jeff. "How often does Mr. Stoddard make the rounds like I am doing now?"

"Oh, I'm told he personally makes an inspection each and every day! Sometimes he completes a round in the morning and another one at the end of the day."

"That's very diligent of a mech designer."

"Mr. Stoddard takes his responsibilities very seriously." Jeff spoke with utmost confidence. "Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis often has high expectations for their top subordinate mech designers. Carl Stoddard is one of our rising talents and we have high hopes that he will be able to advance to Journeyman in the next two decades. In order to facilitate his affinity with mechs, our bosses have sent him to supervise the Mosville Complex."

"Ah. So he doesn't have much practical shop floor experience?"

Jeff laughed awkwardly. "Mr. Stoddard is a practiced mech designer who has assisted Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis in many design projects. His work on our latest designs have been pivotal in streamlining and optimizing them for the market."

In other words, Carl Stoddard seemed to be the typical out-of-touch mech designer who never got his hands dirty. Ves could understand why Kadar and Neyvis assigned him to supervise the Mosville Complex, where a lot of mechs got taken apart and put back together. With that much activity, Stoddard would eventually be able to understand the practical side of working with mechs.

Yet to Ves, it sounded as if Stoddard, for all of his diligence, was still learning on the job. With such an inexperienced mech designer as the highest authority at the Mosville Complex, was it any surprise that Chief Nyquist and his accomplices could run a scheme unchecked?

What an enormous misjudgement! Kadar and Neyvis should have assigned someone they trusted with a lot workshop and factory experience to supervise the dizzyingly complex amount of operations that took place here. To send a mech designer with great design ability but nonexisting workshop experience to supervise an entire complex completely missed the mark!

It would be like asking a very good mech pilot to design a mech. Just because a mech pilot was related to mechs didn't mean he possessed the qualifications to design a mech!

The same logic applied to assigning virgin mech designers to a major manufacturing complex where thousands of people worked and an even greater amount of mechs, parts and supplies got shipped in and out every day!

Ves subtly shook his head. He felt enormously disappointed at the lacking supervision of this facility. For all its importance to the company and sensitivity in working with military hardware, the KNG placed the wrong people in the wrong positions!

As for the people who were supposed to back Stoddard up if he dropped the ball, one of their core chief technicians turned out to be one of the ringleaders of this scheme!

Ves became more and more aware that Chief Nyquist played a vital role in keeping everything out of sight. Without the indispensable help of such a core figure at the Mosville Complex, a scheme of this scale could never happen!

The total failure in safeguarding military parts and equipment served as a cautionary tale to Ves. He knew that one day, something similar might happen one day at his own company.

Right now, the LMC only erected a single manufacturing complex, and ordinarily Ves worked right on top of the manufacturing floor where most of the work was being done.

However, what if the LMC expanded in the future? What if they set up a brand new manufacturing complex on Bentheim or in a foreign state? It would be impossible for Ves to visit those premises in person in order to inspect if any of his employees tried to fudge the numbers or pull off some kind of scheme!

Resort to technology? As Ves personally witnessed here at the Mosville Complex, technology was anything but omnipotent as long as they remained susceptible to human manipulation!

Control and supervision problems always existed in any large-scale endeavor. Neither the LMC or KNG would ever be able to prevent such instances completely.

Even so, the KNG's four major manufacturing and servicing complexes were all situated on Bentheim. Could it hurt Mrs. Kadar or Mr. Neyvis a bit if they branched out some time to check up the operations at every site?

"Of course, that is why they placed Mr. Stoddard here."

The presiding mech designer's job was to be an extension of Kadar and Neyvis's will. Certainly, Ves had no reason to question Stoddard's actual loyalties anymore, but just because he represented the will of his bosses didn't mean he possessed their skill and discernment!

This was the critical flaw that left a huge opening in the repair and replacement operations at the Mosville Complex. Stoddard's loyalty and devotion could not make up for his lack of competence in this area.

The more Ves observed the abject failures of those who were supposed to be in charge, the more he felt as if he witnessed ongoing shuttle crash.

Something like this could never be sustained forever. Eventually, those responsible would slip up and get caught.

Ves wondered what would happen at that moment and how the BLM planned to respond.

In his introspection, he may have gotten too close to some of the shiftier operations, because Chief Nyquist himself suddenly appeared.

"Mr. Larkinson! What brings you to these parts?"

"Ah, I'm just checking how your workers are handling our military mechs." Ves quickly replied. "I have a personal interest in how you are treating the spaceborn mechs for the 1st Volari Starhawks. One of my cousins Ghanso is a rising mech pilot at that mech regiment, so I want to do my part behind the frontlines to ensure he and his comrades receive the best mechs that Bentheim can provide."

Chief Nyquist gave a reassuring smile to Ves. "Ah, family. I understand your concerns. I'm personally on top of many of the mechs we receive from the Volari Starhawks. Let me show you around how thoroughly we inspect and restore the functionality of their damages."

Through his insistence, Nyquist casually guided Ves away from the areas where sketchy activities probably took place.

Inwardly, Ves applauded the chief technician's smooth way in diverting him away. However, this only strengthened his belief that Chief Nyquist definitely played a pivotal role in this scheme.

As Ves got shown around the safer areas of the complex, Ves couldn't help but wonder if he had been a little too inquisitive for his own good. While he observed a good number of improprieties, had he been too blatant about his searches?

Even as a liaison mech designer, Ves had been way too nosy compared to others who held the same job. Yet Chief Nyquist showed no particular interest in him once they walked away from the more sensitive places.

Ves resolved to complete this investigation as fast as possible.

Chapter 998

At the end of the work day, Chief Nyquist finally left their company. Ves hadn't seen anything of note, but the observations he made earlier gave him plenty of ammunition as long as he submitted his report fast enough.

As Ves was ready to return to base, he turned to Jeff for one more question. "Say, if Mr. Stoddard advances to Journeyman one day, will he still decide to work under Kadar and Neyvis? What stops him from parting ways with his employers and start his own business?"

"Oh, the KNG already signed an MTA-enforced contract with Mr. Stoddard that offers several options in the event of his advancement." The relations manager answered. "It is a very standard contract in the mech industry. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it yet. Many major mech manufacturers attract design talents with these contracts."

"What do these contracts entail?"

"Upon event of the advancement of a mech designer to Journeyman, they receive at least two options. The first option would be to continue to work for the company. Newly-advanced Journeyman not only receive better treatment to fit their new status, they are also offered a certain amount of shares, usually ten percent or more depending on their commitment."

"Ah, I have heard of those kinds of arrangements, just not as concrete." Ves replied. A favorable advancement contract like this used to be so far away from him that he never looked into it. "Ten percent sounds kind of small though."

"That is just the standard minimum convention in the industry. Both the mech designer and the company can negotiate a different proportion of shares if they like. Also, it is very fair considering that a newly-advanced Journeyman has taken none of the risks and contributed very little in the startup, growth and maturation of the mech company. Every new Journeyman starts with around ten percent shares, and slowly builds up as they contribute more in the company."

"They are being paid in shares?"

"Yes." Jeff nodded. "A newly advanced Journeymen is not that much better than an Apprentice, but after a decade or so of seasoning they would usually be able to match the prowess of an older generation Journeyman. It is fair to remunerate them with a greater stake in the company they increasingly help build up. This is also a good way to keep a promising Journeyman committed to the company. In some cases, the older Journeyman relinquishes more shares to the younger Journeyman in order to provide the company with continuity."

That sounded like a very far-sighted arrangement to Ves. "The younger Journeyman essentially inherits the company from his former boss when the latter dies or retires."

The pivotal role of Journeyman Mech Designers meant that they wouldn't be resigned to work for just salary when working at a company being led by an older Journeyman.

At the very least, working for a Senior Mech Designer allowed them to enjoy the tutelage of a superior in the profession, but working for another Journeyman yielded very little benefits to someone of the same rank.

Therefore, offering these talented and independently capable mech designers a stake in the company was essential to retain these talents!

A mech company headed by one or two Journeyman like the KNG owed all of their success to them. This worked fine when Kadar and Neyvis still had at least half a century or more time to lead their company.

Yet what happened after they became too old to work? The KNG would stagnate and decline until it eventually collapsed after it failed to design new mechs that equalled their older products.

Therefore, continuity became a very serious issue to mech companies highly dependent on a small number of mech designers for success.

As Jeff explained, it was no use for the founders and owners of a thriving mech company to hold fifty percent of its shares when the value of that company eventually dropped down to zero!

Therefore, instances where the first-generation mech designers slowly sold or rewarded their shares to a promising second-generation mech designer happened frequently. The older mech designers only kept enough shares in the company for their own heirs to live on, but not much more than that!

Of course, it would be best if the second-generation mech designer was part of the same family as the first-generation mech designer! Yet the odds weren't optimistic, as very few mech designers ever advanced to Journeyman to begin with. Therefore, it did not surprise Ves that Kadar and Neyvis treated Stoddard favorable to the point of eyeing him as a possible heir to lead the KNG in the future.

Still, most mech companies failed to provide for continuity. Ves heard of many successful mech companies shuttering their doors because their lead designers died but failed to attract a successor.

"What is the other option that Stoddard can pick if he rejects the offer of a stake in the company?"

"Oh, he is still free to found his own company or work for someone else. It is just that in the event of setting up a company, he's obliged to offer at least ten percent of its shares or more to the KNG. Our company did spend a lot of time and effort on nurturing him to become a Journeyman. It is only fair for him to pay something back. If he works for something else, he'll have to hand over twenty percent to fifty percent of his earnings, depending on a complex formula. It's mainly heftier in order to compensate for the fact that he might work for a potential competitor."

All in all, these kinds of contracts all aimed to have the younger mech designer pay something back to the older one. To be honest, Ves didn't find them very favorable to the younger mech designers, but if they didn't sign them the company would focus their efforts on nurturing a more pliable young talent instead!

These considerations only applied to mech companies led by Journeyman or higher. Companies led by Apprentices and lower like the LMC didn't merit such considerations. So many companies at this level already existed that they constantly rose and fell by the hundreds each year.

Finding a replacement mech designer to take over for the older one was also a lot more trivial because so many Apprentices would jump at the opportunity to take over the helm of an established mech company!

"Is Stoddard the most promising mech designer at the KNG?"

"Oh, who can predict if an Apprentice can grow to a Journeyman?" Jeff replied sheepishly. "You know better than me how difficult it is to take that leap. The KNG employs many Apprentices, and we've put three more colleagues of Mr. Stoddard in charge of the other manufacturing complexes."

A rotation also existed to give other promising Apprentices of the KNG a chance to get close to a major manufacturing site. Stoddard wouldn't preside over the Mosville Complex for longer than a couple of years. At that time, some other fresh-faced Apprentice would take over, and the entire learning progress began anew.

While such an arrangement helped a larger number of mech designers enrich their understanding and feel for mechs, the gaps were equally as evident. The effective degree of supervision they could provide was practically minimal if hotshot mech designers constantly shuttled in and out after spending only a year or two to hold a position they needed at least that much time to become competent enough to properly discharge their responsibilities!

As a business owner who might one day be in the same position as Kadar and Neyvis, he understood their position. In a free labor market where mech designers could work for anyone they wanted or work for themselves by starting their own businesses, it was really difficult to attract capable and talented mech designers.

Therefore, Kadar and Neyvis essentially had to bend over backwards to an extent to retain promising talents. Mech designers with value mostly knew how desirable they were. Employers who wanted to hold on to them not only needed to treat them with respect, but also take a step further and treat them like princes!

They had no other choice. It would be far too difficult and costly to hire an existing Journeyman Mech Designer who in most cases were already their competitors.

So the most practical solution is the approach adopted by many companies and institutions. Ves knew that many of them scouted and brought in talents early. While their employers nurtured and invested into the development of these talents, they simultaneously indoctrinated them in order to capture their loyalty and affection.

Companies and institutions went through all of this trouble because it was one of the most cost-effective if time-consuming means of providing for continuity!

Having observed and heard from Jeff how the KNG managed continuity, Ves again reflected on how the LMC should approach the same issue.

Eventually, it came down to his own capabilities. Ves bet that Senior Mech Designers didn't have to worry that much about this issue, at least when it came to hiring Journeymen to join their design teams.

The difference between a Senior and Journeyman was that the latter didn't have much to offer to other Journeymen. Therefore, to compensate for the lack of benefits in terms of tutoring and guidance from a superior in the profession, they wanted to be paid with shares in the company instead!

Ves disliked the latter option for multiple reasons. Who wanted to dilute their own control over the company they founded and raised by their own efforts?

Also, the more Journeymen he hired, the more he had to dilute his own share in his company!

This simple truth probably prevented most companies from accumulating too many Journeymen!

Only a large government institution such as the Mech Corps dared to employ hundreds of Journeyman Mech Designers without offering shares. Even then, the military only got away with it because they partnered up with a large amount of Senior Mech Designers, each of which offered valuable learning opportunities to many Journeymen!

A low-ranking Novice Mech Designer like Ketis didn't deserve this kind of consideration. There were so many of them that some on the government even thought their numbers needed culling every now and then!

Yet any mech company that tried to make it big couldn't grow without a sufficient amount of talented and high-ranking mech designers to support their expansion. And these mech designers were all self-serving in a way and would never work for peanuts as pay. The more promise they held, the more benefits they demanded.

Ves also saw the solution to the LMC's dilemma. As long as Ves improved far enough to be considered as an authority in the field, some Journeymen would love to work under him as long as they received his tutelage.

"Perhaps this is also another reason why so many high-ranking mech designers become professors at various universities."

Any mech designer capable enough to instruct students in their profession gained a reputation for good instruction. The more prestigious the school they taught at, the greater the attraction!

In this way, all of those mech designers who worked as professors as a side job would be able to attract talented mech designers into working for them with much less compensation than in a purely commercial setting!

What a slick arrangement!

There were quite a lot of advantages to giving back to the profession by becoming a teacher. However, it wasn't so easy to become a professor at a decent university. Ves could forget about becoming a teacher for prestigious institutions such as the Ansel University of Mech Design or the Leemar Institute of Technology.

Yet it was exactly those kinds of teachers that attracted hundreds of ambitious Journeymen to come work for them for free!

Ves shook his head. He was too far away from reaching those heights. Right now, the LMC already did brisk business with Apprentice-level mech designs so Ves saw no need to attract expensive talents to come work for his company for the time being.

"Thank you for enlightening me on the KNG's policies regarding continuity. You've taught me a lot of useful insights."

"No problem, Ves." Jeff smiled at him. "Mrs. Kadar and Mr. Neyvis has personally instructed me to accommodate you to an extent. We hope to build an enduring relationship with you. A future partnership or cooperation isn't out of the question once you end your military service."

Any ordinary Apprentice Mech Designer would whoop and jump at such an attractive offer! Yet to Ves, he saw no merit to cooperate with a company that would soon be tarnished by the report he planned to submit!

Chapter 999

After his long and insightful talk with Jeff, Ves said goodbye and entered the military shuttle sent to pick him up. As the armored vehicle lifted into the air, it flew back to the military base at a steady pace.

Ves looked forward to returning, because he observed enough clues to write a damning report. As long as Flashlight or the Mech Corps moved fast enough, they'd be able to uncover the evidence he planned to point out!

Even if he misjudged some of his observations, the accusations would still be able to stick as long as ten percent of his claims turned out to be true!

"Seems like there is no way to avoid a reckoning."

He no longer cared that much about Flashlight's inclinations on making the KNG suffer. Having gathered plenty of evidence of improper handling and outright stealing military mech parts made him rather angry and disappointed at the big mech manufacturer.

Yet even as he blamed the KNG, he couldn't help but fear such an outcome taking place at his own company one day. Ves knew that the important takeaway from this incident would be to be more thoughtful on how to delegate responsibilities.

"Regardless, this has been a very eye-opening lesson to me. Running a mech company is way more difficult than I initially thought."

Kadar and Neyvis already deserved a lot of credit for growing their company to this extent. The only domestic mech companies that surpassed the KNG all enjoyed the direction of Senior Mech Designers.

Therefore, Ves did admire them for their successes and didn't think their life's work should be shut down.

However, he had no say in the government's handling of the company and their owners. Depending on the severity of the problem as well as the agendas of those in power, Kadar and Neyvis could either receive a slap on the wrist or lose all of their property!

In the worst case, they might not even be able to escape jail, though Ves didn't think this option would be likely. Without evidence of their direct involvement in the scheme, they couldn't be blamed directly.

However, Ves knew that they held ultimate responsibility over military production in their facilities. Regardless of how many lower workers failed to do their duties, ultimately the negligence and lack of effort on the part of the owners allowed them all to get away with their misdeeds.

He put aside his deliberations when the shuttle landed at the parking zone of the military base. As Ves waved the shuttle pilot goodbye, he walked towards the building that held his quarters so he could pass on his conclusions to Leland.

The intelligence officer would be able to live with the accusations he planned to report. Ves felt a little relieved that he didn't have to report too many falsehoods to meet Flashlight's expectations on how he chose to fulfill the mission.

Once Ves put this sordid experience behind him, he figured he earned enough kudos from Flashlight to enjoy their backing and protection in earnest.

He deserved it. After all the hardships he endured and the risks he took, Ves definitely expected Flashlight to compensate him sincerely.

Hopefully, this would be the last dangerous mission he took part in. A mech designer like him belonged in a quiet, well-defended research base like Frozen Point. Even if he got assigned to an unfulfilling chore of a job again, Ves resolved to never complain about his duties again!

As Ves walked halfway back to the officer barracks that held his quarters, a bright light instantly flashed across the base.

"ARRGH!"

Moments later, Ves finally felt an excruciating pain! A powerful laser beam burned a hole right through his service dress uniform, punched through his chest and burned another hole on the way out!

Alarms instantly rang out across the base and a host of mechs and security guards jumped into action to secure the entire premises. A handful of emergency responders already raced towards the open spot where Ves collapsed!

"Assassin!"

"Who fired that laser?! Triangulate its origin point and secure the area!"

"Sir, we've detected that a high-powered laser rifle has been fired inside the premises of our base!"

"Damnit! The sniper is someone from the inside!"

"Spread out! Spread out! Don't let the sniper get away! Also, immediately account for every personnel and guest at our base! Ground all vehicles and don't let any of them enter or exit!"

As the guards and officers stationed at the base went into action, Ves felt hot, numb, burned, pained and woozy at the same time!

Surprisingly, Ves managed to hold on to his consciousness, enough to realize three important facts.

First, the sniper aimed at his heart! Ordinarily, this would have resulted in an instant fatality when struck by a laser weapon, but it just so happened that Ves did not possess a normal heart anymore.

Aside from his recent gene optimization treatments that made his body cope a little better against heat and burn damage, his half-alien traits saved him at the critical moment!

The Jutland organ that Dr. Jutland implanted his body had at first surrounded his heart before slowly merging together to combine their functions!

This strange and wondrous organ which now integrated the functions of a heart was virtually immune to the energy damage which laser weapons typically discharged! No matter how hot or energetic a laser beam such weapons fired, a Jutland organ eagerly gobbled them all up without sustaining any damage as long as the incoming energy didn't surpass their appetite!

Only the weapons discharge of a massive mech-grade laser rifle would be able to induce his Jutland organ to collapse!

The second fact was that he'd been shot from the back. This assassin not only managed to fool the military base's stringent monitoring system, but also managed to fire off a shot without alerting Ves at all!

This stood in stark contrast to the assassination attempt he suffered much earlier in his career. Back then, an assassin armed with a massive deployed railgun attempted to kill him several times!

Yet at those instances, Ves always received advance warning due to the strange flicker of spirituality he perceived.

This time, the assassin avoiding giving themselves away, thereby giving Ves no reaction time to defend himself!

The irony was that the railgun-armed assassin back then was probably better at his job than the laser-armed assassin that succeeded in striking Ves without warning!

The third fact struck Ves while the first responders finally reached his body and began to erect foldable armor screens to protect him from follow-up shots. For some reason, he hackingly coughed out a laugh due to the sheer absurdity of what he perceived.

The laser beam that punched through his uniform and chest, mostly leaving his Jutland organ intact along the way, also burned away his ribbons!

"The Mech Corps will be pissed.. hahaha.. even I'm pissed..."

"Mr. Larkinson! Please remain still!" One of the emergency responders said as they got over their shock that he managed to survive a shot through his heart. "Your condition is too critical for you to talk!"

A large chunk of his lungs, arteries, flesh and other important pieces of himself got burned or vaporized. Ves didn't need a medical degree to figure that out. Yet strangely enough, his Jutland organ not only protected his heart function, but also siphoned away the damage immediately around it, thereby leaving enough parts intact to maintain some basic functioning.

For some reason, he managed to maintain his consciousness throughout the aftermath. Even though the emergency responders injected him with loads of sedatives before carting him off to the nearest infirmary, his body functioned far too well to be laid low by these trifles!

It still hurt a lot to have a hole burned through his body though! Half of the time, Ves screamed or moaned in pain.

As the entire military base went crazy in their hunt for the sniper, the doctors at the infirmary first placed him into a tank filled with some sort of medical goop that instantly soothed the pains in his body. He felt as if much of the pressure of his wounds subsided a bit.

Now that Ves' condition stopped deteriorating through this measure, if only temporarily, the doctors ordered the entire tank to be brought to a military hospital which possessed the facilities to treat such a severe wound properly.

"Hang on, Mr. Larkinson!" The doctor said on the other side of the tank as a lifter bot grabbed hold of it. "I'm not sure why you've managed to survive such an attack, but you'll live! You have to!"

What happened next started to blur a bit in his mind. As the sedatives mixed in with the medical goop started to affect his body, Ves had difficulty staying awake. He was sure he blacked out at some instances, as every time he regained consciousness for a little bit his surroundings kept changing.

First he saw through the transparent cover of the tank that he'd been brought inside an armored shuttle.

Next, he woke up to the sight of medical experts scratching their heads over his medical file and all the aberrations they mentioned. How could they even begin to treat a half-alien freak like Ves?

Sometime later, he thought he woke up in the middle of an operation that sought to transplant cloned tissue into the missing portions of his body, but he wasn't sure.

After a few more jumps in lucidity where Ves only vaguely gained awareness of what went on, he finally woke up for real.

Even though he felt weak, pained and hopped up with far more sedatives than he thought was healthy, Ves couldn't help but release a laugh. His lung function also recovered due to the expert medical treatment he received!

"Hahaha... I survived. Damnit, for all the trouble it's given me, the Jutland organ is certainly miraculous."

"Indeed." Another voice spoke from the side, instantly causing Ves to jump in his bed.

"Leland! You're here!"

"I am." His case officer said and offered Ves a strangely pleased smile. "You've gone through a rough time, Ves. I'm very glad to see you haven't been taken out. I worried for a moment but I was sure you'd be able to pull through."

The strangely enigmatic smile on Leland's face did not fit this situation. It actually caused Ves to grow suspicious.

A horrifying realization dawned upon him. "You... it wasn't the BLM who attempted to assassinate me, right? It was you! You ordered it! One of the members of the strike team probably did the deed!"

The sniper fired within the premises of the base. Who was in a better position to assassinate someone inside the the base than Flashlight that could easily subvert its existing security measures?

Leland grinned deviously at Ves. "I didn't want to let you know, but since you already figured it out, oh well. I admit it. I ordered the hit. Now don't worry Ves, I never intended to have you killed. I have access to record and I'm aware of your unusually strong physical state. I ordered my man to aim at your abnormal heart organ with complete confidence that you'll survive! And you have!"

"You utter piece of crap!"

Ves was so furious he wanted to scream at this slimy bastard! How could Leland do something like this to him! How could Flashlight let him get away with it! No matter what his Jutland organ was capable of, it didn't change the fact that he could have died!

Leland ignored the anger directed at him. Instead, he moved on to business. "The assassination attempt has alarmed the Mech Corps. They definitely bought it. Now is the time to capitalize on it, Ves! Soon enough, the Mech Corps will dispatch someone to investigate the matter. Tell them that you suspect that the KNG or BLM is responsible and explain to them what you suspect is going on at the Mosville Complex. The Mech Corps will definitely be inclined to believe your claims due to attempt on your life!"

So that was why Leland ordered Ves to be struck by a laser beam! It was all to strengthen his case against the KNG and agitate the Mech Corps into treating his investigation with greater urgency!

"What if you miscalculated?" Ves asked. "What if I died?"

"Then your family would be compensated and you'd be buried a hero." Leland shrugged. "In any case, you would have died while you worked as a liaison to the KNG, so the company would definitely fall under intense scrutiny."

It sounded as if Leland didn't particularly care whether Ves lived or died in the first place. To him, the needs of Flashlight came first, and he would do whatever was necessary to achieve the greatest outcome that benefited the agency!

Chapter 1000

The Nyxian Gap. Known as an endless area of sparse but incredibly spread out asteroids, nebulas, black holes, anomalies and other junk, it stretched across many light-years.

Situated in a corner of the Komodo Star Sector, it also happened to cross over into Majestic Teal and Vicious Mountain. The sheer amount of asteroids spread around this area was so large that many astrologists speculated whether a large amount of star systems all blew up at once in recent stellar history.

The sheer amount of oddities that took root in the Nyxian Gap certainly suggested deliberate intent! Perhaps a war between precursor alien races detonated an entire space region.

No matter what happened back then, the Nyxian Gap became a major headache to the nearby star sectors.

The slightly discordant spacetime and chaotic situation turned it into a major pirate haven. The rare incidences of highly desirable exotics also turned it into a major treasure hunting destination.

The Nyxian Gap was just as prosperous and chaotic as the Faris Star Region. The only difference was that different pirate gangs and alliances held sway here, taking root deep within the far-flung asteroid fields that took a huge amount of time to reach through regular FTL.

This made it extremely difficult to hunt anyone down. Any outlaw that wanted to hide from any pursuers could easily get lost in the countless asteroids floating in this expansive region of space!

At this time, a light carrier flickered in space. Her engineering bay sustained heavy damage and most of her systems ran on emergency backup power sources.

Mechs coated in black and luminescent purple colors shaped in barbaric patterns surrounded the hapless craft. More light carriers and converted carriers surrounded the stricken carrier as well.

A handful of mechs in the same colors had been turned into wrecks earlier. The most surprising aspect about this battle was that they'd been sneak attacked by the same side!

At the bridge of the surrounded ship, the Corroded Hand, the mercenary commander paced nervously across the deck.

The Corroded Relic was the flagship of the Oblivion Hand, a notorious dark mercenary corps based in the Nyxian Gap! Yet from leading more than a dozen ships, the Corroded Relic suddenly found herself alone as the rest of the fleet turned against the flagship and the loyalists of the leader of the Oblivion Hand!

"How could this happen?!" Commander Arnold Dafoe thundered, to the consternation of the bridge officers. "The Oblivion Hand is my outfit! I built it from my own hands! How can they betray me for that treacherous bastard! Dark Cleaver was my right-hand man! I treated him well!"

"S-Sir, our blast doors are being compromised!"

BANG!

"SHUT UP!" Dafoe roared while he blasted the poor sod's face with his custom ballistic hand cannon! "This isn't over yet! Fetcher Paul is due to return at any moment! My right-hand man might have failed me, but my left-hand man has been with me forever! He'll surely bail us out!"

Unfortunately, the blast doors to the bridge abruptly slid open, having been overridden through some unknown means despite the dark mercenary commander's investment in its systems!

A number of heavily-armed and heavily armored exoskeleton soldiers in Oblivion Hand colors immediately stomped inside, gunning down the feeble resistance of the lightly-armored bridge officers.

The battle ended in seconds.

As blood, smoke, heat and suffering suffused the bridge compartment, the exoskeleton soldiers wordlessly turned around and stomped away.

Moments later, a single man garbed in a piloting suit entered the massacre-suffused bridge. The blast doors slowly slid shut again at a silent command from his comm. "Commander Arnold Dafoe. I've come to relieve your command."

"You dirty traitor!" Arnold yelled as his legs and arms had been apart. If not for the emergency measures of his combat armor, he would have already bled to death. "I took you in! I recognized your talents! How could you have become known as the Dark Cleaver in these parts without my nurturing?! You were nothing but a rat before I picked you up! Is this how you repay me?!"

"Let's not kid ourselves." The Dark Cleaver calmly shook his head. "You used me because you killed your old mech champion in a fit of rage. In fact, you killed hundreds of your own men whenever they disappointed you or when you woke up on a bad day."

"The Oblivion Hand is my property! I can do whatever I want with my possessions!"

"Your 'possessions' don't agree, commander. We've all collectively decided that the Oblivion Hand is due for a change in leadership."

"How did you do it?" Arnold Dafoe hissed. "How could you have taken control of my mechs and ships?! I made sure to wire them all up to my comm! No one except for me has ever touched my comm!"

The Dark Cleaver smirked. "This is a big galaxy. Nothing is impossible. You're so paranoid that it made it easy for us to use your backdoors against you once we've taken control over them. Thanks for allowing us to shutdown the mechs and ship systems that were under the control of your die-hard loyalists. It really saved us a lot of effort."

Before Commander Dafoe could utter another word, the Dark Cleaver simply extended out a laser pistol and shot the man in the head, making sure to vaporize his former boss' brains.

"It's done." The new commander of the Oblivion Hand announced.

"It's about time." A female voice commented as a small, miniature shape of a woman materialized besides him. She sent a dirty glance at the corpse lying in the center of the deck. "You schemed against Commander Dafoe for more than a year. Why didn't you just let me kill him in his sleep? You know what I'm capable of. Instead, you sent me to sabotage electronics, help you defeat other mech champions in duels and steal valuables from other outfits."

"I needed to take over the Oblivion Hand openly. Assassination would have thrown them into chaos and would have set Fetcher Paul against me. Now that I've turned the men here against Commander Dafoe in an open and aboveboard manner, he'll fall in line."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then we'll hunt him down."

The two shared a companionable silence for a while. The tiny crystalline woman floating besides the Dark Cleaver suddenly raised her palm which held a miniature comm customized for her stature.

"What is it?"

"News from home- wait, WHAT?!"

"What's wrong!?"

"Our son! He's been shot in the middle of a military base on Bentheim!"

"Ves!"

"What is the Bright Republic doing with Ves?! How incompetent can they be to let an assassin take his life in their own base?! I should go back to teach them all a lesson!"

"Don't!" The Dark Cleaver said. "Right now, we still need to hide you from our pursuers. Remember what is at stake!"

He willingly abandoned his son, his family, his career and even his very own name in order to escape the repercussions of what he and his wife had done. Their powerful enemies still sought their traces, and while he and his wife did their best to erase their traces, the abilities of their pursuers were too unfathomable for them to rest easy!

"I really want to go back." She glowered.

"Not yet. It's not time yet."

"How long must we hide and scurry in the Nyxian Gap like rats?! A decade? A century?!"

"However long it takes for our pursuers to call it a day."

"That's not going to be easy, seeing as they are able to track me somehow."

"Then we keep moving. Now that I'm in control of the Oblivion Hand, I'll be able to decide where to bring the fleet and throw off their tracking method. It's easier for you to stay by my side this way."

"It will have to do." The tiny crystalline form sighed.

Elsewhere, a gorgeous, dark-haired woman garbed in a dashing uniform entered a lavishly-decorated office. A tall window loomed behind a desk where a single old matronly woman glanced up at the new entrant.

"Calabast. You've earned great merit for us earlier." The old woman said. "Are you truly willing to call it quits, just when you are in consideration of being put on a fast track promotion?"

The younger woman set down a data pad on the desk that contained a file that served as her formal resignation papers. "Life as an operative here doesn't suit me. This phase in my life is over now. It's time to move on and enjoy my spoils while I'm on a steadier assignment."

"I've heard of your intention to settle down as a deep cover agent. Why choose the Ylvaine Protectorate? That's a dull state that's filled with insular heretics. There is hardly anything there that warrants our attention."

Calabast grinned. "It's not the Ylvaine Protectorate that interests me. My position there is merely a means to an end. I'm only there so that I can reunite with someone interesting in the next state over."

The old woman quickly lost interest. Even if she wanted to retain Calabast, her identity made her untouchable. If she wanted to leave, there was no one who could stop her. Especially after the contributions she made.

As Calabast prepared to end her role as a hotshot operative, elsewhere, on Cloudy Curtain a woman laid down on a sofa placed in the penthouse office of the headquarters of the biggest and only mech company on the planet.

Right now, she held a mechanical cat in her grasp and rubbed her face against his bone-like metal exterior.

"You're so adorable, Lucky! Who's a good boy?"

"Meow!"

Aside from her casual clothing, she also wore a poofy beret that hid her horns though it didn't obscure her bright green hair.

Ever since she arrived at Cloudy Curtain half a year ago, she received a mixed welcome. None of the old fogies knew what to do with her, and she had very little opportunity to flex her mech design skills.

The first person who welcomed her to the company in earnest was Calsie. If not for her friendship and help, Ketis would have never been able to feel at home at the LMC.

These days, she mostly spent her time practicing her sword skills, studying the textbooks in the company library and playing with Lucky.

At this time, the woman sitting behind the desk in the expansive office suddenly stood up.

"Huh? What's up, Calsie?"

"We're leaving. Pack up some luggage. The Barracuda is waiting for us. Bring Lucky with you as well. The cat will be good company."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Ves got shot at Bentheim! It's plastered all over the galactic net!"

"WHAT?!" Ketis furiously shouted as she jumped to her feet. She inadvertently threw out Lucky from her grasp, but fortunately the mechanical cat instantly asserted himself in the air while meowing indignantly at Ketis for her rough handling. "Is he dead?!"

"Fortunately, no. A laser went through his chest, but he somehow managed to survive."

Ketis chuckled. "That's just like our boss. He's good at surviving. Still, he should be locked up somewhere safe, right? Will the military let us visit?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll call his grandpa Benjamin to pull some strings. I'm sure the Mech Corps will be understanding enough to let us visit."

"Good! I'm bored here and I never visited Bentheim before!"

As the two pivotal women arranged their visit to Ves at Bentheim, elsewhere more people related to Ves went through their own difficulties.

For example, Carlos gritted his teeth as he crawled his much-slimmed body out of the ruins of a bombarded mech workshop. The Vesians moved up their positions on this planet and managed to fire off a large volley of missiles at the base where Carlos worked at! As the defending mechs belatedly went into action to push the Vesians back, those left behind dealt with the aftermath.

"Mr. Shaw!" A couple of off-duty mech technicians ran to the workshop. "Your arm! It's been blown off!"

"I'll live." Carlos uttered. "Bring me to the infirmary! No wait. Don't help me. Try and dig out other survivors from the workshop first. There may be others that need your help more than I!"

"But Mr. Shaw! Your injuries look bad!"

"They won't kill me! My hazard suit already stabilized me! Go save the others first before you attend to me! This is just a flesh wound!"

As the mech technicians reluctantly left him outside the wrecked workshop to help out those that needed the help, Carlos looked up in the sky of this planet in contention and chuckled at someone who wasn't there.

"I hope you're having a better time than me, Ves! With your talent and ability, I'm sure you're comfy and safe in some kind of design base."

As Carlos dreamt of spending his time during the war at a luxurious hidden base placed far away from the fighting, the man he thought was living the life right now just finished grumbling at Leland.