The Mech Touch

While the Sand War intensified throughout the third line of defense, not everyone concerned themselves with the suffering taking place.

For some people, the latest developments opened up many opportunities ordinarily inaccessible to them. In particular, the lawless pirates and exiles of the frontier found it incredibly easy to sneak into civilized space amidst the chaos.

Already, plenty of sons and daughters of the frontier managed to blend in with the waves of refugees.

While it was easy for pirates to be mistaken as refugees, it was not as easy to assume a brand new identity, especially one that was more notable than the norm.

A specialist in identity falsification had to intervene in order to form a false identity with as few loopholes as possible.

Calabash happened to be someone who possessed the skill, knowledge and connections required to forge a reasonably foolproof identity.

She calmly stood and waited for her client to arrive at a grassy plain on an empty planet in the Reinald Republic.

Standing behind her was an entire company of mechs. Over half of them wielded swords, while the rest wielded various ranged weapons. The messy collection of mechs consisted of many different models, as if the mech company had been entirely pieced together at random.

However, the mechs exuded a certain kind of strength from the way they positioned themselves and readied themselves for action.

The Swordmaidens had undergone many trials and tribulations since their establishment. The death of their founder devastated them a lot, but the rise of her replacement managed to preserve what the all-female outfit managed to build.

"There is movement up front. Get ready." A voice whispered in Calabast's ear.

Soon enough, an aerial mech company descended from afar while surrounding a shuttle. The procession alerted the Swordmaidens, causing their mechs to grip their weapons tightly.

Calabast barely took any notice, though. She stood in the open without a care in the world.

She was confident in the deal she made.

Once the shuttle landed on the grass a distance away from the Swordmaidens, the hatch slid open, allowing a subdued-dressed middle-aged man to emerge.

Escorted by some armed and armored guards, the man energetically strode forward in a powerful and confident gait.

The man had reason to be confident. Not only were the aerial mechs under his command much more powerful than the mechs of the Swordmaidens, he had plenty of forces at his disposal in space.

Once he arrived in front of the woman he scheduled to meet, the two paused for a moment.

Both of them dressed professionally. While Calabast blended in her business attire as if she was a born manager, the other man seemed very uncomfortable in his plain and unadorned business suit.

"Let us get this over with, Hexer." The man spat.

"As you wish, Fridayman."

"I am no longer a Fridayman!" He hissed with a threatening timbre in his voice.

"You are correct. As of now, you are a Reinaldan, a citizen and a mech designer of a crumbling state."

Calabast waved her hand forward, causing a floating box that hovered behind her to glide over to her client.

The other man took the box and opened it up to reveal a datapad, a secure data chip as well as some hair, blood and tissue samples preserved in transparent containers.

"Is this it? I expected more."

"As long as you follow the instructions I've outlined in the data pad, this is all you need, Skull Architect."

The dreaded pirate designer from the Faris Star Region sneered at Calabast before picking up the data pad.

After that, he shoved the floating box to a subordinate following behind him who took up a multiscanner and began to example the biological samples.

"Hmm.. so you've arranged the identity of Professor Benedict Cortez for me. He wasn't high on my wish list."

"Your demands are too unrealistic, Skull Architect. Do you really think that we can operate with impunity in civilized space? Even if turmoil has swept the Komodo Star Sector, it is not so easy to lay a hand on a Senior Mech Designer without a trace. We've suffered some losses in the process of hijacking Professor Cortez's evacuation fleet."

The Skull Architect laughed. "Don't try to raise the price. Professor Cortez is one of the easiest targets on my list. What happened to him, by the way?"

"We've cleaned him up. Have no fear of that. Not a single trace of him and associates have survived. You'll have to come up with a way to reintroduce yourself to the public without arousing too much suspicion, though."

"I'll keep that mind."

After performing some inspections, the Skull Architect became satisfied with the arrangements made by Calabast.

While she was confident in her handicraft, she cautioned the Skull Architect to act with discretion.

"Even if you follow all of my steps, your new identity is not completely foolproof. I've only managed to message the records of every relevant record-keeping institution of the Reinald Republic. If the state falls, then no one will be able to verify the records except what the government managed to bring elsewhere or put them up on the galactic net. That does not account for the detailed biometric data the MTA has collected from Professor Cortez."

The Skull Architect crossed his arms. "No one in this star sector can falsify the MTA's records. You wouldn't be dealing with me if you have the capacity to access and alter their database."

"It's best if you stay far away from the MTA while you assume your new identity. I trust that you already know how to conduct yourself to avoid attracting their attention."

"You don't need to lecture me, young woman."

"Now that you have accepted my offering, will you still commit to your end of the deal?"

"Aye. You'll get what you want. I'm not the sort who burns my bridges with someone who is actually clever in a sea of idiots."

The deal that the two had made in recent months was fairly simple.

In exchange for arranging a new identity for the Skull Architect, he promised several concessions.

First, he promised to design and build an expert mech for any expert pilot that Calabast managed to acquire.

She made this demand in case Commander Dise managed to advance to expert pilot. She needed this concession because it was very difficult to obtain an expert mech through regular channels.

After all, expert pilots didn't pop out from nowhere!

Second, the Skull Architect promised to wipe away the debt that Ves owed him. Though the pirate designer found it to be a shame to lose his handle on Ves, it was not an equitable arrangement in the first place.

To the fugitive Senior Mech Designer, it didn't matter too much. Even without the debt, he was still confident he could find a way to associate with Ves Larkinson in some other way, especially now that the promising young Journeyman had risen to prominence.

To Calabast, arranging a nearly foolproof identity to the Skull Architect in exchange for these concessions was more than worth the effort. Not only did she gain a benefit for herself and her partner, she also established a friendly relation with a powerful Senior!

After a brief chat, the Skull Architect and his entourage briskly turned around and boarded the shuttle. Once his procession rose in the air and flew back to space, the meeting had come to an end.

Some time later, Calabast and the Swordmaidens deployed on the surface returned to space as well. When the woman entered the stateroom of her personal ship, Commander Dise already awaited her arrival.

"I'm impressed by how you've handled the Skull Architect. The meeting went smoother than I thought." The leader of the Swordmaidens remarked as she laid on the bed.

"The Skull Architect isn't as fearsome as you think as long as you give him a reason to respect you. His reputation in the frontier is not that relevant anymore now that the sandmen have overrun the old order there. He needs me more than we need him. If not for his potential usefulness to Ves, I wouldn't have bothered to offer my services to him. Obtaining the favor of a genuine Senior might come in handy one day."

"I'm not so sure whether it's wise to play with fire. Mayra once told me that she had to be very careful when she studied under him. He has a habit of blowing up on people."

"I'm pretty certain that some of it is an act." Calabast confidently stated. "While the Skull Architect is anything but a balanced individual, he needed to project strength while he was in the frontier. Now that he has reintegrated into civilized space, he ought to be rational enough to moderate his behavior."

The spy strode forward and sat down on the side of her bed. The two came very close.

"Want to have some fun?" Dise suggested.

"No thanks."

"Why not? We're lovers, right?"

Calabast slapped her supposed girlfriend's rear. "There's no need to keep up the act."

"Who says our relationship is an act?" The commander's eyes twinkled.

"We only agreed to go along this charade to assuage Gloriana's fears, Dise. If you want to earn my attention, then find some way to become an expert pilot."

"How is it so easy for me to make this step?" Dise helplessly shook her head. "Plenty of expert candidates have reached the limits of what they are capable of in this realm without finding any way to get past their bottleneck. My weird bond with the exobeast I've encountered at Aeon Corona VII doesn't help matters either."

"Find a way to resolve this issue. The sooner you advance to expert pilot, the more we can do by borrowing your strength."

Commander Dise rose from the bed and faced Calabast with a concerned expression.

"You're moving very quickly, you know that? Why are you in such a hurry to build up your strength and make so many deals with people?"

"Everything is changing, Dise. The Sand War and the Komodo War have smashed the existing order in the frontier and the Komodo Star Sector. The invasion of the Red Ocean is changing all of human space. Many gaps have opened up that we can take advantage of. The premise is that we have what it takes to secure our gains."

"You've been investing an awful lot in paving the way for that brat from the Bright Republic. I don't see why you even bother with him. Isn't he just a Journeyman?"

Calabast smirked. "He's not just a regular Journeyman. Trust me on this. We have to take very good care of him as he's our ticket to the top."

"Couldn't you have just built a relationship with the Skull Architect instead? After all, he's already a seasoned Senior."

"I don't have control over the Skull Architect. Didn't you just say that associating him is like playing with fire? I know my boundaries with him. It's not a good idea to get too close to him, especially when he has shown he is willing to cross a lot of lines to get what he wants."

"Is Ves any better?"

"You'll see why it's worth it to partner up with him sooner than later." Calabast confidently stated.

She never felt as confident in fulfilling her future ambitions before she encountered Ves. Though she knew that his actual identity was anything but simple, she dared to insert herself in his life because the opportunity was too precious.

This star sector was too small for someone of her ambition. Even if she was born a Hexer, and a member of the powerful Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty at that, she never held any pride over her origin.

A Hexer like Calabast might enjoy a lot of status in the Komodo Star Sector, but that was like a rat lording it over a cage.

Her true goal lay elsewhere!