The Mech Touch

The mood at Ulimo Citadel had changed. The expansive marketplace that normally offered its local residents a semblance of normal life grew calmer.

Not as many Nyxian locals and visitors strolled through the streets. Several shops had shuttered their doors and hardly any vendor set up a stall on the streets.

Those who walked through the streets were either locals with a purpose in mind or armed thugs that kept the peace.

A small group of armored Mirror Raiders steadily strode through what used to be one of the widest avenues in Ulimo's public area.

The exoplants the Dry Snakes had planted along the avenue still looked vibrant, as half-corroded bots dutifully followed their programming and trimmed their strange black leaves.

A portion of the plants looked shriveled. Evidently, the supply of water or other sustenance in that area had broken down. None of the managers had sent anyone to fix this obvious error.

Nobody in Ulimo cared about making the pirate stronghold prettier. Many technicians and engineers that usually maintained the pirate base had all been reassigned.

The group of Mirror Raiders that passed through the avenue did not spare a glance towards the decaying plants. As they strode forward, the few locals and smaller thugs nervously made way.

They did not do so out of the well-made armor or the menacing-looking rifles of the Mirror Raiders. The long-time residens of Ulimo did not spare a glance towards the reapplied black-and-white coating or the random collection of trophies hanging from the powered armor suits.

The sole reason why they made way was due to the green armbands attached to the Mirror Raiders. The logo of the Dry Snakes served as a powerful deterrent to anyone, because those who wore it had the right to kill anyone not directly connected to the local pirate authorities!

Of course, the wearers of the armbands couldn't really kill people at will. Those who wore the armbands answered to the supervisors who passed them on. The Dry Snakes quickly squashed those who abused their newfound authorities.

The group of Mirror Raiders eventually reached one of the few stalls that was still in business. An old, ragged man looked at the approaching group with anticipation rather than fear.

Once the Mirror Raiders reached the stall, the helmets of two of them retracted.

"Give us the usual." Dietrich requested.

"Right away, Mr. Bo!"

The old man eagerly withdrew a dozen nutrient packs from a heated oven and began to tear them open. He withdrew some deformed and stained alloy bowls from the storage compartment of his stall and began to fill them all with the contents of the opened packs.

The stall vendor then proceeded to pick up a warm water pitcher and mixed the dry nutrient matter with some much-needed moisture. After hydrating the food, the old man picked up some dried herbs and some other unknown ingredient and carelessly tossed them into the bowls. He completed his food preparations by seasoning the food with a pinch of salt.

"Here you go, the Ulimo Special, specially prepared for you and your boys. Please enjoy your meals!"

"Thanks." Dietrich said as his armored gauntlet dropped a handful of K-bits onto the stall before grabbing onto an alloy bowl.

Though each of the bowls looked dented and deformed, they were still tough enough to withstand the abuse of armored pirates who didn't bother to control their strength.

Before they began to dig in, Ketis held out a small multiscanner and quickly verified that the food didn't contain any poison or other harmful ingredients.

The precaution was not for nothing, as other pirates had fallen victim to tampered food before!

While the reputation of the old food vendor was pretty good, who knew what might happen during these tense days.

Once she declared the food to be safe, everyone grabbed the thick spoons and began to dig in. The warm taste of spiced and seasoned nutrients seemingly melted into their mouths. The normally dry and crumbly nutrient matter turned into a smooth mash-like mixture that was just hot enough to remind the Mirror Raiders of real food.

As Dietrich and Ketis sat together on a bench and emptied their bowls, they casually chatted with each other.

"I really don't know whether we should stay here." Dietrich said, choosing his words carefully since he knew that he was in the scope of the base's monitoring system. "Our plan was to stick around for a couple of weeks and leave as soon as our ships and mechs are repaired."

Ketis swallowed her mouthful of warm nutrients before speaking. "It's dangerous to go out alone at this time. The Larkinson Clan has been going after pirates like us without mercy. Any pirate who stumbles upon them is never heard from again."

Naturally, she felt quite glad about that, but in order to maintain her cover story, she had no choice but to treat the clan as an enemy.

Every Mirror Raider carefully controlled their words and actions since they had entered Ulimo Citadel a week ago. No one who took part in this mission was careless. Whatever sloppiness they exhibited was almost certainly a facade meant to fool the current overlords of Ulimo Citadel.

While Dietrich shoveled another spoonful of food into his mouth, his eyes wandered over to the green metal armbands attached to his arm and the arms of his subordinates.

He really didn't like this part of the new plan. Originally, the Mirror Raiders had been tasked with gathering intelligence on the defenses of Ulimo Citadel. By entering its public marketplace and mixing in with the locals, the disguised Larkinsons could unobtrusively gather a wealth of information from the locals.

All of that changed shortly after the Mirror Raiders defeated the Roid Rats!

A few days after that abrupt event, the Dry Snakes announced that they would be recruiting any local pirate outfit who possessed at least some mechs!

Any viable group of pirates would earn an elevated status in Ulimo. In exchange for their services, the newly-hired pirates had to defend Ulimo Citadel against any potential attackers!

The reason for this drastic measure was no secret. The Dry Snakes openly announced that they had received word that the fleet of the Larkinson Clan was lurking in the vicinity of Ulimo Citadel!

Though the pirates failed to pin the fleet of pirate hunters down, everyone in Ulimo feared that they would become the Larkinson Clan's next victims!

Ever since the announcement and the rumors that accompanied them became public, the pirates and residents each reacted in different ways.

Many visiting pirate gangs hopped back into their shabby ships and departed from Ulimo as fast as possible. There was no way they wanted to be in the middle of a massive battle between two giants!

The Dry Snakes, who normally valued the commerce that visitors brought, was happy to see them go. This was not the time to focus on earning K-coins. With the potential survival of their powerbase at stake, the Dry Snakes couldn't afford to watch over so many unknown elements.

As for the small number of pirate outfits who decided to stay, they each accepted the offer to become a part of the alliance centered around the Dry Snakes. Though the strength of many of these little pirate gangs were limited, the newly-formed Ulimo Militia quickly swelled to the point of numbering almost 800 mechs!

The Mirror Raiders contributed significantly to the Ulimo Militia by offering 80 mechs to defend the pirate stronghold, so the Dry Snakes treated them quite generously. While the members of the Militia didn't receive access to any of the restricted areas, their new bosses entrusted them with at least some responsibilities.

The entire situation seemed absurd to Dietrich. The Mirror Raiders, who were pretty much Larkinsons in disguise, now formed a part of Ulimo Citadel's defense force!

From what he heard, Lieutenant Sendra of the Swordmaidens played a very big role in making the pirate overseers accept the Mirror Raiders. The Dry Snakes weren't stupid and they did not accept the loyalty of any random band of pirates.

For some reason, the fact that the Mirror Raiders destroyed the Roid Rats and took over the former gang's territory was a very big mark in their favor! It showed that the Mirror Raiders were serious about settling down in Ulimo.

Dietrich really didn't know what else Lieutenant-Commander Abis and Lieutenant Sendra pulled off to gain the trust of the Dry Snakes. It seemed that there were very good reasons for putting them in charge of the mission.

All he and Ketis had to do now was to wait and stick to his cover. Other Mirror Raiders were stationed elsewhere, and Dietrich even heard that a couple of his comrades had managed to enter one of the core sections of the stronghold!

That was a massive breakthrough in their mission! The public area of Ulimo was nothing more than a cash cow to the Dry Snakes. Most of their people and important defenses were located in the restricted sections which ordinary repelled every outsider.

Though Dietrich was glad for the sudden progress, he was worried as well.

The Mirror Raiders were unable to leave! Once Task Force Predator attacked Ulimo Citadel, Dietrich and his fellow Mirror Raiders had to fight on behalf of the pirates!

The messy situation constantly burdened him. His stomach roiled uncomfortably as he was no longer in the mood to enjoy the local cuisine.

Once the Mirror Raiders finished their lunch, they left their bowls and spoons on the bench and slowly walked away.

The old food vendor stepped away from his stall to pick up the bowls and poor with his shaky hands.

"Thank you for your patronage. Please come again! Remember, there is no better meal than the Ulimo Special. Our ingredients are 100 percent organic and locally sourced!"

The group of Mirror Raiders eventually ended their patrol and returned to their new base, which previously belonged to the Roid Rats.

A thorough cleaning and new furniture made the interior of the base look at least somewhat respectable.

While the rest of the Mirror Raiders went off to relax, Dietrich and Ketis marched to a secure room that was already under a jamming field.

"Ah, I see the two of you have arrived. Good." Lieutenant Rodan greeted.

The Black Cat officer had turned into a strong supporter of Lieutenant Sendra's initiative. The Swordmaidens may have acted recklessly, but they succeeded in earning some trust from their targets!

The rewards for all of the risks they took became evident from the printed sheets lying on the table.

At this point, it was extremely dangerous to store any incriminating material in a digital storage medium. The Mirror Raiders didn't carry suspicious data chips or stored anything dangerous in their low-quality comms.

Instead, Lieutenant Rodan and the few Mirror Raiders who had entered the restricted section of Ulimo Citadel relied on their memories to note down anything important.

Once they returned from their shifts, they used primitive means such as using pen and paper to record their observations.

Ketis walked up to the tables and carefully studied the handwritten documents and sketches.

The autopen insured that every Mirror Raider wrote in neat and legible handwriting. However, it couldn't do much to make their sketches clearer.

Only the precisely-drawn sketches of Lieutenant Rodan conveyed the best impression of Ulimo Citadel's restricted sections.

"What have you learned?" Lieutenant Rodan asked after a while.

"There are a lot of powerful energy channels in the base. I can vaguely estimate how many energy weapons they are and how much power they use. If I have more sketches from different angles, I can even point out some critical components that you can tamper with in order to cut the power flows."

"Good. I will prepare the additional sketches as fast as possible. Have you detected any more concerning elements?"

Ketis frowned. "No. So far, I believe we have only scratched the surface of Ulimo's defenses."

"We know. Our investigation takes time. By the time we are ready to report back, I hope to provide the clan with something material."

Just as Ketis was about to reply, a hidden entrance suddenly opened. A pair of Swordmaidens dragged an injured man into the room!

"What is the meaning of this?!" Rodan exclaimed as he backed off a bit.

Lieutenant Sendra passed through the hidden entrance a second later. She grinned at everyone and gestured at the capture.

"This is a Xona Stalker!"

Everyone looked astonished. The Xona Stalkers were one of their greatest threats in Ulimo Citadel. Now that the Mirror Raiders captured one of their men, they could finally learn something material about the stealth and anti-stealth measures of this mysterious pirate group!