The Mech Touch

After the conquering Larkinsons surveyed the ultralifer base, they quickly identified numerous goods, equipment and resources.

There were enough amenities to service at least a thousand mechs.

While the airfleet was already helping itself to all of these valuable assets, Ves didn't care too much about the improvement in logistics. This was all boring stuff that did not significantly change his strategic considerations.

What Ves really sought was relevant information.

He prioritized the acquisition of intelligence and made sure that his men did not neglect this vital process.

Biohackers and organic computer specialists descended on the hive-like data center. They immediately secured the numerous organic computers and databases before attempting to defeat their security measures in order to access the large amounts of data stored within.

Interrogations began as well. While the mech pilots had already left the base, the support and command personnel had all remained behind. Even if a substantial number of them died when they futilely tried to resist the overpowering invasion, there were plenty of prisoners for the Larkinsons to question!

A lot of ultralifer prisoners had become shocked at how quickly and how easily their base had fallen. They had become so disturbed by the strength exhibited by the Larkinsons that they folded relatively easily. They spilled out secret after secret and did not hesitate to explain how to disarm the security measures of various systems.

It was too bad that only a handful of the prisoners were willing to cooperate. The majority remained committed to their cause!

"After our initial successes, we haven't made any significant headway in interrogating the remaining prisoners." Captain Reina Ember of the Black Cats reported. As a former pirate officer, she had plenty of experience in trying to open unwilling mouths. "If they were mercenaries, we would have made them squeal a long time ago. The ultralifers are much more difficult to crack for reasons that I am sure you are already aware of. The harder we push, the more they dig their heels."

Ves frowned. This was a problem that he already anticipated to an extent, but it was still annoying nonetheless. The obstinacy shown by the captive ultralifers threatened to delay his follow-up plans and left him blind to future threats and opportunities.

After spending many days of knowing very little about the actual situation on the planet, Ves was desperate to gain some insider knowledge! He needed to know what the political factions were plotting and why anarchy still reigned across Prosperous Hill VI. There was definitely something fishy going on and Ves wasn't sure that it revolved completely around pinnacle labs and high-grade life-prolonging serum. He had a feeling that this was an overly simplistic view of the current reality.

Ves decided to pay a visit to the prisoners himself. He followed Captain Ember to one of the vehicles used as a mobile holding facility. As the clansmen who were specialized in intelligence and police work began to take out prisoners before proceeding to pepper them with questions, Ves became distinctly unimpressed by the lack of sophistication behind their methods.

"Why aren't we using any advanced interrogation methods? Aren't you Lifers good at manipulating human bodies? Where are the biotech experts injecting the prisoners with serums that cause them to run their mouths?"

"It's not as easy as you think." Captain Ember shook her head. "The methods you speak of can be effective, but they are too cumbersome to be applied to the rank-and-file ultralifers. As for the officers, they are all augmented with bioimplants that come with anti-interrogation countermeasures by default. If we inject them with any suspicious mind-altering substances, the bioimplants will either block the foreign substances from taking effect or forcibly shut down the brains as an emergency measure. Don't underestimate the effectiveness of these implants. The Life Research Association possesses one of the best homegrown bioimplant industries in the region. The locals here have access to higher quality implants at cheaper rates."

In other words, it took a disproportionate amount of effort to squeeze useful information from the cadre of the ultralifers. These high-ranking officers, experts and commanders doubtlessly possessed a wealth of useful information, but Ves felt incredibly frustrated that it wasn't possible for his men to succeed in making them squeal.

Would Calabast have done better? Perhaps. Ves couldn't expect too much from the locals he recruited recently. They were doing the best they could under difficult circumstances and with limited facilities at their disposal.

As Ves continued to mull over the problem, he suddenly came up with a fresh idea.

"Wait a minute. Have you tried subjecting them to one of my Aspects of Lufa?"

"Uhm, pardon, sir?"

"Think about it! My statues are all capable of affecting the mind in a remote and non-invasive manner. They can accomplish the same results of mind-altering substances but without adding any chemicals in someone's body that might trip any alarms!"

"That… could work." Captain Ember reluctantly conceded. "However, your organic statues aren't designed to facilitate interrogation. Will it really work? Which statue will you choose to make use of? I doubt the Aspect of Tranquility will help all that much."

That wasn't necessarily the case as Ves could tweak the glows of all of his products whenever he liked. He could tone down the effect of the Aspect of Tranquility so that everyone affected by it still retained a bit of conscious attention.

Of course, Ves didn't intend to go through all of that effort. Of all of the aspects he created, one of them seemed very suitable at the moment.

"Bring out a couple of stubborn fellows and bring them to the transport where I have stashed the Aspect of Rationality. I'm interested to see whether the effects of my creation is enough to persuade these fellows from making the right choice."

Though Captain Ember held a lot of doubts about this plan, they didn't have any better options at the moment. They might as well try this possibility out in the hopes of making some actual gains.

It took some time to set up the circumstances. Ves and the others had to prepare a special interrogation room that was both safe and discreet.

"Alright, who are we working with first?" Ves asked as he stood behind a workstation.

Captain Ember accessed her data pad. "We decided to put forward a low-ranking biomech technician who goes by the name of Emery Fallon. We have already succeeded in extracting some information out of him, so we can use this opportunity to confirm if the man will stick with his story when he comes under the influence of the aspect."

A pair of security bots dragged out a rather resigned-looking man in his thirties. The prisoner didn't look as tough as the rest of his comrades, but this was good as it was easier to make him talk.

Once the bots entered the range of the Aspect of Rationality, their emotionless and inorganic processors remained completely unaffected by the glow.

Emery Fallon reacted completely differently. The naked fear on his face quickly faded as if someone wiped a towel over it. The nervousness in his bones had gone away as well, causing his body language to lose all sense of apprehension.

Ves was already familiar with these effects. The Aspect of Rationality suppressed all emotions but left plenty of room for logic and dispassionate thoughts.

As a result, Emery should have turned into a complete person right now. Now that he was able to think without his emotions coloring his judgement, he began to develop very different perspectives on various issues!

Ves gave the prisoner and test subject a bit of time to think about his own situation from a different angle before ordering the interrogation to begin.

"What is your name, prisoner?" Captain Ember asked over the speakers.

"Emory Fallon." The affected individual replied without emotion.

"Where were you born?"

Ves did not pay too much attention to the initial question. While it was necessary to ask some simple questions in order to establish a baseline and confirm the Aspect of Rationality had taken hold in the prisoner's mind, he didn't learn anything useful at the moment.

It took five minutes before Captain Ember asked an actual question.

"A few days ago, four organic statues resembling the one before you appeared near the base you were stationed in. What did you and your fellow ulralifers think about the new statues?"

"We thought they were the works of a master. We all admired them from the moment we experienced their unique effects. The more time we spent with them, the more we desired to retain them. When they started to walk away, we became alarmed because we did not want them to fall into the hands of another organization."

Ves smiled. This was exactly what he attempted to achieve. It felt good to confirm that the ultralifers truly followed his predictions.

"What do you know about the paramilitary organization that occupies the warehouse complex that you have launched attacks upon in the past?"

"I do not know much about it. It is not necessary for me to know about them to perform my job. I only know that the organization is called the Teak Order and that it has ties to the military."

Ves already guessed as much, but it was good to hear a corroborating opinion from someone else. If someone as unimportant as Emery Fallon thought this way, then this must be common knowledge in the ultralifer organization.

The questioning continued. Captain Ember managed to tease out a lot of information from Mr. Fallon that a normal interrogation would never provide. The man even spilled his embarrassing childhood fears without hesitation!

It wasn't as if Emery Fallon abandoned his loyalties when he came under the effect of the Aspect of Rationality. There were both emotional and rational reasons why he remained loyal to the ultralifers, but without the former, the latter did not have as much effect. It was easy to abuse logic in a way that encouraged the affected prisoner to open his mouth.

For example, the Larkinsons could frankly tell Mr. Fallon that he was going to get killed unless he supplied an answer!

While the aspect muted the prisoner's desire to live, there were so many instincts related to staying alive that Fallon could not easily make a decision that led to the opposite result!

Therefore, when faced with a choice, Fallon did not hesitate to choose the course of action that prolonged his life!

"Damn. This is so easy!"

As they began to interrogate other ultralifers, Ves became more and more impressed by how the Aspect of Rationality wiped away everything irrational. They not only stopped caring about their unreasonable beliefs, but also lost much of their motivation to stay quiet and bring their secrets to the grave!

Ves and the interrogators began to collect a lot of useful intelligence ranging from passwords, opinions, hidden caches, other ultralifer bases on the planet and many more secrets.

Though the affected prisoners did not supply the correct answers all the time, the results were more than satisfactory!

Captain Ember even became more adept with interrogating prisoners that had forcibly turned rational.

Soon enough, a high-ranking officer finally supplied Ves with the answer that he was looking for all this time.

"Our organization received information from a friendly source that the Teak Order may have deciphered the coordinates to one of the pinnacle labs on this planet. We confirmed the veracity of this claim after opening talks with the Teak Order."

"How large is the chance that there is a pinnacle lab buried underneath the warehouse complex? Please give me your estimate." Ves eagerly asked.

"50 percent."

"That low? Why aren't you more sure?"

"We have conducted extensive scouting but found no abnormalities beneath the surface of the warehouse complex. We cannot confirm whether a pinnacle lab is actually on site, but it is improbable that the Teak Order invests a large amount of effort in occupying the location in question."

"Do you think the Teak Order has managed to break into the pinnacle lab by now?"

The ultralifer officer shook his head. "That is extremely unlikely. The entrance and security measures of a complete, self-contained pinnacle lab are almost unbreakable to most citizens of our state."

Ves relaxed a bit. If the officer was right, then Ves still had a chance of obtaining powerful spoils if he managed to enter the pinnacle lab!

"It's not too late!"