The Mech Touch

The Crown Uprising affected every part of human space. Not even the Golden Skull Alliance remained unaffected by the chaos erupting in every star sector.

The expeditionary fleet suffered both directly and indirectly from the ongoing slew of terrorist attacks.

The Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan had all entered a heightened state of alert. Every crew member could be a potential traitor. With six broken starships as undeniable proof that there were enemies among them, both Colonel Ariadne Wodin and Patriarch Reginald Cross implemented drastic measures to prevent any subsequent acts of sabotage.

The movements of every Glory Seeker and Crosser became restricted. They were tracked everywhere they went and often had to stay in a team so that everyone else could keep an eye on them. Hordes of security officers manually inspected every accessible space to check whether they had missed a hidden bomb or other illicit equipment.

The disruption that all of these extreme measures caused in the past few days was so severe that the expeditionary fleet had to pause its journey.

The leaders had no choice but to prioritize safety over speed!

Even though the combat potential of the fleet hadn't dropped in the slightest, the explosions along with the heavy-handed checks severely impacted people's morale. The bonds of trust and camaraderie that the Glory Seekers and Crossers had built up with each other became a lot more shaky.

If Ves and Calabast could figure out that the organization in the shadows only activated a portion of their sleeper agents, then Colonel Ariadne and Patriarch Reginald could come to this conclusion as well!

The latter two leaders didn't even have to be familiar with the Five Scrolls Compact. There were many secretive organizations in human space. Many of them had risen and fallen over millennia. The Big Two did not lack challengers, and there were many delusional people in the galaxy who thought they could defeat the undefeatable.

Strangely enough, the Larkinson Clan adopted a much more moderate attitude. The existence of the Larkinson Network was pretty much an open secret among the clansmen. Both early and late joiners became aware of how they were able to feel an indescribable kinship and closeness to anyone sharing the same affiliation as theirs.

Some even discovered that they came under some sort of adverse influence whenever they contemplated decisions that obviously harmed their fellow clansmen.

No one else outside the Larkinson Clan enjoyed this invisible benefit!

This was why the Larkinsons did not institute their own version of martial law. While the leadership did impose some restrictions and performed extensive checks, the crew members weren't forced to abide by too many oppressive rules.

Most of the inspections that went on throughout the Larkinson fleet were directed at imported goods and other items brought in from the outside.

The Larkinsons held near-absolute trust in each other. Only their trading partners posed a risk to them, so checking everything the clan had bought including the Graveyard and Dragon's Den became paramount!

Of course, inspecting all of this was an enormous endeavor in itself. If not for the fact that the Larkinson Clan hired more than 50,000 people in a short amount of time, it would have become too cumbersome to complete the inspection of the two new capital ships within a year!

Though Ves should have been devoting his time to fleshing out the draft designs of the Chimera Project and the Sentry Project, he really couldn't be bothered with his work now that humanity became beset with a crisis from within.

The Crown Uprising affected everyone!

Ves did not want to cast every concern aside and tunnel vision on his own work like usual only to allow a hidden danger to grow.

Perhaps he might get pulled out of his design lab one day to find the massive Hemmington Cross activating all of her thrusters and charging bow-first into the starboard side of the Spirit of Bentheim!

For better or worse, the safety and integrity of the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan also affected the safety of the Larkinson Clan!

As long as they kept traveling together in a single combined fleet, Ves and the other Larkinsons couldn't help but worry about the reliability of their allies.

Calabast was obviously working overtime lately. When Ves dropped by her office, she looked like she had injected at least three stimulants in her bloodstream in order to cope with her enormous workload.

"Squeak… squeak…"

Not even Arnold was in the mood to cuddle Calabast or lick her boots. The exobeast morosely ate his bowl of specially-prepared meat while looking as if he was being neglected.

"Meow."

Lucky wasn't even interested in bullying Arnold this time. The gem cat remained perched on top of Ves' left shoulder as if he was a shoulder-mounted missile launcher.

Due to the heightened alert status, many Larkinsons opted to wear hazard suits or even better protection. Even Ves opted to wear his Unending Regalia even though he was quite sure that nothing would happen to him. He still had to set an example though, so he wore his armor even though it gave him bad associations of Prosperous Hill VI.

"What's up, Calabast?"

The older woman sighed. "We're dealing with the situation as best we can. Compared to what is happening elsewhere, we're clearly in a better shape than most, but that is not an excuse for us to lower our guard."

Ves grew grim as he sat down in front of her desk. "Tell me your greatest worry."

"The trans-galactic terror campaign has rattled the Big Two quite a lot." She replied, causing Ves to jerk in his seat. "What is happening is so widespread, so damaging and so difficult to prevent that it has injected fear into the hearts of every human alive today. Our society is shifting towards a darker and less optimistic direction. Public sentiment is dropping to levels unheard of since the end of the Age of Conquest."

The Age of Mechs was a period of reconstruction, consolidation and accumulation. This might not sound that impressive, but it was heaven compared to the hell that happened in the waning days of the Age of Conquest.

This pretty much meant that everything became a bit better with every year that passed by. Humanity today was unaccustomed to universal decline and the prospect of living in a galaxy that was becoming worse over time!

"What does that mean to us?" Ves narrowed his eyes. "Tell me your views."

"Well, first off, many peaceful states don't seem so peaceful anymore. Terrorists can emerge in the largest of cities and the smallest of towns. They're hidden in villages, space stations and starships. Less stable states that are no strangers to war are faring the current crisis better than states that have never confronted violence on a larger scale. As a consequence, a lot of leaders and politicians are overreacting right now. Militaries are being mobilized and the market for mechs and other military goods have become active."

Ves shone his eyes. Lately, the LMC had hit a plateau in its growth. The customers who were all interested in acquiring LMC mechs mostly received their orders already. While there was lots of repeat business and a steady influx of new customers, the extended hype from the release of the Ferocious Piranha IC and so on had already faded.

Yet this time was different. Now that security became a lot more valuable, the demand for mechs that could suppress terrorists and end incidents would definitely soar into the sky!

"This means big business." He grinned.

"It also means greater costs and less convenience to our own operations." Calabast retorted. "It has already become harder for us to acquire new goods and supplies. Every product that can make us stronger can also make others stronger. If we want to keep our fleet adequately supplied, we need to pay more in order to maintain our strength. I've heard that the average price has already risen by 20 percent, and it will certainly grow worse over time."

"As long as we sell more mechs, this price jump isn't a big deal. I'm more worried about losing access to scarce and exclusive goods."

Gloriana would definitely get pissed if the deals she made to acquire certain batches of strategic materials fell through!

The widespread terror campaign also affected the Big Two in some ways.

"The MTA has become significantly more active in recent days." She said. "The Association usually takes months or years to make a high-level decision, but it has made its moves almost immediately after the terror campaign has begun. Its mechs are showing up more often and its agents are becoming more busy. We best stay out of their way when we encounter them. They are all authorized to act with lethal force when they stumble into a so-called crown terrorist."

The Five Scroll Compact's show of force could not go unchallenged. The MTA possessed a charter that granted them the responsibility of guarding the interior of human space. The terror campaign directly undermined the Association's mission and threatened to tear down their prestige!

Therefore, it was no surprise for Ves to hear that the mechers finally got off their lazy butts in order to show they were still in charge of human space!

Ves thought of another possible development. "The MTA is big, but I doubt it has enough manpower to address every single priority. I think they will release a lot of missions soon."

Human space remained largely stable as a whole. While there were plenty of states going to war on each other, this did not bother the MTA as long as no one broke any taboos.

This time was different. The crown terrorists were utterly crazy and did not have any regard for taboos. There were already cases where some of them managed to trigger nuclear bombs, subject an entire city with lethal radiation or poison the water supply with a new and unknown toxin!

Calabast nodded in agreement. "You're most likely correct. Perhaps you should keep an eye on the mission boards for a time. It's unlikely that any of the missions will pay well, though, and our current goal is incompatible with long-term guard assignments."

That was indeed a bit troublesome. One of the reasons why Ves hadn't accepted any mission after leaving the Nyxian Gap was that the ones that paid well were too inconvenient.

This time might be different, though. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to accept a lucrative mission right away, but as long as the terror campaign continued, the MTA would only become more and more desperate to regain order.

After discussing a few other guesses and observations, Calabast finally proposed something significant.

"I think we should really do something about the ongoing security crisis of our expeditionary fleet."

"How?"

"By granting the Glory Seekers and Crossers the same advantage that we currently enjoy." She stated. "It is the fastest and most efficient way to increase the security of our expeditionary fleet. We can't keep looking over our shoulders like this, Ves. Since we are in the unique position of possessing an answer to this problem, I think you should consider sharing it to our closest allies."

"What? Absolutely not!" Ves became alarmed. "The Larkinson Network is one of our core secrets and one of the most distinct advantages! Even though we haven't been doing our best to keep it from spreading, as long as there is no solid proof of its existence, we can continue to play stupid and deny that it exists. That will become a lot harder if we spread it out to others!"

Besides, granting equivalent networks to the Larkinson Clan's allies also strengthened them. The balance of power would shift in their favor. Why would Ves ever take the initiative to drop a rock on his feet?

The spymaster sighed in exasperation. "You're too shortsighted about this issue, Ves. Stop being selfish for one second and think of our greater concerns. Do you want to keep traveling with dependable allies or do you want them to resent us for withholding an easy and effective solution to their trust problems? What you can offer is exactly what they need to stabilize their own ranks. This means you possess an incredible amount of leverage. Think of the deals you can make!"

Ves had to admit that she made a good point. Once the Glory Seekers and the Crossers learned of what his spiritual networks could do, he would definitely take up an extremely favorable bargaining position!

He already began to rub his smooth-shaven chin. "If that's the case, maybe I can use this opportunity to gain some valuable and unique benefits…"