The Mech Touch

A sword hung over the expeditionary fleet. The Fordilla Zentra System which had never played host to anything important was about to become the site of a major battle.

In fact, if neither side chose to avoid the coming confrontation, the anticipated battle would likely become the largest conflict between dwarves and humans since the Vulcanites took over the entire Smiling Samuel Star Sector!

The magnitude of this destructive event couldn't be overstated. Pitting tens of thousands of human mechs against an even greater number of dwarven mechs would definitely lead to a huge amount of casualties.

The fact that the combat assets of both sides were based on fleets meant that the casualty figure could rapidly skyrocket to the hundreds of thousands!

After all, those mech pilots weren't able to service their mechs, take care of their own medical treatment, travel to the battlefield and perform many other essential functions.

The Golden Skull Alliance did not doubt the intelligence that the Ferril Provincial Army mobilized and dispatched three full-strength mech divisions at once. In fact, Ves and several other people feared that the Vulcanites may have mobilized even more forces without informing the belligerent dwarven patrol captain!

Fortunately, Calabast offered an encouraging guess.

"According to our judgement, the Ferril provincial authorities are likely acting on their own initiative." Her projection stated.

"What makes you say that?" Ves curiously asked.

"First, out of all of the provinces of the Vulcan Empire, Ferril has already garnered a reputation for being unruly. Its population is always angry at something and its leaders regularly play into that. Second, attacking us has serious consequences for not just the Ferril Province but also the empire as a whole. You might not be aware of it, but the other provinces aren't as impulsive. There are many dwarven politicians and statesmen who possess calmer heads. They would never attack a fleet covered by the MTA when they depend on the Association's guarantee themselves. This is a transaction that will lead to far more losses than gains."

"If that's the case, then what has possessed the Ferrils to pursue such a stupid transaction anyway?" General Verle frowned.

Calabast leaned back in her chair and offered the people in the emergency meeting a grim smile.

"It's quite simple. In the warped arithmetic of the Ferrils, this transaction is profitable for them. Although it is not easy for us to determine their full reasoning based on mostly public sources, we have gathered enough clues to construct a reasonable picture."

This must be good. Ves trusted Calabast's judgement. If she was ready to say something, then she must have a good degree of confidence in the intelligence she presented.

Calabast waved a hand. A territorial map of the Vulcan Empire appeared into view.

"The Vulcan Empire is similar in nature to the Garlen Empire, only with less open infighting but with the same degree of internal division. The Vulcanites may share much in common, but that does not stop them from competing against each other. Since it is unlikely for their empire to engage in hostilities against nearby human states anytime soon, they need a different target to channel their competitive urges. That has led to a climate where dwarves try to outdo other dwarves based on the territories they are based in. The Ferrils are a proud folk, but they don't have the power and prestige to match the likes of the Uriburns or other powerful Vulcanite sub-groups. This makes them far more eager to build up their prestige and standing within dwarven society."

"And they think that violating one of the MTA's rules and attacking a peaceful human fleet without a reasonable cause is the right way to go about it?" Ves skeptically asked.

"That's why there are more factors at play than just the desire of the Ferrils to prove themselves to be more aggressive and daring than other Vulcanites." His spymaster answered. "The religious fervor in the Ferril Province has recently shifted over from the traditional Vulcan Faith to the Dwarven God Cult. The latter has gained the upper hand in recent years, especially among the commoner dwarves. The upper ranks have been slow to convert to the trend, and that has them worried. By launching this extreme action, the current rulers will gain a huge amount of support from the population, thereby providing them a lot more assurances that they will stay in power."

So it was a political calculus. Figures. Ves had witnessed too many instances where politicians were willing to betray any principle and betray any friend as long as they got ahead somehow. They rarely cared about the damage and suffering they inflicted to many other people.

Of all of the possible reasons to go on an attack, a religious motivation was the worst case. It didn't matter if some of the decision makers were sincere in their faith or not. As long as a huge amount of fanatical believers wanted to kill humans at all costs, then it was impossible to have any second thoughts!

"When I asked for Minister Shederin Purnesse's judgement, he told me that this attack may not be as spontaneous and impulsive as it seems." Calabast continued. "He believes we have gotten caught in a high-level game between the Vulcan Faith and the Dwarven God Cult. The latter is known to be more xenophobic towards tall folk and advocates for a more aggressive stance. That does not sit well with the traditionalists as their main concern is to maintain the prosperity that the dwarven rebels have attained after shedding a lot of blood. One of the most effective ways to break the status quo is to shock it with such a great incident that the old ways can no longer be maintained."

Attacking the expeditionary fleet would definitely induce the shock the Dwarven God cultists needed. The price was high, but true believers had the annoying habit of overestimating their gains and disregarding the costs of their actions.

"So the Ferrils, Dwarven God cultists or some other ambitious faction within the Vulcan Empire is trying to intensify the contradictions between dwarves and humans, is that correct?" Professor Benedict asked in a displeased tone.

It galled the Senior Mech Designer quite a lot that he was being plotted against! It had been a long time since anyone dared to implicate him in a scheme.

Calabast pressed her lips. "That's an understatement. Both Minister Shederin and I agree that it is likely that a group of highly-placed dwarven radicals are trying to agitate their fellow people against the tall folk. The three mech divisions dispatched by the Ferril Provincial Army should also be deliberately selected to execute this mission. You can expect the incoming dwarven soldiers to be fanatic and committed enough to go through with their attack. The chance that we can negotiate a way out is minimal."

Though the Vulcan Empire and the Ferril Province were both huge, it was not a trivial matter to mobilize three whole mech divisions. Smiling Samuel was currently in a state of peace. Tensions may have risen as of late, but that was far from enough for the dwarves to go on a war footing. It was already an impressive feat to be able to consolidate and throw out a fleet that was large enough to accommodate 30,000 mechs on short notice.

As for why the Larkinsons were sure that this was an attack prepared in haste? That was because the expeditionary fleet did not determine its route and destination until more than a week ago! No one could be certain whether the human visitors would pass through the territory of the Ferril Province until recently.

This at least gave the Golden Skull Alliance some assurances that they wouldn't have to fight against more units aside from the three mech divisions that were already on their way. Of course, this situation was bound to change after a battle, so the human visitors should never forget that they were still behind enemy lines!

Considering the current scenario and the various choices available to them, the leaders of the alliance all chose to meet the Ferrils in combat.

Patriarch Reginald looked indignant. "We can't show weakness to these bloodthirsty dwarves. I have been pursued before, so I know when it is necessary to fight. Right now, our opposition is still within a controllable range, but if we choose to run, the Ferrils may call upon further reinforcements and bring in more hostile dwarven troops. If we aren't careful, we might get caught by twice or thrice the number of enemy troops a week later."

By defeating the current dwarven troops, the expeditionary fleet would not only reduce the pressure that was right behind its back, but also make it harder for the Vulcanites to corner the humans. In case any hostile dwarven fleet was able to force a battle, then the Golden Skull Alliance was at least able to deal with the Vulcanites in piecemeal rather than all at once.

Of course, there was still hope that they may be able to avert conflict. Minister Shederin and his people were already attempting to contact the MTA, the Vulcan Empire, the Vulcain Faith, the Empire of the Lost and other stakeholders in the hopes that someone might be able to yank the leash of the Ferrils.

The leaders could not pin their hopes on a diplomatic solution, though. The preparations for combat still had to proceed.

After Calabast finished briefing the leaders of the alliance on the political context of the Ferril attack, everyone turned their attention back to the troops that they may have to fight against.

Know your enemy and know yourself. The Ferrils thought they still maintained the advantage of surprise, but they weren't aware that their targets already sniffed out the ambush.

Since the Ferrils most certainly investigated the humans they wanted to attack, the Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers had to do the same in order to negate the information disadvantage and put their forces on a better footing. The more they were able to learn about their upcoming opponents, the more they could prepare.

By now, enough time had passed for the Black Cats to present a preliminary report on the enemy troop disposition.

"Based on both public and private sources, we managed to identify and gather basic details on the three Ferril mech divisions arrayed against us." Calabast smiled. "We are 85 percent confident that the Ferril Provinicial Army has dispatched its 7th, 34th and 67th mech divisions."

She activated a projection that displayed various footage of the aforementioned dwarven mech divisions.

"The 7th mech division, also known as the Molten Hammers, is one of the oldest units that existed before the Ferril Province even came into being. It possesses the most combat experience and has the richest martial traditions out of the three mech divisions. As you can see in the footage, the Molten Hammers is a heavy assault regiment. It fields a disproportionate amount of dwarven space knights and other supporting machines to engage in brutal frontal attacks. They're specialized in siege breaking and have a reputation to be extremely difficult to put down."

Ves and the others did not look when they learned about the Molten Hammers. Though it was lacking in light and maneuverable mechs, the 7th fielded mechs that looked so tough and heavily-armored that it would take far too much effort to shoot them down from a safe distance.

"The 34th Mech Division is not as old and storied as the 7th, but the Slug Rangers are well-funded and well-practiced. It is a predominantly range-focused mech regiment that has a penchant for deploying a large amount of gauss rifle, nail driver and other direct kinetic energy weapons. They are known to work frequently alongside the Molten Hammers in war games so the cooperation between the two should be good."

The Slug Rangers may have an ugly name, but their formidable-looking ranged mechs were no joke. They fielded dedicated mech regiments centered around rifleman mechs, cannoneer mechs and artillery mechs. Their weight of fire was enormous and could easily chew apart entire fleets at medium range!

"What about the last mech division?"

"The 67th Mech Division is a little more special." Calabast said. "Unlike the other two, the Hivar Roarers exclusively fields bestial mechs. The 67th's mech roster is much more diverse and can fulfill a variety of roles. They will likely fulfill the role of scouts, skirmishers, flankers and troubleshooters in the upcoming battle."

That was bad news to everyone. The Hivar Roarers plugged one of the greatest weaknesses of the Molten Hammers and the Slug Rangers. If the incoming dwarven attack force consisted entirely of thick but less maneuverable mechs, then the Golden Skull Alliance could easily outflank the enemy and attack them where they were weak. The presence of lighter forces made it a lot harder to exploit this vulnerability.