The Mech Touch

Ketis was just one of many Larkinsons who expressed their misgivings at what had happened.

Several more people voiced their doubts and concerns to Ves. From Gavin to Raymond, all of them regarded him with a bit more fear rather than respect.

The change in attitude grew worse as the expeditionary fleet kept travelling through Vulcanite space. It was one thing to hear about the tragedies from afar. It was another thing to be in the same star system where frantic evacuations took place and where tragic circumstances happened at an unimaginable scale.

It led to a lot of difficult discussions in the Larkinson Clan. Few clansmen thought they should engage in this kind of business in the first place.

"We are a clan of soldiers and warriors. I'm fine with killing the dwarves across the battlefield, but destroying them in such an insidious way just seems wrong."

"We can't beat every opponent in a straightforward battle. The Vulcan Empire is so strong that we couldn't have defeated it any other way."

"Should we have even bothered with attacking them like this, though?"

"Don't you remember what happened a few months ago? The dwarves tried to kill us all! They don't get to play innocent now that they're on the receiving end of an attack."

All of this discussion caused Ves to fall into a contemplative mood. Though he still stuck to his stance that he shouldn't feel guilty about anything, he was slowly starting to consider whether he might have gone too far this time.

"Well, at least we've managed to reach the Paramount Province without encountering any hindrances this time. That is enough of a justification."

"The Paramount Province was one of the quieter territories of the Vulcan Empire. The war had yet to reach this far on a massive scale.

Just like elsewhere, the local dwarven forces were more interested in evacuating from their homes than to fight a futile battle against the human invaders.

Slowly but surely, the expeditionary fleet slowly reached the quiet and uninhabited star system where Ves had stashed his batch of Timpala Steel during his last Mastery experience.

"Everything I've done is for this. It better be worth it." He muttered under his breath.

His intuition told him that Timpala Steel was definitely a remarkable substance even for something as amazing as the Mech Designer System.

Ves even thought that since the System was actually the Metal Scroll of legend, feeding it a metal exotic of extremely high worth and potency should definitely result in a huge upgrade!

Though he consciously tried to rely on the System as little as possible these days, it was undeniable that they shared a symbiotic relationship. The stronger it became, the more benefits Ves received!

As someone who was hungry for improvement, he did not mind leaning on the System if it offered amazing options that he couldn't get anywhere else. The Mastery and Superpublish opportunities it provided to Ves were already invaluable enough in itself. Perhaps upgrading it with Timpala Steel would unlock another powerful feature that could enable Ves to expand his mech designer competences!

His breathing grew heavier when he began to anticipate all of the rewards he might gain from completing his first Supply Mission. The System better not skimp out this time!

During their journey through the first territory that the original dwarven rebels had taken over, the expeditionary fleet encountered an acquaintance.

The scouts dispatched by the mercenary escorts had already given Ves advance warning about the familiar presence, so he wasn't caught off guard.

He had mixed feelings about the only dwarves who took the initiative to intercept the expeditionary fleet. Whereas many dwarves and humans avoided him and his forces like the plague, the people who clearly wanted to meet with him did not have as much fear.

The Pershams already befriended him before hostilities broke out. They were the few friendly and amiable Vulcanites that the Larkinsons had met who did not hold any hostile attitudes towards the tall folk.

The Dented Coin was situated light-hours away from the emergence point of the expeditionary fleet. She had made no attempts to close in and rendez-vous with the powerful human visitors.

Seeing that the Pershams clearly sought him out, Ves couldn't hold back his curiosity. He accepted a call over the galactic net.

A projection of Director Olivier Persham appeared in front of Ves. The dwarf looked much more aged, tired and stressed, for understandable reasons.

"You're a hard man to reach, Patriarch Larkinson." The middle-aged dwarf spoke with his deep voice. "I've been trying to call you for months, but you've never picked up until now. Do you really think so little of us dwarves?"

Ves inwardly sighed. Faced with one of the victims of his actions, he felt his conscience acting up again. He tried to suppress this unwelcome and unproductive impulse as best as possible.

"I've been busy, as you can clearly tell. Also, I no longer require your services. As you can see, we have no problems with navigating through Vulcanite territory."

His cold tone did not make Olivier happy. The head of the Persham Chamber of Commerce looked disappointed.

A few seconds passed in silence before the dwarf spoke up again.

"Why have you done this, patriarch? I don't understand. The Ferril Province is certainly guilty for trying to kill you, but there are many dwarves who are still decent! Why must you implicate them as well? They don't deserve to lose their lives and livelihoods! My friends and family in the Paramount Province are all crying because their worlds have collapsed. They have never known any homes aside from the planets they live in. Now, they are all scrambling to get aboard the few ships that can take them away from the humans who will never treat them well."

Ves let out an annoyed grunt. "Don't try to pretend your people are squeaky clean. One of the reasons why your fellow dwarves aren't comfortable with human occupation is because of how poorly you treated the original occupants of all of these star systems! The empire you built sits on a foundation that consists of an endless amount of human bones!"

"That's because we had little other choice at the time! The Vulcanites who rose up needed to keep beating and conquering the humans around us. If we kept giving them room to breathe, they would have tried to attack us and rob our people of the space we needed to live decent lives. We were under constant existential threat unless we cleared the entire star sector of humans that could threaten a dwarven state!"

Ves probably figured that this was true. The dwarves already attracted a lot of notoriety from the start. Sooner or later, their human neighbors would have acted in order to contain or neutralize the new threat.

History went in the other direction, though. Due to numerous happenstances and improbable circumstances, the Vulcanites managed to beat all of the human states in Smiling Samuel!

"There is little point in talking about morality at this point." Ves said with a tired voice. "What is done is done. I do not regret my decisions. While I do not enjoy the ordeals that the average citizens of your empire are going through, the events leading to this collapse did not start from me. Your own people had already laid the seeds from the beginning."

Director Olivier Persham came into more contact with foreigners and the outside galaxy than other dwarves. He possessed enough perspective to know what Ves was talking about.

While the internal propaganda of the Vulcan Empire always painted the dwarves in the right, those who were more aware of the complete history knew that the Vulcanites were not exactly innocent.

Even in modern times, the dwarves frequently rattled their sabers and expressed an open intention to defeat all of their neighboring human states!

Was it any surprise that the latter rightfully considered the Vulcan Empire to be an existential threat that had to be eliminated as soon as possible as long as there was a chance?

Another silence fell as Director Olivier did not manage to receive any explanation that could satisfy him or give him closure.

The dwarf slowly clutched his greying beard. "Do you have something against us dwarves, patriarch? Did we do something to you that caused you to seek our downfall?"

"Nothing like that." Ves shook his head. "You're just humans but shorter to me. It's everyone else who keeps acting as if dwarves like you are a separate species. You Vulcanites are the worst in this regard. You not only try to separate your identity from the rest of humanity, but also claim to be superior to us. A few of your people even think that's enough of a justification to go on a crusade against the 'tall folk'. If you dwarves didn't encourage such a close-minded attitude, perhaps you would have been able to prevent your own collapse."

Technically speaking, Ves did set the Vulcanites up on this path during his last Mastery experience. His carelessness and his casual behavior back then not only set up the Vulcanites for success, but also precipitated its fall.

This was why he sometimes considered the citizens of the Vulcan Empire to be his children, but only rarely.

Seeing that this conversation wasn't accomplishing much, Director Olivier moved on to the last point he wanted to address.

"I have one final question to ask before I take my family out of this star sector. Are you… Vulcan?"

Ves let out a deep breath. He had a feeling his former dwarven friend would ask this contentious question.

"Do I look like Vulcan?" He asked back as he wasn't comfortable with supplying a direct answer.

"I can't say." Olivier looked pained. "I have worshipped Vulcan longer than you have lived. My daughter, my family and all of the dwarves from my home planet have given their unquestionable devotion to the god that has helped to liberate our people. We worship the true Vulcan. It's just… when I equate the Vulcan described by the priests and portrayed in our scriptures to a devil like you, I don't know whether I can still maintain my beliefs."

"You're probably not the first Vulcanite who is undergoing a crisis of faith at the moment. Your people are suffering from an unprecedented disaster and Vulcan hasn't lifted a hand to help you out." Ves mildly said.

"Maybe… it is because we spurned our god." Olivier lowered his eyes. "It would explain much, I think. We invited his wrath due to our presumptuous actions and now we're suffering the consequences of that. We were too arrogant and self-righteous to know right from wrong. It is no wonder our god has exacted his punishment on our people."

"Wow, Olivier. Your god sounds like a cruel and petty man. He must be enormously bored and prideful to stomp the sandcastle that he helped erect."

The dwarf shrugged. "Maybe so. I think I have a better idea of what our god is truly like now. The kind, caring and benevolent Vulcan that we have always kept in our hearts might not have existed in the first place. We were fed a false image that has led us on the wrong track. It is a pity that our realization came late. Vulcan… won't save us. He will never save us. Our state is doomed. The most I can do is to take away the few dwarves my ships can carry and try to eke out a life elsewhere."

"You should try out the spaceborn life by setting up a space caravan." Ves sincerely suggested. "Many states won't welcome you dwarves, so why not turn your starships into your new homes? Sure, this kind of life is hard to adapt at first, but there are many benefits that you sorely need. At the very least, your existence won't make any human state feel threatened. I think this is the best way for you and your family to keep on living."

This proposal did not sit well with Olivier.

"Our homeland means more to us than you can ever think. It is too hard for us to let go of our existing homes. Still… we have little choice at the moment. We will take your suggestion under advisement. Goodbye, Patriarch Larkinson. I hope you will recognize the magnitude of what you have done one day."

The conversation ended and the Dented Coin eventually made its way out of the star system. Ves had the feeling that Olivier was probably the last amiable dwarf he would speak to for a long time.