The Mech Touch

　　"I've been a follower throughout all of my life." He whispered. "Even becoming an expert pilot hasn't changed that about me. I still do as I am told even if my treatment has become a lot better."

　　He thought back on his recent moments of pride. Receiving the Everchanger and acting as the standard bearer of the Larkinson Clan always made him feel good about himself, but this time he began to question whether he was truly happy with his job.

　　"I'm glad I can pilot the Everchanger. I don't mind becoming an example for the Larkinsons. By following Ves and the Larkinson Clan, I became stronger and more successful than I could have ever imagined back when I graduated from the mech academy. I would have remained stuck in the Bright Republic if I insisted on doing everything myself."

　　Mech pilots generally needed to be good at following orders. The mech academies did not like to train people that expressed too much doubt or backtalk.

　　While there were times when mech pilots were allowed to express themselves, they first had to show that they could be obedient.

　　The downside to this teaching approach was that once mech pilots became more powerful or attained a higher rank, they did not always know how to handle their new authority!

　　Joshua lacked training and instruction in this regard so he never fully expressed himself like the other expert pilots.

　　People like Tusa and Jannzi were different because they grew up as original Larkinsons. The old family had instilled a lot of pride in its expert pilots and also granted them considerable authority.

　　Rosa Orfan, Dise and Davia Stark also didn't have any problems asserting themselves because they were older and more experienced. They had followed different leaders in combat but also took charge whenever needed.

　　Joshua didn't have much in common with either group of expert pilots. He did not grow up in a family with a long tradition of raising expert pilots nor served in any proper military organization.

　　The Larkinson Army might come close, but everyone knew that it was more relaxed in many ways.

　　"All of this explains why I'm no good in this area, but how can I fix this? All I know is that I need to do something different in order to be able to stand up for myself."

　　After a long period of thought, he couldn't come up with any compelling ideas. He decided to approach someone else for assistance.

　　The question was who he should ask for help next. Outside of Tusa, Joshua wasn't sure whether the remaining Larkinson expert pilots would be able to understand his plight.

　　Approaching Jannzi was such a bad idea that he ruled it out immediately. That left the three older women, each of whom were so intense or self-absorbed that he had never gotten too close to them. The generational gap along with the differences in life experiences made it hard for them to hang out with each other.

　　Still, perhaps he shouldn't let that hinder him from approaching one of them. Older meant they were usually wiser. Surely one of them could be of assistance this time.

　　He decided to approach Venerable Dise. She was relatively easy to get along with out of the three women and was also a Swordmaiden who knew Ketis the best. If there was anyone who could tell him how to stand up for himself, it was a women who had been doing so for her entire professional career!

　　Searching for her was more difficult than he thought. It turned out that Venerable Dise had brought a bunch of Swordmaidens, Heavensworders and other enthusiastic Larkinsons on a hunt in the hinterland of the Pellysa III.

　　Joshua had to arrange for a shuttle to bring him hours away from Pejana and reach a remote tundra-like environment where the snow whipped into his face and the cold tried to seep through the protective layers of his heated clothing.

　　In order to avoid disturbing the hunters, Joshua and a handful of guards had to proceed forward on foot. They slowed down their pace when they saw the Larkinson hunting party stalking a herd of indigenous exobeasts.

　　Joshua took a good look at the prey for today's hunt. The beasts were giant, white-furred mammals that were as tall as two-story houses and possessed a lot of mass. They moved slowly but their strength was prodigious.

　　Currently, the animals were peacefully trying to fill their bellies by breaking open the ground with their powerful limbs and using their long necks and their tapered maws to gnaw at any alien plants that somehow managed to thrive under these conditions.

　　Joshua already felt a little sick when he realized that his own clansmen were planning to slaughter these peaceful mammals.

　　While the prospective hunters all brought rifles, they clearly didn't intend to rely on them. Instead, they held all sorts of greatswords, spears and javelins.

　　To them, the ritual of the hunt was only valid if they defeated the formidable exobeasts with their own raw strength.

　　Venerable Dise already held out her greatsword while she instructed the less experienced hunters in her group.

　　"…We need to separate the weaker beasts from the stronger ones. That should be easy for these herbivores. They are accustomed to getting preyed on by carnivores. Whenever they perceive a great enough threat, they will bolt and run as a whole. The old and sick will eventually fall behind because they can't keep up with the rest. These will be our hunting targets for today. I've already instructed you on what to do when we surround these giant beasts. Keep your distance and err on the side of caution. Never get close enough to the point where these creatures can stomp on your body. Part of what separates a good warrior from a bad one is to know your own capabilities. Don't try to be a tough guy. Try and be the wise guy instead."

　　The female expert pilot especially directed her words towards the men in the hunting party. Most of them weren't Swordmaidens so she could not fully trust them to know what to do under pressure.

　　"Ahem." Joshua coughed as he slowly approached the group. "Do you have time, Dise? I'd like to speak with you about something."

　　Dise frowned. She briefly turned around to see whether the herd of large exobeasts were still there. "I can give you a moment, but don't take too long."

　　The two expert pilots moved to the side while Joshua frankly shared his problems with the woman.

　　Venerable Dise threw a contemptuous look at him. "I'm not surprised that Ketis reacted that way towards you. She has been trying to be patient with you, but you just won't get better. Have you shown any true consideration of her feelings?"

　　"I do! I think about her every day. Even when we can't spend much time together because of our duties, I still try to make the most out of the moments when we can be together again."

　　"I'm not talking about all of that lovey-dovey stuff, Joshua. I've seen how you make Ketis happy and I'm glad for that, but there are also parts about you that just makes me want to smack you on the head."

　　Joshua frowned. "Why so? What am I doing wrong?"

　　"You're good at reading people, right? Have you ever looked deeply at Ketis and tried to figure out what she truly wants from you for once?"

　　"I did, but… I can't get an accurate read on her. She's powerful in a way that is different from everyone else. There's parts of her that are nice and sweet but there are also parts of her that are strong and forceful. It makes me a bit confused about how I should handle her considering that she switches between moods from time to time."

　　Venerable Dise huffed. She reached out and bonked Joshua on the head with her fist.

　　"You're going about this the wrong way, Joshua. Did you think that Ketis hooked up with you because she wanted a butler? No! She sought your company because she thought you were nice as well as strong. The reason that she doesn't approve of you now is because you've changed, and not in a good way."

　　"Then how can I get back in her good graces?"

　　"Getting rid of your indecisiveness is a good start. It's not complicated, Joshua. You need to make up your mind about your stupid dilemma. Once you get over this hurdle, it will be a lot easier for you to become a more suitable man for Ketis."

　　Joshua fell silent for a moment as he tried to resolve his dilemma. "I… can't. Not in my current state. I care about life so much that it becomes harder for me to accept what humans are doing in the Red Ocean."

　　Venerable Dise's force of will became more agitated. The woman closed the distance to Joshua and grabbed him by the collar.

　　"You idiot! What kind of nonsense are you thinking about?! Treating every life as precious is completely stupid and counterproductive! Is an ant worth the same as a human to you? Will you insist on saving ten random alien individuals at the cost of one human life?"

　　"N-n-no! That's ridiculous!"

　　"Then you should stop caring what people are doing to the aliens in this dwarf galaxy! It's truly none of your business. Reality operates according to the law of the jungle, not the law of a children's cartoon. Predators slaughter their prey to fill their bellies. Pirates raid underprotective trade vessels. Aliens plot against humans while our race fights against them more openly. It's not pretty, but it's part of life. Fighting isn't wrong. Killing isn't wrong. It depends on whether you and the people you care about gain anything out of it. Only senseless killing is wrong."

　　"Then what about your little hunt!?" Joshua snapped as he tried to wrench his collar away from Dise's grip. "Why are you leading our fellow clansmen into killing those beasts?"

　　"They're about to go extinct anyway." The woman replied. "These species along with many others will no longer exist because the terraforming will warm the planet and ruin their habitats. The least I can do is commemorate their existence by hunting a couple of them down. I can give them a better death than slowly starving to death."

　　"Oh…"

　　"Besides, even if the species isn't on the verge of extinction, it's still useful to hunt them down. There is nothing like spilling blood at close range to toughen up our mech pilots. Our comrades over there might perform shakily if they are pitted against an enemy. I can guarantee you that will no longer be the case once they completed this hunt. The deaths of those exobeasts won't be in vain. All of those alien empires that the Big Two are toppling won't be in vain either. Humanity will grow stronger, which means our clan will grow stronger as well. I'm not a big history buff, but even I know that our race was constantly getting bullied by more powerful and advanced alien groups. That no longer happens these days, because you know what?"

　　"What?"

　　"The human race has become far too powerful for any rival alien race to have the guts to attack us! Countless humans living in the old galaxy are able to live without fearing alien invasions because of what their predecessors have done. It's all well and good to have sympathy for other aliens and creatures, but don't show them any mercy. They can always turn the tables against us as long as they see an opportunity. You can't have it both ways, Joshua. You need to pick your side and cherish them above everyone else. The only way for you to implement your fancy ideas is if you become a god that is powerful enough for everyone to listen to you. Until then, accept and act according to the prevailing rules of the jungle."

　　Dise finally let go of Joshua's collar and returned to her hunting. She raised her greatsword over her head!

　　"The time has come! Let us hunt and eat our own dinner tonight!"