The Mech Touch

　　The Blinding Banshee continued to operate at high power as her sensor arrays kept observing more details on the alien targets.

　　The Black Cats along with other analysts slowly came up with well-reasoned estimates on which pakklaton starships were in worse shape than others.

　　They also consulted with ship officers and ship designers to come up with detailed strategies on where to focus their firepower.

　　With the help of the public MTA database, the planners were able to obtain detailed blueprints of many different pakklaton ships that the Big Two had managed to capture in the past. They also learned how the large bird aliens ran and operated their starships.

　　All of this helpful information allowed the humans to craft a detailed set of plans on how to dismantle their targets.

　　The goal was to achieve the most lopsided possible victory while suffering the least amount of losses!

　　Thousands of mech pilots grew more nervous than ever. Each of them had received enough rest and attended enough briefings to enter this battle with sufficient preparations.

　　Through the efforts of General Verle and other leaders, the morale of many of the soldiers improved in the final hours, but there were still a lot of people who questioned the necessity of going on the attack.

　　Ves wasn't satisfied with this. After all of the battles the Larkinsons had fought, his mech pilots ought to be more fearless in the face of adversity.

　　This was why he decided to hold another speech. As he stood in the center of the bridge of the Spirit of Bentheim, he went over the speech he prepared in his mind while his wife and daughter tried to keep him company.

　　"Guuuaaa…?"

　　Aurelia wore a different outfit than usual this time. Instead of wearing a onesie or other form of baby clothing, Gloriana had outfitted her daughter with a pink, custom-built protective suit.

　　She took great care to achieve a good balance between defense, comfort and bulk.

　　"Wooooooaaaaa…!"

　　Currently, her daughter became engrossed by the wonder of flight. The small antigrav modules built into her protective suit allowed her to float while exerting extremely limited control of her flight with her arm motions.

　　So far, Aurelia had yet to discover the correlation between the two, so she was uncontrollably floating towards the ceiling of the massive bridge.

　　"Meow~"

　　Lucky swiftly flew upwards and prevented Aurelia from colliding against the surface. Though Aurelia's suit would have brought her downwards anyway, the cat still felt it was his duty to correct her flight!

　　"Hihihihi!"

　　While Aurelia was having the time of her life in the air, her parents were holding a worrisome discussion.

　　"I still can't believe you're still insistent on going through with this plan. This attack makes little sense. Don't you realize that you're putting our daughter at risk?!"

　　She walked up to her husband who was currently wearing his Unending Regalia.

　　Ves pushed away her suited form from his body. "I've already heard your arguments. I still think it is worth it to proceed. The Red Ocean is a shark tank, Gloriana. It's kill or be killed. The aliens are our enemy and it is our duty as humans to eradicate them so that we can claim this dwarf galaxy for ourselves."

　　"Don't mess around with me, Ves! The real reason why you are so eager to attack the pakkletons is because you want to earn more glory and prestige. You want to add another accomplishment to your record that states that you confronted real warships in battle and gained the upper hand. Isn't once already enough?!"

　　"Hey, I thought you would be more supportive of this considering you pay so much importance to reputation. One of the problems we're suffering from ever since we entered the Red Ocean is that no one takes us seriously enough. What we have recently managed to do will help with that, but the best way to stand out among the other pioneers is to show we have what it takes to survive in the new frontier. Confronting and besting one of the most concerning threats in occupied space is a great way to show that we aren't weaklings who will fall over after suffering a single blow."

　　Gloriana rolled her eyes. Men. "That's not all there is to it, am I correct? There has to be more behind this attack. What are you after, really? Wait. Those pakklaton starships all utilize warp drives to travel through the stars. Are you going after their phasewater reserves?"

　　"Maybe…"

　　"You know that won't work, right? As soon as they decide to get out of here, they will transfer their personnel and phasewater to one of their more functional starships. Even if these aliens have completely different thought processes than us, the pakklatons should still be rational enough to know how important it is to retain as much phasewater as possible. They wouldn't have been able to flee for so long without this critical substance."

　　"We have plans for that, Gloriana. They might not work, but they're worth a try. It would be great for us to get our hands on phasewater this early. We can perform a lot of research on it and see how this material can help our own endeavors. I already have numerous ideas that I want to try out with it. I always had the feeling that it is a lot more versatile than we think. Since it is similar to water, it can probably produce all kinds of new effects when blended with other substances."

　　His wife could complain all she wanted, but if she could get her way with buying a Hoenbach handbag for 120 MTA credits, then he should be able to get away with his intention to attack a vulnerable alien refugee fleet!

　　"Sir? We are ready to broadcast your speech."

　　"Understood. We'll start in thirty seconds." Ves said.

　　He quickly brushed aside his irate wife and quickly checked his appearance before the recorders broadcasted his speech in front of over 200,000 clansmen.

　　"My fellow Larkinsons. Each of you are aware that we are likely about to enter into battle against a fleet that belongs to a race called the pakklatons."

　　He waved his arm, causing a projection that displayed archival footage of the large avian aliens. The birds managed to look both savage and sophisticated at the same time.

　　"Now, we have all heard your questions and doubts. Why are we going on the offensive? Why have we decided to pick a battle that isn't forced upon us? Is there any honor in assaulting a fleet that clearly contains refugees who have lost their homes, their loved ones and their entire empire?"

　　These doubts indeed haunted many clansmen since the initial announcement of their attack.

　　"Know that we have good reasons to launch an attack on these aliens. I won't mention them all because that would be too exhaustive. What I truly want to address to you today is our place in this dwarf galaxy. Since you have joined our clan, you have all learned what it means to be a Larkinson, but we are more than that. Have you forgotten the roots that each of us have in common?"

　　Ves glanced at the projections showing images of the pakklaton race.

　　"What separates us from the pakklatons and the other races in the Red Ocean is that we are human. We are invading the territories of aliens that don't pose a threat to us, yes. We have destroyed their homes, yes. We are essentially committing genocide on the original occupants of this galaxy on a wide scale, yes. What I am about to tell you should not be a surprise. Everything humanity is doing towards the aliens is… okay."

　　He gave his audience a gentle smile.

　　"None of us are used to doing this, but what we are doing is not only what our predecessors have been doing for millenia, but is also the best way for our children and grandchildren to live in a galaxy without fearing total annihilation from alien threats. Though we have learned throughout our history that our fellow humans can also be dreadful towards each other, we are ultimately brothers and sisters to each other. We will always show a measure of restraint and tolerance for each other. The same cannot be said when different species consider us to be their archenemies. It has often been the pattern in both the old galaxy and the new galaxy that each race and civilization will try to wipe each other out if they are able to gain the upper hand."

　　Ves changed the projection to show footage of alien on alien violence. The major and minor alien races of the Red Ocean had already waged countless wars against each other before humans arrived to scene!

　　"What we are about to do to the pakklatons is nothing different from what the natives have been doing to each other for eons. As I've said, war and extermination are universal patterns that are not absent in any galaxy or society. As members of the human race, we have an obligation to perpetuate—, no, exemplify the values that have made us great!"

　　He adopted an understanding expression. "I know it is difficult for you to get past this hurdle. Each of us are children of the Age of Mechs, which has produced four centuries of relative peace where we have never been threatened by hostile alien races. Yet just because none of the aliens have launched a serious attack on human space doesn't mean they have reconciled their differences. Far from it! Each alien race can turn into our enemies one day. There is no middle ground in the cosmos!"

　　His words were having an effect. The clansmen on the bridge began to look at themselves from a different perspective. They weren't just Larkinsons anymore. They were also humans. Each of them recalled that they were members of a larger and immensely powerful civilization!

　　"For better or worse, each of us needs to awaken the conqueror's heart that every human possesses." Ves said as he thumped his armored fist against his chest plate. "We can revive the glory of the Age of Conquest without repeating the mistakes we have made. We can become a part of the second wave of conquerors and victors who will help pave the way for humanity's dominance. Under my leadership, I will not allow the Larkinson Clan to miss this wave. We are not civilians who need to be shielded from the ravages of war. We are warriors who embrace it because we are strong enough to take on greater responsibilities!"

　　He instilled the idea that the Larkinsons were more than selfish warriors. They were humans who were ready to step up and contribute to the advancement of the human race!

　　"Let me hear it, Larkinsons! Are you ready to defend your fellow humans?!"

　　"WE ARE!"

　　"Are you ready to defeat humanity's enemies?!"

　　"WE ARE!"

　　"Have you woken up your conqueror's heart?!"

　　"WE HAVE!"

　　"Then do your best to slaughter the aliens! For the clan!"

　　"FOR THE CLAN!"

　　Mechs deployed by the thousands. Many of them had gone on patrol earlier, so they each had returned in order to replenish their supplies and make sure they were in excellent fighting condition.

　　As the different mech units began to form together and huddle behind the hulls of the fleet's armored vessels, the Golden Skull Alliance was ready to commence the fight.

　　Ves looked at the local plot of the battlefield and noted that there was still a huge distance between the two fleets.

　　"This is going to be a challenging firefight."