The Mech Touch

Was it a coincidence that multiple old and well-connected people always brought up concerns about changing times?

How come they all predicted that humanity would soon go through a period of considerable turmoil?

Ves increasingly suspected that all of these powerful leaders and dignitaries were connected to a high-level network where they gained access to exclusive news and rumors that were completely inaccessible to average space peasants.

This old boy's network did not even have to be an official gathering or institution. It could just be an invisible, unregistered club that spontaneously connected different power players together through social interactions.

The wealthy sought out the wealthy. The old sought out the old. The powerful sought out the powerful.

These were natural patterns that many humans and other sentient alien races exhibited. Part of it was due to the need to befriend those that best understood their own conditions. Another part of it was the assumption that only those at the same level or higher were able to satisfy their interests.

Ves had always known that a society as immense as human civilization was fractured and divided into many different groups, factions, states, locations, classes and other social divisions.

Due to his rapid rise and his lack of intimate connections to those who stood at the upper layers, Ves did not receive the insider news that someone as old and established as Master Barnard Voiken took for granted.

Right now, Ves saw an even greater reason for him to develop a relationship with Master Barnard Voiken.

Perhaps the man was not that exceptional of a mech designer as he had remained stuck as a Master for over three centuries. Nonetheless, someone who had been a fixture in the industry for a long time had to possess his own advantages.

Ves currently thought about the possibility that humanity would soon welcome a return of warships to the wider human society.

Ever since the Age of Conquest came to an end, the Big Two strictly monopolized the use of powerful and destructive warships. No one else was allowed to field them because the fear of the people in charge of them going crazy and ordering indiscriminate orbital bombardment on a highly populated planet was too great.

Those fears may have faded a bit after four centuries of relative calm, but the fear and rejection of warships was still rooted in the psyche of many ordinary people.

Ves could not predict how society would react if warships became more ubiquitous again. Even if this new development only applied in a wilder and less developed region like the Red Ocean, it still represented a clear break from a taboo that everyone had inscribed in their hearts!

He turned to the projection of the slightly emotional-looking Master Mech Designer.

The aged and dignified figure had not spoken his previous words lightly. Ves did not think that someone as reputable as Barnard Voiken would joke around about these matters.

That said, someone like him always had a purpose in mind. The topics he brought up and the 'rumors' he shared just a moment earlier were part of a subtle but concerted strategy to manipulate Ves' views.

Ves did not mind this little game. As long as he was aware that he was being manipulated and as long as there wasn't any deception involved, he would welcome any source of critical and relevant information no matter whether it came in a biased form.

Few information sources were free from distortion to begin with. It took skill and awareness to detect how they were distorted and what people gained from framing an issue in a specific light.

Right now, Ves was applying the lessons he learned from Minister Shederin and Director Calabast on Master Barnard Voiken.

The old mech designer was known as a prominent ideological ally of the Preserving Order Faction. He was a child of the early period of the Age of Mechs and valued peace to a greater degree than the following generations of people.

Someone who had grown up in an environment where many people were still not done with picking up the pieces of the ravages of the Age of Conquest should abhor the thought of reintroducing warships to the masses!

Just the thought of letting petty states and spoiled brats gain control of massive vessels armed with mech-sized cannons probably sent shudders through Master Barnard's body!

Now that Ves recalled the background and ideology of Master Barnard, it became fairly easy for him to deduce the Master Mech Designer's motivation.

For some reason or another, Master Barnard thought that Ves could be a potential agent of order!

To put it in a different way, Barnard held an expectation that Ves might be able to produce works one day that could prevent warships from becoming too destructive towards society!

This was the social responsibility that Barnard hoped that Ves would be able to fulfill in the future.

For a moment, Ves didn't know what to think. Master Barnard was an extremely capable mech designer and probably knew a lot of talented and amazing colleagues.

Why did Barnard pin so much hope on a Journeyman like Ves in particular?

"You may be young, but you have a bright future ahead of yourself." Barnard cleared up Ves' confusion. "I have faith in my own analysis of you. I also believe in the judgment of the MTA. Two separate factions have found you worthy of their attention and support. The fact that they have elevated you to tier 6 galactic citizenship is a strong sign of confidence. Many of my peers have never reached this tier even after they have devoted ten times as many years in the industry as you. The higher the tier, the greater the power. Correspondingly, the responsibility they must bear has also grown."

"My recent promotion in tier is largely based on my future potential." Ves cautiously replied. "I can see where you are getting at, but it will take many decades before I can live up to everyone's expectations. Who knows what will happen in the meantime. Maybe the scenario that you have painted about warships making a return to our general society has already taken place."

Ves was incredibly confident that he could dominate the mech industry in the future. However, it would take at least a hundred years or so before he could realize his greatest ambitions. The lengthy amount of time needed for him to develop up to this point was his greatest flaw and vulnerability as a mech designer!

Without the necessary power, there was no way for Ves to discharge his supposed responsibilities!

Naturally, Master Barnard Voiken was not unaware of this flaw either.

"The Common Fleet Alliance is a complicated organization. Initially, it was formed after many rebel warfleets decided to join forces and counter the increasing number of tyrants that have emerged among mankind. Afterwards, the fleeters have long maintained a policy that only they are mature and responsible enough to wield humanity's greatest and most powerful war platforms. The only reason why the mechers are also allowed to field warships is because they are also powerful in their own right. Besides, the fact that the MTA must also rely on warships to maintain its hegemony is also a great irony to the fleeters."

"What changed, then?" Ves asked. "I mean, from what I have learned from various sources, the fleeters have become increasingly more isolated from ordinary human society. Why would they care so much about reintroducing warships back to the same group that initially caused a lot of tragedies during the latter half of the Age of Conquest?"

Barnard grimaced. "That… is related to a deep and contentious ideological struggle within the CFA. Let me just say that in the past, the majority of fleet admirals believed that the general population should always be treated as children. It is only recently that another stance has risen to popularity that states that the CFA must not let the MTA maintain its dominant influence over the population and allow mechs to completely overshadow warships. After all, no matter how much the Big Two look down on the masses, space peasants still form the most dominant source of resources and manpower in human society."

Ves rubbed his chin. "Interesting. So the CFA basically wants to start a popularity contest, is that it? The fleeters are starting four centuries too late. If you ask any random person on the street on which of the Big Two they respect more, they will always point towards the MTA."

"That may change as the ongoing invasion of the Red Ocean encounters more setbacks." Barnard said. "Do not be fooled by all of the victories that the Big Two have achieved up to this point. The indigenous alien races of the dwarf galaxy were still divided and unaware of the great threat that we present. It is different now. In addition to other factors, the MTA and CFA's warfleets are less and less capable of controlling the opposition."

"What does that mean for the rest of us, sir?"

"There are analysts and strategists who predict that more and more organized alien raiding and saboteur fleets will bypass the Big Two's defensive lines and seek to ravage the colonies built on top of their former territories."

What?!

Though Ves had heard vague stories and predictions about alien warships coming to humanity's territory in order to mess everything up, everyone thought that these would just be the last acts of revenge by isolated units of vengeful alien forces.

It would be a completely different story if the surviving alien civilizations deliberately enacted a strategy of burning humanity's new hinterland!

Not even the Golden Skull Alliance could resist such powerful fleets in a head-on clash!

This was because before most of the Larkinson Clan's mechs could even close, the superior armaments of warships could already shower the expeditionary fleet with a huge volleys of destructive firepower!

This was a disparity in firepower that was too vast for mechs to overcome!

"A lot of pioneering organizations will have a hard time defending against raids from organized alien fleets." Ves furrowed his brows. "None of them will like it if all of their efforts to found new colonies and states will come to nothing because they are stuck in an unfair fight against their alien foes. After all, the aliens have never set any taboos against warships."

"Do you see now why there is a rationale for allowing pioneers to field their own warships? It is not controversial to state that only warships can fight against warships."

Both mech designers grimaced at this statement. They were both of the same mind regarding this issue. 

As professionals who dedicated themselves to developing better and stronger mechs, they both hoped that their work would truly be able to replace warships as more powerful and effective war machines!

That day was still too far away, though. Ves realized that he had grown a lot more sympathetic towards Master Barnard's concerns.

Though Ves had many differences in opinions and allegiances with the Master Mech Designer, when it came to the CFA's possible initiative to water down the taboo against warships, both of them were on the same side!

"I don't think I can develop a mech that can fight effectively against either alien or human warships." Ves plainly stated to the Voiken Patriarch. "At least, I don't think I will be able to put a solution together during the current mech generation. There is just too little time for me to make so much progress."

Barnard sighed. "I do not seriously expect you to shoulder this burden so soon. There will be other mech designers who will do their best to devise their own solutions against this problem. What you can do for us is to show humanity that mechs still have a place in human society after warships have made a reappearance in people's lives. The Pacifier Project is just one of the contributions that you can make."

"I see."