The Mech Touch

"New planet!" Aurelia cheered!

"Yes, my dear. We've arrived at a new planet. It is an entirely different globe than Davute VII. Doesn't that sound interesting?"

The little girl clung only to her mother as usual as the most important family of the Larkinson Clan exited the shuttle while being surrounded by a group of honor guards.

As a pioneer and a person of means, Ves could not be treated as an average tourist to the host planet.

Though Ves initially felt reluctant about leaving the Davute System and the safety of his entire clan, he eventually agreed to go on a short trip to a nearby star system after taking along the Wild Torch and a bunch of combat carriers.

The Larkinson carrier vessels were still in orbit at the moment. Their presence alone exerted a considerable amount of pressure towards the local administration. This would hopefully keep everyone honest while Ves enjoyed his holiday.

No one held any great concerns as their current destination was quite safe.

The region around Davute had developed quite a lot.

On one hand, a lot of pioneers saw the potential of Davute and sought to occupy any star system of value in the surrounding light-years so that they could become a part of the same colonial state in the future.

On the other hand, the explosive build-up of industry and trade at the port system also made it easier for the surrounding colonies to acquire the goods and services necessary to accelerate their development.

The growth of all of these colonies subsequently fed back to Davute as the colonies excavated valuable resources from their environment and sold them to the many industries of the port system in order to pay their bills.

In short, a virtuous cycle had formed between Davute and its satellite star systems. Not only did they grow closer in terms of trade and industry, they also held cultural exchanges that paved the way for deeper political entanglements.

This was the natural process of building a state in a frontier region. Everyone could see that Davute was well on its way to pull the surrounding star systems into a political union that unified the surrounding region.

The same went for other notable port systems. Karlach, one of Davute's chief rivals in the Krakatoa Middle Zone, expanded just as fast!

The main power blocs in charge of these states went all-out to collect as many star systems and groups as possible. The Larkinson Clan could reluctantly be included in the camp of Davute.

For these reasons and more, Ves did not worry too much that anything would go wrong during his family's short vacation to the Makairo System.

The star system was an interesting one. Most of the colonies around Davute were founded by colonists that all chose to rely on solid profit-generating activities in order to pay their bills and make themselves useful to a future colonial state.

Usually, this entailed the mining of valuable exotics and rare resources. Everyone in the Red Ocean needed raw materials to build up their settlements, starships and mech forces, so it was easy for most colonies to generate revenue as long as they chose the right star systems.

It took years or decades for these colonies to expand and diversify their exports. Many larger colonies relied on more advanced offerings such as industrial products, high tech goods and sophisticated services to remain relevant in the long run, but it was extremely rare for them to emerge in this early colonial period.

The Makairo System was an exception to this rule.

When the House of Meringo planted their flag in the star system, they opted not to terraform the only alien life-bearing planet.

Instead, they preserved it and built up numerous different settlements and facilities that were designed to take advantage of the native flora and fauna!

The noble house that emigrated from a feudal state in the galactic heartland of the Milky Way also invested a considerable amount of wealth to terraform additional planets!

Makairo III and Maikairo VI originally bore no life. They both acquired two completely different ecosystems under the arrangement of the Meringos. The planets subsequently welcomed a lot of exobeasts and exoplants that had been brought over from many different untamed planets throughout Krakatoa.

The House of Meringo was active in biotechnology so its many exobiologists and other specialists had modified all of the imported species so they could survive in their new environments.

The noble house's concerted efforts had turned the Makairo System into a unique location that already attracted a lot of attention from Davute.

By concentrating three different life-bearing planets with separate ecologies in a single star system, the House of Meringo established a special role in the region.

Tourism and biotechnology had become the main drivers of the local economy.

A lot of biotech firms chose to establish a presence in one of the few settlements in the star system. They took advantage of the rich biodiversity in order to engage in many forms of research and development activities.

Tourism also became more popular as an increasing number of people wanted to explore the new and unfamiliar alien environments and wildlife that the Red Ocean had to offer.

In order to get the most authentic safari experience, it was best to travel to far-flung star systems that still retained their alien habitats.

However, traveling so far away through space that was poorly controlled was far too risky to most people!

This was why the Makairo System became a popular alternative to many people living in the Davute Region. It was a nature preserve that was safe and easy to reach. Many tourists were able to satisfy their cravings for exploration by visiting its diverse alien ecosystems.

For now, Ves and Gloriana decided to go on a short trip to Makairo IV which was the most authentic of the three life-bearing planets.

Even though the environment was not friendly towards human life, the House of Meringo had barely touched and interfered with the local ecology at all. Aside from clearing a few islands in order to build its settlements, the main continents of the planets were completely preserved.

"Woooo! I feel funny, mama!" Aurelia exclaimed as she flopped her little limbs.

She looked especially cute as she came to grips with the alien environment of Makairo IV.

As an alien planet that had never been terraformed, Makairo IV was not adapted towards human life. The local gravity measured at 0.84 g and there were numerous gasses that could poison a person to death within minutes!

Therefore, every guest needed to wear a protective suit in order to walk around in the open. Ves, Gloriana, Aurelia and their entourage all wore one protective suit or another.

Since Ves and his immediate family had come to relax, they all wore light but surprisingly strong protective suits. The thin, flexible material was able to harden in an instant if it ever got struck, but this shouldn't happen in the first place due to the presence of shield generators.

Even though wearing these suits made it harder to get a feel of the new environment, there were still plenty of novelties on the planet that aroused their curiosity.

"Hihihi! Clixie jump!"

"Miaow!"

The suited form of Clixie repeatedly jumped and somersaulted in the air. The lighter gravity allowed her to jump higher and spin more times than back in Davute.

When Gloriana carefully set her suited daughter onto the ground, Aurelia curiously stepped forward and started to skip and jump as well.

However, her control over her limbs was not that good, so it did not surprise anyone that the little girl quickly tripped on her feet!

Fortunately, her protective suit prevented her from colliding her helmet against the ground. Time seemed to go backwards as Aurelia's body spun back up onto her feet.

The young girl was already accustomed to this safety feature and did not feel bothered by it at all. She continued to giggle as she ran around to explore the curious new plants and other sights.

The settlement of Rozentan looked completely different from Kotor City. As the main arrival and departure point for tourists on Makairo IV, it adopted a distinctly different vibe from normal city environments.

For one, Rozentan adopted a deliberate low-tech vibe. There was a large absence of metal structures, advanced vehicles and so on. The structures were mostly made out of stone, though Ves was convinced that they were secretly reinforced on the insides.

Combined with the heavy use of beige and pastel colors, Rozentan presented itself as a holiday resort where many people could completely forget about their busy lives in order to party!

Aurelia was already having the time of her life as they ventured deeper into the resort town. She poked at the alien plants that were green but adopted completely different shapes from the ones derived from Old Earth.

She gazed curiously at the bars and clubs where unsuited guests were singing karaoke and engaged in all sorts of other activities within shielded environments.

"What is that, mama? There is a man on top!"

"That is a flying exobeast. The Meringos have managed to tame it so that they can ride on it like a horse. Do you remember horses, Aurelia?"

"I wanna ride a horse! I wanna ride an exobeast!"

"You're too young for that, Aurelia. Wait until you have grown a few years older. It's not safe for you to go on wilder adventures."

Aurelia immediately teared up inside her pink suit. "I WANNA RIDE AN EXOBEAST!"

Gloriana had to pick up her daughter and soothe the crybaby again. Regardless of Aurelia's demands, she wasn't allowed to ride a flying exobeast or any dangerous creature for that matter.

Fortunately, the young lady forgot all about her disappointment. She was back to laughing and giggling as Clixie and Lucky presented her with colorful rocks and other trinkets that they had picked up from the environment.

As the family finished checking in a local hotel, Ves and Gloriana examined their itinerary. They already scheduled a week of excursions. They arranged tours ranging from deep sea diving expeditions to flight above cold and freezing mountain ranges.

"I hope I will be able to gain the inspiration I need for the C-Man Project and my other design projects." Gloriana spoke in a hopeful tone.

Ves patted her hand in reassurance. "Don't force yourself too hard. It's important to relax and enjoy yourself. This is not a work trip. The best way to expand your horizons is to immerse yourself in the different locales. Forget about your work and let go of your existing paradigms. It is only when you open yourself up to what is different that you will be able to enrich your experiences."

"I will try your approach and do my best to let go. I can't let this vacation go to waste."

The pair subsequently started their initial tour by exploring the settlement of Rozentan. They visited various attractions such as museums, parks, beaches and other curiosities.

It was only after they spent the night at the hotel that they were ready to go on their first true excursion.

The group all boarded a luxurious submersible vessel that the Larkinson Clan had booked for the occasion.

Soon enough, the submersible began to sail out into the vast ocean while accompanied by an escort of aquatic mechs.

The Larkinsons did not field any aquatic mechs so they hired a local mercenary outfit to provide security instead.

The protection might not be necessary, but it was prudent to have them around. The House of Meringo had left the oceans of Makairo IV untouched, which meant that there were numerous apex predators lurking in the waters that could pose a sizable threat to human vessels!

"It's been a long time since I went on a deep sea tour." Ves smiled as he stood in front of the thick and transparent hull surface that provided him an excellent view of the underwater surroundings. "I hope we'll be able to see some whale creatures today. They always seem to have good stuff."