The Mech Touch

The meeting adjourned with plenty of people feeling bewildered and out of depth.

Nonetheless, the feelings of the doubters did not change the fact that the leadership of the three alliance partners had all voted in favor of committing to a bold attack!

The Glory Seekers maintained a secure communication channel with the Wodin Dynasty, which in turn kept in touch with the rest of the Hex Federation.

This ensured that all of the involved parties were able to communicate quickly and securely.

Even as the spies working for the Blacks Cats and the Hexer intelligence agencies worked overtime to verify the leaked intelligence, the war leaders already drafted up a comprehensive assault plan.

This was a major operation to say the least because the Hex Federation needed to commit at least 200,000 mechs to the assault!

In the past, the Hexadric Hegemony could easily commit millions of mechs to a general assault, but those times were over.

The Hexers were only able to evacuate a limited amount of mechs, starships and industrial assets to the new frontier. Though the passage of time allowed them to build up their colonies and erect new production facilities, it was still unreasonable to be able to deploy more than a few hundred thousand mechs at once.

Still, the Hexers were so eager to take advantage of the intelligence leaks that they scraped up every available carrier that they could gather and stuff them full with as many combat mechs as possible!

The spies planted by the Fridaymen undoubtedly noticed the movements, but so what? Only a few high-level figures understood the truth. As long as they did not reveal that the upcoming assault was actually aimed at Pima Prime, it was fine even if the defenders went on high alert!

Of course, the Hexers were keeping tabs on the Fridaymen as well. As long as the Gauge Dynasty or any of the other coalition partners started to converge their troops onto the three targets under consideration, then it became too unreasonable to proceed with the attack.

This delicate dance caused many people to grow tense. While most of the soldiers of the Hex Federation did not receive any explanation from their superiors, they already figured out that they were about to take part in a major operation!

"Finally. It was about time we stop attacking those useless outposts."

"I've been longing for revenge!"

"It's time to kick out the Friday Coalition out of our turf entirely!"

The Fridaymen on the other hand grew graver when they noticed the Hexers gearing up for war. They all bolstered the defenses of their colonies and prepared additional fast reaction fleets in order to quickly converge their dispersed troops to a colony under attack.

So far, it did not appear as if the Fridaymen were aware of the true intentions of the Hexers.

Much of the activity within the Friday Colonies went towards bolstering the defenses of the weaker core colonies that were currently in the hands of the weaker coalition partners such as the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group.

These star systems were the logical choices to attack if the Hexers wanted to make a greater impact than razing a few backwater settlements.

Interestingly enough, the Gauge Dynasty and the Konsu Clan made the least amount of adjustments during this time.

They already possessed a considerable amount of confidence in their own defensive measures.

Spies within their hierarchies also reported that the leadership of the two coalition partners did not exhibit that much urgency.

So far, so good.

As the plans to launch an attack became more concrete, the official starting date of the Trailblazer Expedition also loomed closer!

Many Larkinsons prepared to say goodbye to the friends and acquaintances that they had made among the locals of the Davute.

Aurelia and Andraste even cried as they had to say farewell to the little playmates that they had grown familiar with at kindergarten.

As the clan shipped more and more people and goods to the formidable expeditionary fleet, many Larkinsons still maintained the impression that they were about to travel in the direction of the center of the dwarf galaxy.

The closer they traveled to the heart of the Red Ocean, the more likely they would fight against indigenous alien forces.

The odds of encountering a hostile group of humans and entering into battle with them was not that great.

This reflected back into the Larkinson Clan's training and preparation work. A lot of emphasis had been put on increasing the Larkinson Army's readiness to fight against powerful alien warships.

That did not necessarily mean that the Larkinson mech pilots forgot how to fight against conventional human mech forces, but years of reduced emphasis on these kinds of engagements may have caused the mech legions to grow rusty.

General Verle recognized this shortcoming and instituted additional simulation drills. He even suspended live practice sessions in order to get mech pilots to spend more time on refamiliarizing themselves with pure mech combat.

It just so happened that many of the battle scenarios that the mech pilots had to go through were variations of the Battle of Reckoning.

This allowed the Larkinson soldiers to understand and anticipate the mindset, tactics, mech doctrines and overall combat approach of the Fridaymen.

In the meantime, Ves held a second meeting with Tristan. This time, the two old friends met at a more casual setting.

Both of them sat in the back garden of the Royal Mansion. The idyllic scenery was one of the favorite playgrounds of Ves and Gloriana's children.

Now, it had become host to a discussion about war and bloodshed.

Tristan looked conflicted as he lifted up his teacup in order to take a sip of the chamomile tea that Ves had served.

The patriarch of the Larkinson Clan looked as relaxed as ever as he scratched Lucky's chin while sipping his own cup of tea.

The Fridayman mech designer eventually sighed and broke the peaceful silence.

"I came to Davute in the hopes of brokering peace between my people and the Hexers. Instead, I became the catalyst to another war, one that will extend the hatreds and animosity that should have been buried after the Komodo War has come to an end."

Ves' lips curled upwards in amusement. "Don't act so innocent, Tristan. Your actions have benefited the marginalized groups of the Friday Coalition. The only ones who are in trouble at the moment are the members of the Gauge Dynasty. They all deserve to get beaten for their arrogance. If they did not want to get targeted like this, then they should have treated you all better. Since they refused to value their fellow compatriots in the Coalition, then they have only themselves to blame when they are left to fend for themselves."

Though a part of Tristan agreed with this stance, his sense of duty towards the Friday Coalition still could not come to terms with this development.

"The Komodo War has left its mark on me. I spent a decade of my life contributing to the war effort and dealing with the aftermath of widespread destruction. I have seen more death and destruction than I ever wanted. War is terrible, Ves. I do not wish its horrors on anyone, even the Hexers. I cannot fathom why the Hexers are so eager to resume the fight when they have suffered more than anyone else. Is it too much to ask for them to recognize how much harm they will do to both the Fridaymen and themselves?"

Ves leaned back on his garden chair and chuckled. "That's unlikely. They're like bloodhounds. As long as they see weakness, they will pounce. I bet that the secret cabal from your state that is behind the leaks is aware of this as well. Why else would they turn the Gauger core colonies into irresistible targets?"

Though Tristan had agreed to become the spokesperson of this so-called cabal, he was anything but happy with what he had put into motion.

Yet he also agreed with the analysis that if the Gauge Dynasty's ambitions continued to go unchecked, the very fabric of the Friday Coalition might change for the worse.

Tristan was just a mech designer. He was never meant to get involved in matters of such import. He still struggled with the burden that his actions might set events into motion that would lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Fridaymen and the worsening of the quality of lives of many more innocent civilians!

Compared to the obvious discomfort shown by the Fridayman mech designer, Ves remained as unconcerned as ever.

"What you have done is not that different from designing mechs, Tristan. Did you never think that the mechs that you have designed or took part in their development will go on to fight and kill a lot of people? We are both makers of destructive weapon platforms. War is part of our business. If there is no fight, then our profession loses a lot of meaning. The mech industry that we are a part of would have never become so large and prosperous if humanity was dominated by pacifists."

"That is different, Ves." Tristan frowned. "Neither of us are soldiers who are responsible for pulling the trigger. Our mechs may be used for destructive purposes, I admit, but they can also be used for other purposes. Deterrence is one of them and defending against external alien enemies is another. Back when I originally decided to study mech design, the Komodo Star Sector used to be a lot more peaceful, you know. The Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony maintained their restraint for four straight centuries. I thought that they could easily hold it in for four more centuries."

Ves chuckled again. "Assumptions do have a way of turning us into fools. I don't blame you for holding this sentiment. I also thought that the two second-rate states wouldn't have been stupid enough to risk everything on a single throw of the dice. Even so, you shouldn't complain about what has come to pass. Humans like you and me are accustomed to taking what we want by force. We did so on a massive scale during the Age of Conquest and we have never gotten rid of this habit now that we are living in the Age of Mechs. War between the two states would have broken out eventually. Peace in this cosmos is a lie, and you are a fool to ever believe in it in the first place."

"I don't know, Ves. I would rather be a fool in a time of peace than a clever person in a time of war."

The two mech designers differed too much from each other. Their stances, their life experiences and their ideologies were all shaped by vastly different circumstances.

Though both of them had seen their fair share of bloodshed and tragedy, Ves still maintained his eagerness to seek confrontation while Tristan had become far too jaded to feel any eagerness for more conflicts.

"You're not cut out to be a mech designer if you continue to maintain this mindset." Ves eventually told his old friend. "The work we do is intricately tied to military action. We are not responsible for what others wish to do with the mechs that we design, but we should be cognizant that we are actively contributing to a climate where fights have become more common. If you don't want to take part in this, then I suggest you reconsider your career options."

Tristan cynically snorted. "There's no use. There are so many mech designers in the industry that my departure will change nothing. The Friday Coalition alone still has lots of Journeymen who are more than eager to take my place. Besides, what will I do? I have dedicated most of my life to learning how to design better mechs. I painstakingly developed my design philosophy around empowering mechs with special gems of my own making. To put that all aside would not only invalidate much of my life, but also disappoint Master Katzenberg and everyone else who believed in my potential."

When Ves looked at Tristan, he saw a mech designer who had lost his passion and drive for mech design.

It was a sad sight, to be honest. How could mech designers ever put their all into designing mechs and progressing their design philosophies if they questioned the righteousness of their work?

This was an absurd situation!

Ves treated Tristan as another bad example and resolved to never turn into a similar kind of loser!