The Mech Touch

As the large and formidable expeditionary fleet crossed the border between Krakatoa and Magair, no incidents occurred.

Though space was anything but safe these days, hardly anyone wanted to provoke a formidable pioneering alliance.

It was well-known that the Golden Skull Alliance was not only capable of fielding more than a mech division worth of crack troops, but also enjoyed the protection of a genuine ace pilot and ace mech!

Any group with or without a brain knew better than to provoke the expeditionary fleet. Its intimidation factor became so high that any other ships or fleets in the same star system actually took the initiative to increase the distance.

It would be a tragedy if they created a misunderstanding!

The only possible enemies that might ignore the deterrence of the main fleet were indigenous alien forces and feral astral beasts.

The chances of bumping into either of them was fairly rare, though. Years had passed since the Big Two conquered the Magair Middle Zone and Krakatoa Middle Zone. Many subsequent human forces had poured in and cleaned up all of the alien stragglers that managed to escape the initial net.

These days, most of human-occupied space had become a lot safer than before. At the very least, a lot of groups such as the Fridaymen and Hexers became more worried about fending off threats from each other than random voribug swarms or puelmer retribution fleets.

This was also one of the reasons why Ves was eager to head towards the deep frontier. He had already seen his fair share of combat against human mech forces. He would much rather bump against new and interesting aliens that could give him a lot more surprises on and off the battlefield.

"Too many people are way too obsessed about fighting other humans." Ves shook his head in disappointment. "The aliens are our real enemies. Fighting them is a much worthier case, and more profitable besides."

He understood why a lot of people didn't hold much interest in challenging humanity's external opponents.

It was hard to put up a fair fight against titanic phase whales and enormous nunser warships that could give the Big Two a run for their money.

Not even the Golden Skull Alliance dared to stray too close to the frontlines and seek a confrontation against the strongest alien fighting forces!

In any case, with nothing special happening during this period, Ves spent most of his time on participating in the planning of the upcoming assault.

The scope of operation Saturday Market was enormous.

While the amount of mechs involved in the fighting was not as exaggerated as the biggest and deadliest battles of the Komodo War, the strategic importance of the upcoming confrontation was just as great if not greater!

A victory would drastically weaken the strongest pillar of the Friday Coalition and give its weaker partners a much-needed reprieve.

A defeat would not only damage the Golden Skull Alliance in a time where it could least afford it, but also alter the balance of power between the Friday Colonies and the Hex Federation by weakening the latter!

There was too much riding in this operation for the Hexers and the Golden Skullers to fail. If not for the fact that many indications looked favorable, Ves and the others wouldn't have maintained their willingness to launch such a risky operation.

While the Black Cats and other spies continued to keep a close eye on the Fridaymen, more and more information poured in from many different sources.

The intelligence continued to confirm and expand the leaks provided by Tristan. The Hexers knew so much about Pima Prime and its extensive defensive plans that they could even conduct rudimentary simulation training of the upcoming invasion!

The Larkinsons and the Glory Seekers began to fight repeated battles in a simulated version of the port system with the help of the MSTS.

Most of the Crossers did not have access to living mechs, so it was impossible to grant them a connection to the MSTS unless they hopped into the cockpit of a Larkinson mech.

However, each of them made do by completing virtual training scenarios with regular simulation training systems.

The mech pilots weren't stupid. Even without a formal announcement, many of them figured out what they were preparing to do. There was no other reason to conduct repeated training sessions on attacking a major fortified star system!

"Why are we preparing to launch an assault on Pima Prime? We're Larkinsons, not Hexers! I didn't sign up to fight in a continuation of the Komodo War!"

"The patriarch must have his plans. We are much stronger than the enemy. There's no way we can lose."

"The Fridaymen killed my brother! I never got the opportunity to take revenge on them until now!"

Just as Ves and the other leaders expected, the sentiment among the soldiers were mixed, but not too opposed towards this upcoming action.

By this time, General Verle and the legion commanders had made it clear that the Golden Skull Alliance only committed to a single battle against the Fridaymen.

Once the Larkinsons and their allies concluded Operation Saturday Market, they would get back on track and start the Trailblazer Expedition in earnest.

As Ves and his fellow lead designers began to spend time on advising the mech legions on how to deploy their signature mechs against the Fridaymen, a few Larkinsons expressed their misgivings about their participation.

It did not surprise Ves at all to see Jannzi showing up one day. The expert pilot had never changed her stance, but she rarely kicked up a fuss these days.

What was different was that she visited his workspace in the design labs while being accompanied by her young son.

Ves frankly did not expect his cousin to go as far as to marry a clansman and bear a son.

He thought that her will was so focused on following her convictions that there wasn't any room for love in her heart.

It appeared that he thought too simply about her and other strong-willed expert pilots. Just like many other Larkinsons, Jannzi did her duty and started her own family.

"Hello, patriarch." The boy politely greeted as he had been taught.

"Hello, Mercer." Ves smiled back as he turned his attention away from the schematic of one of the key mechs of the Fridaymen. "How are you, today? Are you adjusting well to life on a ship?"

"It is fun! Everything is so cool! I miss our old home. I want to go back one day."

"Haha, maybe your wish will come true."

Mercer was a cute boy that shared a lot of resemblances with Marvaine. Since the two were roughly of the same age, they frequently spent time together.

The two M's shared none of the tension that their parents held towards each other and already turned into bosom buddies!

Seeing that Jannzi was growing impatient, Ves picked up Lucky who was dozing on a nearby workbench and tossed the clueless gem cat in the direction of Mercer.

"Meow?!"

"You go play with Lucky, alright? Your mother and I have grown-up business to talk about."

"Okay."

As Lucky began to distract Mercer, Jannzi strode forward and stood in front of Ves.

"We need to talk." She spoke as her powerful will pressed against Ves.

"I can gather that seeing as you visited me unannounced."

"What are you doing, really? Why did you decide to participate in this fool's errand? Don't tell me it is because you care about the Hexers. I know you well enough that you would never easily commit our entire fleet on such a dangerous operation. Your grudges against the Fridaymen shouldn't be serious enough for you to take such a drastic step either. What motivates you into taking part in a conflict that is none of our business?"

There were many reasons why Ves was in favor of this action, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to reveal them all to a busybody like Venerable Jannzi.

"We need to test our strength. What better way than to fight against an opponent that we know extremely well? Besides, we also need to use this opportunity to show off to others that we are not to be trifled with. We have grown a lot more formidable than before, but not everyone is aware of all of the gains we have made. Demonstrating our ability in combat will do much in keeping our clan and clansmen safe against opportunists looking to take advantage of us. Think about the family we have left behind in Davute. Our branch there is well-protected, but it wouldn't hurt to amplify our reputation so that our branch members can stay safe."

His arguments primarily emphasized the safety of the Larkinson Clan. This was what Jannzi cared about the most.

While his words sounded nice, Jannzi wasn't fooled.

"We can demonstrate our combat prowess in many other ways. If we just proceeded with the Trailblazer Expedition as planned, we would have stumbled upon an alien fleet sooner or later. Fighting against the aliens that wish to do humanity harm is a much nobler and worthier cause than getting dragged back into a grudge war between two human groups."

Ves scratched his head. "I don't disagree with you, but there is a difference between being noble and being naive. We have lots of enemies in human space, you know. There are a lot of rivals based in Davute that would love nothing more than to push us away. There are also competitors based in other port systems such as Makairo that are also eager to get rid of us. I can't tell you how many times our Black Cats have foiled malicious attempts to harm our clansmen and sabotage our assets."

"That may be true, but what does that have to do with Operation Saturday Market? As I've said before, we can build up a reputation in many other ways besides attacking a Fridayman colony. What is it you are really after? Are you aiming to plunder Pima Prime like you did at Purgatory? Are you trying to add another notable but easy victory under your belt? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this battle less about furthering the interests of our clan and more about satisfying your ego and vanity?"

This line of questioning quickly began to grate on Ves! There was no way he wanted to get caught by her rhythm. That would only lead to undesirable outcomes!

"Stop." Ves raised his palm. "Stop with these stupid questions. Let's just skip all of this nonsense and get to the real point that you are trying to make. What do you want, Jannzi? What is the purpose of your visit?"

Venerable Jannzi paused for a moment. She grimaced at the thought of all of the bloodshed that might ensue.

"I have come on behalf of myself and other concerned Larkinsons, many of whom don't dare to speak out against you. I want you to guarantee to us that if our side manages to win the upcoming battle, our forces and the Hexer forces must refrain from slaughtering the defenseless Fridaymen citizens as much as possible."

"You… are asking a bit much, Jannzi. Don't you get that this is the war we're talking about? There is no room for mercy on the battlefield!"

"The Fridaymen and the Hexers have managed to avoid excessive civilian casualties in most battles! Whenever one of them conquer a star system, they have never committed any mass murders!"

Ves snorted. "That's because the rules of the game are different in the old galaxy! The Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony had no choice but to abide by the directives set by the MTA and CFA. It just so happens that the rules are a lot looser in the Red Ocean. It is not uncommon to hear about entire colonies and their populations disappearing from existence. This is the reality of the new frontier. Those who venture in this lawless space must bear the risks associated with profiting from it. If you object to this regime, then take it up with the Big Two."

"I am not talking about the Big Two, Ves. I am talking about what we can do to limit any unnecessary bloodshed. We cannot be party to an incident where we become culpable to the deaths of millions of civilians!"

Ves couldn't believe what he heard. How could she be so foolish?