The Mech Touch

The strength of Neville Magrin and the Unrelenting was the chief reason why the Golden Skull Alliance struggled with the Cenatus Prospecting fleet.

The suspected vulture fleet was too strong to be ignored. Its threat towards the Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers meant that it was impossible for the expeditionary fleet to relax.

For all of the talk and arguing during the meetings, the leaders came no close to agreeing on a single strategy.

It was clear what the Cross Clan wanted. Patriarch Reginald Cross was spoiling for another duel against an ace mech and he didn't care too much about the circumstances. Since Reginald supported a direct confrontation, that meant that the rest of his clan was also behind this extreme decision!

The Larkinson Clan preferred to ignore the Cenatus Prospecting fleet as much as possible. There was little profit to be gained from attacking a fairly powerful pioneering fleet and it was considered dishonorable to launch an unprovoked attack against another human force.

"We have already made enough enemies." General Verle argued. "The last thing we should do is turn a possible opponent into a certain enemy by antagonizing Cenatus Prospecting with our actions."

The Glory Seekers leaned towards the stance of the Larkinsons but preferred to be more proactive. They suggested that they should employ covert methods to inflict damage onto the target fleet.

Marshal Ariadne Wodin shook his head. "I am sorry General Verle, but we do not agree with your passive approach. Cenatus Prospecting and its leader are anything but honorable and innocent. Their past record is replete with impropriety. Otrus Magrin is a vile and deplorable brute with many victims to his name. Who is to say we won't be next? We must show him that we will not let him trample over us as easily as his previous targets. The best way to do this without triggering an all-out battle is to infiltrate enough ships and sabotage their FTL drives so that they will remain anchored to this location."

"That is too aggressive, marshal! There is no way we can deny our involvement in such a strike if we somehow manage to pull it off. Otrus Magrin will definitely set his sights on us and do everything in his power to retaliate."

"We only need to delay his fleet long enough for us to finish our business and depart from this border region." Marshal Ariadne calmly pointed out. "The Red Ocean may be smaller than the Milky Way, but it is still enormous. The chances of encountering Cenatus Prospecting once again is minimal."

All of this talk about sabotaging the starships of the opposing fleet sounded extremely difficult to Ves.

There was no way that Cenatus Prospecting was incompetent in terms of internal security. Otrus Magrin would have lost his forces a long time ago if they were vulnerable against infiltration and sabotage!

While it was true that Saint Neville Magrin could not possibly prevent infiltrators from sneaking aboard every possible ship in the Cenatus Prospecting fleet, Ves was sure that the defenders prepared other countermeasures to catch infiltrators before they could do much damage.

Ves turned to his spymaster.

"Director Calabast, are the Black Cats up to the task?"

The woman frowned. "No. I suspect it will not go well. In the last few years, we have invested enormously into expanding our intelligence network and bolstering our information gathering abilities. If you want to obtain the inside details of Cenatus Prospecting, then we will be able to hand over a detailed report about much of this group's dirty dealings within the week. If you want us to sabotage their starships with infiltration teams, then I cannot guarantee success. My agents will do it if the necessity is great, but they will make great sacrifices in the process."

This was less than ideal. Ves was disappointed by the lack of confidence from the Black Cats, but there was a limit to everything. It took a lot more effort to train an excellent infiltration force.

"Let us take responsibility for this operation." Marshal Ariadne Wodin said. "Unlike your Black Cats, we have the support of an entire colonial state. The Hex Federation has provided us with new generation warp-capable stealth vessels that can deliver elite DIVA commandos onboard the target ships. You of all people should know how effective they are, Calabast."

As a former DIVA agent, Calabast most certainly knew. She had been trying to raise the Black Cats to the standards of the intelligence agency that she used to work with in the past, and she had made a lot of progress over the years.

However, it wasn't as if DIVA stood still. The need for intelligence services only grew over time.

The Hexers were surrounded by many different colonial states and pioneering forces now that they had relocated to the Magair Middle Zone. It was essential for them to develop a good understanding of all of their neighbors and ensure that none of them would have any reason to gang up on the Hex Federation!

If there was one lesson the Hexers had learned from the disastrous Komodo War, it was that relying too much on brute force could be counterproductive. Finesse could be just as effective.

If a goal could be achieved by employing a scalpel rather than a rocket launcher, then it was best to use the former!

Several people glanced curiously at the Glory Seeker delegation.

Ves couldn't help but ask for clarification.

"I think I vaguely read a report about the new corvettes and frigates that has joined your fleet as of late, but are they truly up to the task?"

The marshal maintained her confident expression. "Those vessels are developed by the state institutions of the Hex Federation. They have incorporated the latest stealth systems developed by our state and are also equipped with warp drives that allow them to reach their targets sooner and quickly escape enemy pursuit if detected."

These new stealth vessels were purpose built for ambushes, infiltration and other forms of skullduggery.

In a show of goodwill, Marshal Ariadne Wodin shared a few more details about the expanded stealth strike capabilities of the Glory Seekers.

"It is no secret that we Glory Seekers have not done a good job at keeping up as our Golden Skull Alliance has continued to grow stronger and more significant." The Hexer leader frankly admitted. "Part of that is because the Wodin Dynasty and by extension the Hex Federation badly needs more carrier vessels and high-ranking mechs to stabilize the situation at their new homes."

Everyone else nodded. It was pretty much inevitable that the Larkinsons and the Crossers had both grown increasingly dissatisfied with the weakest link in their alliance.

Marshal Ariadne gave them a brittle smile. "That is why we have recently decided to bolster our stealth and infiltration capabilities. It is one of the areas that our state is good at and it is not too costly to divert a few assets in our way. I am proud to say that our DIVA detachment is ready and eager to prove its lethal capabilities in this mission."

Ves quickly read through the electronic documents that Marshal Ariadne sent in his direction. This was a remarkable sign of trust, but then again he was the 'son' of the Superior Mother so it was not as if she was leaking any information to outsiders.

From what little he could figure out from studying the data sheets of the DIVA stealth vessels, their stealth systems were certainly up to standard.

His considerable expertise in stealth and clothing systems told him that these vessels were so good at their jobs that they could even fool the sensors of the ships of the Larkinson Navy!

Of course, that was assuming that the Blinding Banshee did not engage in active scanning where she swept the entire surrounding space with powerful sweeps!

Nonetheless, a spy and surveillance ship like the Blinding Banshee was an uncommon sight in many fleets. Many pioneers preferred to invest their energies into acquiring another fleet carrier rather than a highly specialized capital ship that was not able to contribute much in any open battles.

According to multiple intelligence sources, the Cenatus Prospecting fleet actually possessed multiple starships that possessed powerful scanning capabilities.

However, they were mostly civilian-grade vessels that were mainly geared towards detecting phasewater and determining the mineral composition of asteroids and larger satellites.

They could be used to make life harder for stealth vessels, but they weren't specialized at the job!

As long as those newfangled DIVA stealth vessels stayed far away from those mineral prospecting ships, they should be able to remain unnoticed.

Ves looked at Calabast. The woman's expression had grown a little more ambiguous ever since Marshal Ariadne brought up the DIVA detachment.

Calabast eventually locked eyes with Ves before subtly nodding her head.

She essentially backed up the marshal's claims and expressed her belief that the DIVA operatives had a good chance of completing the mission without any major complications.

That was a significant vote of confidence.

Ves raised his hand, causing the ongoing discussion to fade.

"I really don't want us to deal with the vulture fleet." He stated to everyone. "I feel there are many ways for us to avoid open conflict with Cenatus Prospecting. However, trying to ignore them will only cause us to play into Otrus Magrin's hands. Keeping our heads down and allowing this fellow to act with impunity will only increase our risks over time. The moment we suffer any setback, the vultures will strike and finish us off. That is too great of a threat for us to ignore. The main reason why I didn't want us to be more proactive was because I thought that our other options were too risky."

He turned to the Glory Seekers. "It is a different story if DIVA can live up to its reputation. If your stealth ships and DIVA operatives are as good as you claim, then I am willing to give them a chance to resolve this problem with as little cost as possible."

The Glory Seekers all smiled. This was a chance for them to prove their worth in the Golden Skull Alliance!

Not everyone approved of this proposed sabotage action, though.

"All of this sneaking around is too convoluted." Patriarch Reginald complained. "Even if it succeeds, Otrus Magrin will know that we are responsible and will do his best to bite us back. Cenatus Prospecting doesn't even need to bring all of its ships in order to hinder us. There is only one threat that we must take seriously!"

"Saint Neville Magrin must always remain with the main fleet in order to protect his father and the many spacefaring assets." General Verle retorted. "In order to keep the ace pilot in place, it is much easier to target the weaker elements of the Cenatus Prospecting fleet as opposed to its strongest asset."

"And what if you are wrong?" Patriarch shot back. "What if Otrus Magrin is vindictive enough to take a risk and command our son to pursue our fleet? He only neds to dispatch a single combat carrier to allow the Unrelenting to attack us from a distance. Don't forget that the enemy ace mech is faster than any other mech in our possession. If Saint Neville is dishonorable enough, then he will be able to use his Unrelenting to harass our fleet from a distance and run away before my Mars ever gets close. Rather than let us happen, we should move to their fleet and force a duel in a situation where the Unrelenting cannot afford to move away! We can either do it in this star system or the next one. Preferably the next one as that will basically confirm that Otrus Magrin is up to no good."

Patriarch Reginald's argument was surprisingly sound, so much so that Ves actually struggled to choose between the two proposals.

Should the Golden Skull Alliance resort to sabotage or should it put its faith behind its ace pilot once again?