The Mech Touch

Ves put on a minor performance in front of Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik.

He weaved a tale that mixed truth with exaggerations and distortions that not only gripped the first-rater, but made him feel more admiration towards the Golden Skull Alliance!

After all, how could a second-class pioneering fleet that was only above average in terms of strength and technological capabilities defeat a first-class alien battleship, one that also happened to host a mighty phase lord?

The Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers took a lot of risks and put a lot of effort into rescuing Pearian, and Ves wanted to make sure that the first-class scion understood how extraordinary it was for them to succeed!

The excitement, uncertainty and improbable successes embedded in the tale completely captured Lord Pearian's imagination.

The former captive once dreamed of becoming a pioneer himself so that he could go on thrilling adventures. How could he not become mesmerized by the description of a real sequence of events?

Of course, Lord Pearian also asked plenty of questions throughout the retelling. There were many areas that Ves had glossed over for one reason or another.

"From what you have described, there are literally thousands of pioneers in this border region who are doing their utmost to track me down. How did you come across the information that allowed you to discern my location?"

"Before we came and pulled you out of that ship, we attacked a hidden alien stronghold. We managed to capture a lot of alien warships and pieces of a former asteroid base that were still reasonably intact. We discovered that the most powerful alien group that was operating from that hidden base was tied to the Red Cabal, which is the same group that built and crewed the alien battleship where you were residing. We managed to collect enough intelligence to point us in the right direction."

It was impossible for the Golden Skull Alliance to reveal to the MTA or the public that they happened to stumble upon the missing first-class scion by getting directions from a prophet who died centuries ago. He would have to answer way too many sensitive questions!

As such, Ves and Calabast had already cooked up a plausible cover story to explain this unlikely success.

Most of the elements of this excuse happened to be authentic. The Unspoken who originally founded the Palace of Shame were proven vassals to the Red Cabal, and that imprisoned unclean whale also had ties to that same mysterious alien organization.

Hopefully, the MTA would buy this story and refrain from asking too many questions.

Lord Pearian still had more doubts, though. It did not take long for him to make his next inquiry.

"You said you managed to confirm the existence and location of the alien battleship. Why did you not decide to retreat and contact my clan directly? There was no need for you to do all of the hard and dangerous work of defeating the powerful warship. The Yorul-Taviks will most certainly muster up a strong fleet to neutralize the alien vessel and rescue me from captivity. Even if the attempt has failed, the clan will not blame you. Instead, you would have received a gracious reward for your services."

Ves shook his head. "What you have said makes a lot of sense, but I am a pioneer."

"I do not understand."

"Lord Pearian, a pioneer is a human from the old galaxy that is dissatisfied with his or her lot in life and seeks to reach a higher station. The Red Ocean is the best possible environment for us to ascend the societal ladder and achieve success in a region that still offers many opportunities to us all. Sure, everything is also a lot more dangerous in the new frontier, but that comes with the territory. We all signed for this. We would not be enterprising pioneers if we did not dare to take a crack at this ourselves."

"It doesn't make any sense. The alien battleship is too powerful for you to defeat. You are mad for thinking about challenging one given how your second-class mech army cannot even overcome the vessel's defenses."

"Normally, you are correct, but that is why we manipulated the hell out of the parties involved."

When Ves spoke about luring a vulture fleet to the alien battleship and forcing the two into a highly destructive confrontation, Lord Pearian looked both horrified and impressed!

As a half-baked pioneer and leader, he fully realized how difficult it was to steer two enemies into an unwanted confrontation.

"How?!"

"Ah, that touches upon a couple secrets that we would like to keep for ourselves." Ves coyly smiled and replied. "We don't want to expose all of the strengths that we rely upon to get ahead of our rivals."

A bit of mystique could go a long way into painting the Golden Skull Alliance in a better light.

What Ves sought to accomplish here was to paint an image of power, ingenuity and most importantly success.

As the first point of contact with the Yorul-Taviks, the impression that Lord Pearian developed of his rescuers would play a major role in how his powerful and influential clan would treat the Larkinson Clan!

As such, Ves had to do everything he could to amaze and dazzle the man. He needed to persuade Pearian that it was worthwhile for the Yorul-Tavik Clan to build ties with the Larkinson Clan despite the fact that it was only a second-class organization.

As Ves went on to describe the tragic battle fought between the vulture fleet and the alien battleship, the former captive looked sympathetic.

"Huh. These Magrins deserve a reward for contributing to the downfall of the alien battleship and helping me get freed." The first-rater spoke.

"They don't." Ves immediately retorted. "Cenatus Prospecting deserves no sympathy or acknowledgement. If you read up on its history and the record of its founder, you will quickly change your mind. Otrus Magrin has caused the downfall of many people. It is only just for him to meet his end at the hand of one of our ploys. Who told him to stalk our fleet? He and his forces merely bit off more than they could chew this time."

The human survivors of the First Battle of Ramage Repulsor were a problem for the Golden Skull Alliance.

A powerful and talented ace pilot managed to escape with his life and mech intact, and most definitely developed a grudge against the parties who were ultimately responsible for causing his father to die.

Though Ves dearly wanted to nip this problem in the bud, there was not much he and his forces could do about this complication.

Hopefully Saint Neville Magrin wouldn't take the death of his father too harshly. Perhaps he might even realize that his father had brainwashed him and taken advantage of him for his entire life.

"So the efforts of the first battle has allowed you to swoop in and land the killing blow on the battleship?"

"Yes. It was not easy, though. We needed to act quickly and could only bring a limited amount of forces along."

The battle that Ves described was glorious.

The descriptions of the phase king and how many different expert mech struggled against this alien powerhouse sounded like an epic from an ancient tale.

The braveness of Patriarch Reginald for challenging both an alien battleship, if damaged, as well as a fully functional first-class multipurpose mech also caused Lord Pearian to react with amazement!

The man became oddly fixated on the first-class mech.

"Your ace mech succeeded in defeating the traitor mech, correct?"

"That is right, Pearian. Patriarch Reginald Cross managed to oppress the first-class mech and mech pilot so badly that the latter decided to blow up his own machine!"

The former captive scowled. "Typical. It is too cheap for these cosmopolitans to take refuge in death. Did your forces manage to capture or kill another human by the way? He normally wears a purple robe and a silver mask."

Ves activated a small projection from his comm. "You mean this fellow?"

"THAT'S HIM!" Lord Pearian angrily roared! "That is Jugal Meren! Is the traitor still alive? Bring me to his cell so that I can stuff a hundred nutrient packs down his throat before I strangle him to death!"

"Whoa, there! Let's not get too excited here. You are still recovering from a difficult ordeal, and besides, the MTA has already laid claim on this Jugal Meren."

The man's expression dropped. "Oh. I understand. The mechers cannot be defied. Mr. Meren will most certainly enjoy an unpleasant stay in their company. I will have to make do with resolution."

"I take it that the two of you haven spoken." Ves remarked.

"We did. It was not a pleasant conversation." Lord Pearian wearily replied. "I have seen the cosmopolitan consort with the aliens aboard the vessel in the most abject, servile and humiliating fashion possible. It is a sight that I would rather be without."

The two talked a bit more about the Jugal Meren, but Lord Pearian did not know much about the cosmopolitan diplomat to say anything useful.

"Let me ask you another question, Mr. Larkinson. What in the name of mechs did you do to finally defeat the alien battleship, and what does Helena have anything to do with it? Why did the nanomachines that you somehow managed to slip inside the ship warn me that I needed to pray to this woman?"

Ves smirked again. "Those are two questions, Lord Pearian. I am afraid I have to disappoint you in part. The measures we have employed to eliminate all effective resistance from the alien battleship is a proprietary secret of our alliance. Forgive me for withholding information on our trump card. You are free to look us up on the galactic net at a later date if you want to learn what the public knows about our capabilities. As for the second question, well… what do you think of Helena?"

"I… do not have any coherent thoughts about her." Pearian said in a tone that clearly showed how ambivalent he was about this matter. "When those strange but immensely powerful energies washed through my body multiple times, I truly felt I was one step away from death. At that time, there was nothing I could do to defend myself against it, so I followed your secret instructions and… prayed to Helena."

"Are you a secularist?"

"Our clan encourages us to maintain our distance from religion, but keep an open mind towards different faiths."

"Has that changed after your recent experiences?"

"..."

Ves let out a sigh and patted Pearian's shoulder with his armored hand. "It is not my place to tell you what to believe. It is not my intention to convert you to a belief either."

"The message you sent me leads me to believe otherwise." Pearian bitterly said. "What is worse is that it may be too late for me to go back. I made a lot of promises during that crucial interval of time. I do not look forward to tempting fate by turning my back on my word. I was raised to be better than that, and if there is one lesson that I have learned from this disaster of an expedition, it is that I should have respected the wisdom of my teachers."

"That is a good attitude for you to take. Whatever you decide to do with Helena, it can't hurt to be cautious. Remember that you have been marked by death. It can be both a blessing or a curse depending on your decisions. Do not make the wrong choice."

That was all of the help that Ves was willing to provide to his eldest sister. He was quite reluctant to tell Pearian to worship Helena like a god, even though the advantages of doing so were immense.

If Pearian turned himself into a devotee of Helena, then that would mean that he would indirectly become beholden to the Larkinson Clan!

Of course, Ves did not dare to think that he could control Lord Pearian. The Yorul-Taviks would not allow their core members to become compromised.

Any untoward actions would immediately trigger alarms and cause Pearian to undergo extensive examinations.

If the Yorul-Tavik Clan had any suspicion that one of their own had been indoctrinated, then Lord Pearian would probably receive extensive mental deprogramming treatment to turn him back to 'normal'.

This was another reason why Ves did not want to push the Helena angle too hard. Those first-raters were way too sensitive to subversion.