The Mech Touch

5003Foreign Environment

Many displaced humans became convinced that the end times had arrived for their people!

Perhaps their brothers and sisters who were fortunately enough to remain In the Milky Way had little to worry about, but It was a completely different story to the unlucky victims of a grand alien plot!

Doom had come to the humans who had become orphaned from their main civilization without any warning or preparation!

Far too many people began to act out as their minds became completely enthralled by the depths of their own Imagination.

Every society had its fair share of pessimists and trigger-happy idiots, and the life-changing events that took place today had pushed them over the edge!

Spontaneous riots and attacks erupted across human space In the new frontier.

Davute was no exception to this rule. Both Its outlying colonies and Its densely populated port system quickly turned chaotic as too many people ignored the orders issued by several different authorities.

It was already bad enough if ordinary people left their shelters and discharged their firearms on the streets.

The true threats from the crazies that had access to serious hardware!

Power plant engineers deliberately attempted to blow up a reactor!

Spacers hijacked the ships they were serving upon so that they could turn large metal vessels into suicide weapons!

Mech pilots hopped Into their cockpits, only to use their powerful machines to destroy their communities as opposed to protecting them from harm!

The chaos that erupted in the Davute System happened to be a bit more severe than usual.

As a port system, Davute attracted a large number of foreigners. These traders or visitors had little to no foundation In the colonial state and felt much more alienated than the residents who invested in their new homes.

Tourists shed all of their anti-gravity clothing before promptly throwing themselves from the floating structures.

Mercenary mechs In space began to open fire on every nearby starship.

Opportunists took advantage of the momentary chaos to settle their private vendettas or raid a couple of stores!

The situation In Kotor City and many other settlements continued to deteriorate!

However, the authorities were quick to respond.

The Planetary Guard and much of the armed forces consisted of highly professional servicemen. Their intensive training had increased their psychological fortitude.

Even if the galaxy was falling apart around them, they would still remain steady and follow their orders to the end!

The law enforcement mechs of the Planetary Guard moved to resolve as many incidents as possible. The Pacifier model that was Jointly developed and sold by the Living Mech Corporation and Voiken Industries happened to do an excellent Job at calming down the troublemakers!

Unfortunately, most cities in Davute and the rest of the surrounding middle zones did not field enough of them to control the entire population.

The Federal Military of Davute quickly had to deploy its own forces in order to cover all of the remaining ground!

Although the military mech pilots did not have any great ways to resolve violent incidents other than employing a lot of violence themselves, they had no other choice.

Their orders were extremely clear! Anyone who stirred up trouble at this time had to be controlled or eliminated as quickly as possible!

"Do the authorities need any assistance?" Ves asked General Verle as both of them had moved to an underground command center. "We've got thousands of mechs at our disposal. This is not the time for us to let our grievances with the government get in the way of survival."

The general shook his head. "We do not need to reinforce the government troops for the time being. Davute already has enough mechs to cover most neighborhoods. Don't forget that the colonial state had been building up for war since the day it was founded. The Federal Military is oversized and has especially stationed many of its mech divisions in this port system. The 77th Warborn led by General Ark Larkinson have also deployed their mechs in force."

"I see."

Due to this and many other reasons, the situation in Davute remained under control for the most part.

Other regions had it worse. The absence of Pacifier mechs that could quickly and conveniently sap the madness from lots of unstable individuals made it a lot harder to restore order!

The Pacificiers weren't sold in the Upper Zones and the Lower Zones of the Red Ocean. This meant that the authorities of many planets had to exert a lot more effort in order to regain control over the settlements and the space lanes!

Ves did not really care about what happened outside of Davute at the moment. He was on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a flood of alarming information and developments, so he constantly had to rein in his thoughts and focus on the more immediate issues.

"Has the Big Two sent any new transmissions as of yet?!" Ves asked as he continued to coordinate the Larkinson Clan's response in the command center.

Neither he nor anyone else had taken off their protective suits. The highest state of emergency was still in effect, and even if the situation calmed down a bit, they would still keep up their guard for a long time!

"Tlte MTA and the CFA have yet to make any further declarations, but word on the street is that they will make a massive announcement within 24 hours." Gavin Neumann responded. "The situation is messy behind the scenes as well. The mechers and the fleeters are probably arguing about what to do. I don't think either of them have made up their minds on their proposed course of action. No one could have planned for this contingency. It will take time for the leaders to come to a reluctant and uneasy consensus."

That sounded about right to Ves. The MTA was divided into several factions and the CFA was no different. There was no way that all of those powerful leaders at the top would unite all of a sudden!

In fact, it was probably the opposite! The abrupt breakdown of the intergalactlc governance structure meant that a lot of controlling and moderating institutions could no longer restrain the leading figures in the Red Ocean!

"I hope the Big Two settle their differences quickly." Ves muttered. "The people need to hear from them. If not, humanity in the Red Ocean may very well splinter and fracture into pieces."

This would be an even greater calamity for everyone!

As much as Ves disliked the restrictions Imposed by the MTA and the CFA, they were the only organizations capable of enforcing order in the new frontier.

As the unfolding chaos erupting in many human-occupied star systems just showed, their society could not do without order!

Time passed by. Kotor City only briefly became beset by flames before the authorities deployed their mechs in force and came down hard on the troublemakers.

The Cat Nest continued to remain undisturbed as its excellent defenses and large mech garrison deterred many people from even looking in its direction!

The expeditionary fleet up in orbit was in a more precarious state. Despite its distance from other fleets and starships, there was no cover in space.

Any mech with a precise enough ranged weapon could open fire on the vulnerable starships of the Larkinson Clan and its allies!

In order to prevent the ships from being used as target practice, the crews had been instructed to start moving around and increase their distance from third parties.

Whether these measures made a difference or not, the expeditionary fleet was spared from getting attacked.

Once Ves became more assured that the security situation of the Larkinson Clan remained stable, he cautiously started to investigate the greater situation.

The fractured galactic net continued to get flooded with nonsense, but the Black Cats had been busy with trying to separate truth from hysterical lies.

"It is a lot more difficult to distinguish one from the other." Calabast's projection reported to Ves. "So many crazy events took place that the more reasonable stories are more likely to be false. There are many different parties that want to pretend they have the situation under control. Not every place has weathered this day as well as Davute."

Ves sighed. "Humanity in the Red Ocean is not taking this well at all. We are already starting to fall apart on the first day!"

"I don't think it will be as bad as you think." Calabast responded. "Too many people must vent our emotions one way or another. Once the next day has arrived, I think that many of us will sober up and begin to think about what we must do from here. This is the time where the Big Two will likely make a historic announcement. That is when the displaced humans are most receptive to their message."

It made sense, Ves supposed. He just wished that this could happen without so many people giving in to their despair.

"Is there any developments that you think I should be informed about?" He asked.

"There are several, Ves. The first is that the Planetary Guard units throughout the new frontier have all made the same reports. They have noted that the glows of the Pacifier mechs have become a little more effective than expected. Their maximum range has grown and their ability to calm down rabid individuals have also improved."

Ves minutely widened his eyes.

"General Verle."

"Yes, sir?"

"Have our men reported any changes with regards to their living mechs?"

"I was Just about to bring that up, sir." The middle-aged man said with a hint of perplexity on his face. "More and more troops are sharing their doubts about this matter. They feel that their living mechs have become... a little more alive than before. Their glows have also grown stronger, though not every mech pilot is sensitive enough to tell the difference."

Ves fell into thought. "I see. Keep track of this matter. Living mechs are the foundation of our defense. We cannot afford to overlook any changes to their effective performance. Try and find out whether the changes are uniform or variable among the different living mechs."

"Will do, sir. We shall endeavor to collect as much data as possible."

He experienced a lot of unusual changes after the mass displacement event. He initially thought that he was Just feeling a bit woozy from getting teleported 50 million light-years away, but if other spiritual entitles got affected in a similar fashion, then a lot more was going on than he initially assumed!

"Calabast."

"What is it, Ves?"

"We need to collect as much environmental data as possible." Ves stated. "Activate all of the sensor systems of the Blinding Banshee and investigate the state of the surrounding space. I want access to that data so that I can check for certain stuff."

The spymaster frowned but nodded. "We can do that. What do you want to study in particular?"

"I need the Blinding Banshee to take an especially close look at the effect that Messier 87 has on the local environment. The supergiant galaxy is the largest in the Virgo Cluster. Our Red Ocean has dropped so close to it that we have all become exposed to new forms of radiation and other environmental factors."

Calabast immediately grew concerned. "Are you suspecting that we are all being affected by unknown and potentially dangerous radiation?"

"I can't rule anything out at this point. We are lacking a lot of information right now, so get to work and start collecting all of that sensor data."

As Calabast's projection soon faded away, Ves turned his attention Inward.

Bllnky possessed a high degree of sensitivity towards spiritual energy. The companion spirit sensed a gradual change in the environment, one that had been gradually growing stronger over time.

Although Ves needed to collect a lot more data to be certain, he already formed a preliminary guess of what was happening.

He turned his head until he faced the overall direction of Messier 87.

Somehow, the interstellar environment of this large and powerful galaxy was a lot more friendly towards spiritual energy and anything related to it! This had huge implications for every energy-based life form!