The Mech Touch

As the date of the founding ceremony of the Red Collective crept closer, the highly anticipated event started to pull in everyone remotely involved in it. Ves could not live through one day without spending his time on planning or making decisions related to his upcoming 'business trip' to the Yernstall Central Star Node.

The Sapphire of the Red Ocean had always served as the most prominent star system in the new frontier. It was only overshadowed by Bridgehead One, but after the latter got trapped in a spacetime bubble, Yernstall had no choice but to step up and serve as the new 'capital system' of red humanity.

Yernstall had become busier than ever. It had already turned into a thriving commercial center due to the fact that it was one of the few neutral locations where Terrans and Rubarthans could tolerate each other's presence.

Now, it was shaping up to become a true multicultural center of human civilization. Every major player tried to establish at least a branch office in this extremely congested but also expensive star system.

What was important to Ves was that while all of the advanced infrastructure of the Yernstall Central Star Node had been entirely built up by the Red Association and the Red Fleet, the Red Collective was permitted to have a share of ownership of the star system as well.

The details were still being negotiated behind the scenes, and Ves did not expect for the RC to get a lot of stuff for free, but it was already enough to gain a solid foothold!

Perhaps the RC would be able to expand its influence in Yernstall and other central star nodes in time. It may very well be the case that the Collective decided that as a latecomer, it was not the best idea to imitate the development trajectories of its much older rivals. Perhaps it was better to rely on other parties to set up branches in other locations. The price of real estate in many star systems had shot through the roof since the outbreak of the Red War.

The new hats that Ves had taken on as of late forced him to expand his staff and create new departments devoted to assisting him in keeping track of all of the political machinations of the Coalition of Faiths and the Red Collective.

As Ves tried to juggle a lot of responsibilities at the same time, he became more concerned about the fleet that would escort him to Yernstall and back again.

The Bluejay Fleet was not bad, and the additional reinforcements that came in the form of carriers hosting much-needed first-class multipurpose mechs were all nice, but the lack of high-ranking mechs and mech pilots bothered him a lot.

He did not have a solid feeling that trouble was on the horizon, but the circumstances lined up far too well. Too many people had good reasons to get rid of him, so the probability that one of them would strike at the time where he was the most isolated and vulnerable was much greater than usual.

His concerns grew so much that he even put down his reluctance towards Ylvaine and secretly prayed to the design spirit for an oracle.

He felt so ashamed about it that he tried to keep it a secret from everyone. He did not want others to judge him for requesting answers from a prophet of all sources.

Unfortunately, Ves did not receive the answers he sought.

"What do you mean 'a storm is coming'?" He asked the hand-carved figurine of Ylvaine. "That hardly tells me anything. Is there anything you can actually predict about my life and safety starting from my departure from New Constantinople?"

"..."

"Ugh. I get it. I know that there are way too many powerful people involved. It would be unreasonable to ask you to extrapolate the movements and actions of lots of Master Mech Designers, Star Designers and the Evolution Witch to boot. I am not asking you to make predictions of my time in the Yernstall Central Star Node. I just want to know whether my trip will remain uneventful or not. Will I get attacked?"

"..."

"I don't see how this 'storm' can grow large enough to encompass my journey as well, but oh well. I guess it is better to assume the worst and prepare accordingly. If nothing else, it will give me greater peace of mind. It is getting really annoying that you aren't able to provide me with more precise predictions. The higher I rise up the ranks, the more I get into contact with powerful people. If the remaining defensive bands don't collapse, then more god pilots and Star Designers will emerge. Our clan has already welcomed three ace pilots. If their presence alone drastically increases the cost of predicting anything related to the Larkinson Clan, then how can you possibly keep up and serve your purpose as an early warning radar?"

"..."

"What do you mean it is my fault? I am not responsible for your failings!"

"..."

"Huh? Is it my fault because I didn't have a fourth child with Gloriana within half a year?" Ves had already forgotten about that warning. "I don't see how that can make such a huge difference. My wife and I do not have time to rear another child. We are already too busy and swamped with work to care for another child. As much as I want to raise another son, I cannot justify this diversion if it takes too much time out of my work. Besides, your request never sat well with me. I am not going to rear another child of mine, only for you to swoop in and reincarnate in his body or something."

That was probably the real reason why he instantly shot down this insanely inappropriate request. Ves could recognize the usefulness of portends of the future, but he strongly rejected the notion that everything was deterministic! There was no way he believed Ylvaine's claim that the future would become much worse if Ves did not have a fourth child within a certain timeframe.

Although the deadline for that had already passed, Ves did not feel scared or nervous about it at all. In his opinion, the future was an infinite set of probabilities. This was an interpretation that Jovy Armalon also based his design philosophy upon.

A lot of timelines may be similar due to the greater possibilities of certain events coming to pass, but nothing should ever be 100 percent locked into place.

Even if there was a kernel of truth in Ylvaine's warning, Ves believed he would be able to manage in the future anyway, because it was ultimately shaped by people living in the moment.

Putting too much stock in vague and unproven oracles would drive anyone mad as they did their best to inadvertently fulfill their own prophecies.

This was why he also took the visions of the future depicted by the Zeal with a grain of salt.

Certain images that did not sit well with him. The one where he pressed his gun against the temple of what he presumed to be his grown-up son was a potential future that Ves most definitely did not want to turn into a reality!

If his fourth son was the one that had apparently committed a sin so terrible that it pushed Ves to commit filicide in the future, then it may be for the best that this timeline had been averted entirely by not letting this child be born in the first place!

Seeing that he couldn't gain anything useful out of Ylvaine, Ves ended the spiritual call and stowed away the figurine.

"I'll have to prepare for the future the old-fashioned way, then." Ves sighed.

He did so by spending more time on checking the security arrangements. He paid close attention to the assets of the temporarily expended Bluejay Fleet.

The Bluejay Fleet had always been slanted towards warships, so Ves welcomed the arrival of lots of mechs.

While there were pros and cons to both mechs and warships, Ves liked the former more because he understood them a lot better.

Although the mechs employed by the mechers definitely did not conform to his own style, there was nothing wrong with the machines. They were all excellent and could definitely put up a good fight against an enormous variety of threats.

The lack of high-ranking mechs and mech pilots did not even bother Ves all that much because the hardware was just so powerful.

Even if the Bluejay Fleet confronted an enemy that proved to be too much to handle, the point of this escort fleet was never to stay put and fight to the bitter end.

Many warships included in the Bluejay Fleet possessed better mobility and advanced interdiction-breaking capabilities. They were excellent at running through blockades and speeding away as fast as possible.

So long as Ves could quickly be brought away from any ambush, then the attempt on his life had already failed!

Of course, he also recalled Saint Tusa in order to obtain additional insurance during his business trip.

The ace light skirmisher had been going on a tour in the past half year or so. He stuck with the Dostoevsky Ancient Clan for a few months and learned a heap of valuable lessons from the Messenger of Silence.

He briefly returned to the expeditionary fleet after that and imparted many of those lessons to the other Larkinson high-ranking mech pilots.

After that, Tusa bounced between several different star systems under siege throughout the Red Ocean Union. He traveled to any location that was under heavy attack and where the defenders desperately required assistance.

By traveling to different star systems aboard a fast if cramped mobile carrier loaned by the Red Association, Tusa and his increasingly more recognizable Dark Zephyr played the role of a trouble shooter.

The Larkinson ace pilot was like a roaming god pilot, but much worse.

Even so, the arrival of a single junior ace pilot paired with an excellent ace mech may be enough to prevent the imminent collapse of a star system!

Saint Tusa certainly was not hurting for war merits, especially given that he was fighting in the most heavily contested Upper Zones.

The first Larkinson ace pilot was on such a roll that Ves felt reluctant to interrupt this honeymoon phase.

However, Ves really could not imagine entering a snake pit like Yernstall without enjoying the protection and lie detection capabilities of an ace pilot!

Suffice to say, Saint Tusa was not in a particularly good mood after he and his ace mech arrived in New Constantinople.

As a transport vessel delivered the ace pilot and his battle partner to Diandi Base, both Ves and Gloriana stood at the edge of the landing zone to welcome the return of the most powerful pilot of the Larkinson Clan.

"How magnificent." Gloriana sighed as she admired the Dark Zephyr Mark III Revision 2. "I have studied this mech many times by remote, but this is the first time I can observe this edition of the Dark Zephyr in person. Our masterwork has truly found a balance between subtlety and heroism."

The Dark Zephyr conveyed a heroic feel due to his masculine lines, his flighty glow and the instinctive sense that this machine had been tempered in war.

The ace light skirmisher also possessed an understated demeanor due to his predominantly black coating and the vastly dampened energy emissions.

"Well." Ves said. "Our creation has certainly experienced a hefty amount of growth. Perhaps there is more we can do to upgrade the Dark Zephyr than we initially thought. Let's bring this over to our private workshop so that we can examine the mech frame in detail."

He could not count on any other ace mechs during the trip to Yernstall and back.

As much as he wanted to bring along the Minerva Mark I Revision 2, she was still a quasi-first-class expert mech. It would be too much to request Saint Commander Casella' services when her machine was plainly not ready to wage combat at a higher level. Ves did not want to risk her life and the life of her battle partner.

The Dark Zephyr was the only ace mech that Ves could rely upon to have his best interests at heart, so that made the Larkinson mech designer all the more determined to improve this machine in the short term!

Ves already had a good target in mind. He spotted a very interesting change to the ace mech's Ascension Runes…

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