The Mech Touch

Since the Vesians already got their hands on the Soldier mechs, the LMC might as well sell them directly.

Now that Ves gave his consent, Raymond quickly left in order to make the arrangements.

It was far from simple to overcome the centuries-old trade embargo between the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom.

At the very least, the LMC needed to work closely with the government in the coming weeks. If the Bright Republic itself did not agree to this trade, the company would never be able to dream of entering the Vesian mech market!

Later that day, Ves enjoyed a break with his girlfriend. The two of them sat together in a lounge that Gloriana recently renovated in the lab and workshop floor of the Mech Nursery.

While their cats playfully chased after a very agile mouse bot that Gloriana imported from Centerpoint, both of them comfortably leaned against each other.

Their relationship had grown stable. Nothing special happened, but that did not mean their love towards each other had cooled down.

Both of them shared a love for mechs. Each new collaboration project provided them with another opportunity to learn about each other's passion for mechs.

A very special intimacy developed between each other whenever they worked together on the same mech.

This was why their relationship still remained in harmony despite their differences.

Regardless of what Ves thought about Hexers or what Gloriana expected from Ves, their love remained as stable as ever.

Ves became more and more comfortable with the thought of spending the rest of his life with Gloriana.

"What are you thinking about, Ves?"

"Ah, nothing important. Just some business matters."

"Oh? Do tell."

"I've recently decided to sell our mechs to the Vesians."

Since Gloriana frequently talked and gossiped with some of the Larkinsons at the Cloud Estate, she knew how badly the Brighters regarded the Vesians.

She attempted to comfort him by patting his arm. "That's.. Very magnanimous of you. I imagine it's as difficult as Hexers selling their mechs to Fridaymen."

"There's a difference between the two. Your state is in a direct conflict against the Coalition. In contrast, the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom are both being pressed by a common enemy that is far more threatening."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Exactly. I don't like this decision, but I know it will be worse for us if the Vesia Kingdom can't persist."

Even though it made sense, it still sounded absurd to Ves. He still couldn't quite get over the fact that every Vesian would soon become exposed to the wonders of his mechs.

Would they become his fans? Would they demand continued access to the products of the LMC?

Whatever the case, Ves was sure that the Sand War completely upended the old order. Just as the Bright Republic hungered to conquer the former territories of the Coman Federation, the Vesia Kingdom also looked forward to doubling or tripling its territories!

Digesting so much territory took decades, if not centuries. Depending on how extensively the sandmen devastated the cities and infrastructure of the formerly-populated planets, a lot of rebuilding had to be done before the new acquisitions turned into assets of the states.

Ves predicted that the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom would not go to war anymore in the next century or so. One of the primary reasons the Vesians hungered for war was to acquire more territorial acquisitions. Now that they stood to gain a huge amount of ownerless star systems, why should they bother their neighbors?

Perhaps the Bright-Vesia Wars might even become a thing of the past.

Once the contradictions between the two states faded, trade would probably flourish. A new generation of Brighters and Vesians would grow up in a time of peace and expansion. Without experiencing the previous wars for themselves, they would not be as hesitant in working together as their predecessors.

This would not take place for many years, though. Opening a trade channel just as the memories of the previous war were still too fresh sounded like a bad idea.

Ves didn't care. He looked forward to gloating over the Vesians as they helplessly came to depend on his Soldier mechs!

"Meow."

Their two cats tired of chasing after the darned uncatchable mouse bot and leapt up to their laps.

"Oh, are you hungry, Lucky?" Gloriana teased while tweaking Lucky's ears.

"Meow!"

Gloriana happily retrieved a treat from her pocket and threw it in his mouth. "Here you go!"

Meanwhile Ves rubbed his fingers over Clixie's soft fur. He still hadn't gotten over the novelty of petting a creature with actual fur. Clixie was a lot more adorable than his naughty cat in his eyes!

"You're such an elegant cat, Clixie. Lucky can learn a lot from you!"

"Miaow."

Times like these happened nearly every day. While not a lot of excitement took place, neither Ves nor Gloriana had any complaints.

Sadly, Ves couldn't afford to indulge in Gloriana's company every moment of the day. Even if he did his best to delegate his responsibilities, he still needed to divert some time on various matters.

The LMC increasingly grew more formidable. With several manufacturing facilities coming online in Bentheim, the Mech Nursery was no longer the only production site of the company.

Ves still had no intentions of moving to Bentheim, though. It was far too busy for his liking and it was filled with powerful players that Ves had no intention of meeting.

While it appeared that the recent developments on Cloudy Curtain attracted hundreds if not thousands of different influences, Ves and the LMC remained dominant on this planet!

Aside from the LMC, he regularly checked up on his other organizations. The Avatars, Battle Criers and Sentinels constantly grew stronger as Ves or the LMC invested considerable sums of money in upgrading their mechs.

The Larkinson Exobiology Institute also started to take shape. While it was too soon to gain permission to erect an exobeast reserve on Cloudy Curtain, Dr. Lupo already made some progress in some areas.

As for the Ves Larkinson Foundation for Wounded Veterans, he reluctantly watched on as Clinton Larkinson expanded the charity's capacity to treat the wounded.

In fact, if Clinton got his way, he wanted the Foundation to build an entirely new medical facility on Cloudy Curtain, one geared towards veteran care!

Naturally, Ves did not agree to this. Expanding the Foundation's treatment capacity to a hundred patients was enough.

Speaking of patients, one of the issues that required his personal attention was Davia Stark. The doctors employed by the Foundation did a good job in treating the physical wounds of this hidden expert pilot.

However, the doctors could do nothing about her mental and spiritual wounds.

As Dr. Lupo guided him to the recovery room where Davia Stark rested, he explained the patient's condition.

"From what we can tell of her history, she used to be a mercenary pilot when the sandmen crossed into human space. The mercenary corps she used to be a part of suffered the same fate as most of the initial defenders."

Overwhelmed by sandmen.

"Have any of her former comrades survived?" Ves carefully asked.

It would be bad for him if her former friends, colleagues and family came to Cloudy Curtain and insisted on taking Stark away!

Dr. Lupo looked uncertain. "It's difficult to tell. The chaos following the fall of the border states has upended existing records. They're not up to date anymore so it's very hard to figure out if people are dead or alive."

"So far, you haven't found anything, right?"

"No. We have tried to reach out to known contacts, but no one replied to our messages. It is looking increasingly more likely that this poor woman is all alone now."

Ves tried his best not to erupt into a grin. That would be improper. Instead, he slowly managed to school his face in a sad and solemn expression.

"I hope we can give Madame Stark a new home here at the LMC. I'm always open to employing honorable veterans."

"That sounds very generous of you, Mr. Larkinson." Lupo fawned.

"Is she in a state to talk?"

"We can wake her up if you wish. It won't affect her recovery as long as you keep your discussion short and free of stress."

"Wake her up, then. I'll be holding a private talk with her. Please stay outside."

Lupo nodded as Ves stepped into the recovery room. Some kind of attached device beeped as it injected some chemicals in Davia's bloodstream.

The expert pilot slowly emerged from her slumber.

Once Nitaa closed the doors, Ves passed on an instruction to Lucky who outputted a weak ECM field that mainly targeted the monitoring system of the room.

Ves did not wish to ruin the medical equipment built into the recovery bed.

"Hello, Davia. Can I call you that?"

Davia stopped pretending to be asleep. Her dull eyes turned to Ves as if she was gazing at a worm.

"You kidnapped me."

"I wouldn't say that." Ves defended himself. "I merely took you to a treatment facility where I could give you the care you deserve."

"I don't deserve anything."

"Your wounds would have led to a lot of chronic pain if left untreated."

"Good. I deserve to suffer."

Ves twitched his mouth. What was wrong with this woman?

"I'm giving you a second chance."

"Who says I want one?"

"I know you're an expert pilot." Ves admitted. "As a member of the famed Larkinson Family of the Bright Republic, I'm very familiar with expert pilots. I recognize the same air from you as the expert pilots of my family."

That was a lie, but Davia didn't have to know that.

The woman scowled at Ves. "I am a disgrace of an expert pilot. I failed my comrades and I failed my state."

"You're not the first traumatized survivor I've met. You're not doing anyone a favor by knocking yourself down. Do you think you are doing your fallen comrades a service by giving in to your despair?"

Davia shrugged. "I'm a failure. I am one of the least deserving mech pilots in the star sector to be bestowed this power. I was completely unable to save the commander I admired."

Ves narrowed his eyes as he figured something out. "Did you fight against the sandman in a standard mech?"

"I haven't piloted an expert mech if that's what you're asking."

"Ah. That explains it, then. No expert pilot can exert their full strength in a mech that isn't designed to resonate with you. Expert mechs are expensive for a reason."

"THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE MY FAILURE! PEOPLE COUNTED ON ME! NOW THEY'RE DEAD!"

"Calm down! Your body is still weak! You won't do your recovery any good if you lash out like that!"

Fortunately, Davia was simply too tired and fed up to sustain her outburst. She quickly calmed down and entered into a depressed mood.

Ves cautiously walked closer until he stood at the side of her bed. Despite her treatment, Davia appeared much older and frailer than before. According to the record, she was about 50 years old.

"When did you become an expert pilot?"

"Not too long ago." She answered. "I never thought I would become an expert pilot after I finished my military service. I became an expert pilot once I became a mercenary, but only a few people knew."

That sounded strange. Ordinarily, expert pilots could never hide themselves as their force of will was too easy to detect with modern resonance sensors.

"No one else found out?"

"I wasn't an expert pilot for long, to be honest. We kept it a secret as best as possible by disabling the sensors of our mechs and ships. As long as I holed up in my cabin and avoided contact with other forces, it's easy to avoid detection. I have no stomach to rejoin the military."

"Others would have found out eventually."

"That's true. I just wanted to prolong my return."

"Then the sandmen came."

"Yes."

The sandman invasion changed her entire fate.