The Mech Touch

Ves became dazzled by the variety of goods on offer. Though most of it consisted of exotics prospected from asteroids and other satellites within the Nyxian Gap, he became impressed at the sheer variety on offer.

\"The selection of goods here is only topped by the sheer variety of goods for sale at Centerpoint!\" Ves gasped.

The trading halls of the Sentinel Peacekeeper Association offered a lot of juicy goods at a lot more reasonable prices than those that Ves encountered at Centerpoint!

Of course, this was one of the benefits of getting access to the Peacekeepers. Only the well-connected Sentinels enjoyed such favorable treatment.

It made him miss his access to the Clifford Society. He could have exchanged all of the merits he saved up on something good.

It would have been nice if Ves managed to obtain permanent membership to the Peacekeepers, but that was not in the cards.

\"So what are we looking for, boss?\"

\"Hmmm… it would be nice if I can get another P-stone.\" Ves mulled for a moment. \"I'd also like to secure more geril spice and learn where it comes from. I'll also keep my eyes peeled for other curiosities.\"

This time, Ves opted to wear his full Pride of Dusk ensemble over his business attire. The sight immediately attracted the attention and respect of others, especially as he weakened the aura-filtering barrier around his overcoat.

Normally, he loathed presenting himself in such an ostentatious fashion. This time was different, though.

Just like other exclusive trading platforms, the traders here cared a lot about the people they transacted with. A nobody would not be able to gain access to the more exclusive goods and services on offer. Even if they managed to convince a trader to sell something, then the prices they had to pay may turn out to be prohibitively high!

The effect of his outfit made a huge difference. As he calmly waded through the bazaars, not a single vendor or trader treated him lightly!

Even when he placed his silly decorative cat ears on top of his head, this still didn't detract from the respect he received!

Neither his wealth nor his status of a Journeyman caused the Peacekeepers to take note. Instead, with the aid of his Pride of Dusk, the locals mainly acknowledged his involvement in a successful Crown Hunt!

Sadly, even as Ves encountered numerous interesting goods, he didn't actually encounter anything he considered a must-buy.

Conscious of his budget, he was loath to blow his reserves on expensive trinkets with dubious value.

While the Peacekeepers offered an impressive variety of exotic, none of them were relevant to him. Occasionally, he did come across a few materials that Ves wanted to add to his Devil Tiger mech, but he left them alone.

It was too expensive to buy all of these interesting exotics! The Devil Tiger already forced him to expend too much money and resources. There was no need for him to sink more investment into a mech that was already prohibitively expensive.

Of course, just because Ves didn't feel the urge to procure anything special didn't mean that Lucky was the same.

\"Meow! Meow! Meow!\"

Just like when they visited Centerpiece's marketplace, Lucky acted like he entered a dragon's hoard. His cat clung to his shoulders and constantly patted his cheek and pointed his paws at a certain store within the trading hall.

\"Stop hitting me, Lucky!\"

\"Meow!\"

\"I don't care if there's Rorach's Bone for sale in that store! Do you know how expensive they can get?! The windfall mined from the Glowing Planet has all been gobbled up by the various states that took part in breaking it apart!\"

In fact, Ves wasn't sure whether the Rorach's Bone emerged from the Nyxian Gap or the Glowing Planet.

Its regenerative properties were highly valued but also hard to work with. While he could think of plenty of uses for the material, obtaining a sample of Rorach's Bone was more of a luxury than a necessity to Ves.

\"Meow!\"

\"I'm not neglecting you! I'm just watching my budget, that's all!\"

In order to placate Lucky, Ves bought some cheaper exotics, forking over the equivalent of tens of millions of bright credits each.

Lucky's complaints quickly subsided with the purchases. The cat comfortably munched on a hardy mineral as Ves and his followers moved on and visited other trading halls.

Aside from exotics, the Peacekeepers also traded a lot of salvaged and captured mechs and ships.

\"A lot of pirate spoils are for sale here.\" Ves noted.

\"If you want to pick up some mechs or ships for cheap, here's your chance.\"

Ves grimaced. \"No need. I can produce my own mechs, and I'd rather obtain my ships from reputable sources.\"

He still browsed the venues to learn what kind of equipment the Nyxian pirates used. While he encountered plenty of mechs and vessels they probably stole from their victims, he also stumbled across numerous offerings that appeared to be produced by the pirates themselves!

\"While the Nyxian Gap is a harsh region, the Nyxians can be very inventive sometimes, sir.\" The vendor politely explained. The Pride of Dusk exerted a lot of pressure on his shoulders. \"The Nyxian Gap is home to quite a number of exiled mech designers and even shipwrights. If they're skilled and good enough, the pirate outfits lure them to work on their behalf. That's how most of the products that I'm selling have come about.\"

Ves grew curious as he inspected some of the salvaged mechs. The quality of most of them were quite decent!

\"How much industry takes place in the Nyxian Gap?\"

The vendor looked apologetic. \"I have no idea. Most of the Nyxian Gap is just an empty sea of asteroids, but I've heard stories that there are places where the pirates have built space stations or larger settlements at some sites.\"

\"How large are we talking about?\"

\"Not as large as Cinach XII or anything. I don't think there's any settlement that hosts more than a hundred-thousand Nyxian pirates, but don't take my word for it. I only hear some rumors every now and then.\"

Though the seller claimed he didn't know a lot, his position within the Peacekeepers exposed him to a lot of hearsay and rumors.

One of the reasons that Ves spent so much time in the trading halls was to sample some of these rumors. He wouldn't be able to approach so many Peacekeeper staff otherwise!

Ves kept his ears out for stories of random pirates and dark mercenaries, hoping to hear any signs of his father.

However, his father probably did everything possible to obscure his identity in the Nyxian Gap! There was no way he'd be stupid enough to use his real name while he remained in hiding!

\"The Oblivion Hand has been gaining ground lately.\" One of the vendors gossiped. \"Ever since the Dark Cleaver, their new commander, launched a coup against Commander Dafoe, they've been making a lot of noise. They made a lot of enemies along the way, but under the leadership of the Dark Cleaver, the Oblivion Hand managed to break every enemy that stood in their way and absorb the defeated remnants into their ranks!\"

\"Uh huh. That sounds very interesting, but let's move on.\" Ves muttered with a disinterested expression. \"Have you heard about any settlements in the Nyxian Gap?\"

\"Well, supposedly there's a really huge pirate haven in the Nyxian Gap. Some of the pirates the Peacekeepers have captured have claimed to have visited a hollowed-out rogue planet in the deepest parts of the Nyxian Gap.\"

That immediately aroused Ves' interest. \"Tell me more.\"

\"It's supposedly called the Archport and is under the absolute control of a pirate boss who styles himself as the Enlightened King. From all of the pirates the Peacekeepers have captured and interrogated over the years, we're pretty sure that the Archport exists.\"

\"Such a massive pirate haven sounds like a great target for the Peacekeepers.\"

\"It would, if it wasn't so deep in the Nyxian Gap.\" The vendor retorted. \"Unless the Peacekeepers manage to find some sort of shortcut, it literally takes decades to reach this far into the Archport!\"

\"That sounds ridiculous!\"

\"That's how space travel is like in the Nyxian Gap. There's a lot of oddities at work. Distances don't make sense sometimes, and this problem will only grow more severe the deeper you head into the inner region of the Gap. It's as if there's a massive hole in reality in the center of the region that radiates all kinds of strange anomalous effects in the surrounding space.\"

That might very well be true. A lot of scientists cracked their heads to figure out how the Nyxian Gap came into being. Perhaps some kind of extremely powerful magnetar got struck by some ancient alien superweapon which collapsed and scrambled the space it used to occupy.

The phenomenon of space compression meant that the Nyxian Gap encompassed a much smaller region of space than it appeared on the maps. It was just that the inability to engage in FTL travel counteracted this effect.

\"I see.\" Ves nodded thoughtfully. \"If it literally takes decades to reach the Archport from the outside, then I'm not surprised that the Peacekeepers haven't done anything about it. Do you think it actually exists?\"

\"Yeah. We don't have any idea how to get there, though. I'm sure that some kind of shortcut exists that shaves off the travel time, but strangely enough, the pirates who claimed to have visited the Archport literally don't know. The knowledge of this route has been plucked from their brains!\"

That caused Ves to grow suspicious. He began to wonder whether the Five Scrolls Compact secretly controlled this so-called Archport. It made a lot of sense and it fit their modus operandi.

However, Ves could lodge this accusation to a lot of things. He even entertained suspicions that the Compact even managed to infiltrate the Peacekeepers!

Ves vigorously shook his head. There he went again, letting his paranoia get the better of him. It was ridiculous for him to suspect that the Peacekeepers were secretly controlled by the Compact considering that the aristocracy was firmly in control of the organization.

As Ves continued to interact with the vendors and other staff, he abruptly paused when he noticed a very remarkable piece of salvage for sale.

Ves turned and immediately approached a specific store. He walked up to one of the projections that showed something that he never expected to find in this region of space.

\"This…\" Gavin hesitated. \"This wreck looks like it came from an Aurora Titan. Is.. is this your mech?\"

His lips curled downwards. \"No. It's an imitation, and a good one at that!\"

The imitation mech suffered very heavy damage and almost every part of its exterior sustained damage. Nevertheless, Ves could easily imagine that the machine performed close to the authentic versions produced by the LMC and NORA Consolidated!

Ves shook his head at the sight. \"Let's go.\"

\"Don't you want to purchase the wreck and investigate it further?\" Gavin asked.

\"Nah. I've already seen what I've wanted to see. I'm pretty sure the copycat mech didn't come from one of the underground mech manufacturers based in the Reinald Republic. I'm not interested in learning more.\"

Every mech designer who designed a good mech suffered from copycats looking to rip off their work. It was futile for Ves to try to stamp them out completely. If the MTA wasn't able or willing to do so, then what could he do?

What Ves found most egregious about the wreck of the imitation he encountered was that he actually sensed the hint of something remarkable in its projection!

This meant that the copycat mech manufacturers managed to obtain the full design schematics and reproduce them well enough that they even managed to impart their imitation mechs with a hint of X-Factor!

This did not bode well for Ves and the LMC!