The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1101

It seemed that every time Ves visited Bentheim, he inevitably got shot at, had his ride hijacked, got hunted by a mech, or faced some other threat to his life.

Ves didn’t treat his safety lightly this time. "Now that someone put a substantial bounty on my head, the best way for killers to go after me is by pulling something off in Bentheim."

"Meow!" Lucky bumped his paw against Ves in protest.

"Yes, I know that you’ve become quite deadly after all the meals you’ve enjoyed, but you’re just a single cat. What if someone drops an artificial meteorite over my head? Can you claim to single-handedly intercept such a huge mass as it crashes down to the surface?"

"Meow-meow!"

"I know that it’s far too ludicrous that someone can pull something like that off in a star system as heavily guarded as the Bentheim System. It’s just an extreme example. That doesn’t detract from the danger I’ll face from determined assassins."

Ves was so worried about his safety that he ordered Melkor to arrange the Avatars of Myth to accompany him as his security detail.

"It will be difficult to muster enough mechs and mech pilots for your security detail." Melkor frowned. "A third of our Avatars are still deployed in various missions. The remainder are exempted from off-world missions at this time or have to guard the Mech Nursery."

"Tell it to me straight. How many mechs can you afford to send?"

"Only four. The good news is that they’ll consist of two Blackbeaks and two Crystal Lords."

Ves nodded. "That will do."

He had absolute faith in his own designs. While traveling on Bentheim with landbound mech escorts was a rather slow affair compared to flying high in the skies, they at least formed a very powerful form of deterrence.

Unless the assassins employed their own mechs, they could forget about harming the armored shuttle he rode on!

For fifty million credits, it didn’t make any sense to employ mechs in the assassination attempt. Cheap bargain bin mechs didn’t stand a chance against the Blackbeaks and the Crystal Lords, but to employ an even greater force than that assuredly meant that the Planetary Guard would stomp on them even if the assassination attempt succeeded!

In effect, it simply wasn’t cost-effective to kill Ves while he was surrounded by such a strong mech guard detail!

Unfortunately, Ves still had to rely on a real security company to round out his other security arrangements. So far, the Avatars of Myth didn’t employ a shuttle or infantry-based guard force, which was a glaring hole in its ability to provide all round protection to their owner.

Ves placed a call to the local branch office of SASS and informed them to make the appropriate preparations at Bentheim.

While Ves would still be traveling comfortably aboard the Barracuda, the luxurious corvette would not travel alone this time. One of the two light carriers he commissioned previously would be joining them to transport the four mechs that made up his mech guard detail.

"The Greenfeather will be accompanying the Barracuda to Bentheim and back." Melkor informed him half a day later. "Before you ask, the Greenfeather is the name I’ve settled upon for one of your light carriers."

Ves frowned at that. "What did you call the other carrier, then?"

"The Redfeather."

What charming names. Obviously, Melkor did not excel in this aspect. His creativity must be sorely lacking.

Since Ves owned the two light carriers, he could name them however he wanted. If he wanted to change their names, it was as simple as snapping his fingers. Melkor and his subordinates would take care of the actual paperwork involved with officially changing the name of a starship.

Ves just couldn’t be bothered to do so. While Melkor did a poor job in naming his light carriers, the Avatars already got used to them. Ves would be undermining Melkor’s authority unnecessarily if he insisted on a name change.

With his security matters taken care of, Ves felt relieved that no one would be able to spoil his latest visit to Bentheim.

"Yep. Absolutely nothing will happen to me this time. I’m sure. Totally."

Before he left, he took stock of his company. At this time, Phase 2 had run its course. The Living Mech Corporation completed its transformation into a more cohesive corporation. While the company couldn’t claim to understand his design philosophy entirely, it took on enough traits to understand the general direction where he wanted to take his mech designs.

Even if the company stopped holding company events so frequently, Ves made sure they held enough activities to keep the employees engaged. It was important to refresh the indoctrination they previously went through from time to time lest the company’s influence stopped taking hold.

The changing mood affected the company from top to bottom. Not only did every employee gain a clearer awareness of the LMC’s mission, they also revered Ves even more.

In fact, it disturbed him quite a bit to be seen as a figurative god among his workers. No matter where he went, he always aroused some sort of fanfare as worshipful employees gathered to gawk at him or bow respectfully in his presence.

While such attention did wonders to his ego, Ves was careful not to get swept by the sensation.

"I should finish the Aurora Titan design first before I bask in my own glory."

Without publishing a new mech design, the LMC would never be able to regain its previous growth trend. This was why his current joint project played such a pivotal role.