The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1304

The small party waited for a few minutes before a well-dressed Kinner arrived.

"Mr. Larkinson! It is an honor to be graced with your presence!" The middle-aged woman in a culturally-distinct business outfit spoke and bowed. "My name is Kelandra Vassis, and I will be your guide for the duration of your stay on Bloodstone."

Ves shook her hand and noted that her grip was very strong. Kelandra carried the vibe of a veteran, so she must have seen quite a bit of action in her younger years.

"Pleased to meet you, Kelandra. We’ll be placing ourselves in your care."

"Good! Please follow this way to the VIP section. One of our best shuttles is awaiting your arrival. We’ll be heading straight down the the spaceport before checking in at your hotel. In my experience, it takes clients at least several days or weeks to find the right mercenary corps to hire or buy out. I highly suggest you take your time as it is costly if you change your mind after everyone involved has signed the contracts."

"I understand. I look forward to exploring some of the other sights on Bloodstone during my stay."

"Excellent choice!" Kelandra praised. "We might not be able to offer the greatest comfort, but excitement is everywhere if you know where to look for it! I’ll be able to bring you to the best venues on the planet!"

The Kinner tribeswoman accompanied them to a well-built shuttle. As the vehicle descended to the surface of Bloodstone II, Kelandra began to act like a personal tour guide.

"Bloodstone has much to offer to its visitors. Aside from our vigorous mercenary market, we offer many amenities to mech pilots. Bloodstone is one of the premier destinations for aspiring mech pilots to learn how to become a true mercenary. If for whatever reason you decline to hire a Kinner mercenary corps, there are other outfits for hire that you consider instead."

"So a lot of foreign mech pilots in Bloodstone?"

"Yes, though in all honesty most of them consist of exiles or troubled individuals who aren’t welcome in their home states." Kelandra admitted.

"If they’re so.. troubled, then who would want to hire them here?"

"Some can be reformed. The training programs we run are harsh, but often succeed in beating the misbehavior out of most of the foreigners who participate in them. The best are picked up to supplement the ranks of our Kinner mercenary corps while the remainder form their own outfits. They’re substantially cheaper to hire than a Kinner outfit, so Bloodstone has plenty to offer to customers with tighter budgets."

He did not intend to hire mercenaries with mixed and murky pasts. It was all well and good for mech pilots without a home to seek a second chance at Bloodstone, but Ves had the capital to pick up something better.

However, Kelandra’s explanation did offer him a great idea. Since a lot of random mech pilots from all over the star sector converged on Bloodstone, a handful of them might have the potential to become an expert pilot!

While their attitude, training level and combat experience may be problematic, the Avatars could easily remedy most of their shortcomings!

"Is it common to hire individual mech pilots?" Ves asked.

His guide nodded. "It is customary for clients to hire mech pilots by group or outfit. They’re already familiar with fighting alongside each other. I do not advise you to pick and choose individual mech pilots. If you try to put together a collection of unfamiliar mech pilots, their lack of trust and coordination will result in very poor performance, whatever individual merits they might suggest."

"Is it possible to supplement a Kinner mercenary corps with individual hires?"

"No. Not unless you buy them out. Then they become your property to do what you wish as long as you abide by the contract. If you merely hire a Kinner outfit, you are not allowed to meddle with how they are run. Their mercenary commanders will warn you if that’s the case."

"Sounds reasonable. So if I do hire an individual mech pilot, I’ll have to organize them separately?"

Kelandra could see that Ves was being serious. "Our Kinner outfits do not allow the entry of unknown mech pilots unless they earn their approval. As long as the strangers prove themselves, it may be possible for them to integrate with the outfit. At the very least, I don’t think the outfits mind too much if you instruct them to transport the mechs that belong to strangers."

A decent amount of individual mech pilots brought their own mechs, though their ownership might be in question. It could be that their mechs belonged to their employers and they simply made off with the machine.

Sometimes, the mechs in question belonged to extinct mercenary corps. The surviving mercenary mech pilots who managed to flee while piloting the mechs did not exactly own the machines.

A mercenary corps was a business, and many of them owed considerable debts. Mercenary pilots technically ought to relinquish their mechs in order to pay back those debts, but many of them simply decide to run off with their ’free’ machines.

"The legalities of mercenaries who fall under such circumstances are convoluted and complex." Kelandra stated. "Some decide they don’t want to inherit the burden of their mercenary corps and decide to operate outside the confines of the law. That’s how many pirates and dark mercenaries are born."

Ves nodded in understanding. "As for those who don’t want to become a fugitive?"

"They make.. arrangements. The Mercenary Association will often step in and help the mech pilots negotiate with the creditors. Usually, a mech pilot will be able to maintain possession of their mechs by promising to give up a proportion of their salary over a couple of decades. The terms vary widely, but they are usually reasonable enough to make it worth it to the mech pilots."

"Very clever." Gavin noted from the side. "A second-hand mech, particularly one that incurred battle damage from a losing battle, has lost a lot of value. Rather than sell them for half of their original value, why not lean on a mech pilot that may be able to earn back the entire worth of the mech over twenty years or so?"

Naturally, a mech pilot always risked crippling injury and death, but as long as they remained prudent, investing in them was not necessarily a bad idea from the perspective of a debt holder.