The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1312

The next day, Ves and Gavin woke up and prepared for another day of Kinner shopping.

This time, Ves resolved not to go back empty-handed this time.

His extensive talk with Gavin pulled him out of his obsession of collecting the best of the best, regardless whether they were available to him or not. Continuing to pine over Commander Oryn Mair after the mercenary captain resolutely ruled out working for him should have been the end of the matter.

"It’s truly a pity to leave behind a gem in the rough." Ves shook his head in regret. "Still, the price I have to pay in order to obtain an unattainable treasure may be greater than I can stomach."

His actual demands were nowhere near as high. Hiring a decent Kinner mercenary corps ought to satisfy most of his immediate needs with regards to his security.

Rounding that out with a personal bodyguard and an experienced spy adept in virtual security filled up the other gaps. Though Ves could always hire more, his budget wouldn’t allow it at the moment. He would just have to stick to the safer parts of space.

After heading down to the hotel lobby, Kelandra greeted them both with an amiable smile. "Good morning, Mr. Larkinson. Shall we resume our search at Ornament Halls, or do you prefer to visit the smaller recruitment venues instead?"

"Let’s return to Ornament Halls." Ves decided after a brief moment while holding Lucky. "There are plenty of mercenary corps we haven’t encountered yet. I’ve also readjusted my priorities, so I might want to revisit some of the mercenary representatives that I’ve spoken to before."

"Alright. We can do that."

As they began to walk towards their aircar, Ves also mentioned his other demands.

"After discussing my lack of qualified help with my assistant, I’d also like to hire some other bodies outside of a combat force."

"Such as?"

Ves listed out his list of priorities.

"I was wondering if you would turn to the rest of our job market." Kelandra nodded in understanding. "Many clients who visit Bloodstone have the same needs as yours. While we are famed for our loyal Kinner mech pilots, not everyone is destined to follow their vocation. Aside from raising logistical personnel to assist our mech pilots, we also excel in raising Kinners who can fulfill other jobs. While low-skilled labor is our most abundant export product, we do offer a fair amount of specialized, high-skilled labor."

"What is their quality?" Gavin asked.

"Do not expect to encounter any exceptional talents. Our systematic education system is geared towards educating a large amount of qualified Kinner experts instead of trying to raise a small number of exceptional talents. Those that do happen to turn out exceptional often join the tribal corps or auction themselves out to our most wealthiest customers."

In other words, Ves should not expect the best. Just like with hiring a mercenary corps, he still lacked the wealth and reputation to buy out the most premier Kinner tribesmen.

The aircar lifted off from the hotel grounds and flew towards Ornament Halls. The short trip ended quickly and the passengers disembarked in order to enter the bustling grounds.

They first resumed touring the halls where the Kinner outfits hung out. Ves talked to numerous representatives, finding out their history, their track record, their fighting strength, their price, their willingness to be bought out and so on. Most reps happily answered his questions.

He kept his spiritual senses peeled for remarkable individuals, but he found no one that came close to matching Commander Mair.

Although Ves could keep looking for better options, he did not wish to prolong his search any longer than necessary.

He decided to take a brief break and discuss his options with Gavin and Kelandra.

"What about the Uliver Dornshields?" Their guide suggested. "While their mech pilots are on the younger side, they are very enthusiastic about signing on to you, Mr. Larkinson."

Gavin shook his head. "They are rather lacking in experience. None of them have ever traveled beyond the region surrounding the Kinner Tribe. I’m not sure they’ll be able to handle the situations we encounter as we travel further away from their home state."

"That’s a good point." Ves remarked. "While younger Kinners have the advantage of a longer shelf life, their lack of experience can be a serious detriment. We can’t afford to train them on the job. I need mech pilots who are already competent and capable of adjusting to different environments."

A short pause ensued as Gavin perused the notes he took on his data pad. "Remember the Pulsar Thieves? They’ve been around for several decades, experienced various ups and downs and undertook missions on both the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony sides of the star sector."

Ves shook his head. "They are kind of washed-up, though. You can see the tiredness in the eyes of their representative and accompanying mech pilots. They just returned from a mission gone wrong and are on the lookout for an easy retirement."

"Yeah. Their drive is obviously lacking. Their average age is also on the higher side, so their shelf life isn’t very long. Despite these factors, they still dare to price themselves as if they are still in their prime."

The group entertained other suggestions. Though Ves did his best to lower his standards, he still found some issue that disqualified a particular Kinner outfit from consideration.

Gavin became increasingly more exasperated at the nitpicking going around. "Fine! What about the Battle Criers!? Sure, they’re a bit cruder than the other outfits, but they tick most of your boxes!"

"The Battle Criers?" Ves seriously considered the suggestion. "They’re a bit.. unorthodox."

Kelandra knew more about them. "No one expected the Battle Criers to last, to be honest. They rose up from humble beginnings after their founder, Hugin Cinnabar, joined hands with a band of like minded former cadets after graduating from the mech academy. Somehow, despite their shabby mechs and limited numbers, they’ve grown to a respectable height over the years, mostly due to their penchant for accepting odd missions."