The Mech Touch novel Chapter 151

The sky over Bentheim never slept. Even at night, millions of aircars, shuttles and other vehicles roamed the invisible lanes above the metropolis of Dorum. Ves looked up at the busy traffic at an office in the middle of a Planetary Guard base.

"This is not how I envisioned my first assignment." Raella muttered as she scratched her back. Her back had been raked with debris when a railgun strike barely missed. Fortunately, the Guard medics easily treated her wounds, though they still stung like hell. "How many enemies have you made?"

Even Ves didn’t know. He still found it hard to believe that someone might actually wish to kill him due to some trivial offense. Of course, what he found trivial might not be so small to whoever arranged the attack. While the attempt obviously involved the much-maligned Bentheim Liberation Movement, he found it to be a little too sophisticated to pin the blame on the rebels alone.

"We’re going to have to adopt some tighter security protocols from now on." Melkor said as he crossed his arms. "Guard duty has always been a hazardous assignment, but the risks we’re exposed to is beyond all reason."

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to remunerate you properly. You won’t be making a loss under my employ."

Ves didn’t wish to scare his cousins away. He could already see the doubt in their expression. As long as he offered enough compensation, then they wouldn’t cut and run.

He also didn’t hold back on his mistakes. "The biggest mistake we’ve made is that we haven’t brought our mechs along. Everyone took for granted that we’d only stay on Bentheim briefly, so we left them in their containers to be shipped to Cloudy Curtain. I made the decision because it was the most efficient choice, since I only expected to stay in Bentheim for a day."

"You’re going to need a permit if you want to pilot a mech in a heavily populated area. It’s almost impossible to get one these days. They’re exceedingly rare in Rittersberg and I don’t expect any different here in Bentheim." Melkor pointed out.

Anyone could flatten an entire neighborhood with a single mech. Ves looked down at the streets and spotted only a dozen mechs or so. The vast majority of them sported the black-and-blue Guard colors. The rest used corporate colors as they escorted the aircars of senior executives.

"I got an answer for that." The front door slid open. Melinda entered the lounge with a smirk.

Besides Raella, everyone possessed the same raven hair that marked them as a Larkinson. She walked over to Ves and handed over a datapad.

"What’s this?"

"Your grandpa’s present. I contacted him as soon as I learned how much trouble you stirred." She looked at Ves as if he was a delinquent. "It’s a good thing he’s willing to bail you out. Bentheim will cover some of the costs. Whatever insurance the affected businesses fall under will cover another part. Grandpa will shoulder the rest."

The Larkinsons along with their pursuers did a number on the warehouse and storage yard. Though the Planetary Guard declared that they had been acting in extreme self-defense, that still left them open to getting sued by angry businessmen with damaged goods in their hands.

Ves read the official document on the datapad. He realized he received a permit to travel around in most of Bentheim with a restricted mech escort. He could only employ one mech, and it had to adhere to a strict guideline of loadouts. For example, carrying a flamethrower in an urban area was asking for trouble.

The permit came as a timely gift. "This is extremely helpful. Did you vouch for me, Melinda?"

"Yup." She nodded and looked around for Lucky. She spotted the disheartened-looking cat and bent down to pet his undamaged surface. "Frankly, the Planetary Guard is too short-handed right now and we can hardly spare the manpower to keep an eye on you whenever you drop by for a visit. I didn’t need to do much convincing, though. The Larkinsons name is good enough."

It paid to be known as a Larkinson. Though some of the rival families disparaged their reputation, the Larkinsons have never acted excessively for several hundred years.

"Alright. I’ll be sure to make use of this permit the next time I visit this planet. How’s the interrogation going?"

Melinda’s smirk turned into a frown. "Difficult as usual. The groundside component of the BLM largely consists of petty criminals and disillusioned workers. I doubt they can count past ten. The handful of cadre have already fled their underground bases by the time we obtained their locations."

The BLM drew their ranks from the large mass of low income workers. They worked hard and earned only a pittance. When the rebel propagandists pointed out that the Bright Republic siphoned away a large portion of the planet’s revenue, the workers easily swayed over to their mindset.

"What about the mercenaries? Their gear is way too sophisticated."

"It’s a dead end. They’ve been conditioned into killing machines. The details of their mission has been physically scrubbed from their brains. They’re probably dark mercenaries who’ve been kidnapped and brainwashed into becoming untraceable pawns."

In the end, the Planetary Guard found nothing. The whole affair had been dismissed as a failed attempt at kidnapping and assassination by the Bentheim Liberation Movement.

"Are we free to go now, Melinda?"

"Sure. Don’t forget to retrieve your gear before you go."

"Ah, one more thing cousin. Do you know a place where I can buy a good pistol?"

Everyone turned to Ves. Raella laughed at him. "Are you sure you want to play with a gun?"

While Melinda, Raella and Melkor hadn’t been trained as infantrymen, their mech pilot training didn’t skimp out in these areas. Mech pilots had to keep their body in shape and engrave their fighting skills into their muscle memory in order to make the most out of their mechs.

"I’m not looking for an expert’s gun." Ves replied while raising his hands as if he was a naughty child who wanted to take a shuttle out for a joyride. "I just want something that can play a role in the hands of an amateur like me."