The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1584

Chapter 1584 Old Enemies

"You have to accept this commission."

"No!" Ves stubbornly shook his head. "I can't accept the Bentheim Liberation Movement as my customer, let alone Vincent Ricklin! Do you know how much trouble I got into when he used the mech I customized for him to tear apart the Ricklin Family?!"

Early in his career, when he was still desperate to earn money, he couldn't afford to be picky with his customers. Accepting Vincent Ricklin as his customer was one of the worst decisions he had made, especially considering how much trouble he got into afterwards!

Marcella patiently allowed Ves to vent his objections to her. "I understand your frustrations, but it's exactly because of your contentious history with Vincent Ricklin that we need you to take this commission."

"Who is this 'we' you're talking about?"

"Everyone who supports reconciliation with the BLM."

Ves sighed and saw that this issue was a lot more serious than he thought. He sat back down on his desk.

"Explain, please."

"Let's start at the beginning. First, do you know what the BLM are fighting for?"

"They want to turn Bentheim independent. Feh, as if that would ever happen."

Marcella nodded in agreement. "It's a fool's quest, but plenty of Bentheimers support their cause. Do you remember that at the recent Bright-Vesia War, the Vesians launched a strong offensive that tore straight in the direction of Bentheim? It seemed that after several centuries of war, this was the closest that Bentheim directly came under contention."

"I remember." Ves nodded grimly. He had been on Bentheim during that time busting a BLM smuggling ring at the Kadar-Neyvis Group. "People also started to fear if the rebels would launch a huge uprising at the same time the Vesians invaded the Bentheim System. Attacked from within and without, the Mech Corps and the Bentheim Planetary Guard would be forced to fight a battle on two fronts."

"It's a good thing the war did not extend past this point. The Vesians merely used the threat of invading Bentheim as a bargaining chip in the negotiations for peace. While we're still paying a price to the Vesians because of that, it beats tearing Bentheim apart."

Both Ves and Marcella had seen their fair share of war, so they both favored this solution.

"The sudden onset of peace disrupted the BLM's plans, right?" Ves pointed out. "I remember that after the war, a sentiment began to spread that the BLM wouldn't be able to hold back their accumulated forces."

"Those were dark days. Luckily, nothing happened. The BLM simply withdrew and hid their forces, which exist to this day. This is exactly what gives the BLM leverage. Even if they're rebels, do you think they are weak? Since they seriously planned to attack the most populated and prosperous planet in the Bright Republic, they can give the heavily-fortified garrisons a serious run for their money!"

Ves was starting to see why the Bright Republic sought to compromise with the BLM. "You mean..."

The mech broker nodded. "The Sand War threatens every Brighter, no matter if they live on Rittersberg or Bentheim. The Bentheim Liberation Movement isn't exempt from this. In fact, they have more to lose than everyone else because Bentheim will almost certainly become a magnet for the sandmen!"

"Isn't Bentheim being fortified as we speak?"

"We can't underestimate the sandmen, Ves. We don't know many fleets the sandmen have in reserve. Under these circumstances, the mech divisions stationed at Bentheim as well as the Bentheim Planetary Guard will have to put as much effort as possible into repelling the relentless flood of sandman fleets."

"Thereby leaving them less able to guard against the BLM." Ves concluded.

Marcella nodded gravely. "The government is in an awkward position. According to their internal projections, it's very much possible that Bentheim will fall if they don't commit enough assets. However, if even a portion of their mechs are assigned to guard critical infrastructure on land, then that means there's a lot less mech pilots that can be assigned to defeat the sandmen in space."

Due to Bentheim's insane population density and large accumulation of materials and energy sources, it would be devastating if even a single sandman vessel made landfall. Beating the sandmen in space had to be prioritized at all cost!

The Bentheim System concentrated an immense amount of industry and trade. No other star system in the Bright Republic carried as much economic and industrial weight as this vital port system!

The loss of Bentheim to the sandman represented the death knell of the Bright Republic. The fallen border states already showed everyone the consequences of losing such a pivotal economic center. Just the impact on morale alone was enough to make the rest despair!

With all of these consequences looming over everyone's heads, Ves came to an uncomfortable conclusion.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"To be more precise, the struggle on both sides has been supplanted by a greater threat from afar. If the sandmen win, both the Bright Republic and the BLM will lose everything. Freeing Bentheim becomes meaningless if there's nothing but broken wrecks and tides of sand proliferating on its surface. Do you think it's any surprise that both sides have put down their animosity towards each other to defend against the greater threat?"