The Mech Touch novel Chapter 29

The appearance of Ves raised some eyebrows from the pilots and their chaperones.

"I haven’t seen you around in class." One of the men stated as he looked at Ves’ collar. "Are you sure you’ve boarded the right shuttle?"

Every potentate wore a small pin on their collar, chest or arm that denoted their status. It was an exclusive privilege to the 3.5% that marked them special. With it, they enjoyed priority services, had access to VIP sections, and had their safety taken care of first before the rest could take their turn. The entire scheme originated from the New Rubarth Empire, but pretty much every human state other than the Terrans copied the treatment. They also took over the rule that stated that any fraudulent use of such pins invited severe punishment.

"Security already screened me before letting me in. I’m a participant of the YTE mech design competition."

"Mech design?" A young fresh-faced woman dubiously said. "So you’re not a pilot."

"No."

That pretty much killed the conversation. The pilots all turned around and went back to their own discussions.

The blatant disregard hurt Ves a little, but he had grown used to such behavior ever since he turned ten. Before his genetic aptitude was tested, he behaved just as arrogantly as the other potentates. It took a brutal fall from heaven to realize how conceited he actually behaved.

"I was a stupid punk back then. I got what I deserved, but the rest ingrained this dismissive behavior."

It couldn’t be helped. Modern society worshiped martial prowess, and a disproportionate attention was placed on mechs. Sometimes it appeared that society revolved around pleasing potentates.

Certainly, placating pilots was important, but the soldiers who bravely enlisted in the other service branches also deserved some honor. Spaceships guarded their borders against capricious aliens while infantrymen occupied territory and cleaned after the messes mechs usually caused when throwing around ordnance.

Nothing could be done about it, though, so Ves took the dismissal without complaint. It wasn’t as if he achieved anything of note that justified anything more than an absent glance. Only Lucky attracted some attention, but the mostly female pilots were too preoccupied to get distracted by his cuteness.

The departure time arrived. The shuttle lifted off after everyone was accounted for. The inter-system shuttle ample power to lift off and escape Cloudy Curtain’s atmosphere. Like a sparrow taking flight, the shuttle fluently broke the confines of the planet’s gravity and followed a pre-programmed flight out to the nearest Lagrange point in the local star system.

Lagrange points provided fast and convenient launch points for FTL. Any shuttle or spaceship capable of travelling faster than light departed from a Lagrange point whenever possible, but were only capable of reaching the edge of a solar system as their destination.

While the possibility exists for highly advanced spaceships to arrive at their destination’s Lagrange point, the act was considered near suicidal. It was like threading a needle, except one single mistake could cause the ship to smash itself apart in weird gravitational stresses, leaving the debris to fall into the local sun.

Everyone played it safe, including the transport shuttle. It took only a moment for the shuttle to reach the nearest Lagrange point. It waited in line as other vessels departed first. Once the shuttle came forward, its sleek and narrow form visibly warped into an elongated form before launching into FTL.

The shuttle lurched a little when it entered FTL, but after that the passengers felt nothing else. After hundreds of years of refinement, human FTL technology had earned a track record for safety and reliability.

The flight from Cloudy Curtain’s star system to Bentheim only took less than a day due to Bentheim’s favorable gravitational position. It made travelling to the economic heart of the Bright Republic convenient. Besides having no one to talk to, Ves enjoyed the flight.

Once the shuttle arrived at the edge of Bentheim’s star system, it flew towards one of border outposts Bentheim established to meet incoming vessels. Smaller systems such as Cloudy Curtain normally wouldn’t bother with this formality, but a major port like Bentheim necessitated increased security checks.

Many ships formed an orderly line in the space set with beacons. Small patrol ships flew alongside them, scanning their interior for any contraband while determining their origins and destinations. The shuttle from Cloudy Curtain only warranted a brief scan before being let through by the space security forces.

The passenger shuttle nimbly navigated deeper in the system like a fish swimming along a river. It passed by several plodding haulers and and heavily armed warships. It kept its distance from rickety looking mercenary ships and anything else that hinted of danger.

After half a day’s flight, they finally approached the planetary orbit of Bentheim. From above, the heavily populated planet looked like a paradise that mixed greenery with high tech urban development. Ever since Bentheim established itself as the premier port of the Republic, the government invested trillions of credits in its ability to accommodate an endless amount of visitors and cargo.

The shuttle landed at a crowded spaceport near the capital city called Dorum. Ves, the pilots and their chaperones were practically booted out of the shuttle. As soon as they stepped out, the shuttle left in order to make way for another passenger shuttle.

Captain Gillian, the lead supervisor of the contestants from Cloudy Curtain, led them to a prepared atmospheric transport that brought them to a hotel near the venue. After leaving the shuttle, they entered the hotel in order to check-in and left behind their luggage. _{frёewebnoѵēl.com}

"Alright pilots, the Young Tigers Exhibition officially starts tomorrow. You’re free for the rest of the day, so go play at the local game center or shop until you run out of credits. I only have a few rules that I hope you can follow for your sake."

The captain lifted up a finger. "First, be at the venue at 6:00 local time. If your comms haven’t automatically adjusted their internal clocks, do so now. Tardiness is no excuse."

A couple of pilots activated their comms, and some of them had to adjust their settings.

"Second, you’ll be tested for any drugs or intoxicants the moment you enter, so for god’s sake don’t go party in a club and get smashed. More than a handful of contestants find their qualifications revoked after imbibing a suspicious drink. Don’t rule out sabotage from your competitors. There’s spies and agents everywhere in the city."

This caused a couple of pilots to gulp, though most of them snorted or dismissed the warning as a fantasy. As natives of Cloudy Curtain, the people in power never paid much attention to them. The best pilots of the Republic all graduated from institutions in Bentheim or Rittersberg.

"Third, do NOT get into an altercation with your rivals from other pilots. We’re all Brighters here, so don’t lower your standing in front of the foreigners. We have guests from all over the star sector here, so keep your roles in mind."