The Mech Touch novel Chapter 497

Shortly after he arrived aboard the Shield of Hispania, Ves received a summons from the major himself. He handed his luggage towards a hauler bot that automatically brought it back to his cabin.

With that taken care of, Ves followed the map and marched towards the conference room in question. The expansive room that could have accommodated over fifty officers or mech pilots looked hollow and empty when no one arrived as of yet.

Ves picked a random seat in the middle of the conference room and plopped down on it. He wondered why the gruff major went through the trouble of summoning him in person when he could have sent him a notification on his comm.

"There must be something important he wants to discuss with me."

Hopefully the major would be able to dispel some of the questions lingering in his mind. He acquired several over the course of the flight from the Detemen System.

"Ves?" A faintly familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Iris!"

Ves looked surprised as the Vesian mech designer traipsed into the conference room after the hatch silently slid open. The woman smiled radiantly at him as she took a seat next to his own.

"I heard that something dreadful happened to you! Did you really escape the Stubby Growler as the Heavenfall missiles broke her apart and crash land onto Detemen IV?"

"It’s all true, sadly." He sighed. "How much have you heard?"

"Not so much. I’ve been assigned aboard another combat carrier that remained in orbit and performed routine duties during the operation."

Ves briefed her on what he lived through, though he couldn’t say too much because some of it touched upon classified information. The officer who debriefed him a few days ago forced him to sign a document which enumerated the topics he needed to keep mum on. Naturally, any mention of the ’things’ would instantly land him in the brig.

"It’s amazing how you survived all alone!" Iris said in astonishment as she referred to his starting moments when he crash-landed in the park. "What is this amazing weapon you used?"

"It’s something I got my hands on coincidentally."

Explaining away the Amastendira’s contribution to his survival was exceedingly difficult. Ves had to admit his story contained a lot of holes in that regard. When he got debriefed, he tried to skim over it as much as possible.

In any case, his ambiguous talk managed fend off the officer’s inquiries, at least that he was aware of. Ves bet on the that the logging function of his military comm possessed a lot of limits. Such a thin device on his wrist wouldn’t be able to keep track of everything he did with perfect fidelity. Thus, the acquisition of the Amastendira shouldn’t be a clear-cut matter.

He also underwent numerous frisks and body scans while he transferred from the surface to the Antecedent, and when he transferred from the Antecedent to the Shield of Hispania.

None of those security checks produced any contraband. Even if the logs of his military comm showed that Ves pulled out the Amastendira from thin air, they probably would have thought it was a glitch or something.

Still, a bright-eyed person might also conclude that the Amastendira was a powerful hidden trump card awarded by Master Olson. Only someone as wealthy and powerful as her could gift him such a high-tech toy.

Ves actually hoped that the Vandals bought into this misconception. More and more, Ves appreciated the benefit his status as Master Olson’s apprentice brought to him. He could whip it out like a talisman anytime he faced a difficult question that shared some relations with the System.

Faced with Iris’ insatiable curiosity, he let her make her own conclusions.

"I don’t want to talk too much about it. By the way, have you heard if Alloc has been retrieved yet?"

"Alloc Brandstad? No. As far as I’m aware of, he’s missing in action. They couldn’t find any trace of him in space or on the surface."

This affected Ves quite a bit. The Journeyman Mech Designer had been very considerate towards Ves, which was more than what the other two journeymen from the design department could boast.

Alloc was more than his superior. He was also a mentor of sorts to Ves.

"Then... is he dead?"

"We can never be sure of that." Iris shook her head. "Missing in action means he’s missing. More than that, no one can say. It could be his crash ball incurred heavy damage that might have damaged its locators and transceivers when it escaped from the Stubby Growler’s destruction. He might still be floating in deep space, though he won’t starve or suffocate to death because the Vesian reinforcements would likely pick up his crash ball’s presence."

This was only one of many possibilities. Ves grimaced as his thoughts took a darker turn. "Maybe he never survived the Stubby Growler’s destruction. Though he sat next to me in the command center, his crash ball might have taken a very different turn that launched him straight at the carrier’s power reactor or something."

"Don’t let the worst-case scenarios put you down. Even if it doesn’t sound very likely, he may still be alive. Don’t let go of that hope."

"Are you speaking from personal experience, Iris?"

She smiled ruefully at him. "When you mix in with the Vesian Revolutionary Front, you quickly learn that retirement isn’t an option."

Rebellion against a state condemned a person to the life of a fugitive. Space was large and empty, so enemies of the state could easily hide their presence somewhere. Yet to live in some barren rock or in the middle of interstellar space didn’t pay the bills.

Ships needed fuel and mechs required maintenance. People needed to be fed, but more importantly they also needed to strive for a dream. Without purpose, rebel movements tended to devolve into pirate gangs.

"Let’s get down to business." The Major looked down upon the data pad in his grasp. "By completing our objectives in the Detemen System, our fleet is entitled to the assistance of the VRF in smuggling us out of the Kingdom, am I correct?" _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}