The Mech Touch novel Chapter 498

Major Verle went through rough times the past week. Not only did he shoulder responsibility for the Vandal detachment responsible for attacking Detemen IV, he also had to continue to play the shepherd for a couple of months more.

The operation on Detemen IV already proved to be a harrowing ordeal for Verle and his subordinates. Not only did they lose at least two combat carriers, some of their other ships sustained substantial damage. That they could slip into FTL without hiccups was already a minor miracle.

Around forty ships of different shapes and sizes relied on his leadership. Each came with a crew ranging from dozens to hundreds. From the humblest cargo haulers to the largest logistic ships, they all pooled their efforts into supporting the upkeep of up to a thousand active mechs.

In fact, this was a lot of responsibility to shoulder for a mech major. From what Ves had gathered from the mech designer boot camp, the officer needed to be at least a lieutenant colonel in order to wield so much authority.

When Ves glanced at Major Verle while he discussed some matters with Iris, he suddenly realized he didn’t know anything about the man. What was his origin? How did he fit in with the Flagrant Vandals? How much trust did Colonel Lowenfield put in him?

These questions became a lot more relevant as it seemed that Ves would spend a lot of time under his wing.

"Mr. Larkinson." The mech officer finally turned to him and addressed him with the usual veiled aggression typical to mech officers. "I’m glad to see you’ve survived the Stubby Growler’s untimely end. You’re a lot tougher than you look."

"Ah, thank you, sir."

The major grinned a little. "In fact, I’m quite impressed with your actions. I’ve read the reports about you and I can see you’re different from the other mech designers."

"If I may ask, how so, sir?"

Verle seemed to be in a strange mood this time. Ves could immediately tell that his valuation in the major’s eyes had undergone a large improvement.

"You’re smart like the others, but that isn’t enough to survive on the streets of Neron City by yourself. Anyone else like that brat Pierce you hung out with recently would have probably soiled their pants and cried like a sissy! Without others to lean on, even a single random thug can shoot them dead. What’s the use of intelligence in that case?"

"Mech designers aren’t trained to survive under those circumstances." Ves replied simply. Though Major Verle seemed to compliment him, Ves didn’t wish to belittle the value of his fellow colleagues. "Anyone would be hard-pressed after evacuating a disintegrating ship."

"Ah, but there’s more to it than that." Verle spoke. "As I said, you’re not one of those snotty nerds who can only act normal behind a terminal. You also know how to lead and take charge of complete strangers when needed."

"I have some experience with leading mech technicians. I also own my own company that’s doing fairly well for themselves last I heard."

"The LMC." He nodded. "I never heard about it, but I hear it’s on the rise back home. Not that I pay any attention to that in the first place. But that make you better than practically every other mech designer working with our mech regiment. You’ve got the guts to start your own company and fight for your own success."

"I had a lot of help with that."

"Help that you deserve. Not anyone can become the apprentice of one of those fancy Masters. You fought and competed against many other mech designers to grasp at an opportunity that very few can obtain."

Major Verle was definitely building up for something. Ves became a bit more cautious as the man uncharacteristically continued to praise his good points without mentioning any of his bad ones.

Ves decided to extend a probe. "I think your praise is a little misplaced. It’s only through a series of coincidences that I’ve managed to accomplish a few things on Detemen IV. I also stumbled a few times and didn’t strictly adhere to the rules of the mech regiment."

"Those are mere trifles." Verle waved his hand. "In the chaos of battle, anything is permitted. We call ourselves the Flagrant Vandals for a reason. None of us are sticklers for rules. Many of us are sent to our mech regiment because we don’t fit inside the neatly measured boxes the Mech Corps likes to put us in. Everyone among us has a skeleton in their closets somewhere."

This answer enlightened Ves a bit about the nature of the people he fought with for the past couple of months.

The Flagrant Vandals possessed their own pride and their own way of doing things. Their greatest challenge was to accommodate the diverse personalities of the servicemen sent in their way. Adhering too rigidly to rules would probably land more than half of the Vandals in the brig!

Perhaps this was why Ves hadn’t been called out as of yet. Major Verle and his task force still needed to process all of their gains and losses from the operation at the Detemen System. The repair and recovery efforts alone demanded all of their attention.

Ves stared at the major and wondered what skeletons he hid in his own closet. For someone like him to reach the rank of major yet be relegated to the Vandals, something big must be weighing him down.

Verle pressed on after Ves fell silent. "Doubtlessly you are aware of Mr. Brandstad’s current status. It’s supremely unfortunate that he’s missing. I enjoy a good rapport with him and I respect his capabilities like I respect yours. It’s not surprising that he’s Professor Velten’s golden boy."

By now, Ves deduced why Verle wanted to meet with him. With the Vandal fleet split into two, the people who fell under the major’s new task force had to fend for themselves. Ves quickly counted the mech designers attached to the task force and came to an unsettling conclusion.

"There are no other Journeymen in the task force."

"Precisely. For various reasons, the Wolf Mother remains with Colonel Lowenfield’s fleet. Professor Velten and two of the Journeymen have also remained aboard the factory ship. As for us, besides Mr. Brandstad, we saw no need in sending in another experienced mech designer."

The role of higher ranking mech designers did not feature very prominently in their planning. Even though they split their fleet assets fairly evenly, the Vandals kept most of their mech design prowess in the main fleet.