The Mech Touch novel Chapter 569

After visiting Venerable Foster, Ves gained a wholly new understanding of the higher ranks of mech pilots. He now understood a little better why humanity worshipped them. Their strength and force of will transcended the boundaries of mortal men.

"They may even be the vanguard of the future evolution of humanity."

In the Age of Mechs, no human enjoyed more renown than mech pilots. There was a very strong desire for parents to give birth to potentates. Though mech pilots often risked their lives, there was no greater glory for a human to pilot a mech.

This had led to a very strong desire to breed for genetic aptitude. Though the proportion of potentates to norms hadn’t changed all that much in the last four-hundred years, researchers understood more about genetic aptitude than ever before. Certain families and organizations such as the Larkinsons grasped some profound means to vastly increase the odds of birthing a potentate.

Of course, the Larkinsons paid a heavy price to fund these special treatments. Without money and the right genetics, it was impossible for the vast majority of humanity to enjoy the same opportunity. Even then, there were limits to human intervention. The occurrence of A-grade genetic aptitude was completely up to chance.

Venerable Foster was truly a unique specimen in the Hafner Duchy.

Almost a week had passed since they departed from the Nova Migolatus System. The entire task force fell into a depressingly familiar routine. The Vandals mourned their losses but also pulled up their sleeves and went to work. Countless mech technicians scoured over the damaged mechs and prioritized the repair of the least-damages ones.

Once they emerged from FTL, the fleet conducted the biggest space burial ceremony as of yet. Every Vandal shared the pain of loving a close brother or sister, and Major Verle had done his best to get them to look forward to the future.

After that, the Vandals mostly turned back to normal, though there was a rising undercurrent of discontent among the rank-and-file. Ves heard the usual talk of deserting the Mech Corps, but this time a lot more people shared the same opinions.

Ves didn’t think this was a good sign. The Vandals always had a tendency to speak their minds. It was a way of venting their frustrations whenever they got dealt a bad hand. The battle on the Kamwin continent had been a lot more deadly than everyone initially expected.

People started asking again why they fought these battles in the first place. _{ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com}

"We’re not a battlefield regiment! This high-risk journey through half of the Kingdom is insane!"

"If I was Colonel Lowenfield, I would have taken the entire fleet away from this depressing corner of the galaxy. With a full mech regiment at her back, she can mix with lots of different outfits."

"I should have joined a mercenary corps instead of the Mech Corps. Pah, what does all of this talk of pride and glory has to do with us? It’s the big wigs who are earning all of the glory! They don’t even have the guts to step on the battlefield in person, but they’re the first ones to step forward when it comes to taking credit!"

No matter where he went, Ves continued to pick up borderline treasonous talk. It made him profoundly uncomfortable when he visited the mess hall to eat his meals or went down to the hangar bays to inspect the repair work.

It had even birthed a faint suspicion in his paranoid mind. Was their trip to the Reinald Republic a one-way journey?

"Whatever is happening, it shouldn’t take too long for some of the truth to come out."

During their time of recuperation, the task force continued to approach Hafner’s borders. It wouldn’t take too long before they finally arrived at the barrier of heavily-patrolled star systems.

Ships that made use of standard FTL drives had no way to surmount this barrier. The stars on both sides tended to be dim and small, which meant they were far from energetic enough for ships to dial into their coordinates from afar. There weren’t any port systems in the vicinity either.

This basically meant that ships crossing the border needed to take multiple stops in order to avoid any accidents. This was akin to walking through a forest in the dark. People needed to take one step at a time in order to prevent anyone from smacking into a wall.

Throughout this buffer time, rumors continued to disseminate about the negotiations. Some of them had a lot of basis in fact, but it was difficult for Ves to take them for granted.

Ves wanted to cut through the falsehoods, so he went straight to one of the sources. He invited Iris to come up to one of the Shield of Hispania’s lounges after their shift had ended.

"Mr. Larkinson! Why did you invite me up here?"

The lounge that Ves had picked out was a prime relaxation area for the ship’s warrant officers and more junior commissioned officers. The Vandal mech pilots and mech officers tended to favor their own watering holes in the lower decks.

The luxuriously-furnished lounge was situated at the upper deck and ordinarily featured an observatory that allowed everyone to look up at the stars.

Right now, the task force was submerged in FTL travel, so thick plates of armor shielded up the transparent dome. Looking out at the higher dimensions had a tendency to make some people nauseous or worse.

Ves waved at Iris and beckoned her to join him at a corner. A discrete privacy screen surrounded the corner, which prevented others from eavesdropping on them. This was very helpful for off-duty officers who wanted to discuss sensitive matters outside of their work environment. Naturally, the ship’s monitoring system still recorded every word that was being said.

Once Iris sat down, Ves invited her to order a drink. "Come. It’s my treat."

Seconds after they ordered their drinks, a small floating serving bot arrived to deliver their chosen poison.

Ves took a swig of his mug of heavy stout. He almost spat it out right after. "Damnit! How can the Vandals be so cheap?! This is synthesized from nutrient packs!"