The Mech Touch novel Chapter 577

After wrangling with the repair businesses all day for the last two weeks, Ves felt as tired as the Vandal mech pilots who had gone through several successive battles. The mental strain he accumulated from dealing with numerous troublesome issues wore out his patience.

So by the time he finally got to enjoy his vacation, he grabbed it with both hands.

Ves entered the common room of one of the dormitories that the Vandals had recently rented out. Hundreds of Vandals gathered in the morning as they waited for their group mates get out of bed and finish their breakfast.

"Head designer! Over here!"

He turned and saw a young woman waving at him. Ves approached the circle of Vandals and beheld the men and women.

Every group consisted of a different mix of Vandals. There would never be a case where a group consisted entirely of mech pilots or ship specialists or the like. Whoever drafted up the lists deliberately shuffled everyone’s names around so that each group represented every aspect of the mech regiment.

Ves figured this must have been a method for the higher ups to increase everyone’s connection to the Flagrant Vandals and intensify their camaraderie. No one in the common room wore their uniforms. Besides their military-issued comms, nothing on their bodies marked them out as Vandals.

Almost no one in the Harkensen System wore their uniforms, especially if they were off-duty. Lots of people from different states and backgrounds mingled here. If someone wearing a Vesian uniform happened to walk past someone wearing a Brighter uniform on the streets, lots of brawls would certainly ensue.

Thus, for better or worse, no visitor advertised their origins in Harkensen. At best, they would only be able to tell each other’s origin through their accents when they spoke.

"Mr. Larkinson, right? I’ve seen you several times from afar! I can’t believe I’m standing next a genius!" The woman who called earlier chittered next to him.

"Just call me Ves. Right now, none of us are wearing our uniforms."

"Ah, I’m Ensign Tiss Kozik. I work as a junior engineer aboard the Antecedent."

Ves looked at Tiss with a bit more respect. The difficulty of becoming a ship engineer in this day and age was extremely high. For her to be a junior engineer at her age must mean she possessed a bit of promise. Why would someone like her be assigned to the Vandals?

"I see everyone is here." The burly voice of the biggest person in the group spoke. "Let me introduce myself. You may know me as Lieutenant Nolsen Feray. I serve aboard the Finmoth Regal in the ship security department. This means that I’m likely the most dangerous Vandal among our little gathering outside of a mech. Does anyone dispute this?"

A few mech pilot types looked liked they wanted to contest, but eventually they backed down. Though their status and combat prowess with a mech put them far ahead of Nolsen, they weren’t allowed to bring any mechs.

The Honored Ones strictly limited the permits that allowed mech pilots to pilot a mech in Harksensen. Without a valid permit, even local Reinaldans could forget about unsealing a mech and piloting them out in the open. The same regime existed in most major planets and star systems such as Bentheim.

If not, chaos and confusion would be rife as mechs began to slaughter each other on the dime. Most training concerning mech pilots emphasized aggression, so they would usually be quick to anger and quicker to fight. Letting these wild beasts fight with their fists was one thing, but when it came to mechs, an entire capital city might become ruined after a week of unrestrained dueling.

"Alright then." Nolsen let up on his ferocity and smiled. "Forget about your former ranks and positions. We are all fellow Vandals here. Besides keeping you out of danger, I don’t have any interest in bossing you around. I hope we can come to an agreement on which places to visit."

The group members quickly introduced each other before they argued where they wanted to go. Ves quietly noted everyone’s names and postings and noticed that besides Tiss and Nolsen, everyone else came from the enlisted ranks.

Due to the difference in ranks, this gave Ves and the other two a bit more say than the enlisted folk, though Nolsen did his best to balance each other’s requests.

"Alright, we are in agreement then? Spend one week in Harkensen III before spending another week in Harkensen I."

No one disagreed too much. Some of the Vandals favored spending time in Harkensen III, while others wanted to spend all of their time in Harksensen I. Yet most of them wanted to spend a bit of time in both, so in the end the middle ground won out.

Hashing out which places they wanted to visit was a lot more complicated. The entire group had to sit down on some benches in order to come to a consensus on a schedule they could all agree upon. This was far harder to accomplish and it took Nolsen’s considerable efforts to draft up a final schedule.

"Alright, on our first day, we’ll be visiting the shopping district of Black Belle City, the capital city on Harkensen III. I should remind you all that we won’t be able to bring back anything we purchase."

It was too easy to slip in some spy bug inside a gadget the Vandals brought back to their ships. In truth, most of the Vandals wanted to experience the varied shops in Black Belle City.

"In the morning, we’ll stroll through the shopping districts. In the afternoon, we’ll visit Black Belle City’s other sights. In the evening, we enter the city’s grey area."

Over half of the group members perked up when they thought about the grey area. This was where the questionably legal transactions took place. Though it wasn’t as shady as the black areas, it served as a good introduction to the Reinaldan underground.

"Alright, before we set off, let’s pick up our weapons."

All ten Vandals exited the common room from the back and entered a courtyard where a bunch of Vandal security officers distributed standard-issue pistols brought by the crateload from the armory.

Though the public security in the Harkensen System was high, so many people smuggled in weapons that the Honored Ones pretty much gave up on enforcing any small arms weapons ban. As long as people didn’t bring in anything big or destructive, the Honored Ones didn’t bother too much.

The only rule that armed visitors needed to take seriously was that they absolutely couldn’t kill an upright Reinaldan. Certainly, outsiders had the right to defend themselves, but only up to the point of incapacitating a Reinaldan. Only the shadiest Reinaldans didn’t enjoy this protection.