The Mech Touch novel Chapter 735

Once the Flagrant Swordmaidens finished sweeping the debris field of survivors and incidental loot, they traveled to the outer edge of the system and immediately transitioned into FTL.

The longer they stayed in realspace, the more they became susceptible to attacks.

Even though FTL travel introduced a slight, unsettling feeling in the back of everyone’s minds, they vastly preferred it to being out in open space for anyone and anything to jump at their fleet.

As more stories from the bedraggled and recovering survivors of Chopra Interstellar Security proliferated among the crew, everyone grew more conscious of the dangers that could befall them. Who knew if the Swordmaidens suddenly changed their mind? The idea that they might turn their coats rarely crossed their minds after a few weeks of perfect cooperation, but now the Vandals received an awful shock that woke them up.

What stopped their allies from turning into their enemies?

Paranoia rang rife throughout the ship, and it only subsided after the shock wore off. Still, the Vandals never regained their prior confidence.

Seeing the effects on the crew made Ves think that Major Verle deliberately leaked the contents of the discussions. The Vandals had indeed been a little too comfortable in their skin lately. While they exhibited the right amount of caution against outside threats, they developed a blind spot against the Swordmaidens, who didn’t really act like the stereotypical pirates.

Properly speaking, Ves would rather call the Swordmaidens outlaws. While they engaged in piracy here and there, they weren’t as feral and undisciplined as the NIN. In fact, they were actually the opposite.

The MTA and CFA mainly drove the use and popularization of the word ’pirates’ in order to paint every deviant force not under their purview under a single brush. ’Pirates’ became a lot scarier to normal folk whether they raided and pillaged every second day or only wandered in uncontrolled space because they hid from powerful enemies.

"Everyone learns that it’s a bad idea to engage in any business with pirates. Hell, it’s even dangerous to be in the same room as them! All of this demonization is artificially creating a division between lawful and unlawful people."

Ves found it funny because outlaws existed in civilized space as well. Gangs, rebel movements, dark mercenaries and more ruled the underbelly of civilized space. Some of them committed many more crimes than pirates, but they usually escaped the notice of the authorities.

Instead, only pirates specifically received the distinction of becoming everyone’s bogeymen.

"Granted, it’s probably a good idea to remain prudent against anyone calling themselves pirates. They’re still capable of killing you or robbing you blind."

Perhaps the most fault that could be laid at the feet of the Swordmaidens was that they practiced slavery to an extent. They had no qualms in kidnapping technically adept men and send them off to a processing facility to brainwash them into permanent obedience.

The CFA used to send out warfleets to squash these egregious violations of one of humanity’s core values. The spread and normalization of slavery among humans shouldn’t be tolerated because aliens might pick up the habit as well.

In any case, the Vandals quickly turned to normal after a few days. As Ketis had mentioned earlier in her outburst, the Swordmaidens primarily utilized sword-wielding mechs. In addition, their spaceborn mech contingent paled in comparison to their landbound roster. The power disparity between the two forces tilted heavily towards the Vandals, at least when it came to spaceborn combat.

The Vandals realized they possessed sufficient strength to disregard many threats. This was the benefit of fielding a strong force!

"Besides, Commander Lydia would never double-cross you all." Ketis explained in the office after Ves conducted another lecture on designing mechs for the market. "We built up a reputation for making friends and sticking to our deals. We’d ruin our reputation if we turn against you all of a sudden. All of our friends will no longer be friends and no one will dare to do business with us. We’ll be grouped in the same category of scum as the NIN!"

"Keeping up a good diplomatic front must be exhausting for your Swordmaidens. I would have thought there is a lot of infighting among pirates." Ves remarked as he leaned back in his chair.

"There is! We get into fights all the time! But there’s a difference between annihilating a rival gang and having a tussle or two. A lot of fights between pirates begin with a lot of smack talk and boasting. Then we come to blows and someone gets knocked out or some mechs become crippled. After that the losers acknowledge that the others are better and get to leave."

Ves furrowed his brows. "That doesn’t really sound like a battle. That’s more akin to posturing. The only thing at stake is reputation, right?"

"Reputation is our lifeline. Crowds part when we approach. Random pirates will choose to go elsewhere rather than provoke us. We’ve built quite a rep among the independent pirates! It’s not very helpful when we go against pirates from the pirate blocs, but that’s the frontier for you!"

Ves eagerly listened to her tales on how Lydia’s Swordmaidens managed to survive and thrive in the dangerous frontier. The more he heard about their conduct, the more he realized that Commander Lydia may be one of the shrewdest leaders in the Faris Star Region.

Her decisions and her strategies became food for his thoughts as Ves contemplated his own future plans.

The more he became familiar with the frontier, the more he became enamored by it. If he ever came back home, he wanted to set up his Shadow Force as an element that swam in the currents of the frontier like a shark that belonged.

He wasn’t content with setting up the Shadow Force as a hidden knife only to be employed when Ves needed to get rid of someone. He wanted them to be a force to be reckoned with, and become so rooted in the web of connections of the frontier that no one would tie their existence back to him. Going for the diplomatic route beat acting like a hooligan in his books.

Once he finished his usual routine of rushing through his duties and spending some time to guide Ketis on formulating her design philosophy, he devoted most of his efforts to completing the abomination that was the Six-Sided Dice.

Chief Avanaeon knew ships like the back of his hand, so he did most of the hard lifting in terms of fabricating and assembling the internal ship components.