The Mech Touch

Ranya, Brutus and Gloriana all gathered together aboard the Serendipity.

The sleek light frigate hovered above the city of Krent like a watcher in the sky.

From the observation chamber, every structure and monument on the ground looked like a collection of bricks. Every person was like a speck of dust. All of the mechs and vehicles moving about resembled a colony of ants.

"These Ylvainans are so small and narrow-minded." Ranya dismissively said as she idly watched over the city while sipping a glass of wine. "Their so-called prophet presumes to foretell the future of both humans and aliens. Declaring us kin to the barbaric aliens who used to dominate the galaxy is ludicrous."

"They're kind of cute, in a way." Gloriana said while she was cuddling with Clixie while lying on a sofa. "Some of their beliefs aren't so much different from ours, and their hearts are in the right place."

"They're unenlightened brutes following the words of a delusional boy. It is one thing if their Great Prophet was a woman. It's unfortunate he's of the wrong gender! I'm not surprised the Ylvainan Faith encountered so many problems and setbacks. We'll have to enlighten them properly once the Fridaymen are dealt with. I really can't stand how they pay so much respect to boys."

"Including my boyfriend?" Gloriana paused her cuddle session to glare at her cousin.

Before an argument could erupt, her brother held up a hand. The change in the air instantly caused the two women to subside.

"Peace, please. It is not up to us to determine what must happen to the culture and religions of the lesser states. Any change we wish to implement will likely happen over decades, if not centuries in order to minimize backlash and disruption. Besides, it is not wise to meddle too much in the affairs of these lesser states even if we eventually achieve dominion over our star sector."

There were many rules, some of them unwritten, that governed the relations between a lesser state and a greater state.

The Big Two rarely intervened in the affairs of a state, but they were certainly keeping score of every significant event. As soon as a state crossed an invisible line, they came under intense scrutiny, which was not a very pleasant experience.

It was mostly better for greater states to encourage lesser states to change on their own accord.

As long as a state became dominant enough in a star sector, cultural osmosis would take place where a third-rate state increasingly adopted the customs of a more powerful state in order to curry more favor and foster trade.

The third-rate states that aligned the fastest to a powerful state would gain a lot of advantages compared to those who were more reluctant to embrace the changes.

This was very bad as the lack of favor and trade income would certainly weaken these recalcitrant states! This made them vulnerable to the predations of the states that grew stronger by hugging the thigh of a mighty patron!

This has happened in many star sectors in the past. Vicious Mountain for example was home to a very powerful second-rate state called the Garlen Empire.

Due to the Empire's dominance, Garlen's martial culture and extreme emphasis on mech pilots bled over to the surrounding states. This caused the latter to turn into partial copies of the former!

The Hegemony wanted to replicate this phenomenon in the Komodo Star Sector. It should have been able to spread its distinctive culture if not for the obstacle in its way.

The existence of the Friday Coalition counterbalanced the Hexadric Hegemony's attempts to turn the rest of the star sector in its image!

One of the reasons why the Coalition Reserve Corps dispatched monitors to the lesser states was to gauge their willingness to embrace the values and customs of the Coalition or the Hegemony.

While it was possible to monitor this development from afar, sending real people and having them interact with various layers of society was a more direct way to gauge the changes in a lesser state.

"I really don't know what we are doing here." Ranya muttered as she casually studied a data pad containing in depth information of the Archimedes Rubal implant. "The Ylvaine Protectorate may technically be on our side, but it's clear that they're only paying lip service."

"I'm concerned as well." Brutus glanced at his sister in worry. "We shouldn't stay in this for too long. The Ylvaine Protectorate is surrounded by states that are in the pocket of the Friday Coalition. If our archenemies ever turn their attention in this direction, this place will become very dangerous!"

"I'm not leaving the Ylvaine Protectorate until Ves is ready to go." Gloriana harrumphed. "Don't think of dragging me back to Scimitar before then! Ves has too many things to take care of before he's ready to depart!"

Ranya threw a skeptical glance at her lovestruck cousin. "Does Ves even want to travel to the Hegemony? He doesn't seem very eager to meet your mother."

"Ves loves me very much. Of course he would love to visit my home! He has to pay respects to my mother if he wants to marry me! He'll definitely accompany me back to the Hegemony!"

Of course, Gloriana hadn't discussed this topic with Ves as of yet. Whether he would actually go along with her suggestion was a complete mystery.

The conversation soon shifted to a more immediate matter.

"You haven't made any progress at all, sister?" Brutus asked.

"I tried, but my people and I haven't found any trace of this supposed hidden superbase. If the Fridaymen have really set up a secret anchoring point, they're being very careful about it. My data analysts went through all kinds of shipping records but we failed to find any significant amount of supplies going nowhere. Either the Fridaymen already prepared a stockpile that will last them years, or this base doesn't exist in this region of space."

Her brother crossed his arms and let out a deep breath. "I don't think the Fridaymen have overlooked the possibility that we would search for their base. It's most likely that they are truly prepared to hide for a number of years before they spring their offensive when the Hegemony's flanks are at their most vulnerable."

"It could be that the intelligence is wrong and this secret superbase doesn't exist in the first place." Ranya offered. "It wouldn't be the first time the Fridaymen are leading us on a wild goose chase."

No one was sure whether the intelligence was right, but the Hexers couldn't let down their guard. At the very least, Gloriana wasn't the only Hexer trying to search for the whereabouts of this base. In fact, as a mech designer, she wasn't expected to succeed, though that still rankled her. She always aimed to succeed!

"The Fridaymen haven't begun their machinations yet." Brutus observed. "Right now, the timing of the outbreak of the war has caught them off-guard. All of their politicians and military planners are still scrambling to reinforce the frontlines. Once the main war theater heats up and turns into a contest of attrition, the Fridaymen will become increasingly desperate to blow up the stalemate by surprising us with a major gambit."

He studied his enemies extensively in order to increase his chance at beating them. Merely relying on his expert pilot prowess to win every battle was folly!

"We'll leave the Ylvaine Protectorate before the situation escalates to this point." Gloriana affirmed. "I want Ranya to finish Ves' implantation surgery first, though. He desperately wants this augmentation for some reason. How much progress have you made on that front?"

"The Archimedes Rubal is a fascinating bioimplant." Ranya could help but smile in admiration. "It's really undeserving for a boy like Ves to benefit from this valuable relic. If he had any conscience, he would have offered it up to you and allow you to gift him a serviceable Hexer implant."

"I'm not taking his stuff! This is what he obtained through his own efforts. Besides, I already have my Erestal-015 implant. It's not only a lot more modern than the Archimedes Rubal, but it's also the implant that my mother picked out for me after a lot of study and preparation. The functions of my Erestal fits me the best."

When it came to her mother, Gloriana's eyes turned worshipful. In her entire life, she always followed her mother's arrangements!

Only rarely did she act willfully. Hooking up with Ves was one of those cases.

After a short pause, Clixie sauntered away from Gloriana's lap and padded over to Brutus. "Miaow."

"Hey there." Brutus slowly picked the lovely-looking cat up and embraced her with care.

Male Hexers were obliged to respect every female, pets included!

According to some interpretations of hexism, female dogs and cats may not be as superior as their human counterparts, but they had gone through several phases of existence which clearly put them ahead of males.

While not every Hexer bought into this theory, the compulsion to respect females was ingrained in the bones of male Hexers.

They didn't dare to act presumptuously towards a female animal!

Clixie clearly adored Brutus' skillful scratches and started to purr in contentment.

Her owner looked over and smiled at the sight. The two looked so lovely together!

"It's too bad there's only one of her." She sighed. "Rubarthan Sentinel Cats aren't very rare or notable in the New Rubarth Empire, but they're really too difficult to obtain in our star sector."

"This isn't the only cat in your company. There's also the mechanical cat."

"Lucky belongs to Ves, remember?!"

"Can you buy him for me, then? From what we've managed to ascertain from the Scarlet Rose, most of the crew who died fell at the hands of this cat. He's really remarkable! It is such a giant waste for such a powerful combat partner to accompany a mech designer. Lucky deserves a better owner!"

"Ves would never give Lucky away! You should stop dreaming about taking him away, Brutus. I won't allow you to bully him with your status as a Hexer and expert pilot! Besides, he's not the type of boy who gives in to such intimidation.. at least I think so. He can be a bit of a weasel sometimes."

"I really don't see why you are so crazy about that boy."

"That's because you're not a mech designer. You'd be able to realize his brilliance in full if you knew what kind of wonders he can accomplish. I'm so lucky to be working alongside a mech designer like him! Our next mech designs will definitely astound the entire star sector! I can't wait until he's fully fired up! Hihi!"

Though Brutus still possessed a lot of doubts about Ves, this was not something a boy like him could meddle in. Though he cared a lot about his sister, he still had to know his place!

Perhaps to others it might seem strange for a strong-willed expert pilot to defer so readily to his sister and other women, but this was the natural state of being in the Hexadric Hegemony.

While this didn't mean that any random Hexer on the streets could order a male expert pilot around, the latter still had to show a lot of respect to the former!

A chime suddenly sounded from Gloriana's comm. She interrupted her musings and read the message.

"What is it, sister?"

"It's a message related to our upcoming design commission. It seems like Ves is up to his old ways again." She sighed.

"You should really rein in your boy toy, cousin." Ranya spoke. "It's a bit odd that he is showing so much attitude. What would other Hexers think? Keeping your boys obedient and well-behaved is an essential responsibility for women like us! If I was in your place, I would have rid him of his attitude by now."

"You don't understand." Gloriana impishly smiled. "It's exactly because he's so wild and uncontrolled that he's so great. Whether professionally or personally, his boldness is the main reason why he's so much better than the boys back at home! I'm in no hurry to temper his attitude."

"You will pull back his leash eventually, right?" Ranya frowned.

"...Maybe."