The Mech Touch

"So these are the 'honorable' and 'trustworthy' pals that Uncle Ark wants to get in bed with? He sure chose wisely."

Ves scoffed after he took in the incredible act of duplicity, hypocrisy and outright betrayal that a group of Davutans might possibly commit.

Sure, Calabast's speculations may be off the mark, but it would be pretty dreary if the conspiracy truly existed!

"To be fair to the colonial government, not every Davutan is involved in this possible gambit." His spymaster reminded him. "Only a small subgroup is plotting this scheme behind the backs of more earnest and honest colonists. I am reasonably confident that President Yenames Clive remains clueless. He needs to maintain a clean and trustworthy reputation so that he can continue to attract new allies and investors for the Davute Project."

"Pfff! That doesn't change the fact that Davute is just as bad as all of the other damned states that I have encountered. The colonial government is a giant snake pit. To think I actually thought that Yenames Clive's sincerity accurately reflected the goodwill of his entire state. Nothing could be further from the truth!"

"Where there are people, there are interests. The greater the population, the more pronounced the divisions become. This applies to both Davute and our clan. You can't stop people from having different ideas on how to proceed, Ves."

"I guess you're right, but it would be nice to learn about these kinds of shenanigans in advance."

He was glad that Calabast managed to sniff out this possible plot before it happened for a change. She had redeemed herself for her earlier misses and proven her value once again, if only barely.

Ves would have never been able to deduce that this kind of conspiracy might be in the works if he was on his own. Just the work and judgment required to identify and tie together a few random clues from a substantial trove of ordinary data collected by Lucky was unthinkable!

His spymaster still cautioned him about putting too much stock in her analysis.

"You need to be careful not to dictate your actions based on a prediction derived from scarce and low-quality intelligence. The confidence value of my theory is low. The main reason why I mentioned it to you anyway is that it makes sense if you factor in the motives of the parties who invested in Davute. Schemes like this have taken place many times in the past. Directing the attention of the citizens and stakeholders of a state to an external enemy is a surefire way to condense everyone's unity and sense of purpose."

This was a tried-and-true formula for humanity. Ves recalled the discussions he held with General Verle on matters such as morale and esprit de corps.

The Bright Republic relied on these intangibles in order for its Mech Corps to resist the numerically superior Mech Legion of the Vesia Kingdom in each and every generational war.

Even though Ves had good suspicions that the Bright-Vesia Wars were at least implicitly rigged from the start, the powerful nobles of the Vesia Kingdom did not mind taking over the Bentheim when they had the chance!

The fighting was therefore very real in that sense.

Without creating a noticeable disparity between the morale, ferocity and dedication between the combatants, the Brighters would have never been able to fend off the Vesians for so many years!

This example illustrated the difference that purpose could make.

"An army without a driving reason to spur them onto fighting is no army at all." Ves quoted one of the general's words. "It is a mob of profiteers who are only good at bullying the weak and running away from the strong. If you want to condense an actual army, you need to condense a common will that can motivate soldiers into standing their ground no matter the personal risks to their lives."

A qualified army had to meet many different requirements in order to compete against other armies, but the most important ones were a commitment to duty, a belief in victory and a spirit of self-sacrifice.

Calabast nodded at those sage words. "The armed forces of Davute are currently split into two broad categories, namely the Internal Group and the External Group. The core forces that originally hailed from the founding organizations such as the Clive Consortium have completely been absorbed into the Internal Group. Every mech unit has agreed to put down their previous loyalties, adopt a common standard and take part in a unified command structure. It is a professional mech military in the truest sense."

The Internal Group was also responsible for guarding the Government District and all of the other core areas of the colony.

"Uncle Ark and his future mech division will fall into the External Group, right?"

"That is correct, Ves. As you can imagine, the External Group is much larger but can also be described as a mixed bag. The lack of consistency, the complete absence of standardization, the shaky cooperation and an unwillingness to obey commands from other private individuals no matter their rank will likely cause this group to underperform on the battlefield as a whole. This is detrimental to the war effort as the impact of defeat and chaotic routs can completely turn winnable battles into catastrophic defeats."

This was the sort of mess that Ark Larkinson hoped to fight in. If the expert pilot had any expectation that the External Group that provided the bulk of the mech forces would fight as professionally as the old Mech Corps, then he would be in for a rude awakening!

Given how the upcoming war could end up into an absolute disaster for Davute due to the lack of unity and will among the scattered mercenary forces, it made more and more sense to create an 'incident' that could successfully trigger a common hatred against Karlach!

Ves groaned as he tried to figure out how Davute ended up in this awful situation.

"Since we can foresee this scenario, so should President Yenames Clive. Why the hell isn't he doing more to unite the will of the mech forces that had pledged to fight under the External Group?"

"He isn't as smart as you think he is." Calabast replied as she played with Lucky who she had placed on the desk. The cat rolled over and presented his tummy. "You've studied his record. He's a through-and-through businessman who never stepped close onto a battlefield. His head is filled with business and management theories such as negotiating tactics, incentive structures, agency problems and so on. His modus operandi so far leads me to believe he puts too much stock on tangibles over intangibles. To Yenames Clive, every mech force is a defined war asset that can be put on a balance sheet. So long as your war assets exceed that of your enemies, you will automatically win the war."

"That's stupid."

"It is the way he has been raised to think, Ves. His complete lack of experience or exposure to the vagaries of war has left him with large holes in his understanding of people and organizations. While that is not a disadvantage if he is put in charge of a commercial enterprise that operates in a peaceful and law-abiding sphere, a state that is about to get embroiled in a major war is entirely different. You and I know better due to our own training and personal experiences, but try and convey that to a highborn scion who never had to endure any physical struggles in his entire life."

It was instances like these that made Ves appreciate and look fondly at the ordeals that the Bright Republic put him through.

Being drafted into a war and being thrown into a mech regiment that went on to undergo a wild journey through the Vesia Kingdom and the frontier had given him a front-row seat on what life was like for those who fought in the trenches.

In fact, he had been forced to fight in them himself at times!

This not only helped him design better mechs as he endured some of the same struggles as their pilots, but also gave him an undeniable sense of superiority towards pansies like Yenames Clive.

Still, the problem now was not that Yenames Clive was soft, but that his wiser and more knowledgeable superiors in the old galaxy intended to correct this problem by employing violence!

Ves normally shouldn't care about this nonsense, but the fact that he and his family were obliged to attend the founding ceremony in a VIP area that would likely turn into a disaster zone truly triggered his fury!

"Calm down. You're a clan leader, not an impulsive kid." His spymaster said. "As I have stated before, none of this is confirmed. I have already tasked my Black Cats to follow every possible lead that we can pursue. Although time is tight, I hope we can receive corroborating evidence that can either prove or disprove that Davute deliberately intends to incite its partners."

That wasn't good enough for Ves!

"Screw that, Calabast. I have a better way of receiving confirmation."

He called over one of his honor guards who passed him a small totem of Ylvaine. He held it in his palms and concentrated his mind in order to send a query.

"Will the upcoming founding ceremony that is scheduled to take place in Kotor City descend into violence?"

Ves winced as the totem in his hand pulsed like a wobbly light.

"Well? What answer did your pet prophet provide?"

"Ylvaine can't make any predictions about the event." Ves regretfully replied. "It is an event that affects too many people, not just in Davute but also across the Krakatoa Middle Zone and beyond. A lot of the people whose lives are drastically impacted by the ceremony are thousands of leaders who wield a huge influence. If that is not enough, a bunch of ace pilots are also directly involved. They are so resistant to foresight that they actively hinder Ylvaine's attempts at forecasting the future."

The only way for the Great Prophet to get a read on the Saints was to grow a lot stronger to the point where he could overcome their inherent resistance by force!

Ves lamented Ylvaine's weakness once again. The design spirit was nowhere strong enough where he could supply the stupendous amount of energy needed to divine the fates of so many people and powerhouses.

Calabast meanwhile fell into thought.

"If Ylvaine cannot make such costly predictions, then try and narrow the scope of your inquiry. We only need a slight clue in order to draw our conclusions. For example, try and ask Ylvaine if the representatives of Amiyan Metal Trading are still alive in the days or weeks after the date of the founding ceremony has passed. Try and do the same for a handful of individuals hailing from other companies that have been assigned to the same block."

She called up a public document that displayed a diagram of the final seating arrangements of Block E.

When Ves passed on the smaller and more manageable queries to Ylvaine, the totem in his hands began to glow a lot brighter, injecting a sense of certainty in Calabast's office!

"Dead." Ves whispered as a pit sunk into his stomach. "Ylvaine says… the local representatives of Amiyan Metal Trading will all be dead."

Calabast grew a lot more intense when she heard that. She leaned over and held Lucky in a tighter grip.

"What of the delegates hailing from BTR Trust and Ulliver Med?"

"Their path cuts off on the day of the founding ceremony." Ves replied as he became more in tune with Ylvaine. "There is only darkness before them. Only a few minor figures managed to preserve their futures… they may have been dispatched elsewhere. Everyone else in Block E… is marked for death."

These revelations pretty much confirmed their worst fears about the much-hyped event!

Both Ves and Calabast turned incredibly serious as they became privy to a plan that they weren't supposed to learn!