The Mech Touch

Many current rulers grew deeply concerned about the massive changes that were being imposed from above.

If they had a say, they would have never agreed to this insane plan!

They would rather embrace the Xenotechnician's Diplomacy Plan as it contained the least amount of changes to the current order.

Sure, a lot of people objected to the notion of consorting with aliens, but if that was what it took to preserve the existing colonial states, then leaders such as President Yenames Clive would gladly kiss a puelmer in their ugly faces!

Sadly, it was not to be. The impending rise of warlords cast a large shadow over existing society. It became increasingly doubtful whether any of the current states would be able to remain intact and preserve their current culture when warlords would come in and divide every territory among themselves!

Sure, the formidable armies and aligned powers of a colonial state could muster up plenty of warlords and deep strike fleets of their own, but nobody knew whether enough of them could succeed.

If too many of their deep strike fleets encountered disaster deep behind enemy lines, then states such as Davute became ripe for the picking!

To them, the war against the native aliens still did not rank at the top of their priorities. They remained concerned with preserving their existing power base as much as possible.

This became a lot harder now that the Red Association pushed really hard for the elevation of warlords over every other class of leader!

While a lot of existing leaders lamented the disruptive change imposed by the top, a lot of ambitious people recognized an opportunity to outdo the old powers who relied on their generational accumulation to dominate human space in the new frontier.

When General Ark Larkinson and Patriarch Reginald Cross learned the juicy details, they gathered together at the first available opportunity.

Though their strength, status, outlook and fighting styles were completely different from each other, the two powerful pilots and leaders had developed a cordial relationship over the past few months.

They might not agree on everything, but that did not stop them from respecting each other.

"We can conquer territory now." Patriarch Reginald spoke with fire in his eyes. "We no longer have to play soldier anymore. We can become warlords instead and take over Karlach so long as we defeat enough aliens on their own turf! We can even take over Davute if those Clives botch their own operations. I think they will most certainly stumble as they have zero experience fighting against aliens and their warships. Just think of what we can do once we return..."

Though General Ark looked just as eager as his much stronger counterpart, he was much more aware of the wider context.

"Don't underestimate how much can go wrong in these deep strike operations. We can prepare the strongest possible fleet, but we will still get wiped out if the ships responsible for generating a return portal malfunctions or gets destroyed. Every trip through the modified greater beyonder gate is a gamble with our lives."

Reginald snorted. "Good! That will scare away a lot of cowards! The Fist of Defiance has the right idea as far as I am concerned. There are way too many cowards in power. If we rely on them to defend us all against the aliens, we'U go extinct in no time! Only we have the ability to win this war, and if it takes a few trips through the gate to prove our mettle, then we should do what we must. Besides, our chances are much better than anyone else. With an insider like your brilliant cousin on our side, our chances of succeeding are much greater."

The subject of Ves evoked a lot of thoughts in their minds. Both Ark and Reginald were impressed by how far the impressive mech designer had come.

The stories that the leadership of the Larkinson Clan had received from the man himself were too astonishing to believe!

How could they ever imagine that the patriarch of their clan had not only managed to become acquainted with the likes of the Xenotechnician and the Destroyer of Worlds, but also managed to confront the Polymath?!

It soon became clear that the patriarch had not gone crazy all of a sudden due to all of the supporting evidence that had emerged.

The Red Association officially recognized Ves as a tier 3 galactic citizen.

All kinds of states and organizations suddenly tried to contact the clan and its many daughter organizations in order to establish friendly relations.

Even first-raters contacted the Larkinson Clan without sounding insufferably arrogant!

The Larkinson Clan became so flooded by inquiries and requests in the past few hours that Minister Shederin Purnesse and his entire ministry had to work overtime in order to form the proper responses!

The expeditionary fleet out in the Torald Middle Zone had become completely overtaken by the news. The Golden Skull Alliance put a stop to all of their future operations in order to figure out how to proceed from this point onwards.

Just the fact that the Larkinson Clan had somehow found itself in the center of the new storm changed everything!

As General Ark continued to think how the changes would affect the future, he understood that his relationship with the Colonial Federation of Davute was bound to undergo a massive shift.

"Davute will have to rely on us much more than before." The high-tier expert pilot was determined. "Not everyone is cut out to become a warlord or warfighter. Our Warborn Division is not made for this, but it takes much less time and effort to prepare them for their new mission."

The regular armed forces of the Colonial Federation of Davute were not weak by any means. They were well-equipped and were excellently prepared to wage war against other human states.

It was only recently that the Davutan military started to take combat against alien warfleets more seriously, but that was far from enough to give them confidence in any serious confrontation!

There was one more important factor that could give the Larkinsons a much better edge in this new competition.

"Ves is leaving most of us behind." General Ark said in a mixed tone. "Since the mechers want him to become a first-rater as soon as possible, he won't remain with us for long. Wherever he is going from here on out, he can bring 5010 people along. At least some of our clansmen can benefit from his meteoric rise. He may even agree to trade a small amount of his EdNet quotas to your clan as well, Reginald."

Reginald nodded with a more serious expression this time. Even he recognized that this was a big deal to the Cross Clan!

"I hope your cousin still remembers all of the gratitude he owes to my clan. I don't need to rely on this high-tech virtual reality learning environment to become better at my job, but I can recognize how much this opportunity means to my subordinates. Will you be taking advantage of the EdNet as well?"

Ark shook his head. "I have a strong feeling that I am not truly ready yet to pilot first-class mechs and compete on this level. I still think it is better to stick to my current plan and wait until Ves has completed the Jupiter Project. The New Elite Program will be my best chance to prove myself and attain the breakthrough that I have been working towards for so long."

To expert pilots such as Ark, breaking through to ace pilot took precedence over promoting to a first-class mech pilot.

The paradigms and customs of first-class combat were radically different. Ark would probably get drowned by all of the training and lessons that he must undergo in order to regain his full effectiveness in a first-class combat environment.

Patriarch Reginald already became an ace pilot, but he was not in a hurry to become a first-rater either.

"I think that Benedict will probably accept this chance if Ves gives him the offer. Once my Master Mech Designer has learned enough about first-class mechs, he can work towards upgrading my Mars into a proper first-class ace mech. That will probably take a lot of time, so 1 might as well try to become a second-class warlord first."

Even though the Fist of Defiance was no fan of the existing division of human society, the New Elites were still divided into first-class, second-class and third-class.

According to the information published by the Red Association, second-class warlords and warfighters did not have to produce nearly as many results as their first-class counterparts.

This distinction significantly increased the enthusiasm of ambition second-raters and third-raters.

The plain truth of the matter was that relying on first-raters to conduct deep strike operations was unsustainable.

Their numbers weren't great enough and not every enemy stronghold had to be attacked by a top-of-the-line first-class raiding fleet.

Besides, the Red Association also released plenty of hints that successful warlords and warfighters would have ample opportunities to promote to first-raters so long as they earned enough merit.

This sounded perfect for confident soldiers who had long relied on their own efforts to rise up to their current height!

General Ark smiled as he started to understand how his clan was about to do a lot better than before.

"I am happy for Ves. It is no secret that he has been working for years to become a first-rater. Now, he is about to complete this transition in record time. The Larkinsons who are lucky enough to accompany him to the upper zones have much to celebrate about. Perhaps one day I can catch up to them as well."

Reginald raised his eyebrow. "I thought you would be more jealous of him to be honest."

"Why would I be? He is family. We have our... disagreements, but that doesn't really matter. He has his way of doing things while 1 have my way of doing things."

"If he sets off to the upper zones with 5000 of his lackeys, the rest of the clan will remain. Someone will need to lead them in his stead."

"What are you saying, Reginald?"

"You are the most obvious Larkinson to take charge of all of the second-class Larkinsons. Don't tell me that any of those other leaders like Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson or Novilon Purnesse can fill the void that Ves has left behind. He is too great of a personality to be replaced by these boring politicians. Your clan needs a real leader, and 1 can't think of a better choice than you, Ark! This is especially the case if warlords gain all of the power in the future!"

To be honest, the thought had already crossed Ark's mind, but he found it difficult to adjust to the new reality.

"I will have to discuss this directly with Ves." Ark finally decided. "He may have other ideas in mind. We don't even know whether he will still have anything to do with his clan now that he has attained his goal."

It would not be the first time that this kind of incident happened. Whenever a particularly successful second-rater gained the qualifications to promote to a higher class, they usually parted ways with the majority of people who were unable to come along.

Though Ark did not find it pleasant to acknowledge that he was among those people, this only spurred him on even further!

If Ves could do it, so could he! The New Elites Program was the perfect opportunity for powerful pilots such as Ark to earn greater rights and rise to power through his own efforts!

"I wonder how many familiar faces of my clan will opt to stay behind as well." Ark wondered.

The huge bounty brought back by Ves offered huge temptations to many clansmen. The Larkinson Clan as everyone knew it was bound to split in half once Ves left for greener pastures.