The Mech Touch

nd fight on my behalf.
If they aren ’t even willing to do that, they ’re not worth the money I ’ve thrown at their feet.
No one is allowed to slack off under my employ! ”

While Ves still possessed a considerable interest in the Ingvar twins, he wouldn ’t be able to make use of them as long as their old attitudes remained.

Unlike the Kinners, Imon and Casella couldn ’t be bought.
As ordinary mercenaries, the Ingvar siblings could pack up their bags and leave whenever their contract ran its course.

If Ves wanted to make use of their remarkable spiritual potential, he first had to win them over!

He had several ways of doing that.
One method would be to pamper them and proactively invest in their development.
Yet the thought of investing so much money and other resources into improving a pair of mech pilots with uncertain loyalties left a sour taste in his mouth.

What if they subsequently decide to leave and use their elevated abilities for someone else ’s benefits?

Investing in human resources only made sense if those resources remained in his possession!

Therefore, Ves concluded that the first step to securing their allegiance was to adjust their personalities and attitudes.

What better way to force them to go through a reality check then to throw them in the middle of a battle? According to their stories, neither Ingvar twins actually fought a real battle as of yet.
House Ingvar fell way too quickly for them to put their training to good use.

”What is the overall risk of encountering pirates or other threats while we travel through the Redwell Province? ”

”Not that high, sir. ” Cinnabar confidently replied.
”Our Battle Criers might look shabby, but our battle accomplishments can ’t be faked.
Pirates and the like know better than to attack a fleet like ours.
Not only can we outrun most attackers, but we ’ll fight like hell if they manage to corner us.
Sacrificing so many mechs and mech pilots just to attack you doesn ’t make much sense. ”

Pirates preyed on the weak and avoided the strong.
While Ves and his escorts fell somewhere in between, that was enough for most of the pirates and irregulars operating in the Redwell Province to let them pass.

Too much risk and not enough payoff! Unless the attackers specifically targeted Ves, there shouldn ’t be any reason for them to be attacked!

Regardless of these circumstances, Ves knew better than to assume he wouldn ’t be attacked along the way.
He had seen way too many stupid pirates to believe that each of them would adhere to logic.

In addition, the sophisticated listening devices inserted in his hotel room the other day did not portend any good.

”Be on the lookout for any threats targeted in our direction. ” Ves warned.
”What do you think about Commander Meivin and the Dustravens? ”

”They ’re reliable so far.
I don ’t regret introducing them to you.
It ’s only… ”

”What ’s the problem? ”

The commander frowned.
”I ’ve been spending a lot of time with Meivin lately, and while he ’s still an old friend, he ’s a changed man. ”

”He strikes me as a Bloodweller. ”

”My thoughts exactly.
While he ’s professional enough to keep his political inclinations from interfering with his work, I ’m concerned that the Whitewellers will try something. ”

That sounded weird to Ves.
”The Whitewellers can ’t attack us in the open.
As citizens who are agitating to defect to the Hinson Protectorate, they can ’t afford to be seen as attacking a Hegemony-aligned mech designer. ”

”You know how these things are done.
The assailants will never reveal their true allegiances. ”

That was true, Ves admitted.
”I ’m sure we can stay secure as long as we travel along the most frequented routes. ”

”That won ’t protect you in every instance.
Many star systems are too big for patrols to cover every transition zone.
The system patrols may also be less-than-enthusiastic about repelling pirates due to bribes, incompetence or lack of funding.
Mixing up with the Dustravens only complicates our security situation even further as we can no longer claim to be strictly neutral. ”

That last point sounded very important!

”So what you ’re suggesting is that hiring the Dustravens may have afforded us protection against the elements of his own faction, but attracted the hostility of the opposing faction? ”

”Correct, sir.
While the Whitewallers aren ’t known for taking proactive action or launching attacks, they aren ’t as scattered and defenseless as you think.
We ’ll have to be prepared for every eventuality. ”

With how serious Commander Cinnabar sounded, Ves could not maintain his nonchalance.
Though he still maintained his confidence that he could come on top of almost every crisis that might occur during his stay in the Redwell Province, taking some extra precautions didn ’t hurt.

”Should we hire some extra mercenaries? ”

Cinnabar shook his head.
”That will only muddle the situation even further.
Each mercenary corps that managed to survive in these difficult times have all attached themselves to a faction or powerful influence.
It ’s not a good idea to mix them up. ”

”Then what do you suggest we do? ”

”Leave the Redwell Province as fast as possible. ”

”Out of the question.
I still have at least a couple of destinations to go.
There are several mech designers in Redwell that I still want to conduct an exchange with.
They all reside in the safer parts of the province, so the risks of traveling to them aren ’t unreasonable. ”

Sadly, Commander Cinnabar hadn ’t been able to come up with any other suggestions.
It was hard to improve their security situation any further without hiring additional mercenaries or leaving the troubled Chuko Republic.

”Sir, I really don ’t think you ’re making the right choice here.
The chance that we ’ll come under attack will only grow larger the longer we linger in the Redwell Province. ”

Ves grinned.
To him, that didn ’t necessarily sound like a bad thing.
As long as their assailants didn ’t outnumber them, Ves was sure he could gain some benefits from the confrontation!

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