The Mech Touch

Ves quickly became enthralled by the possible uses of Synthra Umbra.

This high-grade exotic, when processed and weaved into cloth, could be fashioned into thin and flexible articles of clothing.

Clothes made from Synthra Umbra were light, flexible and most importantly did not emit any disturbances.

In other words, Synthra Umbra cloth possessed an unobtrusive presence, and this was key.

Other materials were capable of dampening and blocking scans and signals. The problem was that most outfits capable of doing so would make someone look like how Ves and Finlay currently.

Not only did they don a solid hardsuit, they also garbed themselves with thick robes in order to add another layer of scanning protection.

Could Ves spend his entire life wearing shadow attire? No! Not only would he encounter numerous social obstacles, he’d also be isolating himself from his closest friends and family.

Humans were social creatures. Despite his paranoia, Ves did not think he was capable of living out the rest of his life wearing fully-enclosed hardsuits and obscuring robes.

Yet the more Ves lived his life wearing regular clothes, the more he felt exposed. Who knew how often people observed him as he lived his daily life. Sensors were everywhere and long-range scanners could pick up a surprising amount of details about his body and his equipment from a lengthy distance.

Ves really hated being stared at. With all of the secrets he hid, he couldn’t afford to slip up anything that hinted at something greater.

Of course, Ves also had another reason to covet Synthra Umbra.

He knew that his ’girlfriend’ had a very annoying habit of snooping at him through hacked sensors. With her seemingly-omnipotent ability to hack any sensor by exploiting MTA backdoors, his intuition often warned him when he was being actively watched!

Hell, even if Gloriana didn’t tune in on a live feed on Ves, she probably recorded all of his daily actions and viewed the highlights later or something!

Knowing that this went on and unable to deter this behavior, his only recourse to prevent Gloriana from watching him was to employ jamming and ECM.

Unfortunately, active countermeasures had the unfortunate effect of disturbing every other device in its area of effect. Not only would it block his comm’s connection to the galactic net, but also interfere with the functioning of a ship or space station if he happened to be onboard anything surrounded by technology.

The existence of exotics like Synthra Umbra offered a better solution to protect him from invasive scans.

Though it did not wipe out his presence from sensors, it at least offered very powerful means to block invasive scans.

If Ves made use of Synthra Umbra clothes, he would not only be able to avoid standing out from the crowd, but he could also hide a myriad of gadgets as well as his body conditions from all manner of scanning!

Synthra Umbra was worthy of being called a high-grade exotic. According to the spec sheet projected by the auction hall, just a thin weave was enough to defeat nearly every long-range scanning method that did not surpass a certain power level!

While Synthra Umbra wouldn’t be enough to block the MTA’s sophisticated scanning methods, there was no problem blocking scans based on tech that was prevalent in third-rate states!

Synthra Umbra was even capable of blocking scans from third-class scanning devices, but only below a certain power level. However, if anyone directed a large, high-powered scanner at him, there was no way that Ves would miss the sensation of being scanned at a ludicrously invasive degree!

It was not knowing when he was being studied that irked him the most. As long as Ves became aware that people attempted to glean private information from him,

The amount of Synthra Umbra brought to auction today consisted of a staggering amount. Ves estimated that the quantity was enough to fashion a cloak that could complement his Pride of Dusk while still leaving enough cloth to tailor a couple of hidden pockets and something even more important.

Underwear!

Though Ves questioned whether it was necessary to make underwear that could block all manner of invasive scanning, it was better to be safe than sorry!

The utility of Synthra Umbra was undeniable. So was its demand.

Though it showed up in various satellites across the Komodo Star Sector and the rest of the galactic rim, the yield only amounted to a few grams to milligrams worth of Synthra Umbra.

That wasn’t even enough to weave a glove.

More troubling, as soon as some prospector encountered it, they instantly offered them to one of the many major powers of the Komodo Star Sector. It never showed up in the open market!

In truth, if Ves wanted to obtain thin and unobtrusive clothing that protected his privacy, he had another option available.

He could purchase something from the System Store.

Unfortunately, having studied the offerings from the Store many times, Ves had long given up about buying most of the gadgets and items on offer.

It was too much of a ripoff!

In order to obtain something comparable to Synthra Umbra clothing, he’d have to fork over tens of millions of DP.

DP was too precious to waste on such uses! The primary use of DP to Ves was to upgrade his Skills. The secondary use of DP was to obtain vital tools that enhanced his ability to survive and design better mechs.

While the Store offered a decent but far from complete selection of goods, Ves only considered a small selection of items to be cost-effective in terms of DP spending.

Right now, he already acquired the Vulcaneye, his Privacy Shield, his Stealth Augment and a number of other gadgets from the System. All of them were still in their preliminary forms and still had a long way to go before they reached their potential.

All of that required millions of DP!

With such considerations in mind, rather than spending scarce DP, why not spend his more abundant firthals instead?

Better yet, what if he could get someone else to spend their firthals on his behalf?

All it would take was to accept Finlay’s commission.

Once the auctioneer finished hyping up the Synthra Umbra, the bidding commenced.

Ves immediately inputted 50 million firthals into his bidding tool.

"50 million firthals! 70 million firthals. 130 million firthals. 131 million firthals. 135 million firthals. 136 million firthals. 140 million firthals!..."

Unfortunately, other auction goers quickly surpassed his bid! A lot of wealthy guests started to flex their war chests as they kept inputting greater and greater numbers into their bidding tools!

"...212 million firthals. 213 million firthals. 235 million firthals..."

Ves quickly frowned. The sums immediately surpassed his budget, putting the Synthra Umbra immediately out of his reach.

"Finlay." He spoke to the disguised noble. "Synthra Umbra is very useful to me. If you..."

"Say no further." Finlay confidently replied.

"...270 million firthals! 271 million firthals. 272 million firthals..."

The bidding slowed down as the current bids already surpassed the prevailing market price for Synthra Umbra. The only advantage of winning it during the auction was that they could make use of it immediately instead of waiting years to accumulate a usable amount of the substance.

A fair amount of bidders still competed over the Synthra Umbra. In particular, wealthy pirate leaders who prized their privacy just as highly as Ves still competed over the current item on the auction block!

Since pirates lacked the convenient supply channels of well-connected noble houses, this might be one of their only opportunities in years to obtain a generous chunk of Synthra Umbra!

"...320 million firthals. 321 million firthals. 322 million firthals. 325 million firthals..."

Finlay temporary stopped inputting figures into his bidding tool. Instead, he turned his body towards Ves.

"The competition for Synthra Umbra is more intense than I expected. The amount of firthals that I have to invest is considerably significant. While I have a lot of capital on hand, I still have other obligations. Rho-Sigma, if you truly wish to acquire Synthra Umbra, you can wait until my noble house accumulates it slowly, or..."

Ves made a rapid decision in his head.

"Fine. I accept your commision. I am willing to upgrade your Spyre Helixes in exchange for the Synthra Umbra and some other goods that might catch my attention."

"My original offer stands. 1 billion firthals. No more."

Ves didn’t know whether that was enough for him to win the bidding for the second spiritually-reactive material. Considering its dimensions and its highly potent properties, he couldn’t afford to let it slip from his grasp! Who knew what he would miss out!

"One more item, but no ceiling." Ves pushed. "The service that you demand of me is enough to condemn us all. I don’t think you’ll be able to find any Journeyman that is willing and capable enough to do what you demand."

"We can still buy an enslaved Journeyman."

"The taboo you want to commit goes against everything mech designers have learned. It will take extremely strong brainwashing to defeat a mech designer’s repulsion against turning mechs into prohibited weapon platforms. However, the stronger the brainwashing, the more a mech designer degrades in terms of competence. Mech design is a profession that relies heavily on creativity and imagination."

The less freedom a mech designer enjoyed, the more their creativity and imagination suffered! While they were still able to perform a variety of less design-intensive work such as performing maintenance or repairs, they could forget about designing or modifying mechs in a competent fashion!

Finlay ought to know this as well. The disguised nobleman paused a bit further. All the while, the bidding for Synthra Umbra finally neared its end stages.

"Let us finalize the details after the auction ends." He said, unwilling to commit to an excessive amount of spending without getting a sufficient amount of benefits in return. "If I spend less than 1 billion firthals on your behalf, then I can compensate you with additional rewards to make up the total amount. If I spend more, then I expect additional benefits from you. Is that agreeable?"

Ves silently raised his hand to give a thumbs up.

"Very well." Finlay spoke with satisfaction.

No one knew how much effort he spent on securing the services of a Journeyman for this sensitive task! Finlay would never offer Ves such excessive rewards if he wasn’t so urgent!

Nonetheless, even if Ves did not believe he would have to spend a lot of effort to complete the upgrade commission with his current capabilities, that was never the problem.

If Ves really provided Finlay with an upgraded design that enabled him to transform eighty doom crawlers into portable weapons of mass destruction, then he’d be forever tainted by the association!

Ves would have to bear yet another crushing secret in his heart!

Yet... as long as his anonymity was guaranteed, who cared? With his knowledge base and his mech affinity, Ves planned to rush the commission as fast as possible. As long as he completed the job quickly and got away from here as fast as possible, he’d be able to minimize the risk of exposure!

To Ves, the deal was worth it as long as he didn’t get caught!

Now that Finlay secured Ves’ verbal agreement, he resumed inputting bid after bid.

"...360 million firthals. 361 million firthals. 365 million firthals. Going once. Going twice. Sold to Number 142!"

Finlay won the Synthra Umbra! Shortly afterwards, he transferred the money through the bidding tool, finalizing the transaction!

"I’ve got it. The Synthra Umbra is mine."

As the auction proceeded with the introduction of another exotic, the air between Ves and Finlay changed. Now that they reached a tentative agreement, they were no longer strangers.

However, they didn’t move any closer either. Their disguises and their insistence on keeping their identities a secret forestalled any attempts at befriending each other.

An awkward silence prevailed.