The Mech Touch

As the fleet of Cenatus Prospecting became beset by explosions and other nasty incidents, the Golden Skull Alliance remained as calm as always.

The expeditionary fleet's starships had cycled their FTL drives by now and were prepared to transition into FTL travel at any moment.

While the timing of their departure made it impossible for the main fleet to retrieve the DIVA stealth vessels, they could take care of themselves.

In fact, it was better to maintain a separation between the expeditionary fleet and the culprits responsible for sabotaging so many carrier vessels!

It wasn't until the expeditionary fleet initiated the journey to its target destination that Ves tried to relax as best possible while discussing the results with Calabast and General Verle.

"Can you repeat that?" He asked as he looked at Calabast's projection in disbelief.

"DIVA has managed to cripple 9 different combat carriers with a capacity of 60 mechs. Its infiltrators have managed to knock out the FTL drive, the workshop or machine shop, a number of life support systems as well as at least one power reactor on every combat carrier. The damage is extensive enough to render the vessels inoperable for several days to two weeks. The exact speed depends on whether Cenatus Prospecting has stockpiled spare FTL drives."

The temporary crippling of the combat carriers was not that big of a deal in the greater scheme of things.

Certainly, the loss of 9 combat carriers meant that the Cenatus Prospecting fleet would have to leave behind carriers with a combined capacity of 540 mechs if it tried to follow the Golden Skullers.

However, there were ways to mitigate this loss. If Otrus Magrin was determined to pursue the departing expeditionary fleet, he could order his subordinates to transport as many mechs to the cargo holds of starships with any available space.

Given that it had been a while since Cenatus Prospect had a big score, there was plenty of available cargo space. This was especially considering that Magrin was most certainly preparing to take advantage of another victim. How would he be able to harvest enough valuables if his starships weren't able to take on any significant cargo?

This was why the temporary loss of 9 combat carriers was not entirely sufficient.

DIVA had taken this into account and implemented an extra measure that would definitely ensure that Magrin's fleet would remain locked in the current star system!

"My Black Cats have independently managed to confirm that one of their fleet carriers, the Roaring Berann, has suffered damage to both of her FTL drives. While the DIVA operatives have only managed to inflict light damage onto the drives due to their greater size and redundancy, it will still take at least a week to repair the battle damage and verify whether the fleet carrier can safely engage in FTL travel again."

There was no way that any pioneering group would abandon an entire fleet carrier. Leaving her alone with only 9 combat carriers to keep her company was just asking for the next pioneering fleet to drop into the star system to take advantage of the situation!

While the Roaring Berann was the smallest and least significant fleet carrier of Cenatus Prospecting, she was still a capital ship, so her symbolic value was far greater than a combat carrier!

Otrus Magrin had a reputation for never tolerating a loss. It would be beyond intolerable for others to steal one of his capital ships without too much resistance!

"A week of guaranteed delay is good news, but I'm not sure whether it will be enough." Ves said as he started to worry about what he might encounter in the Ramage Repulsor System.

Hopefully, Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik was merely drifting in the middle of an asteroid belt or something. If he ended up in a difficult-to-reach place like Aeon Corona VII, Ves would go crazy!

"If a week isn't enough to complete our objective and if there are enough indications that we are under threat, then it may be wise to abandon the mission and pull out." General Verle voiced his opinion.

That did not sit well with Ves at all. His son's future was at stake. He would miss out on a much brighter future if he lacked the backing of an established first-class group.

"We'll make that judgment when we find ourselves in that situation." Ves noncommittally said. "Perhaps it won't be as bad as we feared. If we can complete our mission quickly and if the Cenatus Prospecting fleet declines to follow us to the Ramage Repulsor System, we'll be able to take our time."

Calabast shook her head. "That's not necessarily true, Ves. We have been focusing on Mr. Magrin's forces for good reason, but that doesn't mean we should lose sight of other possible threats. There are other pioneering fleets in the neighborhood. A few of them are close enough that they can potentially jump to the Ramage Rupulsor System in a single hop. While they shouldn't have any reason to travel to an obscure brown dwarf system, you can never know what will actually happen."

"Hm, I guess you're right. We need to maintain our vigilance regardless. Do you at least have a way to observe the departure of all of these potentially threatening pioneering fleets?"

Calabast smirked. "Do you have to ask? My Black Cats have posted numerous scout vessels and listening posts in the surrounding star systems. Each of them will be able to register the departure of different fleets and roughly determine whether they traveled in the direction of our target system."

"Good. Make sure to pay close attention to the possibility that Otrus Magrin spread our whereabouts in an act of spite."

There was no way that Magrin would fail to spot the obvious connection between the sabotage action and the Golden Skull Alliance.

One of the best ways the awful man could damage the interests of the Golden Skull Alliance was to determine the expeditionary fleet's destination through long-ranged observation and spread the news to nearby pioneers.

While it was questionable whether any of those pioneers would find it worthwhile to follow the expeditionary fleet, if Magrin was persuasive enough, the Ramage Repulsor System might end up hosting a lot more visitors than any other time in its entire existence!

It was the job of the Black Cats to warn Ves and the rest about these potential dangers in advance, and so far it did not seem as if they were unable to fulfill this responsibility.

That reminded Ves to inquire about the effectiveness of DIVA.

"Did you expect your former comrades in arms to pull off their sabotage operation so neatly and cleanly?"

Calabast smirked. "I was 80 percent confident in their total success. The only way they would fail is if Cenatus Prospecting has employed more effective observation devices than normal or if Saint Neville Magrin conducted an unexpected sweeping patrol. Neither of these scenarios happened, so the DIVA operatives have done what was expected of them. If they are who I think I am, then it is practically a certainty that they will succeed. They will never make a mistake of their making. They are just that good."

"Are they better than the special operations units of your Black Cats?"

The spymaster nodded, though not entirely willingly. "DIVA is substantially different from our Black Cats. Our homegrown intelligence and special operations organization is equivalent to a paramilitary group. That means that our Black Cats come close to the level of a proper state-backed intelligence agency, but we are not quite able to close the gap. DIVA enjoys many advantages that the Larkinson Clan simply can't provide at its current scale. It also helps that DIVA has existed for many more years."

When she put it in this way, it was unfair for Ves to hold the Black Cats to the standards of DIVA. He shouldn't expect Calabast's subordinates to be able to complete the same challenging missions as her former colleagues in the Hexer intelligence agency.

…Then again, wasn't this another case of manipulation by manipulating the delivery of information?

Calabast had a vested interest in painting the Black Cats in the best possible light. It wouldn't be good if Ves started to get disappointed in her unit again after investing so much money.

Thinking about the disparity in capabilities made him more and more upset.

He wanted to be able to count on DIVA-esque commandos as well!

He decided to take a firmer stance.

"I can be patient, but I am not going to tolerate the same excuse forever." He told Calabast. "I understand the emphasis on information gathering, but it won't necessarily help if we don't have the capabilities to act on intelligence."

To her credit, Calabast accepted the need for improvement.

"I am already in the process of setting additional training programs and cooperating with numerous development companies to equip our commandos with superior and more technologically advanced infiltration gear. This won't be easy, though."

"What's the problem?"

"Infiltration tech is highly demanding and expansive." Calabast explained. "It's not just about developing a stealth suit and calling it a day. You need the help of multiple research teams or research institutions to develop and update all of the individual stealth solutions that go into an infiltrator suit. Then you need to develop other essential equipment such as hacking tools and stealth vessels. Buying standalone products is never enough because surveillance and security technology are constantly being updated. A stealth shuttle that is effective today may instantly become obsolete tomorrow due to a single software update for common sensor systems."

He started to understand what she was talking about. He was a mech designer, after all. He was not unfamiliar with this particular issue.

"Only an extensive network and infrastructure centered around the relevant tech can keep it all up to date. It's easy for DIVA to lean on the strength of the entire Hex Federation, but we are not so lucky."

"Do you understand my dilemma now, Ves? We can either take the easy way out and ask the Hexers to share their technology with us, or we can try to cobble together a complete infiltration suite by entering into a contract with multiple different third-party development companies."

Neither of these options sounded attractive to Ves, but he definitely had a preference.

"We are not going to depend on Hexer technology any further than necessary." He stated in a firm an unrelenting tone. "I would rather try our luck with private companies."

"That decision comes with its own host of problems, you know."

"I am well aware of the risks. In time, we should set up our own development companies that can work on providing us with better infiltration technology in-house. It's too soon, though. Our clan isn't large enough to support such a massive R&D operation."

Though Ves occasionally compared his clan to a state, the truth was that the Larkinsons weren't numerous enough to reach this standard.

It would take many more years for the Larkinson Clan to grow large enough to significantly close the gap with the Hex Federation.

For now, it was better to focus on what the clan could accomplish in the short term.

"I hope we can pause the Trailblazer Expedition and return to safe harbor after this is over." General Verle spoke to Ves. "We still haven't recovered from the Battle of the Boryan Belt and we won't be able to unless we can stop and recuperate for an extended period of time in an open port system."

Ves frowned. "I suppose you're right, but I don't want to lose too much momentum. How long do we need?"

"It would be ideal if we can recuperate for 3 months."

"That sounds too long for my liking, but… if that is for the best, then I suppose we might as well enjoy a lengthy break."

Ves already had enough of this chaotic border region. It might be good for his sanity if he could let down his guard in a safe and quiet star system.