The Mech Touch

Those who bet against the success of the plan privately cursed. They lost a good amount of money over their belief that the wild gods couldn’t possibly fail for such an elementary trick.

In fact, the way they overcame the wild gods was so ridiculously easy that people still couldn’t get their minds over it. How gullible could the locals be to fall for such an obviously stupid trap?! Were all of the stories about the wild gods being dangerous expert mech-like existences that could think for themselves untrue?

"Through the man-machine connection, the man takes after the beast, and the beast takes after the man." Ves threw out his own theory inside one of the fast transports on the way to secure their new captives. "You have to remember that the wildlings aren’t all that smart. They’re a few hundred-thousand years too early to develop baseline human-level intelligence. They’ve forgotten all of their former human heritage and the many ways people rip each other off. So the wild god the dwarf rider is connected to really doesn’t get much smarter."

The wild gods started feral, and their mental connections with the dwarf riders really didn’t do too much to restrain their instincts. At most, they gained enough intelligence to express themselves, but their wild and unrestrained instincts still took precedence sometimes.

Especially when the exobiologists cooked up some meals that smelled so good to their olfactory senses that they couldn’t resist a bite.

When the wild gods fell for the initial trap, the rest of the Vandal and Swordmaiden mechs went into action by throwing a bunch of hastily-fabricated gas grenades into the midst of the dwarf tribe that ran after their befuddled gods.

No matter if the dwarves consisted of warriors, workers or the underclass, the mechs threw their grenades in the vicinity of all of them without much concern for precision.

This sometimes led to unfortunate accidents as the cow-sized gas grenades splattered half-a-dozen dwarfs and godling mounts in the way. More than a hundred dwarves died of accidents like this while others received severe injuries and bled out while the gas dispersing from the grenades started to work their magic.

Within twenty minutes, every dwarf except for a couple of inconsequential stragglers succumbed to the intoxicating gas released by those grenades.

"Alright, they’re knocked out for at least half a day! Let’s get to business!"

With the entire dwarf tribe neutralized, they posed no threat as the initial mechs secured the site around the unconscious wild gods. They began to install makeshift restraints on the sleeping wild gods.

Unlike with Qilanxo, the Flagrant Swordmaidens did not intend to enter into a cooperation with these beasts. In addition to being driven by instincts, these beasts also weren’t as strong as the sacred gods. It was too much trouble to accommodate them when they didn’t offer much in return.

As a couple of mechs went around to poke at the directionless mounts and other possessions of the dwarves, three entire mech companies arrived to add further restraints to the wild gods. They buried the three exobeasts with so much junk that they couldn’t even lift themselves to their feet if they wanted!

"Alright, that’s enough! Let’s set up the site for the lab geeks!"

The fast transports carrying the first batch of exobiologists and lab gear came next. The exobiologists eagerly ran towards the unconscious wild gods and started to measure their physical state. Their primary job was to confirm the wild gods wouldn’t wake up anytime soon!

"Inject Subject 3 with a quarter dose of sedatives! His body is resisting the substances laced in the candy bar!"

As the exobiologists and researchers buzzed over their captives, the fast transport carrying Ves arrived as well. He stepped out and made way as a bunch of security officers headed to the restrained wild gods and climbed up into the palanquins to secure the vitally important dwarf riders and their retinue.

Ves had a lot of uses for them all. "Be sure to handle them carefully! Don’t injure them! Be careful with the dwarf kids, they make for the best hostages!"

At some point, Qilanxo finally caught up after the fast transports. When her lumbering form emerged into view, she halted when she saw how much restraints the Flagrant Swordmaidens piled up against the wild gods.

She also looked around and saw no trace of fighting at all. Though Captain Orfan and Lieutenant Dise already told her that they managed to subdue the wild gods through a cheap trick, the sacred god simply couldn’t believe it. The wild gods never conceded so easily! How could a piece of strange food subdue them at the same time?

Ves leisurely strolled to Qilanxo and slapped her gaping maw with his gauntleted palm. "Do you see now how we humans from beyond the vault of the stars wage war? We are far more advanced than the people and gods who are trapped on this underdeveloped planet. Do you believe us now? We are but a small extension of a vast, galaxy-spanning civilization. If not us, someone else will eventually stumble upon this planet and upend everyone who lives on it. It is not dishonorable that you have lost to us in battle, for we are invincible against any opponent except when it comes to ourselves!"

Even if Qilanxo didn’t release any roars in response, Ves could keenly tell that her shock put her into an impressionable state. Her view of how the world worked completely turned upside down.

Though she didn’t think the Flagrant Swordmaidens were all that formidable, this show of strength forced her to reevaluate their strength!

Ves left her side when he finished saying his piece. He felt confident his words wormed their way into her complex mind. After several months of regular visits, he knew that she was just as smart as any human. Her only deficiency was that like all the natives on this planet, her perspective never reached beyond the astral winds.

Nobody on this planet remembered their old heritage!

"Well, that’s something to figure out later when we actually reach the damn Starlight Megalodon. First, we’ve got some studies to perform." He grinned.

While the heavy transports and their escorts slowly made way to the capture site, the exobiologists already started implanting the wild gods with numerous scanners, sensors and other devices that monitored their body condition.

Due to several uncertainties, Ves pushed to perform the first experiment as soon as possible. This way, the beast rider project would finally be able to gather concrete, relevant data that would help him design a safe and functional beast rider neural interface.

"Wake up Subject 3!" He instructed the exobiologists. "Make sure to wake him up gradually, and keep him weak. I don’t want this beast to get ferocious."

With that done, Ves boarded a small transport converted into a holding cell for dwarf captives. The dwarf chieftain and the two other dwarf riders each resided in their own cells. Their wives, children, bodyguards and other followers had been stuffed into the other cells.

After inspecting the prisoners, Ves picked out Subject 3’s dwarf rider as well as what appeared to be one of his children, a cute dwarf boy who was about four standard years old if the exobiologists judged correctly.

"Bring them both to the interrogation room. Make sure you restrain the dwarf rider with restraints strong enough to hold back an exoskeleton armor suit. These bonded riders may have gained a lot of physical enhancements from their wild god partners."

"Actually, their physiques are hardly different from a well-fed dwarf warrior." One of the resident doctors in charge of monitoring the health of the prisoners remarked. "Although I’ve only performed some cursory tests, their muscle density and other properties don’t diverge at all from the norm."

Ves frowned. "Maybe it only happens when they are actively engaging their man-beast connection. Whatever the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I want full precautions! When it comes to wild gods, you never know what shenanigans you might encounter!"

A pair of security officers roughly dragged the unconscious dwarf rider from his cell and bolted him down onto a custom-built chair. Various restraints bolted him down into his seat and left him completely unable to exert any strength!

To be somewhat safe, he also ordered the dwarf child to be cuffed and restrained as well.

"Alright, doc, wake them both."

The doctor injected a simple counteragent into the bloodstreams of both dwarves. They woke up within minutes.

After groggily trying to ascertain the situation, the dwarf rider finally noticed his precarious straits. His eyes widened as his savage mind rapidly made several observations.

He woke up in a completely unknown metal chamber!

Only the blessed people possessed such an abundant amount of worked metal!

His wild god was nowhere to be found!

When he stretched out his mind, he couldn’t find the mind of his wild god anywhere in the vicinity!

Tall figured garbed in completely foreign metal shells kept him under guard!

One of them stood straight across the room holding his youngest son!

His youngest son!

The dwarf rider angrily roared like a god while trying to shake off the restraints. It didn’t work! His robust dwarf body simply couldn’t break the advanced alloys meant to secure the likes of exoskeleton armor!

The wildling roared helplessly as his son slowly woke up as well and cried when he saw all the strangeness around him. Even though the dwarves were savage and hardy species, their juveniles were as small and vulnerable as human children.

Ves smiled in satisfaction. At the very least, the dwarf rider was human enough to care for his family.

"Alright, you dwarf." He began. "Let us have a little talk among ourselves."

The raging dwarf didn’t register his words. The savage looked at Ves and the other forms and instantly mistook them as the blessed people.

There was no chance of dialogue between the blessed and the cursed people! Both of them hated each other as if it had been carved into their genes. Only one of their subraces would reign supreme on this planet one day!

Ves ignored the mindless rage and calmly took a seat on the chair opposite of the table.

He prepared a handful of props for this meeting. He fabricated them a few days ago within a couple of minutes. They didn’t look very fancy, but it was pointless for Ves to use his considerable craftsmanship to convey his meaning to a dwarf.

"I know a savage like you can’t understand standard language, so I’ll use these props to illustrate what I want."

He first picked up the largest metal figurine, the one that resembled a wild god. It lacked the palanquin on top, but that didn’t matter.

"This is Subject 3. Suppose that it’s your bonded wild god." Ves then picked up the figurine of a typical dwarf warrior. "This is you. Let’s call you Dwarf 3 for convenience. I’m not interested in learning your real name in your unique, tribal tongue. What I want you to do is to bring you out to Subject 3 and establish your man-machine connection. I want you two to bond in full view of our instruments so I can gather lots of data about this connection."

Ves crudely placed the figurine of the dwarf on the back of the wild gold model and waved them around as if he was treating them as his toys.

The captive dwarf rider stared at Ves as if he understood nothing.

"You don’t have to understand." He smirked. "Because if you don’t cooperate, bad things will happen to the people you care about."

He dropped the two figurines and picked up the figurine of one of the smallest dwarves. Ves pointed it at the frightened dwarf child who begged his dad to save him with his crying eyes.

"This doll is your little kid. We will hang onto to that brat, any any other people we found in your palanquin. As long as you cooperate, your kid will stay safe. If you remain stubborn like your kind tends to be, then I’ll have to enact some disciplinary measures. Since we already know that punishment won’t work on a crazy warrior like you, I’ll have to take out your punishment on your little kid."

Ves carefully manipulated his armor-clad fingers and snapped one of the arms of the dwarf child figurine.

"Oops."

Even though the dwarf didn’t understand his words at all, the meaning Ves conveyed was more than clear to the savage. The dwarf father released an incredibly angry roar and fought back twice as hard against his restraints.

"You can lash out all you want, but that won’t help you save your child."

To illustrate his meaning, Ves held out the dwarf child figurine and snapped off its head. Although it was a trivial gesture, the ominous message it conveyed instantly sobered up the dwarf.

"Will you cooperate with my experiments now?"