The Mech Touch

As Ves dealt with his teasing sister, his wife also spoke with one of her siblings.

Fortunately for Gloriana, Venerable Brutus didn't joke around. The Gemini Family's customs were of no interest to the Hexers. While their views on the ideal family unit varied quite a bit, none of them would go as far as matching brothers together with sisters!

"Look, Terina. It's your aunty Gloriana. Say hi."

"Hi, aunty!"

"Helly, my niece." Gloriana reached out to rub the physical projection of the adorable little girl that was resting on her father's lap. "You are so cute. You remind me of my first daughter when she was just as small as you. I hope you'll grow just as lovely as Aurelia."

"Hihihi!"

After Brutus was done with showing off his children, he and his sister began to talk about more serious issues.

"Did auntie Ariadne give you a briefing about our upcoming mission?"

"She did. It will be a hard fight and one that is different from anything else we have ever fought against." Venerable Brutus shared his views. "Our mech forces will have to cope with many different challenges. It won't be easy to maintain an effective blockade. If the alien pirate groups are smart and united enough to form up and attempt a mass breakthrough in a single direction, then whoever is in the way must hold the line."

Gloriana frowned. She understood her brother's concerns. Mechs weren't exactly great at forming walls, especially when they needed to cover too many angles.

One of the reasons why the Gemini Family did not hesitate to give up valuable concessions was because it was impossible to form a complete blockade by relying on its own forces alone.

It didn't even matter if they brought ten times as many mechs because their firepower was not good enough!

The Larkinsons had already witnessed numerous instances of how a horde of mechs was completely incapable of posing a serious threat against a single well-armed warship.

The disparity in scale was simply too great!

If the Gemini Family truly wanted to form an effective blockade that could stop even the largest pirate ships from pushing through, then it had to bring in additional ace mechs!

Expert mechs weren't enough. Though they were still effective at destroying smaller warships, the large quantity of warships docked at the Palace of Shame meant that far too many enemy vessels would be able to slip away without encountering any serious hindrances.

Only the next tier of mechs like the Mars possessed the firepower to drill through so many thick hulls and cripple their propulsion or power systems in quick succession!

The two ace mechs of the Gemini Family along with the five ace mechs brought by the remaining pioneering groups represented a huge amount of firepower!

Each of them possessed the firepower of a medium-sized warship but were also much harder to destroy due to their insanely small profiles and incredible mobility.

Combined with the reality distorting powers of their ace pilots, these ace mechs possessed so much combat power that they could essentially destroy the rest of the coalition's mech forces without requiring any further assistance!

Yet even that might not be enough to defeat the pirate forces attached to the Palace of Shame!

Venerable Brutus noticed his sister's concerns and tried to reassure her. "We hold all of the initiative, remember? The aliens shouldn't know about our attack intentions. We can still gather more intelligence and obtain a better estimate of the capabilities of our upcoming enemies. Once we launch an attack, we will be in a position to push our mechs forward if we hold the advantage or pull them back if the alien warships prove to be too strong for us to resist against. If the aliens are primarily concerned with defending the Palace of Shame, then they shouldn't stupidly chase after our retreating forces."

Though Brutus was not a professional mech officer or a tactician by any means, he still received an excellent education courtesy of his high birth. He was more than capable enough to understand the overall tactical and strategic considerations.

"Hmm, I suppose you are correct." Gloriana admitted. "I cannot help but worry, though. These insane adventures that Ves always drags us into often seem to explode in our faces. There has to be a variable that we haven't properly accounted for. My guess is that it has to do with whatever secret relics or ruins that the Gemini Family originally wanted to obtain. No ordinary alien would think of naming a pirate den the Palace of Shame."

"Are you sure about that, Gloriana? These aliens don't necessarily think like humans, and the words may have a different connotation in their original languages."

His sister crossed her arms and shook her head.

"The word palace has a clear association with royalty or nobility and I do not think it will be any different in an alien language. The concept of a hereditary ruling class is also fairly prevalent among the intelligent species back in the Milky Way Galaxy. If we assume that the word palace is explicitly related to a ruling noble, then a site that can be called the Palace of Shame should presumably be…"

"A place of exile." Brutus said as his eyes widened in realization. "Maybe… the Palace of Shame was originally set up to be a residence that was built to accommodate a defeated princess. Perhaps she took part in a struggle for the throne but lost against a more successful relative. The only way to deal with a defeated contender you don't want to kill but also do not want to be used as a puppet should be to exile the princess to a place that is far away!"

Banishment was a common means to gently get rid of a troublesome individual or group.

"It all makes sense." Gloriana said as she connected the threads together. "The most suspicious points about the Palace of Shame are that the former alien empires had never tried to eliminate this criminal stronghold and that the members of the orven race are involved. Both of these facts can be explained if the exiled princess may have been an important figure among orvens at one time! If this is the case, then the relics that we are after may be the belongings of this exiled dignitary!"

This story truly made a lot of sense!

However, not every story was so neat and clear-cut in reality. Brutus might not be as smart as his younger sister, but he still knew enough about life to never put too much stock in so many assumptions.

"Let's not get too excited, Gloriana. You are basing your theory on unreliable information. The Geminis have given us a great deal of information, but how do they know it is true? How much have they withheld from us? We may be missing several crucial puzzle pieces that would have led you to a different conclusion. For example, the Palace of Shame is actually quite old. Maybe the events that you have described truly took place, but those involved have already died hundreds of years ago. The orvens that have become a part of the power structure of the palace might not have any relations to this hypthetical banished princess."

"My theory shouldn't be too far off the mark." Gloriana confidently claimed. "The details may be somewhat different in reality, but the premise should be the same."

"You should share your theory with Ves and the others if that is the case, though I think they would have probably come up with this theory already."

"Those dummies don't know anything." Gloriana dismissively waved her hand. "The Larkinsons may be good in many different areas, but they do not understand nobility like us. I can still provide useful input."

They continued to exchange their opinions about what they might expect to encounter at the Palace of Shame.

However, the information they possessed was too limited for them to make too many solid conjectures.

Instead of making unfounded guesses about their upcoming alien opponents, they were much more comfortable with talking about their own capabilities.

"Are you still satisfied with the Star Dancer Mark II?" Gloriana asked with genuine concern.

"Nothing has changed as far as I know. It is still as good of an expert mech as ever. The only fault that I can mention to you is that it is excellent in mech duels but not so great in the kind of long-ranged slugging matches that typically take place in battles involving warships. My expert mech doesn't have the firepower to destroy large vessels as quickly as the Amaranto, especially after the latter received a new energy cannon."

Gloriana grimaced. "I should have pushed my husband harder to design a new blessed weapon for your expert mech as well. Now, our Golden Skull Alliance can only count on the Instrument of Doom and the Mars to fight against the largest and toughest alien warships."

"You should add the Everchanger to the list." Brutus said in a respectful tone. "It is much clumsier when it is equipped with a mounted wargear loadout, but its raw power is undeniably stronger."

"Hm, I don't trust Ves' pet project as much. They are not as reliable as true mechs. Besides, don't count yourself out too quickly. You've become a mid-tier expert pilot by now, right? You can generate considerably stronger true resonance with your Star Dancer Mark II than before. Unless the aliens have anything comparable to high-ranking mechs, it is impossible for them to resist the divine might of your expert mech's attacks."

"I don't think my Star Dancer Mark II will be able to outdamage the Promethea despite having a younger and weaker expert pilot." Brutus retorted. "Venerable Isobel Kotin and her Promethea are both specialized in spreading mass destruction through engulfing their targets in flames. My inclinations aren't as destructive. I respect the dance and I have always preferred to tango with enemy champions. At this stage in my career, I cannot change who I am or how I fight."

"Brother…"

Venerable Brutus Wodin shaped his piloting and fighting style in a time when the Red Ocean was still unknown and when the Hexadric Hegemony was still in its heyday!

The Friday Coalition was the big enemy that pressed over the heads of every Hexer.

None of the Hexer mech pilots ever spared any thought about preparing to fight against massive alien warships. They only had eyes for Fridaymen mechs!

Though Brutus was rightfully proud of his dueling capabilities, there was hardly any need for finesse if the upcoming battle turned into a brutal series of artillery exchanges.

"I will fix this problem for you after this operation is over." Gloriana vowed. "I will go to Ves and persuade him to give you a new weapon so that you can feel useful again in subsequent battles against alien warships."

Her brother raised his hand. "I am doing fine, sister. You don't need to intervene on my behalf. I am confident that the alien troops at the Palace of Shame must have powerful starfighters or other strange vehicles that are more suitable for me to handle. I will be able to prove the value of my Star Dancer Mark II at that point."

"Maybe you are right, but that does not mean I will leave your lack of firepower unaddressed. We don't need to equip your expert rifleman mech with a massive oversized cannon, but we should still be able to update your current weapon so that it can keep up with the times."

"If you say so, Gloriana."

"Your little sister is always right!" The woman arrogantly claimed.

Venerable Brutus smiled. "To be honest, I am looking forward to the performance of the Handmaidens of Death. Their combat abilities are decent when fighting against hostile expert mechs, but their lethality should be far greater when fighting against starships. I predict that Operation Lighthouse will be the moment where they will truly become famous."

Gloriana could see why her brother was confident about this. As long as the aliens did not have the ability to defend against extraordinary attacks, they should be exceptionally vulnerable to death energy attacks!