The Mech Touch

be so crazy to join the Bentheim Liberation Movement.
How is he, by the way? ”

Yoni sighed.
”Vincent is still at large, to our entire family ’s shame.
From the scattered intelligence we ’ve gathered, our wayward family member has slowly climbed up the ranks and has become one of their side leaders.
It doesn ’t appear he ’ll get caught anytime soon. ”

That was a small but persistent worry to Ves.
Still, the BLM shouldn ’t have any reason to target him directly, so he quickly threw his concerns aside.

After receiving Yoni ’s present which turned out to be a small but highly-suspect processor chip, Ves moved on to greet another notable figure.

”Alistair Cordwraith. ” Ves greeted the executive assistant.
He didn ’t need Gavin ’s help to recall the unassuming but sharply-dressed man ’s name.
”I did not expect to see you here myself. ”

The man shook hands with Ves.
”Senator Tovar wishes you well.
He has paid a keen amount of interest in you ever since you returned from the Ylvaine Protectorate.
It has always been one of his dreams to forge a friendship with our isolationist neighbor.
Now that you single-handedly opened up a major opportunity, our diplomatic corps has been hard at work ever since. ”

”The Ylvainans may hold some odd beliefs, but they are quite friendly once you get past their shells. ”

The gift that Alistair handed to Ves turned out to be a data pad that contained a bunch of official documents.

They mostly came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development.
While it took some effort for Ves to figure out the legalese, he figured out that they essentially authorized him and his company to engage in greater foreign activities with less bureaucratic oversight.

Alistair explained what they meant.
”There is a lot of red tape involved whenever a domestic mech company begins to expand its operations in other states.
The senator believes your company has a lot of promise catering to foreign markets.
Your stunning achievement in opening up the Protectorate attests to that.
For this reason, he has lobbied on your behalf to make it easier to do business across borders. ”

While Ves didn ’t completely understand the conveniences these authorizations provided to him, he accepted them nonetheless.
He passed the data pad to Gavin who eagerly began to read the documents right away.

”Please convey my thanks to the senator for his consideration. ”

It seemed the senator still paid a significant amount of attention to him.
Whether this was good or bad, Ves didn ’t know.

Aside from meeting officials and representatives, Ves also met some acquaintances who were remarkable by themselves.

Ves happened to meet another old friend from the start of his career.

”Charlotte Hoffmeister! ”

”You still remember me, Ves. ” She smiled back.

”How can I forget the mech pilot who piloted my first competition mechs? ”

”It ’s been a long time since we competed at the Young Tigers Exhibition. ” She said.
She looked calmer and more mature since they last worked together to reach the finals.
”Both of us has come a long way since then, though I never expected you to explode to Journeyman this soon.
That ’s really significant to MTA, I can tell you that. ”

”You would know, since you ’re a part of them now.
It ’s really impressive that you managed to catch their eye! ” Ves sincerely complimented.

Indeed.
While Charlotte was among the younger of the guests, she was like an elephant in the room due to wearing an MTA mess dress uniform!

Not only that, but her uniform bore the insignia of the association ’s Compliance Department, which was their most feared enforcement unit!

Charlotte nonetheless shook her head.
”I ’m not as impressive as you think I am.
I ’m still a low-ranking trainee mech pilot in the MTA ’s hierarchy.
I have a lot more to go before I enter their ranks in earnest. ”

”I ’m sure you ’ll be able to distinguish yourself in time. ”

It was nice to catch up with an old acquaintance and see what they made of themselves since they last met.
Even though Ves had taken a huge leap forward, Charlotte shouldn ’t feel sorry for herself because she managed to join the most powerful mech fighting force in the galaxy!

Even if the MTA ’s branch in the Komodo Star Sector didn ’t equal the branches closer to the center of the galaxy, Charlotte could still expect to pilot some great mechs in the future.

She would also be eligible to receive the latest gene optimization treatments that her rank afforded her! That alone caused her to attract a lot of hidden envy from the mech pilots in the hall!

Once they finished exchanging pleasantries, Charlotte passed her present to Ves.
The present was rather peculiar.
She gave him an invitation card.

”You ’ve recently advanced to Journeyman, right? That means you ’ll visit the Centerpoint System soon.
While I haven ’t been there myself, you can use this card to an exclusive club on Centerpoint V.
You won ’t regret the visit once you get inside. ”

”Sounds mysterious. ”

Charlotte grinned.
”I don ’t want to spoil the surprise. ”

This was his second invitation card.
Ves still recalled that he still hadn ’t used his invitation card to the Angel ’s Wing Foundation.

After carefully stowing away the card, Ves greeted one more acquaintance.

”Patricia.
I must say I did not expect to see you here as well. ” Ves said while offering his most charming smile to someone he used to look up to during his student days.

The mech designer apprenticed to Master Null elegantly offered her hand, which Ves gently shook.
Patricia Schneider looked as elegant and inscrutable as ever.

”We both came a long way since we graduated from Rittersberg University of Technology and competed in the Young Tigers Exhibition, Ves.
You ’ve managed to make a stunning achievement by advancing to Journeyman so soon.
I ’m still an Apprentice. ” She sighed.

”You ’ve always been talented, Patricia.
I ’m sure you ’ll catch up in no time. ”

”We ’ll see.
Mech design is not a race. ”

”So what brings you to the Bright Republic? ”

”I ’m picking up my parents so that they can attend my wedding. ” She said.
”I ’m engaged to a mech designer from the Vermeer Group.
We decided to tie the knot this year. ”

”Oh. ” Ves said while he tried to maintain his best smile.
”Congratulations.
I ’m very happy for you, Patricia. ”

”Thank you, Ves. ”

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