The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1305

The Mercenary Association maintained a major presence on Bloodstone. How could they not seeing as the Kinner Tribe was one of the major centers of mercenary activity in southern Komodo.

Their regional headquarters consisted of a large and expansive complex. In typical mercenary fashion, the mechs on guard all hailed from several different mercenary corps, though each of them carried markings revealing them to be Kinners.

Even the guards on foot appeared to be hired hands. Ves found that to be an admirable choice. In this way, the Mercenary Association tried to do its best to show that mercenaries could be trusted to guard sensitive and important locations.

As Kelandra, Ves, Gavin and Lucky stepped out of their aircar, they began to cross the extensive courtyard to an administrative center.

Just like every other structure on the planet, the administrative center purposed for servicing visitors was covered with bloodstone. Even so, the center had been built in the shape of a fortification, so the internal structure plating must be quite resilient. _{ƒreewebηoveℓ.com}

As they entered the administrative center, they immediately encountered a representative that awaited their arrival.

"Kelandra! Good to see you again? Are you bringing another client?" An exuberant man called.

"Yes. This is Mr. Ves Larkinson, Journeyman Mech Designer from the Bright Republic."

"I’ve read the files." The man in business attire turned to Ves and stretched his hands. "Welcome to the Mercenary Association! I am Torin Viznef, and I will be handling your registration. Please follow me to my office."

As they all began to move, Ves looked around and saw plenty of visitors entering and exiting the administrative center.

"Your Mercenary Association appears to be doing brisk business."

"Mercenaries are always in demand!" Torin proudly stated. "To most people or organizations of means, it is best for them to cultivate a mech troop themselves. Yet this is far from easy to manage. It takes time, expertise, investment and more to establish an adequate protection force."

Ves nodded in agreement. He already experienced the difficulties in trying to raise the Avatars of Myth in a personal force that could keep up with his growth.

"Mercenaries aren’t the only option out there. Security companies generally have a much higher reputation."

"They are also more expensive." Torin pointed out with a grin. "Aside from that, the main limitation of security companies is that they only accept defensive assignments deployed closer to civilization or a fixed area. Every mech pilot who works for a security company is an employee. They expect to hop into their mechs, go on patrol for a shift, hop out of their mechs and go back home to spend time with their spouses and kids."

That was indeed the major limitation of mech pilots who worked for security companies and many other regular mech forces for that matter. Mech pilots refused to commit to frequent, lengthy deployments. They would have applied for the military if they were willing to endure these challenges.

"And mercenaries are different?" Ves asked, though he partially knew the answer already.

While Torin replied, they finally reached his office and began to sit down on the chairs that floated down from the ceiling.

"Mercenaries are willing to go through lengths that others don’t, for a price." Torin grinned. "Even if they wish to start families, at this stage in their lives they are willing to undergo substantial hardship, separation and risk. They’re much more independent and daring, and for this reason they won’t mind being on deployment for years at a time. For a price, of course."

"Of course." Ves smiled. "Yet while all of that sounds good, in practice their reliability tends to be.. a bit inconsistent."

Torin momentarily dropped his smile. "That is mostly on the fault of the clients. It saddens us that many clients often underestimate or underreport the actual risk degree of the assignments they hand out to mercenary corps. While the Mercenary Association maintains a policy that mercenaries must do their own due diligence when evaluating and accepting contracts, we do not hesitate to sanction a client if they supplied inaccurate information."

Hiring mercenaries could get very expensive, especially over longer periods of time. Ves could easily imagine the more unscrupulous clients misrepresent the actual danger of an assignment in order to save some money. Unfortunately, such malpractices frequently led to the deaths or flight of mercenaries on assignment.

Perhaps this was why the Mercenary Association maintained a system of recording red and black marks on the records of different mercenary corps. It would be unfair to force them to dissolve after being screwed by their clients.

"I suppose that is what my registration is supposed to reinforce, correct?" Ves guessed.

Torin nodded. "Exactly. The Mercenary Association maintains an active treaty with the Bright Republic and many other states. So long as you register with us and sign the relevant documents, you will have essentially agreed to subject to our rules and regulations. If you ever break them, we can lean on the Bright Republic to sanction you on our behalf."

"I understand. Kelandra already informed me of this arrangement."

"Great! Since you know what you’re here for, we can immediately move on with the formalities!"

In the next half hour, Ves signed a number of contracts and agreements. He formally registered as a client in the Mercenary Association. With his membership to the Association, he gained access to much more services, but in return he needed to pay a modest amount of membership dues.

Fortunately, to someone as rich as Ves, he could easily bear the fees.

"Great!" Torin said as Ves signed the last virtual document on the data pad after Torin briefly explained all of the clauses. "You have made the right decision. We here at the Mercenary Association believe that mutual satisfaction is always assured as long as both sides are honest and transparent to each other. Registering with us will mean that many mercenary corps, including this planet’s famed Kinner outfits, will become available for hire to you. Mind you, as a newly-registered member, you still have a way to go before you can hire the more demanding outfits."