The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1701

Chapter 1701 Conspiracy

Reality froze around Ves as he took in Raymond's explosive news.

The 'reinforcements' turned out to be an entirely different beast!

All official communication between the LMC and the authorities only described the incoming fleet as reinforcements meant to bolster Cloudy Curtain's defenses.

There was nothing that hinted at taking Ves into custody and bringing him away to a different star system!

Ves thought that the Tovars had already solved this problem. How could the Mech Corps deceive them all by sending a capture fleet under the guise of reinforcements?!

Perhaps the most worrying aspect about the new arrivals was the presence of an expert pilot! Venerable Ghanso Larkinson himself accompanied the 'reinforcements', which was massively overkill for a lesser star system!

Each and every expert pilot was needed to defend the most strategic locations. Bentheim needed expert pilots more than Cloudy Curtain! It didn't make any sense to send Ghanso to Cloudy Curtain just to fend off some sandmen!

The only way it made sense was if Ghanso had been sent to oppose Ves and the Larkinsons on his side!

Ves always knew there were contradictions between him and the more patriotic faction of the family. He knew that Ghanso strongly sided with the Larkinsons who pursued duty to the Republic above anything else. Yet how could his illustrious cousin ever agree to be used as a sword pointed at a family member?

"This is outrageous!" He exploded. "Family doesn't fight against family! This has been the Larkinson rule for centuries, right!?"

The Larkinson elder looked grave. "There are exceptions to this rule, Ves."

"And those are..?"

"If.. a Larkinson has betrayed the family or betrayed the state, he or she does not deserve to be treated as family."

"..."

Ves fell silent. He vaguely recalled this exception when his father lectured him about it in his youth. Of course, back then he was just a little kid, so he couldn't really remember so many clauses.

"Does Venerable Ghanso and his fleet come with any orders?"

"See for yourself." Raymond replied and activated his comm to transfer some files.

The desk terminal lit up, allowing Ves to skim through the official looking documents. The format, letterhead and everything else looked completely identical to his prior correspondence with the Mech Corps!

"Are these orders fake?"

"No. I've already verified them." Raymond pointed at a corner of the current page. "Look at this virtual signature. As long as you are connected to the galactic net, the signature automatically links up to the servers of the Mech Corps. You can visit a site and immediately verify that this unique signature is a valid order."

Ves did so, and quickly found out that the Mech Corps indeed issued these orders!

They weren't fake!

This meant that Venerable Ghanso was acting on official orders!

"This.. why would the Mech Corps issue such orders?!"

The documents were very wordy and full of formal terms, but they all came down to a single priority.

Ves had to be taken into custody by the Mech Corps, no matter what he wanted.

"The Mech Corps isn't a unilateral entity, Ves. You should know this since you served with Vandals for some time." Raymond wearily told him. He seemed more old and frail than ever since he took up the position of COO. "While I'm not a veteran, I'm decently aware of the power struggles within the military. I strongly suspect that these orders don't represent the will of the entire institution. This is very likely someone in the hierarchy playing games with us! No average military official can arrange such elaborate deception surrounding the reinforcement fleet!"

This was something that befuddled Ves. He was no longer the kid who operated a mech workshop by himself. He was the head and the lead designer of a large mech manufacturer, a prominent elder of the Larkinson Family and a well-connected individual!

Why didn't the Tovars say anything? Why didn't Flashlight warn him ahead of time? How could Calabast possibly miss something so huge?

All of these partnerships and alliances had failed at this critical moment! With Ghanso Larkinson and three combat carriers worth of military mechs bearing down on Cloudy Curtain, Ves had been completely caught off guard!

He quickly contacted Captain Silvestra and briefly filled her in on the situation.

"Captain, can the Barracuda escape this star system?"

The projection of the captain shook her head. "My apologies, sir, but it's too late. According to the movements of the forces in orbit, the defense fleet has already spread out to envelop every approach. The combat carriers have split up as well to surround the entire planet from three angles. No matter which angle we attempt to follow, at least one of the combat carriers and accompanying mechs will be able to intercept our escape!"

Venerable Ghanso only transmitted his ultimatum when the capture fleet had come close enough to seal off any escape routes!

It was too late to run! Ves had been far too complacent against the so-called 'reinforcements'!

He cut off his call with Captain Silvestra and contacted someone else.

"Miles!" he shouted. "Are you aware of what is going on right now?!"

"I have just been informed, sir." Miles replied with panic. "The Mech Corps wasn't supposed to come with orders to take you away! I can guarantee that our Tovar Family had nothing to do with this! I'm trying to gain more information from my family right now, but from what I have heard so far, we were completely blindsided! It will take some time for Senator Tovar to uncover the truth!"