The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1803

Chapter 1803 Three Hexers

Ranya, Brutus and Gloriana all gathered together aboard the Serendipity.

The sleek light frigate hovered above the city of Krent like a watcher in the sky.

From the observation chamber, every structure and monument on the ground looked like a collection of bricks. Every person was like a speck of dust. All of the mechs and vehicles moving about resembled a colony of ants.

"These Ylvainans are so small and narrow-minded." Ranya dismissively said as she idly watched over the city while sipping a glass of wine. "Their so-called prophet presumes to foretell the future of both humans and aliens. Declaring us kin to the barbaric aliens who used to dominate the galaxy is ludicrous."

"They're kind of cute, in a way." Gloriana said while she was cuddling with Clixie while lying on a sofa. "Some of their beliefs aren't so much different from ours, and their hearts are in the right place."

"They're unenlightened brutes following the words of a delusional boy. It is one thing if their Great Prophet was a woman. It's unfortunate he's of the wrong gender! I'm not surprised the Ylvainan Faith encountered so many problems and setbacks. We'll have to enlighten them properly once the Fridaymen are dealt with. I really can't stand how they pay so much respect to boys."

"Including my boyfriend?" Gloriana paused her cuddle session to glare at her cousin.

Before an argument could erupt, her brother held up a hand. The change in the air instantly caused the two women to subside.

"Peace, please. It is not up to us to determine what must happen to the culture and religions of the lesser states. Any change we wish to implement will likely happen over decades, if not centuries in order to minimize backlash and disruption. Besides, it is not wise to meddle too much in the affairs of these lesser states even if we eventually achieve dominion over our star sector."

There were many rules, some of them unwritten, that governed the relations between a lesser state and a greater state.

The Big Two rarely intervened in the affairs of a state, but they were certainly keeping score of every significant event. As soon as a state crossed an invisible line, they came under intense scrutiny, which was not a very pleasant experience.

It was mostly better for greater states to encourage lesser states to change on their own accord.

As long as a state became dominant enough in a star sector, cultural osmosis would take place where a third-rate state increasingly adopted the customs of a more powerful state in order to curry more favor and foster trade.

The third-rate states that aligned the fastest to a powerful state would gain a lot of advantages compared to those who were more reluctant to embrace the changes.

This was very bad as the lack of favor and trade income would certainly weaken these recalcitrant states! This made them vulnerable to the predations of the states that grew stronger by hugging the thigh of a mighty patron!

This has happened in many star sectors in the past. Vicious Mountain for example was home to a very powerful second-rate state called the Garlen Empire.

Due to the Empire's dominance, Garlen's martial culture and extreme emphasis on mech pilots bled over to the surrounding states. This caused the latter to turn into partial copies of the former!

The Hegemony wanted to replicate this phenomenon in the Komodo Star Sector. It should have been able to spread its distinctive culture if not for the obstacle in its way.

The existence of the Friday Coalition counterbalanced the Hexadric Hegemony's attempts to turn the rest of the star sector in its image!

One of the reasons why the Coalition Reserve Corps dispatched monitors to the lesser states was to gauge their willingness to embrace the values and customs of the Coalition or the Hegemony.

While it was possible to monitor this development from afar, sending real people and having them interact with various layers of society was a more direct way to gauge the changes in a lesser state.

"I really don't know what we are doing here." Ranya muttered as she casually studied a data pad containing in depth information of the Archimedes Rubal implant. "The Ylvaine Protectorate may technically be on our side, but it's clear that they're only paying lip service."

"I'm concerned as well." Brutus glanced at his sister in worry. "We shouldn't stay in this for too long. The Ylvaine Protectorate is surrounded by states that are in the pocket of the Friday Coalition. If our archenemies ever turn their attention in this direction, this place will become very dangerous!"

"I'm not leaving the Ylvaine Protectorate until Ves is ready to go." Gloriana harrumphed. "Don't think of dragging me back to Scimitar before then! Ves has too many things to take care of before he's ready to depart!"

Ranya threw a skeptical glance at her lovestruck cousin. "Does Ves even want to travel to the Hegemony? He doesn't seem very eager to meet your mother."

"Ves loves me very much. Of course he would love to visit my home! He has to pay respects to my mother if he wants to marry me! He'll definitely accompany me back to the Hegemony!"

Of course, Gloriana hadn't discussed this topic with Ves as of yet. Whether he would actually go along with her suggestion was a complete mystery.

The conversation soon shifted to a more immediate matter.

"You haven't made any progress at all, sister?" Brutus asked.

"I tried, but my people and I haven't found any trace of this supposed hidden superbase. If the Fridaymen have really set up a secret anchoring point, they're being very careful about it. My data analysts went through all kinds of shipping records but we failed to find any significant amount of supplies going nowhere. Either the Fridaymen already prepared a stockpile that will last them years, or this base doesn't exist in this region of space."

Her brother crossed his arms and let out a deep breath. "I don't think the Fridaymen have overlooked the possibility that we would search for their base. It's most likely that they are truly prepared to hide for a number of years before they spring their offensive when the Hegemony's flanks are at their most vulnerable."

"It could be that the intelligence is wrong and this secret superbase doesn't exist in the first place." Ranya offered. "It wouldn't be the first time the Fridaymen are leading us on a wild goose chase."