The Mech Touch novel Chapter 584

Word of the duel spread through the entire star system the next day. There wasn’t a mech enthusiast or professional in Harkensen that hadn’t heard of Avid Serpent’s challenge to the Flagrant Vandals.

Details of the terms of the upcoming duel proliferated among the public as well. The most noteworthy stipulation elevated the honor duel from a passing curiosity into the talk of the system.

"Fight to the death!"

"Accept no surrender!"

"Disable all escape mechanisms!"

"The winner shall only leave the arena grounds stained in blood!"

Though the public butchered the wording of the terms, they weren’t necessarily wrong. In order to prove their worth and uphold their deals, both duelists needed to show their sincerity. To an honor duel, there was nothing more convincing than to put their lives at stake.

The message they were trying to say was that even if they lost, they would rather accept death than dishonor!

How exciting!

Harkensen did nothing to prohibit the news. Why would they? The sensational duel only brought more tourists to their system! Drama like this promoted their cosmopolitan nature. Look at our star system! Only in a place where multiple nationalities and cultures clashed can you witness something as exciting as a duel to the death!

Not everyone approved of the duel, however. A small minority in the Harkensen System and a greater majority of people elsewhere regarded it as a barbaric tradition. A proper mech duel should be a civilized affair where the better of the two gracefully won while showing magnanimity to their opponent.

Fights to the death was as barbaric as two cavemen bashing their heads with a rock in order to determine who had the right to mate with the woman with the widest hips. Though the actual mech duelists were both women this time, that didn’t detract from the crude nature of the duel.

Although mech duels happened a lot, the MTA took a very dim view on them when they turned deadly. Still, most people regarded the powerful organization as a distant nanny and took no note of their rules in this area. The mech duel was sacred, and even the MTA had given up on enforcing the no-deaths rule a couple of hundred years ago.

As long as the participants agreed to the stipulation willingly, neither the government nor the MTA had any reason to step in. If the mech pilots had a deathwish, then so be it. It was no different from driving a shuttle into a star.

In a way, the apathy shown by the highest authorities reflected their helplessness against human nature. As much as the leaders attempted to shape human values, they couldn’t have it both ways.

Mech pilots bore the brunt in every war. Though many civilians and servicemen serving in auxiliary units lost their lives as well, by far mech pilots risked the most.

In order to motivate them to fight, the MTA and many states in turn chose to foster a warrior culture among their mech pilots. Honor, pride, glory and adoration were nothing but tools in the hands of the states that drove their mech pilots into deadly situations. Unlike money or material rewards, nebulous concepts such as honor and glory didn’t cost much to come into being.

A famous conqueror once said that a soldier would fight long and hard for a colored ribbon.

In the Age of Mechs, trillions of mech pilots fought to make a name for themselves. The MTA’s initial attempts at encouraging mech pilots to become the main sacrifice in the constant struggle between states went out of control. The warrior culture had taken a life of its own, and various rituals and customs sprung into being that otherwise seemed anachronistic to a civilization that long transcended its home planet.

Right now, Ves, Captain Orfan and Chief Haine sat in front of a desk in Major Verle’s temporary office on Harkensen III. The commanding officer looked sternly at Captain Orfan.

The woman calmly stared back at her superior. Her eyes reflected the strong conviction she held in the righteousness of her case.

Chief Haine sat as if this circus didn’t have anything to do with her. Although she was a card-carrying member of the Flagrant Vandals, mech technicians didn’t buy into the warrior culture as much. Her only job was to fix the mechs of their fighters. What happened after that was none of the grizzled chief technician’s concern.

As for Ves, he refused to waste a single minute of his time. Ever since the duel had been set, he went through some channels and obtained the design specifications of the spearman mech that Captain Orfan would ride into battle. Ves needed to deepen himself in the foreign design before he could come up with the appropriate repairs.

He really hated the short time limit. Couldn’t Captain Orfan be more considerate to the mech designers and mech technicians that prepared her battlegear?

"Alright." Major Verle started after giving up on the silent treatment. "Let me begin by asking you, Orfan. What gives you the right represent the honor of the Flagrant Vandals?"

"Sir!" She barked, making a good show at being a prim and proper Vandal. "When the Vesian issued her challenge, nobody spoke up. I felt compelled by my rank to stand up to her. I doubt any Vandal objected to my actions. The odds of another Vandal mech captain being present at that venue was very slim. Since I’m not only a mech captain but also one who specializes in landbound combat, there are only few among the Vandals who can do better."