The Mech Touch novel Chapter 606

Some time later, Ves sat with his arms crossed against his chest. The security officers worked to neutralize the chemicals that robbed the Vandals downstairs from their consciousness. _{freewёbnoνel.com}

The infiltrators hadn’t used anything lethal or sophisticated in order to circumvent detectors. The security officers sealed into airtight combat suits were easily able to inject the Vandals with a standard cure that woke them up over a couple of minutes.

Many of them reacted with horror and uncertainty after hearing what had happened. Looking at the aftermath of what Ves had unleashed, they all knew that they had brushed dangerously close to death. Who knew what the infiltrators had in store once they took Ves into custody.

As the hero of the hour, Ves stubbornly declined to explain how he repelled the attackers. With most systems down in the hotel, the security officers hadn’t been able to retrieve any footage. This worked to his advantage. Ves simply stated that he possessed a secret weapon and that the higher-ups knew about it. This was probably close to the truth.

"You’re not making my job more convenient." Nolsen said as he stood opposite to Ves. Like every other security officer, Nolsen wore a menacing-looking black-and-burgundy combat armor that was only inferior to a full-fledged exo-skeleton suit. "We’ve calculated the output of the directed energy weapon that is needed to vaporize eighteen enemy operatives at once, and it rivals the energy released by a mech-sized laser pistol! That kind of weapon in the hands of a mech designer untrained for combat is incredibly reckless!"

"If you want more answers, take it up with Major Verle or Professor Velten." Ves grunted. "I’m not the enemy here. Frankly, you should turn your attention to the enemy who dispatched those infiltrators and those amphibian mechs that are rampaging outside."

Ves was right and the lieutenant knew it. After a few more minutes of fruitless questioning, Nolsen walked away without any answers.

"Finally."

The main reason why Nolsen didn’t push Ves any further was because in his eyes, he was a part of the higher ups. As the head designer of the task force, Ves possessed an unsurpassed amount of prestige among the Flagrant Vandals.

It should have come to no surprise that he possessed a couple of tricks to insure his safety.

A doctor had already come to remove the remains of the projectiles that passed into his body, so Ves was currently trying to recover.

"What a mess."

The noise outside had died down a bit. From what he gathered, the Planetary Guard and the Honored Ones finally got their act together and pushed the enemy amphibian mechs away from the city. Yet despite fighting on their homeground, the Reinaldan forces responded poorly to the crisis! All the sabotage that crippled their fixed defense installations hadn’t helped their situation either!

The so-called True Sons of Vesia appeared to be outnumbered by the defenders, but their mechs possessed better armament and came prepared to fight a war!

This difference in preparation had been enough to turn the tables against the numerically superior defenders!

"The Reinaldans never fought a major war after they founded their state. They never faced an invasion by a major military force. They could plan for contingencies all they want, but without experiencing true hell, how can they know how important it is to be ready to fight at any time?"

The overall level of readiness among the Reinaldans was abysmal. Their membership in the Frozen Leaf Alliance gave them false confidence that no one dared to mess with them. Ordinarily, that would be true, but what if the Reinaldans couldn’t figure out the identity of their attackers?

The complacency exhibited by the Reinaldans would never fly in the Bright Republic. Though their poorest planets couldn’t muster much of a defense, their more strategic planets would definitely be able to respond promptly against any threats. The attacks from the Vesia Kingdom and the Bentheim Liberation Movement had honed their defense to a razor edge.

The only questionable point about this wave of attacks was how the attackers managed to smuggle so many mechs onto Harkensen I. Had they bribed the inspectors checking the cargo of each transport that descended from orbit? Or did they smuggle bits and pieces onto the surface and assemble them into complete mechs in their hidden bases?

"Both options are possible, and both are equally terrifying."

Whatever the case, the Reinaldans had been at sleep at the helm for far too long!

Ves believed that the attackers weren’t targeting specific people like the Vandals. The damage was way too exaggerated. Considering the amount of resources and manpower invested into the attacks, their primary objective definitely concerned the Reinaldans!

"This is an attack against the interests of the Reinald Republic. The mass casualties inflicted by outsiders has broken the unspoken promises made to visitors of the Harkensen System. How can the Reinaldans retain their credibility after this destructive crisis?"

The entire Komodo Star Sector had already underwent a wave of unrest last year, but the Reinald Republic had largely escaped those repercussions. Their unique status as a friendly partner to shady outfits caused most bad actors to restrain themselves against one of the rare states that was sympathetic to their presence.

It was too bad that not everyone found the Reinald Republic to their liking. Making enemies was inevitable. No matter how much Reinald wished to maintain friendly or cordial relations with everyone, plenty of enemies still wished to tear them down!

The murky identities of the attackers only complicated the repercussions of the attacks. Even now, Ves could still hear the piercing broadcasts from the True Sons of Vesia. Even though every Reinaldan leader would probably scoff at this obvious false flag, their citizens and the tourists might not be so imaginative.

The troublesome part about these ear-wailing announcements was that plenty of people probably bought into these claims. Not everyone was capable of reading in between the lines, and regular people didn’t normally think beyond their immediate status.

The dangerous games played among leaders of states and non-state powers was highly inscrutable among average folk. Ves definitely expected millions of survivors to develop an incurable animosity against the Vesia Kingdom after this attack.

With the true culprits in the shadow, where else could the aggrieved victims point their fingers at? "They’re definitely going to demand compensation from the Vesians."