The Mech Touch

the reconstruction project.
He already made good progress on drafting up a plan to restore the missing and broken parts.

He left the issue of hacking the salvaged processors for later.
The matter required delicate handling at it wasn ’t exactly legal to mess around with the programming of an expensive industrial printer.

Ves pulled up a blueprint of the industrial printer and started to study it in detail.

Time flew by.
Everyone settled in a routine.
His two cousins slowly loosened up as the distance to Rittersberg increased.
Perhaps it finally dawned on the pair that there was no turning back.

One day, Raella spontaneously approached Ves.
”Can I hold him? ”

She gestured to Lucky.
The cat lounged on his desk next to his work terminal.

Even as Ves nodded his head, Lucky already jumped in her arms and started acting cute.
Even a bitter woman like Raella got charmed by the gem cat ’s wiles.
Ves and Melkor both scratched their heads when Raella acted identical to their little cousin Lanie.
Did girls spontaneously lose half of their intelligence when faced with the cat?

”Huh.
I never imagined fake pets like these could be so fun. ” She smiled.
”It ’s a lot better than the stupid parrot my former team leader always paraded. ”

Her remark provided Ves with an opening.
”So you already competed in the mech games? ”

”Yup.
Me and five of my BFFs formed a team ever since we graduated from the mech academy.
We called ourselves the Wailing Witches.
It ’s an awful name, now that I think about it.
We must have been getting our rocks off with the good stuff when we registered the stupid name. ”

”How did you do in the arena? ”

”Oh, we did okay. ” His niece responded as she sat down on a sofa and rested Lucky on her lap.
”We frequently fought in the amateur circuit and slowly made a name for ourselves.
The frequent battles took a toll on our allowances, but we improved by leaps and bounds.
Going professional was just around the corner as far as our team was concerned. ”

”Obviously that didn ’t happen. ” Ves noted.
”What went wrong? ”

Raella ’s fury returned.
”Our bitch of a team leader stabbed us in the back, that ’s what happened.
Virma McCullen used to be the lynchpin of our circle of friends.
She ’s actually something of a prodigy at the academy and one of the few who got sent to Rittersberg on a scholarship.
She could have made it big in the Mech Corps, you know? But she befriended us instead and helped us climb up the ranks. ”

Ves had a good idea what went on now.
”I take it that Virma couldn ’t cover the costs of maintaining a competition mech on her own. ”

”Right.
The scholarship girl couldn ’t even pay the rent to her apartment in Kelsor.
The rest of us had to beg our families in order to increase our allowance in order to cover her expenses. ”

”Didn ’t you earn enough from the amateur circuit? ”

”Don ’t you know anything about mech sports? ” Raella rolled her eyes.
”The only way to break even or make a slight profit is if you pilot a cheap second-hand rust bucket.
Unlike those losers who wallow in the bottom of the rankings, my friends and I wanted to compete in front of a crowd of billions.
The only way to attract a sponsor and go professional is if you win. ”

”And the best way you can increase your win rate is if you pilot a good mech. ” Ves concluded.
”I never knew the amateur circuit worked like that.
How good were your mechs? ”

”Oh, they ’re pretty decent for currentgen mechs.
In fact, I ’m bringing my competition mech along.
It ’s a tough little light skirmisher.
It doesn ’t pack a lot of punch, but in my hands I can sever the joints of any mech once I get close. ”

His niece actually licking her lips as if she still hungered for the taste of blood.
”I ’m one of the finishers, you see.
Without me, our team would have a hard time finishing off the wounded mechs.
I ’ve gotten pretty good at my job. ”

”There were times when you almost totalled your mech. ” Melkor suddenly spoke up from the other side of the suite.
The visored man smirked.

”Shut up, cuz! ” Raella screeched, which scared the cat resting on her lap.
”Oh, don ’t go baby! Shush now. ”

Melkor supplement the story.
”Dear Raella and her little posse dreamed big.
In actual fact, the Witches only performed above average.
That ’s not to say she ’s bad.
The competition in the amateur circuit at Rittersberg is very intense. ”

Raella obviously disagreed, but she didn ’t bother quibbling.
”We were on the up and up! Everyone thought we ’d be able to win over a sponsor in three years or less.
We only needed to show we were still growing as a team.
Everything went fine! I thought that nothing could stop our rise until Virma signed up with the Silver Chancellors! ”

Even Ves had heard of the Silver Chancellors.
As one of Rittersberg ’s premier mech teams, the Chancellors often showed off their prowess in the various leagues throughout the entire Republic.
Bentheim often turned into a gigantic circus whenever the Chancellors played a match in one of their arenas.

”Did your team fall apart once your prodigy pilot left? ” He asked with a puzzled expression.
”Even though you ’re amateurs, you shouldn ’t be too far behind, right? ”

Melkor suddenly laughed.
”Raella never got the chance to prove she could make it without Virma.
You see, she only found out about Virma ’s transfer after finishing their final match of the season.
Our fiery little cousin got so worked up about it that she decided that she threw a fist into Virma ’s face.
The arena even broadcasted it live! ”

The former mech athlete adopted a sour face.
”If I knew they ’d tumble me out, I should have added in some kicks.
That two-faced bitch could have never made it big without us! ”

Obviously, Raella hadn ’t gotten over her forced retirement from the mech games.
Ves couldn ’t do much to placate her anger.
He could only hope that time could heal her wounds.
After all, if he wanted to employ her as a guard, she better set her priorities straight.

There was more to life than the mech games.
Perhaps a real life conflict might be able to kick her out of her slump.
Ves didn ’t lack for enemies, after all.