The Mech Touch

ernals required little knowledge in that field.

He considered sparing some of his ample DP into shoring up this lacking skill, but shook his head.
”I don ’t think I ’ll need to mess with the programming of a mech anytime soon.
It ’ll be important once I begin to design an original mech, but for now there ’s little use. ”

A day after he reached Apprentice-level in Battle Mechatronics, the Barracuda finally made its way to the Mancroft System.

A dim red dwarf star in the center of the system provided pathetic amounts of light to its anemic pair of planets.
Red dwarfs were considered the runt of the galaxy, the cheap mass-produced version of a star that burned extremely slow but lasted quite a long while as a result.

None of this mattered much except to illustrate the star system ’s overall lack of value.
The only true satellite of any consequence was its gas giant.
The yellow pearl-like planet contained significant traces of an essential ingredient in the synthesis of high density ship-grade fuel.

The fact that such a common red dwarf possessed such a valuable gas giant caused plenty of people to scratch their heads.
It was as if an old farmer had married a gorgeous supermodel.

”That ’s the CFA ’s fueling station.
Best not to go anywhere near that place. ” Silvestra noted as she switched the main display to a close-up to the station in question.
It orbited lazily over gas giant.
A fair number of harvester vessels flew down to the upper layers of the gas giant and gently scooped up some gas before returning home.

A small patrol of warships made sure that nobody would have any ideas on the station.
It consisted of two destroyers and a small flotilla of frigates, enough to threaten any casual pirate incursion.
No matter how many mechs swarmed the patrol, the warships would quickly tear them to pieces with its abundant rapid-fire cannon turrets.

It took only a couple of hours for the Barracuda to traverse past the orbit of the gas giant and enter the inner system.
A red dwarf massed fairly light, which meant that ships of any kind would be able to transition closer to the center.
This saved everyone a lot of time.

”We ’re thirty minutes away from the Mancroft Independent Harbor.
Whatever poses as their traffic control is already hailing us. ” Captain Silvestra reported to Ves.

”Has anyone else sent a message to us? ”

”Besides the usual unwanted solicitations, no, sir. ”

”Then do what you think is best. ”

She nodded to him and turned back to send a brief reply.
”We ’ll take up orbit around Mancroft I and keep our distance from others.
I suggest you make sure your pilot cousin is ready to enter his mech at any time.
We might need to show some muscle from time to time in order to deter the scum from having any ideas. ”

The ramshackle space station acted as the only other populated presence in the system.
No one bothered to colonize the ugly grey planet it orbited, so every ship in the neighborhood flocked to the so-called independent harbor.

The space station had a mundane history.
Shortly after the CFA built its fueling station, a gang popped out of nowhere and funded the construction of a passable space station.
Led by the Bosey Clan, this group possessed enough strength and foresight to hang on to power and turn their little space station in a regular stopping point for fortune seekers.

”All kinds of people flock to the galactic rim. ” Silvestra explained with a patient tone.
Ves would just keep asking if she didn ’t answer.
She summoned a couple of auxiliary projections that showed the other ships in orbit.
”The line between scavenging and pirating is often blurred this far out from any central authority.
Even the CFA can ’t do much about to enforce the law in these parts. ”

The galactic rim encompassed billions of stars and many light-years of space.
The portion that fell under the purely administrative borders of the Komodo Star Sector already encompassed many millions of stars.
Even if the regional density of stars was low, many treasures could be found so long as you picked the right star.

”How are the Boseys still in power? ” Ves curiously asked.
Some of the vessels in orbit looked large enough to field entire companies of mechs.
If every ship in orbit disgorged their mechs, they ’d surely be able to overwhelm the space station.

”They never pushed the line.
The Boseys know that people can easily choose to go somewhere else to perform their trades, so they don ’t even bother taking a cut.
They make a decent living by buying low from treasure hunters and selling high to their contacts back in civilized space. ”

It sounded smart.
Their generous treatment allowed them to make lots of friends.

”The Mancroft System is fairly close to the border.
Has the space station ever been attacked by the sandmen? ”

”Never.
Red dwarfs are a dime in a dozen.
They ’re dim, so they don ’t provide the sandmen with a lot of energy.
Its low mass also makes it hard to navigate.
Furthermore, they ’re also poor in resource endowments.
Therefore, sandmen rarely bother to visit red dwarfs like Mancroft. ”

No wonder the Boseys chose to construct their space station in this system.
It not only has easy access to premium fuel, it also provides safe harbor against the sandmen.

Since no one else hailed his ship, it meant his client must be somewhere else at the moment.
With a few days to spare, Ves considered paying a visit to the space station.
This was the true frontier of human space.

”Is it safe to visit the harbor? ” He asked, gesturing towards the large but aging space station and the handful of ships currently docked in its piers.

”Not without an escort or some assurance. ” The captain replied.
”The Boseys might control the station, but for all their pretenses of declaring the harbor a fourth-rate state, it ’s still a den of thieves. ”

”That ’s a shame. ” Ves knew better than to tempt fate.
Already he could feel invisible eyes staring at his brand-new ship.
A shiny Arkon-class corvette presented a very valuable prize to those who valued absolute speed.
”Keep me posted on any incoming hails. ”

With nothing else to do than wait, Ves returned to his stateroom and resumed his preparations.
Ever since his master warned him about the dangers, he stopped treating the mission like a vacation.