The Mech Touch

evere where others had fallen and erected functional, self-sufficient settlements, some of which turned into fiefs for the brutal pirate gangs that held sway in those regions of space.

”Compared to those hardcore pirates, the conduct of Lydia ’s Swordmaidens is positively angelic. ”

The Swordmaidens only attacked targets they knew for certain they could overwhelm.
They picked their targets wisely and backed off from any threats beyond their means to defeat.
Over time, they steadily grew their numbers from a collection of women to a formidable outfit that became a mainstay in the frontier.

”Still, even if they ’re admirable for being able to survive in the frontier, they ’re similar to the Flagrant Vandals.
They prey on the weak and run from the strong.
They won ’t do well against a battle-oriented mech outfit. ”

When Ves compared their mech doctrines and battle records to those of the Masters of Combat, the Swordmaidens had no chance of winning.
It couldn ’t be helped.
The Masters of Combat always deployed a balanced force of defense-oriented mechs.
Each mech model and mech type rounded out each other ’s weaknesses.

The Swordmaidens on the other hand deployed a disproportionate amount of swordsman mechs.
Although a small number of Swordmaidens piloted knights or ranged mechs, this uneven mech roster basically forced them into a singular strategy.

”Attack! Attack! Attack! ”

This also happened to be strategy the Masters of Combat excelled in dealing with.
They loved to foil the advances of their opponents, blunting their offensives and tiring them out until the Masters of Combat could deliver the coup-de-grace.

In this perspective, taking the Masters of Combat out of play before they reached the Starlight Megalodon made more and more sense.

From a greater perspective, the alliance between the Flagrant Vandals and Lydia ’s Swordsmaidens reeked of desperation.
Alone, they lacked the strength to compete against other outfits.
Only after combining their forces did they gain the necessary footing to win the game.

Maybe the Vandals would be able to muscle out the other outfit if they brought their full numbers.
However, the Verle Task Force alone was unable to deter their competitors, especially when they never had the opportunity to replenish their fallen mech pilots.

”It ’s unfortunate that they ’re both raiding outfits. ”

However, this had given both of them the grounds for cooperation.
Neither of them were strong enough to succeed without each other ’s help.
Only by marrying their strength would they be able to contend in this brutal game.

Relevant to the upcoming battle, just because the Swordmaidens didn ’t focus on spaceborn combat didn ’t mean they neglected it entirely.
Without adequate spaceborn forces, they wouldn ’t have been able to wrestle orbital superiority from the expeditionary fleets.

Their spaceborn battle capabilities didn ’t seem exceptional, but different from the Vandals, the Swordmaidens cultivated a strong and formidable boarding force.
Just because they didn ’t strangle the lifeline of their victims didn ’t mean they disregarded the value of starships.
A capable boarding force was necessary to take over high-value starships without risking any shenanigans.

The Swordmaidens earned as much money from selling their prize ships to selling the expedition ’s spoils.
The only ships they left behind were low-value rust buckets such as old cargo haulers or decrepit converted carriers.

It still seemed rather strange to Ves that Lydia ’s Swordmaidens expressly cultivated an elite boarding force while slightly neglecting their spaceborn mechs.
It sounded incongruent to their strategy.

After all, it took a lot more effort to capture a ship intact than to blow it out of the skies.

Ves shrugged.
”Oh well.
We ’ll soon come into contact with each other, so I ’ll probably find out the truth behind the matter. ”

He couldn ’t forget that Lydia ’s Swordmaidens possessed a backer.
Ves hadn ’t been able to dig up any accurate information about the power behind the scenes besides the fact that they were a part of a more moderate faction.

Reinaldan politics was rather polarizing.
One faction sought to expand their influence in the Komodo Star Sector, and they weren ’t above using force.
They wanted to push the Frozen Leaf Alliance from a defensive alliance into a greater union that would allow them to push their weight around.

The other faction advocated for maintaining the status quo.
If it ain ’t broke, don ’t fix it.
This was pretty much the essence of their motto.
They liked the fact the Reinald Republic had grown into an unofficial trade hub that carved out its own niche.

Not everyone from the military fell into the aggressive camp.
Neither did every merchant believe the Reinald Republic would be able to remain safe.

Lydia ’s Swordmaidens was a tool that extended the reach of the moderate faction to the frontier.
If worst came to worst, the Swordmaidens could also lead their backers beyond the reach of their enemies if the Reinald Republic ever fell.

In this context, Lydia ’s Swordmaidens were less like pirates and more like intelligence assets that pretended to be pirates.
Perhaps their budget was truly dependent on their spoils, but Ves figured that there was definitely more the Swordmaidens than what the shallow records had revealed.

Almost every outfit involved in this game had a backer propping them up.
Otherwise, they wouldn ’t have been so desperate to obtain the life-prolonging doses.

If not for themselves, why compete for it in the first place? This property was far too hot to be sold to someone else.

From what Ves could gather up to now, there were at least four players in the game.

One had to be a senior official from the Bright Republic.
That person wielded enough power to direct the Flagrant Vandals.

The player behind the Masters of Combat had to be a Vesian, though not necessarily a Venidsan.

The player depending on Lydia ’s Swordmaidens had to be a part of the moderate faction of the Reinald Republic.

The identity of the fourth player was the most mysterious.
This individual had ties to the terrorists who turned Harkensen I into a hellhole.
This was the most thorny player of all, because he displayed the least scruples of all.