The Mech Touch

As Ves followed the MTA mech officer to the end of the huge but barren underground hall, the woman started to explain the nature of the Pit.

"I am Lieutenant Rezzie Ferct. You can call me Lieutenant Ferct." She began. "As for the Pit, the simplest way to put it is that you've an informal trial ground." She began.

"What makes it informal?"

"Because the MTA isn't officially involved in the running of this place. It's actually established by the Rim Guardians, which is a fraternity within the Compliance Department. Pilot Hoffmeister who issued your invitation card is a new member. She received a card immediately upon entering our ranks."

Ves scratched his head. All of this was completely new to him. "What's the deal with the teleportation portal? Couldn't you have just allowed people to enter the Pit through an old-fashioned tunnel?"

"We can't do that. You see, the Rim Guardians aren't the only fraternities within the Compliance Department. Our most hated rivals are the Prime Humans. Their beliefs are completely opposed to ours, and we've clashed against each other plenty of times. Keeping the location of the Pit a secret will prevent those snobby brats from crashing the party."

Uh oh. It sounded as if Ves got dumped in the middle of another political dispute.

Every organization was plagued with division. Even the most outwardly cohesive states or companies had to deal with certain levels of opposition.

The MTA was so powerful and so huge that it was impossible for every member to agree on everything!

Even in the Ylvaine Protectorate where every citizen believed in the same religion still exhibited a lot of political infighting!

For an entity that was countless times larger and encompassed all of human space, the MTA must be rife with internal rivalry!

This played an especially huge problem to the MTA due to its more open and diversified recruitment policies.

In contrast, the CFA didn't suffer nearly as much from this problem because every human they recruited all shared similar backgrounds!

Seeing that he might have gotten involved in something, Ves needed to shed his ignorance as quickly as possible!

"What do these fraternities stand for?"

Lieutenant Ferct smiled. "The Rim Guardians of which I'm a part of is a fraternity that stands for equality. I'm sure you're aware that the MTA recruits from all over the galaxy, right? It doesn't matter whether a mech pilot or mech designer is rich or poor, the MTA should stand up for all of humanity. Yet.. in practice I think we've fallen short in practicing our ideals."

"The MTA cares a lot more about the galactic center than the galactic rim. Everyone knows that." Ves bluntly said.

"I agree. It's a sad reality that the MTA pours a lot more funding, resources and manpower into maintaining their standing in the galactic center instead of funneling them towards regions which are deprived of protection. Do you think the Terrans and the Rubarthans even need our protection?"

This must be one of the reasons why the MTA had been rather absent in the Komodo Star Sector. It was so unimportant to them that they didn't allocate sufficient resources to maintain a stronger presence in the local region!

"So I take it the Rim Guardians stands up for deprived areas like this star sector?"

"Correct. Specifically, we stand up for the entire galactic rim from where we originated." Lieutenant Ferct declared. "While some of the members of the MTA abandon their roots as soon as they obtain their new identities, mech pilots like Charlotte and I will never forget our old identities. We do our best to defend the interests of the people living in the galactic rim against those who take a dim view on them. Just because we aren't as prosperous doesn't mean that we deserve to be treated as serfs!"

"Is that what the so-called Prime Humans are advocating?"

The mech lieutenant chuckled. "Sounds obnoxious, right? The problem for us is that their ideology is actually part of the mainstream within the MTA. Our organization has always focused its attention towards the center of the galaxy rather than the periphery."

Ves frowned. He had always heard that the Big Two were stuck-up, but it sounded as if the problem was actually a lot more severe!

"Is it because they see us as a burden or something?"

"That's a good guess, Mr. Larkinson. The Prime Humans mostly consists of old bloods and recruits who originated from the galactic center. They advocate that the MTA shouldn't be wasting so much energy trying to cover the huge but barren galactic rim. The Association is forced to allocate a disproportionate amount of resources to maintain a barely adequate presence in star sectors that could never afford so much protection."

Centerpoint System was a case in point. While Ves marveled at all the vast megastructures and planetary engineering projects, the cost of transforming and maintaining Centerpoint must have been immense!

"There are a lot of star sectors in the galactic rim." Ves noted.

"That's true, and that's what makes this problem so acute. A single MTA branch in the galactic center is effectively forced to subsidize dozens of branches in the galactic rim! Do you think the MTA's Komodo branch can sustain its military might from all of the earnings it makes off the trade taking place in Centerpoint? It's not enough!"

A single star system, no matter how busy it appeared, could never maintain so many expensive mechs, ships and defensive installations!

"What do the Prime Humans want, then?"

"They want to abandon the galactic rim outright. Pull the MTA out and focus their resources on maintaining control over the galactic center and the galactic heartland."

"What?!"

The lieutenant sardonically chuckled. "I reacted the same way when I initially heard that. The Prime Humans consider us parasites and don't want to waste any money on enforcing their rules to a bunch of smelly space peasants."

"Why would they push to cede control? That's a lot of territory they're giving up!"

"A lot of useless territory, you mean. While the galactic rim isn't completely worthless, it isn't valuable enough to merit such a heavy commitment in their eyes. Part of that is because they consider guarding the galactic rim to be a responsibility of the CFA."

"The CFA cares even less about mere mortals." Ves commented.

"True. When the Big Two were originally founded, they divided their responsibilities in two. The MTA was tasked with maintaining order within human space while the CFA took on the burden of defending humanity from external threats. However, the MTA has always been dominated by leaders who came from the galactic center, so most of their attention is directed to the same region. As for the CFA, their primary constituents are the true spaceborn clans that mainly roam in the galactic center."

Ves felt as if the galactic rim was being treated like an unwanted kid. The Big Two were like parents who did their best to neglect the ugly child!

"So if neither of the Big Two cares that much about the galactic rim, what would happen if the Prime Humans had their way?"

"I'm not sure." Lieutenant Ferct cracked her neck. "It's such a huge change that I don't think the Prime Humans even thought it through. My guess is that the galactic rim would eventually turn into frontier space again. Without a forceful MTA presence and with the CFA dithering by themselves, the Komodo Star Sector would quickly descend into the same chaos and anarchy that is common in the frontier."

That was an alarming possibility to Ves! While he enjoyed some of the freedom of living in frontier space, he did not enjoy the constant danger and complete lack of security associated with lawless space!

"If that's true, then these Prime Humans sound like selfish idiots!"

"That's why fraternities like the Rim Guardians exist. If not for us, the MTA would have long withdrawn from the galactic rim."

As the two of them continued to talk, they eventually reached the end of the hall. A plan section of wall plating slid apart, allowing Ves and the mech lieutenant to pass into a plain corridor.

Ves grew more concerned at his surroundings. This place was very odd!

"Where are you taking me?" He asked.

"I'm taking you to the ready room where you'll be prepped for the coming trials. Don't worry, Mr. Larkinson. They aren't lethal most of the time. We just want to push your limits a little to see what you're capable of. We don't want to be involved with someone useless."

"I don't recall accepting any trials."

"You did so as soon as you used your invitation card to enter the portal. Once you're in the Pit, you're committed. We won't let you back out at this stage. Doing so is the same as pulling the MTA out of the galactic rim. It's just cowardly."

"I'm just a mech designer!" Ves protested.

The woman laughed. "Do you think I haven't read up on your record while we've been chatting? You're known to be a man of courage in your home state. Not only did you manage to earn numerous combat honors, but you've also distinguished yourself as a passionate speaker! A mech designer like you is exactly what we need! Charlotte chose well when she passed her invitation card to you! As long as you pass the upcoming trials, she'll receive a hefty bonus."

Ves wanted to puke. Was Charlotte using him? What the hell was this all about?!

"What is the point of participating in these trials?! What's in it for me?"

Lieutenant Ferct eyed him with an intrigued expression. "Quite a lot, actually. While we can't turn you into an internal member of the MTA, we're capable of offering various rewards to you in exchange for certain services."

"What services are you looking for?"

"What else can we want from a mech designer? We're interested in your mech design ability!"

"Don't you have your own mech designers?" Ves furrowed his brows. "You're part of the MTA! You have access to some of the best mech designers in the galaxy!"

The lieutenant stopped and turned around to face him squarely. "We do, but not nearly as much as we like. I won't bore you with the details, but the Rim Guardians are always looking for additional assistance."

"I don't see how I could help." Ves replied while stroking Lucky's back. The cat had been wary ever since they entered the Pit. "I only design third-class mechs. Such machines are worse than useless in your hands."

"For now. Who can tell what happens in the future. Right now, you're just a Journeyman, but in fifty years you might become a Senior. In two-hundred years you might even advance to Master. By then, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to design a first-class mech."

"Is that all?" Ves asked suspiciously. "It sounds way too convoluted that you want to test me out when I'm at least several decades away before becoming remotely useful to your fraternity."

The mech lieutenant sighed. "That's true. There's another reason why we want to establish relationships with notable local mech designers. I can't state it right now. Let's wait until you pass the trials."

"What if I don't want to participate?"

"You die."

Well, that was certainly a compelling reason. As they resumed walking, Ves inwardly grumbled. He really wanted to find Charlotte and punch her in the face! Why did she dump Ves into this stupid place and force him to undergo some dangerous trials?!

As much as Ves objected to being coerced into participating, it wasn't as if anyone here cared about his feelings. He was very much aware that the Rim Guardians were very much a part of the MTA! A nobody like Ves who recently obtained the lowest tier of galactic citizenship could not object to them at all!

"Don't be glum, Mr. Larkinson. Many mech designers would love to be in your place! As long as you pass, all kinds of opportunities will open up to you in the future!"

"Whoopie." Ves said flatly.