The Mech Touch

After issuing some brief instructions, the woman granted Ves an hour to himself.

He was supposed to come to terms with his new situation. The Fridayman also told him to clean himself up and change his clothes to an outfit that his new hosts had already prepared for him. Apparently, his Pride of Dusk was too crude and wild to the sophisticated tastes of the 'lady' that owned this ship!

As the woman left his new quarters, Ves scratched his head while frowning at her back.

While it wasn't immediately apparent, the woman gave off the vibe of a Benny.

This was strange, since she clearly looked down on Ghanso when she talked to him. It was as if an expert pilot clearly did not matter in her eyes!

In contrast, the woman clearly treated Ves differently. Despite becoming their unwilling guest, the Fridaymen who nabbed him wanted to foster a cordial relationship with him! He felt as if he was being wooed for some reason!

After trying to figure out what the Fridaymen wanted from him, he eventually shrugged.

"Well, whatever. I certainly won't complain about my treatment. This stateroom is a thousand times better than my previous cell!"

Ves suspected that his earlier treatment aboard the combat carrier was meant to foster the gratitude he felt right now.

"What a nasty trick!" He gasped.

The worst part about this subtle move was that Ves genuinely appreciated his upgraded accommodations while he was fully aware that he had been manipulated!

Ves held much less control over his emotions than his thoughts. In fact, he doubted he possessed any ability to affect his emotions at all!

Though he tried his best to stay rational most of the time, he was far from mastering his own emotions.

His inability to find fault with his captors for providing him with a very comfortable room was grating at his mind!

He felt the urge to beat up his own head until he succeeded in sorting out his emotions!

"What am I thinking?!"

He vigorously shook his head to rid himself of his stupid thoughts. He decided to focus on something else, lest he fall back to his pointless internal turmoil.

He spent ten minutes going over the amenities of his stateroom.

The queen-sized bed placed in the center was incredibly soft and fluffy. Ves had a sense that he would immediately fall asleep if he laid down his body on its surface!

Various advanced features allowed him to change its configuration. He could raise the bed, narrow or widen its dimensions, form a concave in the center, activate some all-encompassing massage routine, make it roll over his body at certain preprogrammed times, and so on.

He had never seen a bed like this. He even recognized that everything about it, from its bed frame to the silky fabrics, consisted entirely of expensive composites that incorporated some special exotics!

Every other piece of furniture was just as extravagant! From the projector that depicted a lively vista of a bustling city from the Friday Coalition, to the solid wooden desk that appeared to have been made by wood cut from an extraordinary tree, everything about his stateroom exuded class that was fit for a prominent Fridayman!

"Gloriana would love this if there isn't such a heavy Coalition influence!"

Every piece of furniture and decoration alluded to the powerful state in one way or another.

From the flag of the starry arrow pointing upwards in front of a hopeful green background, to the symbol of the nine-headed hydra, everything around him carried the unmistakable marks of the Coalition!

The flag of the Friday Coalition represented the aspiration of the state. It signified the hope that the Coalition would be able to unite disparate stars into a single unified state with the strength to contend for more!

The nine-headed hydra symbolized the unity of the original Coalition which used to consist of nine different partners.

Over the centuries, three of the partners fell for various reasons. The surviving partners gobbled up their former territories, thereby leaving six who survived the test of time!

In the Komodo Star Sector, the fact that six partners of the Coalition still survived was kind of an ironic joke.

Of course, no one dared to repeat this joke in front of a Fridayman!

Ves hummed for a moment as he inspected some of the trinkets. "Something is missing."

His surroundings didn't show any markings that pointed to a specific partner. Had he been nabbed by the Konsu Clan. Was the Vermeer Group of dragging him back into its orbit?

"The latter makes no sense! There is no way Master Olson will want me back after cutting ties!"

He also believed that a highly principled mech designer like her would never go back on her word!

Though that did not discount the possibility that another faction within the Vermeer Group might have different ideas, but Master Olson's response would certainly be terrible once she found it! It wasn't worth it for one of her rivals within the Group to mess with one of her former Apprentices!

No. Whoever captured Ves should probably be powerful enough to endure Master Olson's protests!

While he toured his new accommodations, he also explored what he could do, which wasn't very much.

At least he had access to a projector that allowed him to access a very narrow selection of programs. The interface was extremely limited and did not give him any room for manipulation.

As he explored his options, he found out that most of the selection consisted of both entertainment and educational programs.

Naturally, all of their content was related to the Friday Coalition!

"Are these guys trying to indoctrinate me or something?" He frowned.

The way he was being treated gave him some clues of what his captors wanted to do. Obviously, they wanted to convert him to their side on a strictly voluntary basis. They restricted themselves to employing soft methods in order to preserve all of his strengths and qualities!

Ves was aware that the Fridaymen could have employed more forceful means such as coercion or outright brainwashing, but that would definitely cripple his ability to design mechs!

This meant that his captors highly prized his design capabilities, which was within his expectations.

When Ves moved over to the desk, he tried his best to find a switch or command that would activate its terminal.

Only to find out that it didn't offer him anything of the sort at all!

"So it's true. They're too scared to give me access to an actual interface!"

Who knew what kind of mischief he could do if he had access to the network of the ship!

The simplest way to minimize this trouble was to take away the terminal entirely!

"How am I supposed to do anything if I don't have a terminal?" He whined. "I can't design mechs or do anything productive if I don't have a terminal or a comm!"

He explored his stateroom once again and approached something that looked extremely anachronistic and out of place!

"Is this.. a genuine bookcase?"

He withdrew a book and tried to get used to the foreign sensation of holding something so archaic. He cracked it open to browse its contents, only to widen his eyes at the complex diagrams printed on its pages!

"This is a textbook! And an advanced one at that!"

He flipped the pages and surmised that the textbook was about energy transmission systems of high-value mechs.

More specifically, it taught its readers plenty of theory and applications on how to design the energy transmission system of an advanced second-class mech!

He abruptly chuckled and snapped the book shut before putting it back on its place.

"They sure know me well."

The lengthy bookcase held hundreds of hardcover books, each of them containing knowledge that second-class mech designers should master!

All of these physical textbooks were enough to keep him busy for a long time! He did not mind being deprived of a terminal as long as he could devour all of these books!

Ves glanced at a nearby clock and remembered his upcoming meeting. "Oh, I should really prepare for my upcoming meeting."

He headed into the bathroom and inspected the outfit that his captors had prepared for him. It was a very understated business outfit that exuded class without looking too gauche.

This was the kind of outfit that a long-established noble would want to wear. Ves could tell, because Gloriana already taught him some of this during her occasional lectures.

Naturally, the specific fashion of this outfit fully conformed with the current trend of the Friday Coalition! Ves would look no different from a Fridayman if he donned these clothes!

If Ves had a say, he would much rather stick to his current outfit. The Pride of Dusk was something that truly belonged to him. Its cut completely confirmed to the fashion of the Bright Republic.

"Well, that woman didn't leave me with any leeway." He grimaced.

He decided that it was best to play along despite knowing that it was a mental trap.

The only issue was his underwear. He did not wish to expose his contraband, which he would surely do if he removed his clothes!

"You better not be spying on me! I'm a very private person!" Ves angrily raised his fist in a random direction!

He came up with an unconventional solution. He stripped all of his clothes aside from his underwear and did his best to pretend the 'bulge' was something else aside from his cylindrical jamming device!

After carefully folding his clothes, he jumped into the shower and just let the water flow down his body while he was half-naked.

"If you think you can enjoy a show, think again! No peeking!"

By using his desire for privacy as an excuse, Ves hoped that his strange decision to shower with his underpants could be excused!

He did not worry about his hidden comm and jamming devices. Both of them were waterproof and would never malfunction after being submerged in water.

Ves pretended that there was nothing wrong and nonchalantly washed his before allowing the shower cabin to dry off his body and underpants.

After that, he stepped out and slowly began to don his new outfit. He had to admit that the suit fitted his dimensions perfectly. As he looked at himself in a three-dimensional mirror projection, he had to admit he looked very sharp!

He rummaged around the bathroom and found a small beauty bot. Once he activated it, the bot automatically floated to his head and began to style his hair in a neat comb over that was much slicker than his usual messy hair style.

After applying some subtle makeup to his face, he finally felt confident enough to meet the person responsible for taking him away from his home.

"Here goes nothing." He sighed.

Once he exited the bathroom, the blond female assistant was already waiting for him inside his stateroom!

"Follow me. My lady will see you now, Mr. Larkinson."

Unlike before, they didn't traverse the length of the ship this time. They merely crossed a fairly short distance before entering a lounge compartment.

As soon as Ves stepped inside, the assistant led him up to some couches where two women awaited his arrival.

"Mr Larkinson!" A very gorgeous blond greeted him with a very gleeful smile. She wore a sophisticated red dress that accentuated her figure while not showing anything off. "Welcome aboard the Scarlet Rose! I hope you are happy with your assigned room. I personally configured it for your needs."

As Ves seated himself on the opposite couch, he awkwardly smiled back at the woman who seemed to be around his age.

"I am.. appreciative of what you have made available to me. Can you introduce yourself?"

"Why certainly! I am Aisling Curver, a Journeyman Mech Designer from the Gauge Dynasty. I am also a junior monitor assigned to observe and manage some of the Friday Coalition's affairs in the Bright Republic!"

"I.. see. You're a spy, then."

"Oh, goodness, no!" Her voice tinkling like bells. "I am strictly a monitor! I merely accepted this duty to earn some merits. I wouldn't have stumbled upon a mech designer as fantastic as you if I turned down this boring assignment!"

"And your companion..? Is she the same?"

"She's my helper. She accepted a similar duty to earn merits as well. She's been very helpful to me since she's very familiar with the lay of the land."

Ves grimly nodded. "I'm aware. Hi, Patricia."

"Hello, Ves." Patricia Schneider greeted him back in a demure tone.