The Mech Touch

Ulimo Citadel appeared to be quite challenging to attack. For over several weeks, Task Force Predator rampaged through Maynard Fields with impunity. Various roaming pirate fleets as well as immovable pirate bases all succ.u.mbed against the might of the Larkinson Clan!

Yet the existence of this strong, prepared and reinforced pirate fortification risked stalling the task force's momentum!

Certainly, Major Verle had a good point. Against a foe that was too powerful to overcome without suffering major casualties, the Larkinsons had no obligations to hit their heads against the wall.

They could just walk around it and merrily go on their way!

The defenses of Ulimo Citadel only threatened the space surrounding the pirate fortification. The secret weapons that Ulimo definitely held in reserve posed no threat to a fleet that only flew further and further away!

Though Ves understood the logic of it, he felt a bit upset at leaving such a juicy target behind. As one of the few open marketplaces in the Nyxian Gap, Ulimo must certainly hold a lot of valuable goods, perhaps far more than the Larkinsons ever plundered from Xiphard Base!

Yet the more he stared at the projection of Ulimo, the more his intuition for danger became roused.

The stronghold was dangerous. That was for certain.

He even had a hunch that Lucky's infiltration might not go smoothly this time. The presence of the Xona Stalkers meant that the pirates residing at Ulimo gained a formidable amount of stealth and anti-stealth capabilities!

He jolted in realization. "Calabast, are we sweeping our perimeter for enemy stealth vehicles?"

"My Black Cats are already on the lookout for hidden presences around our fleet." The spymaster casually replied. "This is my craft, remember? From the moment I knew that the Xona Stalkers are affiliated with the Dry Snakes, I have put my surveillance specialists on full alert. The Penitent Sisters are especially helpful as their anti-stealth measures are just as good as any Hexer outfit."

In the Komodo Star Sector, there weren't many organizations who could circ.u.mvent second-class sensor technology. In a place like the Nyxian Gap, the chances of any pirates being able to run rings around Hexer sensors should be slim.

However, Ves did not feel reassured. Anything could be beaten as long as someone came up with the right solution. The task force had done so several times over the past month as Lucky's stealth and intangibility turned him into a highly-effective infiltrator.

Since Ves was able to field something that the pirates couldn't handle, what if the pirates could do the same to him? He only had to cast his memories back to his travel through the frontier to know that some pirates possessed their own strangeness!

The more he thought about attacking Ulimo, the more he felt deterred by its hidden strength.

Still, he couldn't just give up. When Calabast told him that B-stones had changed hands at Ulimo, Ves had locked his sights at this base.

If Ulimo only held one or two B-stones, then Ves didn't think it was worth it to attack it. If Ulimo held an entire container's worth of B-stones, then that was another matter entirely!

Aside from that, Ulimo sat in the center of a field of asteroids which contained deposits of higher grades of exotics. Even if their quantities were small, the Dry Snakes must have certainly acc.u.mulated quite a pile of them in their vaults!

Looting all of these valuable materials might not allow him to design and build a powerful mech right away, but they should be more than enough to upgrade his personal gear!

For a long time, Ves dreamt of building a supreme suit of combat armor, one that protected him against both material and spiritual threats.

Yet gathering the powerful materials necessary to build such an extravagant piece of gear was daunting. Just the B-stone needed to protect him against formidable entities such as Cassandra Breyer and Nyxie required him to get a hold of at least a couple more samples!

Aside from these benefits, Ves felt certain that Ulimo held more riches. As long as the Larkinsons captured the base reasonably intact, he might be able to obtain numerous rare goods that couldn't be found elsewhere!

He gazed towards his two advisors. Major Verle's objection to attacking Ulimo was understandable. What Ves did not expect was that Calabast did not share the same views.

In fact, from the way she presented Ulimo Citadel to him, it sounded as if she was driving him to attack this formidable pirate base!

Ves narrowed his eyes at her. "Calabast, normally you tell me to dial back and take less risks. Why don't I hear the same from you this time? What is it about Ulimo that makes you reluctant to pass it over?"

Both Ves and Verle stared curiously at the black-clad woman. Calabast endured their stares without a wink.

"You're pretty observant, Ves. You're right. Ulimo is not just a regular pirate base in my eyes. There are two reasons why we should pay attention to it despite its formidable defenses."

She raised a finger. "First, its connection to one of our old enemies. After decrypting various sensitive trade logs stored in the data banks we've ripped from Xiphard Base, my analysts have ascertained that Ulimo Citadel likely maintains ties with the Allidus Alliance."

Ah, the Allidus Alliance. With a formidable heavy cruiser in the form of Gravada Knarlax, this powerful pirate organization was one of the few that maintained a foothold in the perilous core regions!

The Larkinson Clan attracted a lot of enmity from Allidus after defeating Lord Drogen and his trade convoy. Ves wasn't sure at that time whether he would bump into them again.

"What is the Allidus Alliance doing here?"

"Did you remember last time during the Battle of Xiphard Base where the Allidus trade convoy arrived unscheduled? My Black Cats found out later on that Allidus is embarking on a huge project and requires lots of materials. Aside from gathering huge amounts of Kavenit, the pirate organization is also demanding a lot of other exotics. Whatever Allidus is building has caused them to reach out to many resource producers in the Nyxian Gap."

This sounded incredibly concerning. Allidus was famed for two particular feats. First, it openly paraded around a warship. Second, it secretly sold considerably advanced superweapons to various pirate customers.

Now that Allidus sought a lot of materials, Ves couldn't help but grow a little concerned!

Was Allidus building a second cruiser? What about a fleet of smaller warsh.i.p.s? What if they were building some sort of apocalyptic superweapon instead?

Technically speaking, Ves shouldn't give a damn about what this pirate organization was up to. Ves only planned to stay in the Nyxian Gap for six months at most, and a considerable amount of time had already passed.

In fact, if Ves wanted to make it back to the Sentinel Kingdom in time for his wedding, he could only afford to play around in Maynard Fields for just one or two months before needing to race back to civilized space!

Once he left the Nyxian Gap, whatever schemes the pirates had hatched should bear no relation to him. If Ves left the Komodo Star Sector afterwards, then the Nyxian pirates became even more irrelevant!

Ves did not feel particularly threatened by the Allidus Alliance. Instead, he became curious whether Allidus maintained some sort of presence on Ulimo Citadel.

"Why does it matter that Allidus is at Ulimo Citadel?" He asked.

"Aside from the goods and intelligence that we might wish to obtain, it's highly likely that Allidus has made some big trades with the Dry Snakes. Ulimo Citadel produces a fair amount of high-quality exotics, which is exactly what Allidus needs. Now think on what the Dry Snakes might ask in exchange for these goods."

It didn't take long for Ves to connect the dots. "Superweapons!"

"Exactly." Calabast smiled. "Our analysis suggests that the Crona Lords is only a collateral trading partner to the Allidus Alliance. While Xiphard Base mines a good amount of Kavenit, this material isn't rare at all and can be found in many other places in Maynard Fields. In fact, Kavenit is also present in other zones. In contrast, Ulimo Citadel harvests a small number of very rare exotics that isn't available in the rest of the Nyxian Gap. This is why we suspect that Allidus genuinely cares about their trade relationship with the Dry Snakes."

"Do you have a list of those exotics?"

"Here."

She transferred the file to his comm. He immediately accessed the list through his implant.

She was right. Though Ulimo Citadel mined a lot of materials that were prevalent elsewhere in the Komodo Star Sector, Ves had never heard of some of the potent exotics in the list!

Their properties were vague as none of the intelligence sources that the Black Cats had access to could describe these unique exotics in greater detail.

Nonetheless, they should be of particular value to the Allidus Alliance's unknown construction project.

Ves tapped his finger against his desk. "I see why this is meaningful. However, there are still too many unknowns while the payoff is obscured as well. This shouldn't be enough to make you interested in Ulimo."

"You're right. There is a second reason why I want to investigate it further. While I have my suspicions, I am unable to confirm whether Ulimo holds something that is of great interest to me but especially you. I dare not say anything careless."

Neither Ves nor Major Verle looked amused at her vagueness. Wasn't it the job of spies to tell them something informative?

Then again, they also had an obligation to be as accurate as possible. If their intelligence wasn't backed by enough proof, then it might do more harm than good to pass off unverified rumors as fact.

In any case, Calabast did not advocate to attack Ulimo Base outright. Instead, she wanted to scout it first in order to see whether it held something worthwhile.

This happened to match his intentions. While Ves agreed with Major Verle that it was very dangerous to attack Ulimo Base, as long as they scouted it instead, their task force shouldn't be exposed to any danger.

He turned to Lucky, who had been enjoying his petting all this while. "Are you up for another infiltration?"

"Meow."

"This is likely going to be more dangerous than before. The Dry Snakes are on high alert and the Xona Stalkers are presumably proficient at detecting stealthed opponents.

"Meow!"

"I know your gadget and your abilities are good enough to fool anything the Xona Stalkers can throw at you, but the stealth shuttle is a different matter! Once it gets blown up, you're pretty much stuck in enemy territory!"

"Meow meow meow!"

His cat was too conceited. Ves worried about Lucky's success this time. While there was a chance that he might be exaggerating the risks, he did not dare to be complacent. Time and time again, the pirates taught him the perils of underestimating his adversaries.

"No. You're not going this time." Ves definitively declared. "You're too irreplaceable. I think it's best to resort to a less costly method of investigating our target. Calabast, Major Verle, since Ulimo Base hosts an open marketplace, why not put up some disguises on some of our men before sending onwards?"

"That is exactly one of the options I had in mind." Calabast smiled. "I have numerous Black Cats who possess the necessary training to pass off as pirates. I'm sure that the Flagrant Vandals, Swordmaidens and Battle Criers are capable of adopting this disguise as well. As much as Ulimo Base is on guard against our forces, the Dry Snakes haven't closed their gates and shuttered their marketplace."

"I'm not sure. While it is true that some of our rougher clansmen can imitate ruffians, it's unrealistic to expect them to behave exactly like Nyxian pirates."

"Our Black Cats can remedy this problem. We have developed enough of an understanding of the locals to teach your men what to pay attention to in order to blend in with the crowd."

A quick discussion ensued on who to send to Ulimo Base. This was a very risky mission that demanded a lot from those who participated in it. Most notably, the group required someone who possessed an extensive understanding of technology.

Ves raised his hand. "I'm willing to take part in this scouting mission. I happen to be very good at observation."

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"YOU JUST STAY PUT!"

Both Calabast and Major Verle immediately shot him down!