The Mech Touch

The discovery that Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik might actually be hiding under the outermost layer of a brown dwarf came as a surprise to Ves!

Ves pulled a small totem of Ylvaine and contacted the self-proclaimed prophet himself to verify whether the design spirit accurately located the missing first-class scion's position.

"Did you find the right guy? Have you mistaken him for another person that happened to bear the same name?"

The answer he received from the design spirit was the same. The noble that had sent the entire border region between the Krakatoa Middle Zone and the Zelmar Upper Zone was hiding somewhere underneath the surface of the failed star!

No, Ylvaine did not mistake the noble for an impostor that happened to bear the same name.

The man's name was both unusual to begin with. The Yorul-Tavik Clan did not have the habit of recycling its names like many other family organizations, so Ylvaine definitely did not home in on an uncle or a great-grandfather who happened to be called Pearian as well. Anyone outside of the clan was also unlikely to carry this highly distinctive family name.

The man was also one of the most wanted and sought-after people in this part of the Red Ocean. The man acquired a sort of metaphysical mass that had grown so much that he was like a star that could not be ignored by those that possessed the right vision!

No, Ylvaine did not misestimate Lord Pearian's position. The brown dwarf may be a powerful stellar object that was massive enough to bend spacetime to a significant degree and energetic enough to produce lots of emissions, but it was not that special from a spiritual perspective!

There was no fog obscuring Ylvaine's foresight. The design spirit was also unable to sense any sign of third party interference. There weren't any dark gods or phase whales trying to weave a web of deception while lurking in the dark as far as he knew.

Of course, there was always a chance that a much more skilled and powerful entity had succeeded in pulling the wool over Ylvaine's eyes, but that was such an unlikely occurrence that Ves quickly dismissed the possibility.

There were other possibilities that might explain why Ylvaine managed to get it wrong, but Ves ruled them out after exploring them in further detail.

As unlikely as it sounded, Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik was actually hiding inside the star that sat at the center of the 'star system'!

Once Ves reluctantly ruled out all other possibilities, he called for an emergency virtual meeting with the most important leaders of the Golden Skull Alliance right away.

The others did not take the news well.

"He's INSIDE a star?!" Patriarch Reginald said in a perplexed tone. "Even if a brown dwarf star is not as good as a red dwarf star, shouldn't a ship get torn apart or cooked into slag after staying so long in such a hazardous place?"

Galina Rovon-Hartul of the Glory Seekers was much less skeptical. "First-class starships can take a much greater beating than the vessels in our possession. The Yorul-Tavik Clan is wealthy enough to fund the commissioning of carrier vessels that can withstand sustained attacks from first-class multipurpose mechs. It is not that far-fetched to believe that they can also endure the constant pressures of the outer layers of a failed star. Don't forget that the 'star' we are talking about is on the smaller end and only exhibits a surface temperature that is far below 1000 degrees Kelvin."

Ves nodded in agreement with the Glory Seeker Journeyman. "People often equate stars to large fireballs that burn hot for an extremely long time. Brown dwarf stars aren't like that. They are much more similar to radiation heaters that are scaled up to planetary proportions. Even though they are huge and generate an immense amount of infrared radiation all of the time, it disperses much of that heat and light across a wide area. As long as the defenses of a starship are up to standard, it can reluctantly survive the hostile environment, though probably not for long."

The pressures generated by a failed star might not be as exaggerated as a normal star, but it was still not an environment that was conducive to the longevity of a technological object!

Unless the starship was purpose-built to survive inside stars, Ves doubted that a typical first-class fleet carrier or combat carrier could safely linger in this crazy environment for more than a couple of weeks!

Numerous people speculated on the nature of the starship that Lord Pearian used to make himself scarce.

"We know that Lord Pearian's pioneering fleet suffered defeat at the hands of a nunser fleet, though not all of the human ships fell in battle." Calabast said. "The remnant vessels that managed to escape from the battlefield endured persistent pursuit from the nunser warships. It was only after one of the MTA's own fleets stepped in that the nunsers suffered their own defeat. Still, numerous faster and more elusive nunser warships managed to escape this retribution and continued their pursuit despite the obvious dangers of traveling deeper into human-occupied space."

General Verle looked at her projected form. "We all know that, Calabast. What is it that you are trying to convey?"

"We do not know much about the circumstances surrounding Lord Pearian's defeat and flight. What is the context behind the initial encounter between the two fleets? How did they come to blows and was there a specific reason why they came to blows? What caused the nunser fleet to become so enraged by Lord Pearian and his men that it persisted in its dangerous pursuit? Why have the remnant nunser warships decided to continue on their extermination mission even though it has become clear that is is a suicidal endeavor?"

All of these were important questions. The galactic net was filled with different answers. There were plenty of people who presented interesting answers, but it was difficult to settle for any single conclusion due to the lack of reliable information.

"Do you have the answers, Director Calabast?" Ves asked.

The spymaster shook her head. "No. I have my own theories, but it is irresponsible for me to present them to you all without any proof. What I am actually trying to point out is that there are at least four parties involved in this entire affair."

"Four?"

"Yes, four." Calabast nodded with a smirk. "First, there is the most obvious party, which is Lord Pearian himself. This 33-year old wannabe pioneer clearly does not have the qualifications to roam the deep frontier of the Red Ocean, but managed to do so anyway by taking advantage of his high status and incredible wealth. He's a spoiled brat in almost every sense of the word, which means he does not lack for much. We know that his personal starship is extravagant, powerful and above all else fast, which translates to an excellent escape vessel."

Lord Pearian's personal ship was an oversized yacht according to the intelligence gathered by the Black Cats. The only problem was that she was not equipped to serve as the flagship of an entire pioneering fleet, so the spoiled brat likely served on a larger and more appropriate mobile command center.

"Then there is his pioneering fleet." She continued. "Lord Pearian may nominally be in charge of it, but it is actually gathered and organized by the Yorul-Tavik Clan itself. Everything the scion has received in his life came from his clan, and the pioneering fleet that he insisted on forming is no different. At most, the spoiled brat placed his trusted confidantes in crucial leadership positions to reinforce his control over the fleet, but it is probable that most of its members are more likely to listen to the instructions of the clan over that of their supposed leader. The crew members manning much of the flagship most likely consist of loyal retainers to the clan, and have probably received secret instructions to protect Lord Pearian against any possible threat, which might also include his own stupid self."

"I see." Ves looked thoughtful. "If Lord Pearian has made a string of bad decisions, it may be possible for the crew to take action against his will. Also, unlike his personal yacht, he probably doesn't possess a strong grip on the fleet carrier that serves as his flagship. There are simply too many crew members for him to replace with his handpicked subordinates."

Calabast resumed her listing. "The third party that I am taking into account is the Mech Trade Association. We know from numerous reliable sources that an MTA fast response fleet has responded quickly to calls for help and smashed the dangerous nunser fleet. It may be that one of the ships of the MTA went out of her way to evacuate Lord Pearian, only to get into trouble herself. The nunsers may have driven the rescue ship away from the MTA fleet and driven her into a corner. If this MTA ship is residing inside the brown dwarf star, then she is probably trying to evade alien pursuit while waiting for reinforcements from the Association."

"That sounds extremely unlikely." Ves immediately spoke. "The MTA is not known for leaving their own out for dry. The initial incidents happened so long ago that the mechers had plenty of time to divert one of their many powerful ships to this star system. They are only a couple of portal jumps away at most."

Master Benedict Cortez agreed with the younger mech designer. "The MTA is not present here. I am sure of it. The mechers generally don't waste their time on rescuing people that have a negative influence on human society. Lord Pearian embodies several of the worst traits of humanity. His many foolish actions and decisions easily remind people of the excesses of the Age of Conquest."

That was also true. The MTA was a meritocracy and took an extremely dim view on space peasants and other people that weren't productive enough. Useless people who only wasted resources in vain had no business being in charge of anything.

Calabast smiled. "I merely mentioned the MTA to remind you of this possibility. In any case, the next party is a lot more important. You see, out of all of the parties that wish to evade pursuit in human-occupied space the most, I can think of no better candidate than the enemies of mankind."

Ves and several other people widened their eyes.

"Are you suggesting that there is a nunser warship hiding inside the brown dwarf star?!"

"Use your logic. A vessel belonging to the previous three parties that I have mentioned earlier has little reason to hide in such an obscure space. Safety should be their highest priority, and it is much better for them to flee to a well-defended human star system. The only plausible reason for Lord Pearian's escape vessel to stay away from those locations is if the scion is pursued by a rival of the Yorul-Tavik Clan. Even then, there are better places to flee towards."

General Verle looked grave. "Aliens have the greatest reasons to hide from everyone. It makes too much sense. We may have stumbled on a ship crewed by desperate nunsers that are isolated from their pack. We are not in danger yet because their priority is to hide from all of the pioneering fleets that are searching for the missing scion, but that can change as soon as we reveal that we have found their hiding place."

That was an important observation! The Golden Skull Alliance could not afford to take action unless it was prepared to deal with the consequences of exposing the ship that was trying her best to remain hidden!

"What do we do?" Patriarch Reginald frowned. "Are we just going to sit here and do nothing because you are all afraid to poke the nunsers?"

"We need confirmation." Calabast stated to everyone. "We should not make any definite moves before we can confirm who is in control of Lord Pearian."

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