[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 24: Melinda

Melinda Larkinson had a busy life. As a junior member of the Bentheim Planetary Guard, she spent most of the time on patrols or back at base learning the ropes. As she was determined to reach the pinnacle of mech piloting, she continually sharpened her skills by sorting out troublemakers and sparring against her fellow guardsmen.

A great number of business flowed through Bentheim, the economic 'port' of the Bright Republic. Due to a complex system of spatial distortions, spaceships had an easier time navigating towards Bentheim. This especially facilitated ultra-long-ranged FTL or faster-than-light travel. Put simply, a ship can travel directly towards Bentheim without making any stops in between in order to reorient themselves and cycle the FTL drive.

Humanity actually stole the FTL technology they use today from a long-exterminated alien race. Through hundreds of years of study and refinement, they have already pushed their knowledge base on the tech to its limits. Nowadays, to go from one end of human space to the other only required a couple of years of non-stop travel. The existence of FTL-friendly ports formed the basis that made this swift travel possible.

Bentheim therefore formed the economic heart that kept the Bright Republic prosperous. It also invited greedy eyes, such as their ever-present rival the Vesia Kingdom. Not content with their own port system, they always hungered to invade the Bright Republic's territory and snatch the strategic planet away for themselves. Some of trouble the Bentheim Planetary Guard had to handle could be traced to the covert actions of the Vesians.

Just the last month alone Melinda had to respond to several emergencies. One case was a lone wolf who took an illicit drug and went on a rampage with his heavy mech. Another case involved a family who fell into ruin in the past returning from the dead and taking on one of Bentheim's established family businesses. Then there were always the ever-present pirates skulking in the outskirts, ready to snap up a lightly defended transport convoy.

Though only in the service for four years, the amount of petty and not-so-petty conflicts she had to resolve numbered in the hundreds. While not a genuine substitute to the high intensity battles of a full-scale war, Melinda was able to increase her experience and sharpen her rough initially rough piloting skills.

Right now, Melinda finished her shift for the day. She deposited her mech at the hanger, waved the technicians goodbye, and left for the Guard's exclusive training center.

"Hey Melly." A fellow junior Guard pilot sidled up to Melinda. "What's up? I can see the smile in your eyes a light-year away. Got a date or something?"

Melinda huffed. "I wish Janet. Nah, I nagged my uncle for a few thousand credits and pried it out of his hands."

"Wow. And he let you do that? Must be nice to be a Larkinson." Janet held out her hand as if she was a crippled grandmother. "Spare some alms for a poor commoner?"

"Ouch!" Janet received a playful punch in return.

"Scram! I already have something in mind."

Melinda entered the training center with a curious Janet trailing after her. They skipped past the physical exercise rooms and entered the virtual simulation area.

"Oh, are you going to spar against someone again?"

"Not really." Melinda grinned. She picked a random simulator pod and hopped right inside. "I'm going to play a game."

"Iron Spirit? Haha, it's been a long time since I last logged in. I must have dropped down to the bottom of the Platinum League by now." Janet laughed with faint contempt. After all, playing a game never beat the real deal.

Shaking her head, Melinda was about to close the pod. "I'm not logging into the game just to fool around. Grab a pod and log into the game. Let's add each other to our friend lists. I'll show you what I'm about in-game."