[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 145: Escorts

The Larkinson Compound's tranquility enamored Ves. Many times, he wondered if he could put down his work and spend the rest of his life in idle bliss. He already knew of a handful of relatives who ended up as a good-for-nothings that never amounted to anything in their lives.

Ves shook his head. "The galaxy is too dangerous to let my fate be entrusted in the hands of others."

Even the Larkinsons started scrambling for a safety net. In such dangerous times, Ves would be a fool to assume that business would be as usual.

The next day, Ves prepared to depart. He already packed his luggage and ate some breakfast with the early risers. After saying his farewells, he exited the dining hall and brought his luggage and Lucky to the front.

His new escorts awaited him there. They were both a little older than him and carried themselves with an air of overwhelming confidence.

"Hey. Are you the geek my grandpa assigned to be your guard?" A woman asked. She looked at him with a disdainful expression, no doubt filing him away as a twig she could snap in two at any time. "This duty is a gigantic waste of time. Why do I have to babysit this stupid pig? I'd rather go back to the arena!"

They already got off to a wonderful start. His niece obviously aspired to be a mech duelist. Generally, the Larkinsons disdained fighting for sport. They treated the art of piloting as a sacred duty only to be employed for righteous purposes.

To abandon some of your morals to fight for fame and fortune was to turn your back on your heritage. No wonder the family packed her off to Ves. A rural planet like Cloudy Curtain offered very little amenities in the area of mech sports. Let alone a team, it didn't even have a mech arena at all!

Ves ignored her glare and introduced himself. "My name is Ves Larkinson, and I'm a mech designer. You'll be accompanying me to Cloudy Curtain and hopefully keep me out of trouble. I hope we can work together for the betterment of the family."

The woman twirled her purple bangs and sneered at him. "You sound like grandpa Ovrin. Are you on meds or something? That's no way to talk to big sister Raella here!"

He could already feel a headache coming. Ves decided to tackle Raella later and turned to his second escort. The man stood quietly and watched their interaction with bemusement.

Unlike Raella who dressed like a punk out for a party, his male cousin dressed like an officer of the Mech Corps. From his straight-backed posture to his crew-cut hair, the man looked straight out of a military recruitment poster. Though he was taller than Raella, his muscles were wiry and compact. He also wore an electronic visor shaded in blue.

"Melkor Larkinson. Mech Pilot." The man answered when Ves kept staring at him. "I'm just here to fulfill my duty."

The visored Larkinson offered little else. Ves gave up on trying to be friendly and boarded the aircar reserved for all three. The vehicle zipped towards Kelnar's outskirts and reached the gigantic spaceport shaped like a crane after a quiet flight.

Many travellers had already arrived at the busy spaceport. The tourists and visitors finished celebrating the new year and had to go back to work. Ves, Raella and Melkor had to keep their floating luggage close in order to avoid bumping into the crowd.

After pushing their way forward, they reached their platform in the nick of time. The feather-shaped platform lifted off from the ground, carrying its passengers up to the air, whereupon a space-capable shuttle landed onto its surface.

The shuttle ascended into the sky and reached a familiar space station. The trio got to enjoy its elegant interior for a couple of hours until a passenger liner called the Greenwind arrived at the station. After the incoming passengers left the spacecraft, the trio boarded the ship along with the other outgoing passengers.