[401-600] THE MECH'S TOUCH

Chapter 416: Sign Here

Ves spent a couple of hours at Melinda's place. They reminisced about the past and exchanged their thoughts about the war.

Unlike most Larkinsons, Melinda didn't seem so eager to distinguish herself in the great conflict. "I'm not so hungry to earn acknowledgement from our uncles and aunts. What's the use of making a name for yourself when you end up in an early grave?"

"You should be careful with such talk. Others might think you're a coward."

"So what if they did? I'm my own person. I don't need anyone's acknowledgement. Besides, I've more than earned my chops in the Planetary Guard and that stupid duel."

"What will you do if the war reaches the surface of Bentheim? It could always happen."

"Pah." Melinda dismissively waved her hand. "The Vesians never managed to set foot on Bentheim before and they won't do so for the foreseeable future. They can't break the Republic all by themselves."

"It can always happen. No one can be certain of how this war will progress."

"Even if the Vesians arrive at my doorstep, I'll continue to do my duty. There's no question about that." Melinda stated with conviction. "Just because I'm not eager to earn for glory doesn't mean I'll run away at the first sign of trouble. I merely don't buy in the glory that the other Larkinsons are talking about. I must be lacking those genes."

No one truly believed the Vesians could succeed in breaking through. They feared the possibility, but hundreds of years or unending failure inured everyone to the status quo.

Ves faintly found that attitude to be wrong. Maybe it was because he experienced these tumultuous times for himself, but his intuition told him that this time would be different. The problem was convincing others of the gravity of this current conflict.

"By the way, have you gotten in touch with Raella?"

Mentioning the current black sheep of the Larkinson Family sank Melinda's mood to the bottom of a pit.

"She isn't accepting my calls. From what I can gather, nobody else has managed to get in touch with her. She's completely involved in her own little world. From the intelligence that the Planetary Guard has gathered, she's become something of a champion pilot to the Blood Claws. They parade her out whenever they need to fight a mech duel."

"That sounds dangerous."

"I won't argue that. Raella's got as much balls as any Larkinson serving in the frontlines. Mech duels that take place in official arenas are already dangerous enough, but the underground arenas are ten times worse. It takes a real survivor to make it out alive from there."

Both of them looked a little worried, but Raella made her bed. If she thought she could handle it, then Ves couldn't do anything about her reckless choice.

"How influential are the Blood Claws? Are they a big deal?"

Melinda snorted. "Hah! Big deal? They're massive! They just hide it well. They control roughly a third of Bentheim's seedy underbelly. Nothing happens on their territory without them knowing about it. They're a violent bunch and the aftermath of their fights are always a hell to clean up. The only reason why they aren't mopped up is because we can never stamp them out and the cost would be too much for us to bear."

This was a familiar refrain that every authority figure repeated when someone asked why they hadn't mopped up the gangs.

"What are the Blood Claws good at?"

"Hm. They don't have any specialties as far as I know. They've dipped their fingers into gambling, extortion, stimulants, pirated mechs and more. Whatever you can think of, they probably have someone doing it. That's what makes them so pervasive."