[401-600] THE MECH'S TOUCH

Chapter 478: Lord Javier

Ves experienced too many crises since the Flagrant Vandals arrived in the Detemen System.

Taking part in a monumental operation, escaping from a disintegrating ship and dropping onto Detemen IV with nothing but a crash pad wracked his nerves.

Roaming the streets of Neron City by himself, threatening a pathetic Novice Mech Designer to use his equipment, getting picked up by Captain Orfan only to flee again under Lieutenant Burke really set him off.

What was he doing here?

He wanted nothing more than to go back to orbit, but the Vandals and the rebels had other ideas in store. Ves looked at Commander Breskin with a weary gaze. Even though his body could keep him awake for days at a time, his mental exhaustion almost pushed him to the breaking point.

He needed time to think and decompress. He needed to reflect on his mistakes and figure out a better approach to problems.

Yet the rebel commander stayed firm. "Nine hours. No more. We have until then to track down our elusive goal."

His words made it clear that he brooked no compromise on this matter. Breskin didn't even stick around. After exchanging some words with Addy, he left the conference room, leaving Ves alone with the young rebel woman.

"This sounds crazy." Ves wearily said as clapped his hand on his beaten combat armor. The fall dented it really badly, causing him to feel a bit uncomfortable as the plates pressed into him. "How am I supposed to pinpoint the location of a single mech out of potentially thousands in the city? I'm not a bloodhound, for heaven's sake!"

Addy retrieved a data pad from her rebel uniform jacket and pressed it onto the table before sliding it up to Ves. "Please read the brief before concluding it can't be done."

Ves picked up the pad and turned it on. He read the brief inside and started to become engrossed.

"What?"

House Eneqqin was a very significant force in the Imodris Duchy. It enjoyed a storied history as well, and the House encompassed many branch families. Lord Javier may be the only son of Count Loqer, who was the head of the House, but in the background countless nephews schemed against him. Once Loqer died or retired, it wasn't a given that Javier would come into power.

"Count Loqer is an exceptional noble within the court of the Duchess of Imodris, and has even served as her chief of staff for one time." Addy explained. "He has single-handedly elevated House Eneqqin to its current heights. Many argue that he might be the most powerful count in the Duchy at this time."

"How come his son is such a craven bastard?"

Addy sighed and bent her head. "I don't know. The high nobility is not something commoners like us can understand. For some reason, Count Loqer doesn't have any natural offspring besides Lord Javier, and he dotes upon his only child to an excessive degree."

"Is the count infertile? Even if that's so, there are many ways to get another heir."

"You obviously don't understand Vesian succession laws." She said with a rueful smile. "Think about it. If a noble resorts to cloning or other artificial means of generating offspring, what stops their rivals from doing the same? An old trick is to steal a DNA sample from someone, splice an offspring and secretly raise the child to be loyal to your cause. When the time was right, the secret offspring would contend with the legitimate heirs to inherit the title of their parents."

That did make some sense. These days, many people didn't bother with pregnancy and bringing a child to term inside the belly of a mother. As long as someone paid a sufficient amount of money, they could effortlessly offload the gestation and birthing process to an artificial womb.