The Mech Touch

as he exited the interior of base and stepped out to a shuttle parking zone.
He boarded a small armored shuttle and instead of heading to the KNG, he instead requested the shuttle pilot to bring him to the offices of Bollinger ’s Mechs!

”Pardon me? The shuttle pilot turned around his head and asked.
”Mr.
Larkinson, according to your itinerary you should be heading to the headquarters of the Kadar-Neyvis Group! Nowhere in the schedule does it state that you have to head to Bollinger ’s Mechs! ”

Ves waved aside the pilot ’s concern.
”Don ’t ask too many questions.
I ’m a busy mech designer.
Not everything is put into the schedule, don ’t you know that? Bring me to Bollinger ’s Mech in downtown Dorum and better make it quick! ”

His demeanor and imperious tone brook no refusal.
Even if the shuttle pilot still had questions, he didn ’t dare to voice them, especially when word of Ves ’ prestigious decorations already spread through the military gossip network!

The armored shuttle smoothly lifted off the landing pad and flew to downtown Dorum, the capital of Bentheim and the most densely-populated city on the planet.

As he looked out of the view ports, Ves noted a bit fewer air traffic than before.
Much fewer aircars flew around these days, but military shuttles and aerial mechs began to impose a heavier presence on the surface, depressing the freewheeling commerce that previously defined the planet.

”If Bentheim already looks depressing from here, who knows how awful the actual economic outlook has become. ” He muttered to himself.

After a quiet transit, the shuttle landed in the landing pad reserved for visitors to the nearby offices.
The shuttle would keep waiting here for his next appointment, so Ves did not have to instruct anything to the pilot as he stepped out and faced the familiar facade of Marcella ’s downtown office.

Marcella owned several properties.
The one at the outskirts of Dorum was where she stored and delivered her products to customers dropping by in person.
The property here formed the front office where she received her customers and did most of her sales work.

As far as he knew, Marcella was a savvy mech broker who operated multiple lines of businesses.
Besides Bollinger ’s Mechs which was a brokerage that mainly sold individual and small batches of mechs directly to customers, she also maintained a parent company called Bollinger Mech Trade.
It mainly dealt with establishing export contracts and selling larger batches of mechs to bigger clients, though their high value made such transactions very infrequent.

Technically, Bollinger Mech Trade possessed a five percent stake in the Living Mech Corporation.
However, Marcella Bollinger was the founder and owner of Bollinger Mech Trade, so in effect the legal distinction between person and company was meaningless.

Even though Ves hadn ’t come with an invitation, the receptionist took one glance at Ves and recognized his face.
”Mr.
Larkinson! What brings you here? Are you here on behalf of the LMC or the Mech Corps? ”

He couldn ’t fault her confusion as he came in his mech designer uniform.
”Let ’s say I ’m her for a personal visit.
The military has nothing to do with my visit this time. ”

”Very well.
I ’ll call ahead and tell Marcella to expect you.
You already have a standing invitation to meet with her whenever she ’s in her office! ”

He entered an elevator which brought him to the top office where Bollinger didn ’t appear to have changed much since the last time he talked to her.
Life as an injured, retired veteran mech pilot softened her up a little, though her stocky physique and artificial limbs still conveyed her military roots.

As for Ves, he hadn ’t grown taller or bigger.
He even looked a little smoother as his previous gene optimization treatments elevated his physical appearance closer to the human ideal.

Nonetheless, the ensemble of his bearing, his service uniform and the decorations plastered on it completely transformed him in Marcella ’s perspective.

”Ves! You grew up! ” She remarked with astonishment and rose up from her seat.
”I ’ve heard word about a mech designer bearing combat awards but I thought it was a hoax! ”

”They ’re very much real. ” He smiled back as he walked close to shake her hand with a confident grip.
”It ’s good to see you again after all this time, old friend. ”

She snorted.
”I ’m not that old yet even if I ’ve lived through the last war. ”

The handshake completed the change in impression in her mind.
Ves was no longer a young, inexperienced mech designer who barely ventured out of the Bentheim region anymore.

Now, even though only a couple of years went by, he already carried the demeanor of a veteran and someone who experienced what the wider galaxy had to offer.

”So, not to pry or anything, but are you even allowed to visit me? A man in uniform like you doesn ’t look like you ’re on leave. ”

”It ’s okay.
As long as I don ’t take too long, I don ’t think anyone will mind. ” Ves dismissed her concerns.
If there was anything he learned in his time with the Vandals, it was that he could get away with a lot more than he ought to as long as he had the prestige to back it up.
”Let ’s talk about my business.
Please brief me how the LMC is doing right nowadays. ”

”Do you want the short version or the long version? ”

”Short. ”

”Well, the short version is that the Bright Republic ’s economy is in a depression.
Prices of everything have risen, particularly that of raw materials.
The needs of the military take precedence over the needs of the private market, so most mech manufacturers have seen their profit margins dwindle. ”

”I ’ve also heard about debt piling up at the LMC.
What is going on with that? ”

Marcella smiled sardonically at Ves.
”It ’s the new shareholder that directly and indirectly have taken over the board.
The TNC Holding Group now owns 21 percent of the LMC ’s shares, but their actual influence is much greater.
It ’s a front for the Ministry of Economic Development. ”

”Damn.
So it happened already. ” Ves sighed.