The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

The war that decided the future of the Komodo Star Sector had swung rapidly since the Friday Coalition initiated its counterattack!

With the powerful Gauge Dynasty and the disciplined Konsu Clan taking the lead, the Fridaymen mech divisions retook star system after star system.

In many cases, the Hexers didn't even have enough time to pull out all of their assets before the Fridayman offensive liberated the occupied star systems!

Though the great counterattack only began a few months ago, the Fridaymen already took back much of the hinterland of the Carnegie Group and Vermeer Group!

As news of the grand offensive penetrated through the occupied planets, the resistance movements that had been biding their time there had all risen up and committed considerable sabotage against the Hexer garrison forces!

The occupiers hit back hard against the exposed partisans, but the damage was already done. Considerable damage had been done to both the infrastructure and industry that the Hexers relied upon to supply the Hex Army.

In some cases, saboteurs even managed to blow up or crash critical space stations!

With the frontlines crumbling and the rear areas aflame, the mech divisions and mech army groups of the Hex Army had to abandon a considerable amount of supplies and fixed assets in order to avoid getting swamped by the aggressive Fridaymen.

After getting beat up by the Hex Army time and time again in the earlier stages of the Komodo War, the vengeful Fridaymen vented all of their resentment towards their retreating foes!

"Slaughter these women!"

"Komodo belongs to the Friday Coalition!"

"The hour of men is at hand!"

So many incidents took place throughout the conquered Fridaymen territories that the Hexadric Hegemony could no longer withdraw at a controlled pace!

The Hex Army drew back its elements with greater urgency. The Hexer generals prioritized evacuating the mech pilots of the Hegemony above all else. While it hurt to abandon a significant amount of mechs, supplies and industrial equipment, they were just machines!

The Hexadric Hegemony still possessed considerable material reserves and a fully-intact industrial sector. The Hexers could easily replenish the goods they lost, especially considering that they had already plundered a lot of materials and supplies from the occupied territories.

What truly mattered was to preserve as many mech pilots as possible. While the Hex Army succeeded in accomplishing this goal, the hasty withdrawals had a devastating effect on morale.

The transition happened too abruptly.

At one moment, the Hexers rampaged through the lightly-defended star systems of the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group.

In the next, the Sundered Phalanx and the Oni Guard unleashed their full might all at once, shattering every illusion that the Friday Coalition was just a pushover!

A lot of Hexer mech pilots who continually achieved success after success couldn't adjust to the fact that they were being pressed in the opposite direction.

"I am not a coward! Turn back! I want to impale them with my spear!"

"Women are supposed to be superior! How come those stupid boys keep overwhelming us over and over again?"

"Superior Mother, help us! I beseech you! Bless our mechs and strike down the heretic Fridaymen!"

As long as the counteroffensive continued at its current pace, it would only take a couple of months before the Fridaymen regained all of their original territories!

Once the mech militaries of the Friday Coalition reached the Crestfallen Stars, the Hexers feared what might happen at that point.

"Will the Fridaymen stop at the border and reconsolidate their lines? The Sundered Phalanx and the Konsu Guard can't push forward forever. Once they pass the border, they'll have to fight head-on against our fortified star systems."

"The greedy boys in charge of the Friday Coalition won't settle for regaining their lost territories. They still have ample strength to batter our frontlines! We're going to have a hard fight on our hands."

"We can't allow the Hegemony to be despoiled by these stinky boys!"

"Where are our reserves? We need to deploy more mechs to our defensive lines. If we can't hold back the Fridaymen, it will be our turn to lose a lot of territories!"

The Hexers became increasingly more apprehensive of what might happen. The Fridayman mech militaries showed no sign of stopping. The risk of seeing Hexer star systems burned and Hexer boys being brainwashed into confident brutes who no longer looked up to women frightened the Hegemony.

Even the council of matriarchs started to issue grim messages. As one of the highest decision-making organs of the Hexadric Hegemony, the council reflected the collective will of the six matriarchal dynasties.

Having long been used to throwing their weight around, the highest levels of the Hexer state suddenly lost a lot of confidence. Were they truly losing? Was the Hex Army too weak to resist the filthy Fridaymen? How could they possibly remain in power when all of their planets and fixed assets fell into the hands of their archenemies?

The mere prospect of losing the Komodo War sent the Hexadric Hegemony on a tailspin!

As the Hexers lost confidence on a large scale, a secret element of Fridaymen military assets had gathered together at a quiet star system.

A dim red dwarf star feebly shone its light on the five massive starships gathered at the edge of the outer system.

The gathered group of ships were highly unusual. Their hulls were massive. Each of them stretched for at least two kilometers, signifying that they were capital ships!

What further distinguished these vessels was the activity that took place around them. Large amounts of mechs disgorged from their spacious hangar bays. More than a thousand mechs patrolled the perimeter of the gathered capital ships in a matter of minutes!

The sheer amount of mechs held by the five vessels immediately revealed their true nature.

They were military fleet carriers!

Though their silhouettes and colors differed, they each had at least two elements in common.

First, their hulls bore a green flag with a starry arrow pointing upwards.

Second, their hulls also flaunted an emblem that consisted of a nine-headed hydra.

All five vessels wore the flag and symbol of the Friday Coalition!

However, that was all they had in common. Additional markings made it clear that each and every fleet carrier hailed from different parts of the Coalition.

The Auralis was by far the most eye-catching of the five vessels. Her gleaming golden coating made it seem as if the fleet carrier was afraid that people would neglect her existence!

Built and operated by the Gauge Dynasty, the Auralis reflected the strength of the most powerful partner of the Coalition. She possessed the best capacity out of all of the gathered carries. She was not only able to hold 600 mechs, but also featured resilient armor and a full coverage of capital ship-grade shield generators!

However, her considerable hull plating also increased her mass by a huge degree. Her acceleration and other mobility characteristics were the worst out of all five capital ships.

The Amagi was a fleet carrier built by the Konsu Clan. The martial-looking vessel was an all-rounder among the assembled vessels. She possessed decent capacity at 500 mechs while also being able to boast adequate defenses and decent mobility.

The Forward Momentum belonged to the Vanguard Group, which was a Coalition partner that did not fully engage in the Komodo War up to this point.

As one of the weakest partners in the Coalition, the Vanguard Group's military forces were only a fraction of the size of the Sundered Phalanx or Oni Guard. The fact that the Vanguarders dispatched one of their strategic military assets at all for this operation was a miracle.

The relative lack of strength was reflected in the design of the Forward Momentum. Though she possessed the best mobility out of all of the fleet carriers, her armor was very feeble for a military capital ship. In addition, her total capacity only amounted to 400 mechs.

In fact, the fleet carrier dispatched by the similarly-weak Puffer Clan was even worse. As the smallest capital ship in the star system, the Orca Tyrant only carried 350 mechs at most.

The Puffer Clan's fleet carrier was actually slower than the Forward Momentum, but she boasted significantly better armor and possessed highly-reinforced bunkers.

Compared to the other four fleet carriers, the Orca Tyrant devoted less space to carrying mechs and instead embraced the role of a pseudo-battle cruiser.

All four aforementioned fleet carriers flanked the fifth and most central fleet carrier.

Just like the Amagi, the relatively plain-looking fleet carrier possessed balanced if average properties. With a capacity of 450 mechs, the Eager Condemnation featured decent defenses and was not a slouch in terms of mobility.

Right now, several shuttles departed from the other fleet carriers and calmly flew over to the Eager Condemnation.

The commanding officer of the operation called for a meeting. The highest-ranking officers and the most notable mech pilots attended the gathering.

No one objected to stepping aboard the Eager Condemnation. Unlike the other four fleet carriers, the Condemnation belonged to the Coalition Reserve Corps, which was a Coalition institution that transcended the rivalries of individual partners.

In fact, every Coalition partner collectively ran the CRC, so there was no way it would make any Fridayman uncomfortable.

In a large and tastefully-decorated conference room, hundreds of Fridaymen military officers gathered. They hailed from every Coalition partner.

Officers from the Gauge Dynasty, Konsu Clan, Vanguard Group and Puffer Clan each claimed their own separate corners of the conference room. The soldiers of the former two groups faintly looked down on their counterparts of the latter group.

It couldn't be helped. Even though the CRC demanded a contribution from the Vanguard Group and the Puffer Clan, the fleet carriers dispatched by the weakest Coalition partners were not good enough.

Still, despite their inadequacies, the Forward Momentum and the Orca Tyrant met at least one vital requirement. Otherwise, the two fleet carriers wouldn't have been able to take part in this operation.

A highly-decorated older man stood at the very front of the conference room. Brigadier-General Vander Pierce was one of the most distinguished senior officers of the CRC.

Even though the Friday Coalition as a whole did not think much of this branch, the CRC was a complete military branch that could give any Coalition Partner a run for their money!

None of the other commanders showed any disrespect towards the 182 year old man. Many of the people that had gathered here today had heard that General Pierce had come up with this operation and persistently pushed for it until the higher ups eventually assented to it despite the risks.

Sitting not too far away away from General Pierce, Venerable Ghanso Larkinson and Venerable Relia Foster waited for all of the guests to arrive.

"It's finally happening." Ghanso whispered as he kept his will contained. "I told the Fridaymen that they needed to do something. It seems the men in charge are finally willing to invest in an operation."

Venerable Foster levied her eyes at the new arrivals. "This might very well be a suicide mission. The plan that General Pierce has come up rests on a lot of assumptions. If anything goes wrong, we might miss the mark, or expose our whereabouts. As long as the Hexers know we are close…"

"That won't happen." Ghanso grinned and slapped the surface of the conference room. "The Eager Condemnation and the other four capital ships are different. They're all deep strike fleet carriers! With the immense range of their FTL ranges, we can get in and out without leaving too many traces behind."

Deep strike fleet carriers were much more valuable than their regular counterparts. Due to their high cost, the Friday Coalition didn't have many of them. If anything happened to the five capital ships under General Pierce's command, then the Fridaymen would lose some very versatile war assets!

Both expert pilots looked up at this time. They sensed the approach of their own kind.

In the span of a few minutes, six expert pilots entered the conference room. Together with Venerable Ghanso and Venerable Foster, a total of eight expert pilots took part in the operation!