Cordoba Station was a typical Sentinel trade hub. It orbited high above Cinach VI and mostly dealt with passenger transport and material shipments.
Much like any space station, its initial size used to be modest, but expanded over time in order to accommodate a greater amount of commerce.
These days, her sheer volume surpassed that of a capital ship, though it wasn't nearly as tough and defensible as a warship!
A continuous but very orderly stream of trade vessels and passenger vessels constantly approached and departed from one of its extended arms.
Many vessels were not allowed to approach under their own power. Instead, they had to shut their engines and lock most of their systems while various tugs slowly towed them to their assigned positions.
The only vessels allowed to approach under their own power were authorized shuttles and smaller transports. Most of them belonged to one of the established transit and logistic companies native to Cinach VI.
Predictably, House Evenson owned or held a large amount of shares in most of these companies! In-system logistics might be one of the most boring business sectors of an economy, but it was an incredibly stable money maker.
Even in a recession, goods and people still needed transportation!
Though Cordoba Station was often a site of intense activity, the huge amount of traffic that converged upon its coordination exceeded anything Cinach VI had seen before!
Grand passenger lines, swift corvettes and a generous amount of formidable combat carriers all tried to reach Cordoba Station first!
The crush of incoming vessels almost overwhelmed traffic control if not for the impeccable order the vessels abided by. Not a single Sentinel noble of foreign business magnate attempted to cut in line.
The reason for that was very obvious, and it was not because they respected House Evenson that held sway over Cinach VI!
Ves peered out of the window and used his implant to amplify his vision until he got a very good look at the only warship in the star system.
"So that is the Ubiquitous Force." He uttered. "She's beautiful and deadly in a way my Scarlet Rose can never be. How sublime."
The formidable warship anchored right above the space station, thereby imposing her presence on anyone who approached!
The MTA markings and the handful of first-class multipurpose mechs that patrolled around her made it clear that she was not to be trifled!
And if anyone was blind to the threat those visual cues represented, that the visible warship-grade gun turrets were enough to stifle any complaints!
Powered or supplied by the internal systems of the entire ship, the power those gun turrets was able to unleash was simply an order of magnitude more powerful than the MTA's very own mechs!
Ves wasn't even sure that a first-class expert mech would be able to contend against the Ubiquitous Force, and she was merely a frigate, one of the lightest ship classes in its war arsenal!
Suffice to say, no matter the rank or pedigree of the visitor, everyone behaved as obediently as possible as they arrived at the space station.
Once they passed through the numerous thorough security checks, the visitors had to traverse to a specific arm where a large hall-like space structure was docked.
This was Trillion Hall, one of the dozens of space-based convention centers.
Though it wasn't capable of lifting off into space from the ground like the old Grand Skyward Convention Center at Bentheim, it was still one of the best venues to introduce a new mech to the public.
Its capacity was enormous and its construction was sturdy enough to withstand incidental mech fire, and that was before all of the security and defensive upgrades.
What Ves valued a lot was the configurable interior. Almost everything could be raised or lowered or moved around at his leisure. He could precisely control the light and sound that propagated through the main hall.
This control was essential to a good show!
A large number of mechs from various groups including the MTA were already patrolling around it. Not only that, but a large number of mercenary mechs grouped up by corps had already taken up position a large distance away.
As the hosts of the upcoming event, Ves and Gloriana as well as their entourage were able to cut the line and head straight to the site without obstruction.
They stopped a bit when they reached the large, bold letters that proclaimed the name of the structure.
"Trillion Hall, huh?" Ves mused while he was holding Lucky.
"Meow."
"It's supposedly called that way because its owner envisions his hall introducing a trillion different mech models to the public."
"Meow."
"Yeah, I think it sounds ridiculous as well, but who knows. Maybe it will last long enough to make this wish come true."
The important procession moved backstage where Ves and Gloriana immediately inspected the newly-fabricated Doom Guards. Each of them had been switched off so that they didn't frighten the surrounding staffers.
A handful of strong-willed veterans of the Sand War had already suited up. They stood in front of Commander Melkor, who wore an identical pilot.
Ves gave the privilege of piloting the first production model to the Avatar Commander.
Though Melkor was probably not the most steel-hearted mech pilot in the clan, Ves trusted that his cousin would be able to handle the pressure.
"Are you ready for the big show?" Ves asked.
It wasn't safe. Ves feared what might happen if someone reacted badly at the Doom Guard despite all of the mandatory health inspections they had gone through. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Mech Touch