The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2424

Chapter 2424: Questioning Leadership

Ves made the right choice by gathering all of the expert pilots together. If he spoke to them on an individual basis, then it would be difficult for him to fend off their remarks.

Now, the expert pilots pretty much argued amongst themselves. Ves, Calabast and Major Verle turned into inanimate props as the expert pilots each expressed what they thought about the current campaign.

Just as Ves expected, Venerable Jannzi found the most fault with his decisions. To her, trading lives for training and plunder was a horrible deal.

It didn't matter whether the Larkinson Clan gained 5 expert pilots and 9 expert candidates in total. Each breakthrough came at the cost of at least several dozens of lives!

To Jannzi, this was no different from cutting off the necks of innocent Larkinsons in order to fuel a demonic ritual that directly enabled her to break through. It was a reprehensible trade that should have never taken place!

Joshua thought the opposite. Each Larkinson that took part in the expedition ultimately agreed to face the risks. They all volunteered except for the Avatars, but that was only because anyone who agreed to put on the yellow-and-white uniform already agreed to become the tip of the spear.

"Each of us had a choice, Jannzi. None of us are in the Larkinson Clan because we were forced into it. Both trueblood and adopted Larkinsons had to make several deliberate choices to end up here. Our clan patriarch has been very open about this. That many of our clansmen died in the end is not good at all, but… they all accepted the risks."

"You!"

The two may be in a relationship with each other, but they held different views. As Jannzi and Joshua continued to argue with each other, Ves found it increasingly difficult to imagine that they would stay together for long.

"You're not looking at it right, Joshua." Tusa shook his head. "Sure, the Larkinsons who joined the task force did so on their own volition. This was because they got the impression that we would only be mucking about a bit by honing our skills against a bunch of pirate outfits. This is what all of the Peacekeeper outfits do. None of us expected us to go so deep and crack open fortified pirate bases that are defended by thousands of mechs and an arsenal of illegal superweapons!"

That was indeed a bit difficult to defend. Joshua clearly didn't know how to respond to this argument.

Commander Orfan crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Tusa has it right. While I like Ves, that doesn't mean I agree with him on everything. This time he really bamboozled us. None of us signed up to attack heavily defended pirate bases, let alone alien gods and actual warships!"

"Glory cannot be earned without sacrifice." Commander Dise surprisingly opposed her buddy. "What we gained from this journey is something precious. Who in the galactic rim can boast of fighting against and winning against a real warship? This victory alone will send our reputation soaring."

"What is the use of that?"

"Reputation can save the lives of many more comrades than we have lost in the past few months! Just think about it! All of the potential enemies in our way will never think about waylaying us when they heard we fought warships and came out on top. Even if they don't believe we have earned this victory, all of us expert pilots and expert candidates are already enough to force many people to respect our strength."

"Civilized space isn't as bad as the Nyxian Gap." Jannzi insisted. "Once we get back to normal space, nobody will randomly decide to attack us because they are greedy for our possessions. We live in a decent, normal society."

"Tell that to the pirates."

"The pirates in civilized space are nowhere near as strong as brazen as their counterparts here, Joshua. What passes off for pirates are usually poor and desperate criminals who only pounce on individual cargo ships because they can only muster up a couple of dozen mechs at most. With our strength and numbers, we have already grown way past the threshold where we need to be concerned about pirate attacks."

"That doesn't mean the galaxy is safe! Even well-defended trade fleets are at risk of attacks. It's too difficult to ensure our clan will remain safe and sound as we travel to other areas where the locals aren't as familiar with our clan. I bet that having ten-thousand mech pilots is not scary as a single expert pilot!" _{fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com}

Ves raised his hand. "Alright! That's enough. I think you are all arguing in circles at this point. You have all voiced your opinions. I have listened carefully to each and every one of you. You have all brought up some good points."

Though he felt a bit nervous at facing five expert pilots at the same time, he already knew them before they reached their current rank. They weren't so different from their old selves. As long as he accommodated all of their views, he should be able to achieve his goals.

"Venerable Jannzi." He spoke as he turned to the most outspoken critic. "We have talked before about this. Each Larkinson who joined our clan did so with the expectation that they will have to work to rise above their current station. Do you know how many dispossessed Ylvainans, downtrodden Reinaldan citizens, oppressed Sentinel commoners and other hopeful people have joined our clan? Each of them signed up with us with the promise that we would lift them from the mud."

She glared at him. "Our children and the Larkinsons born after that won't have a choice!"

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