The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2743

Chapter 2743 - New State

Colonel Ariadne Wodin did not think much of her assignment at first.

As a proud branch member of the Wodin Dynasty, she dedicated her life to serve in the armed forces of the Hegemony.

There was a time when she was a young and brash mech officer. She eagerly piloted mechs and enjoyed taking charge of other women.

Those days were behind her. While she sharpened herself in battle, the Hex Army remained stubbornly in place.

While she took part in plenty of practice sessions and interdivisional war games, the falseness of it all grated on her. The hundreds of thousands of mechs she blew up consisted of virtual bits. The opponents she fought against were other Hexers.

This was not what she wanted out of her mech piloting career. She yearned to take the fight against the Coalition, smash its glorious mech armies and drive the Hegemony’s stake right through its heart!

Yet too much time passed without anything taking place. The Hegemony was still in its centuries-long process of building up its troops, material reserves and infrastructure.

The matriarchs in charge of these top-level decisions lived for centuries, and they possessed at least that much patience. While there was no doubt that the matriarchs wanted to satisfy their grudge against the Fridaymen once and for all, the time was not yet right, apparently.

So it came to be that Ariadne Wodin acc.u.mulated more training without gaining too much actual experience.

It frustrated her. It frustrated her fellow Hexer soldiers. They served diligently and obeyed the commands they were given, yet that didn’t result in anything.

As decades of continued service went by, her rank steadily rose higher but the acuity of her body and mind was starting to fade.

She spent her prime years as a mech pilot wasting away her golden years. Even with an early application of life-prolonging treatment, the deterioration of her reflexes and her mental evolution meant she was unable to compete with younger, faster and more vigorous mech pilots.

To be honest, the difference wasn’t too big. With the treatments she enjoyed and the augments she possessed, she could still put up a good fight. Her greater experience and polished skills could even keep up with many of the young stars in the Hex Army.

It was just that it became harder and harder to do so. She had to rely more and more on her wits in order to compensate for her slowing mental reflexes. This was an unstoppable trend. No matter how much she kept her body in shape, her mind grew more sluggish and complicated with age.

A younger mech pilot didn’t have to think in order to perform a rapid reaction. Their instincts and lack of greater considerations meant that they fought without any burdens.

This was not so for Ariadne. She not only became burdened by a multitude of choices and considerations, she was also responsible for commanding her subordinates, thereby filling up her mind even further with distracting thoughts.

At some point, it became clear that she was much more suitable to command troops than piloting a mech in the field.

Her rising qualifications in the former eventually got her promoted out of the c.o.c.kpit. While she could still pilot a mech if she had to, it was a waste of her prodigious command ability if she did so. She knew it. Her superiors knew it. Putting her behind a desk was the most rational choice to make.

Intellectually, she accepted her fate.

Emotionally, she resented the fact she missed her opportunity to earn glory in battle.

As much as she wished to concentrate on her duties, her regrets and resentments hampered her ability to serve in the Hex Army.

She eventually decided to take a step back and retire from the military. She chose to return to the Scimitar System and take up a senior position in the household troops of her dynasty.

At least there she was able to exert greater power. She was just a cog in an immensely huge machine back when she was in the Hex Army. Taking over a unit of the Wodin Warriors granted her much greater leeway in implementing her vision.

It was then that the Komodo War broke out.

"What a great irony!"

Just years after she retired, the council of matriarchs finally lost their patience and decided to strike at their archenemies.

The war that decided the future of the Komodo War had broken out! Every Hexer soldier had to answer the call and fight against the evil and immoral Fridaymen!

Though Colonel Ariadne inwardly regretted her decision to retire from the Hex Army, she quickly consoled herself.

The Wodin Warriors were also strong. While they weren’t quite on par with a true Hexer mech unit, they came close enough to put up a good fight against ordinary Fridayman mech units.

Every Wodin Warrior knew that there was a great possibility that they would be called to the frontlines.

Yet just as the Wodin Warriors fully mobilized, Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin handed Colonel Ariadne a different assignment.

She.. was not going to the frontlines?

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