The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3345

Chapter 3345: A Strange Recollection

It all made sense.

The Vulcan Empire called itself an empire, yet strangely enough not a single dwarf had the guts to crown themselves as emperor.

Instead, the effective head of government settled for taking up the office of grand regent. This was a position that implied that the official was merely a stand-in for a true dwarven ruler.

In public, the Vulcanites explained that the reason for adopting such an unusual hierarchy was because the throne of the emperor was reserved for Rion Aaden, the legendary dwarven mech pilot and hero who not only served as a vessel for Vulcan, but also handed the dwarves their first and crucial victory!

Without Rion Aaden, the dwarven rebellion at Desala X could have never overwhelmed the guard force of House Kantis!

Without Rion Aaden, the dwarven people would have never been introduced to an inspiring and unifying god known as Vulcan!

Without Rion Aaden, the dwarves would have never been able to catch the attention of the MTA, thereby enabling the escaped slaves to start a movement that eventually concluded with the founding of a dwarven state!

Every single Vulcanite was raised with the founding myths of their state drilled into their ears. Though Vulcan was their god, Rion was the messiah who spread the deity's glory to the dwarves!

Yet as far as everyone was concerned, Rion Aaden, the legendary dwarven hero of the rebellion, died a heroic death shortly after the Desalan rebels succeeded in overcoming their human opponents.

The later stages of the rebellion did not involve Rion in the slightest. Many other dwarven heroes and visionaries rose up as the years went by and accomplished far greater feats than a poor mining slave who was barely able to pilot a mech.

Even Ves thought that he had managed to finish the job and leave no traces of his past involvement behind.

It turned out that he was wrong. Very wrong. Catastrophically wrong.

As his shock finally began to fade, he continued to stare up at the intact, bald head of the dark-skinned dwarf. Aside from losing his hair, growing more mature and gaining a lot of augmentations, Rion did not look that different from the past!

Of course, his personality and demeanor underwent a complete transformation. Ves did not recognize any trace of the young and brash dwarven miner from before. What stood in his place was a powerful monarch who exuded strength, certainty and a disturbing amount of awareness!

"I… am pretty sure I shot you in the head with a pistol. Bits and pieces of your brain should have been splattered across the deck of the TR-3851."

The dwarf responded with a single acronym. "MTA."

That caused Ves to turn bitter. "Those meddling bastards. It figures. The mechers are one of the few people who have the capability to bring a body like yours back from the dead. How much… do they know? How much did you retain?"

"NOTHING MUCH." Rion replied in a slightly more measured tone of voice. "TOO MUCH DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE TO MY BRAIN. WHAT HASN'T BEEN SHATTERED HAD ALREADY DECAYED FOR SEVERAL DAYS. WHEN… I WOKE UP AGAIN, I BECAME A DIFFERENT PERSON FROM THE RION AADEN YOU KNEW. I… WAS HARDLY A FUNCTIONAL INDIVIDUAL AT THE TIME."

His expression turned cloudy as he remembered how invalid he had been after his restoration.

On the other hand, Ves relaxed for a bit. He was most afraid of the MTA learning about what transpired during the time he possessed Rion. Unless the mecher doctors lied to the dwarf, it was unlikely that anyone learned anything incriminating!

"It seems you got better, though. Much better. You even managed to become an emperor. Why don't you lead your people?"

"THAT… IS A LONG STORY."

The Iron Emperor slowly stepped backwards until he was able to rest his metallic rear end on the steps. His forceful demeanor toned down a bit as he continued to recount his past.

"IT TOOK YEARS FOR ME TO BECOME A FUNCTIONING DWARF AGAIN. MY BRAIN WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED AND THE MTA WAS UNWILLING TO SPEND TOO MUCH OF ITS OWN RESOURCES ON RESTORING ME FURTHER. I ALREADY SERVED MY USE WHEN THEY EXTRACTED WHAT LITTLE MEMORY I RETAINED OF THE INITIAL REBELLION."

"Sounds just like them." Ves said in a sympathising tone.

He relaxed a bit further. He no longer felt as threatened as before. While Rion was definitely still in charge, he seemed more interested in reminiscing about the past with a former 'companion' than taking revenge for getting headshotted.

Ves was not out of danger, though. He had no idea whether Rion planned to turn the tables after he was done. He just recognized that he was powerless to stop the dwarven emperor from doing whatever the heck he wanted.

If that was the case, Ves might as well accept the reality of the situation and act like himself. His current impression of the 'Iron Emperor' already made it clear that the Devil Tongue treatment would never work on this dwarf!

"I DO NOT BEGRUDGE THE MECH TRADE ASSOCIATION." Rion said in his electronically-altered voice. "I HAVE GAINED A NEW LIFE. I SPENT YEARS TO LEARN HOW TO STAND, WALK, SPEAK AND THINK WITH ALL OF MY PHYSICAL AND MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS. I UNDERWENT NUMEROUS OPERATIONS WHERE MY BODY BECAME MORE FUNCTIONAL BY INTEGRATING CYBERNETIC LIMBS, IMPLANTS AND ORGANS. I… HAVE BECOME HALF A MACHINE."

"Well, the title of Iron Emperor certainly suits you." Ves jested a bit.

It was no joke to Rion, though. "BY THE TIME I BECAME… WHOLE ENOUGH AGAIN, TOO MANY YEARS WENT BY. I RETURNED TO A STAR SECTOR THAT HAS ALREADY CHANGED, AND AN EMPIRE THAT I HAD NO HAND IN MAKING."

Ves could understand why Rion would feel alienated from his former dwarven rebel friends. The latter went through so many challenges and experiences that they grew into vastly different people. A lot of foreign dwarves had traveled to Smiling Samuel as well in order to support the dwarven cause.

"Did you have a place in the Vulcan Empire?"

The dwarven leader took a few seconds to reply.

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