The Mech Touch novel Chapter 5764

Chapter 5764 Task Force Solus

5764 Task Force Solus

Just before the public inquiry on living mechs taking place on Ector V commenced, a modest task force of second-class warships quietly made its way to the orbit of a lush, green and blue globe.

The untamed planet below the recently arrived starships looked unusually vibrant.

It was filled with such an abundance of life that the crew members looking outside of the portholes could see a few regions that were dotted with huge organic growths!

The appearance of the planet had changed significantly since the survey ships last scouted the star system.

The deviations were so great that the Dragon's Den employed her specialized scanners to conduct a detailed and exhaustive survey.

The Larkinsons who arrived in orbit of the planet known as Reticula Corein V needed to gain a much more current overview of its complex surface in order to plan their subsequent moves.

Deep within the hull of the Wild Torch, the flagship of the Task Force Solus, the commander in charge called for a meeting to discuss the preliminary findings.

Swordmaster Ketis Larkinson had jumped at the opportunity to separate from the expeditionary fleet and lead her own unit.

As much as she had to allocate most of her time on designing mechs and keeping up her swordsmanship practice, she yearned to do more in her life than move between the design lab and the exercise chamber all of the time.

Leadership had become increasingly more important to her as more and more people looked up to her. As the protege of their legendary patriarch and an excellent warrior beyond comparison, Ketis had no trouble with accumulating the pull required to take charge of this operation.

As she sat at the head of the conference table, the only element that spoiled her stern and authoritative demeanor was the little girl sitting in her lap.

"Hihihi! Stop tickling me, mommy"

The red-haired girl with a tan complexion greatly resembled her mother. Mayra Larkinson held a plushy sword in her hand and ineffectually whacked it around in order to fend off the powerful fingers that caused her to giggle.

Ketis showered her youngest child with love before she gently lifted the little girl off her lap.

"Alright now, that is enough. You have classes to catch up to. Be good and pay attention, alright? If you want to become as smart as me some day, you will have to learn your numbers."

"Okay, mommy~"

Once a nanny came to bring Ketis' daughter to class, the air in the conference room grew serious as a projection of Reticular Corein V appeared in the center.

"We all know why we are here." Ketis straightforwardly began as she channeled a minute amount of Sharpie's steely will. "Our patriarch has directed us to travel to this untamed planet for the purpose of extracting a unique gas that is not present in any other star system that we know of. I am unclear why Ves wants to secure a supply of Solus Gas, but it is not up to us to question his motives. Our job is to act on his instructions and allow our clan to extract this resource from this planet on a reliable basis."

She stared at the mech commanders who led their respective detachments of their mech legions for this mission.

Given the powerful exobeasts and mutated beasts that probably turned the untamed planet into their monster paradise, the Swordmaidens insisted on coming along.

They had brought over plenty of Monster Slayers and other swordsman mechs that all hungered to hunt down the bountiful number of dangerous creatures that had been reproducing on the surface of Reticula Corein V for many months after the start of the Age of Dawn.

Backing up the main force were elements of the Flagrant Vandals and the Eye of Ylvaine. Each of them excelled in different roles that the Swordmaidens were unable or unwilling to fulfill themselves.

Aside from that, Task Force Solus had also brought along a handful of champions for good measure. Ketis threw an expectant look towards the small gathering of expert pilots and expert candidates at the opposite side of the conference table.

Finally, the vice directors of the Larkinson Biotech Institute and T Institute both attended the meeting. Since many of the senior leaders of the various institutions of the Larkinson Clan had chosen to undergo years-long EdNet training, the people who stepped up were merely considered stand-ins.

That did not mean that the substitute leaders were incompetent. The vice directors both possessed more than enough qualifications to conduct research and keep all of the overeager scientists in line.

"I do not need to tell you that trying to extract a resource from a planet that is filled with exobeasts that has remained undisturbed since the start of the Age of Dawn is an exceedingly dangerous endeavor." Ketis spoke as everyone tried to glean details from the projected globe. "Ever since exotic radiation has been giving superpowers to random beasts, planets without any form of civilization or population control have turned into incredibly hostile territories. The Hunting Association has never culled the most dangerous elements of the local fauna, which means that the surface is not only rife with powerful mutated beasts, but is most definitely home to calamity beasts."

Everyone's expressions darkened at the mention of those fearsome beasts that vastly exceeded the strength of second-

class mechs.

The vice director gazed at the trueblood Larkinson with respect. "That is a good observation. Our own analysis has produced a similar conclusion. While Solus Gas is at least mildly toxic to organisms that have never come into contact with this substance before, it is almost certain that the local fauna that have evolved in proximity to these gas deposits have become compatible with this exotic. Since we know that Solus Gas has properties that interfere with most if not all means of detection and communication, exobeasts that have integrated Solus Gas into their physiques are most likely adept at hiding their presence. Orbital scans will not be able to detect them. We can only know for certain what is hiding in these gas-rich regions by sending scouting parties."

Everyone's expressions dropped. It was never ideal to venture into uncharted territory without knowing anything about the threats lurking deep inside.

Nonetheless, if the Larkinsons wanted to do anything serious on this planet, then they had to map out all of the possible threats. If they did not do so, then they risked getting

Ambushed by a bunch of apex predators that the local garrisons were not equipped to handle!

"There are too many major and minor Solus Gas deposits to survey them all in a short amount of time." Ketis frowned. "Can we send in unmanned drones?"

"No, ma'am." Vice Director Abselon shook her head. "The drones will lose control due to the interference produced by Solus Gas."

"Perhaps we will have better luck if we send in our Fey instead. The Flagrant Vandals should have brought enough Fey Fiannas if I am correct."

"We have, Swordmaster." Major Randall Larkinson replied. "We have loaded a large variety of utility fey models, many of which have earned high rankings in the recent contest. Our scout fey are relatively fragile but discreet. They should be able to operate independently and return from their scouting trips without suffering excessive attrition. That said, I cannot account for the reaction of the exobeasts that lurk inside these gas-filled areas."

Ketis simply shrugged at that. "The scout fey are cheap and expendable. Do not hesitate to use them up. Our support ships have limited production capacity, so they can fabricate replacements in droves, especially if we manage to expand our mining operations on this planet to harvest other materials. If necessary, I can modify the design of the scout fey to incorporate Solus Gas in order to reduce their detection rate."

"That won't be necessary, Swordmaster. We have brought enough low-ranking mech designers that can make the necessary changes."

"Suit yourselves." Ketis shrugged. "Tell me about the local conditions of this planet, Abselon."

"Reticula Corein V is not a pleasant planet to live for humans. 45 percent of the surface is make up of landmass. The atmosphere is filled with oxygen as well as notable concentrations of toxic gasses that are lethal to humans when inhaled for an extended period of time. Everyone must wear fully covered suits at all times. The gravity measures at 1.3 g, which means that every person and every mech's mobility will be slightly impaired. In terms of life, there are exoplants in abundance. Exobeasts are also plentiful in number outside of Solus Gas deposits. There are numerous notable pockets where we have detected significantly less life signs than normal. They are likely claimed by apex predators, but we will have to conduct more detailed surveys for confirmation."

Ketis narrowed her eyes as she looked at these suspicious pockets.

"Have you confirmed the presence of any calamity beasts on this planet?"

"We have identified at least one ultra-large organism that denotes the presence of a calamity beast." Vice Director Abselon stated and highlighted a location on the globe. "These dark surface growths are undoubtedly recent and artificial. Since they are large enough for us to see them from orbit, the exobeasts who created these features must be either powerful or numerous."