Chapter 2565: Unarmed Mechs (2/2)
”Why did the Matriarchs set such an arbitrary rule? A war is going on! The last thing you want to do is to impose artificial restrictions on your fighting forces that will handicap their combat potential!”
His wife paused for a moment. She seemed hesitant to say her next words.
Ves looked her in the eye. ”What is going on?”
”There.. is another reason why the Hegemony is reluctant to arm low-quality auxiliary mechs. It's.. so that the boys who pilot them don't pose an acute threat against our own side.”
”The Hexers.. are afraid of their own boys turning their coats?” Ves raised his eyebrows.
”Yes.”
”Has it happened already?”
”There are isolated cases. Still, the problem isn't as serious as you think. Most boys are well-trained. Every male Hexer pilot that was part of the armed forces at the start of the Komodo War are very obedient and reliable. They're trained to be that way. It's just that the huge influx of low-aptitude mech pilots are different.”
”They're not house-trained, are they?” Ves recognized the main issue.
Gloriana sighed. ”Yes. They weren't originally a part of the Hex Army.”
”That sounds like a massive oversight. The Hegemony started the Komodo War. Couldn't you Hexers take the effort of preparing your low-aptitude mech pilots sooner?”
”That would have tipped the Fridaymen off. You can't hide such massive movements. Also, this isn't something that normal second-rate states do. The more advanced the state, the more its military is geared towards the development of elites. While our state is wealthy, it can't arm so many weak mech pilots without draining resources elsewhere.”
Obviously, the Hegemony couldn't afford to be conservative anymore.
Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. ”So what's the danger of pairing these hastily-conscripted boys with armed mechs? From what I have seen of the Hegemony, pretty much every boy is committed to the matriarchy.”
”It's not that simple.” Gloriana looked pained. ”The Hegemony is huge. It's split up into several matriarchal dynasties, which are further split up into smaller dynasties. While the former tries to be as unified as possible, there are still.. differences.. in the way they govern their territories. In some dynasties, boys are treated well as long as they are good. In other places…”
”They're treated like crap, am I right?”
”I guess I can't hide it from you. There are dynasties where boys and in particular male potentates are seen as threats to other Hexers. Sometimes, they only receive the most basic of mech piloting training. In other places, they are treated harshly. None of us ever thought we might actually have to enlist them in battle. We thought we'd be able to win the Komodo War by relying purely on our professional soldiers.”
”Hahaha!” Ves couldn't help but laugh! ”You women look down on the Friday Coalition too much!”
Obviously, Gloriana didn't look pleased. It became harder and harder for her to maintain the delusion that a Hexer victory was inevitable.
”The point is that it's appropriate to assign armed mechs to untalented and undertrained boys. Even if they pilot a mech with a weapon, there is a good chance that they can't even hurt a fly. They lack the training to actually fight with them. As for the boys that do possess this training, too many Hexers don't trust them. We're all afraid they might succumb to Fridaymen lies and sabotage their own side.”
Ves snorted. ”I wouldn't blame these poor fellows. I think their lives would actually be better if the Hexer regime is torn down.”
”'THAT'S NONSENSE!”
There was no point trying to argue with Gloriana about this. Ves moved away from this contentious topic.
”Let's get back to your comm mech. Now that you explained the reasoning behind your design choices, I understand why your concept doesn't mention any weapons.”
”Boys can't be trusted with guns.”
”AHEM.” Ves coughed. ”Just because I accept your design choice doesn't mean I agree with it. You reap what you sow. If you Hexers treated your male potentates better, you wouldn't have ended up in a situation where you have to watch out for betrayal.”
Gloriana lowered her eyes. ”I realize that, and so do many Hexers. Don't think that I'm part of the groups that mistreated these boys.”
”I can believe that, but Hexers like you are not innocent in this matter. You either ignored this deplorable behavior or condoned it in some tacit way. Now that the war has forced you to draw upon the dregs of your society, it's too late to apologize.”
The entire concept behind her proposed communication mech was based on some very problematic circumstances. The entire situation disgusted Ves, but he didn't have any choice but to go along with his wife.
Situations like these continually reminded him that he was fighting on the wrong side of the war. Yet no matter how awful the Hexers turned out to be, he never contemplated changing sides.
There were too many reasons why he needed the Hexers to win.
Ves always put his interests before his conscience.