Chapter 2188 Sneaking Up After the dangerous encounter against the Mountain Kings, Ves completely paused his current work in order to supervise the aftermath. As much as he wanted to pour all of his time on his major projects, the Nyxian Gap was still a region filled with peril. The steadily growing spiritual interference that Ves constantly sensed was the least of his worries! Once the Larkinson Clan salvaged what little valuables the Mountain Kings left behind, the task force moved on. Thousands of mech technicians carefully scrubbed some of the mechs clean from the effects of exposure to radiation. Some of the parts even needed to be replaced entirely, which entailed a lot of work. The maintenance crews worked like busy bees as they all tried to do their work as quickly as possible in order to minimize the downtime. Who knew whether the task force might stumble upon a pirate ambush! Just because it hadn't happened did not mean the Larkinsons should rest easily. They already attracted quite a lot of heat from the local pirates. The Nyxian pirates weren't completely isolated from each other. At least in the periphery, quantum communication nodes still worked, so they could trawl through the galactic net like anyone in civilized space. In order to discuss the implications of the battle against the Mountain Kings as well as the task force's changing circumstances, Ves decided to call a meeting. Ves and Calabast both entered the Scarlet Rose's conference room. Major Verle and Fleet Coordinator Kronon joined shortly afterwards in projection form as they were both on different ships at the moment. "Good afternoon, everyone." Ves greeted everyone as he sat down on a chair while Lucky floated at his side. "First, let me tell you that I think that near-fiascos like the previous battles shouldn't happen again. While we have admittedly underestimated how depraved the pirates could be, we were still at risk of losing a decent amount of mechs and precious lives." Everyone looked grave. Even Calabast, who normally adopted a playful demeanor in front of Ves, exhibited some concern. "It is clear that the assumptions that we have made before we departed to the Nyxian Gap are flawed." She spoke. "The intelligence we have gathered mostly consists of unverified rumors and hearsay. I dare say that at least a portion of what we collected might outright be deliberate falsehoods that the Nyxian pirates or their associates have spread in order to lull outsiders into a false sense of security." That sounded like a very thorough scheme! Ves felt astonished at this bold but increasingly more likely guess. "So how much do we actually know?" "It's not as bad as you think, Ves. The Peacekeepers and sources from the Sentinel Kingdom may have fed us with inaccurate information, but with all of the pirates we interrogated and all of the data banks that we have decrypted, we have built up a much more accurate overview of the local regions." Major Verle shook his head. "That's only partially helpful. What the Rust Grinders knew about the Mountain Kings only amounted to surface details. Every pirate group in the vicinity knew that the Mountain Kings invested in a lot of fortifications. None of them were aware that these fortifications also hid over two-dozen enriched nuclear warheads!" "I think we wouldn't have been able to know about those nuclear weapons even if we kidnapped and interrogated a mid-level Mountain King officer." Ophelia Kronon noted. "Pirate commanders never entrust sensitive secrets to their own men, and they aren't stupid enough to record such sensitive information in their data banks. We either have to kidnap the pirate commanders directly or grab one of the senior cadre who have been entrusted with operating these trump cards." That was an unrealistic prospect. Every seasoned pirate commander who managed to survive in the Nyxian Gap wasn't average! Ves looked towards Calabast, who regretfully shook her head. "Infiltrating pirate vessels and bases in order to capture and interrogate these senior pirate figures is not viable with our current means." That was disappointing, but he expected as much. The Larkinson Clan did not possess a lot of true stealth gear. "We need to do at least something to gain a better understanding of our opponents." Major Verle spoke with some frustration in his tone. "I hate to say this, but I would rather fight the CRC than an entrenched Nyxian pirate outfit. At least we know what to expect of the former. The same cannot be said of the latter!" Ves sighed. "From what I hear from you all, the root of the problem is our lack of understanding of our foes. The pirates aren't necessarily stronger than us. It's just that their sudden surprises are too threatening." With enemies who did not hesitate to turn their mechs into starship turrets or prepare a large amount of enriched nuclear ordnance, how could his father and the Oblivion Hand successfully raid so many pirate fortresses? Unlike Task Force Predator, the Oblivion Hand had run roughshod in the inner periphery and the core regions! According to the rumors which might not all be accurate, even though the Oblivion Hand sustained a substantial amount of losses with each major attack, they gained even more resources, mechs and recruits in return! Even if those victories were wildly exaggerated, the rumor that the notorious Dark Cleaver had never lost a battle should still be true! Ves did not believe that Task Force Predator was weaker than the Oblivion Hand. Leaving aside his father who presumably advanced to expert pilot, the rest of the dark mercenaries should still be piloting weak and fragile third-class mechs! He suddenly recalled something important. It wasn't just his father's amazing piloting skills and his excellent leadership that allowed him to secure victory after victory. His mother should have been involved as well! In fact, Ves knew that with the capabilities she had shown off in front of him, she could easily contribute more to their victories than Ryncol! The key to this was her myriad abilities as an intangible ghost and a spiritual sorceress. As long as she was able to affect the material realm, she could effortlessly sneak inside a pirate ship or base and mess around with none of the defenders growing any wiser! The Larkinson Clan may be lacking a perfect saboteur in the form of Cynthia Larkinson, but there was someone in the clan who could replicate at least some of her abilities. He tilted his head to the side where Lucky lazed around in the air. "Meow." "It's time to earn your keep." "Meow?" "Hehehe. We'll talk later." He grinned ominously at his cat. He turned his attention to the others. "Anyway, let's talk about our next steps. We will soon be crossing over into Maynard Fields, right?" Everyone nodded. "Maynard Fields is much more perilous. Not only will the density of asteroids increase, but the larger occurrence of exotic deposits can also spawn occasional anomalies. Regardless of what we face, we need to slow our pace and expand out scouting efforts." They discussed all of the changes they needed to make in order to make sure they traversed the Nyxian Gap safely. Once their discussion finally ended, the projections of Major Verle and Fleet Coordinator Kronon disappeared. Ves turned to Calabast, who had been glancing at him with interest. She had studied all of his habits and behavioral ticks. The way he looked at him right now suggested to her that Ves was thinking of something radical again! "Not here." She said with a touch of resignation. "Let's head somewhere more secure." They moved to a separate space next to her office aboard the Scarlet Rose which she had personally renovated and customized to her tastes. Numerous jammers went active, causing Ves and Calabast to feel a bit discomfited. Lucky hardly took any notice, though. "Okay. Tell me what's on your mind." He grinned. "I may have a means to increase our battle odds against the pirates. To be more exactly, it's my cat who is the key." "Meow?" "Show her, Lucky." "Meow meow." "It's fine. She already knows a lot." Lucky reluctantly turned intangible in front of Calabast. She observed keenly at the partially-transparent mechanical cat as Ves waved his entire hand through the body of his pet. "Go show your other trick." His cat lifted up his paw and tapped the button of his 'collar', causing him to disappear from view! Now, Lucky not only became intangible, but also invisible! This time, Calabast really became astonished! "I see now! This is why he has been able to appear in places where he has no right to be! No wonder why no one is able to detect something as noticeable as a mechanical cat sneaking into heavily-guarded sites." Ves briefly explained what Lucky was able to do. Lucky's ECM and detection capabilities allowed him to circumvent all sorts of electronic surveillance means. While the cat was able to phase through solid matter and remain intangible for an extended amount of time, his stealth power only lasted for 5 minutes before requiring an extensive recharge. Though he expected Calabast to react with disappointment, she instead looked quite hopeful. "With his ability to detect and evade sensors, 5 minutes is enough!" She spoke in admiration. "If it is possible, I'd like to fit him with a customized harness that allows him to carry additional gear. As long as he can carry explosives, poison and other equipment, he can wreak even more havoc once he infiltrated a pirate bulwark!" As far as Ves knew, Lucky should be able to do so if the harness and additional gadgets were small enough. Both Ves and Calabast became more taken in by the idea and enthusiastically discussed how to kit Lucky out and how much they could tack onto his frame! "Meow..." Lucky looked increasingly more uncertain about this whole ordeal. While he liked to dive into forbidden places, he did not relish infiltrating a hostile pirate base or ship all by himself! "There is one problem, though." Ves frowned. "Lucky's flight speed isn't all that fast. It's not realistic to allow Lucky to reach a distant pirate fortification by relying on his own flight capabilities without wasting many hours if not days. We need to prepare a more effective means of delivery." "That's not a problem." Calabast said. "The Jaded Sword carries a Hexer stealth shuttle. Its stealth systems should be more than good enough to remain undetected even at very close ranges." Ves widened his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that?!" "It wasn't necessary to inform you before now. I was afraid you would force my operatives to risk their lives on dangerous infiltration missions. Mind you, the stealth capabilities of the shuttle are impressive, but it's only a vehicle. The real work has to be done by humans, or cats in this case." "That should be enough!" Currently, the task force's scouting efforts only allowed them to observe what was happening in the open and on the surface. There was no way of knowing what the pirates truly kept hidden unless the Larkinsons sneaked someone inside to take a thorough peek. Fortunately, there was truly no better infiltrator than Lucky in the clan! Not only that, he could also act as a formidable saboteur. He could not only be instructed to assassinate critical pirate commanders and officers, but sabotage the potent trump cards they held in reserve against major threats. As long as Ves employed Lucky correctly, they might even be able to recreate some of his father's feats and be able to topple even stronger pirate organizations with ease! "Hahahaha!" Ves laughed. "Let's test this approach on our next target! We should practice and perfect our methods as much as possible. This is going to be brilliant!" "I will need your help to build a good harness for Lucky." "No problem! I need to use up some stealth materials, though." "I have collected some suitable materials. If that isn't enough, you can also repurpose some of the spare parts that came with my stealth shuttle." "Good!"