[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 15: Father

The center of the Bright Republic lay in Rittersberg. Though Bentheim surpassed the founding planet with its vibrant economy and liberal housing regulations, Rittersberg still remained the seat of government of the hundred-planet state. Only inherited and distinguished families were allowed to live in its luxurious housing districts.

In one such district, a row of modest villas rested alongside a placid river. In the backyard of one of those villas, a man reclined in a folding chair as he held a fishing pole in front of him. An empty bucket lay beside him, waiting for fishes to carry back home.

An aircar approached the guarded district. After the local defense systems checked its transponders and scanned the vehicle for any threats, it approved the vehicle's approach. The aircar smoothly descended onto the landing pad next to the garage.

The door opened to reveal the chiseled face of a man in uniform. The man marched briskly towards the back, as if already aware the occupant of the villa spent his time there.

"Father."

Benjamin Larksinson turned his gaze away from the bobber and beheld the new arrival. "Ark. As carefree as ever I see. You've even taken the time to visit your dear old dad. How are the kids?"

"Rambunctious as ever." The uniformed man smiled a little as he loosened up. "I don't know how you managed to raise all seven of us."

"I had a good wife, as do you, Ark. No matter how much the service takes up your time, don't forget your family. You can do anything if the happiness of your wife and children are at stake. It's half the reason why I made it this far."

Ark nodded. "Speaking of which, I might have news of my elder brother."

"Ryncol... I have no idea what he's embroiled himself with. He's always been the most reticent of you bunch. He loves his own son like a treasure, so why did he not come to me? Does he think I will treat him any less? Pah."

"We've spent some time digging into Ryncol's movements of the last year before he disappeared. There's a couple of times when he went off the grid. I suspect he went incognito in order to visit a conflict zone. Accounting for travel time, It should match the times he couldn't be traced."

Benjamin grimaced at those words. "Pirates. What has my boy done now? I didn't raise any of you to make dealings with the scum of the galaxy."

"The trail ends there, unfortunately. We don't possess enough information to infer which conflict zone Ryncol frequented. We're analyzing all of the data devices he left behind, but he's been very disciplined with the trails he left behind, so we're not expecting much from those sources."

Sighing, Benjamin closed his eyes as he leaned back on his chair. "Tell me about my grandson."

"There are some anomalies surrounding Ves that paint a suspicious picture. While he had been an unremarkable student in the Rittersberg University of Technology, he's performing above average in the month-and-a-half that he's been active so far. It's as if he's given wings now that he's free."

Benjamin smiled at the report. "I always expected Ves to catch up to his potential once he got over his inability to join our career path. I'm glad he finally found his way and embrace his role in the world."

"The financing still remains troublesome. Despite receiving a production license grant, Ves is unable to leverage this asset. If nothing unexpected happens, he will fail to meet his impending interest payment. Father... will you give him a hand if he's come up short?"

"No. Not even at the very last moment. Ryncol went through the trouble of procuring those loans, so we should see his plans through the end. I don't believe he has lost grip of his son even if he's indisposed."