[201-400] THE MECH'S TOUCH

Chapter 316: Sister

He should have seen this coming. From what he knew about Raella, she had always behaved as if she had been cast astray from the path she initially set forth on. Her dream was to be a professional mech athlete.

Once she had been cast from the dueling scene, she never really knew what to make of herself. The Larkinsons likely sent her to Ves to find a new goal to work towards. The old fogies on Rittersberg likely wouldn't be glad to hear that she decided to hitch up with one of the most violent and infamous gangs on Bentheim.

"Raella, we've talked about this. You're making a big mistake. You only see the noble side of the Blood Claws. All of that power and wealth is earned through less than savory means. Joining them means you are contributing to the social ills of Bentheim."

"I know all of that! I'm not a naive little girl anymore." Raella grumbled as she pushed away her empty glass. "But you don't see the good they do as well. The Blood Claws sound scary because they want to be feared. If you look underneath how they work, you'll see that they're not so bad as long as you play by their rules."

"Those rules have no leg to stand on in the Republic's laws. Gangs operate in a very different layer of society than the military or the regular private sector. Once you formally join the Blood Claws, you'll shut the door to a legitimate job. There is no way you can remain a Larkinson as well."

"What do you care about it?!" She spat back vehemently. "Is it great to be a Larkinson, when you're consigned to join the Mech Corps from birth? That sounds a lot like slavery to me! Well I've had enough of nagging uncles and aunties telling me what to do. I quit the family!"

Plenty of Larkinsons have distances themselves from the family over the years. Unlike some of the other military dynasties, the Larkinsons have been very relaxed about the issue.

Don't want to be a Larkinson? Okay. We'll update our registry. Henceforth, you are not an official member of the family anymore. Just don't come crying back when you encounter a setback and you don't have a shoulder to lean on. You made your bed.

The choice to quit your family association meant you embraced freedom over duty. The Larkinsons didn't quibble too much over the loss of free-thinking offspring, thinking that it would be better to let them spread their wings rather than hold them captive in a cage. In that regard, if Raella really wanted to cast herself from the family, Ves had no means to prevent her from going through with her choice.

He still found it to be a very bad choice.

"Raella, please, think it over. There are many other outfits you can join instead. If you fancy a rough life, there are many reputable mercenary corps you could choose from. They'd love to employ a Larkinson like you."

She shook her head. "I'm not doing this for the money! You don't understand a single thing what I'm saying! It's like this. I don't fit in with the Larkinsons. They're all so serious about pursuing a career in the Mech Corps. Well, I don't want to be a cog in a machine. What I want is to fight alongside real comrades who I can trust to watch my back. Mercenaries don't cut it. They fight for money and for a cozy retirement."

"Is fighting alongside a bunch of thugs and criminals any better?"

"Hey! They're not all brutes like in the dramas! Many of them are like Fadah and Dietrich. I envy them, you know. All of the Whalers act like brothers to each other. The Blood Claws already treat me like a sister that I feel more welcome in their midst than back at the Larkinson Compound. All I get from cousins like you are snide remarks and disapproving looks. I'm fed up with that!"

Ves understood that he couldn't convince Raella to reconsider her decision. He wasn't a man of eloquence, and neither did he have any experience in dealing with obstinate relatives.