The Mech Touch

He spent two whole hours discussing his short to medium-term goals with his confidantes.

Though Raymond, Gavin and Calsie questioned most of his decisions, Ves did not change his mind. His recent 'vacation' gave him plenty of time to sort out his priorities.

For now, his overarching goals were to keep himself alive and free while doing his best to gain the approval of both Madame Constance Wodin and the Rim Guardian Fraternity.

Both of them formed the keys to enable his grand expedition, especially the latter!

After making sure that his confidantes knew what they had to do, Ves left his office and descended to the underground and highly-secure design labs.

Two design teams as well as a group of Larkinson students greeted his arrival.

Ves noted with surprise that all five Tovar mech designers chose to follow him to the Ylvaine Protectorate rather than stay in the Bright Republic.

"The Tovar Family still wishes to maintain relations with you." Miles Tovar humbly explained. "If you will accept our continued presence, then Senator Tovar and the rest of our Family will keep looking out for your interests in the Bright Republic."

Miles spoke plainly, perhaps aware that Ves had no patience for duplicity.

Though Ves did not really want to tangle with the Tovar Family any further, it wasn't wise to cut off this relationship.

While he no longer depended on the founding family's support, the LMC still possessed a hefty presence in the Bright Republic. Many workers refused the offer to move to the Ylvaine Protectorate, which meant that the Mech Nursery at Cloudy Curtain and the offices and manufacturing complexes at Bentheim were still viable.

As long as the crisis of the Sand War subsided, those facilities could get back in operation and resume the production of silver label LMC mechs.

Since the LMC no longer focused on the Bright Republic, it became even more important to secure backing that could watch over these sites.

Another consideration was the old family. The majority of the Larkinsons declined to join the new family. Most of them were already happy with their current trajectories and had no desire to upend their lives.

In order to protect them against the plots and schemes of the power players in the Bright Republic, Ves wanted the Tovar Family to continue to watch over his ignorant relatives.

Naive and unambitious they might be, they were still family to him. Despite their recent disagreements and separation, he always considered both branches of the family to be tied.

Even if Ves was determined to lead his side of the family in a new direction, he could never shed his affection for his grandfather and the other Larkinsons he was close with or befriended over the years.

He also continued to respect the noble calling that the stubborn traditionalists continued to abide by. Idiots they may be sometimes, Ves could not fault them for their unflinching loyalty and dedication to the state.

It was a shame that some of the Larkinsons he liked such as Melinda and Raella Larkinson decided to stick to their current careers in the Bright Republic.

Perhaps Ves would never see them again once he truly left the Komodo Star Sector.

He turned his attention back to his design teams. After affirming his willingness to continue hosting and guiding Miles and the other Tovar mech designers, Ves moved on to his second design team.

Ketis was absent, which disappointed Ves a bit. His recent preoccupation with Gloriana and other matters left him with too little time to spend on his first student.

He forgot that he was supposed to bring a pet to her. Ves had genuinely been too busy to find a suitable pet.

He swore to make it up to Ketis.

While he missed her company, Ves also felt proud that Ketis was confident enough to branch out and blaze her own trail. He sporadically received reports on her recent activities and he was glad she grew close to Raella Larkinson.

His feisty cousin was definitely a good fit for Ketis! Ves did not have to worry about his student getting into trouble with no one to bail her out.

So why was there a second design team at all? Ves had already instructed the LMC to employ a couple of new mech designers.

Ves inspected each of the newcomers. From the worship and respect in the eyes of four of them, he immediately identified them as Ylvainans.

Considering his popularity in the Ylvaine Protectorate, thousands of mech designers fanatically knocked on the LMC's doors to apply to join its design teams!

Yet Ves had already issued a very firm command back when he was still escaping from the Friday Coalition. The LMC did not need any talented or ambitious mech designers. What the company needed the most were those who were willing to remain loyal to Ves and the LMC regardless if they stayed or left the Ylvaine Protectorate!

For this reason, the LMC slowed down its recruitment and meticulously sorted the applications until they settled for four Ylvainan mech designers who were willing to sign extremely restrictive employment contracts to work under Ves!

While the LMC could have hired hundreds of eager Ylvainan mech designers at once, it would be impossible for Ves to control them all! It was better to adopt a measured pace and integrate the newcomers in batches.

Another reason to restrict the LMC's recruitment pace was to limit the amount of Ylvainan mech designers in its design team. Ves refused to turn his mech company into an Ylvainan organization. If he did not set this limitation, then everyone around him would soon sing the Great Prophet's praises! That was not what Ves wanted to see!

"Please introduce yourselves." Ves curtly instructed. "Start with your names and specialization. I need to know what you are capable of. Since you managed to pass the LMC's recruitment process, I trust that all of you are competent in your own fields. I don't employ useless mech designers."

Despite the ominous warning, the Ylvainan mech designers only had respect in their eyes!

"Oscar DiMartin, Apprentice Mech Designer. Specialized in efficient musculature design, Your Excellency."

The first person who spoke was the oldest of the bunch by far. Ves estimated Oscar's age to be in the mid-forties. He already appeared to be in charge of the second design team, which was a very convenient surprise.

That last bit made Ves frown. Being referred to as 'Your Excellency' sounded awfully close to being called 'Your Holiness', which was the proper way to address a Holy Son of the Five Scrolls Compact!

"We'll be having none of that 'Your Excellency' nonsense here." Ves firmly commanded.

The four Ylvainans looked confused.

"Your Excellency, you are a saint of the Ylvainan Faith! The Poxco Dynasty has already declared—"

"—The Poxco Dynasty doesn't speak on my behalf! Just call me as if I'm a regular mech designer or citizen."

"Then.. Mr. Larkinson?" Oscar apprehensively ventured.

Ves nodded in satisfaction. "That sounds better."

The introductions resumed after this minor interruption.

"Renee Zelin, Apprentice Mech Designer. I excel in programming mech operating systems."

A software specialist! Ves immediately lit up! He recalled the missing and presumably dead Alloc Brandtstad of the 6th Flagrant Vandals. Ves learned first-hand how much value a software specialist could add to a design team.

"I'll be counting on you to optimize the operating systems of our upcoming mech designs."

"I will endeavor to meet your expectations, sir!"

The next woman introduced herself.

"Erica Sprint, Apprentice Mech Designer. I specialize in light mechs."

"That's not specific enough. What exactly about light mechs fascinates you? What value do you bring to my design team?"

"I am good in maximizing mobility." Erica described. "Light mechs embody speed, acceleration and agility. Balancing these aspects while making sure the design doesn't become too fragile is a very interesting challenge to me. My works have always boasted superior mobility compared to some of my peers."

That sounded very interesting to Ves.. if designing light mechs was all he did. This was not the case, however.

"Are you aware that the LMC isn't limited to designing light mechs? Are you still able to contribute to projects centered around more massive mechs?"

"That won't be a problem, sir. I can still leverage my expertise on mobility onto heavy mechs if necessary."

She sounded confident to pass his test, so Ves did not concern himself with her specialty any longer. Since the LMC decided to hire her in the first wave, then she was definitely capable!

The fourth Ylvainan mech designer finally had his turn.

"Pascal Curin. Apprentice Mech Designer. I specialize in heavy armor systems."

Ves wanted to scratch his head. Was it a coincidence that he got both a light mech and a heavy mech specialist?

"Does that mean you work exclusively on heavy mechs?"

"Not exactly, sir." Pascal respectfully replied. "I am capable of working with any armor system of any thickness, but the heavier they are, the more I can do. I am very comfortable with optimizing the armor systems of medium defensive mechs such as your Blackbeak design."

"I see. That sounds satisfactory."

After hearing out the four Ylvainan mech designers, he finally turned to the fifth and only non-Ylvainan in the second design team.

"Mayer Torto. Novice Mech Designer. I intend to specialize in communication and control systems, but I still require more study to flesh out my specialization."

"What a welcome surprise to see you here. It's a long distance away from your home. Did you finally graduate from Rawlings University, or did you drop or something?"

The mild-looking mech designer nodded. "I studied extra hard to finish my semester early. I am still committed to working for you. Even in the Sentinel Kingdom, my former classmates and I have heard of your accomplishments!"

Ves was a pretty famous mech designer in the star sector, now. His Desolate Soldier and Deliverer designs both affected the Sand War to such an extent that it was impossible to leave him out the conversation!

This explained by Mayer Torto decided to take the risk to travel al lthe way to the Ylvaine Protectorate immediately after he graduated early.

He was shrewd enough to determine that he might be able to ride on Ves' coattails!

Ves respected such determination, though it also indicated that Mayer possessed a strong ambition.

After all, with two wars raging throughout the star sector, it took a lot of courage for an elite Rawlings graduate to leave the safety and comfort of the Sentinel Kingdom for a state that was still under active attack by the sandman race!

"As long as you do your part, I'll take good care of you." Ves spoke gently to Mayer.

Mayer Torto ranked higher than all of the Ylvainan mech designers in his heart. This was because Mayer was the only mech designer in the second design that possessed spiritual potential!

Though Ves found it to be a shame that Oscar and his fellow Ylvainans in the designed lacked the potential to advance to Journeyman and higher, he didn't really require them to grow too much.

The primary responsibility of a design team was to assist the lead designer in completing his design projects. They addressed all of the lesser design issues and solved all of the trivial problems that didn't require the expertise of a high-ranking mech designer.

From this perspective, it made little difference whether a design team contained a Journeyman or not. In fact, Ves deliberately commanded the LMC to reject any applications from Journeymen and Seniors!

If Ves wanted to, he could probably hire at least Senior to join the LMC, but that was not what he wanted to see!

Not only would he not be able to exert enough control on them, but it was an industry standard for high-ranking mech designers to be remunerated with equity!

The last thing Ves wanted to do was to dilute his stock or pass some off to other mech designers!

Even if a devout Ylvainan Senior went on his knees and begged the Bright Martyr to take him on for free, Ves would steadfastly refuse!

To him, maintaining control mattered the most!