The Mech Touch

"I'm telling you, Raella! Some good old-fashioned mech duels are indispensable to a good show!"

Director Raella Larkinson shoved Vincent aside. "Your suggestion is noted. I will make sure to consider your input carefully before I throw it in the trash."

"Come on! Why don't you agree? The mech athletes in our clan are jumping at the opportunity to impress the wedding guests!"

"I SAID NO, OKAY?! Many of our guests are Hexers or visitors from other second-rate states. They'll laugh at us when we try to entertain them with duels between third-class mechs."

"Then why aren't we duelling with second-class mechs instead?"

"We're not good enough yet! Rather than embarrassing ourselves, we should impress the guests in other ways. Parading around the captured warships and showing off our expert pilots is enough to earn their respect. There is no need for us to paint ourselves as clowns by showing off our weak and pathetic mechs."

"The Adonis Colossus is not weak and pathetic! He's a masterpiece!"

Raella glared extra hard at Vincent. "My decision is final. Besides, even if you managed to convince me, you still have to go through Gloriana. Let me tell you that she thinks even less of our mech games circuit."

With all of the focus towards the military side of the Larkinson Clan, the leisure side received relatively little attention.

The more serious clansmen still saw Raella's efforts as trivial, but she knew her investment would eventually pay off in the future.

The main reason why the Larkinsons didn't yearn too much for in-house entertainment was because they had easy access to an entire planet. Off-duty Larkinsons frequently took a shuttle ride to the cities of Cinach VI. There, they could attend much grander arena matches or go out at some amazing venues.

Yet once the grand expedition truly started, every Larkinson needed to get used to living most of their lives aboard ships. The carriers, transports, logistical ships and so on provided much less venues for entertainment.

At that time, Raella believed the Larkinson Championship Series would become the primary form of group entertainment for her fellow clansmen. Compared to most forms of virtual entertainment, a competitive circuit that not only took place in realspace but was rooted in the clan should be able to capture the imagination of many Larkinsons!

"Am I right, Minxie?"

"Nyeow~"

The elegant white cat resting on her lap squinted her eyes and rubbed her furry head against Raella.

As Raella laid some plans for the future while ignoring Vincent's complaints, elsewhere another Larkinson contemplated his future.

After presiding over an exhaustive meeting that dealt with the reorganization and expansion of the Avatars of Myth, Melkor Larkinson wandered off to a large mech workshop. After passing through the mandatory security checks, he entered the enormous hall.

A large number of heavily-damaged mechs that Task Force Predator hadn't been able to restore were being reconstructed by hundreds of industrious mech technicians. A handful of low-ranking mech designers diligently planned out the repairs while the chief technicians made sure their men followed their instructions.

Off to the side, a team of Braves and Erudites were personally caring over a special mech.

While the Quint was still in fighting shape when it returned to Cinach, its condition had deteriorated. A lot of smaller issues and microcracks had formed that might not impact its performance now, but would lead to severe problems in the future.

In order to make sure the mech retained its masterwork quality, the clan had to provide it with excellent care.

Several teams of notable mech designers such as Rina Orion, Felicia Slenn and Oscar DiMartin reverentially disassembled the exceptional machine and serviced its parts.

"How is the work proceeding?"

"It's going well, sir, though we're running behind schedule." Merrill O'Brian answered. "The Quint is not a regular Bright Warrior mech. We would rather err on the side of caution than ruin one of the Miracle Couple's best works."

The majestic mech that was still assigned to Venerable Joshua deserved the best treatment that the Larkinson Clan could offer. Strictly speaking, Ves and Gloriana should have been working on the mech in person, but they were far too busy to perform this kind of work.

The lead designers entrusted the responsibility of maintaining the mechs assigned to the expert pilots to their assistants.

While Melkor wasn't able to judge the quality of their work, so far the Quint did not appear to have suffered. That was good.

"Excuse me, commander, but this is the third time you have come to inspect the Quint in the last three days."

"So?"

Melkor raised his eyebrow. It was too bad that his large visor hid this gesture.

"The Quint is no longer under the purview of the Avatars of Myth." Merrill flatly stated. "Venerable Joshua Larkinson and his Bright Companions have been transferred to the Hall of Heroes. Frankly speaking, the condition of the masterwork mech is none of your business anymore."

The Avatar Commander smiled wryly. "I am aware of that. I still can't stop myself from coming back. I'll be seeing this mech a lot less once Venerable Joshua settles on another berth. Hopefully, once he obtains his expert mech, the Quint will become free."

"Are you.. hoping to become its next mech pilot?"

"I can't hide it from anyone, huh? You're guess is right."

"It's not much of a guess when everyone here can see how much you yearn to pilot it. Even I get amazed at how this mech just comes together in a way that none of the other machines can match. You're not a mech designer, so you don't fully understand the brilliance of what we see. It's a privilege to work on such a sublime mech."

"I hope you will take good care of it, because I will fight to be its next mech pilot." Melkor spoke with determination. "I've saved up all of my merits and refrained from spending it anywhere else. I hope Ves will grant my request even if my Avatars haven't performed fantastically well during the Nyxian Gap Campaign."

After spending years on establishing the Avatars of Myth as the premier mech troop of the Larkinson Clan, his personal development as a mech pilot had suffered. It was impossible for him to match the training intensity of every other Avatar mech pilot when he had to be in charge all the time.

Yet in his heart, he still hadn't forgotten his identity as a mech pilot. Whenever he encountered Venerable Joshua or Venerable Tusa, he wanted to be like them. He would eagerly give up his position as Avatar Commander if he was able to become an expert pilot!

"You should wait before you make any hasty requests." Merrill advised. "The clan patriarch has made it clear to us that the Quint is no longer a mech to be piloted lightly. He is personally in charge of deciding who gets to pilot it, and he has already told us that only expert candidates are eligible."

Her words instantly collapsed half of Melkor's dreams!

"Why?"

"You would have to ask our patriarch about that. From what I see, the Quint and a number of other LMC mechs that have survived the Nyxian Gap Campaign are.. different. They are stronger and greater than the mechs that have always been in use here in Cinach. I think that these machines may have been the reason why our clan has welcomed the likes of Venerable Joshua."

Her views only fueled Melkor's desire to pilot the Quint! Wasn't it good that the masterwork mech facilitated Venerable Joshua's rise? What if he received the opportunity to pilot this great machine?

Though Melkor understood the logic of letting the expert candidates pilot the Quint instead, the selfish part of him wanted to seek out Ves right away!

"Hold your horses, commander." Merrill grasped his arm. "The Quint is a fine mech, but it's design doesn't completely fit a mech pilot such as you. It's better off in the hands of someone who is skilled in more aspects of mech combat. Our clan will soon have something better in store."

"Such as what?"

"The successor to the Crystal Lord."

Melkor frowned. "I've heard about that. I'm no longer interested in piloting third-class mechs."

"I think you'll find the second version of the Crystal Lord to be a lot more impressive than you think. Besides, just like the Quint and the other mechs of the expert pilots, you can ask the Miracle Couple to customize a mech that fits your needs."

That sounded a bit more interesting to Melkor. "Tell me more."

As the two discussed his potential options, some Wodins were gathering some distance away.

Constance Wodin greeted her oldest two daughters as she studied a projection of the hexagonal-shaped wedding platform.

Every single detail had to be as precise and flawless as possible to do her youngest's wedding justice!

"Mother." Amarintha Wodin spoke first. "We have studied the changes taking place in the Larkinson Clan ever since the boy returned."

"Report." The imperious woman spoke.

"The Larkinson Clan is accelerating its preparations to embark on a grand expedition. Their current focus lies in recruiting high-skilled mech pilots and other personnel as well as accumulating supplies suited for extended journeys."

The three Wodin women were disappointed at this development.

"So Ves Larkinson truly intends to leave." Constance wearily remarked.

"He's too rebellious for his own good." Kellandra gritted her teeth. "Gloriana hasn't done a good job at restraining him. In fact, she's letting him run free!"

Constance raised her hand, causing her second daughter to fall silent.

"We have talked about this. We cannot apply our standards to the boy and his clan. They are foreigners, not Hexers. It may be difficult to accept this truth, but for the sake of our daughter, let us not spoil our relationship with the Larkinsons."

Amarintha reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Mother is right. We're not used to this, but we aren't dealing with other Hexers anymore."

Dealing with foreigners on an equal basis was something new to the Hexers. To them, foreigners either meant Fridaymen or lessers. In both cases, the Hexers were used to issuing demands.

"Kellandra, what have you learned from the movements of their high-ranking mech pilots?"

"They're trying out something different. Rather than keeping their expert pilots attached to their units, the Larkinsons have set up a Hall of Heroes where they will preside from now on. Strangely enough, control over them is very loose. They can do as much or as little as they want, but if they want to obtain rewards such as upgrading their expert mechs, they have to earn merits like the rest of their clansmen."

"How.. Fridaymen of them." Her sister reacted with contempt. "This is straight out of the playbook of the Fortune Legion. Rather than keeping his expert pilots under control, the boy intends to incentivize them as if he were a merchant."

"He's a mech designer and a businessman. You can't expect anything better from such a greedy boy."

"His greed played an essential role in his success. While we Hexers are accustomed to taking orders from those who are older and wiser from us, the debased people of the rest of the galaxy can only be manipulated by acting on their material desires." Constance lightly rebuked her daughters. "Now, what is the state of our Glory Seekers?"

"They are fully ready to accompany the Larkinson Clan." Kellandra answered. "We have made sure to add plenty of civilian personnel to their ranks. Once they reach the Red Ocean, they can establish a Hexer colony in the new galaxy whenever they find the right opportunity. Gloriana will have her kingdom if she so desires."

"Gloriana has always been ambitious. If the Larkinson Clan cannot keep her safe, then the Glory Seekers cannot fail."

"We know, mother. While there are limits to what the Glory Seekers can bring, Brutus will make sure that Gloriana is well-cared for. He's a good boy."

"That he is." Constance smiled.