The Mech Touch

When Patriarch Reginald Cross entered the workshop, he stopped and observed the mech designers at work.

Ves, Gloriana, Juliet, Sara and Professor Benedict had all become engrossed in their own tasks!

With the final parts of the Minerva Project being made, the fabrication run was soon ready to move on to the assembly phase.

After seeing how productive the mech designers had become, Patriarch Reginald gave them an approving nod before he strode forward.

He did not want to disrupt the ongoing work, so he kept a lower profile and made sure that his distinct aura did not affect any of the mech designers.

"Brutus." Patriarch Reginald greeted his fellow expert pilot. "Are you impressed?"

"How could I not? My sister is always at her best when she is fulfilling the purpose she has dedicated her entire life towards. I am happy and envious towards Commander Casella Ingvar. She will definitely be happy with the mech she is about to receive."

Patriarch Reginald nodded after he observed the mech designers a bit more. "I don't understand anything about building mechs, but I can sense the fighting spirit in these mech designers. That is always a good sign. These are not people who are going through the motions. They are putting their all in order to practice what they love the most. That is not a sight that I have seen every day."

Both expert pilots were impressed by what they were witnessing. As pilots who resided on carriers all the time, they had seen plenty of instances where mech technicians and mech designers worked on different mech-related tasks.

However, that was all routine work that hardly fired up the workers. To them, servicing or fabricating a mech was routine work. As long as they put in the hours and as long as they did not completely slack off, the mechs that passed through their hands would be fine.

There was no pressing need for them to exert more effort into their work. As long as they were familiar with the steps they needed to take, it was practically impossible for them to make a mech stronger than normal. Even if they had the talent to do a better job, it was too difficult for their efforts to yield drastic differences, especially in the case of mass-produced mechs. ᴾᵃⁿᵈᵃ ⁿᵒᵛᵉˡ

Ordinary workers didn't even dream of creating a masterwork mech from their own hands! The prerequisites were so insanely high that not even Seniors could produce them just because they wanted to. Why should they even entertain the notion of creating a work that could define the rest of their careers?

This was why the current group of mech designers stood out so much. Their eyes were all lighting up and they did not show any signs of boredom.

Furthermore, they all directed their full attention to their work as if every little step mattered. They looked so diligent and serious about their craft that Patriarch Reginald thought that his confidence in them was vindicated.

To him, not even Master Mech Designers showed as much passion in their work!

He still recalled the time when the high and mighty Masters contracted by the old clan developed his Bolvos Rage.

Though they showed great care and enthusiasm when it came to designing his powerful father's ace mech, they treated every other project like a more ordinary commission. Pa nda

Novel While these mech designers did what they were asked to do, Reginald never saw them put all of their heart and soul in the design and fabrication of the Bolvos Rage. Those aloof Masters had already made too many mechs to get excited at the thought of making another one, even if it was an expert mech.

Compared to the treatment he received back then, the care and enthusiasm displayed by these bunch of brats truly surprised the Cross Patriarch.

Even if their design capabilities were not as refined as that of centuries-old Masters, their unrestrained ambitions and their fearlessness in the face of the odds reminded Patriarch Reginald of the toughest battles that he had fought in his life.

Years ago, he and his fellow Crossers fought like hell in order to break out of the Garlen Empire and escape their pursuers!

Through a combination of grit and an unwillingness to let his enemies have their way, Patriarch Reginald succeeded in overcoming the many opponents he fought and found a way for the remnants of the Cross Clan to flee into the Komodo Star sector.

Though those desperates were long in the past to him and his fellow veterans, the memories of that hell march still defined them in many ways.

Not only had they been tested in the toughest circumstances, they also learned that they could beat any powerful opponent as long as they fought hard enough!

It was this sort of attitude that Patriarch Reginald had always relied upon to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

He believed that such an attitude could also produce the same result in a mech workshop!

This was why he did not look down at all on these Larkinson mech designers. Their previous expert mechs fully showcased their passion and their willingness to put in every effort they could muster in their work!

If other mech designers routinely exerted 60 to 90 percent of their effort into a typical project, Patriarch Reginald could always count on people like Ves and Gloriana to put in at least 95 percent of their effort!

This percentage grew even higher when they were working on mechs that were designed for their clansmen. Their urge to protect their family was strong and a powerful expert command mech like the Minerva Project could have a massive influence on how many clansmen might fall in the next battle.

When Patriarch Reginald shared his thoughts, Venerable Brutus looked thoughtful.

The latter looked down at the crib where his cute little niece was sleeping. She looked especially cozy when Clixie was cuddling up alongside her tiny body.

"You're right, patriarch. Now that I have noticed it, my sister and the others are working on the Minerva Project as if they are fighting a battle that determines the survival of our fleet."

"That is a given. Each of them are residing in the same fleet as us. The mechs they make not only protect their family, but also themselves. There aren't many mech designers who are willing to venture into the more dangerous parts of the frontier. It is difficult to imagine that this group of mech designers would feel as urgent if they are all working in a safe and well-protected design lab on Davute or another settled planet. When they don't have to brave the same dangers as us, they don't have to work as hard anymore. This is yet another reason why I respect these mech designers. With their skills and accomplishments, it would be natural for them to retreat to the rear, but they have decided to stay aboard this fleet despite all of the risks."

Although the Larkinson mech designers were already accustomed to this, their behavior was way outside the norm.

High-ranking mech designers were extremely precious. It took a huge amount of learning and dedication for Journeymen and Seniors to emerge. Why should they put their lives at risk when their presence on the battlefield wasn't needed?

Mech designers made their contributions before a battle began! Once the fighting was about to commence, it was the job of the mech pilot to shoulder most of the burdens.

It said a lot to people like Patriarch Reginald that nerds like Patriarch Ves and Professor Benedict were willing to accompany their own troops despite the risks to their lives.

To the Cross Patriarch, these mech designers were soldiers even if they didn't see themselves in this way!

It was because of their high dedication towards their work and their own organizations that Patriarch Reginald readily agreed to put a huge amount of wealth and resources at their disposal in order to develop the Mars Project.

There was no better guarantee to the success of the Mars Project than putting their lives and future on the line!

The two expert pilots continued to chat with each other as they observed the mech designers pumping out components from their machines. The sight was rather magical to them as they had no clue how to operate all of the complicated industrial equipment.

If they attempted to do this work themselves, they were liable to make the machines explode!

The more Benedict and Brutus the ongoing work, the more they envied Commander Casella for the treatment that her expert mech received.

"This expert mech will change the way we fight our battles going forward." Brutus remarked. "I've never fought alongside a command mech, let alone one that is made for an expert pilot. I've learned what the Minerva Project can do from Gloriana. If she hasn't exaggerated her claims, then the combat effectiveness of the rank-and-file of the Larkinson Army will skyrocket."

Patriarch Reginald looked envious for a moment. "In my former state, we believed in the supremacy of our champions, so we never bothered to cultivate expert pilots with command specializations. Not that it would have mattered that much as the difficulty of producing them is extremely high. The Larkinson Clan is lucky that it can add one to our defense force."

Neither of them thought that their respective organizations would be able to catch up to the Larkinson Clan on this aspect. It was simply too difficult to purposefully nurture a mech officer into an expert pilot and also ensure that the pilot in question was willing to sacrifice individual combat power in order to act as a force multiplier!

As both of the expert pilots thought about what the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan could do in order to close the gap to the Larkinson Clan, the situation in the workshop changed.

Shortly after Ves tapped his hammer on Sara Voiken's head, the mech designers all became energized!

Alexandria became livelier as the rush of euphoria from Sara Voiken spread to the other mech designers through her active design network.

This not only pumped the rest up, but also fed their positive outbursts back into the design network where they subsequently rippled out to each other.

Through this powerful interaction, Ves, Gloriana, Juliet and even Benedict became a lot more fired up! With Sara Voiken leading the way this time, the work on the Minerva Project gained an extra push!

Though Reginald and Brutus still didn't understand what had happened, their strong intuitions and their keen observations told them that the chances that the Minerva Project would turn into a remarkable product had increased!

"We are blessed." Venerable Brutus wistfully remarked.

"Oh?"

"We are blessed by the opportunity to get close to a mech designer like Patriarch Ves. He not only made all of his wonderful mechs possible, but also serves as the glue that holds us all together. Without him and his passion for mech design, no one would have imagined that mechs such as my Star Dancer Mark II or this upcoming Minerva Project could even be turned into reality."

"I feel the same way. We are indeed lucky to befriend and enlist the services of Patriarch Ves. If he is already this capable in his thirties, imagine what he could do when he becomes a hundred years old. Maybe even ace pilots will seek to commission their mechs from the Larkinsons!"

This was an absurd notion and one that Reginald would never dream about under ordinary circumstances.

Professor Benedict who was much further along this journey than the Larkinson mech designers might be impressive in his own right, but he didn't instill the same sense of confidence that he could produce a dazzling work some day.

As for the Larkinson Patriarch? Brilliant machines such as the Amaranto, the Shield of Samar and the Everchanger already serve as examples of his ability to exceed his limits!

"I wonder if the Minerva Project will join their ranks soon."