The Mech Touch

Ves and Casella kept talking about the properties and growth methods of her unique abilities, most notably her Command Field and Commandeering ability.

The power to uplift hundreds of friendly mechs and mech pilots without making any complicated and cumbersome preparations beforehand was incredibly powerful!

Master Huron would probably salivate if he learned what the Larkinsons had been able to accomplish with Commander Casella Ingvar and her new Minerva!

In fact, the Fridayman Master couldn't be blamed for botching up the Charlemagne. He had been unable to acquire approval to test this radical new concept on one of the mainstay expert pilots of the Friday Coalition.

The only test subject that his superiors and supervisors deemed acceptable was a defector from a third-rate state.

The Fridaymen wouldn't shed any tears if such a test subject suffered an accident during a risky experiment!

Although Ves had been a lot more reckless by subjecting Casella and many other Larkinsons to the effects of the Minerva straight away, he was always confident when it came to his mechs.

The expert mech's performance ultimately exceeded his expectations and that made him reconsider the value of the Sentinel Commander in his mind.

He looked speculatively at the tired but still powerful expert pilot. Maybe he should slowly bring her into his inner circle and fill her in on some of the secrets he carried around.

"How is your relationship with the Minerva? I can imagine it is good, but it is a masterwork expert mech that I hope will be paired up with you for a long time. If there are any concerns, it is best to handle them now when it is still early."

Casella thought for a moment while she hugged and petted Lucky.

"I don't think I need to mention any issues. My relationship with the Minerva is excellent. The expert mech is truly devoted to me in a way that I never experienced from the Quint. The only shortcoming is that the Minerva's personality is still a bit too young and inexperienced. Sometimes, it makes me feel as if I am raising a child."

That did not sound strange to Ves. "That is natural. While every living mech starts with a certain foundation of personality and attitude, they are always designed to evolve according to the qualities of their pilots. Therefore, the Minerva's relatively bland personality should not be seen as a disadvantage, but must be seen as an opportunity for you to shape your expert mech and train its personality in a way that best compliments your piloting style in the future. You won't have situations like the Quint where you frequently have to fight against its crotchety personality."

"I kind of miss it, to be honest." Casella smirked. "The Quint was an annoying and stressful mech to pilot, but now that I look back on it, all of that antagonization has unintentionally done me a lot of good. I still needed to be straightened out and partnering up with a snarky mech that did not take my position of legion commander into consideration was a good way to sort out the obstacles that prevented me from breaking through."

"Are you thinking about cultivating a more active personality in your Minerva?"

"Hmm, not necessarily, sir. I think it is best not to make any deliberate choices. I will see where the Minerva will take me by piloting it normally."

"That is indeed the safest and most stable choice. If you do not choose to actively guide your living mech's personality, then it will definitely develop the most complimentary traits to you. The only issue is that this is slower than if you make use of deliberate guidance."

Casella had already made up her mind. She shook her head. "As you have said, the Minerva will be my designated mech for the long term. I do not think this process should be hastened and the Minerva already possesses a decent personality."

They moved on to talking about other topics. Ves inquired about Casella's perspective on certain aspects of the Minerva.

"If you can Commandeer or empower non-mechs in the future, then your utility will definitely elevate your role in our clan to the top!"

"I have already tried and failed, sir." Casella firmly shook her head. "I believe my Command Field is only able to latch on to certain people. Those infantry soldiers you brought forward were all difficult to grasp. If I have to describe it, it was as if we didn't have any common ground."

"Well, it makes sense that your Command Field possesses limitations. Your subjects must all be tied to mechs in some way. Your expert mech was also designed with the express purpose of empowering mechs and mech pilots, and combined with your own development as an expert pilot, it is logical that you can't augment other subjects."

This was an annoying limitation and one that severely limited Casella's usefulness in the future.

Ves could think of plenty of situations where her talents could be employed to good effect if she was able to apply them to starships!

However, he had been dreaming too much. There was no way that Casella's Command Field could be exploited to such a ridiculous extent.

Perhaps the story might be different once she broke through to ace pilot, but that was way too far away.

"Do you have any words on the Single Empowerment Resonance Ability?" Ves asked. "It was originally integrated in your mech to create an additional 'expert mech' for free, though I did not expect that the compatibility requirements would be so harsh. If there is a way to improve this, then as long as you grow a lot stronger, you can apply this special ability to empower the expert mechs we most need or do not possess ourselves. For example, we don't have an expert striker mech in our arsenal, but we can take a regular version of this archetype and amplify its strength."

"I can do that, but I do not think it is necessary, sir. So far, I think the best choices for me to apply this ability is the Quint and… my brother's mech."

They were nearing the critical topics of this discussion. What happened at the end was still unclear in many parts. The best way to clear up the uncertainty was to approach Commander Casella and get a first-hand account on what happened from her perspective.

When Ves prodded the Sentinel Commander to describe what had happened with her own words, he leaned back and mulled over the words.

ᰍaꪧda ᱅o᱇ꫀl Everything she said was true, of course. She was an expert pilot and would not lie over trivial matters.

"You gained a good picture of what went on in Imon's mind, right? What did you sense?"

"He… found his way forward by dedicating himself to me." She reluctantly replied. "He has given up his hope to advance into an independent powerhouse that many mech pilots have yearned to become. Instead, he has pinned all of his hopes onto myself. I am incredibly touched by his decision, but… I am wondering whether his obsession is too extreme."

"Every expert pilot has a few screws loose in his or her head." Ves stated with certainty. "It comes with the job. If his conviction is to protect you and fight on your behalf, then he cannot be dissuaded so easily."

Commander Casella grew worried as she heard that. As much as she loved and adored her brother, she did not want his chosen role to turn him into a slave who could not function independently without help.

"Well, if the changes are for the worse, then you have my permission to sort him out, whether through retraining or other means."

Casella grinned a bit. "Thank you. I do not want to get followed around by a stalker all the time. Though I welcome his assistance, I still want him to live his own life."

"How do you think you will be able to cooperate with him in battle?"

"We already know each other's habits and tactics to a good extent. We grew up together and took the same lessons in the mech academy. I already know most of his moves except for the unorthodox ones. It was only later on that we diverged and pursued our own specialties."

"Does empowering your brother and his mech take a lot of effort?" Ves asked.

"Not at all." Casella answered. "My brother and his Blade Chaser have all become highly compatible with my power. Even now, I can vaguely feel him despite not piloting the Minerva at the moment."

"That is a normal consequence of what you have been through. The bond that you have formed with him should be benign and useful going forward. At the very least, you will always know where he is located and vice versa."

Ves continued to ask questions and gained a better understanding of what Commander Casella was capable of. He also clarified a few theories that could be helpful in designing future expert mechs.

He stood up. "You've answered enough questions now. I think it is best for you to sleep and recover your mental condition during sleep. Don't worry about anything else and relax."

"I know. I have already staved off my fatigue too much."

When Ves and Lucky left her recovery room, she had already fallen into slumber.

Ves briefly examined her force of will. Even if her mental energies were depleted, he was still able to sense the attributes of her spirituality.

"Hmmm…"

He wandered over to the treatment room where the doctors had completed what they could do in the realm of the physical.

It was too bad that the Larkinsons did not have much of a clue to repair mental trauma. Only time and positivity could hasten the restoration process.

Imon was not a regular victim, though.

Ves wanted to confirm one of his interesting little theories and that meant determining the Imon's spiritual attributes.

"I thought so. There's a part of his original attributes but there are also newer ones that reminds me of Venerable Jannzi. The result of these changes is that Imon not only possesses strong individual combat power, but can also channel a huge amount of energy with assistance from his sister."

One of the reasons why they were so compatible with each other was that they started off with spiritualities that were a lot better than anything he had seen before.

He still remembered the time where they looked lost and clearly needed help to get away from the Kinner Tribe.

The reason why he went out and recruited them back when he was just a third-rater was because he was attracted by their distinct spiritual potential!

Although the Ingvars developed in ways that Ves did not foresee, their original attributes were still present and in company!

They were made to work together and the latest testing session reinforced this impression further.

Ves would have to make sure that General Verle knew the importance of putting them together. It would be a waste to treat Venerable Imon like an average expert pilot!

He was not certain about how strong Venerable Imon and his Blade Chaser could become after getting augmented by Commander Casella.

Right now, Ves only had a lot of question marks, but did not dare to insult the expert pilots with his precocious personality.

He couldn't wait to conduct his next test but knew that he couldn't rush the injured expert pilots.

Ves had a strong hunch that the two could combine their forces and generate much more power than if they were separate expert pilots!

At that time, the Ingvar siblings would have probably become high-tier expert pilots. Would they be able to stack enough their respective power together that they could harness the power of an ace mech, if only through a loophole?

The notion sounded incredibly unrealistic, but as long as there was a faint chance of truth, Ves' curiosity could not be sated!