The Mech Touch

Naturally, Davia Stark objected to being taken away by a stranger. She wanted nothing more than to wallow in her depression in her bare and lifeless accommodation.

She even fought back when a pair of guards from the Avatars of Myth arrived to take her away!

Of course, expert pilot or not, without her mech and force of will, she was no match against armored guards. A spray of sedatives in her face was enough to knock her out.

"Take her away, boys." Ves instructed as he watched his guards put her on a floating stretcher. "Make sure not to harm her or allow her to hurt herself. Restrain her if needed. I'll take care of all the repercussions."

Though his insistence on treating an unwilling patient seemed odd, Ves didn't care.

This was an expert pilot! An undetected one, at that! No matter how far he had to go, he was determined to claim her as his own!

As for pissing her off, Ves would deal with it later. He was confident he could melt her animosity as long as he found a way to reignite her will to live.

As Ves and his entourage boarded their own shuttle and left the farming settlement, they spent some time in fleshing out the charity.

"What's so special about that refugee?" Gavin couldn't help but ask. "You clearly set up this charity solely because you wanted to recruit her. What makes her worth all of this effort?"

Ves smirked at him. "As a Larkinson and a mech designer, I have a good eye for mech pilots. While she's far from her prime, I can already tell that she can be an asset to me. She's very special, so I want my charity to give her the highest care that we can provide in-house."

"You're not planning to send her to a medical center?"

"I'm not letting her go!" He stated. "Make sure to beef up our treatment capabilities. If the medical facilities of the LMC, the Living Sentinels or Avatars of Myth aren't enough, then we'll set up a separate facility. Please expand the charity and make sure that it has a fully-qualified staff and all the necessary equipment to treat wounded veterans."

The Ves Larkinson Foundation for Wounded Veterans had been set up so hastily that it didn't even have a director or a single employee to its name! It was literally an empty shell that existed only in the databases!

During the flight back to the Mech Nursery, Ves and Gavin called numerous people to turn the foundation real.

From contracting a construction company to erect a headquarters in a matter of days to hiring dozens of doctors, nurses and administrators, Ves and subordinates worked frantically to turn the Foundation real!

Even without asking assistance from the Tovars, his existing influence was already strong enough to smooth over any bureaucratic hurdles that could delay the operation of his charity organization.

Within a day, Ves easily managed to obtain the countless permits, medical licenses and certifications required to run a legal charity in the Bright Republic.

Certainly, no one thought much about the Foundation. Everyone else thought that Ves was merely engaging in an act of noblesse oblige to enhance his reputation.

Being known as a philanthropist was a good way to sanitize one's standing in the public. Even the biggest scumbags in the galaxy could turn into generous do-gooder after a decade of investing in good works.

It didn't even matter if the money spent on redeeming their reputation was earned through death and fire!

So long as the crime happened earlier than the act of generosity, then the notoriously forgetful public would inevitably forget about the former!

Ves knew that a lot of members of society engaged in charity for that reason. Though running a charity was a significant burden, nobody begrudged the money spent on this venture.

Philanthropy was one of the few ways where wealthy people could directly convert money into reputation!

They didn't need to spend any further thought on their charity. As long as they put the right people in charge, the charity practically ran itself!

Of course, a charity could also explode in their owner's faces if they put the wrong people in charge. Stories of mismanagement, embezzlement and abuse ran rife in the news.

To prevent his Ves Larkinson Foundation for Wounded Veterans from erupting into scandal, Ves needed the right director to take the helm.

"Since your charity is centered around healing veterans, why not put a Larkinson in charge?" Gavin suggested.

Ves already considered this suggestion for a while. "I'm not sure. It's a good idea on the surface, but the best ones to put in charge are the older veterans in my family. I don't want to appoint a director I can't control."

He wanted someone principled enough to run the Foundation well. He wanted someone flexible enough to keep Davia Stark in their care despite her vehement objections.

Keeping an expert pilot captive against her will was very problematic, after all. Fortunately, her force of will had practically become braindead, so the sensors built to detect resonance strength wouldn't sense anything remarkable.

Even so, if not for his supposedly benign intentions, he would never get away with treating someone against his will.

As Ves considered various names, he realized that he didn't really have a close ally and confidant within the family.

Though he was close to cousins such as Melkor and Melkor, all of them possessed their own principles. They wouldn't compromise their beliefs of what was right in order to help Ves perpetrate something iffy.

Ves rubbed his head in thought. It was impossible to get what he wanted. The best he could do was to select a sycophant and impose strict restrictions on where the Foundation's money should be spent.

"I'll find someone when I get back to the Cloud Estate." He muttered. "There are so many retired Larkinsons hanging around in my home that one of them is bound to be interested in running a foundation."

For now, Ves had no worries about Davia Stark running off due to the necessity of treating her lingering battle injuries. Though they weren't life-threatening, they still caused significant pain.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Stark remained so locked in despair was because her injuries continually tortured her without reprieve.

In order to liberate the woman from her pain, the doctors employed by the Avatars of Myth chose to put her to sleep. This bought Ves some time to strengthen his excuses for keeping Stark under his care.

Unfortunately, he had so much to do that he could hardly spend enough time to fulfill all of his responsibilities.

Between leading the LMC, working on the remaining two variants of the Desolate Soldier, preparing for his next design project, making arrangements for Dr. Lupo, setting up the Foundation in absence of a director, Ves was desperately short on time!

He even stopped sleeping entirely in order to keep up with his work!

After another sleepless night, Ves wearily dragged his body to the dining room at his mansion at the Cloud Estate.

"You're running yourself ragged, Ves." Gloriana remarked with concern. "You have subordinates for a reason, you know. Why don't you delegate your responsibilities to others?"

Ves waved aside her concerns. "It's okay. It'll be better soon. Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson will soon arrive and be able to take the reins of the LMC. I've already interviewed enough retired Larkinsons at the Cloud Estate to make my final selection on the choice of director for my charity. The Militant Soldier is soon ready to enter the prototype phase."

"You should still take a break, though! I haven't seen anyone who works as hard as you! Even I never skip my beauty sleep!"

As the two lovers argued about his sleeping habits, their first breakfast dishes arrived.

While Ves stoically began to shovel what appeared to be a bowl of oatmeal into his mouth, Gloriana froze in shock.

"Wait a minute.. this is not supposed to be on the menu."

Confusion radiated from Gloriana as she inspected the strange bowl of oatmeal. It looked so abnormal that she instantly suspected that something had gone amiss.

She placed a hand on Ves, stopping him from eating his meal.

"Did you replace the chefs I brought here?"

Ves looked puzzled. "Uh, no."

She slammed her palm next to her bowl of oatmeal. "THEN HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS TRAVESTY?!"

"This isn't made by your chefs?"

"No!" Gloriana shrieked and pointed at their bowls. "Just look at these bowls! Where are my six-sided bowls?! And oatmeal?! I've never added this plebeian course to our breakfast menu!"

Ves frowned and looked at his half-empty bowl. "I can't say much about the taste, but it's very filling. It kind of reminds me of a nutrient pack."

"URGHH!" Gloriana practically tore her hair in frustration. "Guards! Inspect the kitchen and bring the chef before me! I want to see who has the temerity to ruin my perfect breakfast!"

Moments later, the guards of the Glory Batallion dragged a familiar-looking man in the dining room.

Dressed in a lab coat but wearing a chef's hat, Dr. Lupo looked completely fearless as he was being held by the arms by a couple of well-armed guards.

"You! Who are you?! Why are you in my kitchen?!"

The exobiologist smiled. "Why, I'm Mr. Larkinson's new chef! It was my turn to cook breakfast for the two of you today!"

Ves scratched his head. "I don't recall assigning you as my personal chef."

"Oh? But that's not what my contract says! You even confirmed my assignment as your chef just yesterday! Don't you recall the document you signed?"

"If I recall, I signed a paper related to your new lab." Ves frowned.

"I slipped in something extra."

"Oh."

Due to his immensely-packed schedule, Ves didn't have the time to read every document. He merely skimmed them before putting his virtual signature on them in order to move on quickly.

His negligence caused Gloriana to become upset. She glared at both him and Dr. Lupo.

"Kick him out! I don't want to see this clown again!"

"Wait, wait!" Lupo shouted. "You're making a big mistake here! I'm not just a chef! I'm an expert in nutrition! Mr. Larkinson, how did you enjoy your first course? I made sure to import the most nutritious ingredients, especially for my new boss here! Are you feeling better now, Mr. Larkinson? That is a sign that the enriched ingredients are already working to reduce your fatigue!"

"Hold on for a moment!" Ves raised his palm. "Don't bring him away just yet. He's my employee, not yours, Gloriana!"

Even if the Glory Battalion guards dragged him away, Ves could just bring him back. There was no point taking Dr. Lupo away for that reason.

Though Gloriana was not amused, she reluctantly relented.

"Halt. Let's hear what he has to say."

When the guards released the man, Dr. Lupo bowed in gratitude. "Thank you. It was difficult to persuade your chefs to stand aside. I had to wave the agreement that Mr. Larkinson signed in their faces in order to gain access to the kitchen. I mean no offense, Miss Wodin."

"Give me one reason to refrain from convincing my boyfriend from kicking you out." Gloriana crossed her arms.

"Just look at Mr. Larkinson right now!"

When Gloriana turned to Ves, he had already slurped the final spoonful of oatmeal.

"Uhh… I couldn't resist." Ves lamely explained himself.

"Do you see how much he enjoys my craft?" Lupo grinned. "My dishes are products of science! I didn't just feed him with high-quality ingredients! As a specialist in nutrition, I treated each and every ingredient according to his unique physical and genetic conditions! Your meals are completely suited to pepper you up and bolster your health! Just sample my oatmeal if you want proof. Don't worry, they're completely safe!"

"You should really have a taste." Ves urged his girlfriend. "It's really delicious."

She didn't immediately sample her oatmeal. Instead, she whipped out her multiscanner and made sure that it didn't contain any toxins or other dangerous substances. Only then did she lift a spoon to her lips.

The moment she tasted Lupo's oatmeal, her eyes widened in delight!