The Mech Touch

When Ranya and Gloriana left the compartment, the manifestation of Brutus' will no longer became constrained.

The protective blankets that his force of will draped around his family turned into a formless field that suffused the entire lounge with his pressure!

His intense protectiveness changed the very nature of the air around them, turning it into a domain where his will prevailed!

Of course, these tricks did not affect Ves the slightest. As a Journeyman, his mind was not as defenseless as other humans, and the oppression radiating from Brutus hardly affected his stability.

Though Ves did not actively fight back against the pressure, the fact that he managed to stay solid earned a rare bout of respect from the expert pilot.

This was enough for Brutus to look at Ves in a different manner.

He decided to be direct. "Let me ask you plainly, Larkinson. Do you love my sister?"

"I do." Ves replied. In order to express his sincerity, he opened his mind and focused towards all of the moments he shared with his girlfriend. "I love Gloriana. I love her company, her enthusiasm, her passion and her smile. I love her so much that I'm willing to become an enemy to the Friday Coalition! I did not hesitate in resisting Lady Curver's unsolicited advances! In order to return to Gloriana, I killed dozens of the Fridaymen and stole one of their ships! Don't forget that I did this all by myself! Can you imagine the depths a mech designer like me will go to remain faithful to the love of my life?"

His argument appeared to sway Brutus a bit.

While he took some liberties with the truth, Ves was truly being sincere in his love towards Gloriana! His entire mind and body radiated the earnest feelings he cherished in his heart.

This outward expression made contact with Brutus' force of will, allowing him to vaguely sense that Ves was being entirely truthful.

Ves truly loved Gloriana! This was not in doubt!

From this, Brutus understood that Ves was not trying to take advantage of Gloriana. Plenty of third-raters tried to marry second-raters in order to improve their station in life. It was such a common occurrence that Brutus had already put Ves in this category beforehand.

Yet now that he met Ves in person, Brutus found out that his sister's relationship was much more intertwined than he thought.

He cared about his sister. It would have been easy if Ves was just scheming to take advantage of Gloriana and the Wodins. Yet if both Ves and Gloriana were sincere towards each other, then trying to break them apart would harm the later enormously!

Brutus knew his sister pretty well! How could he not know she was absolutely committed to this relationship?!

"I respect what you have accomplished." He conceded towards Ves. "For a third-rater, and a civilian no less, you managed to resist the Fridaymen, and did not show any hesitation in doing so. For that, you are a friend to our state."

Ves proudly straightened his back and patted his chest! "I'm a Larkinson. While our family is not as powerful as the Wodins, there is fire in my blood and honor in my bones! I will do anything to protect Gloriana!"

Surprisingly, this answer did not have the effect that Ves intended. Rather than earn Brutus' respect, the expert pilot became more grave.

Ves immediately sensed the change became the oppression from Brutus' force of will increased!

"I worry about your influence on my sister." Brutus said while boring his eyes at Ves. "You aren't born a Hexer. You are a stranger to our beliefs and our customs. The number six is meaningless to you. You don't respect women as much as genuine Hexers. Above all, you have never been tamed!"

If proper Hexer boys could be likened to well-behaved dogs, then Ves was a feral mutt who was liable to hit any hand that attempted to feed him! Such a rabid dog ought to be wiped out before he could do more damage!

Ves realized his mistake. Hexers respected ferocity, but only from women!

This was because the Hexers believed in the myth that women were smarter, wiser and more in control of themselves!

A ferocious woman was a good thing, because she could be trusted to channel her energy productively.

A ferocious boy was a bad thing, because boys were too impulsive and immature to take the greater picture into account!

The more Ves portrayed himself as a strong and assertive man, the more Hexers believed he was a deadly beast who could lose control at any time!

Still, now that he had uttered his words, he could hardly take them back. Ves had been largely sincere up to now, so if he became less honest, Brutus would definitely be able to tell the difference somehow!

"Gloriana is a great mech designer, but she can't design the mechs she wants alone." Ves changed the subject.

"I don't believe that." Brutus crossed his arms and rejected his assertion. "There are so many mech designers that there are doubtlessly more mech designers who can benefit her as well. Even if it turns out you are the only mech designer in the Komodo Star Sector who compliments her well, she can always find someone better from another star sector! There are a myriad of star sectors to choose from, and I don't believe there is no one in the entire galaxy who can fit her better than you! Even if there is no one suitable in the Milky Way Galaxy, then I will not hesitate to find a way to bring her to the Red Ocean to continue our search!"

"You Hexers aren't exactly popular outside your own state. No offense, Venerable Brutus, but many capable male mech designers who come close to meeting her standards will likely turn away once they learn about the Hexadric Hegemony!"

That caused Brutus to scrutinize Ves even more. "It sounds like you are sympathetic to them rather than to us. What is your stance on Hexers?"

Uh oh. Ves dreaded this question. This was a very thorny issue for him, and if he gave out his unvarnished opinion, Brutus would definitely not let this contradiction go! As a true Hexer, the expert pilot fully bought into all of the poisonous beliefs of his culture!

Fortunately, Ves did not come unprepared. He already prepared a countermeasure beforehand.

He quickly concentrated his mind and donned a mask he prepared beforehand.

It was nothing but a hastily-imagined impression of Hexer attitudes empowered with a decent dollop of spiritual energy.

His demeanor shifted a little. He hunched his shoulders a bit and became a little more deferential.

The demeanor he adopted was identical to the demeanor exhibited by the male crew members of the Stellar Chaser!

One of the reasons why Ves walked around and studied the submissive male Hexers was to prepare for this meeting!

The shift was quite subtle, because Ves knew that his audience would definitely question a more exaggerated performance!

A more restrained performance was much more believe. Ves wanted to make himself appear as if he became swayed by Hexers without adopting their beliefs entirely.

Only then would he be able to pass this hurdle!

Now that he put on his mask, it was time to stage a show.

"While I'm not a Hexer, I have a lot of respect for women." Ves told Brutus while displaying his deference towards the superior gender! "In my relationship with Gloriana, I feel at ease by letting her take the lead. She is so much more capable than me, and her judgement is far better than mine! One of the reasons I love her so much is because she is the woman that truly matches my tastes! I love a woman who can take charge! I'm helpless if I don't have someone like Gloriana to direct my life!"

His seemingly-sincere performance threw the audience off-balance!

For a moment, Brutus doubted his judgement and observation skills. Was Ves truly deferential to women and Gloriana, or was he only trying to say what Hexers wanted to hear?

Even Ves didn't know how much he said was true or fake! He just wanted to win over Gloriana's brother by any means possible!

"Is your so-called respect for women only limited to my sister?" Brutus asked skeptically.

"Goodness no!" Ves vigorously shook his head. "Women have their strengths! From my birth, I was taught to respect women and follow their lead whenever possible! My mother, who I love dearly, has been a huge influence to me! While she died early, I still respect her strength and the behavior she instilled in me! If every woman is like my mother, then the galaxy would truly be a better place!"

Somehow, Ves managed to connect with Brutus. The expert pilot's eyes sparkled a bit as he fully bought into the performance!

Ves sounded so sincere that even he became unsure whether he was lying!

His mask was too effective! Not only did he empower it with a hefty dose of spiritual energy, it also fit him like a glove!

Regardless, Ves finally found a way to connect with Brutus!

"Mothers are very precious." Brutus smiled. "My own mother has shaped my entire life. If not for her love, guidance and strictness, I doubt I could have become as useful as I am today! It was my greatest dream to become Gloriana's shield and protector! With my mother's help, I managed to break through to expert pilot and gain the capital to protect my sister and family!"

Ves nervously smiled in return. That was some serious dedication, and it all happened to be true! The fact that Brutus' force of will reacted so strongly towards Gloriana was proof that the male Hexer's ambition truly centered around protecting his sister!

It made sense. The force of will of an expert pilot reflected their values and beliefs.

Since Hexers always pressed down the pride of boys among their ranks, their male mech pilots all turned towards altruistic desires to form the basis of their force of will!

It was a pretty good way for male expert pilots to gain acceptance from their female overseers.

Hexers did not forbid men from developing skills or growing stronger.

In the same vein, they did not stop male mech pilots from advancing to expert.

From a practical perspective, the Hexers couldn't afford to reject their strength!

While male mech officers were practically nonexistent in the Hex Army, there were a lot of boys serving in the lower ranks.

The chance to surpass the extraordinary threshold did not differ between men and women. Even the lowliest male mech pilot could break through under the right circumstances!

Since the Hexers needed as many expert pilots as possible to contend against the Fridaymen, they did not suppress the existence of male expert pilots.

Instead, the Hexers made sure to channel their strength to the proper ends!

Personal ambition was taboo among boys! Male mech pilots were only allowed to grow stronger as long as they dedicated their efforts towards protecting and advancing the interests of their betters!

After Ves made this realization, he became a bit more assured in his approach.

"We have more in common than you think." Ves smiled. "Our mothers are similar, and they both raised us to respect women. We both love Gloriana, and we want nothing more than to keep her safe and allow her to fulfill her dreams."

"You.. have a point, but.."

"I'm not your enemy, Brutus, nor do I wish your sister any ill." Ves quickly said. "Please believe me. Look at how content Gloriana has become these days. Was she always this happy before she hooked up with me? Has any other boy complimented her design style as well as mine?"

His argument sounded very compelling! As Brutus compared the Gloriana in the past to the Gloriana who was bubbling with happiness, he could not deny he preferred the latter!