The Mech Touch

His second design team all consisted of relatively young and junior mech designers. None of them made any exceptional achievements, but all of them bar one were experienced in working in a team environment.

This was exactly what Ves wanted. For a design team tasked with assisting his design activities, he did not need any strong personalities or talented prodigies.

Ves also declined to add any older and more competent mech designers to his design team because he wanted to train his assistant mech designers. It was much easier to indoctrinate and adjust the mentalities of younger mech designers.

If Ves employed a bunch of highly-competent but older Journeymen or Seniors, it would be virtually impossible for him to shape them into his desired forms!

Even if every Ylvainan mech designer worshipped him as the Bright Martyr, they were still mech designers, and it was genuinely hard for older and better mech designers to follow the instructions of a younger upstart!

By keeping his design teams young, Ves might not get as much immediate value out of them, but they would slowly grow over time and become more suitable for his needs!

Not only that, but the mech designers here would predominantly stick with him for many decades!

Younger employees possessed a much longer lifespan than older ones. As long as Ves kept investing in them, they would continue to provide him with value over a very lengthy period of time until they finally neared their expiration dates!

It was safe to say that Ves opted for a strategy that pursued long-term prosperity over short-term benefits. The two design teams the LMC employed so far were just the beginnings of a formidable design operation that solely worked for Ves and Gloriana!

After getting to know the new mech designers some more, Ves handed over a couple of assignments and routine work to them. Just because he hadn't started any design projects didn't mean that his design teams could slack off!

Aside from keeping his bees busy, he also wanted to take their measure. Ves would be able to make much better use of his new mech designers when he learned what they were actually capable of in a new design environment.

If they failed to meet his standards, then Ves would not hesitate to kick them out! There were thousands of mech designers eager to take their place!

Of course, Mayer Torto required special consideration. As a freshly-graduate Novice, Mayer might possess an excellent foundation due to his elite education, but just because he possessed spiritual potential didn't mean he had what it took to become a Journeyman!

While Ves treated the other mech designers as disposable assistants, he wanted to cultivate at least a couple of talents to handle the more important design responsibilities in the future.

Whether they eventually set off on their own or continued to remain in his employ, Ves needed to develop a network of loyal and aligned mech designers eventually. Every Senior and Master appeared to do the same, and for good reasons.

Once Ves settled his design teams, he returned to his office to meet with the commanders of his three mech forces.

Commander Melkor Larkinson, Commander Magdalena Larkinson and Commander Cinnabar all gathered together in the same room.

While Melkor and Magdalena were already familiar with each other, they hadn't interacted at all with Commander Hugin Cinnabar.

Fortunately, the mood between them wasn't as awkward as Ves feared. Commander Magdalena was an old dog while Commander Cinnabar was an experienced mercenary commander. Both of them soon got along like comrades.

Ves took his seat while Lucky started dozing on his desk.

"Well, commanders. We're all finally here. Welcome back, Commander Cinnabar. I've heard you've made fruitful gains in your last excursion."

"We completed your assignments as best as possible, Mr. Larkinson, though I'm sorry to say we failed to track down some of the people you wanted to find."

"That's okay. It's unrealistic to obtain everything on my wishlist. Let's discuss this matter later in private. For now, we have to discuss the future of all of your troops."

He met the gazes of each of his mech commanders until he finally settled on Magdalena.

"We haven't been able to discuss this issue over the comm, but now that I'm here, I'd like for you to speak frankly. Are you willing to commit to me and take part in my grand expedition?"

Commander Magdalena shrugged. "Why not, sir? While I still have family, my children are all grown up now. They can take care of themselves. While I'm not as young as the more eager Larkinsons in the new family, I think you need a steady hand like me to keep them in line."

"Thank you." Ves sincerely said. "I am truly grateful for your continued support."

He turned to the youngest commander next. "How are you, Melkor?"

"I'm.. okay." He said as he shifted the visor over his face. ��I have been having some.. doubts, lately."

"Is it anything serious?"

"It shouldn't affect my ability to do my job, sir. Magdalena and the other veteran Larkinsons have already offered me plenty of advice."

Since Melkor seemed reluctant to voice his doubts, Ves dropped the matter. If the commander said his issues didn't impact his productivity, then it wasn't worth pursuing.

Now that Ves became responsible for hundreds of Larkinsons and thousands of employees, he was too busy to manage the lives of his subordinates.

"The reason I've called you here is to make it clear what I am seeking from each of your three forces in the future."

He turned to Melkor again. "I've already made it clear that my Avatars of Myth are supposed to be my elites. I've also said that I intend to turn every Avatar in a second-class mech pilot."

"That.. is very difficult."

"I know, but I believe it's doable as long as I supply enough funding and resources. It helps that none of the Avatars are average mech pilots. Each of them should not only be skilled or elite, but also battle hardened. With their excellent foundation, my Avatars ought to be able pass this challenge."

Though Melkor didn't appear as confident, Ves revealed a welcome piece of news.

"One of the biggest hurdles in this kind of training is the lack of real mech piloting experience. Let me tell you that your men will each be able to pilot a real second-class mech and accrue valuable experience!"

"Do you mean..?"

"It's exactly what you think! The Scarlet Rose I've captured from the Fridaymen also come with a quartet of four premier second-class mechs! If footage of my battles in the Great Zona Republic have leaked, then you should know how powerful they are. The fact that they can already crush hundreds of third-class mechs despite lacking mech pilots should give my Avatars a very exhilarating piloting moment!"

"Will these 'practice' mechs be exclusive to the Avatars, sir?" Magdalena asked.

"The Avatars deserved this privilege." Ves emphatically stated. "As far as I know, the Living Sentinels all declined to meet the demands I've imposed on the Avatars. Since your men are unwilling to step up or commit to my grand expedition, then they should accept the circumstances."

"I've been discussing and considering the security needs of your grand expedition with Commander Melkor." The veteran mech officer pressed on. "Since you are planning to cultivate the Avatars of Myth into an elite mech troop, then they are not suitable to perform every security need. For ordinary guard duty, it is more suitable to deploy a large amount of mechs that can stall any potential hostile while your Avatars launch a counterattack."

Her argument had merit, but Ves did not immediately bought into it. "Will they even take part in my grand expedition?"

"Many will. I have already sounded out my Sentinels and many of them have started to change their minds. Give them some time, and they will definitely choose to join your expedition rather than stay behind."

"That still doesn't address the strength disparity between the Sentinels and all of the threats we might possibly face in the Red Ocean. One of the reasons I'm so insistent on upgrading every mech pilot I bring is because we'll be facing forces from the entire galaxy. While there are rules in place to prevent bullying from superior forces, it's best to rely on our strength! As a second-class fleet, our grand expedition will at least be able to explore most of the zones in the Red Ocean!"

Not only that, but second-class fleets were also considerably faster than third-class fleets. Ves did not wish to waste too much time in accessing the Galactic Gate Network or remain in the outskirts of the Red Ocean for several decades.

"How will you take care of the need for guards for your grand expedition, sir? If you truly intend to form a fleet numbering 20 valuable ships, then you will need at least several hundred mechs to guard such valuable assets!"

This was a conundrum that Ves admittedly hadn't considered very much. He initially passed on this responsibility to the Avatars, but due to their arduous standards and customs, Ves did not expect to be able to expand them quickly enough in the next couple of years.

Apparently, Magdalena already had an answer.

"What is your proposal?" Ves asked directly.

"Let some of the Living Sentinels who are willing to join your expedition join the second-class training program. As long as you don't hold them to the highest standards, they won't fail. Remember that many of the Larkinsons in the new family have opted to join the Living Sentinels over the Avatars. They will definitely be able to pass this hurdle."

"Then what?"

"You supply my Living Sentinels with enough second-class mechs to allow them to perform their duties. Because of their lower training standards, you don't have to supply them with top second-class mech models. Just a midrange or budget equivalent of the mechs we are already familiar with are fine. Not only does this allow you to expand the number of mechs that can guard your valuable fleet, but also avoid burdening your finances."

He had to admit that Commander Magdalena offered him a sensible proposal. Ves weighed it in his mind and decided to take a small step in this direction.

"I'm not fully onboard with this plan, but I'm willing to see how well your Sentinels can transition to second-class mech designers. Mind you, the Avatars of Myth have priority access to the four second-class training mechs. As long as they aren't currently using the training mechs, then your Sentinels are allowed to make use of them. Of course, every training session will be supervised and I'll make sure to install some control systems in the mechs to prevent abuse. The last thing I want to see is someone trying to drive these expensive machines to ruin!"

Both Melkor and Magdalena nodded in understanding.

Ordinarily, they would have objected to such an insulting proposal. Installing kill switches or backdoors in mechs was a considerable taboo in the mech community!

This was because any killswitch could always be taken over by adversaries!

However, this was not that big of a deal when it came to training mechs. They weren't meant to participate in actual battles, so they were never at risk of destruction as soon as the mech lost power or something.

In this case, the matter was ten times more sensitive due to the insane value of the Kravon, Selzer, Paravin and Fliskin! Each of Aisling's former bodyguard mechs was worth a fortune even in a second-rate state!

Theft prevention should be a top priority to the Avatars and Sentinels tasked with keeping them safe!

Ves continued to outline his plans for his mech troops. All three had to serve a distinctive purpose, and none of them were redundant!

After a good talk with the three commanders, he eventually dismissed Melkor and Magdalena.

Only Commander Cinnabar was left. The bearded Kinner was finally ready to report on his activities while he was on assignment during the Sand War!