The Mech Touch

The founding ceremony of the larkinson clan finally came to an end. Every clan member left the auditorium in extremely high spirits. The fantastic ceremony left an unforgettable experience in their minds and spirits.

Their dedication to the newly-founded clan already started off strong! after this eventful evening, none of the larkinsons who resided on kesseling viii regarded themselves as members of the larkinson family anymore.

Each of them already accepted the larkinson clan in their heart. The solemn ritual where they had signed their names and left their marks on the larkinson mandate was an unforgettable experience which mentally transformed every participant!

No matter if they were young or old, norm or potentate, each larkinson carved this ceremony in their very bones!

Ves already noticed the transformation the very next day as he went about his work. The larkinsons working for the lmc, the avatars or the sentinels all held their heads high. The uncertainty that clouded over their heads ever since they hastily left the bright republic had disappeared!

Only certainty and confidence remained! no matter how abruptly their lives had changed, with the larkinson clan backing them up, they no longer feared going astray!

Ves, as the principal person responsible for forming the larkinson clan, gained an immense amount of respect and appreciation from his relatives. no matter where he moved, he always sensed the worship and approval from his fellow larkinsons.

Even the stubborn old dogs grudgingly acknowledged that someone like ves had been vital in invigorating them all! each of them became excited at the thought of how far he could bring the larkinson clan!

As long as he grew the clan as fast as he grew the lmc, then each of them would be able to experience greater glory than they had ever earned back in the original larkinson family!

The day after the founding ceremony, ves mainly held meetings with various members of the clan. The larkinson assembly, executive council and larkinson court all had empty positions which needed to be filled over time!

For now, the clan wasn't big enough to require all of the empty positions to be filled. In fact, ves wasn't entirely sure if all fifty seats of the assembly could even be filled!

In any case, it was fine if the clan took its time to grow. even if the assembly only consisted of twenty members, it could still perform its role as the main deliberative organ of the clan. That was all that mattered.

perhaps the brightest moment of the day was when ves met with the two most prominent members of the larkinson clan aside from himself!

"Jannzi! tusa! please come in and take a seat! I've been looking forward to meeting the two of you for a very long time!"

Ves studied the two expert candidates as they approached his desk.

Despite their slim but athletic body structures, both of them exuded strength and confidence that only the extraordinary possessed.

Even though neither of them managed to take the critical step and trigger apotheosis, both of them were fairly close to doing so! they just needed the right chance and opportunity to transform their lives!

He briefly activated his spiritual vision to brush their spiritual states.

As expected, jannzi's close association with qilanxo shaped her immature force of will into something that was strongly aligned towards protection. There was a lot more to it than that, though, but ves did not have the time to figure out the subtleties in her mind.

Tusa on the other hand was a little rougher, but not that much weaker. ves had not met with tusa in recent times, so this was his first good look at raymond billingsley-larkinson's grandson.

The male expert candidate's force of will was very interesting to ves. It did not lean towards protection or aggression which was the two most common flavors he encountered in expert candidates and expert mechs.

Instead, there was a flighty aspect to his force of will. ves recalled that tusa specialized in piloting aerial light skirmishers, though he was also proficient in their spaceborn equivalent in a pinch.

All of this meant that tusa's force of will centered around speed and mobility. From the way tusa impatiently fidgeted on his seat and repressed the desire to pace around and explore the office, the expert candidate likely possessed an obsession for speed!

What a speed demon! ves definitely knew what kind of mech he had to design for tusa once he broke through to expert pilot!

"Thank you for joining the larkinson clan." ves began. "I know it must strain your conscience to bid farewell to your old mech regiments and depart from the bright republic while the sand war is still going strong."

"The bright republic no longer deserves my appreciation after what it did to you!" tusa impulsively stated.He was a lot less hesitant than raymond, that was for sure! "I don't feel any guilt for leaving the mech corps. with snakes like general cavendish and venerable ghanso, the service has no need of me. They can fight the sandmen on their own, especially since your new deliverer mechs have made their presence felt!"

"I always believed in you, ves." jannzi remarked in a calmer tone. "The difference your deliverers have made has relieved a lot of pressure on the armed forces of our old state. no one in the mech corps is unaware of your contributions. Though a part of me still yearns to fight alongside the apocalypse heralds, I can make a bigger difference to the lives of our family members and the citizens of the bright republic by staying by your side!"

This was the result of all of the success he achieved! both jannzi and tusa acknowledged that ves had done more to protect the bright republic than several expert pilots and mech regiments put together!

In the right circumstances, a key mech design could single-handedly turn the tides of war! this was the greatest honor a mech designer could earn, and ves truly deserved more than what the bright republic had treated him. Allowing the two expert candidates to leave the mech corps without any serious repercussions was just one of the ways the state attempted to make amends.

Though ves wanted to attract more notable larkinsons to the clan, for now only jannzi and tusa took this step. The rest were much more aligned with the neutrals or the traditionalists and could not bear to abandon their existing duties and responsibilities.

Ves was already happy with what he got.He half-expected the mech corps to be stubborn about retaining the two expert candidates, or that the both of them wanted to keep fighting until the sandmen no longer posed a threat.

"Will we be getting new mechs now that we work for you?" tusa impatiently asked. "I had to give up my old service mech. I really miss that machine. none of the mechs here are good enough. no offense, ves, but your desolate soldiers are too slow and low-specced to keep up with my needs!"

"I understand." ves plainly nodded. "The desolate soldier is a cheaper product meant to accommodate all of the melee and landbound mech specialists who were forced to pilot an entirely different type of mechs than they were used to in order to fight the sandmen. They're not meant to accommodate skilled and exceptional mech pilots such as you. The other mech designs aren't very suitable for you either. I'll address this problem eventually, but for now i'll instruct the avatars to procure a high-specced light skirmisher to tide you over. Is that acceptable?"

Tusa nodded. "Sure. I heard you have a lot of money, though, so make sure melkor buys an expensive one! I don't want to pilot another machine that cut too many corners in the name of cost savings!"

Ves grinned. "if you want to satisfy your craving for speed, you can borrow one of the mechs I've captured from the friday coalition. The fliskin is an exceedingly fast and mobile spaceborn light skirmisher with atmospheric capabilities. I'm sure you'll enjoy taking it out on a spin! you might as well take part in the training program meant to elevate third-class mech pilots into second-class mech pilots!"

"I heard about that mech of yours!" tusa instantly became enthused. "I've watched the footage during my journey to the ylvaine protectorate. I can't wait to get my hands on that mech!"

Though tusa wanted to claim the flishkin for himself, ves rejected this suggestion. Expert candidate or not, the four second-class mechs in his possession were essential to the training program!

Without the experience of piloting actual second-class mechs, the avatars and sentinels were unable to ascertain what they needed to shore up in order to become proficient enough to draw out the potential of these powerful machines!

Ves glanced towards jannzi. "how about you? are your needs being met?"

she nodded. "The shield of samar still suits my purposes. I have no desire to pilot any other mech. It's just…"

"The shield of samar is kind of limiting, right?"

"I don't like to admit it, but there have been times where I wished the shield of samar was a little faster or more resilient."

"That's normal, cousin. You're a mech pilot, and a powerful one at that. At a certain point, you've outgrown the performance of your mech. That has caused you to feel strained and confined. my team and I will work on performing a minor revision to your mech."

At the moment, the aurora titan model did not need to be renewed. ves wanted to wait before he was ready to revisit the mech design and perform a comprehensive upgrade to its design and components.

Since he was already busy with other projects, ves could not afford to waste too much time on this side project.

Because ves had upgraded it with the ardent wish, one of lucky's gems which upgraded its spiritual feedback by 40 percent, it was very important for him to retain the essence of the original mech!

For this reason, he intended to make a quick pass and limit his actions to performing quick but impactful upgrades.

He briefly dredged his memories of the aurora titan design from the depths of his mind and already identified some useful aspects to improve.

"I'm thinking about upgrading its armor system to an entirely new formula which is vastly stronger than the pisaro fpp-22 mark iii. I'll also replace its power reactor with a better one to provide more juice to your mech's luminent orca flight system and polarizing module. while it will be rather costly, I expect the performance of your shield of samar to double or triple, especially with the new armor I have in store!"

Compared to the aurora titan's existing pisaro armor system, the breyer alloy could withstand vastly more damage! against some damage types, the latter could easily resist blows that would have crushed a standard-issue aurora titan!

"will you be able to afford it, ves? I don't want to impose on you too much."

"The lmc has sold over a million mechs since the start of the sand war. Don't worry about our finances. Besides, the investment is worth it. Anything that makes you stronger will also empower our clan!"

"Everything we do is for the clan." she whispered.

"Exactly." Ves nodded.

This was precisely the effect he wanted to evoke when he founded the clan!

After settling the issue of their mechs, ves discussed his other arrangements for the expert candidates.

Both of them might have left the mech corps, but they were still straight-laced and used to discipline. This made the avatars of myth the only suitable home for their abilities.

Not only would the avatars welcome their exceptional skill, it also provided the best growth environment for highly-talented mech pilots!

Ves hoped that commander melkor and the rest of the avatars would be able to stimulate the two expert candidates into taking the critical step.

Only after they advanced to expert pilots would they truly begin their extraordinary careers!

And this time, the mech corps wasn't here to steal his people from his possession!