The Mech Touch

In the next couple of days, the Wodins made some quiet movements. Not only did they dispatch some people to snoop around, but Brutus Wodin also made a few more appearances.

Ostensibly, he wanted to take a look at the four Fridayman mechs that Ves had captured. While he was observing the ongoing training sessions with the precious mechs turned practice tools, Brutus charitably offered a few tips. He was especially charitable towards the female pilots and quickly earned their appreciation!

For a second-class expert pilot to grace them with his presence was an enormous honor! Though there was a lot of apprehension from the Larkinsons, Avatars and other mech pilots at first, Brutus consciously reigned in his disdain and tried to blend in with the natives.

While he wasn't a particularly good actor, his natural demeanor as an expert pilot helped a lot. Regular mech pilots always looked up to expert pilots, so Brutus only needed to speak a couple of words to make an impact!

At the same time, Dr. Ranya Wodin began to work more earnestly in preparing the bioimplant for surgery. She used to regard this task as a chore, but it was different now that Ves was more than just a mutt in her eyes.

Her cooperation with Dr. Lupo deepened as she shared more of her insights. She even went out of the way to propose material upgrades to the bioimplant that could substantially improve its performance.

Naturally, she abided by her promise and did nothing that would jeopardize Gloriana's relationship with Ves. She offered full explanations and answered every question, leaving no doubt that there was anything nefarious about her change of heart.

All the while, Ves paid little attention to what went on outside. So long as his subordinates didn't inform him of anything important, he spent most of his time in the design labs.

He not only supervised the two design teams in their attempts to upgrade the Aurora Titan model, he also devoted a fair amount of personal attention to each mech designer.

He guided Mayer Torto's development, helped Merrill Truman integrate in the second design team and imparted some fundamental lessons to the Larkinson seeds.

His teaching sessions with Maisie, Maikel, Rennie and Zanthar Larkinsons became a little awkward ever since the oldest among them expressed a desire to study at an institution in the Hegemony.

Her reasoning was sound. Ves was trying to transition to second-class mech design. Wouldn't it be a bummer for her to start off with third-class mech design? It would take a lot of effort for her to catch up to second-class mech design! The fact that Ves required a lot of time to climb up to this height meant that Maisie would certainly have to spend a lot of years to bring herself up to this level!

Rather than go through all of that effort, why not attend a greater institution straight away and build up the right foundation when she was at her most adaptable state?

Though Ves agreed with her argument, for Maisie to opt for a Hexer University was something else!

He hadn't answered her immediately. He was far too conflicted about this issue to make a choice.

This choice not only impacted Maisie, but also the clan and his own interests.

If Maisie was a man, then Ves would have rejected this choice straight away.

Yet Maisie happened to be a girl, which meant she would not encounter as much ill treatment as him. To women, the Hexadric Hegemony was a utopia for their gender! They genuinely had it good in the state.

However, Ves often heard about how poor Brighter mech design students were treated in Leemar and other institutions of the Friday Coalition. The situation shouldn't be any different in the Hexadric Hegemony.

In fact, with the Komodo War in full force, the Hexers were probably a lot more suspicious towards foreigners! Maisie wouldn't be able to study at a Hexer University without any worries. A state in the middle of an existential war was anything but a good learning environment!

Despite all of these factors, Maisie still insisted on her choice!

After several days of contemplation, Ves finally decided to take her aside and resume their discussion.

"I've looked into the universities of the Hexadric Hegemony and many of them do indeed offer superior learning opportunities. As long as you don't encounter too many hindrances, it is absolutely possible for you to pick up more than you can ever learn from the Ansel University of Mech Design or Rawlings University. I still recommend you choose the latter, though."

"What makes Rawlings better than my preferred choice?"

"It's anything but easy for foreigners to attend Hexer schools. I don't have any friendships with them so we'll have to approach Gloriana for help. Even if she can get you in, you'll definitely suffer a lot of discrimination. Your learning capabilities are also inferior to the native Hexers who possess much better genes and augmentations than you can ever dream of. Rather than go through all of these ordeals, I think it's a better idea to attend a school at your level like Rawlings."

Rawlings was situated in the Sentinel Kingdom, which was quite removed from the ravages of the Sand War and the Komodo War. Though Ves heard that the state was currently undergoing some turmoil with the Nyxian Gap, this was merely a brush compared to the destructive firestorms engulfing the other parts of the Komodo Star Sector!

Sadly, his persuasion failed. Maisie looked more and more determined to study in the Hegemony than ever!

"You always told us to be more daring and ambitious in order to succeed, patriarch. That's what it means to be a Larkinson, right? I'm willing to fight tooth and nail to study and graduate from an institution in the Hegemony! I won't regret my choice even if the Hexers bully me every day! I can take care of myself. I swear!"

To her credit, Maisie appeared certain of her choice. She weighed the pros and cons and made an informed choice. Despite the war, despite the class differences, Masie still wanted to study at a Hexer University.

This was because she was willing to do whatever it took to set her up to success!

Ves admired her choice, and would ordinarily cheer her on if the circumstances weren't so dire. His relationship with Gloriana had also been put on hiatus, so it was not very convenient for him to bring up this matter to his girlfriend.

If Ves had a choice, he would have tried to send her to Leemar or some other sensible Fridayman institution. Sadly, that was out of the cards.

Should he send her to a mech design university situated in a different star sector? Ves rejected the choice. The Larkinsons wouldn't be able to provide her with enough support at such distances. Besides, Ves did not possess any means to facilitate Maisie's entry in those fancy institutions.

He decided to look at this situation in another light.

"What is it you want? Why are you so desperate to attend a second-class mech design university?"

"If I don't do this.. I'll end up like the other mech designers in your design team." She spoke. "I can see how you and Gloriana never pay too much attention to them. They're tools to you. Isn't that right?"

Ves blinked. Maisie was a lot sharper than he thought! This was an excellent trait for a mech designer, but it also put him in an awkward situation!

"Don't underestimate the mech designers who passed my muster. Each of them are useful and talented in their own way. Some of them have a surprising amount of potential. Each of them have the chance to reach my level and design."

"You don't have to cushion your words, sir. I have read up on this topic. Novices and apprentices are never valued unless they're direct disciples. I'm not trying to become one, but I think it would be best for me to start off at a greater height!"

The more Ves tried to persuade Maisie to change her mind, the more she stuck to her decision!

She was a typical Larkinson! Once she made up her mind, she was committed to her choice!

Though Ves could have offered numerous excuses to put an end to this request, he didn't have the heart to spoil her ambition.

Maisie was genuinely aware of the risks. Since she was so determined, Ves knew he wouldn't be able to get her to budge until he came back with graver news.

Ves eventually made a promise to her. "I'll approach Gloriana and pass on your request to her. It.. might take some time. Until then, study hard and prepare yourself as best as possible. The academic workload of a second-class university is incomparably immense!"

"Will you allow us to close the gap by allowing us to augment our mental abilities?"

"Ehh.. let me get back on that. It depends on how behind you are compared to a typical Hexer student. If the gap is too big, then I'm not opposed to remedying this. Maybe Dr. Ranya can help us in this regard."

Though he disagreed with Maisie's choice, her intentions were good. The Larkinson Clan would also be better served if Maisie became a second-class mech designer. Not only would the clan obtain another competent mech designer, she could also build up a relationship with the Hexers.

Ves left Maisie to her devices. He promised to bring this matter up to Gloriana, and he intended to go through with it. Just not now.

Instead, Ves paid some attention to both Merrill Truman and Mayer Torto. The two had little in common. The former used to be a pirate designer with a few years under her belt while the latter had recently graduated from Rawlings.

Both of them spent a lot of time with each other, though. Not only did they share some of their, they exchanged with each other with low voices.

It made sense for them to get along. Four of six members of the design team consisted entirely of Ylvainans!

He decided to have a chat with the two mech designers. Ves approached their work terminals with the Larkinson Mandate in one hand and Lucky resting on his shoulder.

"Hello Merrill. Hello Mayer. Have you become familiar with working in a design team environment?"

Both of them nodded.

"It's not so different from the cooperative assignments of my school." Mayer answered.

"We'd rather design our own mechs, but we're learning much from seeing the Ylvainans at work."

Ves smiled. "That's good. You shouldn't depend too much on the work for others. Don't forget to develop your own path. Your design philosophies are key to the development of your career. If you can't design mechs, you'll never be able to rise in our profession!"

"I have a question, sir." Merrill raised her hand. "I've heard that there is another mech designer working for you. I've never seen her, though."

"You're talking about Ketis. She shares something in common with you. For now, she chose to expand her horizons by attaching herself to an outfit fighting against the sandmen."

"I see. Will she return?"

Ves shrugged. "Who knows. She's good enough to set out on her own. I've taught her too well."

The longer they separated, the more Ves felt that Ketis was drifting further apart from him. She might return to take part in the grand expedition, or she might decide to stay in order to make her own way in life.

Ves didn't think the latter was likely, though. By all accounts, Calabast and by extension her Swordmaidens would take part in the grand expedition. There was no way that Ketis would choose to remain behind if the Swordmaidens decided to go!

"Keep improving. Both of you have promise, but it's up to you whether you can reach a higher level. As long as you advance to Journeyman, you can expect much better treatment from us!"

He truly looked forward to what they could do. With their spiritual potential, their future was promising as long as they kept exerting themselves!