The Mech Touch

The Quint stood imposingly in a restricted hall inside the Avatar base. No one was allowed to go inside except for a select few people.

Plenty of people had seen the Quint, though few knew what it represented. Though word about its masterwork status hadn't spread, a few people knew the truth.

At this moment, four people entered the hall. Ves stood in front of an interface to manipulate a set of bots and manipulator tools to load the Nova Warrior configurations onto the base platform.

For the very first activation, Ves opted to mount the swordsman mech configuration. This was the most balanced and neutral configuration of the Bright Warrior model, though its ranged options left much to be desired.

The Quint's only common armament, its low-profile shoulder-mounted missile launchers, hadn't been loaded with missiles yet!

The LMC had trouble procuring powerful missiles to make the missile launchers worthwhile. While Ves had already ordered a large batch of standard missiles from an Ylvainan munition supplier, their potency was lackluster.

While Ves worked to prepare the Quint for a very basic activation, Commander Melkor and Joshua waited patiently a few steps back.

Nitaa was present as ever in her imposing armor and her triple-type heavy assault rifle. The bodyguard continually swept every corner for threats and intruders like an inexhaustible sentry bot.

Lucky on the other hand was lounging on his back in the air as if he was lying in a hammock. He was the most unconcerned of them all!

"This mech.." Joshua trailed, his eyes wide with fascination.

As an aficionado of LMC mechs, he had seen and piloted many mechs designed by Ves.

Of all the machines he had the pleasure of seeing, the Quint that stood dormant topped everything else. Not even the vaunted Shield of Samar or the gold label mechs in the possession of the Avatars could match the indescribable splendor of the first copy of the Bright Warrior!

"This is a rare opportunity that Ves has prepared for you, Mr. King." Melkor told his subordinate. "The Quint may not be the custom mech that you have been hoping for, but it is by far the best standard mech that you will be able to pilot for the foreseeable time."

"Thank you for assigning this mech to me." Joshua sincerely bowed to Melkor and Ves, his piloting suit stretching over his lean frame. "I will strive to prove myself worthy to pilot this august machine."

"Ves has very high expectations of you. Make sure you continue to meet them. If we have cause to believe the prowess of the Quint is wasted on you, we won't hesitate to reassign it to a worthier mech pilot. Don't let it come to that. Always remember that the mech is not your personal possession. You are an Avatar. You fight on behalf of Ves and the Larkinson Clan."

"Understood."

Once Ves finished preparing the Quint, he withdrew from the work console and turned to the pair of Avatars.

"The mech is ready. Joshua, go ahead and enter its cockpit. The honor of its first piloted activation goes to you. Savor this moment, but don't get too caught up by the experience. I still wish to gather a lot of data and I don't have all day.

"Yes, sir!"

While Joshua marched over to the mech of his dreams, Ves and Melkor studied the young mech pilot.

"You're paying too much attention to Joshua." The Avatar Commander told Ves. "While he's an exceptional mech pilot, there are other talents in my troop that merits attention as well. I've been careful to temper his expectations to avoid inflating his ego. Assigning him the honor of piloting your first masterwork mech without earning a lot of merit is not a good precedent."

His opinion was sound. Ves did overreach a bit by selecting Joshua as the designated mech pilot of the Quint, but he had his own reasons for picking this young talent over other deserving Avatars.

One of the main reasons was that Joshua was a mech pilot with strong spiritual potential. While he wasn't the second coming of Venerable Foster or anything, the native from Cloudy Curtain possessed spiritual attributes that made him very compatible with LMC mechs!

Of course, Ves couldn't reveal this reasoning to his cousin, so he employed other excuses instead.

"Joshua is the most versatile mech pilot on our payroll." He calmly said. "Whether he deserves this honor or not, it's undeniable that he is skilled in both swordsmanship and marksmanship. He can pilot light mechs as proficient as knight mechs. With his diverse skillset, he can make adequate if not full use out of all four configurations of the Bright Warrior model. Can any other Avatar top him in this regard?"

"There are several Larkinsons on the top of my head that can give Joshua a run on his money." Melkor retorted. "You know how we train our own relatives. We always instill our mech pilots with a solid foundation and at least basic competencies in each fundamental field. Some of our Larkinsons have gone beyond the basics and developed well-rounded repertoires. While they are admittedly not as extreme as Mr. King, they're family."

Ves shook his head. "Joshua's loyalty is not less than our own clansmen. He's a plain kid and his motivations are clear to see. I don't see any harm in entrusting him with the Quint."

Though Melkor still disagreed with Ves, he didn't argue any further. Ves was the boss, and he was just his subordinate. The hierarchy was very clear.

Once Joshua entered the cockpit, Ves switched the interface to display a raft of telemetry as well as an interior view of the cockpit.

Both Ves and Melkor saw Joshua sitting on the piloting chair and looking at the silent consoles with rapt attention and admiration.

One of the smaller characteristics that Ves added to his mech was to decorate the interior of the cockpit. Reliefs of the Bright Warrior in different configurations fighting against different foes adorned the sides and back of the cockpit.

Each of them told a different story. Ves added them to the cockpit in order to influence his mech pilots and put them in the right mood.

Ves looked to the side where the Larkinson Mandate floated in the air. The brace he built for it was permanently active and followed him by default.

Several times, he contemplated the idea of trying to mate its controls to the Golden Cat. This allowed the ancestral spirit to decide how to move the book.

He quickly shot down this idea. For the moment, the Golden Cat was way too immature and would definitely be up to mischief! Ves did not wish to deal with a second Lucky!

"Get ready, Goldie." He whispered. "Make sure to channel yourself in the Quint and give Joshua an experience he won't forget."

Nyaaaa.

The Golden Cat playfully bopped her head at Ves before turning her attention to her many spiritual bonds.

In the meantime, Joshua was done admiring the interior. He mentally peppered himself up and slowly drew his finger forward to press the oddly-warm activation button.

The interior of the cockpit glowed.

Various systems of the Quint came online. Due to its overall quality, it only took seconds for many of its essential systems to become powered.

A hum and thrum emanated deep from within. Joshua momentarily felt a vibration shaking him through his very seat before the cockpit's inertial dampeners came online.

As his mind began to interface with the Quint, a vast presence welled within the center of the great machine.

Its glow started to come online.

To Ves, both the Larkinson Mandate and the Quint glowed in unison. For an instant, he had the illusion that the book and the mech were one and the same!

The formation of the glow signified the mech had become fully operational. Throughout the brief startup period, Joshua finally connected to the mech.

Many mech pilots dreamt of piloting a masterwork mech. Though its specs weren't necessarily better than a regular mech, there was always something about them that gave their mech pilots a profound experience.

There was even a myth in the mech community that piloting a masterwork mech was the best method for ordinary mech pilots to advance to expert candidate!

While the MTA and many mech designers rejected this unproven assertion, there was no doubt that piloting a masterwork mech was always special!

Right now, despite Ves' warning, Joshua couldn't help but become enthralled by the transcendent sensations he was experiencing through the Quint!

Its masterwork qualities combined with its potent spiritual properties combined in an activation sequence that amounted to a magical journey!

No one else knew what Joshua was experiencing now aside from the Golden Cat!

The ancestral spirit fell silent as the Quint interfaced with its first mech pilot. Ves frowned and switched his view from the Larkinson Mech and the cockpit view and back.

What was going on?

After two minutes of absolute silence, the spiritual activity levels emanating from the Larkinson Mandate and the Quint subsided. Joshua pulled himself from his trance and completed the initial boot-up sequence as if there was nothing wrong!

"I'm ready to move the mech, sir." He transmitted through the communication channel.

"Take a few steps forward." Ves quickly ordered.

The large mech moved forward. Its sword was currently mounted on its back at an angle to avoid bumping into the flight system.

The entire hall thundered with loud impacts and solid vibrations as each step brought the imposing machine forward.

Ves rid himself of most distractions and turned to the console. He carefully studied the telemetry and tried to contrast them with the typical performance of the prototypes.

One difference immediately stood out. The piloting activity was much higher, which suggested that Joshua exhibited a much deeper degree of immersion than any of the test pilots had managed with the prototypes!

Even Melkor couldn't help but take note!

"It is as if Joshua was born to pilot this mech!"

Ves smirked. "It seems my choice isn't wrong."

The basic testing session continued. The underground hall was large enough to hold a small duel, so the Quint had plenty of space to perform some motions.

As a spaceborn mech, the Bright Warrior model was not exactly suited for landbound operations.

However, Ves did not rule this option out entirely. While the mech model's mobility was severely curtailed in landbound operations, it was able to walk and jog under standard gravity operations without a problem.

The mech was even able to fly in the air, though its flight characteristics were vastly inferior compared to true aerial mechs!

Ves contemplated designing a variant of the Bright Warrior that was optimized for either aerial or landbound combat, but that was something to consider later.

Bolstering the spaceborn combat capabilities of the Avatars and Sentinels took priority! Only when Ves could ensure his safety in space would he be free to pursue other goals.

The inaugural piloting session of the Quint lasted an entire hour. Ves continued to command the masterwork mech to flourish its sword, hover in the air, perform attacks against projected mechs and test out its marksmanship by wielding a borrowed practice rifle.

As Ves gathered a wealth of data on the Quint's distinct performance, he asked a question to Melkor.

"Have you offered Joshua to become a retainer of our clan?"

Melkor shook his head. "No. He's too young. I felt that it is prudent to keep him under observation for a couple of years."

"You can skip that." Ves said and patted his palm on the surface of the floating Larkinson Mandate. "I can already tell you that he is a good fit for our clan. Extend the offer. He'll say yes."

"Ves.."

"Just do it. Joshua is a valuable asset. I want to bind him to our service in a more permanent arrangement than the one we have right now."

"Becoming a retainer of the Larkinson Clan is supposed to be a privilege!" The Avatar Commander threw up his hands. "Giving it away like candy goes against the spirit of our merit-based incentive structure! What else can we dangle in front of his face to make sure he continues to strive for the clan?!"

Ves turned around and smirked. "We can adopt him into the clan."