The Mech Touch

The Larkinson Clan was about to face its biggest test in Maynard Fields.

Tens of thousands of Larkinsons paid attention to his address. While each of them had been psychologically preparing themselves for the fight of their lives, it was difficult to ensure that each of them would endure in the coming struggle.

The odds were too great. The looming pirate threat had come close enough to confirm the initial long-ranged scanning data. The Allidus Alliance hadn't been bluffing, and a formidable heavy cruiser definitely led their mighty fleet!

In the past, humans used to believe that warships played a key role in expanding and securing their civilization's dominion. The might of battleships had long attracted the worship and admirations of an uncountable amount of humans.

It was different now. The specter of warships cast a heavy shadow over humans born in the Age of Mechs. From their youth, they had been taught to fear these enormous engines of destruction. Even if nobody personally experienced the terror that warships wrought, all of the ominous education they received as they grew up in school had left a very strong mark in their minds.

Perhaps the prospect of facing a pirate-built warship might not sound so intimidating when the battle was still a distant prospect. The Larkinsons accepted the news with stoic solemnity.

Yet as the days went by, the fears that their teachers implanted into their minds had slowly started to creep up. Ves was no different as he possessed a greater technical understanding how a warship like the Gravada Knarlax could easily demolish his task force.

The power of a weapon platform depending on many factors. In mech combat, size usually wasn't a big factor because the mech industry spent four centuries to find the optimal balance between size, cost, functionality and efficiency.

Hardly anyone fielded super-sized mechs or juggernauts in battle because they were too inefficient. Certainly, anyone who had plenty of money and resources to spare might choose to field them, but their unwieldiness and their very obvious flaws left them open to exploitation.

Still, at some point, when something got big enough, they became incredibly formidable. Size increased leverage. Size provided capacity. Size added durability.

The jump in specs from light mechs to heavy mechs was already quite extreme. The two possessed completely different fighting styles, but it was not entirely clear that the larger and heavier mech could defeat the lighter mech in a dueling scenario.

However, the real battlefield was very different from a fair mech duel. In an actual battle, an expensive heavy mech could easily yield much greater results if employed correctly.

The same went for warships, but at a much more exaggerated scale. The Gravada Knarlax didn't need to have any brilliant captains and officers in command. As long as they knew just enough to keep the ship running, the Allidus Alliance could merely rely on her potent gun batteries and very resilient hull plating to carry every battle!

In comparison, a force of smaller elements such as Task Force Predator had to exert an unreasonably high amount of effort to achieve similar results.

In other words, the pirates would be able to win a battle in their sleep while the Larkinsons had to exert at least 150 percent of their effort in order to gain a fighting chance!

It sounded unfair. It sounded insurmountable. No matter how overconfident the pirates felt, there was no way the large and powerful Allidus Alliance was completely made up of incompetents.

The Larkinsons had already built up a formidable reputation of their own, so anyone who dared to confront the conquerors of Ulimo Citadel should certainly come prepared.

Ves confidently smirked as his projection graced every clansmen in the fleet. If exerting 150 percent wasn't enough, then he would make sure that everyone would output 200 percent instead!

Ves was confident he already made a lot of progress with the extraordinary measures he prepared. However, improving the tech and providing his forces with spiritual advantages was only part of the equation.

He had always believed that the key to winning most battles was to maintain better morale than the enemies.

As long as the Larkinsons were confident, then they would fight at their very best! Anything less was not acceptable!

This was why he ignored all of his doubts and tried to meld his mind with the Larkinson Network!

Though Ves did his best to look confident and at ease, inwardly his mind came under significant strain!

This was because his forceful insertion into the Larkinson Network caused him to bear some of the burden of its operation. Goldie watched Ves on with considerable concern!

Nyaaaaa!

Humans weren't suited to withstand so much input. Ves recalled the many times his experiments caused his test subject's head to explode because they received too much spiritual input!

Now, Ves chose to put himself in their place, thereby risking the same fate!

He didn't feel concerned. Unlike his clueless and hapless test subjects, he not only understood what took place, but also prepared a countermeasure!

He concentrated a bit further and pulled a spiritual augment template from his implant. He rapidly built up a spiritual construct with the help of the template. As soon as it came into existence, a large proportion of incoming spiritual signals suddenly stopped bombarding his Spirituality!

The new spiritual construct acted as a filter. Its role was very simple. It rejected the passage of any spiritual input except for the ones he specifically approved.

Since Ves merely wanted to communicate with the clansmen connected to the Larkinson Network, he did not need all of the irrelevant spiritual input.

It was working, if only just. While the spiritual input of most of the clansmen wasn't very strong, it was different when it came to the more spiritually active Larkinsons. Venerable Jannzi especially radiated a strong presence, so much so that she was already exerting her influence to a greater degree in the Larkinson Network!

Fortunately, Venerable Jannzi did not regard Ves with hostility. Her potent spirit and will was willing to make way when Ves stood in their way.

After cutting down the excessive input, Ves found it much more bearable to place himself closer to the center of the Larkinson Network. By partially taking over Goldie's role as the nexus, he gained a close, direct connection to every Larkinson.

This did not just apply to Larkinsons in the fleet, but also the clansmen back at Cinach VI!

Still, Ves only intended to address the members of the task force this time. When his eyes focused on the small faces on the projected panorama, Ves was somehow able to match their appearances to a specific connection in the network.

The unprecedented degree of closeness he established with his fellow Larkinsons felt surreal. Was this what Goldie felt all the time?

For a moment, he felt like a god looking down on his faithful subjects.

Similarly, each of the clansmen who paid attention to him felt as if their awe, respect, worship and other feelings towards him had increased.

It was a very magical moment for both sides. Even if Ves hadn't spoken for more than a minute, everyone felt as if they perceived his affection for them. A small portion of his love, his hopes, his aspirations and his confidence propagated through the network, causing the clansmen who were about to confront the pirates to feel as if they were all in it together!

Ves finally spoke his first words.

"Larkinsons. Our time of proving has come."

Those words audibly spread through the audio speakers. They also rippled through the Larkinson Network, thereby conveying greater meaning to the clansmen than they realized!

This dual nature caused the clansmen listening to him to become mesmerized.

"When we founded the clan, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. Many existing interests in the galaxy had already carved out their own turfs. Nobody likes to welcome newcomers."

Ves dramatically raised his fist. Now that he wore his Unending Regalia complete with a matching red cloak, he resembled a warlord rather than a mech designer!

"So what? Nothing comes for free! If we want something, we have to work for it, and in a galaxy as violent and dangerous as ours, that means we have to fight for our future! In the short existence of our clan, we have overcome numerous enemies who wanted to stop our rise. From the Friday Coalition to the Dry Snakes, each of these enemies thought we didn't deserve to grow and prosper. Each of them thought that they were stronger than us and that they could squash us like a bug. Have they succeeded?"

Ves grinned, through the Larkinson Network, he could feel some of the raw emotions from his clansmen. His fist opened up as if to symbolize an explosion!

"No! Each time our enemies stood in our way, we flung them aside! Each time our enemies thought they could annihilate us, we resisted their blows and stood our ground! Each time our enemies plotted against us, we foiled their plots and outwitted them! We survived every successive challenge that sought to end our clan, and this time will be no different!"

A huge wave of confidence spread through the Larkinson Network. Ves found it almost infectious as the network took in the rising mood and began to feed it back to every Larkinson!

He clenched his fist and pressed it against his chest. "In my heart, I believe we are special. To be a Larkinson is to be a soldier. Not just any soldier, but an honorable soldier. With the long and distinguished heritage of the old Larkinson Family as our foundation, we have proven ourselves greater and more superior than any band of roving mercenaries! Different from those who fight for fortune, we fight for family. Our comrades and our loved ones are depending on us. Knowing this, let me ask you a question. Are you willing to fight against one of the most powerful pirate factions of the Nyxian Gap?"

The answer of his clansmen came instantly!

"YES!"

"Are you willing to brave the guns of the pirate warships?"

"YES!" His clansmen roared!

"ARE YOU WILLING TO FIGHT FOR YOURSELVES, YOUR CLAN, AND ETERNAL GLORY?!"

His Larkinsons roared! They roared out their whole lungs! They roared until their hearts almost stopped!

Despite serving under the banner of the Golden Cat, each of them roared like lions today!

The collective jubilation not only spread to everyone's ears. Due to the role of the Larkinson Network, they spread their elevated moods to Ves and each other!

Though Ves had massaged the truth and distorted some facts in his speech, no one paid attention to the inconsistencies. It didn't really matter. He succeeded in boosting everyone's fighting spirit!

"Now, ready yourselves, because our latest challengers will not let us pass for free. Be prepared to teach them the same lesson we taught the Coalition Reserve Corps! For the clan!"

"FOR THE CLAN!" His Larkinsons echoed!

With that, Ves ended the broadcast. He slowly began to pull back from the Larkinson Network. Even if he managed to endure the strain, it wasn't viable for him to maintain this condition for an extended amount of time.

Ves still sensed plenty of hope and confidence from the clansmen manning the stations in the bridge. Each of them performed their duties with a sense of confidence and superiority.

Whether that would last, Ves wasn't sure. He had done his best to secure every possible advantage he could give his fellow Larkinsons. Now was the time to see if all of his hard work and preparation would see him and his clan through this pivotal battle.

An alarm suddenly rang through the bridge.

"Sir, some of the distant energy signatures are spiking! The enemy warships are firing their main batteries!"

"INCOMING!"

A trio of powerful rounds thundered towards the task force! Numerous asteroids exploded into pieces or were violently knocked aside as the Gravada Knarlax's opening attack made a powerful impression!

Shortly afterwards, distant laser beams attempted to strike the ships of the Larkinson Clan, only for them to fail to thread through all of the asteroids in the way.

Even so, Ves and everyone else knew that this was just the start!