The Mech Touch

The entire clan was truly shocked when Casella Ingvar won the contest to become the next Sentinel Commander!

No one actually expected that Ves and Major Verle would put an expert candidate in charge. Wasn't that counter to the Larkinson Clan's policy that expert candidates and expert pilots should shed their distractions?

Regardless, the announcement had immediate effect. While most clansmen were bewildered, the Living Sentinels were all ecstatic!

"We finally have a commander who understands our plight!"

"Casella is so good!"

"Will her brother be coming over as well?"

"Damn, I look up to every mech pilot that managed to break through in the last battle. We're the only mech force that is still led by a hero!"

"I'm looking forward to her first actions. She has lived through the same horrors as we did in the Nyxian Gap. I would trust her over any outside officer who thinks he can turn us around just because he used to lead a mech regiment in the past!"

Even though Casella Ingvar used to be Avatar before she took up her new position, the Sentinels largely overlooked this detail. They immediately embraced the new Sentinel Commander as one of their own on the very first day!

This was the power of an expert candidate!

Though not as prestigious as an expert pilot, the admiration the clansmen held towards these exceptional mech pilots was quite considerable.

Confidence and morale in the Living Sentinel immediately doubled. Even though Commander Casella hadn't even passed any reforms as of yet, the expectations of her subordinates were so high that they already took it for granted that she would become their true savior!

For her part, the new Sentinel Commander wasn't shy about taking advantage of her reputation. Deserved or not, she aimed to do her best in restoring the Sentinels as a proud and strong band of soldiers within the Larkinson Clan!

While it was too early to tell, she was doing quite well for herself in the first few days. She regularly consulted with Major. Not only that, she secretly corresponded with her predecessor in order to grasp the requirements and responsibilities of her enormous position as soon as possible.

With Commander Magdalena bringing Commander Casella up to speed, Ves had no further concerns about the new changes. He had never lost confidence in the former in the first place. With a younger and stronger face as a conduit, Magdalena should still be able to exert some influence without upsetting her former subordinates.

Of course, this was only acceptable in the short term. Once Commander Casella no longer needed any assistance, she needed to make her mark as a leader and exercise her own judgement. Otherwise, she would become perpetually dependent on other people to make any decisions. This was not conducive to her goal of overcoming the demons of her past.

With Commander Casella taking up her new responsibilities, other Larkinsons changed their routines as well.

Ever since Joshua Larkinson entered the Hall of Heroes, he tried to get used to all of the autonomy he obtained.

Perhaps others might think that being able to make your own decisions was nice, but Joshua was overwhelmed by how many matters he needed to take care of. Back in the Avatars, Commander Melkor and the staff officers arranged almost everything on his behalf.

Since Joshua had no stomach to take care of all of these tedious matters, he began to expand his staff and recruited another Bright Companion with administrative and command ability to act as his secondary.

"Lieutenant Chette, thank you for coming aboard." The expert pilot greeted.

"It is an honor to be selected by you." Chette Larkinson replied.

The trueblood Larkinson had come a long way since the Larkinson Family initially transferred him to Ves. Raella had moved on while Jannzi explosively progressed to expert pilot. Meanwhile, Chette steadily matured himself and even managed to pass an officer course.

Though some of the original Larkinson still found it strange to take orders from outsiders who only became Larkinsons later on, Chette did not harbor these thoughts.

Even if Joshua Larkinson wasn't an expert pilot, Chette was still willing to respect his superiors no matter the blood that flowed through their veins.

This was what the Larkinson Clan was all about. Every single Larkinson was a fellow brother and sister.

Joshua placed his hand on Chette's shoulder. "I'm not good at all of this commanding stuff, so I will leave it up to you to manage the Bright Companions. Are you up to the task?"

"I am. I wouldn't have accepted your offer otherwise."

The two young Larkinson mech pilots discussed what needed to be done. Chette may not be taking over a force as large as the Living Sentinels, but he needed to solve many problems in order to establish the Bright Companions as a strong group of elites under Venerable Joshua.

Not only that, Chette was also expected to keep up with his training and fight alongside the expert pilot in battle. He would never be able to enjoy a free moment of time in the coming years.

Nonetheless, as long as Chette overcame these challenges and proved he could handle the pressure, he would become a very desirable mech officer in the future!

This was one of the goals that Ves and Major Verle had in mind when setting up the Hall of Heroes. Every mech pilot who had the privilege to serve under an expert pilot would be shaped by their experiences!

As Chette went off to take charge of Joshua administration, a surprising guest sought out the expert pilot.

A lot of clansmen wanted to get close to the expert pilots. However, letting everyone take up their time would only distract the demigods from their true purpose.

For this reason, every person had to have a very good reason to meet with one of the heroes of the Larkinson Clan.

Ketis happened to have no problems getting through these checks. She not only offered the gatekeepers a plausible excuse, but also enjoyed a high status within the Larkinson Clan!

As a favored student of Ves and someone who was rumored to be close to advancing to Journeymen, many Larkinsons respected her, especially those who served in the armed forces.

"Miss Ketis! What brings you here?" Joshua turned to the mech designer. "Did the patriarch send you here to tweak the Quint?"

"No." She spoke. "I'm here to instruct your swordsmanship. You may have learned how to wield a blade in that fancy mech academy of yours, but your teachers have never had to rely on their swords as much as the Swordmaidens."

"What? No one told me about this! I don't need your help, Ketis. I'm an expert pilot. I'm beyond human. While I fight at my best when I'm piloting a mech, don't underestimate me. I'm better in every aspect."

Ketis snorted contemptuously at Venerable Joshua. She took no notice of his lively force of will.

"I've beaten people who were 'beyond human' before. There is more to swordsmanship than skill and superhuman reflexes. Come! Accept my challenge!"

Though Venerable Joshua did his best to send her off, she wasn't having any of it. She practically dragged the expert pilot to the nearest sparring ring in the temporary base!

"Piss off!" She shouted to the other mech pilots and soldiers in the training hall. "Expert pilot, coming through! Give him some privacy!"

The other Larkinsons quickly vacated the hall in order to give Venerable Joshua all the space he needed.

After changing their clothes and wearing some high-tech protective equipment, the two faced each other in a sparring ring.

Both of them wielded sword-shaped rods made out of composite materials. Their weight and balance was identical to that of a real sword. The only difference was that they instantly softened whenever it hit somewhere. No matter how much force their wielders employed, they wouldn't even be able to crack an egg so long as the practice weapons did their jobs!

However, upon Ketis' urging, the two sparrers switched the safety setting of their faux-swords to a harsher level. The rods held their stiffness longer before softening up, ensuring that anyone who got struck would receive a painful lesson!

"Ketis, I know you're a Swordmaiden, but isn't this too harsh? I don't want to hurt a fellow Larkinson."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I fought exobeasts and crazy mutants with nothing but my body and my sword! I can break measly expert pilots like you with a hand tied behind my back!"

Before Venerable Joshua could continue his pleas, Ketis swept over as if she was at the forefront of a storm!

She lifted her weapon over her head and struck down with a swift and powerful chop that was too fast for Joshua to dodge!

To his credit, Joshua reacted appropriately and blocked Ketis' strike in a way that caused her weapon to slide to the side.

Yet before Joshua could take advantage of the apparent opening, Ketis rapidly threw out a punch that hit Joshua's thinly-padded stomach!

"Oof!"

Not expecting such a furious assault from a mech designer, Joshua failed to defend himself against Ketis' next attack.

She brutally kicked out at his crotch!

"AHH! That's a foul!"

"There are no rules in combat! Besides, you're wearing a codpiece!"

Every standard sparring uniform provided comprehensive protection against attacks from every direction. The thin but sturdy smart clothing normally remained soft to provide maximum flexibility to their wearers, but stiffened up to the point of being able to withstand considerable force!

Though these training clothes weren't cheap, the Larkinson Clan could easily afford these suits.

When Venerable Joshua finally realized that Ketis was being very serious about beating him, he adjusted his mentality and began to fight back.

He employed his transcendent nature and began to react faster while employing more strength. He took advantage of his greater battle instincts and his uncanny intuition.

However, Ketis still kept up! She turned into a wildcat as she went on the offensive and unleashed continuous slashes.

Even if Joshua was able to keep up with the attacks, he could barely do anything except to block the incoming strikes!

He couldn't overpower her with his strength. While he was a demigod, he was also a baseline human. He possessed no physical augmentations while Ketis had gone through multiple rounds of genetic modification that were mainly geared towards strengthening her physique!

While Joshua was quite good at swordsmanship, Ketis amazingly showed more technical skill! She performed the same moves as he did with much better fluency. She was able to string her attacks with as little wasted movements as possible and she was able to muster up an appropriate response whenever Joshua threatened to turn the tide.

The only advantage he enjoyed was his noticeably faster reaction speed. Their reflexes might be similarly as good, but he possessed an edge in how fast he could think.

Expert pilots didn't need to be strong in body. They only had to improve their minds, because their expert mechs were supposed to be their true bodies!

Yet even if Joshua was able to outthink Ketis, she never fell for his ploys!

"Ouch!"

One of his gambits failed, causing her to whack her rod against the side of his head! While his collar rapidly extended upwards in order to cushion the force, the expert pilot still experienced a hefty tap that caused him to release more sweat.

She was unstoppable!

"Can't you ease me in a bit? You're too good!"

Ketis gripped her weapon with both of her hands and overpowered his block!

Before her could back off, she slammed her horned head against his own nogging!

Though their sparring uniforms shielded both of their heads, Joshua became so overwhelmed that he fell onto his back!

Ketis fell with him, causing her to land on top of his body. Their padding didn't engage, causing both of them to feel each other's body warmth without too many barriers.

"Uhm. Could you get off?" Joshua asked as he huffed his breath.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Do you know how to wrestle?"