The Mech Touch

The Golden Skull Alliance had finally departed from the Cinach System!

After the excitement surrounding the official start of the grand expedition had passed, the Larkinsons slowly went back to work.

In the preceding weeks, they had already moved into their respective berths. While there were plenty of people who were still unaccustomed to living on a starship, at the very least they already managed to get over the initial adjustment periods.

The Larkinsons stationed on the larger ships enjoyed more comfort compared to those stationed aboard the smaller vessels.

Sub-capital ships such as combat carriers and logistical ships devoted most of their room towards essential functions. While they offered at least some comfort in the form of decently-sized crew quarters, they did not come close to the amenities offered by larger vessels.

The crew and dependents assigned to the Spirit of Bentheim all felt lucky for being assigned to this great factory ship! The 1st and 12th decks became the favorite destinations of many off-duty clansmen.

Those who sought peace and open space ventured into the gardens situated on the 1st deck. The Larkinsons who wanted to hang out and enjoy some fun visited the city within a ship on the 12th deck.

Of course, the Spirit of Bentheim did not center around these recreational facilities. They were merely added to the ship in order to increase the productivity of the crew.

The main purpose of a factory ship was to produce goods. Even though the Spirit of Bentheim spent most of her time in FTL travel, her production halls steadily churned out one mech after another.

Lately, Spirit of Bentheim produced less Valkyrie mechs and more Transcendent Punishers. In fact, the main reason why the ship's Production Department bothered to make the Valkyrie mechs at all was because they were relatively easier to make.

Once more and more production crews became used to operating the GAIA production lines, the production of Transcendent Punishers picked up speed.

By now, the Spirit of Bentheim already boasted a full complement of Transcendent Punishers. There was a heavy artillery mech for all 80 bunkers, but that only applied to the flagship of the Larkinson Clan.

There were many other vessels whose bunkers were still empty. The Hexer-built combat carriers each boasted 3 to 6 bunkers depending on their ship class model.

While this didn't sound very impressive, it was a very good way to increase the firepower of the Larkinson Clan. The LMC had already stocked up an abundant amount of raw materials beforehand, so there was absolutely no worry of running out anytime soon. Many of the cargo ships traveling with the fleet were stuffed with expensive exotics and bulk materials!

As Ves dropped by the production decks one day, he became impressed by the immense amount of activity taking place within the halls.

The GAIA production lines consisted of a cluster of huge mech-sized production machines. Each of them generated an immense amount of heat as they performed various energy-intensive processes!

Fortunately, the Spirit of Bentheim was a state-of-the-art Hexer factory ship. Some of the best Hexer shipwrights optimized the power supply and heat management systems of the capital ship. The highly-regulated temperature did not rise above the most optimal level for the human physique.

In the event of an accident, a large number of bots and automated disaster suppression systems would automatically kick in to contain any fires, lethal radiation and other threats.

Ves met with the person in charge of all of the production halls.

Just like Grand Captain Daria-Maria Vraken, there was no way an average person could possibly run such an immense operation!

Every GAIA production line cost billions of hex credits. Every production machine, from the 3D printer to the alloy compressor, was so insanely complex that some mech technicians would have to spend a lifetime to master all of their operations.

Aside from Ves and maybe Gloriana, there was no one else in the Larkinson Clan who was qualified to oversee so many production operations.

For this reason, the position was occupied by another Hexer trainer.

Interim Chief Fabricator Ziva Victrix looked like a normal middle-aged woman. Yet behind this 70-ish year old woman's facade was a former mech designer who improved her fabrication and assembly skills to a level that the Miracle Couple could not even match!

Despite being just an Apprentice Mech Designer who failed to advance to Journeyman, Ziva once accomplished the supreme honor of fabricating a masterwork mech!

Such cases were rare but not unheard of. Each fabricator who earned a masterwork certificate was practically a national treasure to every state. Ves had no idea why the council of matriarchs appointed such an accomplished fabricator as a humble trainer aboard the Spirit of Bentheim.

The only reason why he didn't question this mystery any further was because he was very happy with Ziva Victrix's results.

If not for her considerable expertise, the Spirit of Bentheim would have never been able to occupy all of her bunkers before the start of the grand expedition!

Even so, there were limits to her abilities.

"Theoretically, a full crew of mech technicians, engineers and low-ranking mech designers should be capable of outputting a Transcendent Punisher within 48 hours." The older woman calmly explained. "The GAIA production line is one of the fastest and most efficient sets of production equipment of its kind in the Hegemony. It is very good at putting together light mechs and heavy mechs alike. That said, the sequential production process that you insist on adopting means that it will take at least 72 hours to make a Transcendent Punisher."

In order to preserve as much spiritual foundation as possible, the production crews have to piece together the mechs one by one. The production halls were already set up for this approach, but the lack of intersection ruled out the use of more efficient approaches.

As the two toured the production halls, Ves remained nonchalant. "I already explained to you why we cannot switch to batch processing. Every LMC mech is alive. You can think of it as a child. The production crew are effectively its parents. If you want the mech to possess a strong and vigorous life, then the production crews must care for it like a true baby."

"I'm not arguing against your approach. I have felt the difference myself." Ziva responded. "You just have to be aware that we are wasting precious production capacity due to keeping most of our production machines idle. Right now, the average production times of the Transcendent Punisher model range from 4 to 5 days. There are some underperforming production crews that occasionally take even longer, but these are exceptions."

"How much time will it take to reduce that down to 3 days?" Ves asked.

"Months. Years. Probably the latter." Ziva answered. "I know you are impatient, but don't expect any quick results. Now that the production crews have gained some basic proficiency, it will take a lot more practice and study to achieve further gains. Every mech technician must devote a lot of time on self-study and constant repetition in order to develop a better feel for the production machines."

He knew that she was right. While he wanted to fill up the bunkers of his combat carriers with as many Transcendent Punishers as possible, the Spirit of Bentheim had to churn out at least 350 mechs!

This meant it would take about three months to complete this job!

Hopefully, the Larkinson fleet wouldn't bump into any troublemakers during this time. Ves did not entirely feel comfortable leaving so many bunkers empty.

Theoretically, the Larkinson Clan could fill up the bunkers with rifleman mechs or other ranged mechs instead. However, the effect was marginal compared to inserting a heavy artillery mech that was specifically designed to leverage this form of protection!

As Ves questioned Ziva about the various issues related to producing the Larkinson Clan's exclusive heavy artillery mech, she mentioned a strange phenomenon.

"As these mechs get put together, their glows become increasingly more evident." She mentioned.

"Is there a problem with that, chief? Our production crews should have received training on how to deal with glows. If any of the personnel cannot adjust to them, they are free to request reassignment."

"It's not that, sir. The truth is that some of the mech technicians… have become enamored with the glow of this mech model. They have converted to the Ylvainan Faith."

"...How much?"

"Only a couple of dozen so far." Ziva replied. "This is not a large amount considering that the Production Department consists of thousands of workers. I have examined the converted believers in question. They are all easily influenced and seek reassure, so it should not be surprising that they have embraced a new faith. Other Larkinsons should not be easily swayed."

Ves grimaced. "The effect is still there, though. If our production lines are preoccupied with putting together Transcendent Punishers for three months straight, then I can easily imagine hundreds of workers following suit!"

"Do you wish to alter our production schedule? If we start producing Valkyrie mechs again, the production crews will not be exposed to a singular glow."

"Will that entail slowing down the production of Transcendent Punishers?"

"That will inevitably be the case."

Ves sighed. "Forget about it, then. The Transcendent Punishers come first. Aside from our custom mechs, the Transcendent Punishers are our most powerful mechs. I don't feel comfortable with slowing down their production. The more Punishers we have, the better."

As for converting more Larkinsons to the Ylvainan Faith, Ves didn't care too much about this problem. If these people were so gullible to fall for James' scam within 3 months of exposure, then they would have turned into a believer eventually. There was no saving these people.

He carefully glanced at Ziva's expression as he made his decision.

"Do you disapprove, chief?"

The Hexer fabricator did not reveal much emotion behind her professional mask. "It is not my place to judge."

"I thought you Victrix Hexers look down on boys the most in the Hegemony."

She coughed. "Properly speaking, I have never aligned myself with the Victrix Matriarchal Dynasty. I am disgusted at the conduct of my fellow sisters. I have no part in it. Only mechs and machines interest me. Whether they are male or female, it doesn't matter."

Ves blinked. "You're the first Hexer I've met that recognizes that mechs aren't divided by gender. Not even Gloriana is able to divorce herself from this assumption!"

"Did you expect something different from me because of my last name?"

"Well…"

"The matriarchs are wiser than you think, Mr. Larkinson. They wouldn't have put me in charge of the production halls of this ship if I was unable to accept taking orders from a.. 'man'."

The Victrix Matriarchal Dynasty was one of the most distasteful factions in the Hegemony. From what Ves heard about it, there were 7 women for every 3 boys among the Victrixes!

All-female couples were very common there. In fact, the family trees of a lot of Hexers living in the territories of the Victrix Dynasty did not mention a single boy over a stretch of several centuries!

The less a family tree was tainted by boys, the more purer it was in the eyes of the Victrix Dynasty.

However, the poorer and more average Hexers couldn't always afford the expensive medical procedures needed to develop a designer baby that inherited the genes of two female parents.

Boys still played a role in their society, though their lot was very cruel. They received some of the heaviest repression imaginable in the Hegemony.

One of the most ridiculous ones by far was the fact that they were universally castrated before they hit puberty!

Not a single boy living under the heel of the Victrixes was capable of reproducing naturally!

Fortunately, this process was still reversible. As long as a female Hexer submitted an application, the Victrix Dynasty was willing to restore the reproductive function of a boy for a limited amount of time.

It was too bad it never lasted!