The Mech Touch

Ves frowned as he finished going over all of the logs and other data of his previous experiment.

Clearly, a couple of aspects didn't go according to plan. He had already made some small tweaks to the spiritual construct embedded in the spiritual foundation of the Bright Warrior design, but that wouldn't do much against the faults he had just ascertained.

His original intention for Ancestral Possession was to establish a mechanism where a much more skilled mech pilot was able to transfer his or her considerable piloting skill to a weaker recipient.

While Ves ended the initial session too soon before it came to that point, Lanie's feedback suggested that she might have truly been able to exert more strength than her normal self.

If Ves fixed some of the problems he ascertained before, Lanie would definitely be in a good enough state to make use of her temporary boost.

He should feel happy about this result. Even if it was only a preliminary indication, the signs were all hopeful. He finally managed to improve an ability he conceived before into a workable state.

"It's just that the conditions of activating it are too harsh." He sighed.

It needed the active and conscious cooperation of Goldie. If she was indisposed or unable to respond to the requests of the mech pilots, then who would be able to form a direct bond?

This wasn't something that Ves could automate with his current skillset. If he attempted to tamper with the Larkinson Network to this degree, it could easily warp and turn into a mess.

Another difficult condition was that the mech pilots had to be very specific. Not everyone could act as a suitable source and recipient.

The former had to be a mech pilot with spiritual potential or an expert candidate.

The number of clansmen who fit in these two boxes probably didn't surpass a hundred at this time.

As for the recipient, they should be capable of handling the input. This meant that they needed at least some favorable combination of genetic aptitude, spiritual potential and other talent factors.

If Imon's considerable piloting skill suddenly poured into a mech pilot who was unable to match Lanie's mental resilience, then an explosive result might easily occur!

All of these limitations substantially reduced the practicality and usability of Ancestral Possession.

Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin in thought. "The good news is that this is just an initial result. As long as I progress my design philosophy further, I will gradually gain new insights, formulate new theories and develop new techniques which can substantially improve the combat application of this ability."

That would probably take years or decades to come to fruition. While that did not sound ideal to Ves, he found it to be an acceptable tradeoff considering the incredible potential of this invention.

It was very easy for a mech designer to improve the performance of a mech, but it was a lot more difficult to improve the performance of a mech pilot!

"This may prove useful in the long run." He concluded. "It may even become a key feature of the Larkinson Clan and the Bright Warrior mechs in particular. This is something that only a Larkinson can do.

Ves cared a lot about that. Ever since he established his Larkinson Clan, he constantly sought ways to make it more exceptional.

Just like mech designers and mech companies, those who did not excel at something quickly got lost in the crowd. The competitors who merely settled for average wouldn't be able to leverage any unique advantages when it truly mattered.

For example, the Larkinson Clan would have undoubtedly lost the Battle of Reckoning without the various innovations he introduced. If he could introduce one more unexpected variable to the equation, then his enemies would make even bigger miscalculations!

Above all else, Ves wanted to fulfill his desire to make the Larkinsons good at something. They needed a recognizable advantage that defined them as a strong force.

"I'm not sure whether Ancestral Possession is the right answer, but it's certainly a candidate."

The development of mech pilots was crucial to his future plans. One of the ways in which the Larkinson Clan fell short compared to more mature groups like the Cross Clan was the lack of truly skilled and experienced mech pilots.

While Ves had no doubt that his mech pilots would do great in battles involving third-class mechs, they were simply too inadequate in the previous battle.

Therefore, a solution that could elevate his mech pilots quickly would be very useful even if it was only applicable in some cases.

As Ves began to finalize the spiritual design of the new Bright Warrior based on his initial experiment, one of his test subjects experienced a very different day after she took a good rest.

When Lanie woke up and had breakfast with her parents, she left her family's quarters and moved to the mech academy that was housed on another deck of the Spirit of Bentheim.

"Hey, Lanie!" A fellow cadet called her as she stepped onto the grounds. "Where did you go yesterday? You look more tired than usual."

"I can't say. I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut."

"Ohhh. How mysterious."

Despite her classmate's interest, the other girl knew better than to pry any further. Confidentiality was taken seriously in the Larkinson Clan.

Since their first class started soon, they quickly moved into the academy building and attended their first theoretical lessons.

"...the reason why we have taught you math and basic physics in your previous courses is because they are necessary prerequisites to study mechanics. Now, I'm not talking about learning to fiddle with machines or being able to design your own mech. I know you kids hate being put through these lessons, but the understanding you gain from here will save your life one day…"

Usually, Lanie listened attentively to the lecturers. The Larkinson veterans the academy employed as instructors all possessed rich experience and a lot of insight in what truly mattered in the field of battle.

"...we know you aren't nerds, so we don't expect you to achieve the same results as those who are raring to become an engineer or mech designer. In this course, we will build on Newton's laws of motion and delve into astrodynamics…"

They always had something interesting to say everyday. The only issue was that not every veteran was cut out to be a teacher. Fortunately, the mech cadets could supplement their knowledge by reading their textbooks or attending an optional virtual class.

"...why astrodynamics? Well, anyone who fought a battle in space will be able to tell you why. Simply put, movement in space is different from movement on land. I'm sure you've experienced that when you've piloted virtual mechs and when you took your cute little training mechs out for a space walk. Now, you may have been able to learn how to control a mech in space through trial and error, but this is not a systematic approach…"

As Lanie listened to one of the instructors trying to teach a principle by drawing upon his experiences in one of the Bright-Vesia Wars, she slowly began to frown.

"...turning around and flying in another direction is not as simple as pointing your mech where you want to go. You need to orient your mech at a steeper angle in order to counteract your existing momentum if you want to be able to turn more efficiently. Also, when you fight in the vicinity of a planet, you need to keep an eye on orbits. Everything has a tendency to curve around and that is counter-intuitive to humans like us who prefer to visualize everything in straight lines…"

Usually, the lessons taught by this particular trueblood Larkinson instructor was rather obtuse to her and her fellow classmates.

"...oh, and you ground pounders shouldn't be snoozing during this class either. Any projectile fired in the air will get subjected by gravity and get pulled down. While artillery mechs and the like can precisely calculate the trajectory of a shell, your decision-making process will constantly be delayed because you are being held back by your mechs. If you can develop a good enough understanding of how projectiles arc at different gravities, you'll be able to make sound combat decisions several more steps in advance…"

As the instructor began to show numerous formulas and calculations on a projected screen, Lanie didn't have as much trouble in understanding the theory as she thought.

Her old self would have struggled to stay on top of all of the numbers. She may be a fast learner when it came to piloting mechs, but she wasn't as good in all of these science lessons.

Yet now, Lanie could follow the instructor without failing to catch up. While that didn't mean she could make use of the formulas like a pro, she possessed an odd sense of familiarity and understanding when she viewed them. It was.. as if she already knew how to perform complex maneuvers in space.

Instances like these took place in her subsequent classes as well. When she and her fellow cadets donned protective suits and held rods that were supposed to simulate swords, she began to spar against another girl.

Nicky also ranked high in their class. Lanie frequently squared off against her as she was one of the few sparrers who could give her a challenging experience.

Yet as soon as Nicky lunged in, Lanie already adjusted her body and parried the incoming stab with relatively little wasted motion.

Her body was already moving forward at this time. When Nicky hastily tried to recover and pull back her rod for a block, Lanie had already outpaced her and thumped her weapon against her opponent's chest at close range.

"I slipped up." Nicky grumbled. "Again."

Once they launched their second bout, Nicky approached the spar more carefully. She circled around a bit and tried to find an opening to attack.

Lanie didn't let Nicky have her way. Somehow, she knew that it was better to take the initiative and disrupt her opponent's rhythm.

For this reason, she moved forward and launched a flurry of strikes. Nicky quickly had to throw away all of her considerations and became fully preoccupied with defending against the storm of attacks.

At a critical moment, Lanie overextended herself a bit.

This caused Nicky to launch a counterattack. She swept her rod to strike at Lanie's side!

Yet before her weapon could hit the mark, Lanie's body swung backwards just enough to evade the incoming weapon.

"What?!"

Lanie moved in a way she never thought possible. She quickly stopped her backwards motion and leaned forward again in order to stab out and strike Nicky straight in her sternum!

The other cadet's protective suit briefly hardened in order to bleed off the force from the attack.

Nicky wasn't hurt, but her pride simply couldn't accept the result!

"What's going on, Lanie? Did you receive some private tutoring or something?"

"Something like that." Lanie briefly frowned before she schooled her face.

This was odd! As they fought further bouts, Lanie always managed to find a way to solve Nicky in less than ten exchanges of blows.

Normally, Nicky put up a much greater fight! Part of that was because of their relatively high skill, but another part of it was because they both knew each other's moves and capabilities.

Now that Lanie began to perform her old moves more efficiently and pull out maneuvers that her classes had never taught, Nicky completely became outclassed!

Nicky let out a grunt in frustration. "This is infuriating! How the hell did you become so good, Lanie?! Who did you bribe to get tutored by an expert pilot?"

The woman in question could only twitch her mouth in response. She could hardly explain the changes herself. Even though she felt uncomfortable whenever she pulled off a brand-new move, it was strange that she always felt assured that it would work!

This was not normal!