The Mech Touch

"Let me make this clear from the beginning." Ves spoke up, dispelling the cloud of silence that had descended over the reception room. "You are part of the best and strongest mech organization of humanity. You are not children, nor do you lack any guidance or training. I am sure that you can pilot far more advanced mechs that can demolish our entire expeditionary fleet. I respect your strength. I respect your qualifications. I respect your luck in being able to get accepted into the MTA."

The mech pilots all looked prouder, and for good reason. They were just like Charlotte Hoffmeister. They started off as average third or second-class mech pilots from very normal states, but managed to vault straight into heaven!

They enjoyed the most effective scientific training methods. They received extremely effective augmentations. Their salaries were paid with MTA credits which possessed a purchasing power that was so great that their parents probably had to work at least a billion years in order to earn a comparable amount of money!

All of these circumstances and more meant that these young but highly-trained MTA mech pilots were anything but inexperienced dummies who didn't know what to do. It would be a great mistake to underestimate their intelligence and wisdom.

Since these mechers were so full of themselves, why not play into their common personality trait?

At this moment, Ves knew exactly how he should treat these superior mech pilots!

A respectful expression appeared on his face. "You are all adults and I'm not your nanny. Only your choices and effort will determine whether you are able to transcend your mortality and step on the path to god pilot. The Larkinson Clan and I will merely act as your facilitators. While we will assist you in various ways, each of you must keep in mind that true strength can never be borrowed. You have to earn it yourself."

Though the MTA mech pilots may not have paid much mind to him before, the words he said just now caused all of them to look thoughtful.

Ves inwardly grinned. Even mechers weren't immune to his charm. As long as he was able to pull them into his narrative, he had already grasped the rhythm of controlling them! All he needed to do was to secure his current impression into their minds.

He waved his hand, causing projections of all five Larkinson expert pilots to appear in front of his audience.

"Don't look down on our ability to train expert pilots. Our clan is only a couple of years old, but we have already managed to raise five genuine expert pilots despite our relative lack of resources and amenities. We also managed to produce seventeen more expert candidates, but unfortunately only eleven of them remain alive."

He was sure the MTA mech pilots had already done their research, but the information carried more weight this time.

His smile turned grim. "You can never gain something without taking risks. The greater your ambitions, the greater the hardships that you have to overcome. This is the core principle of the Larkinson Clan and also the reason for our success. None of our expert pilots and expert candidates are flowers in a greenhouse. Each of them has thrown themselves in battle against swarms of pirate mechs, actual warships and a hostile force that has brought a superior number of expert mechs. Each time, we were outnumbered and outgunned. Each time, we have lost thousands of good men and women. Yet the survivors among us managed to persevere. The best even managed to thrive! Each of our expert pilots are among these exemplary figures."

It was hard for them not to show their admiration towards other expert pilots. It didn't matter if there was a vast difference in identity between them and the Larkinson expert pilots. The latter had reached a height that the vast majority of mech pilots would never be able to reach!

To them, the status of becoming a strong and powerful expert pilot was much more desirable than becoming one of an endless amount of mech pilots in the service of a huge but impersonal organization!

If they didn't want to become expert pilots so badly, they wouldn't have shown up here today. Master Willix wouldn't be so bored to select mech pilots who lacked the motivation to work hard.

None of these mech pilots were anything comparable to the initial version of William Urbesh. They possessed both the skill, heart and courage of a true mech pilot.

Yet that was not enough for them to fulfill their dreams. Their weak and undeveloped spiritualities were hard limits that would forever block their attempts of separating themselves from the masses!

Only through outside help would they be able to break this limit, and Ves just happened to have some ideas on how to approach this problem.

The issue was that his methods might be a bit too extreme. He couldn't force these people to take part in his risky and potentially fatal experiments, but he just thought of a good way to persuade them to become his test subjects.

Ves clapped his hands, causing the projections to disappear.

"My clan and I have a proven track record of raising expert pilots and expert candidates. We are so good at it that Master Willix did not hesitate to arrange for you to serve with us for a number of years."

Ves boldly invoked Master Willix's name in her presence. The fact that she didn't say anything but merely stayed silent was a powerful message in itself. His credibility directly rose in the eyes of his current audience.

"That said, I will not presume to dictate your training without input. As I stated earlier, I am not your nanny. You are capable enough to make your own choices in life. It is for this reason that I have prepared three different training packages for you. Each of them differ by intensity, expectations and rules."

He began to pace from side to side.

"The least restrictive option is the self-training package." He introduced. He just came up with it so he didn't have a fancy name to describe it yet. "Just as it says, this package will give you a great degree of autonomy while you remain a guest within our clan. If you think you know how to stimulate your potential the best, then you are free to compose your own schedule. We can offer you plenty of specific training activities that can help you improve. For example, you can choose to receive instruction from our expert pilots, or have us prepare one of our special living mechs to complement your training. While our trainers are willing to give you plenty of suggestions, the ultimate choice lies with you and no one else. Choose this package if you want to grasp your own fate."

Ves knew that there should be plenty of skeptical and strong-willed mech individuals among the MTA mech pilots. He didn't want to deal with their stubbornness, so he decided to give them a way out and let them sort their situation out by themselves!

Of course, the immediate implications of making your own choices and grasping your own fate was that they fully owned the outcome! If they failed to make any progress, then they had no one else to blame but themselves! They chose to go down their path, so there was no reason to put the blame on Ves!

The mech pilots all looked thoughtful at this option. Some became more interested than others. Ves carefully recorded their faces.

"The second option is our voluntary participation package. You won't be able to make a lot of choices as our trainers and I will expect you to follow the training schedule that we have prepared for you as well as take part in any battles our clan gets embroiled in. That said, we will not force you to accept all of our suggestions or abide by all of our requests. If you want to say no, then we won't push you, but remember that expert pilots are extraordinary for a reason. If you don't want to follow our arrangements, then that is your choice, but true expert pilots never make excuses for themselves."

This was a middle option that Ves probably would have settled upon if he intended to adopt only a single approach. It was a good enough compromise between cooperation and autonomy. His clan would genuinely put the mech pilots through activities that should be helpful, but some of them might not be very pleasant. If the mech pilots wished to skip out on those, then they had the right to do so, but it would be their fault if they happened to miss out on a great opportunity!

Ves set it up this way so that he and his clan would not bear much responsibility if their clients failed. They made their own choices, so they should own up to them. Hopefully, the mech pilots who chose this package wouldn't invoke this right too often.

"I'm sure you can already guess what the third option is all about. The complete dedication package is the most extreme one. Don't pick it unless you have a lot of confidence in our clan's ability to mold you into an incomparable expert pilot. You have to be on board with us 100 percent for the duration of our most hellish and high-intensity training package."

He adopted a bloodthirsty grin that seemed very out of place on someone who was supposed to be a mech designer!

"I'm sure you know about hell training programs that have high mortality rates but also happen to have the highest conversion ratios of expert pilots out of actual wars. The complete dedication package is similar, though the risks you face may not be as you think. We have our own unique methods to draw out the potential of our mech pilots, but some of them can be very extreme. If you commit to our decisions, then we will not allow you to refuse. You just have to trust us that we want the best for you as well, but I won't lie to you that death or disablement are very real possibilities. For example, one of my earlier successes managed to turn from a cowardly mech pilot into an unshakable expert pilot. All he paid in return was becoming mute."

This was a very worthwhile tradeoff to mech pilots. The allure of becoming an expert pilot was just that great!

In any case, the MTA had many ways to cure this affliction, and it wasn't as if life was unbearable if they lost their voice. As long as they became expert pilots, their voices gained weight no matter how silent they sounded!

However, few of the MTA mech pilots looked enthused at this option. Ves was asking a lot from them if they chose the complete dedication package. They had to put their unreserved trust in Ves and the Larkinsons because a lot of things could go very wrong if it turned out their trainers were doing an awful job!

Ves waved his hand and divided the area in front of him in three different zones. Each zone represented a different choice.

"It's time to make your choice, but before you do so, let me give you one more rule. Each training package will run for one year. No matter which one you choose, you have to stick to it for an entire year even if you regret it the next day. Expert pilots must be decisive, so I expect you to be nothing less. Even if you think you made a grave error, you can still make the best out of your situation as each option is meant to fulfill your dreams one way or another. Now, don't think too much and decide your training package."

Ves deliberately limited their thinking time because he wanted to maintain his current rhythm. The MTA mech pilots all had to know that no matter how they spent their next five years, the Larkinson Patriarch would always remain in charge!

In the end, nine mech pilots immediately entered the zone that stood for the self-training package.

This caused Ves to dismiss them in his mind. These mechers evidently had little faith in his ability to elevate them to the rank of expert pilot. If that was the case, Ves would just throw them to the trainers of his clan and stop paying any further attention to their progress.

Seven mech pilots moved over to the middle zone. Ves had a better impression of these mech pilots. Though they did not put all of their trust in the Larkinson Clan, they at least showed a willingness to cooperate and follow the schedules set up by the Larkinsons.

That left four MTA mech pilots who had yet to make a choice.

In fact, they were already staring at the last zone. The decision they were about to make wasn't light at all. They knew that once they stepped into this empty zone, they would be handing over their lives to strangers!

They never imagined that mechers such as themselves would be put into a position where they had to relinquish all of their power and decisions to an indigeneous organization.

Ves merely smiled in expectation at them. His twinkling eyes along with his prior words already conveyed what he thought.

Expert pilots never hesitated. If they ever wanted to become equals to demigods, could they afford to be any less?

In the end, the last four MTA mech pilots simultaneously stepped onto the most dangerous zone.

Ves openly grinned.

The four poor sods had consciously chosen to become his year-long test subjects!

With Master Willix as a witness, these unwitting fools would never be able to go back!