The Mech Touch

The Larkinson Clan proudly departed from the Trieden System after achieving a fairly costly but decisive victory against the Diyast Family.

Though the short and relatively limited engagement did not come close to matching the scale and stakes of prior battles, the victory proved crucial in uniting and lifting the confidence of every Larkinson.

The more established members had no doubts about the success of the operation, but they still felt a lot of relief. Their mech forces had not grown soft during the long months of reconstruction after the Battle of Reckoning!

The newer members all became impressed at the superiority exhibited by the Avatars and Vandals. They had all heard stories and reviewed footage of the Larkinson Clan's previous battles, but now that they witnessed the powerful Larkinson mechs in action, they gained a much more emotional appreciation of the advantages that a mech designer like Ves could bestow.

"I underestimated these Bright Warriors. I thought that they were just boring old starter mechs, but the Avatars somehow manage to make the most out of their capabilities!"

"Piloting a Ferocious Piranha is a lot safer than using another light mech. Their strange glow did not turn out to be completely effective against those Diyast pirates, but the disturbance it causes already imposes a considerable handicap on the enemy. This is absolutely crazy!"

"I thought that the women of the clan called the shots around here considering that everyone is raving about those former Hexers and those sword-mad women.. I'm glad that the Avatars have shown that they can put up a good fight as well. Men like us need a destination as well!"

The last sentiment was especially important. Though the Larkinson Clan did not emphasize any gender, its entanglement with Hexers along with the notable strength of the Penitent Sisters and Swordmaidens caused many male clan members to develop anxiety about their place in the clan.

The brief but decisive show of force by the Avatars and Vandals laid many doubts to rest. Even if those two mech forces did not specifically cater to men, their broad member base gave every ambitious mech pilot enough assurance that they had a place where they could develop their potential to the fullest.

Of course, the proudest and most satisfied members of the Larkinson Clan had to be the Avatars of Myth!

Across the entire fleet, the Avatars practically broke out in celebration. While they did not accomplish anything as drastic as saving the Larkinson Clan from the brink of annihilation, they gained a lot of capital to lift their heads high again!

Perhaps the only other regret aside from leaving so much valuable salvage behind was that expert candidates such as Tamarin Larkinson and Isobel Kotin failed to find their breakthrough opportunity.

Still, this was not a factor that they could control. All of the expert candidates of the Larkinson Clan failed to find their opportunity during the Battle of Reckoning as well so this was a fairly normal outcome.

Commander Melkor Larkinson beheld the reactions from his subordinates and felt as if a weight lifted from his shoulders. As long as the Avatars kept making progress, his leadership should not fall into question for the time being.

"I still have to do more to lift my Avatars up." He muttered to himself.

A round of briefings, planning and lots of problem solving ensued. The Avatars lost a substantial amount of mechs and combat carriers. The loss of the latter was especially painful because this meant that they permanently lost a portion of their maximum combat effectiveness.

Acquiring replacement combat carriers in order to restore this lost mech capacity turned out to be a lot more difficult than in the past.

"What is the problem, Vivian?" Melkor asked.

"We live in a period that is just beginning to respond to the Crown Uprising." The projection of the Chief Ship Designer responded. "You've seen what happened to organizations like the Purnesse Family. Their lack of priority in investing in their own security almost resulted in their demise. Do you think that other organizations in the same position are willing to wait until it is their turn to put their heads on the chopping block? These groups have deep pockets and an even deeper appreciation for their lives. You can imagine what that will do to the demand for mech and other relevant combat assets."

A large proportion of civilized space featured a fairly high degree of security. This was especially the case in highly-regulated planets and star systems which imposed strict restrictions on private ownership of mechs.

However, with crown terrorists emerging from every part of human society, the rules that limited the potential for collateral damage also left civilians without the ability to defend themselves and their community against madmen with nothing to lose!

"Are you saying that we will permanently be down a couple of combat carriers?" Melkor frowned.

"The construction of combat carriers is a lot harder than other vessels." Vivian calmly reminded Melkor. "They are complicated engineering projects that have to be tough and heavy enough to withstand enemy fire but also need to be light and mobile enough to make landfall and ascend to orbit. Only a portion of shipyards are capable of building starships of this caliber, and most of their order books are already filled with orders from important clients."

Melkor was afraid of that. "What about the second-hand market?"

"Every ship of decent quality has already disappeared from there. The good ones have either been bought at inflated prices or removed from listing as their owners reconsidered the wisdom of selling a strategic asset that can provide them a critical amount of security. As for the remainder… it would be irresponsible for you to assign your men to these damaged goods."

In other words, the Avatars wouldn't be gaining any additional ships to carry their mechs anytime soon.

This was good because the Larkinsons planned to get rid of their sub-capital ships anyway, but before they reached this destination the Avatars would not be able to contribute as much as before!

Commander Melkor fell under a difficult dilemma. According to his own judgement, Ves and the expeditionary fleet tended to careen from one crisis to another on a fairly regular basis.

Though the patriarch promised everyone that he did not intend to provoke trouble anytime soon after surviving a difficult ordeal on Prosperous Hill VI, the credibility of this statement was seriously suspect.

In the following days, Melkor dealt with the other consequences of the battle. He had to make arrangements for the dead, consider various nominations for promotions and also judge the implementation of the new combat method employed by the Avatars.

Of course, the Avatar Commander could not avoid a discussion on this issue with the person who laid the foundation for the new method.

When Melkor sat down in his office aboard the Graveyard and tried to make a call, the projection Ves soon appeared above his desk.

"Melkor. It's about time we talked about what your Avatars have accomplished in the previous battle." Ves began. "What you just did could have ended up badly. Even if you did not do anything too extreme this time, experimenting with anything related to the mind and onto humans in general is very dangerous. Those Avatar mech pilots that have managed to draw strength from Goldie could have easily bitten off more than they could chew."

Melkor frowned. He expected Ves to start this discussion off with praise or a jealous rebuke. This was a different response.

"Are you displeased?"

Ves shook his head. "Not this time. I just didn't expect that you and your men would dabble in this field without knowing what you were getting into. I didn't expect you to unveil this kind of surprise either. You are lucky you cooperated with Goldie this time. If you tried to accomplish something on your own, then you could have easily endangered your own men."

He spent a few more minutes emphasizing the many risks involved with messing with spirituality. He refrained from going into the specifics, but what he said was enough to get the message across.

Commander Melkor felt a lot less satisfied after he became aware of so many risks.

"I see. I'll tell my men to curb their experimentation. That said, we can't give up this new method. It worked excellently in battle and the cat's already out of the bag. Our Avatars have become more motivated than ever to embrace our Larkinson values in order to meet the requirements to invoke the Golden Cat in battle. Taking this away from them will not only produce a lot of misunderstandings, but also rob us of one of our main points of pride."

Ves reassuringly gestured with his hand. "I have no intentions to prohibit the new method that you have developed. I already figured what is going on and I don't see any unacceptable risks at the moment. Just make sure you don't spread it out and keep it at its current form. It works best if the mech pilots are paired with the Bright Warrior and attempt to reach out to the Golden Cat. Any other combination will not only be a lot less effective, but also open up your pilots to dangerous external influences."

If he didn't warn them off, who knew if the Avatars would attempt to forge a connection to a dangerous design spirit such as Zeigra?

Even attempting to bond with an abnormal entity such as Lufa and the Illustrious One could easily go wrong!

After making all of this clear, Ves began to compliment the Avatars.

"What you guys did was dangerous, but fruitful. You managed to accomplish a goal that I have always wanted to reach. I suggest that you refrain from exploring new territory and try to consolidate and impart this method to as many of your mech pilots as possible. If you can enable most of your mech pilots to establish a powerful combat boost in battle, then the overall performance of your Avatars will definitely make a substantial difference in battle!"

"Our boost lasts longer than that of the other mech forces. "Melkor recognized the greatest advantage of the method. "We haven't performed too many extensive tests as of yet, but it should be no problem to maintain the empowered condition for at least 20 minutes."

20 minutes! This was an eternity in a high-intensity battle!

Though the mentalities of the Avatar mech pilots in question slowly wore down over this period, it was still worth it as even a modest boost in combat effectiveness could tilt a battle towards a decisive victory.

The Battle of Trieden II clearly proved this was the case!

"Do you have any questions or requests regarding this topic?" Ves asked.

"Yes. You just stated earlier that this method works best if our Avatars are piloting Bright Warriors. Is it possible for it to work while piloting other mechs?"

Ves briefly paused. "Theoretically, it should be possible. The basis of this method lies in the Golden Cat. Without her assistance, your men would have never been able to perform so well. However, the Bright Warrior is specifically suited for this method. It features targeted accommodations that are absent in my other mech designs. Perhaps your Avatars may become proficient enough to perform the same trick while piloting another mech model, but it had better be one of ours."

"Got it. I'd like to explore this possibility later on once my men master the initial method. Of course, we will fully cooperate with you. I don't want to expose my men to undue risks."

This was just the start as far as Melkor was concerned. He had always wanted the Avatars of Myth to live up to their name in truth, and now he finally saw hope of realizing this ambition!

"You're doing a good job, Melkor." Ves affirmed. "I'm pleased with the initiative that you and your men have shown. Even if you acted foolishly by dabbling in a field that you have no idea about, I don't want you to stop finding ways to strengthen yourselves. Everyone else is doing their best to do the same."

Melkor was well aware of this. The Avatars may have caught up to the other elite mech forces, but they could easily fall behind again. He had to make sure that his men continued to close the gap!