The Mech Touch

Master Willix didn't appear to be in a hurry to talk about the Amaranto.

After reassuring Ves and the Larkinsons that the MTA was not about to take away their expert mech or retain them as 'permanent guests', everyone relaxed.

While working for the MTA was a dream to many mech designers, none of the four had much appetite to pursue a career in the Association.

Despite the immense wealth and power at the MTA's disposal, the Larkinson mech designers were more than confident that they would be able to climb up to the same height one day.

This especially applied to Ves and Gloriana. The former held a lot of confidence in his unique talents as well as the System. The latter was just confident because she was Gloriana.

The other two Journeymen did not have any thoughts either.

Juliet did not have any other thoughts because she took her vows to the Larkinson Clan seriously. As for Ketis, her status as a swordmaster made it impossible for her to associate too closely with the MTA.

Willix surely knew their attitudes, so she was quick to assure them that the MTA did not intend to take them away for too long.

"We'll return you and your expert mech to your factory ship by the end of the day."

"That long?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "What will we be doing here?"

"Ah, you don't seem to understand. Well, you should brace yourselves, because you have become quite the talk of the town within certain circles within the MTA. Why do you think that we would go out of our way to dispatch an entire battleship to your fleet and put extra effort into teleporting you over while in FTL travel?"

Ves had a lot of questions about that, but he refrained from asking them. Ever since he was moved over to this unknown vessel, he felt as if he was being observed by a million different sensors. His every move was probably being tracked and analyzed by both humans and AIs.

In fact, shortly after he had been unwillingly brought over to this supposed MTA battleship, he had already employed one of his own tricks to make him appear more calm and composed. He did not want to leak out anything too delicate such as the System or his extremely controversial mother through his words or his body language.

Though he wished he was wearing his more impressive dress uniform right now, his daily outfit would have to do. He offered the Master a smile.

"We shall be in your care."

"Good. Before we proceed, let us analyze your handiwork first."

A gap smoothly appeared on the ceiling. Hundreds of different people floated through this opening and began to surround the Amaranto from all sides.

Ves did not dare to sweep any of them with his spiritual senses, but from his passive spiritual vision, he could immediately identify that each of them were high-ranking mech designers.

There were at least fourteen Masters and thirty Seniors among the group of buzzing mech designers. The remainder were Journeymen who mostly assisted their superiors in scanning different parts of the mechs with their specialized handheld scanning equipment.

The exaggerated lineup of impressive MTA Masters momentarily floored Ves. Even if it was unusual for a bunch of Journeymen to successfully create a masterwork expert mech, he didn't think it would warrant so much attention from the mechers!

Was it because of the young age of the creators?

Was it because of the improved luminar crystal technology incorporated in the design?

There had to be a compelling reason why these impressive mech designers showed so much interest in the works of just a handful of Journeymen.

One of the Masters who was admiring the craftsmanship of the Amaranto turned around and descended as he flew in the direction of Master Willix. Once he reached the woman's side, he immediately said something critical.

"It is undeniable. I don't need to study the mech any longer to confirm that its design has been 'twewaked' by a mech designer who is far superior to you. From the integration of the resonating exotics to the mech frame to the clearly superior implementations of luminar crystal technology, I am 16 percent certain that the mech designer responsible is a highly advanced Master Mech Designer and 79 percent certain that we are dealing with the work of a Star Designer."

A grave silence stretched as the unknown older Master issued his professional judgement. The wave of silence stretched for so long that Ves bet that they were talking to each other through a private internal network.

The Master likely said those words for the benefit of the guests.

Ves finally understood what the excitement was all about. It turned out that the fake patron he invented had acted a bit too exaggerated lately!

He realized that he had inadvertently given a lot more credence that he was backed by an unknown Star Designer by employing the Superpublish function.

This seemingly simple-sounding System ability was supposed to improve the overall performance of a mech by 10 percent. This didn't sound too impressive until Ves realized that it had also applied to Master Willix's contribution to the Sentry Project!

Ves wasn't sure how powerful of a Master she was, but her relative prominence in the Association signified that she was quite powerful even among other Masters.

"It is good to hear that humanity boasts another Star Designer." Willix eventually replied in an even tone. "We are beset by enemies on all sides and face numerous great challenges that threaten our current order. It is a pity that he is among the more elusive of his kind."

"The Mech Trade Association is the greatest and definite authority on mechs in human space. It is disturbing to know that there is one more Star Designer in existence that has never cooperated with us. He can do much more for humanity if he assists us in our grand designs rather than occasionally lend a hand to one of his favored seeds."

"It is not up to inferior designers such as us to question the motives of His Excellency. That is best left to other Star Designers or galactic mech councilors. This case is already being led by Her Excellency."

There was a lot of spicy information in their conversation. Ves was keenly aware that the Masters were trying to put up a show. They indirectly accused Mr. S. of being an idiot for not aligning himself to the MTA and did so in a neutral voice that was completely devoid of emotions.

Ves didn't realize it, but Master Willix always showed a bit more humanity when she spoke to Ves and Gloriana. Yet now that she was speaking to what appeared to be another rational mech designer, she didn't bother with any pretenses.

To be honest, Ves felt a bit disturbed and intimidated by the two Masters. The way they talked and the way they held themselves was so cold and devoid of emotions that they sounded like bots at some points!

"Master Falkner, you should return to studying the Amaranto. You are our foremost expert on energy weapons aboard the Hesserian Bardine. There are many impatient researchers who are demanding a detailed analysis on the Amaranto's crystal armament."

"I shall transmit a report to you in two hours, though we should also interview the designer of the weapon himself for clarification."

Master Falkner directed a peculiar glance towards Ves. It was as if he saw the Journeyman as an interesting experimental specimen.

For a moment, Ves felt as if he was standing in the shoes of his test subjects.

"I shall take care of that, Falkner." Master Willix finally showed a touch of pointed emotion this time.

Eventually, the older man flew back to the Amaranto and approached its luminar crystal rifle before slowly caressing its smooth surface with his hands.

Master Willix guided the four Larkinson mech designers towards the side of the workshop. As they approached a bulkhead, a circular gap spontaneously formed. Everyone smoothly passed through, though Ves curiously looked back to see that the bulkhead regained its original form, showing no hint of a hatch or opening.

"None of you have ever had the pleasure of touring an MTA battleship, am I correct?" Master Willix asked as she transitioned back to a friendlier facade.

"Uhm, no." Ketis straightforwardly asked. "We did explore a CFA battleship, once."

"Yes, I am aware. You have made quite the gains from that adventure." Willix said as her eyes twinkled in an interesting manner. "The Hesserian Bardine is a different vessel altogether. Let me introduce her to you. In the interests of time, please step on these platforms."

They each stepped on a circular floater platform that automatically lifted up and began to move them across the wide and spacious navy blue hallways at an elevated pace.

While the corridors weren't large enough to allow mechs to pass through, they boasted enough height for the floater platforms to fly above the heads of the mechers walking on the deck.

The lack of congestion meant that they were quickly able to reach another section of the Hesserian Bardine. They reached a wide cavern that was packed with first-class multipurpose mechs!

Ves and the other Larkinson mech designers couldn't help but stare and admire the powerful and exquisitely designed machines. Though they were only able to glean a hint of their capabilities, what little they managed to figure out was already astonishing!

"Our Association's concept of battleships differ from that of the Common Fleet Alliance." Master Willix smiled as she saw her guests becoming suitably impressed. "We have always insisted on the primacy of mechs over warships. However, the latter has been in development for millenia while mechs have only properly taken flight in the last four centuries. It is completely logical for warships and especially battleships to play an essential role in our civilization's continued existence."

Now that Master Willix had turned back into her PR-friendly persona, Ves felt a lot more relaxed around her. His familiarity with her had long caused him to feel a lot less hesitant about acting casually around her. The recent events as well as the treatment that she was giving only reinforced this impression.

"You and your Association wish to change that, right?"

"It is the common goal of all mech designers to lead humanity towards a future that will make vessels such as the Hesserian Bardine obsolete. Until this transition ends, we must make compromises. Just as the CFA makes use of mechs under necessary circumstances, so do we make use of warships in order to pursue our goals."

They watched over the mech workshop a little longer. Though Master Willix did not elaborate on any of the powerful first-class multipurpose mechs on display, it was already a treat to see them in the flesh.

"Impressive, are they not?"

The four mech designers simultaneously nodded.

"Then what if I tell you that they are inferior to the Amaranto that you have just made?"

That remark threw them all for a loop. How could the MTA's finest designs ever be worse than a very good expert mech that was ultimately just a second-class machine?

"I would ask what criteria you are using to issue this judgement." Ves carefully answered. "From a performance perspective, all of the notable features of the Amaranto ultimately can't match up against any of your Association's standard-issue mechs."

It was a harsh truth, but an undeniable one. He had recently witnessed how a small squad of first-class multipurpose mechs completely dismantled the Uranus, a titanic biojuggernaut that was definitely a lot more powerful than the Amaranto due to its sheer size and scale!

"We are proud of our work, but our design is not entirely of our own work." Gloriana admitted. "You as well as Mr. S. have been key in elevating our mech design to an impressive standard. We merely put the icing on the cake."

Master Willix chuckled. "It is that icing that is crucial to the MTA, the mech industry and perhaps humanity as a whole. What you perceive to be a minor contribution is actually the ingredient that can make all of the difference. This is why all of these mechs designed by esteemed Masters that you see before you are inferior. They are technically without flaws, their entire existences are flawed from the start. Don't you see? This is not the direction that mechs should be heading for. They are misshapen children."

"..."

Ketis scratched her head. "I don't know, Master. They look really good in my eyes."