The Mech Touch

Two pieces of shocking news spread throughout the Larkinson Clan and the rest of the Golden Skull Alliance!

"Our mech designers have upgraded the Shield of Samar into a masterwork expert mech!"

"The patriarch's wife is about to give birth!"

Just one of these sentences was enough to shock the entire expeditionary fleet. The fact that two of them came out at the same time completely exploded the atmosphere in the Golden Skull Alliance!

Aboard the Hemmington Cross, Patriarch Reginald Cross momentarily looked shocked. He quickly schooled his expression though.

"Interesting. I did not expect you to make a second masterwork expert mech. It is worth it to gain your favor."

Although the Cross Clan had built up a bit of resentment towards the Larkinson Clan for getting embroiled in the latter's troubles, these were small matters to the Cross Patriarch.

A good mech designer was hard to find. The opportunity to befriend one with great talent and unique capabilities was priceless! Even if Ves was just a Journeyman right now, his Amaranto and now this new masterwork expert mech fully put him in Reginald's sights!

Elsewhere on the Hemmington Cross, a certain Senior Mech Designer interrupted his design work.

However, it was a bit embarrassing that Patriarch Ves already made more masterworks than him! So far, Benedict only fabricated two masterwork mechs back when he was still an upright citizen of the Friday Coalition.

After his exile to the frontier and subsequent return to civilized space, he had to start over from the beginning. The two valuable masterwork certificates he used to show off with pride had long been discarded.

As a result, his current record did not mention any masterwork certificates!

Dark thoughts surged within his powerful mind, but he quickly clamped down on them. "I don't need to compete with kids."

Becoming a Master was all that mattered to him. The feats of other mech designers did not detract from his own interests. In fact, it was the opposite. A stronger allied mech designer provided more interesting opportunities to collaborate and exchange with each other.

Benedict was rational enough to acknowledge that his jealous streak was merely a primal reaction that had no place in the modern age. Humans had long elevated themselves from ancient times where ċhėst beating and clubbing rivals over the head was the best way to achieve reproductive success!

Ultimately, the professor was happy that his neighbors took a substantial step further in their careers. The more they neared his level, the more they could team up to tackle ambitious projects such as Patriarch Reginald's next expert mech.

The older man steepled his hands in front of his face.

"Their talent and opportunities are greater than mine back when I was their age." He quietly judged. "It's good that they're catching up to me, but I can't let these fresh-faced brats overtake me too quickly. I can't remain complacent despite my enormous head start. I need to put more effort into breaking through my bottleneck!"

Thinking about the challenges before him put him in a difficult mood. "I can't proceed with half of my experiments without suitable volunteers. How can I attract enough test subjects?"

As Professor Benedict continued to scheme about starting up more ambitious experiments, over at the other side of the fleet, the Glory Seekers all reacted with jubilation at the news!

Unlike Patriarch Reginald and Professor Benedict, the Hexers did not really pay that much attention to the emergence of another masterwork expert mech. The Larkinsons had already shocked them once before with this feat so the second time was much less dramatic.

What they truly cared about was the upcoming birth of Ves and Gloriana's child!

Marshal Ariadne Wodin and Venerable Brutus Wodin requested permission to visit the Spirit of Bentheim. As soon as the Larkinsons granted their request, they quickly boarded a shuttle that brought them over to the Larkinson fleet under escort.

Venerable Brutus deeply yearned to embrace and protect his new niece. "This shuttle is moving too slowly!"

"Calm down, Brutus." His distant aunt pressed his shoulder. "Your sister will be fine, and so will her child. The Larkinsons have excellent doctors and medical specialists at their disposal. These biotech experts originally came from the Life Research Association, after all. With how much money the clan invested in their designer baby, there is almost no chance of complications."

In these times, childbirth was generally safe and sometimes even painless. There were many technological advancements that could ease the process of delivery, but Brutus knew his sister well enough to know she would want to deliver her baby in the most traditional method possible.

He didn't understand women at all. Why were they so eager to go through so much pain?

Ariadne Wodin smirked at the expert pilot's befuddlement. "You will be an uncle soon. Your younger sister is ahead of you now. You must do your duty to the Wodin Dynasty as well and start a family with a proper woman. Although it is a pity that we cannot match you with the fine ladies back in our home state, there are plenty of candidates in our organization. I shall send the list to your mother Constance and let her choose a woman of her liking."

"I see. I'm not in a hurry, though." Brutus said without much resistance.

He had already been prepared for this long ago. Hexer males never chose their own partners at their own accord. Their mothers or the closest female authority figure always handled these important life decisions on their behalf.

It didn't matter if he was separated from his mother by hundreds of thousands of light-years. Even if he was an entire galaxy away, as long as direct communication still remained possible, Constance Wodin still had the right to rule over his life decisions!

The older woman threw an intrigued look at the young expert pilot. "Your mother and I have grown closer as of late. We correspond frequently over the galactic net. If you are open to this option, I can suggest Constance to consider matching you with a Larkinson."

Brutus looked up at his aunt in surprise. "I have never considered this notion."

"It is too early for me to say whether you should, but in my opinion it is the most strategic choice we can make." Marshal Ariadne calmly said. "It is not that hard to deduce that the Larkinson Clan does not have much affection for us. Patriarch Ves' dependence on our support and the support of the Hexadric Hegemony was initially great, but that has changed now that he has erected his own power base. The bonds between us have grown weaker, and Gloriana alone is not enough to convince the Larkinsons to value our people."

Politics was never one of Brutus' strengths. He was raised to serve women and fight on their behalf. Although his high birth allowed him to see further than many other Hexer boys, it was not proper for him to issue his own opinions on important matters.

He bent his head. "I am at your disposal. I shall accept any woman that my mother approves of. Whether my spouse is a Hexer or a Larkinson is of little consequence to me, though I hope the marriage will help my sister in some way."

"If you start a relationship with a Larkinson, you can get closer to your sister." Ariadne smirked. "Family is everything to their clan."

"Will a Larkinson even want to enter into a relationship with me?" Brutus questioned. "The tastes of foreigners are different from Hexers."

"There are all sorts of women in the galaxy, Brutus. There are almost 200,000 members in the Larkinson Clan. There is bound to be a woman among them who will find you attractive. You are an expert pilot, a handsome boy who has been impeccably trained and a scion of a Hexer dynasty. Any Larkinson would be lucky to gain control over you. In addition, I do not believe their clan will reject the opportunity to forge a closer bond with another expert pilot."

Both sides had too many reasons to encourage this kind of matchup. The only serious question was which woman among the Larkinsons would be able to claim Brutus Wodin.

The marshal already came up with a few notable names.

Legion Commander Casella Ingvar was a prime candidate. She was not only an influential leader of one of the mech legions of the Larkinson Clan, but also possessed an aristocratic background. She was clever, exhibited good etiquette, possessed proven leadership capabilities and was part of the upper ranks.

Even though she used to be a third-rater, so were other powerful members of the clan such as Patriarch Ves and Venerable Joshua. The Glory Seekers had long stopped looking down on people of humble birth after witnessing the meteoric rise of the Larkinson Clan first-hand.

It also helped that Casella was an expert candidate. She wouldn't have been in consideration if she had broken through to expert pilot, but as long as she was not a demigod, she was a lot more pliable and open-minded.

If Commander Casella wasn't open to starting a relationship with Venerable Brutus, then there were always other options. The Larkinson Clan was not lacking in women that may not be Hexers but possessed enough of an attitude to appreciate Brutus' personal qualities.

If necessary, they could even try to match him up with Juliet Stameros.

Though the Glory Seekers had many reasons to dislike the Penitent Seekers, the animosity between the two groups had lessened over the years. They had fought alongside each other many times. With so many powerful external enemies, their past disagreements weren't a big deal anymore.

While Ariadne Wodin continued to come up with suitable matchups for Brutus, back in the Spirit of Bentheim a lot more people started moving.

Ves' comm received a flood of congratulatory messages from his clansmen. It became so much that he had outright blocked the incoming flow. He was under no mood to address anyone else while he kept his wife company as she was being cared for by a host of medical specialists.

Outside the hatch that led into the prepared medical bay, a growing number of clansmen had gathered.

Venerable Jannzi had arrived first. Other clansmen who were in the vicinity gathered next. Joshua arrived ten minutes later while the other expert pilots were still on their way.

Security officers soon began to force the bulk of the curious and happy clansmen back due to the increasing congestion in the hallway. Only the most notable and higher-ranking clansmen were allowed to stand close to the entrance.

Dignitaries such as Chief Minister Magdalena Larkinson, Minister Shederin Purnesse, Chief Shipwright Vivian Tsai, Legion Commander Taon Melin, Juliet Stameros, Ketis Larkinson and so on had all gathered together to witness this important occasion.

Other notable leaders such as General Verle, Commander Casella and Commander Melkor were also on their way!

In fact, so many people requested to visit the Spirit of Bentheim that the clan had to reject most of them for fear of exceeding the limits of the factory ship's life support systems!

It was not surprising that so many people wanted to get close to this occasion. They were aware that the Larkinson Clan was about to change forever.. The heir of their most important leader was about to be born.