The Mech Touch

　　He already accounted for this. He deliberately created her a few months earlier because he expected that she would have to be coaxed into becoming a willing partner.

　　Ves did not intend to exploit her or to screw her over. He did not want to look behind his back or worry about rebellions all the time.

　　As long as she accepted her new state of existence and understood the benefits of becoming a design spirit, she would fall in line like the rest of her kind.

　　The strongest bond in existence was a mutually-beneficial arrangement. There were hardly any better deals for spiritual entities out there. Unless she found a way to become an existence akin to a dark god or something, it was much better for her to stay in place and collect spiritual feedback from the mech pilots making use of his living mechs!

　　While Ves kept close track of the Titania's state after the first few days, he slowly grew more reassured of her compliance.Goldie constantly kept her company and tried to convince the former astral beast to cooperate with the Larkinson Clan.

　　The Superior Mother did not descend as much but Ves could tell she kept a watchful eye over what was happening.

　　Goldie flew around his body and purred when he scratched her head.

　　"How is the Titania? Has she become more compliant?"

　　Nyaaaa.

　　"I see. Don't try to push too hard. We have plenty of time on our hands. No matter what, she used to be a lot older and wiser than you, so I doubt it will be easy for her to give up her primacy."

　　Nyaaa nyaaa.

　　"You're right. She's alone while we are not. Hopefully she will learn that it is better to join our pack than to think she can make it by herself."

　　After confirming that nothing went amiss, Ves returned to his regular duties.

　　The expeditionary fleet had reached the periphery of the Magair Middle Zone and was just about to cross over into the much more exciting Krakatoa Middle Zone.

　　The transition was obvious. The further the expeditionary fleet traveled, the less signs of civilization they encountered.

　　There were fewer colonies this far because the region was not completely pacified. Only strong or desperate pioneers chose to plant their flags in these areas.

　　There were fewer ships as well, and most of them had the good sense to band together.

　　It was not uncommon for the Golden Skull Alliance to enter a star system that was already hosting an amalgamation of different pioneering fleets.

　　Most pioneers weren't confident that they could roam this far in the new frontier by themselves, so they eagerly sought each other out in order to band their strengths together.

　　These alliances were either temporary or permanent. Just like the Golden Skull Alliance, their main use was to present a united front against anyone with hostile intentions in mind.

　　"What if the enemy comes from within?" Ves wondered.

　　The outcome wouldn't be pretty. During the journey, the Larkinsons already encountered the remnants of debris fields that spoke of back stabbings and double-crossings.

　　Malice wasn't always a part of the equation. One partner might simply decide the battle wasn't worth fighting and retreat early, thereby causing the rest of the defensive lines to collapse.

　　The remains of dead fleets taught valuable lessons to everyone in the expeditionary fleet. If they wanted to avoid this fate, they needed to be able to trust each other to stick around under high-pressure situations.

　　Ves wasn't particularly concerned at the moment. The Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan all needed the Larkinson Clan for several different reasons. They had already proven their commitment enough times for him to consider his allies as his true friends.

　　Sure, the Glory Seekers and the Crossers both wanted something from him, but that only made him feel more reassured. It was a lot easier for him to work around clear and obvious motives than vague notions of honor. He had seen too many people cast their honor and integrity aside whenever it was convenient.

　　There were other signs that the deeper regions of the Red Ocean harbored greater danger.

　　The fleet encountered more signs of alien movements.

　　From cooling alien starship wrecks to the destruction of human pioneering fleets at the hands of vengeful alien marauders, it became pretty clear that humanity's grip on occupied territory was not yet solid!

　　The mech pilots all intensified their training and maintained a higher state of readiness whenever the expeditionary fleet transitioned into another star system.

　　Fortunately, no terror came out to ambush the fleet so far. That might change once they entered the Krakatoa Middle Zone, but for now everyone was grateful for the moments of peace.

　　Ves resumed his work on his design projects. The Deceptor Project came closer and closer to completion and so did several other interesting projects.

　　Surprisingly enough, Gloriana was the first to bring her custom mech design to a functional state.

　　After several rounds of refinement, the New Man Project was ready to be fabricated.

　　"Vincent will be happy with this." He said as he studied the latest iteration of her mech design. "Are you sure it is up to your standards, though? You completed it awfully quickly."

　　Gloriana did not look happy despite carrying Aurelia in her arms.

　　"I have spent weeks optimizing this mech in person. While I have become good at it, there is only so much I can do when I can only rely on mathematical models and simulation testing. I need to see the mech perform in reality before I can optimize it any further. I don't want to conclude this project as soon as I fabricate the New Man Project. I intend to put it through its paces and use the data I've collected to iterate on it further."

　　"Even when it is already a whole mech?"

　　She nodded. "I can always modify the design when needed. I won't stop applying changes until I am reasonably satisfied with its state."

　　Ves took a closer look at the design once he completed his survey of its technical properties.

　　As someone who not only collaborated frequently with Ves but also contained a dormant spiritual fragment of him, Gloriana was no longer as ignorant about spiritual design as before.

　　The latter alone granted Gloriana the ability to borrow a small part of his power and make a mech alive.

　　Of course, the New Man Project was a far cry from the Deceptor Project in terms of living attributes. Its spiritual foundation was weak and its design was extremely rudimentary.

　　It reminded Ves of his earliest mech designs. Aside from possessing an elevated X-Factor, there was nothing distinctly alive about the New Man Project.

　　This was still an impressive feat, though. Aside from Ketis, Ves knew of no one else who could reproduce his design philosophy. Not even the MTA was that capable.

　　"Good job, Gloriana." He genuinely praised her work. "Vincent will surely embrace this new mech of yours."

　　Even if the New Man Project was just a first order living mech, its technical design fit Vincent far too well. The mech was also more powerful and more able to impact a battle than an ordinary Bright Warrior. All of these advantages more than compensated for the relatively weak living properties of the custom hybrid mech.

　　If Vincent Ricklin ever broke through to expert pilot, it shouldn't be a problem to design a brand-new expert mech for him. There was no need to retain the New Man Project and try to upgrade it like the Shield of Samar.

　　"Do you need my help in fabricating the mech?" Ves offered even though he already knew the answer.

　　Gloriana looked offended. "I don't need your handholding. I can take on my own work, thank you very much. I only need you to look after Aurelia while I am engrossed in my work. She has reached a stage where she needs regular attention from her parents, but I can't pull myself away from my operations often enough to keep her company. Please take care of her, but don't forget to bring her over to my workshop when I'm done with my shift."

　　"I can do that." Ves replied as he accepted Aurelia in his arms.

　　"Gwaaa…?"

　　"Yes. Daddy's here now. I'll be taking care of you for the next few days. Doesn't that sound great?"

　　"Buuwaaa!…"

　　Gloriana soon began to fabricate her first new solo project. Though Ves was tempted to drop by and offer his assistance, he knew it would only piss her off even further.

　　"Well, it's just you and me now, sweetie."

　　"Meow."

　　"Miaow."

　　"Oh, and you two as well."

　　When Ves returned to his own design studio, he soon went back to working on the Minerva Project.

　　Now that he had brought the Titania back to life in an altered form, he had a better idea on how to shape the ambitious expert command mech. He made a lot of progress on its spiritual design but also made sure to further its physical design.

　　"Mwaaauuu… buuubuuu…"

　　"Pretty, isn't it? Once we complete the Minerva Project, this won't be just a pretty projection anymore. It will turn into a real expert command mech that shall enable Commander Casella Ingvar to extend her empowering influence to every friendly mech pilot within reach. Hopefully, the Titania will cooperate with her as well in this endeavor."

　　The Minerva Project was by far the most complicated mech design in development at the moment, but that did not mean it had fallen behind. With five different mech designers collaborating on it, the mech design had already reached a relatively advanced state.

　　"Wuuuuuu… baaaahwhauaaaa…"

　　Aurelia tried to reach out to the projected mech design with her tiny hands. She was being so adorable that Ves couldn't help but play with her for a moment.

　　"Hihihihi!"

　　Making her laugh was one of the greatest pleasures of his life. Sometimes, he never wanted this to end. Nothing made him feel warmer than to bond with his infant daughter.

　　Alas, Aurelia was growing bigger and smarter with each passing day. Though the differences weren't obvious, he knew that she would eventually outgrow her simple and innocent phase.

　　Ves lifted her up and kissed her head when she began to doze off again.

　　"Sleep well, my girl. Daddy will always protect you. Nothing will ever be able to hurt you. Our entire clan will do its best to ensure that. With the addition of the Minerva Project, our enemies will have to overcome even greater odds to threaten your life."

　　Holding and bonding with Aurelia gave more purpose in his life. Ves became a lot more invested in his design projects when her presence constantly reminded him of the stakes.

　　A part of him even questioned the need to travel deeper into the new frontier. He was heading straight into dangerous territory where a single bad encounter could lead to the destruction of the entire expeditionary fleet!

　　Yet it was because of all of the opportunities it held that made Ves more determined to stay his course. Only by growing stronger would he truly be able to give his daughter and possibly his subsequent children a bright and wonderful future.

　　"I love you so much, Aurelia. Please forgive daddy if he ever makes a mistake."

　　He placed his sleeping baby in her crib before turning back to his work. The Minerva Project was already making good progress, but perhaps he could push it a little further. The sooner it was complete, the sooner Commander Casella would be able to fight the enemies of the Larkinson at her full strength!