The Mech Touch

　　Projections of sweeping battles played overhead. Identical mechs stood in perfect rows. Larkinson mech pilots and mech designers all stood close to the exhibits in order to explain their mechs and answer simple questions.

　　Almost any mech in use by the Larkinson Clan generated a lot of interest.

　　"This is the Bright Warrior in all of its four configurations." Rina Orion explained. "This exclusive mech design may not have been designed for the Red Ocean, but it is still a capable mech in our hands. Through the use of special methods, this mech is able to perform better when it is piloted by our clansmen."

　　"What makes this mech stronger than others?" A guest asked.

　　"Good question. I cannot reveal all of its secrets to you as the Bright Warrior model still plays a vital role in the defense of our fleet. However, I can tell you that it is a highly versatile mech that steadily adapts to its mech pilots and grows stronger over time. These are features that are highly common to all of our living mechs. You may be able to own them or pilot them yourselves one day. While our Living Mech Corporation currently isn't ready to release any of its products to the Davute market, this will change in the future."

　　The group that had come to study the Bright Warrior mechs weren't particularly impressed by what they saw. Since they weren't capable to observing the invisible and out-of-sight properties of these living mechs, they couldn't distinguish how these years-old machines were better than freshly made ones.

　　On the surface, the design of the Bright Warrior model was rather basic by the standards of the Red Ocean. The materials that made up the machines were fairly weak while the tech level of the components were not that great either.

　　The only exception was the luminar crystal rifle wielded by the rifleman mech configuration of the Bright Warrior. The weapon not only looked splendid, but also exuded a greater sense of lethality than other armaments.

　　Even so, the more knowledgeable guests quickly figured out that the Bright Warrior was just an ordinary rim-level mech model that the Larkinsons had brought over from their previous hometown.

　　Rina Orion didn't have to rely on her heavy augmentations to figure out that the visitors looked down on the Bright Warrior. The technical design indeed fell behind, but that didn't mean the mech line was hopeless!

　　She smiled. "Our Bright Warrior mechs are still relatively young and have a lot of growth ahead of them before they become formidable. We do have a number of examples that have experienced much greater growth than other Bright Warriors. Many of them aren't on display here, but our clan patriarch has graciously allowed you to witness the greatest offshoot of this mech model. Please come this way."

　　The group followed the young assistant mech designer and entered another hall where there was a lot more traffic.

　　Before they even entered the specially-built hall, they all felt it. The glow of the mech inside was similar to that of the Bright Warrior, but it was much stronger and different than what they experienced before.

　　"This sensation… it's deeper."

　　"It's more powerful as well."

　　"There's more complexity and depth."

　　Many people used different descriptions. All of them failed to describe the wealth of sensations in their mind.

　　As they slowly strode forward, they entered a dark, shine-like interior where a single highly-modified Bright Warrior mech stood in place.

　　The mech, which was currently in its space knight configuration in order to look more imposing, was a golden marvel of metal and life.

　　If the visitors were previously skeptical that living mechs were even a thing, they held much less doubts this time.

　　"This mech is a masterwork!"

　　"Indeed." Rina Orion said as she respectfully bowed before one of the living relics of the Larkinson Clan. "Meet the Quint. It not only started off as a masterwork mech, but also received numerous special upgrades over the course of its usage. Two of our expert pilots managed to break through while piloting this mech. This has made it even stronger and more alive."

　　The mech designers among the group were incredibly impressed by the Quint. It was not only stronger and more exquisite than the ordinary Bright Warriors, but also possessed a presence that made it seem as if they were in the presence of a living legend rather than a lifeless machine!

　　While many different visitors gawked at the Quint, others were discovering unexpected facets about the other mechs of the Larkinson Clan.

　　The Chiron training mech was one of them. The Larkinsons had decided to exhibit the mech model to the public for the first time since its existence.

　　The mech didn't look that impressive at first. It was clearly a third-class mech that didn't perform nearly as well as an ordinary modern third-class combat mech.

　　However, these faults were much less severe once people realized that the Chiron was a training mech.

　　A young uniformed mech cadet proudly stood in front of the Sagittarius, the first production copy of the Chiron and also her personally-assigned machine. She enthusiastically sang the praises of the mech model that had accelerated her growth so much.

　　Even though she had outgrown the Chiron at this stage in her training, she still piloted her machine as frequently as possible.

　　"The Chiron here has many advantages compared to other training mechs." She claimed. "I am only allowed to tell you about two of them. First, it can change its physical form to adapt to its mech pilots. The changes it can make include changing the length of its limbs and altering the shape of its torso. By trying to match the physique of its pilots as closely as possible, more junior cadets can more easily learn the ins and outs of basic mech piloting."

　　This was a useful feature that was not uncommon to see in training mechs.

　　Not all training mechs were designed to be adjustable. There were certain instructors and academies that believed that mech pilots needed to learn how to adapt to their mechs instead of the other way around.

　　Those who adhered to this doctrine looked down on mechs like the Chiron that bent over backwards in order to make the piloting experience as easy as possible!

　　If Lanie Larkinson noticed these glances, she did not acknowledge them. The Chiron was best mech model in the Larkinson Clan and no one could change her opinion!

　　"Another way the Chiron can do what other training mechs cannot match is its ability to accelerate the learning of its pilots."

　　"That is a vague statement, miss. How exactly does the Chiron accomplish this feat?"

　　"It's a living mech. I'm sure you've heard other Larkinsons throw this phrase around, but it truly matters, moreso for a training mech. From the moment a cadet like myself begins to pilot the Chiron, the living machine becomes a part of the training journey. The mech cadet gains a personal companion and tutor who not only grows stronger and smarter the more you use it, but is also able to provide the best and most appropriate tips that are always relevant to your current progress. Not even the best instructors can do better since they don't exactly know how their pupils are doing inside the cockpit."

　　Although there were plenty of skeptics among the crowd, others already developed a desire to obtain these mechs for themselves!

　　"Can we try it out?" A mech pilot asked.

　　Lanie laughed. "I'm sorry, sir, but these mechs are only here for sight-seeing. I would love to show you in person how they are by far the best training mechs in this galaxy, but that is not what this symposium thing is about. I'm allowed to show you bits and pieces of my training footage, though. You can judge the effectiveness of the Chiron by yourselves."

　　She waved her hand, causing a large overhead projection to display edited clips of her best training performances.

　　The footage showed Lanie piloting mechs in reality and in simulation. The former were more tame, but the Sagittarius piloted by Lanie fought with surprising skill and aggression.

　　Lanie understood the limits of the Chiron model so well that she was able to pilot the third-class training mech close to its full potential.

　　Even when she sparred against a Bright Warrior piloted by an instructor, she did not allow herself to get crushed. She managed to stave off the Bright Warrior through a combination of great familiarity, polished skills and excellent combat judgment.

　　The mech pilots among the crowd became increasingly more impressed at Lanie.

　　Sure, as second-class pilots, they looked down on mech cadets that started their training with third-class mechs.

　　Yet there are elements about mech piloting that were universal among the different classes.

　　Focused aggression. Smart decision-making. Good intuition. The ability to exploit openings.

　　Lanie scored high on all of these aspects, so much so that she actually outperformed many second-class mech cadets!

　　The differences became more obvious when the footage also showed her piloting different mechs.

　　These sessions mostly took place in a virtual environment. Mech cadets were only allowed to pilot real combat mechs in their last academy years, so they mostly had to rely on simulation battles to pilot different machines than their training mechs.

　　In the instances where Lanie was no longer constrained by the weak performance parameters of her Sagitarrius, she turned into a beast of a mech pilot.

　　She happened to perform extremely well when piloting swordsman mechs such as the Bright Warrior in the appropriate configuration.

　　When she piloted these mechs, she was able to fight her way out through many different scenarios, some of which would have even given seasoned second-class mech pilots a good challenge!

　　There was nothing about her performance that suggested that she was an immature pilot-in-the-making. Even if she was fairly close to graduation, she showed none the roughness and mistakes that other mech cadets of her age would make!

　　"If this is what a Chiron can do, then it is truly a revolutionary pedagogic tool." A mech pilot who also happened to be a mech instructor commented. "I can't see whether this kid gained all of her skills from her training mech, but there should definitely be truth to this matter. I've tried my best to pass on the same qualities in my own classes, but few if any of my cadets came close to her level."

　　His words and the words of other mech pilots added a lot of credibility to the Chiron model. They had fallen in love with the training mech. If they had the opportunity to pilot it during their academy days, then they might have made a lot of achievements at this stage!

　　"Where can we buy a Chiron?"

　　"It's not for sale, haha." Lanie chuckled. "Before you ask, it's not because we're selfish. The truth is that the Chiron is specifically developed for our clansmen. It's not as nearly as effective when outsiders pilot it. Believe me, we've tried."

　　"How?" Someone frowned.

　　"Because we're special." Lanie straightforwardly answered.

　　"Seriously?"

　　"What do you expect me to say? I didn't design this mech. All I know is that the Chiron is able to work this way because of special technologies. You'd have to ask a mech designer if you want to find out what that means, but I'm pretty sure they are under orders not to clarify anything. If you truly want to get to the bottom of our exclusive mechs, then you are welcome to join our clan. That is the only way you get to pilot these babies."

　　The young woman smirked as she attempted to do her part in strengthening the clan.