The Mech Touch

　　Fortunately for the Larkinsons, the visitors generally responded with delight rather than disappointment.

　　For an organization which originally came from the galactic rim, the clan exhibited plenty of curiosities that could interest people from every part of human space.

　　While it was hard for the clansmen to explain the greater benefits of living mechs, it was incredibly easy for anyone to experience their characteristic glows.

　　A lot of professionals saw great uses in the properties of certain mechs. The duty-oriented glow of the Solemn Guardian, the disorientation-oriented glow of the Ferocious Piranha IB1 and the death-oriented glow of the Valkyrie Redeemer were especially intriguing to third parties.

　　"Is this marauder mech for sale?" A female mech commander asked.

　　 "I'm afraid not." Juliet Stameros shook her head. "The Valkyrie Redeemer and its numerous variants are exclusively designed for certain elements of the Larkinson Clan and an old galaxy state called the Hexadric Hegemony. Since it was originally designed to fight in wars, the Valkyrie line is protected by special… technologies that hinders anyone else from piloting it. This prevents our enemies and the enemies of the Hegemony from using the Valkyrie mechs against its own forces."

　　Most of the guests were already familiar with the phrase 'special technologies'. The clansmen assigned to explain the exhibits had all been instructed to say these words whenever they needed to address the many mysterious methods of the Larkinson Clan.

　　Clearly, the Larkinsons weren't willing to elaborate. Even if they wanted to, their understanding of glows and living mechs were woefully shallow. Only Ves was able to provide the curious guests with a proper explanation, and he was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

　　A portion of the women among the crowd looked deflated when they heard the Valkyrie models weren't for sale.

　　"Will a version of the Valkyries ever be put on the mech market?"

　　"I cannot say for certain." Juliet shrugged. "The Valkyrie Redeemer was originally commissioned by the Hexadric Hegemony. It is up to the state to decide what to do with it. There may be a chance that this may change. The Hegemony is currently losing the war back in the old galaxy. If it is dissolved, the rights may return to our clan, as I can hardly imagine the Hexers ever contemplating defeat. If they did, they would have added a clause that allows them to transfer their rights to a successor state or organization. Do not take my word on that, though. I am not a lawyer and I have never read this contract."

　　It was all a bit complicated and it heavily depended on whether the Hexers exiled to the Red Ocean could remain united. If multiple dynasties fell out and tried to claim that their colonies were the true successors of the Hexadric Hegemony, then that would lead to a lot of complications!

　　Juliet inwardly shook her head. She no longer pledged her loyalty to the Hegemony. Now that she dedicated her life to the Larkinson Clan, she saw numerous advantages to selling a commercialized edition of the Valkyrie line.

　　Personally, she would love it if more people came in touch with the Superior Mother. She thought it was a waste if the Hexers largely claimed her for themselves. She had lost faith in her former state when she heard that the powerful dynasties were evacuating from it while doing little to save the rest of the population.

　　Juliet never realized that the Hegemony was so rotten! It was only when she gained an outsider's perspective that she recognized how dysfunctional it was. The state could have been so much better if the Hexers didn't demonize boys so much.

　　Elsewhere on the Vivacious Wal, thousands of visitors flocked inside the large structure where one of the highlights of the Vulcan Symposium could be found.

　　The lighting in the specially-renovated hall was dim, which caused the projected footage to stand out from the darkness.

　　As the visitors proceeded through the hall, they experienced the life trajectory of the mech that they wanted to witness.

　　Few visitors who wanted to observe one of the Larkinson Clan's famed masterwork expert mechs knew that its beginning was much more humble.

　　"The Shield of Samar started out as an ordinary third-class mech?" Someone asked as they watched the projection of the mech during its initial deput.

　　Back then, the Larkinsons were still third-raters and the Aurora Titan was one of Ves' best works.

　　The Shield of Samar enjoyed an auspicious start as its test pilot broke through during the Aurora Titan's public announcement!

　　A lot of mech pilots grew envious when they saw how easily Jannzi Larkinson managed to become an expert candidate.

　　"She was under no threat at all!" A mech pilot complained. "The rest of us have to throw ourselves in constant battle while this woman lucked out during a choreographed show of all things!"

　　Other mech pilots were more nonchalant. "Everyone has their own opportunities. Maybe this pilot is talented enough that she would have broken through regardless of the occasion. She's an expert pilot now so she clearly has what it takes to become a demigod."

　　"Could it have been her mech?" Someone else wondered. "I mean, just look at how many expert pilots and expert candidates the Larkinson Clan produced in just a couple of years. If these living mechs can really help pilots progress, then maybe we should try and get them ourselves."

　　"Don't be silly. The Larkinsons employ tens of thousands of mech pilots according to the public figures. Having six or seven expert pilots is not out of proportion. Besides, there are tens of millions of LMC mechs in use in the old galaxy, and the statistics have never shown a distinct increase in breakthroughs."

　　There were a lot of mech fanatics that were obsessed about this topic. They pooled their efforts together to track and register breakthroughs. They subsequently added their data to large public databases where anyone could gain a fair estimate on which mechs produced the most expert candidates and expert pilots.

　　The tour continued. They learned about the battles the Shield of Samar participated in and also saw how the Shield of Samar was upgraded over time.

　　The latest revision was the most drastic of all. Only the mech designers among the crowd understood how difficult it was to overhaul an existing mech and turn it into a new masterwork.

　　"This is impossible. The mech designers involved are still Journeymen, and young to boot!"

　　"I bet it's mostly the credit of that MTA Master Mech Designer who got involved for some reason."

　　"Don't belittle the work of the Journeymen. The MTA has never awarded masterwork certificates that the recipients haven't earned, and as far I know that Master never participated in any fabrication runs. These young mech designers have earned their acclaim."

　　Not everyone believed in the official records, though a lot of people thought these skeptics were fools. It was never a good idea to criticize one of the current overlords of human space.

　　Besides, the MTA possessed a stellar reputation. The mechers were always honest and accurate in their inspections and never distorted their records.

　　After a fairly long tour through the hall, they finally approached the mech that they had all paid to observe.

　　They had gradually felt the powerful expert mech's awesome presence before they even came close enough to observe its resplendent details.

　　"It's… so big."

　　"It's so heavy as well."

　　"I feel safe in its presence."

　　While the Amaranto that was situated in another part of the Vivacious Wal also fascinated a lot of people, the Shield of Samar made a significantly greater impact on most people.

　　This was because its powerful resonance presence did not just announce itself to them, but faintly enveloped them in its protective embrace.

　　This was a rare experience that few individuals ever got to enjoy. The fact that the sensation came from a third-order living mech piloted by a woman with strong principles about the value of human life made it even better!

　　That said, the expert pilot responsible for this phenomenon was anything but happy at the moment.

　　Venerable Jannzi was in a grumpy mood as she sat in her cockpit. She had been here for hours without doing anything except keeping the Shield of Samar in place.

　　The reason why it was necessary for her to be involved was because the masterwork expert mech wouldn't be as impressive if it didn't generate any true resonance.

　　"I'm not a circus exhibit, Ves!" She cursed.

　　PATIENCE, PARTNER. THIS IS FOR THE GOOD OF ALL OF US. LET THESE PEOPLE GAWK AT US. THEY WILL ONLY COME AWAY WITH A MUCH BETTER IMPRESSION OF OUR CLAN.

　　"Yes, yes, I know. I'm sure Ves will be delighted with all of the revenue generated by the tickets he managed to sell. I think that is the real reason why he was so eager to hold this 'symposium', whatever that means."

　　Despite her words, there was still a part of her that liked all of the attention that she was getting. Obtaining respect and recognition from people was a far cry from the rejection that she usually received when she tried to convince her fellow Larkinsons that Ves was not a good leader.

　　The Shield of Samar also enjoyed the attention. Although it was almost human-like in its intelligence and awareness, it was still a relatively young entity. Being at the center of attention would flatter any person, let alone a mech that wasn't quite mature!

　　Another popular exhibit in the symposium had nothing to do with mechs at all. Though few people knew about it, the Larkinson Clan also engaged in numerous biotechnology activities.

　　Though the Larkinson Biotech Institute hadn't developed any products that were ready to be displayed this time, it did offer a number of curiosities that attracted plenty of attention.

　　The large piles of preserved flesh taken from the Titania impressed a lot of people. Astral beasts were exotic and rare in the old galaxy, so the thought of encountering an enormous specimen that was 5 kilometers long was quite impressive!

　　Of course, the visitors didn't come here just to gawk at the alien flesh.

　　"Get your astral beast barbecue right here! This is the opportunity of a lifetime, so get it now before it's gone. Come and take a bite out of this skewer made out of 6000-year old astral beast meat!"

　　"Is it safe to eat?"

　　The salesman grinned. "Our clan has been eating this meat every sunday. Our scientists did something to it to make it edible for humans. If you're feeling adventurous, then go ahead."

　　The taste of astral beast meat was odd to say the least. It was tough, stringy, chewy and did not possess the usual flavors associated with traditional meat.

　　Nonetheless, it was edible. As long as the cooks added enough spices, the meat became palatable.

　　Aside from that, the biotech section of the public area also displayed more profound assets.

　　None impacted the guests more than the Aspects of Lufa. Two of the four living statues were made available for the symposium.

　　For a small fee of 5 MTA millicredits, everyone was allowed to spend five minutes within the active range of the Aspect of Tranquility and the Aspect of Healing.

　　A lot of people came away impressed and wanted to go again. Unfortunately, the Larkinsons only gave them the opportunity to experience the two statues for a single time each.

　　"Why can't we go again?"

　　"For safety reasons."

　　"How do they work?"

　　"Special technologies. That's all I can say."

　　"How can we experience these glows again? I've lost so much stress today."

　　"You can purchase the Tranquility Treatment Editions which our mech company has released a while ago. They're not for sale in the Red Ocean but that might change in the future. Stay tuned and pay attention to our announcements."

　　Given the amount of stress that people in the Red Ocean had to endure every day, the value of mechs with these particular glows were much more valuable in this market!