The Mech Touch

"You know I could have beaten you three up if I got serious, correct?" Patriarch Reginald stated as he entered the briefing room on the Gorgoneion.

Almost all of the expert pilots in the expeditionary fleet were present in the compartment today.

It was actually quite rare for so many expert pilots to gather together like this. Their strong willpower and personalities brushed against each other like invisible bubbles.

As Ves stood at the head of the conference table alongside his wife, he became fascinated by what he observed.

Expert pilots were akin to preparatory ace pilots. The former possessed a shadow of the latter, and that showed in the way that each of the ones before him radiated their own domains that attempted to claim ownership in the space around their bodies.

Naturally, these domains didn't like it when they mixed with each other. It was like several different states bumping into each other.

If not for the fact that the expert pilots were all bound by family, duty and friendship, a lot of friction would have emerged by now. None of the expert pilots possessed weak egos and it was quite difficult for them to cede ground towards each other!

Venerable Stark held herself apart from the rest.

Venerable Jannzi and Venerable Joshua both acted like scalded cats when they came close.

Patriarch Reginald evoked a lot of threat from the rest, especially after he made his opening declaration.

The man did not look like a prideful expert pilot who had just lost a practice duel against three of his juniors.

Although Venerable Orfan looked as if she was ready to get into the stronger expert pilot's face to give him a piece of her mind, Venerable Dise held her shoulder and pressed the irritated woman down.

"He's right, Rosa." The swordsman mech specialist said. "His Bolvos Rage did not open up with its formidable arsenal of integrated energy weapons at the start. The mech's shotgun only fired a few times. It deployed with no missiles. Reginald did not even fight at his best until he finally experienced enough pressure. Did you notice that he has not utilized any powerful resonance abilities of his own? Your mech would have been demolished if he fought to kill instead of trying to prove a point."

Although Venerable Orfan was stubborn, she wasn't stupid. She already recognized these points. She just felt upset that her earlier bout which she was so proud of winning lost a lot of its shine.

Perhaps the ordinary observers in the fleet might continue to believe that the three Larkinson expert mechs were able to handle the Bolvos Rage, but everyone in the briefing room knew better.

The expert pilots all possessed a decent understanding of the fight and how much the Bolvos Rage held back. Patriarch Reginald didn't go all-out against his weaker Larkinson counterparts at first.

They had agreed on this beforehand. The main purpose of the sparring match was to exercise each other's fighting capabilities.

The Larkinsons couldn't do that properly if the Bolvos Rage did its best to circumvent the Riot and utilized its superior mobility to close in on the Amaranto and smash the expert rifleman mech into submission!

Although the Larkinson expert mechs handicapped themselves as well, most notably by denying Venerable Stark the use of her strongest and most destructive attacks, they had been fighting a lot more seriously from the start of the match!

Clang!

Ves knocked the fist of his Unending Regalia against the surface of the metal conference table.

Everyone else in the meeting room were still garbed in their custom, high-quality piloting suits.

These suits were much more protective than they looked. Expert pilots were precious and it would be a shame for them to perish so easily.

What if they randomly stumbled in the middle of a firefight?

What if they got blasted by shrapnel when their expert mechs succumbed in battle?

Instances like these were preventable, so the expert pilots all received protective suits that worked better than most regular infantry combat armor!

Laced with high-quality materials and exotics, their suits offered excellent personal protection against both weapons fire and environmental hazards.

They had room for optional shield generators as well, providing them with a strong layer of protection that could give them a lot of buffer against serious threats.

Finally, their suits were quite slim and flexible, making them almost as comfortable as their own skins.

Combined with many modest survival functions, the expert pilots could easily rely on their high-quality suits to survive even when they were stranded on an untamed alien planet!

It wasn't enough, though. Ves noted an obvious difference in the quality and protective properties of the piloting suits of his own men and that of Patriarch Reginald.

The latter had already upgraded to a modern high-end suit model that was developed and sold in the Red Ocean.

In contrast, the Larkinson expert pilots still made do with rim-level equipment. The same went for everything else. The Larkinson Clan had arrived in the Red Ocean for a while now and still used the same old ships, mechs and other inferior equipment!

No wonder Calabast pushed so hard for Ves to kick his commercial enterprises up a notch. It was truly abhorrent to see how his clan relied so much on outdated and inferior technology!

He briefly shook his head to push aside this distracting train of thought and focused on the present. He could think about upgrading the protective piloting suits of his clan's best soldiers another time.

"Each of you has exercised your strengths and employed new tricks. While I am sure that you have learned plenty of lessons from your sparring matches, I am sure you can learn a few more once we share our views. Before we begin, did any of your mechs suffer serious damage?"

No one spoke up, which Ves took as a sign that everything was fine.

"It is good that you have been able to control your strengths. Duels between expert mechs can get pretty destructive if you don't show enough restraint. I understand that it is difficult for warriors like yourselves to endure perceived losses, but remember that fights at this level aren't serious enough for you to get worked up about."

He directed a pointed glance at Venerable Orfan. She was smart enough to agree with the logic behind his words, but her emotions were not in sync.

Ves was quite reluctant to have his expert mechs sparring against each other on a frequent basis. A single accident might necessitate expensive repairs that could last for days or even extend to a week.

During all that time, a crisis might break out at any time where the absence of an expert mech would be sorely felt!

Still, given all of the gains that the expert pilots had made today, it was still worthwhile to let them loose against the only ones in the fleet that could keep up with their pace.

Before Ves tackled the next topic on his agenda, the strongest expert pilot stood up and commanded everyone's attention.

"I cannot wait any longer." He said as his voice underscored his urgency. "Why are your mechs so odd?"

"Pardon?" Ves frowned in puzzlement.

Reginald waved his hand at the Larkinsons. "Your expert mechs! They're far from normal! I already understand that they are 'alive', but when I fought against a few of you today, your expert mechs displayed abilities that are similar but not like the typical resonance abilities that I have experienced!"

To Reginald and many other expert pilots, resonance abilities came from the expert mechs or more precisely the resonating materials integrated in their frames.

The use of these special materials allowed expert pilots to amplify and channel their own willpower into distinct applications that all followed their own rules.

The resonance abilities of many expert mechs weren't actually flashy.

The resonance shield that every expert mech had become a standardized feature.

Amplifying the force of the chainsword wielded by the Amphis was actually a constant resonance ability that Venerable Linda Cross could maintain for a long time.

Yet none of these abilities came close to matching the unorthodox resonance abilities that the Amaranto, the Riot and the Everchanger had displayed. Their unusual resonance abilities carried a different flavor!

"You have fought alongside us for a while, Patriarch Reginald." Ves stated. "What you have experienced isn't new to us. We just didn't bother to explain this important feature to you. In truth, I thought that you would have figured out a few details on your own after fighting alongside our expert mechs."

"Clearly your assumptions are wrong." Reginald crossed his arms in irritation. "Professor Benedict hasn't told me about anything relating to these odd resonance abilities when he was was helping your clan design your Minerva."

"That is because 'prime resonance', the phenomenon that you are likely referring to, is subject to a lot of limitations." Ves explained. "In short, every living mech with a design spirit theoretically has the potential to fight like a prime mech, but the capacity to retain the energy needed to evoke this strength is limited most of the time. In order to make prime resonance possible, I needed to make use of rare materials such as Unending alloy that we have salvaged from the Nyxian Gap. Even then, it is up to the pilots in question to figure out how to harness this potential in specific ways. I am quite proud to see that Venerable Stark, Venerable Orfan and Venerable Joshua have succeeded in inventing their own new prime abilities."

Prime abilities were unlike ordinary resonance abilities.

The latter had to be preconfigured in advance by the mech designer. The specific ways in which he integrated the resonance materials in the mech largely determined the power manifestation.

This was why Ves had taken a liking to prime abilities. A mech designer was never able to figure out how an expert pilot could best channel his power.

It was much better for the expert pilot to develop his own techniques!

Although no brand-new expert mech came with existing prime abilities, this could be remedied over time.

Ves suddenly realized that prime resonance was yet another application of his design philosophy that was predisposed towards growth.

Prime abilities were weak and unrefined at first, but as the expert pilots became more proficient in using them, they could continually improve their application and achieve greater results over time!

While ordinary resonance abilities could grow stronger over time as well, their templates were fixed due to their dependence on fixed materials.

As Ves explained a few of these nuances to his fellow patriarch, the powerful expert pilot clearly conveyed a lot of desire.

"That sounds perfect for my new expert mech! Please include this prime resonance feature in the Mars Project."

Ves adopted an awkward look.

"Ahem." Gloriana cleared her throat. "My husband's prime resonance is only made possible due to the prime materials that we have managed to find and incorporate into our expert mechs. As of now, only our first six expert mechs truly qualify as prime mechs. The Minerva and the upcoming upgrade of my Blade Chaser will not be able to exhibit as much strength because we have already run out of prime materials to use in our other expert mechs."

"The Minerva is actually capable of employing minor prime resonance abilities." Ves clarified to everyone. "Its base energy capacity is extremely limited though, so Commander Casella Ingvar can only channel the power generated by resonating with the design spirit in limited forms."

Patriarch Reginald began to frown. "Can you obtain additional prime materials?"

"I would have turned the Minerva into a prime mech as well if I had any at my disposal." Ves retorted. "Prime resonance is a new phenomenon that I have personally invented. There are still many aspects that I need to flesh out. Right now, I have only identified three valid resonance materials, of which only one of them is available in the Red Ocean. Procuring it… is nearly impossible due to its extremely limited supply."

"What is this material called?"

"Galenta Bone."