The Mech Touch

The two weeks that followed after completing the Mars Project was a tense and uncertain period.

Ves and the other Larkinson mech designers were not completely free to devote all of their time on preparing for the most challenging fabrication attempt of their lives up to this point.

The Design Department already embarked on another design round. Many of the mech design projects were meant to refresh a lot of older Larkinson mech designs as Ves found it important to ensure his works kept up with the times.

Ves, Gloriana, Juliet and Sara put down much of the design work that the foursome were supposed to handle in the next three weeks.

They accepted the delays and disruptions in the design schedule because they all found it important to put themselves in the best possible condition for their upcoming fabrication run.

While it was true that the Mars Project mainly benefited the Cross Clan, the Larkinson Clan also had a stake in the outcome of this expensive endeavor!

Aside from strengthening the entire Golden Skull Alliance to a large degree, Ves and Gloriana also cared about the consequences to their professional reputation.

"The completed Mars Project has a large chance of becoming the mech of the year in Davute." Gloriana told her husband one day as they both took the chance to absorb additional knowledge at the Genesis Lab. "Unless there are ace mechs under development that we don't know about, the Mars Project is most definitely the most powerful mech that will emerge from Davute this year."

Ves looked up from his terminal and turned to his wife. "Why are you mentioning this? Do you want to win some sort of prize or something?"

"Why not? We certainly deserve it considering all of the challenges we have overcome and all of the innovative design solutions we came up with to realize such a powerful mech design. Though I admit that Professor Benedict deserves most of the credit of delivering an excellent expert mech design, our contributions matter as well. Without us, the Cross Clan would have never been able to turn the Mars Project into a living mech and a god body, among other additions. We deserve recognition for our work."

Ves adopted a skeptical expression. "I don't disagree with you, but… the Cross Clan isn't eager to show off its Mars Project too much. If you want our contribution to be recognized, then the Crossers must be willing to show off the completed Mars Project in public exhibitions. They must also demonstrate its excellence by holding a live demonstration session. That will doubtlessly expose crucial details about its performance that might give their future enemies an advantage."

Gloriana looked rather sour. "I don't think Patriarch Reginald will mind that all that much. Only the weak are most keen on hiding their own secrets. Didn't we take the initiative to put the C-Man on public relations tours because we aren't as afraid of exposing our strength as before? I can imagine that Patriarch Reginald will also be eager to increase his reputation and the reputation of his clan."

"Maybe you're right, but I'm not too sure about that. In my talks with the Crossers, I never got the impression that Patriarch Reginald is willing to compromise the security of his clan in order to gain more recognition. The Red Ocean is filled with sharks that are much more powerful than us. It is still prudent to maintain a lower profile and continue to go about our day without attracting excessive attention from the wrong crowd."

His wife did not look convinced. "That may be true to the Cross Clan in its current state, but that may change in the coming weeks. If our greatest hopes come true, the Crossers may once again be led by an ace pilot once again. Do you know how many Saints are based in Davute?"

"Uh…"

"Seven." Gloriana revealed the answer. "Several different major power blocs reigning over Davute have managed to bring over seven ace pilots as far as we know. There may be two or three more that the pioneers have kept up their sleeves, but there shouldn't be too many of them since it is difficult to hide the measures needed to keep an ace mech and ace pilot up to strength."

That sounded about right. Ace pilots were extremely rare to begin with. Most of them rose up from the military branches of the various states of the Milky Way. They were extremely noble and principled which meant that it was impossible to bribe them or persuade them to abandon their original missions.

There were only a limited number of circumstances where pioneers were able to convince the powerful servants of their respective states to emigrate to the new frontier.

The groups that were able to do so were either affiliated with governments or had committed to serving the people that the ace pilots swore to protect.

In any case, all of these conditions meant that the number of ace pilots in the Red Ocean was quite low.

While it was rather remarkable that seven were openly present in a single star system, that was because Davute was the hub of the entire surrounding star region.

This put the possible breakthrough of Patriarch Reginald Cross in a much more special light.

The Cross Clan and the Golden Skull Alliance would carry much more weight in Davute and the local region.

The biggest benefit of Reginald's successful breakthrough was that the Golden Skull Alliance would no longer be treated as upstarts!

Although the explosive rise of the Living Mech Corporation's business operations had already elevated the status of the Larkinson Clan to a degree, it had also attracted a lot of unwelcome attention from rival companies and those who felt threatened by the rise of the Larkinsons.

If one of the core allies of the Larkinson Clan happened to produce the eight publicly known ace pilot of Davute, then Ves would no longer have to worry about encroaching upon the core interests of rival parties.

This was because the Golden Skull Alliance finally possessed the capital to stand up to the major players!

Perhaps the Larkinsons and Crossers might not be able to match the numbers or the industries of the groups that founded the settlements in Davute, but the existence of an ace pilot presented a major deterrence against anyone who harbor ill intentions!

It did not even matter if the Mars Project was still an expert mech at that point. Its design was so extravagant that it could already be described as a half-step ace mech!

However, all of this sounded like wishful dreaming to Ves. It was anything but guaranteed that he and his fellow mech designers would be able to deliver a masterwork mech and that the resulting product would trigger Patriarch Reginald's breakthrough.

There were far too many events that had to go exactly right in order to produce this rare and precious outcome.

"Gloriana, let's not put the cart before the horse. We should focus on completing our work to the best of our abilities before we think about earning any accolades. Let's talk about this after we have put this fabrication behind us, okay?"

"We'll succeed." She stated with a burning desire behind her tone. "I'm sure of it. We spent so much time and invested so many resources in this design project. It has to succeed."

"I would like to see that happen as well."

They continued with their preparations and did everything they could to maximize their chances.

Ves chiefly occupied himself with studying the properties of various materials, many of which he had never come across or worked directly with before.

Although Professor Benedict took responsibility for handling the most troublesome materials and components, there were still plenty more difficult areas of the Mars Project that Ves had to take care of himself.

The ARCEUS System was particularly a focal point to him. No one in the design team possessed a deeper understanding of its design and implementation than him. He possessed the vision and the comprehension to make sure it was applied in the most exquisite manner to the completed mech.

"It's a pity that it's not a luminar crystal weapon system." Ves sighed for the umpteenth time.

Working on a high-end energy weapon system like this one had opened up his perspective of what was possible in this field. Humanity's development of more conventional laser beam weapons and positron beam weapons still remained vigorous as the demand for them remained high.

Ves even recognized that it was quite hard for luminar crystal weapons to compete against the most powerful and sophisticated implementations of energy weapons at the top end of the mech industry.

Although conventional energy weapons lacked the special qualities that made luminar crystal weapons so versatile and quirky, the absolute firepower that human products were able to produce was more important than any other specification!

"Maybe that will change in the future."

It wouldn't come from him most likely. Ves did not specialize in energy weapons and only treated this field as a minor at best.

Time went by as Ves and the other relevant mech designers slowly completed their additional preparations and completed their psychological preparations.

Each of them were ready. That became clear as soon as they gathered in the workshop of the Primary Cross Lab.

Before they were able to enter the facility that was located deep inside the Cross Production Complex, they had to go through numerous extensive security checks.

"Wow." Ves remarked as he was being scanned for any bombs or other dangerous materials. "It looks as if your clan is preparing to repel an invasion."

"We are." The Cross security officer replied. "We do not know whether anyone wants to stop us from regaining our former status, but it is better to make sure we are ready for anything. We are on a full war footing for the entire duration of your fabrication run. Our clan will not allow anyone to disturb your work."

The Crossers had completely closed down the complex and mobilized as many mechs and soldiers as they were allowed in Davute!

The neighbors occupying the adjacent plots in Industrial District 2 must be feeling a lot more nervous at the moment. Any fight that might ensue in the vicinity could easily spill over to other factories and facilities!

The risk to public safety was so great that the local Planetary Guard had taken note as well. A squad of law enforcement mechs had decided to patrol the surrounding blocks to deter any would-be troublemakers.

When Ves and his fellow Larkinsons finally entered the secure workshop hall, they were greeted by the most important members of the Cross Clan.

Professor Benedict was in the process of inspecting the expensive batch of phasewater that the Crossers had taken out of the vault.

Patriarch Reginald and the other three Crosser expert pilots had gathered to discuss security arrangements.

While Gloriana and Juliet went off to perform their usual ritual, Ves walked up to the Senior Mech Designer who he had worked closely with for more than a year.

"Hey. Are you in a good position to fabricate our long-awaited expert mech?"

"I am more ready, Ves. This is the most significant work of my life as a Senior." The older man replied in a solemn and serious tone. "It may be the last mech that I will make at my rank. The Mars will be the mech that represents the culmination of my tumultuous career as a mech designer and the progress that I have made with my design philosophy. It is the most powerful expert mech that I have worked on, but also one that possesses an unparalleled degree of efficiency relative to its power level. The Mars will either go down in history as the magnum opus that will spark a new wave of innovation or a giant missed opportunity that might haunt me for the rest of my life."

The expert mech already bore its final name. Every mech designer already treated it as a wargod in form and function, so they could think of nothing better than to adopt the codename as the label in which their work would be known to the public!