The Mech Touch



What was his birthright?

Was it to gain the power of a primordial human and inherit the power and knowledge of his mother?

That did not appear to be the case. His mother had never told him about any of her extraordinary history back when she was originally alive.

She never left any clues when she died and did not set any expectations on Ves either.

If Cynthia Larkinson had her way, her son would have grown up as an ordinary third-class citizen of a fairly normal third-rate state that was far removed from the dangerous power plays and galactic developments that made the galactic heartland and the galactic center so treacherous.

The answer he gained from his eldest sister made him more confused. His mother injected him with as much potential as she could manage, but never imparted any expectations for him. This was another contradiction that troubled Ves.

Though a part of him felt proud for being born to a once-powerful parent whose lineage was more nobler than others, what was the use of all of this if his mother just wanted him to live his life as an ordinary Brighter?

It was not until his father broke the game by passing on the Mech Designer System that Ves truly started making use of the deep but buried potential in his body and spirit.

His sister, whose birth and upbringing was much higher than Ves had enjoyed, felt sympathy for her poor brother.

"I am different from you, Ves. I was born to fight and assist our mother in her struggles from the day I was born." She told him. "You were born in a time where our mother had reached the weakest phase of her life. Not even she can maintain her confidence and optimism towards the future. She brought you to life because she wanted her life to have meaning and leave behind a legacy that would live on after her passing. She did not expect to return to life in her current form. It is only through a number of accidents and coincidences that you were able to sustain her and allow her to regain much of her strength."

That may be true, but Ves was not entirely sure about whether all of it had been accidents and coincidences.

He felt that a lot of different decisions he made back then may have been engineered to produce a specific outcome that led to the current circumstances.

Perhaps his mother couldn't resist the urge to fall back into old habits and implement a scheme that might ultimately bring her back to life.

Perhaps the Mech Designer System remained attached to its original holder and sought to use her son to reverse her death.

It could also be that everything that led Ves to getting reintroduced to her and giving her the means to claw herself back from total nihility was simply an unintended consequence of bearing a child. Maybe she suffered so much throughout her first life that karma finally played a role and compensated her for all of the good she had done.

Ves shook his head. He was speculating again. He did not have all of the answers, and he had a feeling that he might never learn the full truth.

"Helena?"

"What is it now?" She asked as she conveyed a touch of impatience.

"My mother once told me that she sabotaged my ability to pilot a mech." He said. "Leaving aside whether she knew that I would be able to pilot a mech in the future or not, what is the reason for doing so? Don't misunderstand me. I am not upset with what she has done. I might have thought differently if I was younger, but I am old enough and happy enough in my current career that I would not wish to trade my mech designs to become a simple soldier who only knows how to kill."

"I am not entirely clear about this matter, Ves. My mother doesn't tell me anything. Even if I knew, I would still withhold my answer from you. This is a matter that you deserve to hear from her directly. Maybe if you come back to the old galaxy and hand over David's skeleton to her in person, she may finally answer all of the questions that have caused you to become so confused. You are right in that you have grown older and mature now. You have embraced your vocation as a mech designer and you are no longer easily tempted by alternative possibilities. I think our mother will be much more inclined to tell you the truth about her past self and the reason why her problems affect you as well."

It became more and more imperative for Ves to return to the Nyxian Gap.

"Fine." Ves accepted her words as a plan came to mind. "I will return to the old galaxy, but as you know I really can't do so casually. I don't even know whether it is possible for me to leave within a decade. Aside from that, the Milky Way is also extremely dangerous to me for reasons that you are already familiar with.

"We can figure this out together." His sister replied in an optimistic tone. "You do not have to bear this burden together. Our Oblivion Empire has grown considerably over the years. We have not only mastered many technologies, but also attracted many talents under our banner. We will find a way to resolve the issues that you are worrying about one way or another."

"Alright. Let us leave this matter for another day."

The pair of siblings continued to wait in the recreation and socialization hall for all of the captive humans to arrive.

If the time-keeping system of the prison facility hadn't malfunctioned, Ves knew that the large and expansive room would become a lot more crowded in less than four minutes!

He began to straighten his back and adjust his demeanor in anticipation of facing a tough crowd.

He did not want to leave anything to chance. Ves needed to take charge of the entire crowd so that no one stupid would get to make idiotic decisions and ruin this chance of escaping the prison facility without suffering excessive casualties.

His mind still wasn't fully in the present, though. A part of his mentality still remained in flux due to all of the knowledge he learned today about primordial humans, his mother and himself.

"I suggest you don't think too much about your heritage." The spiritual entity advised. "No matter the circumstances of your birth, none of the advantages imparted by your parents has allowed you to build a business empire and a clan with ease. The worst primordial human is far inferior to your current self, and you have the chance to become much more powerful as long as you keep working harder. No matter whether you were born as a lesser or greater human, it is our mentalities and our accomplishments that truly make us great."

"You… are right." Ves sighed.

The past was the past. Ves couldn't change anything about it. Whether he learned the truth about his heritage or not did not matter that much to him. He did not inherit his mother's profession but instead became a man of the current times. Mechs dominated his life today, and that was what he should be focusing upon.

He yearned to return back to his stronghold so that he could go back to designing mechs again. The Dullahan Project and the Ghost Project were both screaming to be completed, and he was determined to finish them by the time the refitted and upgraded Spirit of Bentheim returned from an MTA shipyard!

Helena perked up for a moment. "The air is changing."

Ves nodded. He activated a command built into his Unending Regalia and caused it to project a glowing cape behind his armored back.

Although the false cape was not that particularly impressive in itself, it could play a major role in enhancing his stature as long as the rest of the package exuded enough strength.

Ves was incredibly confident in this aspect of himself. This was not his first rodeo and he had specifically designed his Unending Regalia to convey the look of a martial leader.

Nothing about his appearance looked anything close to a nerdy mech designer!

A few more seconds passed by as Ves could feel the spatial fluctuations in the air before him. It was as if hundreds of buzzers went off at once.

The teleportation mechanisms were in a worse shape than Ves realized. A lot of phasewater had decayed, causing the devices responsible for bringing inmates in and out of their cells to struggle to perform their tasks!

Fortunately, there were many of them, so the prison facility could always rely on an ample amount of redundancies to complete these exhausting jobs.

The air crackled a bit as the sudden appearance of over a thousand different bodies appeared at once!

"Where are we?!"

"My comm still can't connect to the emergency services!"

"Hey, were you captured as well?"

"Troopers, fall back on my position!"

"Be on guard and investigate our surroundings!"

"Surrender your combat armor and your weapon this instant! President Yenames Clive will not be happy if all of you if I have taken a laser round through my head. Protecting my life should be your highest priority!"

"Waaaaah! I want to go home, mommy!"

The cacophony was loud and overbearing. People were screaming, crying and issuing demands at the same time.

Though there were a number of obvious leader figures who attempted to take charge of their own bodyguards as well as the large number of Davutan security guards, even they could not impose their order on the crowd.

Ves did not look particularly surprised. He knew people well enough by now that he predicted that everyone would get messy.

Of the few people who managed to keep their cool, the Larkinson delegation clearly stood out. They had received plenty of warnings and instructions in advance and had immediately moved to separate themselves from the crowd so that they could all group up at their patriarch's position.

As the civilian Larkinsons retreated behind Ves while his honor guards stood in a neat and straight row before him, he finally decided to put an end to this farce.

With Helena, his wife, his children and the rest of the leaders of the Larkinson Clan paying close attention to him, Ves raised his fist and spread out his own glow, causing it to impact the minds of all of the scattered people who were squabbling among themselves!

"QUIET!" He boomed, making sure to amplify his voice by using his Unending Regalia!

His voice immediately caused everyone else to grow quiet. They could not help it as the sight that Ves and his Larkinsons made combined with the glow that he exuded from his body truly made a strong impact on the scattered people.

Not even the well-trained and numerous security guards working for the Davutan state exuded as much strength and unity at the moment!

Though a number of people kept moving or talking among themselves, this was already an excellent outcome.

"Let me introduce myself to you. I am Patriarch Ves Larkinson, the founder and leader of the Larkinson Clan. If you people have not been living under a rock all this time, then you should know who I am and the enemies that I have beaten together with my people. You may not have guessed it, but I am the reason why you have been teleported out of your cells just now. If I hadn't been able to escape my cell, locate a damaged alien control center and repaired it just enough to get you all out, you would still be growing hungry and thirsty in your cramped cages. I have brought you this far. Now I ask you to follow my lead and help me bring you out of this sordid alien prison. ARE YOU WITH ME, DAVUTANS?!"