The Mech Touch

Alexa tried her best to contain her eagerness as she set about preparing for her professor's inaugural class.

This was an event that had ballooned into a much greater occasion than usual!

Ever since Professor Ves Larkinson informed the Eden Institute of Business & Technology that he might end up in the middle of an ongoing action when it was time for him to give his first lecture on Frontier Wisdom, a lot of people expressed greater interest in this class!

A lot of curious students as well as professors stormed the doors of the school administration and requested special permission to attend the lecture as visiting guests!

From the way the people in the campus started to talk about this class, the entire lecture threatened to turn into an overhyped and potentially disastrous spectacle for the Eden Institute!

After all, it was completely unheard of for a mech design professor to dare to put his own life on the line while holding an actual lecture!

What if the professor died in the middle of his presentation?

What if an excessively violent incident took place that completely traumatized the attending students?

What if the professor acted in a fashion unbecoming of a civilized and dignified Senior Mech Designer?

So many things could go wrong during the two-hour lecture that any ordinary school administrator would have stopped all of this nonsense as soon as it became known! Such an unconventional class clearly broke numerous rules set by the institute!

Yet for some unknown reasons, the Eden Institute did not do so. It let the news about this explosive opening lecture spread without any restrictions and allowed this special event to build up momentum among the student body.

This was not supposed to happen in normal times!

Master Laila Devos who was in charge of the Department of Humanoid Mech Design actually took steps to respond to popular demand.

She not only relocated the class from a sizable lecture hall to a full-blown auditorium that could easily seat tens of thousands of attendees, but also granted permission to allow every student and professor to postpone and reschedule any other classes that took place during this time slot without consequences!

Master Laila Devos generated a lot of controversy over her extravagant and disruptive decisions, but she weathered all of the criticisms and pushback without flinching.

As a senior and respected member of the Devos Ancient Clan that founded and developed the New Constantinople System where the Eden Institute was located, the Master Mech Designer held a lot of power.

Alexa felt a lot of gratitude towards Master Devos for cooperating so well with her professor, though she did not know whether it was a good idea to invest so much importance in the opening lecture of an inexperienced teacher.

"Whether the academic teaching content of this Frontier Wisdom class is up to our standards is a secondary concern." The older woman replied to a question from the young teaching assistant during a meeting. "What concerns us all more is to wake up our students and make them realize that our civilization has entered into a new phase of history. Our existing order and stability has disappeared. Our society may be slow to adjust, but once the consequences of getting cut off from the Milky Way and escalating alien incursions begin to ripple across our colonies, it may be too late for the Terrans who have grown up in a time of peace to adapt to a more violent and brutal future."

The young Apprentice Mech Designer possessed a broader perspective on society and immediately understood the significance of the latest changes.

More people supported this unusual endeavor aside from Master Laila. A large number of Terrans in higher positions probably recognized this problem as well, and sought to disrupt the existing pattern of everyone's lives in order to make it clear that hard times were ahead.

After understanding the position of the higher ups, Alexa no longer held any concerns about her professor's employment in the Eden Institute.

As long as he did not act too outrageously like stripping off all of his clothes in the middle of his lecture, Master Devos would probably be willing to keep him around if only to inject a lot of much-needed dynamism in the rather orderly classrooms of the Eden Institute.

While Alexa was there, she also inquired about a different matter.

"Has the Devos Ancient Clan changed its position on the New Terran Federation initiative?" She asked in an eager tone. "The start of the Age of Dawn is the best time to implement a drastic transition to a new and more modernized regime. People are far more willing to accept extensive changes to their daily lives in this sensitive period of time."

The older woman gently shook her head. "It is too early to make such decisions, young lady. Before the Great Severing, I admired your grandfather's ideals. The Greater Terran United Confederation of the Milky Way has indeed become too stagnant for too many centuries. The New Rubarth Empire and the Big Two have all demonstrated a far better ability to adapt to changing developments."

A woman as clever and well-trained Alexa immediately detected a turn in the other woman's argument.

"But...?"

"Now that we have entered a brand-new era, I do not think that it is appropriate for us to pursue sweeping changes to our society." Master Laia said. "Change is already inevitable, but too much of it is detrimental to the stability of the Terran Alliance. I am of the opinion that we need to move in the opposite direction. While we should not deny the changes that cannot be resisted, we must also work harder to maintain as much of our existing Terran identity, culture, traditions and hierarchy. Our ancient clans reigned at the top in our old state. Let us work to ensure that the Terrans in the Red Ocean still respect our right to rule."

So that was what made Master Laila and the Devos Ancient Clan so concerned. The Devosans possessed a long heritage in the Terran Confederation, but their ancient clan had been on the decline for a long time.

Though the Devos Ancient Clan had previously been receptive towards his grandfather's reform initiative, this time the Devosans became a lot more concerned about losing what little foundations they had left in the Red Ocean.

The two mech designers who were separated by several generations continued to talk about political concerns.

Even though Alexa was a lot younger and did not hold any considerable authority in her own clan, her lineage and connections still made it permissible for her to engage Master Laila Devos in conversation.

Master Laila ended the conversation by giving Alexa a bit of hope.

"Our ancient clan is wary of excessive disruptions, but we are willing to reconsider our policies if your grandfather is able to obtain greater support. We may especially be persuaded to support the New Terran Federation initiative if your coalition is able to obtain an endorsement from the Light of Sol."

Alexa wanted to wince when she heard this condition, though she was far too trained to expose her feelings and emotions in such an obvious manner.

"My grandfather is still in talks with Divine Thibault Clement. I am not privy to their discussions, but I can tell you that they have contacted each other more frequently after the Great Severing occurred."

Master Laila Devos did not look too impressed. "As the most honored guardian of our Terran people, the Light of Sol has an obligation to stay in the loop of what takes place in our territories. The Divine is in contact with every ancient clan and major group, including ours. That does not make us any more special."

The Light of Sol was the god pilot who originally undertook the responsibility to guard the Terran Alliance as it was being established in the Red Ocean.

He was the consensus candidate that all of the ancient clans agreed to send to the new frontier first. He enjoyed a high reputation among every Terran for his combat prowess as well as his clean and uncomplicated stances.

Of all of the god pilots that still pledged their allegiance to the Greater Terran United Confederation, the Light of Sol received the greatest trust because he made a vow of neutrality!

The Light of Sol even went as far as to sever ties with the Clement Ancient Clan in order to exemplify his determination to rise above the common political disputes within the Terran Confederation!

Of course, everyone suspected that Divine Thibault Clement still maintained informal ties with his ancient clan on account of his existing family ties.

In order to facilitate the Light of Sol's transfer, the Clement Ancient Clan took the initiative to suspend their plans to invest in the new frontier. This would help with adding more credibility to the Terran god pilot's impartial image.

If the phase whales had not made the fateful decision to flip the entire board, the Clements would have slowly trickled into the new frontier and developed their holdings in a low-key manner.

However, not enough time had passed before the Red Ocean got cut off from the Milky Way!

This had many implications. The most important of which was that it became even more difficult to sway the opinion of the Light of Sol.

In the past, it might have been possible to nudge him in specific directions by obtaining the approval and support of the ancient clan that he had formally left.

Now, the god pilot who was rumored to pilot the fastest god mech in existence was truly alone for all intents and purposes!

So many different Terran leaders with their own ambitions sought to gain the Light of Sol's support.

Even though everyone knew that it was nearly impossible to gain his approval, they all held the belief that they could win Divine Thibault Clement's support so long as they presented a cause that was good enough!

General Axelar Streon happened to be among them. His reform ideas were bold and maybe a bit too radical in several areas, but he truly believed he could lead the Terrans to a brighter and more prosperous future under a more enlightened regime!

When young Alexa last spoke to her grandfather over a comm call, she could hear the undisguised weariness in his voice.

"Good ideas are not enough to enact great change." The man who had touched the ceiling of the rank of ace pilot spoke in an authoritative voice. "The greatest of the Terran Confederation and by extension the Terran Alliance is its permanent internal division. I hate to say it, but in this turbulent transition period, we urgently need the direction and leadership of a single decision maker comparable to the Star Emperor."

"How can such a figure rise within our colonial superstate when we still remain so divided?"

General Axelar responded with a measured grin. "The only viable solution that I can determine is to obtain overwhelming personal strength. The only individual that meets this condition is Thibault Clement, but that stubborn mule is so lost in his own principles that he is blind to the future dangers and pitfalls of the Terran Alliance. This is why it is important that I take matters into my own hands. If I can grasp the opportunity that I need in order to go through the Mech Body Merger Process with confidence, I will not be reduced to begging for the attention of an aloof god pilot."

Alexa Streon was well aware of her grandfather's long-standing problems in this area.

At this stage, any imbalance between the ace pilot and the ace mech drastically increased the probability that the Mech Body Merger Process would fail!

General Axelar personally believed that he had done all he could to shore himself up. The only problem was that he had a strong hunch that the Ouroboros had fallen behind in its development.

Unless the famed Serpent of Creation and Destruction received a profound transformation in its very essence, Axelar Streon might never have the opportunity to go further in his impressive mech piloting journey!

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