The Mech Touch

The central chamber was cylindrical in shape and occupied the center of the rented space station.

Enormous banners hung from metallic gray bulkheads. They depicted the colors and the symbols of the Terran Alliance, the Streon Ancient Clan as well as the Larkinson Clan.

The bright lights shining from above caused the Ouroboros and the armor-clad figure of Ves to look as if they were deities who had descended to the material realm.

What made this site especially solemn was the total silence.

Even though the commercial space station hadn't been built to the highest standards, it was still an intricate collection of powerful technologies. It was hard to dampen all of the noises produced by energy generators and other devices.

Nonetheless, the central chamber had been built in a way that generated total serenity in a natural manner. Ves did not even sense the subtle disturbances that betrayed the presence of an active anti-noise field.

The Ouroboros also remained silent. Its tech was so advanced compared to a typical second-class mech that its parts were on another level.

For example, the zero-point energy reactor that supplied seemingly endless energy from another dimension was virtually inexhaustible and uninterruptible!

Even if the Terran Alliance did not have access to as many high technologies as the Mech Trade Association, its foundation as a superstate was not for show. The Streons possessed enough strength and clout to gain access to such an impressive piece of peak technology.

A part of Ves felt incredibly proud and gratified to see the Ouroboros grow to such a strong machine.

Even if he hadn't touched it for over a century, it was still his work at heart!

Once he had created it, the Ouroboros lived its own life according to the whims of its battle partner.

Though its journey had been bumpy to the point of making plenty of mistakes, the Ouroboros had experienced much of the ups and downs that defined a rich and eventful life.

As Ves stood in front of the powerful masterwork ace mech that was equally coated in white and black, he was able to appreciate its growth and essence even more.

The biggest difference from his previous examination was that General Axelar Streon actively piloted his machine this time.

This filled in a lot of gaps that completed the ensemble between man and machine.

The Ouroboros and its lifelong partner had completely adapted to each other. It didn't matter if the two hadn't established a Blood Pact. Their continuous interaction and commitment to each other had forged a bond that was different but was much stronger in a few ways.

This was the kind of bond that Ves originally modeled the Blood Pact after!

The sheer depth of trust and affection that the living mech and its mech pilot expressed towards each other had already become strong enough to affect reality in profound ways.

While Ves was sure that General Axelar Streon hadn't formally initiated the Mech Body Merger Process, he and his living mech had already worked together so much that they already exhibited some of the traits of operation union.

It was amazing to see how extensively his 'child' had grown. Ves felt like a proud parent who reunited with his child after the latter had experienced an entire life.

Of course, Ves also felt a pang of pain in his heart for being absent during his creation's entire journey.

General Axelar and his living mech made so many mistakes in the past that could have easily been prevented or mitigated if they received proper guidance.

Seeing the Ouroboros grow to such an impressive point only to fall short due to the consequences it had incurred was extremely painful to Ves!

It was like seeing a masterful painting that could be revered and immortalized through the ages, only for it to get marred by a few ugly stripes left by a bunch of vandals!

All of his sensibilities as a mech designer screamed at him to do whatever it took to fix the Ouroboros and enable it to attain a higher degree of perfection and craftsmanship.

Ves could feel it. The factors that enabled the Ouroboros to grow to this point had brought it close to a grand work.

He had never seen a mech that was more transcendent and perfect than this exquisite machine.

The Grand Mender definitely earned much of the credit for bringing out the strengths of the Ouroboros in such a magnificent way, but the fact that it was an old and seasoned living mech definitely contributed a lot to its development!

Ves really couldn't allow his work to remain so blemished for the rest of its existence. If he did nothing in the face of the current state of the Ouroboros, then this would be an intolerable stain to his professionalism and a regret that would always haunt him for a long time!

As Ves became increasingly more upset about the defective state of the Ouroboros, a mature and masculine voice finally called out from the active machine.

"Professor Ves Larkinson. We have finally met. I have heard much about you from many different sources, my granddaughter included. None of the people that know you on a personal basis have described you as dull or average. Seeing you in the flesh confirms that their praises are not off the mark. You feel it, correct? You can feel the imbalance in my Ouroboros?"

Ves nodded. There was no way for him to lie or obfuscate this particular point. An ace pilot who was just as strong as the Mace of Retaliation possessed extremely keen intuition.

What made General Axelar even more difficult to deceive was that he was actively interfacing with his mech at the moment!

The Ouroboros massively amplified the strength and reach of his Saint Kingdom. Its hidden potential also came out, enabling Axelar to impose his will on his surroundings to a much more extensive degree.

Ves could clearly feel the general's enormous willpower descending on him, scrutinizing him from every angle.

He already experienced this sort of pressure from Emma.

Axelar's willpower clearly couldn't match up against the Destroyer of Worlds, but the difference here was that Ves had stepped in close proximity to the pilot while he was actively interfacing with his machine!

Right now, the famed Terran leader took advantage of his strength to evaluate the mech designer whose design philosophy resonated with the Ouroboros in a strong and obvious way!

Seconds passed by as both sides fell into silence.

They were still at an exploratory stage. Just as General Axelar was able to glean a lot of information from a mech designer that had approached the center of his mighty Saint Kingdom, Ves collected information about the pilot by making observations from a spiritual perspective.

Everything produced traces. The powerful Saint Kingdom was the most direct and honest manifestation of General Axelar's willpower. The ace pilot practically bared his entire heart and conviction to those who were capable of appreciating them such as Ves.

Lucky began to squirm in the air as General Axelar did not ignore him either. The Renewer of Terra had encountered a lot of amazing tech over his years, but there were many aspects about the gem cat that were indecipherable or completely obscured from his sight!

"Meow..."

Even so, Lucky was just a cat. The Ouroboros was far more impressive on a comprehensive basis, so Axelar felt no need to intensify his observations.

The pilot eventually broke the equilibrium that had settled in the chamber.

"Let us speak frankly with each other. Can your man over there be trusted?"

General Axelar clearly referred to the presence of Gavin Neumann.

Ever since the assistant entered this solemn chamber, he tried his best to remain stable, but he was not that good at doing so. The pressure emanating from the Ouroboros along with the highly sensitive nature of this meeting was threatening to overwhelm the poor man.

Ves briefly turned to Gavin. "He can be trusted. I am sure of that. He might not understand everything, but that may change in the future."

The Ouroboros minutely bent its head. "I can respect your decision and attitude. Very well. He may stay and listen regardless of what we say to each other today. You will not be able to undo this choice if you happen to regret it later."

"It's okay. I will deal with the consequences myself. By the way, isn't it time for you to show yourself?"

"Hmm. It is time."

The Ouroboros began to morph. Armor plating separated from each other as its chest folded open.

A suited and helmeted figure slowly floated into view.

Despite rising up from his piloting chair, the sophisticated neural interface of the Ouroboros clearly showed no trouble maintaining a wireless connection between the pilot and his active machine!

The helmet slowly folded away, revealing a face that had grown much older than Ves last interacted with the man in person.

Ves and his Mastery host stared directly at each other. An invisible weight seemed to press upon them. The critical point was approaching.

"You... are the true designer of the Ouroboros." General Axelar finally spoke the words that he had always wanted to say. "I used to be much more ignorant in the past. I bragged about designing this great machine without knowing that I was spreading falsehoods. It was only later on that it became clear that I could have never designed this unique work. It was not me who designed my only mech, but you, am I correct?"

Ves tried his best not to radiate any alarm or resignation. Even if Axelar threw out this accusation in his face, that did not mean the ace pilot could be certain whether this was true!

"I do not know how you managed to come to this conclusion." Ves coughed. "If you haven't already noticed, I was born 60 or so years before the design and creation of your ace mech. I think you should understand the logic of your statement."

This was as much as Ves was willing to say. He feared that might give away too many clues if he mentioned more details.

The formidable salt-and-pepper haired Terran began to frown. He turned towards his lifelong servant next.

"Benny, give me your analysis."

"With pleasure, Master Axelar." The robed elder responded.

The man began to activate various different projections.

Ves almost widened his eyes as he saw a bunch of familiar scenes!

The archival security footage displayed a much younger version of Axelar Streon moving and acting with purpose.

From issuing instructions to Benny to manipulating the auto designer program with increasingly greater familiarity, it turned out that the Streons had always stored this footage!

Benny then proceeded to project other scenes. These ones showed Axelar in his more regular state.

The footage depicted him in a state of heavy intoxication as well as the times when he was completely sober after winning the mech duel that had been the start of his turnaround.

A highly advanced analysis program that came online. It quickly began to pick apart the body language, the speech patterns and countless other different social data points.

"A hundred years ago, I observed radical changes in my charge. I initially suspected that he had been compromised by one of our many rivals." Benny spoke in a clear and factual tone. "I immediately alerted my superiors and observed Master Axelar with great care. I received orders to not intervene so long as he did not act detrimental to himself or our clan. It came as a surprise to all of us that Axelar not only showed clear signs of being controlled by another person, but that he also acted in a manner that is completely beneficial to him. This has drawn our curiosity and made us decide to observe further."

Ves completely froze as he realized that the Terrans were way too perceptive about this kind of stuff.

From the first few seconds since he wrestled control over Axelar body, he already set off a lot of alarms!

"After extensive examinations during and after this event, we concluded that Master Axelar was not controlled by another personality of himself. Our conclusions have led us to believe that an external third party took control over his body. The question then becomes who was responsible for making Master Axelar behave so differently. We spent many decades tracking down the possible culprit, but we have never found any match. While we did not stop this demanding search, we slowly lowered its priority until it became a routine background process. This nearly forgotten process produced an unexpected match."

Benny waved his hand once again.

A pit of dread settled in Ves' stomach as he already guessed what might show up next.

The projections showed much of the public footage of Ves over his career. From his starting years in the Bright Republic to his most recent public showings on New Constantinople VIII, the Streon Ancient Clan collected huge amount of data!

The same analysis program ran through this new set footage. It quickly produced clear matches between Ves' mannerisms and that of the younger Axelar during the brief period when he was controlled!

"The data does not lie." Benny spoke. "From the moment I studied your behavior in all of your footage, I recognized the familiarity. Seeing you here confirms our hypothesis. As impossible as it may sound, you are the original designer of the Ouroboros."

II !<

Ves stood frozen as the Senechai presented irrefutable evidence of his meddling!