The Mech Touch

In the subsequent testing sessions, Ves and Gloriana divided their work.

Ves mainly paid attention to the integration between mech and mech pilot and also kept an eye on any spiritual interactions.

Meanwhile, Gloriana busied herself by observing the prototype's technical performance.

"The Deliverer is performing exactly as expected in this regard." She noted as Sergeant Jezebel Kronon was having the time of her life with the Ylvainan mech. "Our prototype excels in offense but is poor in everything else."

"We haven't stress-tested its weaknesses yet."

"It doesn't matter. I can already see it. The armor of our mech is so poor that a simple Desolate Soldier can defeat with ease. It's acceleration is so weak that it is poor in dogfights, skirmishing and any other form of maneuver warfare."

As the mech designer responsible for making these design choices, Ves was fully aware of these shortcomings.

However, planning for them was one thing, seeing the mech perform so poorly in reality was another thing!

If the Deliverer failed to live up its promises, then Ves doomed a lot of customers!

"Well, its special features aren't as reliable as I thought." He murmured.

The prototype failed in trying to dodge weak practice rounds launched by tiny bots. The second special feature of the mech designed to rely on prediction to dodge incoming attacks did not seem very useful.

Perhaps it already activated a few times, but with how the test was put together, Ves couldn't distinguish external assistance to the judgement and instincts of the mech pilot.

It seemed that making Prescient Movement one of the selling points of his mechs was not a good idea.

As for the Guided Aim ability, each Kronon mech pilot managed to display it once, hitting the primary objective after firing just a few shots.

This was definitely not a coincidence anymore. Ylvaine's spiritual fragment truly intervened and directed the mech pilot to aim at a specific target bot!

The only issue was that subsequent attempts to snipe down the bot designated as the sandman admiral failed.

Certainly, Dominic, Edward and Jezebel became increasingly proficient in their marksmanship as they grew accustomed to piloting the Deliverer. Yet this growth was just an ordinary progression that took place with every mech pilot's introduction to a new mech model.

While the control room gathered plenty of precise and useful data about the Deliverer's regular operation, Ves did not really find it all that interesting.

He knew how the mech performed in ordinary times. When it came down to it, the performance exhibited by the prototype did not differ too much from its performance in the simulations.

Ves already anticipated this result long ago. For all of its extremes, the Deliverer was not a complex mech design. Its frame did not incorporate a lot of systems and most of its available internal capacity was filled with energy cells and ammunition containers.

The most complex part about the mech was its Executor rifle, but even then it was just a mech-sized weapon. Such weapons were always simpler than the mechs that wielded them in battle.

Even so, simulating the operation of a gauss rifle was pretty easy as long as it did not contain any abstruse effects. Though Gloriana worked on it for some time, the optimizations she made did not reach the point where modelling became skewed.

Therefore, the physical tests mostly served to affirm the Deliverer's theoretical performance parameters.

Only the special features couldn't be tested in simulated tests. There was no 'human' mech pilot to bond with the design spirit. Ylvaine's spiritual fragment could not develop a connection with an entity that was neither alive nor sentient.

Ves had hoped that the testing sessions today showcased the promise of the Deliverer's Guided Aim ability.

His hopes only partially came true. Demonstrating this capability just once per mech pilot was too stingy!

Perhaps he should go directly to the source for answers.

He stood still as he concentrated his mind and centered his thoughts on the design of the Deliverer.

Soon enough, he made contact with Ylvaine's spiritual fragment.

He mentally conveyed his doubts towards it. Why did it offer its assistance so infrequently?

The fragment already transmitted its answers.

"You are.. not a dispenser to be drawn upon as someone wishes. You.. must pay a price to affect the material realm. Is that what you're trying to say?" He mentally conveyed.

The spiritual fragment sesemed rather proud, Ves. It did not wish to be turned into a slave to the mechs it was supposed to be watching over. The Great Prophet was a great man in the past who stood far above everyone's heads. Its spiritual fragment was just as conceited, if not more!

Ves was unsure whether the spiritual fragment accurately represented its origin's attitude. He found it to be a little bit too arrogant for his liking.

However, the impressions conveyed by the fragment were not ungrounded.

It demeaned the prophet if his spiritual remnant was used too much in tests. The fragment only complied once because Ves would have beaten it up if it withheld its powers entirely!

"What's the deal here?"

The fragment conveyed a series of impressions that clarified its stance.

If Ves was interpreting them correctly, then Ylvaine's spiritual fragment did not wish to extend its powers too frequently and arbitrarily. It only intended to come to a mech pilot's assistance if he truly needed it and if helping him truly benefited the Ylvainan people and faith!

"This sounds.. reasonable." He muttered in a mixed tone.

Obviously, Ves was less than enthused. He could hardly convince others that the Deliverers were able to save the Bright Republic if the mechs only demonstrated their Guided Aim ability when it truly mattered!

The severe reduction in reliability was a major hit to the value proposition of the mech. While Ves had taken this possibility into account, having it come true left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Nothing comes for free." He reminded himself.

Very likely, Ylvaine's spiritual fragment only agreed to extend some help at all because its own flock was under threat. The Ylvaine Protectorate might fall if the fragment did not assist its defenders at crucial moments!

In every other case, the spiritual fragment was highly disinclined to lend its strength. Ves was unsure how much it cost the spiritual fragment to influence a mech pilot. He had the feeling he was being hoodwinked on this front.

"You just want to keep your distance and appear inviolable." He accused.

The spiritual fragment did not respond to his suspicions. It merely conveyed its intentions, nothing more. It was up to Ves to decide what he should do with what he learned.

Perhaps Ylvaine's spiritual fragment already predicted it, but Ves decided it was not worth it to put his relationship with it under strain.

Therefore, he accepted its conditions and hoped that the fragment would still activate the Guided Aim ability in the defense of the Ylvaine Protectorate and the Bright Republic.

"Remember. If the Bright Republic falls, so will the state founded by your people. Make sure to defend my state just as well as yours!"

The two formed an unspoken pact. So long as both of them helped each other out, they would both get what they wanted!

Ylvaine's spiritual fragment simply wanted to pay the lowest possible price to uphold his end of the deal. The Deliverer was a mech that should only be employed in great need. It should not be relied upon in low-level conflicts between two squabbling outfits.

"How is it, Ves?" Gloriana approached his side at the end of the testing for the day. "Is the Deliverer up to your expectations?"

"Hmm. The prototype revealed much during the testing sessions. The special features I placed my hopes upon turn out to be akin to blessings. They are granted to the mech pilots of my Deliverers by a stuffy god who is too stuck up for his own good."

"I see. Isn't that what is supposed to happen?"

"I was expecting more."

"Oh, Ves." She patted his shoulder. "Gods like to pretend they're inviolable and dignified. If you want them to do more than act on their self-interest, you have to show that you are greater than them! Are you in control or not?"

Ves grimaced. "I'm not. I am dealing with forces that surpass my strength. This gives my products a powerful advantage. The downside is that they won't exactly do what I want, especially if they are wiser and more mature."

In general, his spiritual products were pretty obedient to him. Ves was one of their parents, so they were highly cooperative towards him whenever he issued an instruction.

Other spiritual entities such as Ylvaine's spiritual fragment were generally more powerful and asserted themselves more. When they grew powerful, they were willing to push their own agenda above his own.

This made working with them a diplomatic challenge. Ves had to make sure to maintain friendly relations with them. This meant that it was unwise for him to force them to do something they disagreed with or went against their principles.

Ves knew that the primary reason why the Ylvainans adored him was because he designed mechs that brought them closer to their faiths. The Transcendent Messenger, Holy Soldier and Deliverer designs all enshrined Ylvaine's spiritual fragment as their design spirits or a contributor at the very least!

He could not afford to lose the fragment's support, especially in these uncertain times where wars had engulfed the star sector.

For this reason, he refrained himself from teaching it a lesson.

Besides, at its current spiritual strength, Ves would have to borrow the strength of the F-stone to win a confrontation, which was highly wasteful.

The offensive charge of the F-stone should not be squandered!

"Let's go meet with the pilots and receive their feedback." He suggested.

"Very well."

After wrapping up their business at the control room, they left the compartment and went down the halls until they reached a ready room.

Four of the six mech pilots who tested the Deliverer awaited their arrival.

Joshua immediately stood out. Whereas the other three mech pilots wore Kronon Dynasty uniforms, the Cloudy Curtainer was the only one who wore a golden Avatar uniform!

"At ease." Ves casually waved his hand.

Upon his entry into the ready room, all four pilots had immediately jumped to their feet and saluted him with a frenzy that he had scarcely witnessed elsewhere!

"Sir! It is a great honor to pilot the Deliverer!" Jezebel spoke out of an overflowing sense of devoutness. Her bloodshot eyes bore into Ves as if he was the second coming of the Great Prophet! "Regardless of my orders and prior commitments, I would like to dedicate myself to your service! Let me be the first Ylvainan to fight on your behalf as an Avatar!"

"Sergeant Jezebel Kronon!" Lieutenant Dominic Kronon immediately clapped her back. "Please go through the proper formalities before you make such a declaration! The Kronon Dynasty still requires our service!"

"Hah! As if you don't intend to do the same, sir! You just want to do it properly, that's all!"

"Think of your family!"

"The Kronon Dynasty won't do anything to them, sir! Serving the Bright Martyr is a worthy cause."

"AHEM!" Ves forcibly interrupted the Kronons. "While my Avatars are open to recruiting any capable mech pilot, I am not here to poach you from the Kronon Dynasty. I have work to do, so let's get on with this feedback session. Mr. King, let's start with you, since you appear to be the most clear-headed at the moment. What is your impression of my new mech?"

Joshua thrust out his chest forward as if he was just as honored as the Ylvainans!

"Your mech is sublime! It is a great mech that is like a refreshing cup of the purest spring water drawn from an unsoiled terrestrial planet! It is like a gap has opened up in the cloud cover of our home planet and allowed warm sunlight to shine directly onto my body!"

What kind of answer was this? Ves hardly gained anything useful out of this prattle!