The Mech Touch

The Redfeather was one of many light carriers in the Larkinson Clan's fleet. She was not very exceptional. Light carriers were unimpressive ships to begin with, and the Redfeather exhibited no pronounced strengths other than its relatively affordable price tag.

Still, the ship served as the flagship of the Avatars of Myth because the elite troop didn't possess anything better.

The crew and mech pilots aboard the Redfeather threw lots of envious glances at the Penitent Sister ships.

Their fleet predominantly consisted of heavily-armored combat carriers! Though they carried the same amount of mechs as the Avatar ships, their protection had reached a whole other level!

Capable of withstanding sustained attacks from second-class mechs, the fifteen Hexer-built vessels were collectively worth more than the total net worth of the LMC!

Joshua King adjusted his uniform and entered one of the piloting lounges.

None of his fellow comrades were present inside the compartment barring a single person.

Jannzi Larkinson sat quietly on a couch while sipping a cooling drink. A fresh scent wafted from her body as she had recently completed another intensive exercise session.

The young Brighter stepped forward until he reached her position.

"Can I sit down?"

"You may."

Joshua carefully sat besides the expert candidate, feeling very much self-conscious about the disparity between their statuses.

In the time he joined the Avatars, he more than proved his mettle to his fellow comrades. His training results were stellar and his skills kept improving.

Fending off the sandman fleets during the Sand War provided him with some needed battle experience. The constant grind and the punishing attrition forced out his potential and transformed him from an inexperienced rookie into a fully-fledged mech pilot!

Winning the Battle of Kesseling VIII in space was his proudest moment. Entrusted with the Quint, Joshua fully committed his heart and soul to the Larkinson Clan, risking his life over and over in order to defeat the formidable second-class mechs of the CRC!

He was immensely appreciative that the clan patriarch entrusted him with the first masterwork mech of the LMC. Ever since Joshua paired up with the Quint, he felt he had become more and more in tune with the Larkinson Clan. Every mech pilot who had been lucky enough to pilot a Bright Warrior mech felt the same way!

Right now, Joshua wasn't thinking about mechs. He approached Jannzi for a different purpose.

"How are you today?"

"I'm fine." She responded calmly as she drew her attention away from her inner thoughts. "I'm trying to think how our clan will change with the addition of people like you. Personally, I welcome anyone who wants to become a Larkinson."

"You sound confident that everything will go well."

Her lips curled upwards. "I have met a lot of wonderful people among the Avatars. It will be strange to change my old views about who constitutes a Larkinson, but at this point everyone is in it together."

"I'm happy that you think so. Joining the Larkinson Clan is a great honor to me. I have always admired the Larkinson Family back when I was just a mech cadet. Joining the Avatars of Myth had always been my biggest goal. Now that I wear this uniform, I have been living in a constant dream."

The two chatted a bit. They talked about work, the evolution of the Larkinson Clan and the potential threats they might face.

The mood grew more relaxed between the two as Jannzi slowly loosened up in his presence.

Joshua made his move.

"Jannzi, I.. like you. Would you like to have some fun and play some games with me? We can watch a live drama broadcast if you aren't in the mood! While there isn't much the Redfeather has to offer, I heard that some of the mech technicians configured a spare compartment into an entertainment room."

The female mech pilot blinked and directed a scrutinizing glance towards Joshua. The way she looked at her was markedly different from before!

Though an expert candidate lacked the pressure of a fully-fledged expert pilot, Jannzi still exuded a presence that already elevated her stature!

"Are you asking me out, Mr. King?"

"Yes." Joshua boldly responded. Now that he revealed his intentions, he no longer hesitated! "I like you, Jannzi. You're pretty and you're also a great mech pilot. I admire your work ethic and how you diligently train your skills even though you're already better than all of us. I.. would like to get to know you better."

A dozen seconds passed before Jannzi finally deigned to respond.

"You hardly know me, Joshua. I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment."

Joshua lowered his head.

"However.. I'm not disinterested in you." Jannzi smiled coyly. "You are quite intriguing compared to the other men I've met. I'll give you a chance."

Yes!

While Joshua reacted to Jannzi's response with exuberance, more men and women started to hook up together.

The roving fleet was filled with men and women. Ever since they departed from their homes, they abruptly had to get used to living and working on the same ship.

Though the transition was hard on many people, many Larkinsons and workers eventually found a couple of coping mechanisms to make their lives in space a little more familiar.

Forming a relationship was one of the ways to stabilize their moods. The leaders of the various organizations all came together and formed an initial policy.

As long as the relationships didn't pose a problem to the hierarchy, then the pairings were allowed!

This was a much looser rule than the one that applied to a professional military like the Mech Corps.

The circumstances of the fleet was much different than that of a mech military. The Executive Council had taken a close look at this problem and decided to see what happened when they adopted the model used by spaceborn clans.

Ever since this interim rule came into force, a lot of people started to muster up their courage and ask their crushes to go on a date.

Aboard the Scarlet Rose, Merrill O'Brian just finished her shift at the design lab. Working for workaholics like Ves Larkinson and Gloriana Wodin wasn't easy, but she learned a lot during every design session!

As she began to loosen her coat, her comm suddenly chimed as she received an incoming comm request.

She curiously lifted her wrist and read the name of the caller.

"Oh?" The former pirate designer lifted her eyebrow. "Let's see what you have to say."

When she accepted the call, a projection of a familiar-looking man appeared in front of her. Dietrich Kotz, wearing the uniform of the Battle Criers, made for a dashing figure!

"Hello, Merrill!"

"Hello, Dietrich. I haven't talked to you in a while."

"I know. You're busy designing mechs."

The young woman coughed. "Technically, I'm assisting the design process. You should be more precise with your terminology."

"Ah." Dietrich scratched his head in an affable way. "Sorry about that. I'll remember that. Anyway, I've been thinking about you. We got along well the last time we met. Would you like to go out on a virtual date?"

"...I'm too busy."

"Wait! Don't end the call yet!"

Merrill resolutely pressed the button that cut off the connection.

Now that the distraction was out of the way, she headed towards the bathroom of her cabin in order to take a relaxing bath.

BEEP!

"Merrill! Don't you want to relax every now and then? If you keep working all the time, you'll get stressed! Why not spend some time with me so that you can ease your mind? I'm sure you'll perform better at work the next day!"

This time, the woman looked a little more amenable to his suggestion. The benefits he described sounded quite compelling.

There was one problem, though.

"We're stationed aboard different ships, Dietrich." She said. "You're assigned to the Ion Tracker while I am stuck on the Scarlet Rose."

"That's not a problem. We can still meet with each other in person when the fleet is at rest. I can give you a good time even when we're apart from each other!"

Merrill didn't say no. Instead, she contemplated the offer for a time before looking back at Dietrich's projection. "Let's see if you can deliver on that claim."

While love was spreading throughout the fleet, Ves and Gloriana returned to their shared stateroom after a long design session.

Ves looked a bit more strained than before. He plopped his butt down on a chair while Gloriana immediately dove into the bathroom.

"Meow."

His gem cat floated in front of his face and gently flicked his tail against his face.

"I don't know, Lucky. I'm surprised how quickly Calabast and James managed to convince the Larkinsons to accept their proposal to invite thousands of outsiders into the clan. I expected the clan elders to resist."

They did at first according to Gavin. Yet Ves had underestimated the capabilities of the troublesome pair.

In hindsight, he shouldn't have felt so confident about the stubbornness of his family members.

While this proposal was unthinkable in the Larkinson Family, the clan was different. It was not only open to change, but also needed to expand its ranks!

Calabast and James recognized this and tailored their message to the decision makers of the clan. The two worked constantly behind the scenes to sway the opinions of the Larkinsons!

With her intelligence background, Calabast understood the Larkinson Clan better than Ves. With his predictive tendencies and amazing charisma, James never failed to persuade a Larkinson to support their proposal!

What surprised Ves the most was that the Larkinsons didn't object to the inclusion of the True Believers. Their surprising shift to worshipping Ves as a god had made the Ylvainans a lot more palatable to the clan!

Ves had scheduled a personal meeting with Raymond and Ovrin Larkinson the next time the fleet emerged from FTL. He needed to hear their opinions in person in order to determine whether they genuinely supported this massive move. If Calabast and James browbeat them into agreement somehow, then there would be hell to pay!

"Lucky?" Gloriana asked from the bathroom as the door slid open. "Could you take Clixie out for a time?"

"Meow!"

Lucky stopped swooping around Ves' head. He darted over to Clixie, who was lying comfortably on a floating cat perch.

"Miaow?"

"Meow meow."

"Miaow."

After their brief exchange, the two cats departed from the stateroom.

Shortly afterwards, the armored guards of the Avatars and the Glory Battalion filed out of the stateroom as well! Even Nitaa, who took an oath to guard Ves' life, followed the guards out while carrying the Larkinson Mandate attached to a harness on her armor!

Ves immediately became concerned. As far as he knew, aside from entering the bathroom, his guards never left his presence!

What was even stranger was that Nitaa took orders from Gloriana! That wasn't supposed to happen! The Kinner was his bondswoman!

"Gloriana?" He asked. "Why did you send everyone away?"

He smelled her approach first. An intimate scent wafted from the entrance of the bathroom. The intensity of the perfume was a lot more concentrated than the one she carried before!

A slender leg slowly emerged from the bathroom. Wearing an elegant black dress that hugged her body contours, his girlfriend slowly undulated her hips as she approached Ves with a smile.

He immediately gulped. "Gloriana..?"

Her lustrous black hair was curled up in wavy tresses that adorned her head like a crown. The makeup applied to her face not only accentuated her eyes, but also enhanced the redness of her lips!

When she reached his side, she took her hand and encouraged him to stand. Once he did so, she slowly drew him towards the center of the compartment.

"Am I beautiful?" Gloriana smirked.

"You.. are.. I mean, you look stunning!"

"Hihihi!"

When they reached the bed, Gloriana slowly pushed Ves onto it until he sat on the edge. Gloriana lowered herself afterwards until she sat on his lap.

Her face lowered onto his to exchange a passionate kiss. Her overpowering scent intoxicated Ves, causing him to feel very hot!

Once their lips parted, Ves lifted his fingers to brush his lipstick-stained lips. "What.. what's going on, Gloriana?"

"I'm tired of waiting, Ves." She replied and gently placed her palm on his chest. "We belong to each other. Your heart belongs to me, and my heart belongs to you. Tonight, let me show you how much that matters to me. Let me be your first!"

Before Ves could reply, Gloriana threw herself at him and engulfed his mouth in another passionate kiss!