The Mech Touch

Explosive news had erupted from the Cinach System once again!

The Larkinson Clan attracted the attention of the MTA once again. Master Willix portal-jumped straight to Cinach in order to certify another masterwork mech!

The unusual frequency of this occurrence practically stunned the local mech community and surprised many other mech designers.

Once was a coincidence. Twice was a pattern!

The odds of creating a masterwork mech at Journeyman-level was already slim to none, and they only dropped even further for younger mech designers.

Even then, the mech community could barely accept that the now-famous collaborative partnership of Ves and Gloriana managed to luck out once by benefiting from external help.

Yet accomplishing the same astonishing feat again in just over half a year was no longer a coincidence.

The two mech designers credited for creating the masterwork mech had done it again, and this time the MTA's public records noted that they had done it by themselves!

That latter detail was pretty important. It proved that Ves and Gloriana were more than a bunch of leeches. They possessed the capital to stand up on their own and wear their masterwork mech designer titles with pride!

Sadly, both the mech design and the masterwork mech relating to this remarkable event remained secret. The Larkinson Clan did not leak a single breath and the MTA respected the secrecy agreement, so no outsiders managed to learn the juicy details.

Due to the magnitude of this sensational news, the second story about Ves Larkinson managing to vanquish an elite MTA mech designer almost went unnoticed.

If it happened in isolation, then it would have caught more attention, but people were too abuzz with discussing the latest masterwork mech to talk about some small duel.

Of course, those who were aware of the formidable strength of MTA mech designers and the horrible nature of Jovy Armalon reacted with shock.

It was rare for indigenous mech designers to beat MTA mech designers in a duel! The starting points of these two kinds of professionals were simply too far apart!

As for the third piece of news about Joshua Larkinson advancing to expert candidate, hardly anyone had any attention left to bother about it. Only the Larkinsons themselves exhibited a huge reaction.

The addition of another expert candidate resulted in a very significant increase in the clan's overall strength!

No matter what, the Larkinson Clan boiled yet again. An excitement spread in the air throughout the rented base as tens of thousands of clansmen felt proud of what their leaders had achieved.

The entire clan depended on the success of Ves and Gloriana!

Due to the two continuous high-profile accomplishments, the media began to bestow a unique name for their pairing.

The Miracle Couple!

Surprisingly, it was a Hexer publication that first coined this term. The Hexer journalist called the pairing this way because Ves and Gloriana seemingly generated a continuous string of miracles ever since they joined forces and worked together on design projects.

Practically every couple of months, the two remarkable young Journeymen generated another sensational piece of news. Calling them the Miracle Couple was not unjustified, especially when many industry insiders recognized that such a young duo of masterwork mech designers would only create further masterworks in the future.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with this piece of news.

When Gavin reported to Ves in person during breakfast, the latter almost spilled out his coffee.

"The hell?!" Ves banged his fist against the dining table. "The Miracle Couple?!"

He shifted his gaze towards Gloriana who burst out into a smile.

"I love it! Even the public acknowledges our capacity to create miracles." She gushed.

"Did you have anything to do with it? I told you not to do these kinds of stunts! I hate the word 'miracle'!"

She shook her head. "I'm not involved. Honestly."

"Really?"

"I would never lie to you, Ves! Can't you trust me, at least?"

He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "If you're not responsible, then who?"

"If you ask me, then the likeliest suspect is DIVA, followed by my own dynasty." Gloriana ventured.

As for the possibility that this charming name was just the invention of a single journalist, everyone in the dining room ruled it out. There was simply too much momentum behind the new term for it to have spread organically.

"It makes sense that either or both manipulated the media to adopt this new term." Gavin spoke. "DIVA is likely preparing to introduce your Blessed Squires onto the battlefield. A lot of questions about their designers will doubtlessly emerge, and if the Hexers find out that you are involved, a lot of backlash will erupt. It is in DIVA's best interests to enhance your prestige and paint you as a boy who is different from the norm. Grouping you together with Gloriana will doubtlessly blunt some of the criticism that will doubtlessly emerge from the conservative Hexer circles."

Gloriana nodded in agreement. She turned to her own assistant Melody, who looked uncertain.

"While I am not privy to your mother's every action, it is a habit of hers to exert control of the situation. You know as well as I do that your mother does not prefer to leave potential risks unattended. Due to your increasing importance within the dynasty, it has become more important than ever to elevate Mr. Larkinson's image within the Hegemony."

Regardless of which of the two was responsible, now that the Miracle Couple had been attached to their pairing, neither Ves nor Gloriana would be able to get rid of it anytime soon!

Ves looked glum while Gloriana gladly welcomed this new development. Anything that tied her closer together to her boyfriend was something to celebrate about!

"Is there anything else, Benny?"

"Yes. The Military Bureau wanted to inform you that while they have already put your latest windfall of funds to good use, it will take a couple of months to procure and ship all of the second-hand ships from the Hegemony. Many of the vessels they are eying are mothballed and decommissioned, and it takes an extensive amount of time to bring them back to readiness. A lot of skeleton crews have to be formed to perform this process and dispatch the combat carriers and such to the Sentinel Kingdom. Once they are here, our ship crews will need to spend an extensive amount of time to gain a decent degree of mastery over these advanced vessels."

"How long?"

"Six months at minimum, and that is only if you just want them to get prepped for travel, not combat."

In short, there was no point in waiting for his powerful new ships to arrive before he left for the Nyxian Gap.

"Then let's stick to the original plan." Ves decided. "Once my mission is over, we can wait for the delivery of the factory ship and take our entire upgraded fleet out of this star sector once and for all."

The adoption of the Hexer vessels couldn't be sped up. Though it was a pity, Ves already possessed ample confidence that his current Larkinson Clan was more than ready to venture into the Nyxian Gap. His planned task force far surpassed the strength of Peacekeeper outfits that regularly dipped into this dangerous region!

Aside from this news, Gavin passed on something else.

"Joshua Larkinson will recover in time to attend the upcoming celebration that is set to be held in three days. The MTA's doctors did an excellent job in hastening his recovery. Right now, he only needs to stay in bed for another day before he is ready to walk again."

"That's good news."

Three days. After encountering so many delays and unexpected incidents, Ves was finally ready to put the Cinach System behind him and embark on his long-awaited excursion. He had already grown antsy from staying too long in a single place.

It was a pity that Gloriana wouldn't be accompanying him. The new Darkbreak module that his engineers were in the process of installing on the Scarlet Rose should help in alleviating their temporary separation.

After breakfast, Ves and Gloriana both took their cats and headed to their design lab.

Along the way, every Larkinson greeted the two with respect. Even the clansmen themselves began to call them the Miracle Couple!

"Ugh." Ves snarled as he held Lucky in his grasp. "They're talking about us as if we are gods who create miracles on a daily basis. Don't they have better things to talk about?"

"Meow."

"Yeah, I guess not."

"Isn't it the truth?"

"NO!" Ves immediately replied to Gloriana. "Painting us as gods, especially in a literal sense, is dangerous! Self-sufficiency and hard work are vital to our clan. It's one thing to admire us. It's another thing to surrender to us. I don't want our clan to become too dependent on their 'gods'. There is no point in raising our clan if its members are incapable of solving their own problems and need to call for help all the time."

Whenever someone used the word god, Brighters like Ves always associated it with tyrannical faiths that tried their best to suppress and exploit their flock. At best, these religions were scams. At worst, they turned into vehicles of ignorance and oppression!

Therefore, Ves truly did not wish his clan to indulge too much in superstition.

If his clan turned into a bunch of babies who needed to pray to their gods for help all the time, how could Ves feel at ease with delegating important matters to the leaders of his clan?

The Larkinson Clan was supposed to serve him, not the other way around! Turning it into a spaceborn version of the Ylvaine Protectorate would only be counterproductive.

Of course, the fact that he himself depended on it as a shield to deflect MTA attention did not register in his mind!

Once the Miracle Couple reached the design lab, they let their cats scurry off elsewhere before stepping in front of a crowd of over sixty mech designers.

Though the welcoming tour meant to indoctrinate the newly-hired mech designers into the Larkinson Clan had only reached its halfway point, Ves was already satisfied with what he saw.

Every talented and competent mech designer that Ves and Gloriana recruited during the selection process had all acclimatized to their new lives.

The spiritual bonds they shared with the Larkinson Network had grown vigorous. Some of them even became twice or thrice as strong in the case of some notable talents such as Catherine Evenson-Larkinson and Moltar Ringer-Larkinson.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." Ves greeted the young and eager mech designers. "I hope you have all learned what it takes to become a Larkinson. While you are already adopted into our clan, this is only the start."

Gloriana spoke up. "The reason why we have interrupted your training and called you here is to make an announcement. I'm sure you have heard already, but a portion of our combat forces will soon depart to perform an important mission for the MTA. Ves will head this new task force, while I shall remain here in order to hold down the fort."

Ves looked at the crowd in expectation. "The Nyxian Gap is dangerous, as you should all be aware of. Yet that is not enough to stop us! If you have memorized the motto of our clan, then you should be aware why we have decided to take this risk."

Someone raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Sir, you have achieved so much success at Cinach. Why must you take part in a dangerous mission?"

Ves crossed his arms. "My recent achievements are the result of the lessons I've learned during my travels and various crises. I would have never been able to get this far if I just holed up in a lab all the time. I hope that all of you understand this lesson as well. We mech designers can't rely on our imagination alone to produce our best works. Only by venturing out and learning about the true state of the galaxy will you be able to understand the true nature of mechs!"

After answering a few other questions, Ves finally addressed the purpose of this assembly.

"The reason why I've called you here is simple. Since our task force will be venturing to Nyxian Gap very soon, I could use some design teams to assist my design efforts and provide aid to any ship or mech company. Due to the danger of this mission and the nature of our profession, I won't force any of you to take part. Now, who among you is willing to volunteer to take part in our mission?"

Total silence spread throughout the entire design lab.