The Mech Touch

An inquisitive journalist with a great amount of admiration towards expert pilots couldn't hold himself in any longer.

"How many breakthroughs took place?"

Ves looked sharply at the fellow. This was quite a clever question!

"Nineteen breakthroughs in total. Unfortunately, six expert candidates sacrificed their lives to obtain this victory. We still mourn for their loss."

The deaths of six expert candidates was an incredibly painful price! Each of them were potential expert pilots, so not even military mech regiments dared to deploy them casually into battle.

For six of them to die in a single battle was enough to make the brass worried!

What was surprising that the Larkinson Clan still had plenty of expert candidates to spare. They gained so many of them that they could afford to lose a few here and there. This was an extravagant luxury that hardly any unit or organization enjoyed!

As the wheels started to turn in the minds of some of the journalists and the public, they suddenly became heated. Something very remarkable had happened. No one paid as much attention anymore to the astounding feat of defeating the Allidus Alliance or capturing most of its warships intact.

The only matter of importance to them was finding out why the Larkinsons managed to gain so many powerful mech pilots in such a short amount of time!

Even if the confrontation against the pirates was intensive enough to push many mech pilots beyond their limits, it just didn't seem possible for nineteen breakthroughs to happen out of less than a thousand mech pilots.

This ratio was too high! Anyone who followed expert pilots and learned about their circumstances could make this conclusion. They could tolerate three breakthroughs at most before the figure began to strain their ability to accept the news.

There was definitely something more to this battle than Ves had exposed.

Someone raised his hand. "Mr. Larkinson, how come so many of your mech pilots have broken through!? What is the secret behind their success?"

All of the journalists leaned forward. More and more people who heard about the astounding news began to tune into the broadcast. Throughout the Komodo Star Sector and beyond, an increasing quantity of mech pilots and other people watched carefully in order to find out the secret.

Ves briefly exchanged a glance with Gloriana. Both of them knew that they had attracted an unprecedented amount of viewers. Not just the Yeina Star Cluster, but also the neighboring star clusters began to pay attention!

With trillions of people hanging onto his every word, Ves knew that he could exert an untold amount of influence. He also knew that he needed to consider his words carefully. A single mistake might easily land him in a lot of hot water!

"Let me introduce myself to you and everyone else who is just tuning in." Ves did not directly answer the question. "I am Ves Larkinson, a Journeyman Mech Designer. Aside from founding and leading the Larkinson Clan in battle, I also design mechs. Perhaps you may have heard about the LMC's best selling mechs. Together with Miss Gloriana Wodin, my partner, we have pooled our efforts to design revolutionary new mechs."

He waves his hand. Some marketing footage appeared above his head that silently displayed several of his mechs in action. From the valiant Desolate Soldiers trying to resist the invading sandmen to the Doom Guards managing to repel hundreds of mechs at a time, the selected battle footage showcased the unique properties of the LMC's products!

While many viewers from the Komodo Star Sector were already familiar with his work, this was not the case for many people who were tuning elsewhere.

Since so many new people became exposed to him and his work for the very first time, he might as well take advantage of the occasion to promote his work!

"My mech company is called the Living Mech Corporation." He continued. "The name reflects my  ambition to design mechs that are so responsive and helpful to their mech pilots that they are actually alive. Since the start of my career, I have worked hard to find new ways to refine the piloting experience."

He grinned. "I'm not only trying to improve the relationship between mech and mech pilot. I'm trying to transform it! By redefining this relationship, I believe my work has the potential to unlock the potential of both mech and mech pilot!"

Ves swept his arm over the partially-damaged bridge.

"To that end, I did not hesitate to enter the Nyxian Gap and enter into the thick of battle. It is only by studying the performance of my mechs and my men up close that I have managed to develop several novel solutions."

Gloriana stepped forward at this point. "My beloved and I have vowed to accomplish several goals that many of our colleagues attempted to achieve. Different from them, we succeeded. We designed several masterwork mechs, each of which are certified by the MTA. Our understanding of mechs and how they meld with mech pilots has reached a level where we can already redefine their roles."

Ves took over from here. "While we have already succeeded in becoming masterwork mech designers, our ambitions don't end there. One of our ultimate goals is to be able to design mechs that can turn any mech pilot into an expert pilot!"

Normally, any mech designer who made this delusion claim would have been ridiculed until they ran away. How many people tried to develop a solution that could make any mech pilot advance?

Too many mech designers and researchers had tried and failed!

Nobody was laughing right now. The brutal setting, the valor displayed by Ves and the astounding accomplishments of the Larkinson Clan somehow supported those claims.

Very few people cast doubt on the mech pilots standing stoically behind the Miracle Couple. While it was not obvious that they were expert pilots or expert candidates, there was no way that the Larkinson Clan would lie about it. Its reputation would suffer a fatal blow if it turned out that the Larkinsons never gained so many potent mech pilots.

He knew it was useless to hide this detail. It was better to announce it to the public so that he could take full advantage of the situation.

Of course, he knew he was also playing with fire. If he showed too much promise, he would probably attract an immense amount of scrutiny from the MTA. Not even Master Willix would be able to shield him if someone powerful enough took an interest in his work.

Therefore, he knew he had to dial everyone's expectations back.

"In truth, our progress towards this goal is still marginal." He said. "The nature of mech pilot breakthroughs are very mysterious. The best researchers of the MTA are much further ahead in this field than us. Our approach is different and more unique. We have made serious gains over the years."

"Do any of your solutions affect the chances of breakthrough?" The same journalist asked.

"I was getting to that." He replied and tried to look serious. "Our research is still at a preliminary stage. We are not even close to attaining our goal. Even so, we have tried out a lot of different possibilities that might or might not have the desired results. I simply can't tell you. We only resorted to some very desperate circumstances in the runup to the previous battle. During the testing process, several of our mech pilots incurred serious injuries. That will tell you how immature our ongoing research is at the moment. Our existing mech models do not feature the innovations that we have implemented to our internal mechs."

"They were successful, right?"

"The circumstances of our final battle were exceptional, and I cannot guarantee the safety and reliability of our new innovations." He perfunctory replied. "The MTA is already in the process of performing an investigation. I am not at liberty to say any more."

It was a huge risk to tell the public this much, but Ves reasoned that people would just continue to ask questions if he didn't address everyone's questions. Mentioning the MTA at the end was a nice way to shield him from any further inquiries. Since the MTA was on the case, it would publish a statement when it completed its investigation. That was how the Association usually handled these kinds of situations.

That said, Ves did not want to close off every door.

"Perhaps our subsequent products may incorporate some new solutions." He vaguely said. "The Living Mech Corporation is constantly striving to design livelier mechs. Each mech we release after another provides an increasing amount of assistance towards its users."

Though he hadn't said anything solid, imaginations were already beginning to run wild. A lot of people would definitely begin to look up the LMC after this press conference was over!

Seeing that Ves successfully dazzled his audience and deflected the matter of the abnormal frequency of breakthroughs, he moved on to his final point.

"Now, before I answer your questions, let me make an important announcement."

He waved his hand. The promotional footage disappeared. A bit of calm returned to the bridge.

"Recently, an incident has occurred that has affected one of our best-selling mech models. Its performance and properties have changed abruptly without warning. While the mech is still capable of performing the same role as before, its altered characteristics has led to considerable upheaval."

Ves lowered his head a bit as if he was contrite. "I'm sorry."

His current impression looked completely incongruous to the current setting. Just a moment ago, he announced some impressive accomplishments. Now he was saying sorry. The audience simply couldn't get used to such an abrupt switch.

Of course, he wasn't truly sorry. He just had to appear this way in order to earn some sympathy points from the ignorant crowd.

Not once did he mention the Doom Guard model by name. This was so that nobody could use his words to amplify and perpetuate the controversy. As long as he showed enough 'sincerity', the scandal would likely blow over after a time!

"The LMC did not intend for this mech model to change in such an abrupt fashion." He continued. "We are aware that many customers have suffered real and material damage as a result of this incident."

Ves took a deep breath. He thought long and hard about his response. "To that end, we are willing to offer generous compensation to any owner. Those who suffered damages and those who are merely stuck with a mech that is different from their expectations can readily contact the LMC to request compensation. Depending on whether you want to keep your changed mech or turn it in, you can choose to receive a cash refund or gain another opportunity."

"What is this opportunity, sir?"

"I'm glad you asked." Ves slowly began to smile. "In light of all of these recent developments, we wanted to do something special for those who are affected."

He snapped his fingers, causing a projection of a giant golden star to appear above his head!

The stylized six-pointed star bore the face of the Golden Cat, similar to the emblem of the Larkinson Clan.

"Instead of asking for compensation, those who are eligible for compensation can instead opt to join the Living Star Club!"

Living Star Club?

"The Living Star Club is an exclusive membership program of the LMC." Ves stated. "Any customer who becomes a member is entitled to receive various benefits. These benefits range from discounts, free mechs and the opportunity to order customized or limited edition mechs."

This did not sound very different from the membership programs offered by other companies, not just ones that sold mechs.

Ves knew he had to offer something else in order to make the Living Star Club stand out from the crowd.

He grinned. "Of course, that is not the most important benefit. Depending on their engagement in the club, members may be eligible to purchase some of our most desirable mechs that will never be sold on the open market. The reason why they are desirable is because they may incorporate some common elements to the mechs piloted by the fine men and women who are standing behind my back."

Everyone looked at the silent rows of expert pilots and expert candidates.

A lot of people widened their eyes.

"WE HAVE TO JOIN THIS CLUB!"