The Mech Touch

Just as Ves anticipated, public opinion completely turned around after the dramatic press conference.

A day later, Gavin reported the good news.

"I knew you would turn our situation somehow." He lavished his superior with praise. "Even though you're called the Devil Tongue, it still surprises me how receptive the public can be towards your speeches. No matter if they are aware of your moniker, they still think that you are completely sincere when you address the public."

Ves threw a pointed look at his assistant. "I am always sincere, Benny. That's part of my charm."

"Sure thing, boss." Gavin coughed. "Anyway, after the press conference, the news cycle has completely changed. We flooded the galactic net with too many newsworthy announcements. From capturing the Gravada Knarlax to achieving nineteen breakthroughs in a single battle, all of the news portals and opinion makers are buzzing with what we've accomplished. In addition, the introduction of the Living Star Club couldn't have gone any better. The rate of customers who opted to accept membership in lieu of receiving cash compensation has exceeded 90 percent."

"There are still customers who are stupid enough to reject our goodwill?"

"According to our investigation, these customers have already lost faith in our products. They don't believe our claims. They would rather obtain hard cash than fall for another scam."

Ves didn't blame them. He would have likely made the same choice if he was in their position. If the LMC broke their trust once, it could do so again. There were plenty of alternative mech companies in the mech market that still maintained pristine reputations.

Fortunately, the ratio was fairly small. The scale of defections wouldn't affect the LMC's overall market standing.

In fact, with the tremendous publicity generated by his press conference, he expected his mech company to enjoy a massive boost in sales!

No wonder Gavin looked so excited. It was a blessing for the LMC to be led by such an excellent speaker! Ves was so good with crowds that he could single-handedly resolve a crisis with some clever words and theatrics.

"Is the Living Star Club doing okay? We only set it up a few days ago. First impressions are important."

"We didn't have much time to organize the club, so plenty of issues have emerged. None of them are serious enough to require your intervention. We've already assembled a special team to build and manage the Club. While the initial member experience is somewhat barebones, it's not awful. We'll see some drastic improvements in the next two weeks."

"That's the best we can hope for, I guess. Make sure to stare at the Club closely. In fact, would you like to be in charge of it? You can be its very first club president."

The offer completely took Gavin by surprise. He frowned a bit as he forced himself to take his time. If there was one thing he learned from spending so much time around his boss, it was that Ves sometimes had other motives in mind.

Was Ves trying to get rid of him or something?

"Erm, your offer sounds interesting, but I am comfortable where I am now. I don't think I'm suited to be a leader. I can't handle that much responsibility. I'm used to playing a facilitating role. Helping you make decisions and ensuring that your intentions are carried out is much more fulfilling to me. I wouldn't know what to do if the buck stops with me. Please don't change my role."

An odd silence ensued after Gavin made his plea. Ves looked at his assistant with an odd expression.

"I guess I shouldn't have expected more from you, Benny."

As time continued to pass, the excitement surrounding Ves, the Larkinson Clan, the LMC and the Living Star Club only grew. The reputation of each of them soared, causing even people who never paid attention to these events to learn about their astonishing deeds!

The press had left the Doom Guard scandal far behind. In any case, despite the odd events surrounding the Doom Guard model, Ves and the LMC already apologized and offered adequate compensation. Hardly anyone retained any interest in following up on the root causes of the incident.

This was exactly what Ves wanted to see. Now that the crisis had passed, he handed over the follow-up matters to his subordinates and waited for the reinforcements to come.

The Wodin Warriors finally reached the survivors after arriving half a day later than scheduled.

The moment the long-ranged sensors of the Gravada Knarlax and the scout mechs detected a huge amount of energy signatures, the Larkinsons initially sounded alarms.

It was only a few minutes later that the Larkinsons confirmed that the incoming energy signatures consisted of friendly mechs.

When thousands of Hexers flew into visual range, each and every Larkinson felt a wave of relief that was so profound that they could fall to sleep right away!

Before the arrival of the Wodin Warriors, the Larkinsons were truly concerned about whether they could still make it out. Now that over 5000 Hexer mechs had showed up, the clansmen no longer had to worry about fending off any ambushes!

Even if some powerful pirate faction dared to attack them, the Hexers were more than strong enough to take care of any threats.

To most of the Larkinsons, it didn't matter whether they were willing to let a bunch of women fight their battles. Every survivor of Task Force Predator had already given them all in the previous battle. Aside from the expert pilots and expert candidates, the clansmen all needed a lot of time to recover from their traumatic ordeal.

When the magnificent combat carriers and support ships of the Wodin Warriors followed after the main wave, Ves already prepared himself to meet with the highest-commanding officer of the friendly fleet.

Since he was meeting with Hexers, Ves thought it prudent for Calabast to accompany him. Who knew if he would commit some kind of egregious faux-pas without his knowledge.

Calabast looked annoyed at his summons. Both of them wore their regular uniforms this time. Her black uniform contrasted strongly with his customary red-and-white outfit.

"Where is your cape?" She asked.

"I thought it was best to leave it in my closet. It looks a bit too ostentatious for my tastes. It's not necessary to puff myself up like a pirate lord this time. The Wodins already know my worth and our tremendous gains speak for themselves."

It was hard for the arriving Wodin Warriors to remain calm when they witnessed an actual warship up close. The huge primary turrets and the vast array of secondary gun batteries all possessed enough power to threaten the Wodin Warrior fleet!

The newly-arrived Hexers did not dare to move around excessively. Their mechs adopted a cautious posture around the captured warships.

Even if the Larkinsons claimed that the armed vessels did not pose any threat to them, it was difficult for the Hexers to shake off their suspicion. This was especially so when they found out that many of the Larkinson officers in charge of the captured warships happened to be male!

"I warned Major Verle that he shouldn't have put men in charge. Now look at how the Wodins are acting around your ships. They're hardly paying any attention to external threats. Most of them look ready to launch an attack on our vessels!"

Ves grimaced, but he did not take it too personally. "Everyone will probably react this way when they get close to ships like these. Too many people think that warships are just one step away from launching devastating attacks on innocents."

For their part, the Wodin Warrior mechs no longer adopted a highly-guarded posture after some time. They continued to hover protectively around the Wodin Warrior vessels.

A lot of communication took place between the two fleets. Various pieces of data flowed back and forth for some reason or another. Ves didn't fully understand the elaborate protocols.

"You should invite the ranking officer of the reinforcing fleet to the Scarlet Rose." Calabast suggested.

"Huh? Will the Hexer in charge even accept that?" Ves looked uncertain. "From what I heard about them, they always insist that boys should go to them instead of the other way around."

"That's only the case with average boys. You're different. Your status and the status of the entire Larkinson Clan has undergone huge changes. The Wodins have already shown signs that they are willing to disregard your gender. You should feel honored for earning this distinction."

"Are you trying to rile me up, Calabast?"

"Hehe." The older woman chuckled. "I'm just telling you the truth."

He did what she suggested. Surprisingly, the Wodins accepted. They were already readying a shuttle to meet with Ves at his comparatively tiny frigate.

"See? I told you so." Calabast clapped his back. "You're not only valuable, but also family."

"I'm not marrying into the Wodin Dynasty."

"I know, but the Wodins might not entirely see it that way. No matter what, as Gloriana's future spouse, the Wodins expect to receive some of the same treatment you bestow to your own clan. In fact, expect the commanding officer to beg you to supply them with some of your secret expert pilot-making mechs at some point."

While Calabast continued to pass on her theories to Ves, the Hexer shuttle eventually arrived.

Ves looked appreciatively at the elegant vehicle. Sleek and ornamental, Ves could instantly tell that its performance was very high compared to average second-class shuttles.

After landing in the hangar of the Scarlet Rose, a number of Wodin Warriors stepped out and looked around the small and cramped chamber.

As a former Fridayman vessel, the Scarlet Rose still bore too much evidence of her original ownership. Some of the Wodin Warriors sneered, but the older woman with epaulets on her shoulders and other distinctive markings looked elsewhere.

Upon Calabast's advice, he moved the second statue of the Superior Mother to the far side of the hangar bay.

As the Hexers proceeded forward, they soon felt the unusual nature of the replica statue. They ignored Ves and Calabast and automatically changed their course.

"So this is your handiwork." Someone uttered.

The glow of the Superior Mother released by the statue was stronger and purer than the glow of any Blessed Squire!

As the Wodin Warriors were technically the household troops of the Wodin Dynasty, they didn't have permission to field any Blessed Squires. Secretly, they still retained the prototypes, but the glows of those early copies simply couldn' compare against the original source!

Ves looked amused at their reaction. He did not mind that the Hexers initially passed him over. He found it much more important to know that the glow of the Superior Mother already exerted so much control over the Wodins.

"Ah. Mr. Larkinson. We could not help but appreciate your work." The commanding officer eventually pulled herself back from her mesmerized state. "I am Mech Colonel Alexandria Wodin. I am in charge of the Wodin Warriors sent to relieve your forces."

The two shook hands. The older woman applied a very strong grip, but it was too bad that Ves had plenty of strength to spare.

"Pleased to meet you." Ves put on his best diplomatic demeanor. "Thank you for coming here. Let's head somewhere comfortable to discuss business, shall we?"

Alexandria looked wistful at the statue, but she eventually nodded. "Very well. Lead the way."

As they moved to the conference room, Ves briefly took in the mech colonel. For a Hexer, she wasn't as tough and unyielding as he initially feared. That said, he sensed plenty of strength and steel within her. While it was difficult to estimate her age, he guessed that Alexandria belonged to the same generation as Madame Constance.

Ves didn't know where Colonel Alexandria stood in the Wodin Dynasty, but hopefully she wouldn't pull him into any factional rivalries.

"We've arrived. Please step inside."