The Mech Touch

A bright new day arrived!

Though day and night strictly didn't have any meaning in place, according to the standard clock that was synced to time on Old Earth, the day of the wedding had arrived!

Many people woke up and followed a meticulous schedule. Ves and Gloriana each came under the care of a team of bots and attendants.

Ves had to leave the Gravada Knarlax and move to another ship in order to prepare for his big day.

He underwent a cleaning so thorough that not even a speck of dust was left on his body. Bots then proceeded to cover him with a lotion synthesized specifically for his skin that made him appear at his best in broadcasts.

After that, some other attendants arrived to dress him up with the special clothes he made for the occasion.

His wedding outfit was only a fraction as elaborate as that of Gloriana. However, that did not mean it was simple.

Light and indestructible to small arms fire, the value of his attire exceeded that of a Hexer combat carrier!

The fabric of his suit was harvested from wild exobeasts from the frontier. After some light treatment and dying, the fabric acquired a rich red shade that appeared especially lustrous under changing light.

In the process of making the suit, the expert tailors incorporated various other fabrics and materials. His wedding attire not only had to make him stand out as a man, but also as the patriarch of a powerful clan.

The main colors of the Larkinson Clan as a whole were red, white and gold. The suit therefore incorporated various ornamental lines and bands made out of white fabric and a special golden alloy.

Ves even incorporated a limited amount of Unending alloy to increase its capacity to contain spiritual energy.

Throughout its entire creation process, it turned into a totem of sorts. Ves originally decided to infuse it with a spiritual fragment taken from Zeigra. The former Crown Cat might not be the strongest design spirit, but his glow exuded a sense of pride and aggression. This fit well with the image he wanted to project.

The only problem was that Zeigra was a bit too aggressive and hostile for a wedding occasion. In order to moderate the totem's glow, Ves blended in minor fragments taken from other design spirits.

The Golden Cat slanted the glow towards the Larkinson Clan.

Qilanxo reduced some of the hostility of the outfit.

The Solemn Guardian made Ves more regal.

Bravo amplified his masculinity.

The Illustrious One enhanced his resplendent nature even further.

Lufa took off the edge of the other influences and caused him to look a bit sacred.

The moment he donned his elaborate outfit, Ves no longer felt like a human.

His stature increased considerably! The dressers and makeup artists looked incredibly impressed at how much the outfit made him larger than life!

His groom attire was a lot more powerful than the Pride of Dusk. Ves had to dial down some of the glow in order to stop his attendants from getting distracted.

"Wow, boss. I'm so jealous right now, you know that?" Gavin told him as he stood by the side. "Can you let me borrow it for my own wedding?"

Ves grinned. "My outfit is completely unique, Benny. I'm never going to let anyone wear it. I can make a weaker suit for you if you're willing to hand in a thousand Larkinson merits."

"Forget it." Gavin immediately said.

A Larkinson could earn a single merit by performing a regular job for an entire year. It was impossible for a clansman to earn a thousand merits unless they were promoted to a higher rank and went above and beyond what was expected from them. Ves deliberately set up the merit system to encourage his clansmen to take more risks and find ways to make major contributions!

Gavin proceeded to report on various matters. No matter how well they planned the wedding, the sheer complexity of it made it difficult to get everything right. There were far too many people and moving parts involved to ensure they were all in place.

Of course, with the depth of preparations, these problems didn't affect the overall schedule. Gloriana and her mother had gone so crazy with contingencies that they were even prepared to hold the wedding aboard the Gravada Knarlax if someone blew up the original venue!

Not that anyone expected that to happen. The giant hexagonal platform that the Wodins spent months to build was incredibly secure. Nothing was allowed to go wrong.

In fact, only crazies would dare to launch an attack. There were so many important guests and envoys attending the wedding that killing was tantamount to offending many local powers in the Yeina Star Cluster!

Not even the Friday Coalition would be stupid enough to mess around. The Fridaymen depended so much on trade that an embargo would definitely cripple their warmaking potential in a matter of months. They might as well roll over and let the Hexers take over straight away in that event.

"So what's on the agenda first?"

"You'll be having breakfast with your closest clansmen. After that, you will take part in various rituals for the rest of the morning."

The rituals consisted of both public and private events that were mostly ceremonial and symbolic in nature. They ranged from honoring his ancestors, paying tribute to the Big Two, acknowledging the heritage of the human race, presenting a monument dedicated to his life in the Komodo Star Sector and so on. He would be doing each of these activities alone.

The Larkinson Clan and Wodin Dynasty both had different ideas on how the wedding should proceed. The Larkinsons wanted to hold a secular ceremony while the Wodins insisted on following hexism traditions.

Suffice to say, neither side agreed with each other.

After many rounds of contentious negotiations, the two sides eventually agreed to carry out their own plans in parallel. This meant that Ves wouldn't be meeting with Gloriana until the main ceremony began.

This was another contentious matter. Since the main ceremony couldn't be split up, the Larkinsons and the Wodins were forced to make numerous compromises. The result was a plan that wasn't quite Brighter or Hexer, but rather an unholy fusion of the two. It was a miracle that the two sides managed to come up with a decent solution.

There was just enough hexism to make Gloriana and the Wodins happy. Ves and the Larkinsons were happy as well because the ceremony was devoid of any man-hating or overt superstition.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons why Gloriana and the Hexers relented on this matter was because they wanted to avoid offending any of their foreign guests.

Though Hexers generally didn't care about the views of ignorant and misguided foreigners, this was different. The honor and pride of the Hexadric Hegemony was at stake. As the Hexers began to fare worse in the Komodo War, they increasingly acknowledged that it was very detrimental for them to turn up their noses at foreigners.

The Friday Coalition maintained a lot more friendly relations with foreign states compared to the Hegemony! This diplomatic edge allowed the Fridaymen to punch above its weight and catch up to the Hexers despite the latter's superior territorial advantages.

While the Hexers weren't delusional enough to make any new allies today, it was already a win in their book if they didn't encourage more foreigners to help the Fridaymen.

Of course, the Hexers had to be appeased as well, or the Wodin Dynasty's position in the Hegemony might become very precarious. No matter what benefits Ves brought to the table, the Wodins couldn't afford to give the impression that they were betraying their Hexer heritage.

Hence why Gloriana received a separate itinerary. Ves only took a single glance at it before he immediately turned away.

"Women." He grumbled.

"Meow."

"You look great!"

Lucky curiously floated over his head. Just like Ves, the cat also dressed up for the occasion. The mechanical cat wore a precisely-fitted tuxedo over the front half of his body, complete with a cute red bow tie to his neck.

An attendant also tied a silky red ribbon to his tail. Lucky hated it at first, but eventually got used to it. Overall, he looked both formal and cute!

Once the makeup bots and artists finished working on his face, he proceeded to step out and have breakfast.

This was a different breakfast than usual. Aside from the formality involved and the impressive-looking venue, half of the diners came in the form of projections.

For this occasion, the Larkinson Clan reached out to the new Larkinson Family. Despite the bad blood between them, they were still Larkinsons who cherished their relatives.

As a result, Ves and some of his clansmen sat on one side of a rectangular table while projections of Benjamin, Ark and many other trueblood Larkinsons sat on the opposite side.

Separated across light-years and star sectors, the two groups of Larkinsons weren't able to partake in the same dishes. However, they were able to hug and touch each other due to the physical projection devices provided by the Hexers.

"Ves!" Benjamin greeted with a warm smile. "You look exceptionally grand today!"

"Thank you." Ves lightly embraced his grandfather's physical projection.

The two groups of Larkinsons soon took their seats and sampled their first dishes.

"We are all proud of you, Ves." His uncle Ark said. "What was it like to take down an armed warship?"

"Defeating the Gravada Knarlax wasn't even the most difficult part about making it through the Nyxian Gap. It's unfortunate that I can't share too many details."

"We understand. A regular battle doesn't produce so many breakthroughs. We're quite jealous about how much welfare you're providing to the clan."

"It's the least that I can do." Ves shrugged as he took a bite off a sausage. "I've been pushing my men hard. I need to whip into shape in order to ready them for the trials to come."

"Maybe it was right that you went your own way." Benjamin sighed. "If you tried to subject all of us to so many dangers, we would have cast you out before you even stepped foot in the Nyxian Gap. It takes a special kind of person to exercise his men by going on a trip through this pirate-infested region."

"There were more reasons why I entered the Nyxian Gap. It's quite an exotic place and has its own charm. While it's filled black-hearted pirates, there are also heroes whose hearts are in the right place. We wouldn't have been able to survive the last battle if the Oblivion Hand hadn't intervened."

Both grandson and grandfather shared an unspoken message through his eyes. Ves minutely nodded, causing Benjamin to feel as if a weight lifted off shoulders.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Right."

As breakfast progressed, they continued to discuss various matters. The Larkinson Family achieved some progress as well. After some twists and turns, they finally arrived at Vicious Mountain.

"How is it over there?"

"Different." Ark curtly answered. "It's not ideal, but it's a good place for us to develop. Soldiers and warriors are always valued over there, and my qualifications ensure that we will always be treated with dignity. It is just…"

"What is it, uncle?"

"Your reputation is beginning to overshadow ours. People are starting to treat us as an extension of the Larkinson Clan."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. To be honest, we have taken advantage of this association and secured better treatment for ourselves. While it isn't entirely proper, I want to secure the best treatment for our family members."

Ves smiled. "I don't mind what you're doing. In fact, I endorse your approach. You are still family to me. If you can use us to get ahead, then just do so. As long as you check up with us and keep us in the loop, we don't mind making some gestures to prove your backing."

Both Benjamin and Ark looked ashamed. Only a short time had passed and already the Larkinson Clan left the Larkinson Family in the dust!