The Mech Touch

Gloriana and the Skull Architect had a lot in common from a professional standpoint.

They were second-class mech designers. They both pursued material perfection in mech design.

Of course, there were slight differences. Gloriana pursued the perfect vessel. This caused her to develop a much stronger focus towards individually-customized mechs. She did not want to make any compromises at all into achieving the greatest fit between her mechs and her clients. This meant that she wasn't able to design mass market mechs by herself.

From what Ves knew of the Skull Architect's work, the former Fridayman nominally specialized in energy transmission. What this actually meant was that the Senior actually obsessed over achieving the maximum possible efficiency.

While the professor made steady gains in this field, eventually he approached the limits of what was possible with his abilities.

In order to squeeze even more performance out of his mechs, he had to go through great extremes. How the Skull Architect turned to the X-Factor of all variables as the way to go was quite mystifying.

What the professor just explained plainly explained why he attached himself to the Cross Clan. It was nothing more than an attempt to take advantage of the Crossers to stay close to Ves, who he regarded as one of his best hopes of breaking past his current research huddle!

Ves had to applaud the Skull Architect's decision. If Professor 'Cortez' applied to join the Larkinson Clan directly, then his application would have been rejected straight away!

While the Larkinson Clan eagerly recruited competent personnel, it mainly directed its focus towards younger talents rather than older professionals.

Compared to the former, the latter were much more set in their ways. It was significantly harder for the Larkinson Network to convert them into truly loyal clansmen. This was especially so for highly-accomplished individuals such as Senior Mech Designers and their equivalents in other professions!

With the mental and spiritual strength of the Skull Architect, there was no possible way for Goldie to convert him into an honest Larkinson. In fact, Ves feared that the Senior might corrupt the Golden Cat instead!

"What are your intentions towards the Cross Clan?" Ves carefully asked.

"Isn't it the same as you?" The older man replied with a smirk. "The Crossers may be louts, but they are strong. If there is one lesson that I have learned in the frontier, it is that mech designers need protection. As long as I take care of their mechs and finances, I'll have these Garlaners eating from the palm of my hand in no time."

"Are you trying to take control of the Cross Clan?!"

"Not exactly." The Senior shook his head. "What would I do with all of that power? I am different from you. It is enough to wield enough influence to satisfy my needs. Patriarch Reginald Cross can keep running this band of glory-obsessed idiots. To mech designers like myself, most forms of power are ephemeral. Only our knowledge is eternal. Advancing to Master is the only goal that matters to me. As long as I can realize my ambitions, I can gain power over an organization that is ten times as powerful as the Cross Clan!"

In other words, the Skull Architect only used the Cross Clan as a means to an end. This explained why the Cross Patriarch signed Professor Benedict Cortez as a guest designer rather than a new member of his clan.

Not every organization adopted the model of the Larkinson Clan. It was quite rare for a clan to adopt external members on a wide scale.

After all, it was too hard to ensure the loyalty and commitment of those who joined in this fashion.

The Larkinson Clan was able to break this custom because of the existence of the Larkinson Network.

In any case, the Skull Architect wasn't the only guest the Crossers signed on. The Black Cats already observed a string of other people becoming enticed by the benefits offered by the Crossers.

While the Larkinson Clan also offered attractive conditions, it imposed very strict recruitment standards. Not only that, but not everyone wanted to abandon their family and allegiance and turn into full-time Larkinsons.

The contracts offered by the Cross Clan imposed considerably less demands.

"I can break my relationship with the Cross Clan at any time as long as I give them prior notice." Professor 'Cortez' explained. "However, I do not intend to break away if I can help it. The Crossers may be rough, but they have potential. At the very least, Patriarch Reginald is truly a possible ace pilot candidate. If he ever succeeds in becoming a Saint, then I'd be a fool to abandon such a powerful mech pilot."

"The previous ace pilot of the Cross Clan went mad on power and provoked a lot of enemies." Ves poignantly pointed out.

Professor Cortez waved his hand. "The Vicious Mountainers have learned their lesson. If not, I will personally intervene to make sure the patriarch remains a positive influence."

And what if the new ace pilot remained obstinate? From his personal experiences with wrangling his own expert pilots, trying to persuade an ace pilot to change his mind should be a herculean feat!

He shuddered again. What if the professor decided the best way to solve an out-of-control ace pilot was to turn the latter into bones?

Perhaps the Skull Architect might believe that his first attempt failed because the mech pilot was too weak.

If the unhinged mech designer integrated the skull of an ace pilot into his mech instead, he might be able to succeed!

Ves became less and less enthused about partnering up with the Cross Clan. Compared to joining hands with such an unstable element, he could entertain offers instead.

The Skull Architect was quite perceptive. He was someone who had to ally and work together with all manner of people throughout his eventful life.

His plan could only work if the Cross Clan succeeded in partnering with the Larkinson Clan. If the negotiations collapsed for some reason, then his primary motivation to attach himself to the Cross Clan became moot!

Since securing this cooperation was vital to his interests, the Skull Architect immediately made assurances.

"Mr. Larkinson, the Cross Clan can offer even more benefits to your clan now that I am here. Without my presence, the Crossers would have likely stagnated. Now that I am willing to lend my services to them, they will soon be able to return to their former glory. The Crossers will continue to keep up with the development of your clan as the years go by. With our combined strength, we will have more security in the Red Ocean."

Ves frowned. "While you are right, a strong partner will want more power and a greater share of the benefits."

"That is the nature of sharing power. It is a worthwhile tradeoff. You may think that your Larkinson Clan only requires a few years of development to get ready for the Red Ocean, but that is not enough. Partnering up with the Cross Clan is a great way to tide you over in the first few decades of your stay in the dwarf galaxy. With my presence, I can keep the Crossers honest and ensure they will not drag your feet."

"Other potential partners can offer me these assurances as well." Ves responded. "I am not hearing any reasons why I should choose the Cross Clan over the alternatives."

"Come now, Mr. Larkinson." The Skull Architect confidently smiled. "There is also me. You have long been flailing around without any form of guidance as a mech designer. With my guidance, I can assist your progression and prevent you from going astray. Don't underestimate my teaching qualifications. I mentored a number of frontier brats into decent mech designers. Mayra of the Swordmaidens should be familiar to you. She came out alright, didn't she? Even though you have achieved immense success by yourself, you can advance to Senior at least a decade sooner with appropriate guidance."

This was a very compelling argument to Ves. Though the Skull Architect might be exaggerating the benefits of his guidance, the fact that he was good at teaching was not false!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to raise a frontier native like Mayra into a Journeyman under barren circumstances!

Ves was still reluctant, however.

"I'm already a Journeyman. At my stage of development, I can already figure out the way forward. Besides, I'm not alone. I have Gloriana as well. We frequently exchange with each other. The added value of having you as a sounding board is not great."

"Are you looking down on me because I'm just a single rank higher than you?" The Skull Architect's smile grew a little strained.

"No! I just.."

"I told you, Mr. Larkinson. Don't underestimate my qualifications! There are differences between Seniors as well. I am over 140 years old and have progressed enormously in my current rank. I am only a short distance away from realizing my design philosophy. Do you realize what this means? Befriending me means befriending a Master-in-the-waiting! As long as you can assist me in overcoming my final bottleneck, you will earn the eternal gratitude and support of a Master! And unlike Moira Willix, I am not bound by any pesky rules of neutrality or other onerous bureaucratic rules."

"This…"

The Skull Architect raised a finger. "Our design philosophies work well together. The collaborations we had before were too limited and indirect for you to recognize the benefits. However, believe me, we can design revolutionary mechs together!"

"I already have Gloriana."

"Miss Wodin cannot assist you in designing expert mechs! Your clan has acquired quite the number of expert pilots and expert candidates. Perhaps you have already made the arrangements for the expert mechs of the former, but what of the latter? While you can make deals with unfamiliar Master Mech Designers, their time is costly. If any additional expert pilots emerge within your clan, are you willing to give up millions of MTA merits?"

That was indeed a very grave problem. There was no way the Hall of Heroes would have only five expert pilots.

"I am different." The professor generously said. "No matter if I'm a Senior or Master, I will not demand any merits to help you realize your expert mech designs. Unlike other mech designers, I recognize the value of your design philosophy. Not only that, our separate approaches synergize well with each other. This will ensure that any expert mech we design together will perform more optimally!"

Ves had collaborated with Seniors before. Ves enjoyed collaborating with Professor Ventag on designing the original Aurora Titan. If he was able to collaborate with an even better mech designer, then he might be able to realize some ambitious mech designs that he could only dream about otherwise.

Perhaps this might not matter very much when it came to his normal mech designs, but it was different for his expert mech designs.

Each expert mech designed for the Larkinson Clan had to be as good as possible!

Yet the cost in merits, resonating materials, design expertise and so on was quite burdensome. Compared to getting ripped off by others each time he approached a third party, it might be better to take advantage of the deal offered by the professor.

The Skull Architect might be an unhinged war criminal, but he was a potential Master who promised to offer his services for free.

Thinking about all of the MTA merits he might save over the course of the next couple of decades, Ves became very tempted!

It took too much time for him to advance to Senior himself. While the System offered him a means to acquire the skills needed to design expert mechs himself, he wouldn't be able to explain how he was able to come up with them without the intervention of a Senior or Master.

No matter how he looked at it, the generous concessions offered by Jimenez sounded incredibly attractive to him. This was especially the case if the professor succeeded in advancing to Master!

Enjoying the backing of a real Master was very valuable, especially in a place like the Red Ocean!

"Maybe.. we can talk about this further.."

"You have made the right decision, Mr. Larkinson." The Skull Architect grinned.