The Mech Touch

The floating hexagonal-shaped platform that orbited Cinach VI hosted another official gathering this day.

Previously used as the venue of one of the most spectacular weddings in the region, the so-called Hex Garden made for an excellent stage for one of the most important agreements the Larkinson Clan had made. Its picturesque garden and resplendent marble-like ornaments impressed both hosts and guests alike as they entered through the huge double doors.

Two different groups of people floated inside the main garden. They relied solely on their antigrav clothes to keep themselves aloft in the air. Each of them maintained a uniform and even altitude.

As some of the entrants passed through the entrance, they tilted their heads upwards. Past the enormous energy shield that kept the atmosphere in the garden in place, a vast expanse of stars stretched over everyone's heads.

Yet as more and more people floated through the entrance, some of those stars began to disappear.

Starships upon starships began to fly over. Two different fleets approached the space above the Hex Garden in parallel.

On one side were the distinctly red-coated combat carriers and other starships of the Larkinson Clan. Their subtle hexagonal sides made it clear where the clan obtained the powerful ships.

A lot of Larkinsons were secretly nervous about their fleet procession. Their crews didn't have enough time to master the newly-refurbished Hexer-built vessels. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. Each and every starship moved forward at an even, ceremonial pace.

On the other side were the pale blue vessels of the Cross Clan. Larger and more robust, these vessels were built for war. Due to the flight from Vicious Mountain, only the toughest ships that could keep up were able to cross over to Komodo.

Different from the Larkinson fleet, the Cross fleet featured two very overpowering elements.

Surrounded by an honor guard of combat carriers, the two capital ships of the Crossers flew over in an imposing manner. If not for the sophisticated lighting system that kept the garden evenly-lit, the huge hulls of the Antonio Cross and the Hemmington Cross would have cast huge shadows over the Hex Garden!

Even now, the posture of the Larkinsons taking part in the ceremony faintly grew weaker. This was the suppression of enormous capital ships.

Hardly any human could keep their composure when two enormous capital ships loomed directly from above!

The Antonio Cross with her fairly slender 1.8 kilometer hull and the Hemmington Cross with her bulky 3 kilometer were like two floating cities. Their dimensions and mass were so incomprehensibly huge that everyone seemed like ants underneath their majesty!

The Crossers who were entering from the other side all looked amused at their Larkinson counterparts. It was not a coincidence that the Antonio Cross and the Hemmington Cross flew so closely over the Hex Garden.

Even though all of the terms of the alliance treaty had been set, the Crossers still had their pride.

If not for the fact that the Cross Patriarch didn't have as much MTA merits as the Larkinson Patriarch, the Crossers wouldn't have been forced to make so many compromises!

As Ves passed through the double doors, he frowned upon the sight. If his clan received his much-anticipated factory ship and the Glory Seekers obtained their formidable Indigo Tremor, then the Crossers wouldn't have been so unbridled.

These little power plays indicated that the relationship between the Larkinson Clan and the Cross Clan was anything but harmonious. The two groups only banded together out of necessity. Each of them needed something from each other. Emotion, sentiment and camaraderie had nothing to do with their decision to band together.

Though this did not sound ideal, Ves knew that his clan would be welcoming several more allies like the Cross Clan in the near future.

After all, if he did not wish to take the risk of performing high-risk missions for the MTA, there was no way for him to earn millions of MTA merits in a short amount of time.

This meant that in order to redeem a fleet beyonder ticket, he had to seek more partners like the Cross Clan to split the cost.

As Ves floated forward, he wore his formal clan patriarch uniform, complete with a billowing cape.

"Meow."

Lucky floated alongside him. He looked quite taken in by the cute little cape that Ves had quickly made and fitted for his cat this morning.

"The Cross Clan won't be arrogant for long." Gloriana huffed as she held her own cat against her chest. "With how much revenue the LMC is bringing in, we'll soon be able to overwhelm their ragtag fleet."

As with other occasions, Gloriana opted to wear a custom dress. She wore a purple ensemble that was bedecked with lustrous blue gems cut in hexagonal shapes.

She was the only member of the Larkinson Clan who eschewed the standard red uniform, thereby making her stand out from the crowd.

"Miaow."

Clixie squirmed out of Gloriana's grip and began to float in the air herself. Even though she lacked Lucky's flight capabilities, her owner fitted her with a small harness that incorporated an antigrav module. The organic cat was not at risk of falling anytime soon!

If not for the public occasion, the Golden Cat would have materialized her spiritual body as well. As it was, Ves could sense that she was paying close attention through the Larkinson Mandate that he carefully grasped.

As more and more people poured in, some more differences became apparent.

Even though the Larkinson clansmen wore identical red dress uniforms, they partitioned themselves in distinct groups.

The Avatars of Myth, Living Sentinels, Flagrant Vandals and so on all kept a small but noticeable distance from each other. The rivalry between the mech forces had not faded after battling alongside each other in the Nyxian Gap.

Instead, it had become more intense!

Ves keenly studied the attitudes his soldiers held towards each other. A bit of rivalry was good in his eyes. Even though the lack of total unity made his clansmen look a bit improper, he didn't mind this little detail.

A bit of friendly competition could do a lot of good in keeping his mech troops on their toes. He didn't want them to grow too complacent and stop working as hard to improve themselves.

Of course, if the competition between the different forces surpassed a certain threshold, it stopped being friendly. Fostering rivalries was a double-edged sword that could easily backfire on him if it went overboard.

As Patriarch Reginald Cross and his closest advisors and subordinates entered the garden, the posture of the Cross Clan had reached its peak!

Aside from their patriarch, the Crossers possessed three additional expert pilots. Their clan actually had more, but several brave expert pilots sacrificed their lives to delay enemy pursuit.

The four expert pilots each possessed strong force of wills. They were unlike the recently-advanced expert pilots who were still exploring their new capabilities.

"Patriarch Ves."

"Patriarch Reginald."

The two leaders greeted each other as they floated above a ceremonial altar. The leader of the Cross Clan smirked as he saw that the Larkinsons were faintly suppressed by the strength his clan put on display.

In addition to parading his pair of capital ships and his veteran expert pilots, the Cross Patriarch also brought another trump card.

Professor Benedict Cortez had become the new star of the Cross Clan!

As members of a martial clan, the Crossers were not ignorant of the value that a Senior Mech Designer brought to the table.

Even though their guest mech designer only partnered up with them a short time ago, the Senior already wowed most of the mech pilots by displaying his formidable design capabilities.

Hardly any Crosser rejected Benedict's entry into their midst!

Since a Senior Mech Designer enjoyed a much greater status than a bunch of Journeymen, the three lead designers of the Larkinson Clan all looked like a bunch of kids in front of the former Skull Architect!

It didn't help that Ves, Gloriana and Juliet were all in their thirties. While it was actually very impressive for them to reach the rank of Journeyman at relatively young ages, in this setting they were still lacking in grandeur.

Ves did not show any concern. Instead, he faced away from Patriarch Reginald and stared in the direction of the entrance.

"The best is about to come."

Every Larkinson suddenly gained a burst of pride as a number of special individuals passed through.

Wearing their customized dress uniforms, the expert pilots and expert candidates of the Larkinson Clan finally appeared into view.

An invisible momentum surrounded the extraordinary mech pilots as they flew forward.

Despite their differences in ideology and will, at this moment, each of them maintained a united front. Their different force of wills calmly existed alongside each other.

With 5 expert pilots and 9 expert candidates, the Larkinson Clan crushed the Cross Clan when it came to numbers!

Perhaps the Cross Clan may have the edge in the strength and development of their individual expert pilots, but they were much worse off in terms of continuity. They didn't have a lot of expert candidates and their established demigods were already middle-aged.

The two clans made for a powerful contrast.

The Larkinson Clan may be weaker, but possessed a much greater future.

The Cross Clan used to wield a lot more might, but had declined heavily in recent times.

The expert pilots of the Larkinson Clan looked especially dashing as they wore their custom capes. Their personal emblems were prominently visible on the backs of the extra garments.

The counterattack of the Larkinson Clan did not end here!

Moments after the expert pilots and expert candidates stood behind the lead designers of the Larkinson Clan, mechs began to arrive overhead.

Beyond the energy screen, many smaller elements flew underneath the massive hulls of the Antonio Cross and Hemmington Cross.

Numerous Desolate Soldiers, Bright Warriors, Doom Guards, Ferocious Piranhas and even a handful of Valkyrie Redeemers from the Glory Seekers flew forth in echelon formations!

Though many of the mechs hardly looked impressive to the Crossers, they were all LMC mechs that possessed their own distinctive glows.

Though the mechs were too distant to project their glows to the Larkinsons and Crossers attending the ceremony, their appearance nonetheless broke the suppression exerted by the Crosser fleet carriers!

The Cross Patriarch saw the situation wasn't as good anymore. He needed to do something in order to regain the upper hand.

"Feh." He rolled his eyes. "These third-class mechs are as weak as chickens. What possessed you to parade these inferior mechs?"

Ves smirked as he turned to his Crosser counterpart. "These mechs may be humble, but they are each in high demand. Our Living Mech Corporation sells millions of copies a month to customers all over the Yeina Star Cluster. Our market reach surpasses that of any average Senior. As long as we gain some time, we can easily grow our strength to the point where our fleet will surpass yours."

Patriarch Reginald did not lose any wind. "We have a Senior. Our commercial strength will soon explode once Professor Cortez builds up his industries."

"Good luck with that." Ves briefly flicked his gaze over to Benedict. "Don't underestimate our Journeyman. With my indispensable design philosophy, the value of my products has exceeded that of the competition. If you don't believe me, you should ask the good professor."

Benedict's eyes twinkled for a second. "Patriarch Ves is correct. He is an outlier in the mech industry. While Seniors such as myself have many different ways to earn lavishly, I dare not claim that my products can be as competitive as the products of the LMC."

The leader of the Cross Clan looked annoyed at his guest designer. The two kept silent but Ves detected that they were likely communication in private through their cranial implants.

"Let us proceed with the treaty signing." Patriarch Reginald turned away from Professor Benedict. "Our two clans must join hands."

Ves schooled his expression and nodded. "I agree. Our alliance will form the basis of our success in the times to come. The Red Ocean may push us, but we will never break as long as we cover each other's backs."

The two clans were ready to form an alliance.