The Mech Touch

As noon came closer, plenty of other people were awaiting the pivotal moment.

Aboard the Hemmington Cross, the patriarch of the Cross Clan along with his new guest designer were holding a quick meeting before they addressed their own men. They gathered in a small conference room situated next to the bridge of the large fleet carrier.

"Professor Cortez, what do you think of the Larkinsons?"

"Hmm." The former Skull Architect hummed as he tapped his palm in a peculiar fashion. "They are young and tender, but bold and daring. Whether they will crash headlong in a wall is still a question. Their clan is too young and their leaders lack too much experience. They have no idea what the rest of human space is really like."

"I don't want the Larkinsons to meet their doom. Their patriarch still has to help with designing my expert mech."

"A project as great as this can't be rushed, Reginald. I am aware of your burning impatience, but we still lack too much supplementary materials to build an expert mech that meets all of your standards. Mr. Ves Larkinson must also accrue some experience in designing expert mechs. You should not allow a first-timer to touch your ultimate expert mech. Just wait for a year before he has the necessary experience under his belt. I can promise you that the wait will be worth it, sir."

A strong force of will radiated from the Cross Patriarch's body! "It better be! Even if we cannot take revenge against the slayers of our Saint, I can spite our enemies by succeeding my father!"

"Your time will definitely come." Professor Benedict flattered his nominal superior. "With your resonance strength, it only takes a modest push to reach the next rank. It is of utmost importance for you to remain stable. Do not allow yourself to get swept up by your emotions. That will only delay your ascension even more."

"I can't calm down!" The Crosser leader growled. "Whenever I think of the defeat we have suffered at the hands of the Billard Tribe and the Chardon Tribe, I can only see the broken bodies of my fellow Crossers. When I think back on the betrayal of the other clans in our Becker Tribe, my fury rages as hot as the surface of a star! We were forced to flee our home while it was collapsing all around us while the Planat Clan and the Praetor Clan feasted on our remains!"

His desire to spoil their plans to destroy the Cross Clan had become his driving reason to advance! His attempt to advance to ace pilot had become inseparable from the great calamity the Crossers had barely survived!

As an experienced Senior, Professor Benedict did not get affected by Reginald's powerful will. He calmly evaluated the patriarch's mental state and made his own calculations.

Once the leader of the Cross Clan calmed down, his force of will no longer rampaged throughout the conference room.

"The revival of the Cross Clan rests on our shoulders and the shoulders of a Larkinson." He spoke. "While I am not prepared to sacrifice the remainder of our clan to defend Patriarch, we cannot allow him to die on our watch. Whether he is crucial to my ascension or not, we must make sure he lives to fulfill his promise."

The former Skull Architect concurred. "You are not the only person who feels that way. His design philosophy is very unorthodox but incredibly useful. I have made no secret of the fact that his specialty may be the missing key to realizing my design philosophy. As long as we collaborate on some products, I will be able to deliver even better mech designs than what I have already handed over to our clan!"

Both ambitious men were eagerly observing the projection that displayed the hundreds of ships that formed the massive fleet of the Golden Skull Alliance.

Elsewhere, Venerable Brutus Wodin spoke to his sister via his comm. He wore a dashing but relatively plain uniform while he sat on a crate in the hangar bay.

The Star Dancer, his expert mech, was ready to deploy at any time. Though none of the Glory Seekers expected to encounter any threats at this sensitive time, they could not rule out the possibility of foul play.

FTL transitions were very delicate! If any gravitic disturbance took place, certain ships might fail to enter the higher dimensions while the rest of the fleet had left.

This would be the perfect time to isolate a crucial ship like the Spirit of Bentheim in order to decapitate the Larkinson Clan!

"For this reason, the Indigo Tremor will be leaving this star system last." Brutus told the physical projection of his sister. "We will not leave until we have confirmed that every other ship in this fleet has safely departed."

"What if our enemies targeted your ship to begin with?" Gloriana asked.

"It is our job to shield you and stop your enemies in their tracks. That said, I don't expect any incidents to take place. We have swept the entire area around this Lagrange point and have found nothing suspicious. We have even taken the liberty of cleaning up all of the space junk around us to minimize every possible risk."

It took some time for him to soothe Gloriana's worries. For some reason, she was a bit more concerned than usual. Brutus had to approach his sister's projection and pull her into a hug in order to calm her down.

"Come now, sis. You're married now. You are on your way to live your perfect life. Will you let yourself get spooked by a little journey?"

She chuckled. "The grand expedition is more than a little journey. What worries me is that everyone knows we are departing today. What if the Fridaymen attempt to stop us from leaving? Have you detected any signs that the Fridaymen are targeting our fleet?"

"We have not received any indication that the Fridaymen are up to something. Then again, our intelligence sources aren't comprehensive. Do not put too much stock in what I have just said." Brutus shrugged. "The troublesome aspect about our journey is that our most direct routes to Majestic Teal are situated deep in the territory of the Friday Coalition. It is suicide to travel in a straight line. In order to remain in Hegemony-aligned space, we need to take a short detour through Vicious Mountain before crossing over into Majestic Teal."

"Will the Fridaymen dare to enter into Hegemony-aligned space?"

"It's not likely." Brutus shook his head. "Ever since the Komodo War commenced, the Hegemony has expanded its early-warning network. If the Fridaymen ever show up on our turf, we will be notified."

Gloriana gained more confidence in his reassurance. "What if the Fridaymen attempt to stop us in Vicious Mountain or Majestic Teal?"

"It's possible, but it's too difficult, sister. There are at least hundreds of thousands star systems in every star sector. We have an endless choice of routes. The Fridaymen will constantly have to spread their hunters across many different star systems in the hopes of catching our shadow. If they miss us once, it is highly unlikely they will ever catch up to our tail!"

She nodded. "That's right. Our combined fleet is highly mobile. The ships of our Glory Seekers are state-of-the-art. Most of the ships of the Larkinson Clan are not that well off, but my husband has deliberately prioritized the acquisition of vessels with shorter FTL drive cycling times. As for the Cross Clan, the only ships that survived their flight from Vicious Mountain are their best and fastest assets to begin with. Even their lumbering Hemmington Cross is not that bad as long as her two heavy-duty FTL drives remain functional."

The fleet composition of the Golden Skull Alliance was very suited for travel. Most second-class organizations wouldn't even be able to catch up to the combined fleet as long as it made the longest FTL hops possible.

The two Wodin siblings soon moved on to another topic.

"Are the Glory Seekers truly prepared to leave this star sector?" Gloriana asked. "We won't turn back even if the Hegemony is losing the Komodo War."

"We are doing okay, sis. Don't worry about our condition. Even if we turn around right now and fight on the frontlines, a few thousand mechs and mech pilots won't make much of a difference. The Wodin Warriors are already enough for our dynasty to make a contribution. In fact, if the Hegemony truly falls… we will need to keep our culture and customs alive."

The two looked grave for a time. The prospect of a Fridayman victory became more and more likely. Several months into their furious counteroffensive, the Hex Army still hadn't managed to come up with a solution against the disparity of expert pilots.

As long as the Friday Coalition deployed more expert pilots than the Hexadric Hegemony, the fundamental trend of the Komodo War was unlikely to shift!

Though the Design Department had achieved a lot of progress in the Blinding Mech Project, Gloriana did not dare to place her hopes on this auxiliary mech. It was too strange and unconventional for her to wrap her head around. Sometimes, Ves came up with the oddest mech concepts.

"How is your Star Dancer?" Gloriana asked.

"My expert mech still runs smoothly." Brutus confidently replied. "It will be difficult to keep her in shape as the years go by, though. I have been told that the Seniors who developed the Star Dancer have ceased further development. I'm sure you know what that means."

Gloriana looked sad. "I do. The honored mech designers must be busy with trying to come up with a mech that can turn the war around. They have no time to tinker with the Star Dancer."

Ceasing active development meant that Brutus' expert mech would not be able to keep up with the times.

There were very few possibilities for other mech designers to take over active development. Ves and Gloriana and the other mech designers of the Larkinson Clan were completely incapable of doing so. Perhaps Professor Benedict of the Cross Clan might be able to perform some surface modifications and upgrades, but even he would have difficulty improving the work of other highly-skilled mech designers.

Brutus smiled. "It's not a big deal. Didn't you want to replace my Star Dancer with an expert mech of your own design? I am confident that this opportunity will come."

"You're right! I already have the perfect expert mech in mind for you! As long as my husband and I have successfully designed some expert mech designs for his clan, we will definitely work with someone to provide you with a brand-new machine that is blessed by the Superior Mother! There are plenty of good boys who are piloting mechs under the auspices of the Supreme, but none of them are as good as you! I will tell Ves to make sure her mother recognizes you. If I have my way, the Superior Mother will recognize you as her second son!"

"I do not dare to dream of this, Gloriana! The Superior Mother is the parent to every Hexer son and daughter. We cannot ask her to play favorites. I will do fine as long as I receive as much support as any well-meaning Hexer mech pilot."

"Oh, Brutus. You don't have to worry about that. Ves is such a momma's boy that he has the ear of the Superior Mother. I won't let this opportunity pass!"

It would take a long time until Brutus gained a new expert mech, so this was not an acute issue.

Before Gloriana ended the call, she asked one more question. "How are the Glory Seekers adjusting to their new Valkyrie Interceptors."

"Our mech pilots are doing fantastic." Venerable Brutus replied with a smile. "Piloting a Valkyrie mech is a dream come true for them. Their glows are incomparable. Each of us, including me, have begun to pray in front of them in the mech stables and hangar bay. Even our commanding officer, Colonel Ariadne Wodin, has begun to lead the prayer sessions!"

As devout followers of hexism, how could the Wodin personnel not worship the Superior Mother?