The Mech Touch

Though Ves already decided to make his next Valkyrie mech universal, he still brought in Venerable Joshua in order to keep the latter in the loop. While the expert pilot didn't know a thing about the technical side of mech design, it was enough for him to gain a good impression of the overall idea behind the mech.

"The Valkyrie Prime has the potential to surpass the Valkyrie Brunhild." Ves explained as he operated a very sophisticated forging machine. "That said, it is not a certainty that it will deliver on its promise. It depends on whether my next experiment succeeds."

What he was doing right now was very amazing. The forging machine and other machines in the ELKINE production line were some of the most top-of-the-line workshop equipment the Hexers had ever made.

Ves had no confidence in manipulating a material as hard as Unending alloy with the GAIA production line. Yet now that Ves had access to extremely powerful gear, he gained a lot of new options!

Processing Unending alloy was one of them. Even though the forging machine experienced a lot of difficulties right now, the fact that Ves was able to shape this wonder material without needing to borrow Lucky's teeth was already an incredible improvement.

He no longer had to pretend to be a caveman in order to make use of Unending alloy!

The only downside was that the entire process took much more time than Ves expected. He had to spend days to complete a job that would have taken hours if he chose another material.

That was not what he wanted. While he could have made the Valkyrie Prime out of Breyer alloy, Ves wanted to utilize something more interesting.

Unending alloy possessed two invaluable properties. Aside from being incredibly hard, it was also capable of storing spiritual energy.

He wanted to leverage both properties in order to elevate the Valkyrie Prime!

Ever since Ves salvaged a lot of Unending alloy from the Nyxian Gap, he frequently tried to figure out how to utilize it better. While it was very simple to employ Unending alloy as a regular first-class alloy, that wasn't good enough for him. A spiritually-reactive material should be able to bring much more to the table!

For this reason, Ves decided that the Valkyrie Prime Project was a good opportunity to test out one of his hypotheses. If it didn't work, then no harm was done.

"This Unending alloy of yours is very precious, right? Will you leave it behind in the Valkyrie Prime once I move on?" Venerable Joshua curiously asked.

Ves immediately laughed. "Hahaha! No way. An expert candidate isn't worthy enough to pilot a mech that is clad by this alloy. What if an enemy recognizes its value and goes all out to capture the Valkyrie Prime? I'd be losing a priceless treasure! It's only because I'm not capable of delivering an expert mech yet that I'm using it on a non-expert mech. Don't think that this will happen again once our clan gains its first proper expert mechs."

"So you'll eventually strip the Unending alloy from the Prime?"

"Yup. Your expert mechs needs it more than the Prime. I don't have enough of it to go around, you know. Don't worry. The Prime won't be scrapped once it loses its exterior. I'll just clad it with Breyer alloy instead so that it can continue to be passed on to other worthy mech pilots."

"Doesn't that sound cruel, sir?" Joshua looked upset. "Mechs are alive. What you plan to do sounds no different from skinning someone alive only to graft the skin of another person afterwards."

Ves shook his head, though he made sure to keep a close eye on his current procedure. "There are different forms of life, Joshua. Don't make the mistake of humanizing mechs. They are a different form of existence that operates by different rules. For one, mechs are made to serve a specific purpose. Second, their mechanical nature means that there is nothing wrong with handling them like they are composed of many building blocks. Swapping one block with another block doesn't change the essence of the mech. Their tolerance for change is quite high as long as the original character of the mech is preserved. This is why the mechs we have upgraded haven't lost their glows."

"I see.. I think."

"Every mech has a purpose, Joshua. Contrast that to humans like you and me. We are products of nature and random chance. Our purpose is actually very vague. We are biological organisms that evolved to our current form out of an instinctual and deeply-rooted desire to reproduce."

"So because mechs can't reproduce, they don't have as many rights as us?" Joshua asked in puzzlement.

Ves wanted to palm his face.

"No. That's not the point I'm trying to make. Look, all I am saying is that while I would like to treat a mech with as much respect as an actual human, it is not wrong to treat them as a machine whenever it is necessary. This is why they are built. You can rip off their arms and install a completely different one and they'll be fine."

Joshua finally comprehended what Ves was trying to say. His force of will fluctuated a bit as he internalized his latest lesson.

"Why do you call the mech you're making the Valkyrie Prime?"

"Because it will be the best Valkyrie mech that I will probably make, at least when it comes to the current generation. If the Valkyrie Redeemer is the starting point, the Valkyrie Prime will probably be the ending point of this generation of this product line. While I cannot say whether the experiment I have in mind will make the Valkyrie Prime successful, as long as my experiment is partially successful, it is not wrong to put it above the Valkyrie Brunhild!"

This was quite a bold claim! The Valkyrie Brunhild was the favorite mech of many Hexer expert candidates. Some of them had even managed to undergo apotheosis with the help of this premier mech!

As Ves slowly fabricated all of the armor plating for the Valkyrie Prime, he continued to chat with Venerable Joshua. He always wanted to exchange views with the remarkable expert pilot, but his heavy workload prevented him from doing so up until now. Both of them cherished the opportunity to learn from each other.

"Why are you working on the Valkyrie Prime by yourself?"

"I intend this to be a personal project." Ves answered. "While I collaborate with Gloriana all the time, I need to flex all of my muscles every once in a while. I'm also trying to do something different with Valkyrie Prime. My wife won't be able to provide any help. Besides, at least one of us should stay behind in the design lab in order to direct our design teams."

"Will the Valkyrie Prime be worse without your wife's involvement."

"I wouldn't necessarily say that. It will be.. different."

The Valkyrie Prime did not undergo too many changes. Sure, there was room for optimization. Sure, Gloriana might be able to fabricate higher-quality parts than Ves. Sure, she may be more precise when it came to assembling the parts. Yet bringing her in for what was supposed to be a relatively quick job.

If Ves was being really honest, he wanted to exert total control over this project. He wanted to make a Valkyrie mech that conformed to 'his' vision instead of 'their' vision.

The fabrication run continued. Once Ves finally processed all of the Unending alloy into armor plating and structural components, he quickly moved on to fabricating the remaining parts of the mech.

While the Valkyrie Prime utilized a lot of expensive exotics, it was no problem for Ves to obtain them as long as they were sold on the open market.

During the fabrication process, Ves quickly familiarized himself with the advanced production equipment of the workshop. While the top-end Hexer machines demanded a lot of skill and expertise to operate to their fullest, he was a quick learner. His experience with operating other Hexer production equipment already provided him with a good foundation.

He only had to slow down when it was time for him to fabricate the shield generator. While he had never built a mech-grade shield generator before, he knew the theory and principles behind them. He worked carefully in order to make sure the shield generator did not become misaligned and produce an unstable energy shield.

"Phew. It's finally done!"

"Will you assemble the mech now, sir?"

"Yup! This is not going to take as long."

Both Ves and Venerable Joshua approached the assembly system which soon became active. The powerful equipment lifted up and put the parts into place with so much ease and precision that it took a lot less time than expected to assemble the Valkyrie Prime!

Once Ves installed the final part, the medium marauder mech had finally taken shape!

"Uhm..." Venerable Joshua looked up at the tall and feminine-shaped mech. "I'm not sure whether I'm ready to pilot this mech."

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't it a Hexer mech? Now that it's complete, I feel it's disrespectful for me to pilot it. You should lend it to the Penitent Sisters or Glory Seekers instead."

Ves frowned and turned around. He stepped closer to Venerable Joshua and completely ignored the expert pilot's wavering force of will.

"You once claimed to me that it is your desire to pilot every mech that I have ever designed, is that correct?"

"I did have that aspiration, but this is different!" Joshua nervously claimed.

"How can that be? You have never paid exclusivity in mind before. You successfully managed to pilot my Ylvainan mechs. Even though you have only reluctantly bonded with the Holy Soldier, Deliverer and Transcendent Punisher mechs, that is by far the best result that I have ever seen from a non-Ylvainan."

"That's just because I respect the Ylvainan Faith!" Joshua retorted. "As a Brighter, I don't believe in any religion, but that doesn't stop me from keeping an open mind. It's different when it comes to hexism and Hexer traditions. We're both men. How can we possibly be okay with women oppressing our kind? That is just not okay. I've been tempted to pilot the Valkyrie Redeemer a few times, but whenever I get close, I feel uncomfortable."

Normally, Ves agreed with Venerable Joshua, but this was a special situation!

"Describe what you mean by 'uncomfortable'. Is the mech repelling you or are you just squeamish about piloting a mech that is designed to be piloted by a woman?"

"Uhm… the latter." Venerable Joshua honestly admitted.

"Come over here, then."

Ves held the expert pilot's arm and dragged him over to the foot of the Valkyrie Prime.

At this distance, the dormant glow of the mech was already very strong!

Since Ves personally designed and fabricated the mech, there was no way its glow and spiritual foundation was weak!

The strong and imposing death-oriented glow did not discomfort Ves very much due to his intimate relationship with the Superior Mother.

Joshua reacted differently. He didn't have much exposure to the Superior Mother's glow. While his powerful will allowed him to block the glow entirely, that was not conducive to bonding with the mech.

When the expert pilot reluctantly lowered his guard, the Valkyrie Prime seemed to stare at his soul! He quickly solidified his will again!

"I don't think I'll be able to get along with this mech, patriarch. It.. doesn't seem to like me. I don't think I can do anything about that."

"Nonsense. The two of you are strangers right now. It's not a surprise that the mech is not that friendly to you. I think I have a way of remedying this issue. This is also related to my next experiment."

"And what is that?"

Ves didn't answer the expert pilot directly. Instead, he turned back to the Valkyrie Prime and raised his arms.

"Mother! Are you there? Come meet my friend over here!"

Joshua looked confused. "Didn't you lose your mother when you were— WAIT, WHAT IS THAT?!"

A giant, translucent hand seemed to materialize in existence. It quickly patted against Ves' back, causing him to lose his balance!

"Oof! You're too rough, mom! You're way too strong. Can't you be gentler to your son?"