The Mech Touch

As an expert pilot who dedicated herself to piloting a single defensive mech, Venerable Jannzi Larkinson did not make her life easy.

Ves already discovered that every expert pilot was abnormal. They were defined by their deviating qualities.

Still, there were differences between different expert pilots. Some of them exhibited more eccentricities and abnormal behavior than others. Venerable Jannzi and Venerable Joshua both existed at the opposite ends of the spectrum in this regard.

He had long tried to guess the reason behind these differences. If possible, he wanted to steer the development of future expert pilots so that they didn't all end up following Venerable Jannzi's footsteps.

Right now, the doubt and stubbornness shown by Jannzi with regards to the future configuration of her expert mech gave Ves a powerful clue.

Becoming more narrow-minded and developing a strong adherence to specific values and self-imposed principles all helped to hone one's will. At the same time, a strong will also caused expert pilots to become more focused and eccentric.

It was a positive feedback loop. As expert pilots continued to develop their unique strengths, they became more obsessed with their personal causes.

From what little Ves knew about ace pilots, it appeared that it was not only essential for expert pilots to remain true to their convictions, but to go a step further!

The more a high-ranking mech pilot progressed, the more he or she became removed from their prior humanity.

Was this a good or bad development? Ves didn't know. He hypothesized that expert pilots that leaned towards Jannzi's approach would be able to progress faster and reach greater heights.

As for less-focused and more 'human' expert pilots like Joshua, they had to navigate a lot more hindrances in order to keep up with others.

Yet Ves did not believe this was the full story. The phenomenon of high-ranking mech pilots was much more complicated than he currently knew. The MTA poured centuries worth of studies on them and still couldn't explain anything. How could Ves possibly do any better?

Sure, his unique background allowed him to make observations and delve into theories that many other researchers were clueless about, but he seriously doubted that Star Designers and the top researchers of humanity made no achievements!

Therefore, he did not fully commit to the assumption that expert pilots like Venerable Jannzi had a brighter future ahead of them. Of course, he also had a bias for more human expert pilots, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. The fact that Joshua happened to be his biggest fan and helper also played a significant role.

Ves would rather have a single copy of Joshua than five copies of Jannzi!

Venerable Joshua was an obedient, open-minded expert pilot who could easily be manipulated. Not only that, he was open to piloting all kinds of mechs, allowing Ves to choose his role according to the needs of the Larkinson Clan. Any mech designer would love to work with a pliable expert pilot!

Therefore, even if Joshua followed a more difficult path to the top, Ves was more than willing to invest in him and help him overcome his barriers. He might also learn a lot about how expert pilots progressed, thereby allowing him to apply the lessons he learned to other powerful individuals.

As for Jannzi… she had chosen her own direction. Ves doubted that she needed or wanted his input.

Besides, Qilanxo was already her patron. The big lizard's understanding of spirituality was very comprehensive, if not entirely applicable to humans. Regardless, the former exobeast entered into a symbiotic relationship with Jannzi, so it was in her best interest to help her human partner thrive.

As Ves thought about the peculiarities of expert pilots, Venerable Jannzi remained in thought while petting Lucky. The tired and exhausted cat continued to luxuriate on her lap.

It was as if Lucky was Jannzi's baby!

Though she hadn't made her thoughts known yet, Ves could feel how her thoughts swung by reading the changes in her force of will. The strong protective vibe she exuded rippled in different ways according to her thoughts.

The direction of these fluctuations started to make Ves more and more concerned. He did not like where this was going.

Her eyes sharpened as she looked up from the mechanical cat she was pampering.

"Ves." She spoke, her tone making it clear that she had already made up her mind. "You have brought up some good points. It is untenable for me to fight the way I have done so far. I cannot deny that I have failed to do my duty by stopping the Trost piloted by Venerable Kelvin Praetor during the Battle of Reckoning. I have been reflecting on that moment many times myself. If I piloted a faster mech, I could have cornered the Trost by coordinating my movements with the Amphis piloted by Venerable Linda Cross."

In the end, the Amphis managed to entangle the Trost with its chainsword, but that was only after Vincent Ricklin and Taon Melin bailed the Larkinsons out by breaking through to expert candidate.

His forces had to learn how to secure victory without relying on low-probability events like sudden breakthroughs! Ves couldn't keep depending on winning a lottery to get himself out of a difficult situation. It was much more reassuring to win battles in the most direct fashion rather than resorting to creative solutions.

The latter was a consequence for being too weak!

Therefore, Ves never stopped in trying to find more ways to strengthen and improve his mech forces. The constant recruiting efforts increased the quantity of his soldiers, but he also couldn't neglect his high-level combat power.

This was why it was in his best interest to persuade Jannzi to agree to a change that would make it easier for her to play a role in the coming battles.

Yet instead of succeeding, Jannzi appeared to dig in her heels even harder!

"I understand the needs of our clan as well as you do. I regularly check up with other Larkinsons and keep myself informed of the development within our clan." She stated. "I am not blind to the fault you have pointed out, but I am still committed to piloting a mech that pursues the maximum possible defensive power. All of the other expert mechs that you'll be adding to our ranks are offensive in nature. They can't do what my Shield of Samar will be able to do. Whether it is shielding a critical weak point of one of our starships or providing excellent cover to one of our ranged expert mechs, I doubt that Venerable Joshua or Venerable Dise will be able to fulfill these roles!"

"Those are overly passive roles that easily be covered by other assets." Ves pointed out. "For example, a ship that has suffered a severe breach and is vulnerable to further internal damage can just drop out of formation and hide behind the bulk of another starship. Our ranged expert mechs can probably take care of themselves, but if they have need of cover, they can just use the Spirit of Bentheim, the Graveyard or one of our other capital ships as their fortress. What you have just suggested are dispensable roles. What can your Shield of Samar bring to the table that only expert mechs can fulfill?"

His counterpunches landed hard. What was the point of piloting the Shield of Samar when other fleet assets could substitute its role with much less effort?

No matter how much area an expert mech was able to cover, its size and dimensions were incomparable to that of an armored vessel!

The many combat carriers of the Larkinson fleet did not carry all of that armor for nothing. What was even better for Ves was that the recent addition of the Graveyard to his fleet roster gave him access to a very powerful defensive bulwark!

Perhaps the hull armor of the Graveyard was not as impervious to damage as the Unending alloy cladding the frontal surface of the Shield of Samar, but quantity had a quality all on its own. It took an immense amount of firepower to chew through millions of tons of solid metal!

Venerable Jannzi glowered. A part of her was glad that the Larkinson fleet gained such a powerful defensive asset. She celebrated any development that would make her fellow Larkinsons safer.

Yet she could not deny that the recent addition of a defensive capital ship put her current role in doubt.

She only entertained her doubts for a moment before ruthlessly crushing it with her stubborn will.

"I haven't changed my mind, Ves. To me, the Shield of Samar is a mech that should always be a rock. To change it into a feather is a betrayal of its identity and a futile endeavor. While I welcome an increase in speed, I do not want it to come at the expense of making it less solid!"

Ves wanted to palm his face! Why couldn't get it through her skull that she was making herself more irrelevant in battle?

"You're being stubborn for stubbornness sake, Jannzi. While heavy space knights may have a role in certain military mech regiments, our mech forces aren't set up in a way that allows a single defensive mech to play an outsized role in combat. Our fleet is too big for that! What happened during the Battle of Reckoning will happen again and again as long as you don't have a way to restrain or damage fast and distant enemies. Are you willing to sit on the sidelines during every battle?"

"HAVE SOME FAITH IN ME, VES!" Venerable Jannzi blew up! Her force of will flared as her emotions grew more heated! "Just because you designed the Shield of Samar doesn't mean you understand its character better than myself! What you are trying to push will change it beyond recognition!"

"Meoooww!...." Lucky became so alarmed by the outburst that he tried to roll away from Jannzi's lap.

Unfortunately, the woman kept a firm grip on his metallic body!

Her temper reined in a bit, but that was just because she converted it into another form. Her determination grew stronger.

"I don't believe that your choice is the only one available to me. I have studied other defensive expert mechs in my spare time and I have seen several different solutions to the problem that you have mentioned. If my mech isn't able to catch up to the enemy, then I will make sure the enemy will be forced to confront me one way or another. The Amphis has a chainsword, but there are much more exotic technologies out there that can allow an expert mech to catch a distant opponent!"

Ves shook his head. "You're dreaming! These solutions all have limitations and their addition to your Shield of Samar will inevitably weaken its other properties. Not only that, but most of them are not that effective against other expert mechs. The Amphis itself was too slow of a space knight to catch up with the Trost, remember? Your Shield of Samar will be even slower if you insist on this course, so you will be even more useless than Venerable Linda Cross!"

"I WILL FORCE MY ENEMIES TO PASS THROUGH ME!" Venerable Jannzi declared as she stood up!

"Do you know how difficult that sounds?"

"I won't give up as long as there is a solution! If you don't want to work on this problem, then fine! I'm sure that your wife will be more than happy to take on this challenge. She is much more aware of what expert mechs are capable of than you! I know I can count on her support! In the meantime, I'll focus on trying to develop my own solution as well."

She stormed out of his office while her force of will boiled with determination. It seemed as if she was not going to rest until she managed to bend reality to her whims!

Ves sighed as he summarized the outcome of this little discussion. He didn't know whether he should applaud or admonish Jannzi's stubborn decision.

"Joshua is much easier to work with. Why can't there be more expert pilots like him?" He wondered.