The Mech Touch

Time continued to pass. After the excitement on Trieden II, the entire expeditionary fleet avoided any further incidents as it made its way out of the Grand Loxic Republic.

While there were a number of people like Ves that were afraid the Loxians would somehow take issue with what the clan had done in the Trieden System, nothing actually happened.

The Larkinson Clan and its allies smoothly passed through Loxian space without getting approached by any state-wide authority.

It seemed that no one who currently held power in the large state was interested in confronting the Larkinsons or taking them to account.

Just as many had predicted, the Grand Loxic Republic was too preoccupied with more immediate concerns. There was little to no benefit to confronting the Larkinsons, and the rude visitors were already on their way out anyway.

It would have been a different story if the Larkinsons opted to stay in the state, but since this wasn't the case, there was no point in investing any manpower, resources and assets into dealing with the powerful guests.

The grand expedition was back on track. The previous battle provided a lot of benefits to the Larkinson Clan. Not only did the Avatars and Vandals test out their new strategies and fighting approaches in a serious engagement, the other Larkinsons also gained a better appreciation of the potential of the Bright Warrior model.

Ves gained a heap of data on the performance of the prototype enhanced luminar crystals that he had installed in the rifles of a small number of mechs.

Though he had very little doubt that the tough, second-class luminar crystals would perform reliability, he still gained a lot of assurance that his latest innovation would fully meet the needs of his future expert mechs!

Though the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan basically acted as spectators to this recent incident, the two organizations did not remain idle.

In truth, both of them had become preoccupied with getting used to their new 'kinship networks!'

"It's quite interesting to see what the Larkinsons are capable of with these strange networks of theirs." Professor Benedict Cortez stated as he approached a balcony and looked down at a large design lab where over a hundred low-ranking mech designers quietly worked on their assignments.

As a Senior Mech Designer, how could he not have his own design teams?

Different from the Larkinson Clan's Design Department, Professor Benedict had yet to hire any high-ranking mech designers. Journeymen weren't easy to find, especially the good ones that he could tolerate.

As Benedict quietly tried to figure out how he could make up for this shortcoming in the coming months, Patriarch Reginald Cross joined him in looking down below.

The vision of the powerful expert pilot and leader had changed after the Crossers forged its latest agreement with the Larkinsons.

When Reginald observed each and every Crosser mech designer at work, he sensed a small flame in each of them. This flame provided both warmth and comfort to him and anyone who was a part of the Cross Clan.

It was an interesting phenomenon and one that had brought every Crosser closer to each other.

The fact that the latest changes also completely wiped out the spies and crown terrorists among the Cross Clan also did much in restoring everyone's trust in each other!

"What we are just getting to terms with is only a fraction of what the Larkinsons currently enjoy." The Senior Mech Designer spoke. "Everything we've witnessed and everything we've heard about their unique combat capabilities makes me feel jealous sometimes. Patriarch Ves Larkinson is breaking new ground every couple of months. His ability to churn out one innovation after another makes me feel the urge to crack open his head in order to see what kind of abnormal mind is capable of producing so many oddities."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Reginald gruffly responded. "I'll crack open your skull myself if you kill one of the contributors of the mech that will allow me to reach and surpass my father."

"I was just joking."

"Good, because I wasn't. Nothing will stop me from achieving my goal. Not even you, my friend."

Professor Benedict sighed. "I miss being in charge of my own organization. No one dared to talk to me like that in the past."

Even though he said that, he still preferred his current life. Compared to slumming it outside of civilized space and designing mechs for awful and incompetent pirates, he much preferred to tailor his products for highly-trained second-class soldiers. Benedict no longer had to force himself to dumb down his own work in order to make his mechs usable to his current target audience.

This alone was worth accepting the Cross Clan's terms!

In order for him to accomplish his own objectives, Professor Benedict acquiesced to joining the 'Cross Network' and permanently tied his future to that of the Crossers.

He was the most prominent outsider to join the Cross Clan and a model to anyone else that came afterwards.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Reginald Cross was silently relieved that his good friend and guest designer truly committed to his clan. The mech designers that previously worked for the Crossers had all cut and run once everything started to go downhill.

The existence of this network provided him with a lot of guarantees that this would never be repeated.

Even though the actual power of the network was not able to impose any constraints or exert any influence to someone as formidable as a Senior Mech Designer, it was still reassuring that Professor Benedict allowed himself to form a bond with the Cross Warlord.

Reginald pulled out a hefty metal cross from his coat. The industrially-forged object deliberately lacked refinement, but that was just the way the former citizen of the Garlen Empire liked it. The Cross of Rebirth and the living soul that resided inside uniquely matched the temperament of the Cross Clan.

They were proof that Ves Larkinson was truly capable of designing the expert mech that Reginald yearned for. He eagerly awaited the introduction of the first expert mechs of the Larkinson Clan. Their design and performance served as a nice preview of what he could expect from his own future war machine.

Professor Benedict glanced at the imposing cross and stretched out his hand. "Can I take another look at this trinket?"

"Here." Reginald directly shoved the cross at the other man.

When the Senior held the cross, he quietly winced at the creative choices that Ves had made to design this object. There were more palatable ways to create a symbol that matched the Cross Clan's aesthetics.

It's design wasn't his focus, though. When Benedict tried to look deeper, he sensed a response from the Cross Warlord.

His thoughts turned into a very weird direction as he contemplated the existence of this so-called 'nexus'. What Ves had been able to achieve with the Cross of Rebirth and the Cross Warlord went far beyond mech design.

"What do you think?" Reginald asked.

"I have an idea that this Cross of Rebirth is at least a century too young to impress us. Ves Larkinson's products have a tendency to grow more impressive over time. I believe the Cross Warlord will already become a lot more notable in a year. I can sense that it has grown remarkably stronger since the last time I inspected it. Him. Whatever."

"Treat the Cross Warlord with more respect, professor. He might not be my father, but he is watching over us all. He is our only guard against traitors and suspicious individuals."

Professor Benedict twitched his mouth. Reginald only saw the benefits, but not the cost.

For example, how exactly was the Cross Warlord able to differentiate between loyal and traitorous Crossers?

The only logical answer that made sense was if the nexus was able to read the thoughts of everyone connected to the Cross Network!

The Senior Mech Designer was not unfamiliar with network administrators and their duties. Those who monitored any network of any kind usually had direct access to many systems. This caused their positions to become very sensitive as the wrong person could easily steal a lot of valuable data from their positions!

Right now, Professor Benedict deeply felt uncomfortable about allowing a new and unfamiliar lifeform to have complete access to the minds of every Crosser.

Fortunately, Benedict was pretty certain he was able to prevent the so-called Cross Warlord from lifting too much information from his own mind.

When the mech designer returned the Cross of Rebirth to the patriarch, the two eventually discussed more immediate business.

"The Larkinson Clan has churned out a number of impressive mech models. When will you be able to completely renew our entire mech roster?"

"I can deliver much of the designs our clan needs by the end of the year. Compared to the works of the Miracle Couple, my products might lack the gimmicks that the Larkinsons depend upon, but their efficiency and absolute performance are clearly superior. Their mechs are designed for battle. Our mechs are designed for war."

Compared to the Larkinsons mech models, the machines designed by Professor Benedict were able to equal or surpass their peak performance being able to last longer at the same time.

This was an area that Professor Benedict had always been good at. The high efficiency of the systems of his mechs resulted in less waste and greater efficiency.

In other words, his mechs were able to accomplish substantially more with less energy.

"That's good." Reginald nodded in satisfaction. "If a battle ever stretches on to the point where the Larkinson mechs falter, we shall be the rock which will carry them to victory. It is too short-sighted for them to focus purely on short-term engagements when battles are always unpredictable."

Both of them felt tempted to collaborate with Ves more extensively, but it was not that good to become too dependent on another person.

If the Crossers all became accustomed to piloting living mechs designed by the Larkinson patriarch, didn't that mean that the latter held a huge amount of leverage over the Cross Clan?

It wouldn't even take Ves a lot of effort to take over the Cross Clan if that was the case!

Though Reginald Cross did not mind if his men started to pilot living mechs, he did not want the clan of his parents, grandparents and ancestors to end under his leadership!

He owed it to everyone who fought and died to keep the Cross Clan alive to preserve his heritage.

Besides, who said that the mechs designed by Professor Benedict were weak? They were already more than adequate on their own, and they would only grow more formidable if the Senior finally managed to achieve his own breakthrough!

The two leaders spent a bit more time discussing various matters. Though Reginald was adamant about imposing his will on the Cross Clan, that did not mean he was deaf to the counsel of others.

As much as he tried to reject the notion that Saint Hemmington Cross was not as flawless as he imagined, Patriarch Reginald recognized that it was better if he solicited the views of others before he made a major policy decision.

In fact, Professor Benedict played a huge role in this shift. As someone who hitched his wagon to the Cross Clan, he did not want it to lead down the same abyss as before!

"The Larkinson Clan is constantly acquiring new specialties." Benedict noted. "They not only picked up a lot of good swordsmen, but also obtained a lot of Lifer researchers. This means that they will eventually become the leader in the field of biotechnology in our alliance. If we don't want to get overshadowed by the Larkinsons entirely, we need to develop a couple of industries ourselves. The more services we are able to provide to ourselves and our allies, the more our position remains stable in the alliance."

Reginald frowned. "We lost most of our original industries during our flight. We'll have to start from scratch if we want to develop a new sector."

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm a Senior. I can solve many difficulties."

"What sort of industries do you have in mind, then?"

Professor Benedict grinned. "I was thinking about getting serious in developing our own mech component designs…"