The Mech Touch

The ceremony began. The entire crowd in the decorated hangar bay became still as Taon Melin's white-robed figure took the center stage.

The monitoring system recorded Taon's remarkable appearance across the entire fleet. Every clansman stationed elsewhere briefly paused and tuned into the clan-wide broadcast to witness this historic moment.

Patriach Ves, Priestess Samandra, General Verle and several other important clan figures stood close by. Each of them extended their blessing to what was about to happen.

"Brothers and sisters, I am honored to receive your attention. While not all of you agree with the beliefs of my fellow Ylvainans and I, we are all part of the same family. Just like you, our mech pilots are dedicated to defending our clan. No matter if you adhere to Prophet Ylvaine's tenets or not, we shall never discriminate or flinch away from protecting you from our common enemies."

Ves nodded in approval. Taon's speech immediately set a tone that was meant to smooth over the differences between the Ylvainans and the rest of the clan. Since the worshippers of the Ylvainan Faith had never been bastards to begin with, it was easy for the speaker to maintain a positive image towards his group.

"After a long period of preparation, we are finally ready to announce our new mech force!"

Taon majestically swept towards his back where a large emblem was projected in the air. The emblem depicted the same eye symbol that was plastered on the banners hanging from the ceiling and bulkheads.

"In the past, the state where our faith used to be based erected the Eye of Ylvaine for a blessed cause. During the height of the terrible Sand War, the states assaulted by the alien menace continually suffered setbacks. It was only when the Bright Martyr supplied his iconic Deliverer model that our most faithful Ylvainan mech pilots began to turn the tide against the sandmen."

The projection switched to carefully selected footage of the Sand War. The emphasis of the clips lay heavily on the Holy Soldiers that the Ylvainans fielded in large numbers and the crucial Deliverers who were able to assassinate sandman admirals with ease by borrowing help of 'Ylvaine'.

Though Ves and many other people rarely thought about it these days, his work along with the elite Ylvainan marksman mech pilots literally saved trillions of citizens from total annihilation!

This accomplishment had always been a point of pride to the Ylvainans that had been exiled from their former state. It was also one of the many reasons the Larkinsons thought highly of them despite not agreeing with their beliefs.

"Now, just like before, the Eye of Ylvaine shall once again become the organ which exposes and targets our greatest enemies. Our new mech force will share the burden of defending our clansmen and fighting against any enemy that has affronted our faith or our fellow Larkinsons. We will do so by utilizing the Great Prophet's blessing to ensure that our attacks will always strike through no matter the circumstances! In front of the Eye of Ylvaine, the enemies of life and the Larkinson Clan shall never escape our sight!"

The crowd applauded. Taon delivered quite an uplifting speech, though that was mostly to the credit of the speech writers. Ves had delivered enough speeches to recognize that Taon wasn't entirely speaking his own words. This didn't matter too much because the passion and emotion that Taon put in this performance made it clear he agreed with everything he said.

Ves strode forward at this moment. He held a badge in his hands that symbolized the authority to command a mech force.

"Mr. Taon Melin, the Larkinson Assembly has formally approved the formation of a new mech force. From this day onwards, the Eye of Ylvaine shall become the latest organ to fight on behalf of the Larkinson Clan. You shall move where I command you to move. You must be vigilant against our enemies in the dark. You will defend our people as if they are your own! Do you swear to uphold these oaths?"

"WE DO!" The Ylvainans in the crowd thundered!

Ves smiled. He slapped the badge on Taon's chest. His robe automatically integrated it into the fabric.

"Then rise, Commander Taon Melin, and take your position as the seventh mech commander of the Larkinson Clan!"

The crowd cheered and applauded once again. The vast majority of clansmen welcomed the formation of the Eye of Ylvaine. The religious clansmen already played a key role in the defense of the Larkinson fleet due to their fantastic synergy with the crucial Transcendent Punisher model.

The unerring bursts of accuracy the Ylvainans were able to display with their exclusive artillery mechs was so powerful that none of the other mech forces were eager to adopt a similar machine of their own.

The Avatars, Sentinels and so on knew that they simply didn't possess an advantage in this area. They would only subject themselves to unfavorable comparisons if they attempted to compete against the Ylvainans!

The ceremony continued for another hour as the newly-appointed mech commander began to explain the direction of the Eye of Ylvaine and its overall place within the mech lineup of the clan.

While Commander Taon definitely wanted the Eye of Ylvaine to excel in precision ranged combat, he did not want his mech force to become as one-sided as the Swordmaidens.

"We are the Eye of Ylvaine and the punishers of evil." Taon lectured. "We shall fight our foes no matter whether we have a rifle or a sword in our hands. Ylvaine embraces all forms of life. Though we are primarily known for piloting Transcendent Punishers these days, our mech pilots excel in other mech types as well. In the future, our force makeup will become more rounded, but with the Great Prophet's enduring blessing, we shall always distinguish truth from falsehood and bring the light of the Bright Martyr to the darkest corners of the cosmos. We are the harbingers of revelation and we shall be the first to herald the Time of Ascension!"

The clansmen mindlessly cheered at Taon's words even if they took a strange and incomprehensible turn. It didn't really matter anyway. As long as the members of the Eye of Ylvaine fought on behalf of the Larkinson Clan like the other mech forces, who cared what kind of quackery they believed in. All these references towards gods and ascension flew right over the heads of most Larkinsons.

Once Commander Taon was done with presenting his vision, numerous other Larkinsons stepped forward. People like General Verle of the Military Bureau, Speaker Ovrin Larkinson of the Larkinson Assembly and most notably Shederin Purnesse of the Foreign Relations Department all made some announcements and put the rebirth of the Eye of Ylvaine into context.

At the end of the ceremony, Taon, Samandra and a couple of other devout Ylvainans knelt in front of a large and exquisitely crafted statue of the Great Prophet.

Ves suspected the Ylvainans to prostrate themselves before a statue of himself instead, but the believers didn't go overboard this time.

Once the Ylvainans completed their little ritual, the event had finally come to an end.

Many Larkinsons began to go back to their stations and resume their work. The members of the Eye of Ylvaine stuck around a bit longer, but they too had to get back to their respective posts.

Ves walked up to Taon and Samandra again. The two white-robed figures looked like a perfect pair if not for the age difference between the two. The former hadn't really aged much since Ves initially met the mech pilot, while Samandra possessed a mature grace that could only be acquired by accumulating wisdom.

A rather unusual picture briefly appeared in his mind, but Ves quickly shook his head to rid himself of this distraction.

"Congratulations again, Commander Taon." Ves shook the new leader's hand. "I hope you can give the Eye of Ylvaine a good start. The decisions you make at this early stage will continue to resound many years later, assuming your mech troop still exists at that time."

"I have no doubt about that." Taon spoke with absolute certainty. "The Great Prophet has spoken to me. Our legion shall become grand and unbeatable. A galactic ocean's worth of devotees will support us in any way we can. Our righteous cause shall light the bonfire that drives away the dark that threatens to devolve us into ignorance!"

"...Errr, right." Ves lamely answered. "Don't set your sights on the future too much. You might smack your nose into a bulkhead or something. Right now, you need to focus on the present and make sure the Eye of Ylvaine is up and running. All of that boring administrative stuff that you mech pilots tend to ignore is very crucial in how smoothly your mech force will develop in the coming years."

"We are aware of that." Taon said in a much more sober tone. "In the weeks preceding to this day, I have worked hard to build up a comprehensive staff. The Military Bureau has helped us at every step of the way. I am eternally grateful to General Verle for providing his unflinching support to the formation of our unit. Not every Larkinson is glad to see us unite under our new banner."

There were always contrarians who objected to a change. Though most secularists in the clan didn't really care about what the Ylvainans were doing, there were some who felt threatened by the latest development.

If the Ylvainans organized themselves in a single representative organization, they were able to wield a lot more influence in the Larkinson Clan!

Even if their political representation was not that significant, holding a significant portion of the military power of the entire clan meant that their voices would always be heard. It was not inconceivable that the Ylvainans would leverage their vital role in the defense of the Larkinson Clan to gain additional leeway in spreading their faith.

Ves wasn't too worried at the moment. Most clansmen were more concerned with piloting stronger mechs, improving the grades of their children and attending the latest competitive match.

After he made sure that Commander Taon had a solid development plan in mind, Ves bid goodbye to the Ylvainans and left the hangar bay.

When Ves returned to the design lab, he approached Gloriana and hugged her from behind.

"Are you done with the Ylvainans now?" She flatly asked.

"Yeah. The Eye of Ylvaine can take care of itself."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to allow an expert candidate to assume leadership?"

"Why not? Commander Casella Ingvar is determined to follow this route. While I am not sure whether Commander Taon Melin wants to develop in a similar direction, he is free to make his own choices. From what I can see, he's a lot more comfortable in his own skin these days."

"We'll have to design more more mechs for the Ylvainans in the near future. One more mech force means we have one additional client we need to satisfy. Our workload will become even greater."

"Hey, it was already a matter of time before the Ylvainans formally organized themselves. They don't fit in the Avatars, Sentinels or any of the other existing mech troops so it is logical for them to start their own club."

Gloriana knew this as well so she didn't continue her complaints.

"Do you intend to set up any other mech forces in the near future? It would be nice if I receive advance warning so that I can adjust my future plans."

"I'm not sure yet, honey. I think the Lifers are eager to start their own mech force as well, but they don't have the numbers to justify this move. There's also a possibility that the Black Cats will start a stealth-based force in the future, but it is far too soon to talk about that. Unless we pick another substantial group of mech pilots, I don't think our mix will expand any further."

"Good."