The Mech Touch

Ves and Gloriana still had to return to the Dragon's Den several more times in order to undergo more examinations and procedures.

Hopefully, the doctors would be able to design and conceive their first baby in a couple of months.

This meant that the Miracle Couple had to focus on delivering a completely different child.

As if buoyed by the prospect of having her first baby, Gloriana focused on her work with renewed enthusiasm. It was as if the results of their current project directly affected the success of her firstborn daughter!

"Enough slacking off! We need to optimize the Disruptor Project to the highest standard! Our work is far from done. We still have to address at least several thousand identified issues. I will not even consider finalizing the mech design before we have handled them one way or another. I will not accept any half-hearted proposals!"

She turned back into a tough taskmistress again, but nobody buckled under the pressure. After the assistants were allowed to take it easy for a time, they returned to work with renewed vigor and gusto. Hundreds of smaller issues were being solved every day. The weight placed on the shoulders of the lead designers had grown less burdensome as they didn't have to split their attention so much.

Different from Ves, this was Gloriana's favorite phase of the design process. This was the period where good mechs had the potential to become great. This was also the best opportunity for her to apply her design philosophy and achieve a better fit between expert mech and expert pilot.

Even Venerable Tusa sensed the changes whenever he paid a visit to the design lab. After enduring an hour-long interrogation session about his preferred seating and interior cockpit configuration, he left her office with a tired expression.

"Ugh, I'm still suffering from a migraine, and your wife isn't helping matters. Is she always like this?" He asked as he nursed his head.

"She can be a handful sometimes." Ves mildly responded.

"Why did you even marry her in the first place?"

"She is good at designing mechs."

"That sounds like you, alright. How much longer do I have to wait until I can actually pilot my damned machine."

"We're still in the process of fixing the final bugs and smoothing out the final wrinkles. While I don't think that we'll be able to solve every outstanding issue, Gloriana can't let this phase linger too long. To put it in very simple terms, I think we are about 95 percent done. Gloriana is aiming for 100 percent, but perfection is impossible to attain. As soon as our progress stalls, I'll encourage her to move forward even if the design is only 99 or 98 percent done."

This was a gross oversimplification of the current outlook of the Disruptor Project, but it got the message across. Venerable Tusa looked slightly more hopeful.

"All of the work you put in is quite incredible. I never thought that you would be able to design a complete expert mech for me in so little time. The estimated specs of my future expert mech is also impressive. I've never piloted a light mech that is anywhere close to comparable to such a machine. Second-class expert mechs are really something else!"

Ves placed his hand on the expert pilot's shoulders. "Over fifty Larkinson mech designers have been doing their best to arm you with the greatest war weapon that our clan can supply to you, but don't forget that this isn't a gift. The Disruptor Project may be yours to pilot, but it belongs to the clan."

"You don't need to worry about that." Tusa responded with a serious face. "I know my duty. The clan has become my new family now. Just because I like to be free doesn't mean I don't care about others. It's just…"

"What is it, cousin?"

"What do you think it will be like to pilot my upcoming expert mech?"

"Who can say?" Ves shrugged.

"C'mon. You have to have an idea about it. You're one of the people who worked on it! What can I expect?"

"Usually, I would be able to give you a clear indication, but we haven't been able to test any prototypes, so I don't have a solid idea as of yet. This expert mech is vastly different from any of the standard mechs that I have designed before. That detail is preventing me from making any solid predictions about the performance of your mech. I can only state that the first time you interface with your mech will be a special and unique experience. It's not a hastily-modified rush job like the Piranha Prime. Your first proper expert mech is not only alive, but literally designed from the ground up to be your trusty partner in battle."

While Ves wasn't able to estimate the actual performance and piloting experience of his first completed expert mech, he was definitely certain that it would be revolutionary. The combination of expert mech and prime mech was not a simple sum.

Ves moved over to the work table and picked up the figurine he handcrafted at the end of the last design phase. Compared to before, it exuded a considerably stronger vibe.

The influences from both Arnold and Trisk on the expert mech design had already changed the character of the scale model. Ves had the feeling that it had become a lot more slippery and untargetable than before.

"Here." He passed on the figurine. "If you really want to prep for your upcoming expert mech, then try and get accustomed to it by studying this scale model."

Venerable Tusa curiously received the object and held it in his hands. As an expert pilot, he could sense the unusual properties of this deceptively simple toy.

"I can do that. I know what I need to do in order to grow closer to my mech. I will make sure I'll develop a good relationship with my mech right away when I pilot it for the first time."

Ves provided Tusa with a couple of vague tips to put him on the right track. The expert pilot didn't need too much instruction as the mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan had already made a lot of progress in deciphering the best practices to piloting living mechs.

Work on the project continued to proceed when Tusa left. Everyone was putting their all into the project, not because Gloriana was hounding them, but because they each wanted to see the culmination of all of their hard work.

As Ves became increasingly more invested in finishing this project, he no longer paid attention to other matters.

He was faintly aware that the expeditionary fleet was almost nearing the foreign port system where the Larkinsons were supposed to close a deal with some ship sellers and take possession of a handful of new capital ships.

He was also aware that Shederin Purnesse consulted with some senior Larkinson leaders and proposed an extensive reorganization of the hierarchy of the Larkinson Clan.

Yet he simply didn't have any attention to spare on these matters. All of it could wait until the Design Department finally completed the mech design and the Larkinson Clan finally gained its first actual expert mech.

He did not hesitate to make full use of Blinky during this critical period. Even if depending on his companion spirit came with several repercussions, Ves believed it was worth it to pay a modest price to achieve a qualitatively better result.

Mrow!

"You're my favorite cat now, Blinky!" Gloriana beamed.

That statement did not sit right with Clixie. "Miaow!"

"Oh, I wasn't being serious. You're still my closest cat, Clixie."

The Rubarthan Sentinel Cat still looked aggrieved. As cats like Lucky, Goldie and Blinky continued to grow stronger and develop new abilities, the only organic cat in their little family was feeling increasingly more left behind.

Though she possessed strengths of her own, none of them were relevant as Gloriana never put herself in a position where assassins could sneak up to her or something.

Clixie padded over to Ves' side of the design lab and hopped onto the table next to the terminal. She winked her big eyes at him and raised her front paws in a pleading gesture.

"Miaow. Miaow. Miaow."

"Uhm, excuse me?" Ves pulled his mind out of his calculation work.

"Miaow miaow."

"You think you're too weak?"

"Miaow!"

Ves reached out and grasped Clixie before pulling her closer. He gently rubbed the top of her head in order to soothe her troubled emotions.

The cat squinted in pleasure.

"You're family, Clixie. You don't have to be good at anything to stay by our side. We love you even if you can't phase through walls like Lucky or form a design network like Blinky."

"Miaow miaow miaow."

Ves abruptly froze. "Who told you that?"

"Miaow."

"Damn Lucky." He cursed. "Why can't my cat keep his goddamn maw shut."

"Miaow miaow." Clixie softly swatted her tail against Ves.

"Look, I sympathize with your plight, but you don't know what you're talking about. If Lucky told you about my experiments, then he should have also described how fatal they can be. It's no joke trying to transform average humans into individuals with the potential for greatness. I have yet to succeed with my attempts and it will probably take a while before that changes. At the very least, I refuse to treat you as my test subject. Gloriana will literally kill me if you come to harm because of me. You'll have to wait until I have developed a safe and secure method."

"Miaow?"

"It will take months but most likely years."

"Miaow…"

Clixie's ears drooped.

"Hey, I already told you that you don't need to feel so depressed. We don't care if you are lacking in abilities. Of course, I wouldn't say no if you become more powerful. You don't have the talent to develop powers on your own, so you need to wait for me to come up with a solution. I will promise to you that I won't neglect you. My wife and I still expect you to play a major role in taking care of our future children."

"Miaow."

Though Ves wasn't able to give Clixie the answer she wanted to hear, he at least presented her with the hope of changing her fate.

To be honest, he wasn't really certain whether he should do anything at all for Clixie. It felt a bit wrong for him to change the established trajectory of a cat that was already doing fine on her own.

He did not believe that Gloriana would discard Clixie as if her pet was an outdated mech model. Though his wife was obsessed with performance, she did not necessarily extend that to her family.

At least that was what he thought.

Still, as Clixie's begging eyes continued to look up at him, he couldn't resist the urge to solve her increasing anxiety.

She was right that every other pet in the family was growing stronger by the day. They hadn't come close to reaching the end of their growth potential.

"Miaow miaow miaow."

After Clixie received the answer she needed, the cat left his side and returned to Gloriana to continue her role as her guard and her cuddle object.

This brief interruption did not delay him too much. As he and every other mech designer continued to pour their heart and soul into this project, they became increasingly more affected by Gloriana's drive.

Through Blinky's design network, every other mech designer began to solve problems at record speed. Their quick successes increased Gloriana's momentum, which subsequently caused the network to proliferate her strength!

Though this positive feedback loop did not ramp up forever, the list of problems that Gloriana wanted to solve was rapidly dwindling by the day.

Eventually, the Design Department reached a point where every outstanding problem had either been addressed or deferred for other reasons.

"It's time." Ves said as he stepped behind Gloriana as she was obsessively pouring over a data table. "You need to give it a rest. The Disruptor Project has become as good as it can get with our ability. Unless we improve our skills, we won't be able to achieve any significant improvement."

His wife didn't respond right away.