The Mech Touch

True artists and creators always aimed to form the best possible works they could achieve. Each of them were driven by the desire to make greater achievements and earn greater success.

How could they possibly gain the acknowledgement of their peers and be regarded as one of the leaders in their own field if they did not create impressive works?

Yet the criteria that determined whether a product was 'best' or 'perfect' never centered around the creator alone. Their profession never existed in isolation. A work of art or a feat of engineering were principally made to satisfy the needs of others.

The degree in which the product satisfied and met the needs of its user was the basis in which artists and creators justified their craft!

While there were plenty of creators out there who did not pay too much attention to the needs of their clients for various reasons, anyone who wanted to reach the top of their craft had to abide by a higher standard.

Star designers weren't celebrated for their ability to design supreme creations. They were all celebrated because they were able to satisfy the needs of clients a lot better than any other mech designer!

This was the mindset that a service provider should have and take pride in. Though Ves did not agree with the MTA on many matters, he fully supported their principles on this matter.

Once Ves managed to sway his wife to this viewpoint, she no longer insisted on continuing to optimize the mech design any further.

The performance of the mech had already exceeded their expectations from the start, and that was only based on the technical specs alone. Expert mechs were much more powerful than that because their potential only became evident when they were paired with an expert pilot.

Though Master Willix probably possessed the means to make somewhat reasonable predictions about the true resonance effects of the Disruptor Project, she did not share them with the Larkinsons. She had been quite stingy with regards to explaining the more esoteric aspects of the mech design. She strictly abided by her original stance that Journeymen simply weren't ready yet to tackle this complicated and high-level field.

In fact, the feedback she issued to the Larkinsons had become more and more scarce, which suggested that she was fully occupied with her own priorities at the moment.

Ves did not feel any regret over this. In fact, he felt it was great that Master Willix no longer hung over his head that much. He already had a feeling that his contribution to the Disruptor Project might lead to drastic results. He didn't want to be interrogated by the MTA Master immediately after he fabricated the mech.

"Speaking of fabricating it, we're almost ready to go." He muttered.

He directed his eyes at the fabrication plan that his wife had composed. She had already simulated the fabrication process many times. She mapped out the equipment they used, the parts fabrication order, the assembly order and other aspects.

All four Journeymen had to do their part in this process. As much as Gloriana wanted to perform all of the work herself, the contribution of her fellow designers was essential in order to maximize the quality of the aspects that fell under their respective specialties.

For example, only Ketis could make the knives that channeled her design philosophy and only Juliet was able to fabricate a flight system that was as potent.

Ves had to take part in the process as well in order to make the mech as alive as possible. This was a key pillar of strength to the Disruptor Project, so Gloriana could never allow him to stand on the sidelines!

"It's just…"

His wife exhibited her excessive control freak tendencies once again. The fabrication plan followed a highly regimented system where every time block was clearly planned out to the tiniest detail. Every participating mech designer had to accomplish specific tasks within their time frame in order for the entire fabrication run to proceed as optimally as possible.

"This is impossible! The fault tolerance of this schedule is too small!"

Though the plan was able to adapt to any setbacks and unexpected changes, it became increasingly more difficult to do so as the situation continued to veer from Gloriana's perfect schedule.

He confronted his wife over the suitability of such a detailed plan.

"Just because a fabrication run doesn't go according to plan doesn't mean that the outcome will disappoint us. Think of the times when we gained inspiration during our work. If everyone insists on following your strict timeline, there won't be any chance of fabricating an expert mech that is greater than what matches the current design!"

Gloriana didn't look pleased when he made this argument, but she reluctantly agreed to simplify the plan and add greater tolerance to changes.

Aside from this little snag, all of the preparations were in order. The Larkinson Clan had gathered and readied all of the raw materials a long time ago. Gloriana even scanned and inspected each material in person in order to make sure that their quality and purity met her standards.

Now, they were all waiting for the right opportunity. Once the fleet emerged out of FTL travel in a fairly busy star system that served as a transit point, the Spirit of Bentheim had settled back into realspace.

Though it shouldn't have made a difference whether a mech was being fabricated on a ship that had entered the higher dimensions, Gloriana did not want to leave anything to chance.

"Just like our upcoming firstborn daughter, our first expert mech must be a product borne out of the Milky Way Galaxy." She stated. "The atmosphere on the Spirit of Bentheim is subtly different whenever we are traversing to another star system. I don't want our expert mech to become too detached from its origin."

Ves thought it was all superstition, but he didn't bother to argue with her about that. Right now, their mood and emotions played a vital role in how their upcoming fabrication run would proceed.

Anything that made the participating mech designers happier, more optimistic and more confident about their success was precious. The four Journeymen each followed their own rituals in order to adjust their moods as best as possible and cleanse their minds of any distractions that could affect their concentration.

Ketis opted to return to the Swordmaidens and spend an entire day with them. She sparred against Venerable Dise. She trained a batch of hopeful girls who sought to join the ranks of the sisterhood. She also practiced and familiarized herself with several knife fighting styles with the help of Heavensworders who partially mastered the obscure techniques.

Juliet went back to the Penitent Sisters in order to connect to her roots and reaffirm her intent to excel so that she could provide greater benefits to her fellow comrades. She joined them in their prayers to the Superior Mother and she also tinkered with their Valkyrie Redeemers in order to get more in tune with their living aspects.

As for Ves, he did not do that much to be honest. As someone who was constantly swamped with responsibilities, the best way for him to rest was to stop and take a long breather.

This was why he was currently sitting in the office of his grand stateroom while Lucky was dozing off close on his desk.

Chewing sounds escaped from his mouth as Ves had just filled his stomach with the contents of a special and emotionally-significant nutrient pack. He stared at the empty wrapper and carefully put it back in his desk drawer.

Eating the 'Ulimo Special' was a special occasion to him. The nutrient packs produced by a pirate plant not only possessed a unique flavor composition, but also sated him in a way that went beyond staving off his hunger.

Though he felt slight regret that he reduced his collection of fine-tasting nutrient packs by yet another sample, he still considered it worth the loss.

A feeling of warmth and satisfaction radiated from his stomach and electrified all of his limbs.

A stream of cool and refreshing clarity entered his mind and cleansed some of the concerns that had been weighing on him. Not even drinking a glass of extremely precious wine was able to make him feel more alive. It was as if his body and mind was floating on clouds. Eating this nutrient pack was a much more pleasurable rush than injecting his body with stimulants!

"Ahhhh.. those pirates may be horrible people, but they sure know how to synthesize the best nutrient packs."

He ascribed this peculiarity to how extensively the Nyxian pirates depended on nutrient packs for their daily sustenance. Organically grown food was a luxury in the Nyxian Gap. It was simply too resource-intensive to set up farms in such a difficult environment.

"Since the pirates eat so much of this stuff, it shouldn't be too surprising that they came up with better formulas."

Ves even thought that all of the major nutrient pack manufacturers could learn a thing or two from their pirate counterparts. The former should send liaisons to the latter in order to buy the secret to better tasting and more satiating nutrient pack formulas.

"Maybe I'll get into this industry as well some day." He muttered. "The market leaders clearly aren't innovating enough if a bunch of regional pirates can come up with something better!"

Of course, this was just a passing whim to Ves. He would have never formed such weird thoughts if he was preoccupied with serious matters.

In fact, he knew he had a host of matters to deal with. General Verle, Calabast, Shederin Purnesse and more all wanted to reach him in order to discuss matters of vital import to the clan.

Ves blocked them all. Right now, the successful conclusion of the Disruptor Project was his overarching priority.

"Everything else can wait."

Still, after he filled up his stomach, he began to grow a little bored. He was not the sort of person who was comfortable with staying still. He was always itching to do something. He had become so accustomed to filling up his time with one activity or another that he didn't feel comfortable with letting hours pass by without doing anything productive.

He decided to walk around his office and admire his various trophies and sentimental possessions.

"Hmm, my Prosperity Tree looks a lot better."

He remembered that it looked a lot worse in the past. It even came close to dying, but Ves had forcibly intervened by injecting it with a dose of spiritual energy.

Whether it helped or not, at least his grandfather's gift did not give him any grief this time. The small tree looked more green and vivid than ever and Ves could practically smell the flourishing nature from its tender leaves.

He even had the illusion that the branches were swaying rhythmically, but that was just silly. The air in his office did not circulate fast enough to have this effect.

As Ves contemplated whether he should trim the leaves or something, Lucky suddenly woke up and released an alarmed yowl.

"MEOW!"

Before Ves could turn around, Lucky already phased through the door and headed straight to the bathroom!

Ves' eyes lit up. "Finally!"

There was only one reason for the gem cat to visit the bathroom. After months of lazing around, Lucky was finally about to earn his keep again!

Ves left his office and headed into the bathroom as quickly as possible.

"Meow!"

"Hey, don't avoid me! I just want to make your gem alive, that's all. This will be quick, I promise!"

"Meow meow meow!"

"Blinky! Help me pin down Lucky! Don't let him get away!"

Mrow!

With Blinky's help, Lucky was unable to escape. Ves only had to touch his gem cat's stomach for a tiny moment before channeling a burst of his spiritual energy.

Soon enough, the deed was done, and Lucky collapsed onto the bathroom floor as his body felt a lot fuller than before.

"MEEEEOOOOOWWWW!"