The Mech Touch

"She's doing something different."

It was similar to when he studied Ketis' work. His former student had also learned a thing or two about designing living mechs, but she did not blindly follow Ves' path. The swordmaster put her own spin on the approach and sought to make living blades that sang.

Gloriana on the other hand used the fact that her mechs were slightly alive to make them consciously into an accurate image of their intended users.

The New Man Project did not come across as a full living mech to Ves. Instead, it performed like a living vessel for Vincent Ricklin.

"How brilliant!"

Though Ves personally did not prefer to design mechs in this fashion, he appreciated the creativity and effectiveness of this alternative approach.

Gloriana truly succeeded in developing her own unique interpretation of living mechs. Even if her attempt was incredibly weak compared to his own work, the important part was that it fully complemented her main design philosophy.

"Rather than serving as the main feature of her mech, it instead functions as one of many components that form the total package."

The combination of a completely tailored physical and spiritual design produced a synergistic combination that provided Vincent Ricklin with the smoothest and most comfortable piloting experience of his life!

"I love this mech!" he repeated for the umpteenth time as his mech fired all of its integrated gauss cannons at once! "I feel strong and solid in a way that I never could in any other mech! I am invincible!"

The joy that Vincent expressed when he exercised the capabilities of his mech was great.

Ves already expected Gloriana to excel in this, but the actual outcome surpassed his expectations.

When he turned to his wife, she looked at him with a smug expression. "Did I do well?"

"You did." He said, offering her the praise she expected and admittedly deserved. "You've opened up another window to me and also taught me a good lesson."

"And what is that, Ves?"

"That I shouldn't get too focused on making mechs alive at all costs. Don't get me wrong. I love them, but sometimes I can get so carried away that my decisions might not serve the best interests of the mech pilots I am supposed to be serving. The reaction that you've elicited from Vincent… is what mech designers like us should be truly aiming for. The best mech doesn't necessarily have to be the strongest mech or the machine with the greatest growth potential. It just has to please the client the most."

The New Man Project truly proved its worth in this aspect. Though Ves did not think it was the best or strongest custom mech for an expert candidate, it was exactly right for someone like Vincent.

The mech bestowed a powerful boost to his morale and comfort. His delight in his new machine caused him to interface with the New Man Project on an extremely deep level without requiring any adjustment time.

It was a form of delight that Ves had seen in mech pilots like Joshua but not many other people.

"There is nothing better for a mech pilot than piloting a bespoke creation." Gloriana nodded and smiled at the fruit of her own effort.

That put Ves to thought. He threw a suspicious glance at his wife.

"I get it now. I understand why you deigned to design a mech for someone as stupid as Vincent."

"Oh?" Gloriana looked back with an amused expression. "What is your theory?"

"Vincent may have his shortcomings, but he also has a few strengths. He appreciates a mech that conforms to his tastes and needs. He dislikes piloting most mechs because they don't satisfy his psychological needs. Yet his feelings were completely different when he used to pilot the Adonis Colossus. You thought you could take advantage of this effect to test out a few new concepts. Vincent is the perfect test subject on this occasion because he can only exhibit two different reactions. Either he adores his mech and expresses that in a clear way, or he finds that something is wrong and subsequently rejects the machine."

Gloriana clapped as if Ves was a kid who just offered a correct answer to his mommy. "That's right! Vincent is indeed a good subject to test the new methods that I have developed. I have learned a lot from our past mech design projects, but because they are all collaborative in nature, it was difficult for me to track my individual progress. Working on the New Man Project allowed me to test my own solutions without worrying about contamination from your own work, but I had to pick the right mech pilot to record the clearest subjective reactions from the mech pilot. Vincent happens to be the best candidate out of everyone in the clan."

Although it sounded as if Gloriana took advantage of Vincent, the truth was that they both benefited from this arrangement. Gloriana managed to validate her new innovations while Vincent finally received a second worthy custom mech.

Once the testing session came to a conclusion, the New Man Project returned to the hangar bay and subsequently shut down.

An elated-looking Vincent emerged from the cockpit. He looked like he had just experienced the greatest session of his life.

He floated over to the mech designers before bowing like a gentleman in front of Gloriana.

"Thank you for making this wonderful mech, madame. I used to think that Ves was the only mech designer who could make a manly mech for me. I was wrong. You are just as good if not better. Ah, I mean no offense, Ves. It's just…"

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "It's fine. Gloriana is better at designing custom mechs than me. I can't compete with her in this area. I'm happy for you. Have you thought about naming your mech to make your ownership over it complete or are you willing to give her the honors?"

"Wel… I already have a name in mind as soon as I began to pilot it." Vincent said as he turned back to gaze at his new mech with great love and appreciation. "I'd like to call it the B-Man!"

Gloriana's smile suddenly turned brittle. "The… B-Man?"

"Yes! It's perfect! My Adonis Colossus was the first, but it is gone now. He shall forever live on in my memories as my A-Man. This new mech looks similar to it, but it deserves to be treated as a unique machine rather than a rebirth of my old mech. Since it has a big ‘B' painted on its chest, I'll just call it the B-Man! Isn't this a great idea?!"

Even his fiancé had to palm her face when she heard his rationale. She looked embarrassed beyond words!

Ves lightly coughed. "If calling it the B-Man makes you feel better, then so be it. You are the recipient of this custom mech. You have this right."

Though Gloriana didn't like the name at all, she was enough of a professional to accept this outcome.

"Vincent, come here please. I need to examine you and hear your recounting of your first piloting experience. The… B-Man… is anything but complete and your feedback is vital to putting the finishing touches on my work."

While Gloriana interrogated a hapless-looking Vincent with ruthless efficiency, Ves continued to contemplate on what he witnessed from the B-Man.

Director Raella Larkinson walked up to him. "What do you think?"

"Vincent will be okay, if that's what you're concerned about." He said. "Gloriana designed the B-Man to be a resilient mech. It might not look like it, but it contains a lot of layers of protection around the cockpit. What happened to him before shouldn't happen so easily this time."

"I'll take your word for, Ves. I just worry for him, that's all. On one hand, he loves the power and attention of being a powerful mech pilot. On the other hand, I know it terrifies him to enter a battlefield that he might never return from. He has fought so many battles that there is always the specter of an accident hovering his head. He knows he can't be lucky all the time. He probably needs the help of a mech that can enhance his courage in order to keep deploying into battle."

Ves was surprised at what he heard. "Are you sure you should be telling me this? You are painting your future husband in a bad light."

Raella crossed her arms. "He's not my hubby yet, and even if he is, I have no qualms about exposing his weaknesses. If there is anyone that should know his insecurities, it is the mech designers of his new machine. To be honest, I already shared this with your wife."

"What did Gloriana say to your story?"

"She sympathized with me. She also expressed a lot of understanding. She told me she knows exactly how to handle someone like him. It looks like she did a good job."

He nodded. "Better than what I could have accomplished, in fact. She was the right mech designer for the job. I can already see the joy and sense of completion from your husband. I believe he will be making a lot more progress now that he has obtained his ideal mech."

Raella grunted. "Yeah. He's really going to love piloting his new B-Man."

"You don't sound terribly enthused about his good fortune."

"If he breaks through… will he still be the Vincent I know?" She asked with a concerned voice. "I've seen what happens to expert pilots when they break through. The old Jannzi was a friend. The new one… not so much."

"I don't think you need to be concerned." Ves tried to reassure her. "Expert pilots all abide by their strongest principles and convictions. If he truly has you in his heart, then he will commit to you for the rest of his life. Also, from my observations, the biggest changes in personality usually happens to expert pilots who are fighting for a great cause. If Vincent just wants to stay alive or defend your life, then he should hardly be different from his current self."

"I see. I'll make sure to keep him humble."

The two fell silent for a few minutes as they quietly observed the B-Man.

They could spend hours admiring its impressive curves along with its ostentatious codpiece. There was a sense of harmony in how clean and perfect it looked. Though the mech lacked the sense of chaos and spontaneity that always characterized the mechs designed by Ves, the B-Man was not any worse for it in his eyes.

If Ves had to put his impression of the B-Man into general terms, then he would say that it was a mech that embraced order, Gloriana's order.

The mech fit into a neatly-defined box and was supposed to stay in it. Whether that was good or bad depended on the context and the person making the judgment.

Personally, Ves felt it was an overly rigid approach that did not properly account for unexpected avenues of growth and change, but that wasn't always bad.

Sometimes, a mech just needed to be exactly what it was meant to be and nothing more.

The B-Man still possessed growth potential, though it would take a lot more time and effort to bear fruit. Even if it grew stronger, Ves seriously doubted it would develop a strong independent personality like that of the Quint.

Still, a part of Ves grew curious how exactly the B-Man might develop over years of use. Whatever happened to it, he would surely be able to make valuable observations!