The Mech Touch

Though all of the attention in the expeditionary fleet went to the Larkinson Clan these days, that didn't mean the other alliance partners had been sitting on their thumbs.

As the heir of an ace pilot and the former ruler of a territory, Patriarch Reginald Cross still possessed a modest degree of clout in certain circles. He worked hard to get his clan established in the Red Ocean and attract the specialists the Crossers needed in order to develop a more rounded organization.

Professor Benedict provided even more assistance to the Cross Clan. After joining the Cross Clan's new kinship network, he had increased his commitment and used his status and capabilities as a Senior to the limit in order to make life better for the Crossers.

From hiring a batch of Journeymen willing to work under him to completing projects that injected both money and MTA merits to the Cross Clan, he did more to support the clan than anyone else. Not even the Cross Patriarch was able to do so much to pay the bills and keep every ship and mech unit supplied!

Of course, the man who used to be known by a more notorious name understood that he could not gain ownership of the Cross Clan through these efforts.

So long as a strong and heroic expert pilot who rightfully inherited the Cross Clan from his mythical father occupied the patriarch position, the Senior stood little chance of gaining the upper hand.

Unlike the Larkinson Clan where mech designers distinctly enjoyed a higher status than its warriors, high-ranking mech pilots definitely had more say in the Cross Clan.

If Patriarch Reginald wasn't around, then Professor Benedict would most definitely try to contest for leadership, but so long as the powerful expert pilot was alive, it was pointless to make the attempt.

Though both leaders implicitly understood that they were in a competitive relationship with each other, they still respected each other as men who wanted the best for themselves and the Cross Clan.

As the powerful expert pilot approached the side of the Senior Mech Designer, they looked down over the catwalk to observe the preparations in the hangar bay of the flagship of the Cross Clan.

The men below briefly paused their work and cheered as they spotted the presence of their leader and idol!

In response to their adulation, Patriarch Reginald Cross grasped the ancestral heirloom that hung on his neck and raised it in the air.

"The Cross Shall Rise Again!"

"VICTORY FOR THE CROSS CLAN!"

Just a single cry was enough to skyrocket everyone's morale!

This was the power of a leader who everyone admired. The Cross Clan's mech pilots did not understand anything about mech design and would never be able to comprehend the full magnificence of Professor Benedict's work.

Patriarch Reginald did not suffer from that problem. Mech pilots understood each other the best, so the rank-and-file soldiers all idolized the expert pilot because he was their goal!

After he finished inspiring his own troops, the Cross Patriarch lowered the Cross of Rebirth. He gazed at it with mixed feelings.

Ves had made the object to house the nexus of the kinship network. Salvaged metal from the ace mech of Saint Hemmington Cross had been used to make the relic.

Each time Reginald carried it on his person, he felt as if he was truly carrying on his father's legacy. The Cross Clan must prosper under his leadership, and the upcoming battle was a test to see whether it had made any progress.

"How fare our mechs?" He asked.

"We are still working with the original rim-level mechs that we've brought from the Red Ocean, but that should not play a significant factor in this battle." Professor Benedict answered. "The condition of our mechs are close to optimal. We have maintained them well and they have yet to be subjected to any significant ordeals. They will serve their pilots well."

The Cross Patriarch grunted and nodded. "What of our new solution against warship-level threats?"

"With the help of the Cyclical Engine, we have managed to fabricate enough Carnation heartland-level heavy energy mech rifles to equip all of our dedicated ranged mechs with them. This also frees up thousands of ordinary mech rifles that we can pass on to our melee mechs. The accuracy and firepower of the latter will not be impressive, but at least they will be able to contribute to the battle at an early stage."

The Carnation rifle was one of the latest homegrown products of the Cross Development Center, the new mech parts company founded by Professor Benedict.

The company had been in operation for a while now and developed numerous different projects, many of which wouldn't be unveiled for many months.

However, the Senior rushed the development of the Carnation rifle model because the expeditionary fleet needed an urgent boost in heavy firepower.

Though the weapon was not large and powerful enough to be classified as a cannon in mech terms, the Carnation model was the answer to the Larkinson Clan's exclusive luminar crystal rifles.

"Will the Carnations do our clan justice in this coming battle?" Reginald asked his mech designer.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that." Professor Benedict grinned. "While I admit that the Larkinson Clan's alien-derived luminar crystal weapons are truly powerful, the Carnation model does not fall behind. The main way we have been able to increase its performance is to scale it up to a heavy rifle. It is thicker, longer and heavier than more average weapons, which allows us to integrate larger and more powerful sub-components."

Both of them looked down the hangar bay where a number of ranged mechs grasped their new heavy rifles before flying through the main exit hatch.

Anyone looking at the heavy rifles would know that they packed a powerful punch! With two different attack modes, the dual-type rifles could fire a laser beam, which was more accurate and sustainable, or a positron beam, which possessed greater damage potential and penetration power.

Though Patriarch Reginald respected the firepower of the new guns, he did not entirely approve of them. "These heavy rifles will fare better in battles against warships than against mechs. Their size and mass makes them too slow and unwieldy. The mechs that wield them will have trouble fending off enemies at shorter ranges."

"That is true, but remember who we are fighting against, sir. The pakklatons have no history of employing either mechs or starfighters. We do not expect our mechs to dogfight the alien units. At longer ranges, the advantages of the Carnation model heavily outweighs the disadvantages. The additional firepower, the higher precision and the excellent efficiency of my work will result in a weapon that can keep bombarding larger targets from a distance without interruption. They are also relatively affordable and not that difficult to produce in large numbers."

The entire reason why the Carnation heavy rifle was able to compete with the Larkinson Clan's luminar crystal rifle was because the former was bigger in every way.

Another way to look at it was to regard luminar crystal rifles as weapons with miniaturized components. The luminar crystals used to make them provided much better performance at smaller sizes.

This was why scaling up was the easiest way to catch up to the power of luminar crystal weapons.

Though Professor Benedict would have preferred the more elegant solution of relying on superior tech to outfit the Crossers with more potent guns, the requirements were too high at the moment. The Cross Clan needed to obtain a lot more funding and expertise as well as a supply of higher-quality exotic materials.

Both men knew that it would take time to fulfill these conditions. Until then, coming up with stopgap solutions like the new Carnation heavy rifles served as adequate substitutes.

After discussing the readiness of the Cross Clan's mechs, the Cross Patriarch addressed another topic.

"The Minerva Project you have been working on with those Larkinson brats is nearly complete, right?"

The Senior nodded. "Yes. It's a fine project, and one that has turned out better than I initially expected. It is a pity that we chose to take our time on optimizing it. If we decided to finalize its design sooner, then we could have fabricated it already and have it ready to debut in the upcoming battle."

"It is primarily a command mech, correct? I do not foresee a situation where Commander Casella Ingvar is required to lead her men in battle. If this fight turns into a long-ranged artillery duel, then the most she can do is raise everyone's morale and use her rifle to disable the enemy warships a little faster."

Professor Benedict crossed his arms. "The Minerva Project is not what you think. After working on it alongside someone as unorthodox as Patriarch Ves Larkinson, I am already certain that it is far more than a simple machine. I have truly seen first-hand how this remarkable Journeyman has steadily turned this expert command mech design alive. While I have already witnessed this in his other work, seeing it happen step-by-step in real time is much more admirable. I have learned plenty of insights from him, which is impressive considering he is still a Journeyman. His perspective on mechs is radically different from that of his colleagues."

"Your praise of this design makes me more eager to see it in action. It is indeed a shame that we cannot see it in action this time." The Cross Patriarch said. "Once this project is over, I expect the Larkinson brats and you to work on designing my long-awaited successor of my Bolvos Rage. How ready do you think they are for this project? Don't forget that my future and the future of my clan is at stake."

"You have made that abundantly clear, Reginald. I am mildly optimistic about the Larkinsons. Patriarch Ves and Madame Gloriana are both excellent for their ages. Ves is absurdly passionate and while his excitement occasionally encourages him to make extreme design choices, I can temper his excesses. Gloriana is highly detail-oriented, which is good in many cases but can also lead to tunnel visioning. I can tell she has made efforts to constrain this trait, but she will still need guidance to remain on the right track."

"That is good to hear. What of their other Journeymen?"

"The remaining six Journeymen Mech Designers are not as good." Benedict plainly replied. "Ketis Larkinson excels in designing swordsman mechs and may be able to design an excellent mech sword for your next machine if you are willing to switch from using an axe as your preferred melee option."

The Cross Patriarch shook his head. "No. I can see the attraction and I am confident that Swordmaster Ketis will be able to forge even sharper swords in the future, but I have dedicated all of my melee training towards mastering the axe. I have fought too long with axes and destroyed many of my most memorable opponents with their help. I do not have a heart for swords."

"I will note that down. If this is the case, we will likely proceed with designing your new high-tier expert mech with the same design team of the Minerva Project. Now that we have worked together for several months, we have learned much about each other. Our cooperation has reached a higher level and we will retain much of our advantages once we begin to work on the new project. The only substantial difference is that I shall be leading the project instead of the Larkinsons. I prefer to handle my mech design projects differently so the Larkinsons must adjust to my regime."

Patriarch Reginald looked nonchalant. "I don't care how you manage your work. I only pay attention to the results. Give me a high-tier masterwork expert mech and I shall lead the Golden Skull Alliance to greatness!"

The Larkinson Clan may have the limelight at the moment, but once he advanced to ace pilot, the dynamic of their alliance would definitely change for the better as far as he was concerned!