The Mech Touch

The end of the last design round introduced a lull in the Design Department that its mech designers eagerly took advantage of. With no major projects hanging over their heads, they could take stock of their current situation and reflect on what they had accomplished.

In the last few months, Sara and Dulo Voiken fully integrated into the Larkinson Clan. Though they still possessed a lot of affection for the Voiken Family, in their hearts they had put a definite stripe between their old lives and their new ones.

The design of the Rigid Wall, the Rigid Spine and the Transcendent Charger brought the Voiken duo into prominence. They were no longer faceless names in the Larkinson Clan. They were Journeymen who almost stood on an equal level to that of their revered patriarch.

Sara Voiken never had any doubts about her value to the Larkinson Clan.

Mech designers who specialized in defensive systems were actually quite common in the mech industry, but it was odd that the Larkinsons never employed one at the Journeyman-level until she had accepted their offer.

In any case, she was grateful that she had decided to plunge into the eccentric clan. There weren't any Masters or Seniors who she could look up to for guidance, but she had discovered that she didn't really need their handholding anyway.

Becoming a part of the Larkinson Clan provided her the liberation that she needed. Now that she was practicing her craft away from her rulebound family and her stuffy elders, she could finally design the mechs she envisioned with a relatively free reign and a considerable degree of trust.

She was still surprised at how much latitude she received from the patriarch and head designer. In a more formal and established design organization, a relatively young Journeyman like herself would never receive so much autonomy and decision-making power a short time after joining its ranks.

"Then again, the Larkinson Clan is anything but normal."

The highest leader in the clan and in the design labs was not a Senior or Master who was solely intent on pressing his own vision of mechs.

The existence of a certain… loyalty-reinforcing mechanism meant that the clan did not need to rely on more overt forms of controls over its people.

Though Sara should have felt horrified at the thought that a creature called the 'Golden Cat' monitored every clansmen day and night, she had assimilated into the Larkinson Clan so well that she no longer regarded this dubious cat with fear.

Instead, just like any other Larkinson, she held nothing but love, respect, admiration and even faith towards the Golden Cat!

"It also helps that she is just so cute. How can I possibly accuse a cat of any misdeed?"

The Larkinson Clan's embrace and adoration of cats had infected her as well. She just wanted to hold one, squish one and snuggle up with one when she slept in her bed.

Anyway, aside from the Larkinson Clan's strange insistence on bringing the entire fleet on dangerous expeditions and excursions, Sara Voiken had little to complain about as she settled into her new home.

She gazed at her grand stateroom and took pride that she and her brother stayed in one of the most luxurious living compartments on the flagship of the Larkinson fleet. It was one of the more obvious signs of her high status in a clan where mech designers like herself wielded a lot of influence due to the machinations of its founder.

"Sister. It's almost time."

"I am aware. Stop fidgeting. We are only about to hold a conversation with the former founder of our family."

Dulo Voiken's eyes shook for a moment. "Why did you accept his request to talk over the galactic net? We ran away from the Voiken Family, remember? Our ancestor must be pissed!"

Both of them had grown up under the tall shadow of the Master Mech Designer who headed the Voiken Family since the beginning. The founder's prestige was enormous. As someone who lived over 300 years and spent much of that time as an accomplished Master, it was hard for the brother and sister to lift their heads up when they realized that Journeymen were still located on the bottom half of the totem pole.

"I don't think it will be that bad." Sara soothed her brother. "No matter what, we no longer take orders from our ancestor. His blood might flow through our veins, but we answer to a different master nowadays."

The pair waited for a few minutes until their comms finally received the notification that the other side was ready to hold a cross-galaxy conversation.

Separated by hundreds of thousands of light-years, the usage of quantum communication nodes managed by the Comm Consortium never failed to open channels with virtually zero delay in transmissions.

The only reason why the connection took longer to establish this time was because the caller on the other side requested additional encryption and security measures.

Certain people possessed more privileges than others. A Master whose age surpassed three centuries could definitely request special treatment from the Comm Consortium!

Finally, the connection came into being. A physical projection of an old but strong-backed man appeared in front of the Voiken siblings.

Sara and Dulo instinctively bowed despite no longer being obliged to do so. The instinct had been carved into their very bones since they were young.

Without the great Master putting in so much effort into raising a family organization, the pair of Voiken descendants would have never turned into a pair of young and successful Journeymen!

"Master."

"Master."

The projected figure standing before the pair possessed a dignified appearance. Though he wore a white lab coat that was typical to mech designers, his own was embellished and decorated with red and brown depictions of mythological beasts.

This was the honored Master Barnard Solas Voiken, one of the rare breed of mech designers who had managed to rise up from the early years of the Age of Mechs.

The mech industry was still rising up at the time. Master Barnard Voiken did not enjoy the abundance of institutional guidance and well-established technological conventions that the younger generation such as Sara and Dulo took for granted.

As a result, the amount of mech designers that emerged in those days eventually fell off as their lifespans expired.

While there were means to prolong people's lives, the best and most effective methods were tightly held by the MTA and CFA.

The price to prolong a person's life as they got older became prohibitively more expensive.

Age therefore became an effective way to judge a high-ranking mech designer's worth.

The more centuries they lived, the more they contributed to the MTA. Those who still remained alive after living for over four or five centuries were legends in the mech industry!

Though Master Barnard Voiken was not among the earliest generations of mech designers, he was not that far off. He enjoyed an enormous status in his home state in the Uplifting Note Star Sector in the galactic heartland.

This was not just because he was old, but because he was an excellent mech designer. The bestial mechs that he was known for designing always stood out for the firepower of their integrated weapons.

When a client wanted to obtain a bestial mech with excellent attack power, he could do no wrong by buying a product designed by Master Barnard Voiken!

Now, this renowned and prestigious figure had taken time away from his ambitious research and design projects to talk to two former members of his family.

There was no way that Sara and Dulo could maintain their composers in front of such a figure. Just the suppression of facing a highly-successful Master was enough to put the Journeymen into place!

Master Barnard stared deep at his two descendants. Though his bloodline had flourished over the centuries, it was still difficult for the subsequent generations to advance to Journeymen.

The loss of two young and talented Journeymen was not a trivial event.

In addition to that, there was also his pride and the pride of his family to consider. The fact that Sara and Dulo would rather defect to a no-name clan that was barely a few years old served as an obvious indictment to the Voiken Family!

His personal reaction to this whole affair was therefore crucial to the Voiken siblings.

Fortunately, their ancestor did not withhold his reaction for long.

"Sara Voiken. Dulo Voiken. The two of you… appear content." The old man began. "Answer this plainly. Do you regret your decisions?"

Though both of the younger Voikens felt tempted to massage their answers, they knew that it was best to tell the truth.

"We don't." Sara softly answered. "We still stand by the statements we made back then. We… felt constricted by all of the rules and customs that we needed to abide by. We weren't happy back in the Uplifting Note Star Sector. I don't think I could have furthered my design philosophy at a pace I was satisfied with if I stayed."

"Could you not have founded your own company or joined another influence closer to home?" Master Barnard questioned. "I can understand if you feel the need to leave our star sector. Leaving your home galaxy is an extreme decision."

"As my sister said, we do not regret our decision, sir." Dulo softly replied. "We chose not to stay in the same star sector or star cluster for several reasons. We knew that if we did not move far enough, our many relatives who have spread throughout the different star clusters would find a way to impose their norms and rules on us again. We left the family exactly because we couldn't stand the cage that you have built around us all. We knew that with your… views on society, we could only ever free ourselves if we traveled to the new frontier."

Sara nodded in support of her brother's words. "We largely found what we have been looking for in the Red Ocean. Mind you, we never imagined we would join an organization as new and special as the Larkinson Clan, but we have come to appreciate the many upsides to becoming near-founder figures in a group that is still in the process of rising up. Here in the Larkinson Clan, we have everything we truly need to execute our vision."

The Voiken Ancestor studied his two bloodline descendants carefully. He maintained an impassive expression, making it difficult for Sara and Dulo to discern his true thoughts.

Fortunately for the pair, Master Barnard did not react as badly as they feared.

The old man did not raise his tone. He did not issue any recriminations towards the siblings. He merely… voiced his regret.

"While I do not agree with your decisions, I can accept them." He slowly spoke in a measured cadence. "The rules and customs that you complain about are there for a reason. The family that I have created with my own efforts was never meant to diminish youngsters as yourselves. Human society is far more dangerous than you can imagine. Our family is organized in a manner that provides the greatest amount of protection to my children and grandchildren. Your parents and direct supervisors must have been negligent for the two of you to find too much fault in our ways."

Both Sara and Dulo Voiken had a lot of words to say about that. The Voiken Family was a prison to them! The more their former superiors wanted the pair to conform to the family, the more they felt they did not belong among the Voikens anymore!

Though the two young Journeymen did not speak out their current thoughts, Master Barnard was sharp enough to pick up the notable degree of resentment from his two descendants.

He lowered his eyes. "What is done is done. Whether you have erred in your actions, both of you are adults in the standards of our society. I will respect your choice to leave our Voiken Family as long as you take responsibility over your decisions. I can promise to you that our Voiken Family and I will not not pursue your untimely departures nor demand you repay your debts. You wished for a clean break. You will have it. Consider this to be a parting gift from your family."

A weight was lifted off the shoulders of the Voiken siblings. They had been afraid that their ancestor might persist in tying them to the family, but the Master Mech Designer treated them with grace.