The Mech Touch

After Ves concluded his insightful and illuminating discussion with Master Barnard Voiken, the negotiations between their respective organizations finished quickly.

The leaders of both the Larkinson Clan and the Voiken Family both liked each other. This was enough of a reason to cement the deal.

Given how Ves and Master Barnard saw a lot of advantages in cooperating with each other over longer periods of time, the negotiation teams no longer quibbled as much over the fine print of the contract.

As long as the negotiators from both sides wanted to complete the agreement as fast as possible, it did not take a lot of time before they concluded their work!

It was quite impressive for Ves to see a copy of the finished document before his desk only a day after his talk with Master Barnard.

The full contract largely fell in line with his demands and expectations. According to his advisors, there weren't any traps that he should be worried about. The Voiken Family had shown their sincerity and earnestness in many ways, not even hesitating to paint itself as the weaker side in the negotiation rounds.

By the time that Ves and Master Barnard Voiken officially signed the legally-binding document during a formal virtual conference meeting, the Larkinson Clan gained another business partner!

"How do you feel about your old family and relatives reconnecting to the clan that you have joined?" Ves asked the Voiken siblings shortly after the ceremony.

The two formally-dressed Journeymen looked ambivalent, to say the least. They neither celebrated this partnership nor condemned it from what it appeared.

"We still consider ourselves as Larkinsons." Dulo Voiken spoke up first. "We are thankful for our family for bringing us up and allowing us to become good in the profession that we have always yearned for, but in the short time we have been in your clan, we have improved so much and gained so many benefits that we can never imagine going back."

Sara nodded in agreement. "Our former patriarch is a great mech designer and leader in his own way, but the family that he has built is not a good home for everyone. We much prefer to work for the Larkinson Clan. It is here that we can be entrusted with major responsibilities right away and receive plenty of room for us to realize our own visions without too many constraints on our projects."

This was all true, but this was mainly because Ves was unable and unwilling to hire Seniors and Masters who should really be leading these kinds of design projects.

It was only in a new and developing organization that young and less experienced mech designers such as Sara and Dulo Voiken were able to take charge of major design projects, ones that had a real impact on the clan's military strength or commercial success!

Ves raised his arm and patted both Sara and Dulo on their shoulders. "I'm happy to hear that. I anticipate that our clan will gradually develop a closer bond with the Voikens in the Red Ocean. While I don't expect you to cut off contact entirely with your old relatives, I hope that you will always remember the identity that you have currently assumed."

"That goes without saying, sir."

There was no reason for Ves to worry about the divided loyalties of any of his men. They had all assimilated smoothly into the Larkinson Clan. The treatment they received after joining up was so good that there was little reason for them to look back or feel any nostalgia about their past situations.

He briefly quizzed the Voikens on the brief amount of progress they made on their design projects before waving them away.

Now that the Larkinson Clan and the Voiken Family signed a business agreement, Ves was able to cross another item on his lengthy to-do list.

There were not a lot of immediate priorities left before he could fully devote the following months of his life to completing his design projects.

He slowly smirked. "Enough time has passed for the Aducs to get accustomed to living alongside Gaia."

The powerful ancestral spirit should have already gotten used to its new life. He didn't need Gaia to possess full mastery over all of her powers and abilities. He just wanted her to possess enough of a handle of herself to cooperate with him on his next gambit.

He called ahead to the Aduc Family before heading over to his familiar shuttle to transit over to the Green Dream again.

Given the sensitive nature of the Aduc Family's second and far more secret heirloom, Ves did not bring along his daughter or any of his cats this time.

Matriarch Erexi Aduc enthusiastically greeted him as soon as he stepped out of his shuttle.

"Welcome back to our humble flagship, patriarch Ves. We will always open our doors to you. Do you wish to enter the Green Sanctum and visit the Mother of Earth in person?"

Ves shook his head. "No need. I have my own ways of contacting Gaia. I am on a tight schedule. I just want to pay a brief visit to you-know-what."

"I understand. This way, please."

In the interest of saving time, they boarded a floater platform and zipped through the hallways of the Aduc Family's capital ship until they approached the main engineering bay.

Ves went through all of the mandatory security checks and waited for the Aduc Matriarch to lead him through the familiar secret route before arriving in front of a familiar chamber.

The Annals of Terra Vita looked as aged and fragile as ever. Seeing it once again made Ves feel a sense of anticipation.

He had thought a lot about his first encounter with this old scroll when he returned back to his own fleet.

He also did a lot of research in the background of Old Earth and the people that worshiped the cradle of humanity.

It turned out that there were a lot of faiths centered around Old Earth throughout human space. The planet had gained such a mythical status in society that those who were born tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of light-years away developed highly idealistic notions about the root of humanity.

Ves grew speechless when he got introduced all of these cults.

The Aducs were tame compared to the crazies that worshiped Old Earth as a literal god!

All he could say about it was that there were many people that were desperate to believe in something greater and were capable of latching onto anything to satisfy their spiritual needs.

It was a bit unfortunate that Ves had come no closer to finding out the origin of the Annals of Terra Vita. There were no existing mentions of this scripture or whoever could have possibly made it, thereby ending his search fairly quickly.

Whether the Annals of Terra Vita was related to the one and only Earth Scroll was still unclear, but Ves hoped he could find out the truth today.

He did not bother to reach out to the Annals by his own power or that of Blinky. Neither of them possessed the right 'identity' to pass through the security mechanisms that prevented him from grasping the secrets of the spiritual letters imprinted on the surface of the scroll.

Gaia should be able to pass through this hurdle, though.

He turned to Matriarch Erexi. "Can you roll out the scroll for me again? I want to try out a potential method for me to read and understand your relic."

Erexi did not show as much concern as the previous time. She simply nodded and manipulated the pedestal to make the Annals available for his perusal.

While the scroll was being readied, Ves brought out a small wooden statuette from one of his uniform pockets.

It was a fairly accurate representation of Gaia as he envisioned her, though there were a few deviations.

The reason why it was flawed was because this was the first time he created a totem using wood.

He slightly underestimated how difficult it was to work with this material and did not possess a great grasp with the tools used to work with wood.

The result was far from a masterwork, but that didn't bother Ves that much. What mattered was the intent and the small spiritual foundation of his finished work.

Surprisingly enough, despite the relatively ordinary wood species that he had chosen to make his statuette out of, the spiritual foundation of his creation was considerably stronger and more solid than he expected.

Based on his recently expanded theoretical framework, he could come up with two possible reasons why this was the case.

First, organic materials were much more compatible with life, so it should not be a surprise that a totem made out of wood worked better with his design philosophy.

Second, Gaia's spiritual attributes were especially compatible with plant organisms, particularly trees.

As a spiritual product made from the remains of the Old Lady, Gaia definitely possessed an amazing affinity and closeness to trees!

In any case, the small totem was more than powerful enough to serve as a relay and a medium for Ves to channel his new spiritual product.

"Gaia." He softly whispered. "Can you help me out and allow me to borrow your presence for a moment?"

"..."

The powerful new design spirit was not immediately receptive towards his request. Ves grimaced a bit.

Gaia had grown too powerful too quickly. Though she already developed close bonds with the Aducs, her respect towards her creator was less than ideal.

"C'mon, Gaia. Let me borrow your power for a few minutes. I can't promise that I will immediately design a mech in your name, but I shall definitely work on it when the next design round comes along!"

He finally felt a sense of acquiescence from the powerful spirit.

Everything was easy after that. He opened his mind and consciously tried to introduce Gaia into his own mind. This was not an easy process to pull off with a powerful spiritual entity that wasn't as close to him as his other design spirits.

Nonetheless, this wasn't the first time that Ves performed this little trick. He soon succeeded in completing the first step as he felt much closer and more aligned to Gaia than a moment before!

"Patriarch Ves!" Erexi Aduc gasped as she saw and felt the touch of Gaia on him. "You…"

At this time, Ves truly looked as if he had become the Avatar of the Mother of Earth and the Origin of Life!

To the matriarch who had never been exposed to much of the Larkinson Clan's spiritual shenanigans, Ves looked positively divine at the moment!

It was as if Old Earth had suddenly shrunk down and took on the form of a blessed human!

Ves had no time to entertain the Aduc Matriarch's delusions. He merely waved her aside and approached the pedestal that held the transparent cage that held and protected the Annals of Terra Vita.

Compared to the first time he observed the scroll in this state, the fragile relic looked completely differently in his Gaia-tinted eyes!

The aged paper scroll was positively overflowing with earth energy!

There was so much power contained in the spiritual letters as well as the unassuming paper material that Ves felt as if Gaia had suddenly lifted a veil over his head!

"There is definitely a greater secret behind this scroll!" He concluded.

The Aduc Family's relic was far more special and remarkable than he initially expected. Ves grew even more convinced that an item of this power and complexity must absolutely possess a great secret! It was absolutely not a slightly special gift that the Aducs had always assumed!

The more Ves observed the Annals of Terra Vita through Gaia's senses, the more he felt drawn to it. The scroll was calling to him somehow.

Not only that, but he also felt that the scroll was eager to pass on its contents to Ves or more precisely the design spirit he was channeling!

Just as Ves was about to request Matriarch Erexi to pull the scroll out of its protective cage, Gaia suddenly roiled in his mind and acted on her own initiative!

"Wait! What the hell are you doing?! Hey, stop that!"

His new spiritual product had become so attracted by the calling of the Annals of Terra Vita that she could not resist the impulse to respond!

As soon as her spiritual presence came into contact with the mysterious scroll, the entire secret chamber flashed in earthen light!