The Mech Touch

Compared to the impressive multipurpose mechs, the starship they escorted looked a lot plainer.

She was a simple frigate tasked for passenger transport and courier service. While Ves noticed several distinct ports that likely hid potent ship-based weaponry, he had seen much more impressive ships from the MTA.

The ship landed at the designated landing zone with just a featherlight landing. The huge and imposing mechs that towered over all of the mechs of the Avatars landed alongside the frigate and ceased moving.

Soon enough, a passenger hatch opened up from the side of the frigate. A fairly small delegation consisting of half-a-dozen well-dressed individuals alongside an equal number of armored guards emerged and floated down to the ground.

As Ves directed his attention from the ship to the party that he was about to greet, his eyes widened as his intuition jolted him for some reason!

When Ves slightly concentrated his mind and activated his spiritual vision, he practically blinded himself by looking into the approaching sun!

This strength! This radiance! This awe-inspiring presence! Most of all, it was all contained within a very tight package!

Ves had never seen this magnitude of strength from anyone other than the likes of Master Olson!

No! This was different! One of the envoys in the MTA delegation was not just Master Olson's equal, but surpassed her somehow!

"Careful!" Ves hissed to Gloriana with a soft but nervous whisper. "One of the people who are about to greet us is a Master! Watch your words and don't reveal more than is necessary!"

Gloriana jerked her head. "Huh?"

They didn't have any time to exchange any further words because their guests had already arrived!

The guards accompanying the envoys looked incredibly formidable. There was no semblance of opulence or vanity in their armored appearances. Every aspect about their combat armor exuded pure functionality and lethality.

Ves had the impression that these suits of combat armor were even capable of fighting against the mechs fielded by the Avatars of Myth!

He didn't know why this thought occurred to him, but he sensed extreme threat whenever he cast his eyes on these silent but imposing guards!

The unarmored individuals looked completely different. Not a single one of the men and women standing before Ves and Gloriana looked anything but impeccable.

Their rich business garments were decked with all manner of frills and decorations. The prominent symbol of the MTA adorned all of their chests, making it clear that each of them represented the powerful organization with pride!

Of the six, it wasn't immediately clear which one was the Master. If not for his spiritual senses, Ves would have dismissed the woman standing in the back of the group!

It was not until the party hovered close enough to greet the pair that the Master finally came forward.

One peculiar detail about the new arrivals is that none of them bothered to walk on the ground. Instead, they continued to rely on their antigrav modules to hover just above the surface!

The middle-aged woman that came forward possessed a mild face and soft, brown hair that trailed just past her shoulders.

Despite her unimposing physical stature, there was a sense of presence around her that made her appear larger than life.

Her presence, though initially unnoticeable, became more evident by how the rest of the envoys regarded her with great respect!

"I am Master Moira Willix of the Komodo Branch of the Mech Trade Association." She announced her identity with a calm but compelling voice. "I believe the two of you have applied for a masterwork certificate, am I correct?"

For a moment, neither Ves nor Gloriana responded. They were both unprepared to greet a Master! How could one of them be bored enough to linger in this region and be on hand to join this delegation? It made no sense!

Gloriana recovered faster than her boyfriend. "We are the Journeymen who have sent the applications, Master. We are honored by your presence! I am Gloriana Wodin, and this is my boyfriend, Ves Larkinson."

The Master curled her mouth, showing a sliver of amusement!

"Interesting. You are oddly respectful to your boyfriend, Miss Wodin."

"He deserves it, ma'am."

"It's not every day I see that from a Hexer."

Obviously, Master Willix had prior interactions with the Hexer. She wasn't completely detached from the Komodo Star Sector.

While Gloriana appeared to be getting along with Master Willix, Ves continued to feel uncomfortable in the presence of such a powerful individual.

Meeting a Master Mech Designer from the MTA was one of his worst fears! There was no telling what Master Willix might find out! Ves was practically sweating in his boots!

"Mr. Larkinson. You seem ill at ease." She swept her powerful eyes towards Ves, pinning him with a piercing glance!

Ves awkwardly smiled. "I genuinely did not expect to be graced by a Master Mech Designer for what is just supposed to be a simple verification process."

"This verification process is anything but simple." The Master replied. "The news of your applications, once they were deemed credible, sparked a small storm at Halcyon Citadel. If your claims are true, then you stand to become the youngest masterwork mech designers of this star cluster. This will bring a considerable honor to our branch. It is therefore of utmost importance that we thoroughly confirm that your mech is a masterwork and that the two of you are responsible for building it. I took a portal jump straight to this state to catch up as soon as possible."

"Portal jump?" Ves asked.

"Portal jumping is an alternate method of FTL travel. I believe the CFA's Archangel Battle Group has once demonstrated some time ago when they arrived at the capital planet of the sandman civilization. The range and capabilities of portal jump technology are considerably better than conventional FTL drives. There are limitations as well, though, but that is not relevant for today."

This sounded expensive! While the MTA was more than capable of bearing this burden, the urgency revealed by Master Willix meant that Ves and Gloriana attracted far more attention than they anticipated! This was not good news!

The arrival of a Master completely upended their plans. Neither Ves, Gloriana, the Avatars and everyone else knew what to do. Should they invite the Master to a banquet or something?

There was a very high chance that a Master from the MTA would scoff at the poor and feeble dishes that Dr. Lupo and the other chefs were able to serve. None of their ingredients would ever be able to equal anything such a vaunted Master partook on a daily basis!

Somewhat outside of their expectations, Master Willix defied his impression of an arrogant and demanding elite.

She waved her hand. "I do not wish to delay this matter any further. Please lead me to the mech in question. You named it the Quint, right?"

While Ves and Gloriana began to walk with their cats in tow, the MTA delegation quietly floated alongside them. None of the other people accompanying the Master spoke up during this entire time!

"Correct." Gloriana answered with a smile. "We came up with this name to represent the partition of our modular mech platform."

"It is quite daring of the two of you to tackle a modular mech platform at your stages in your careers. Usually, only Seniors begin to design such mech platforms."

"We only designed four configurations, which limits the complexity of the project. We were confident we'd be able to complete the design within three months!"

"That sounds quite impressive. It is clear that your respective foundations are solid." The Master said and looked around at the other mechs in the Avatar base. "These other mechs are each impressive in their own ways. Though simple, I see a mastery in the physical and the immaterial that is very hard to find in other native Journeymen."

"Thank you for the compliment, ma'am!" Gloriana ecstatically grinned at the praise! "We strive to improve with each mech we design! While we can't claim to have attained perfection, we are approaching it step by step. Turning the Quint into a masterwork mech is the biggest leap I have made since I started my mech design career!"

"Keep up the good work. You have a bright head on your shoulders. Despite your difficult design philosophy, you managed to find a right direction that suits you most. From our studies, only mech designers who genuinely believe in their own design philosophies are able to create masterworks. One cannot be present without the other."

As they approached the underground chamber which held the Quint, Ves remained demure and tried to attract as little attention as possible.

He was glad to see that Gloriana successfully managed to draw the Master into a conversation!

Knowing Gloriana, she was probably ecstatic at meeting a female Master Mech Designer. If the MTA sent a man, then she would have been a lot less enthusiastic.

Whether by coincidence or on purpose, the MTA dispatched one of their female mech designers from Halcyon Citadel!

Right now, Gloriana acted as if she had met one of her idols! She didn't need to force herself to draw the Master's attention. Her exuberance and enthusiasm was all she needed!

Ves carefully observed the Master while they entered a lift that slowly descended below the ground.

After several minutes of observation, Ves suspected that Master Willix was likely a rational mech designer!

Her relative calm, her mild demeanor, her measured handling of Gloriana and several more indicators all shared some points of similarity to Master Olson and Patricia Cain!

Ves wasn't entirely sure what this meant. Rational mech designers weren't necessarily scarier than passionate mech designers. However, their rational perspectives and relative open-mindedness made them very suitable in analyzing the works or design philosophies of other mech designers!

The MTA hardly could have picked a better individual to examine the Quint!

Ves continued to feel nervous. He wasn't sure what Master Willix might pick up, but the chance of finding problems in the Quint was very considerable!

What should he do? Knock her over the head?

Impossible! A Master like her most probably wore a very powerful shield generator and other protective measures! Her guards alone would vaporize his body before he got close!

Attack her spirituality?

Ves inwardly laughed with despair. The powerful spirituality contained within the Master's mind was immensely more powerful than that of his own! He wasn't even sure if he could make a dent in Master Willix's spiritual presence with the help of his F-stone!

It didn't take much thought to conclude that he had no choice but to allow the Master to perform a close examination of the Quint. Ves could only roll with the punches and hope that Master Willix wasn't interested in the mech beyond the fact that it became a masterwork.

"The Bright Warrior design your Quint is based upon appears to be a private mech design. It is regrettable that the two of you have declined to submit your work for validation. Even if the two of you have no plans to sell any mechs based on this design, it is still useful to validate your work. Would you like to present your design to us? We prefer to determine the baseline performance of your mech design before we compare it to the performance of your masterwork."

"Okay." Gloriana chirped, and immediately activated her comm to transfer some very critical schematics to Master Willix!

Ves raised his hand and opened his mind before withdrawing. He did not wish for those root design files to be spread! The Bright Warrior was an exclusive mech design that was solely reserved for the Larkinson Clan and his other organizations!

The two women didn't seem to care, though. Gloriana smiled happily as Master Willix studied the projection alongside the other envoys of the MTA.

For some reason, Ves felt as if the Master was gleaning every possible secret from his latest mech design!

Master Willix curiously hummed. "This is interesting. There is a powerful property in this mech design that isn't caused by any of the design elements contained within these schematics."

"That's because it hosts a proto-god!"

"Proto.. god?"