The Mech Touch

What Ves feared the most was the MTA finding out the truth behind his design philosophy.

So when Master Willix initially found some problems, he was deeply afraid that she would force him to cough up his secrets!

Instead, she drew her attention to another loophole, thereby giving Ves a reprieve!

He would rather admit that Gloriana and him weren't solely responsible for making a masterwork mech than exposing something more sensitive!

Though they drew the Master's displeasure as a consequence, this was better than all of the horror stories Ves had fantasized about!

"Both of you have sworn an oath to uphold the principles and values of our profession." Master Willix lectured to the younger mech designers. "Being honest to yourself, others and the MTA is an essential trait for mech designers. Cheating and lying might be able to get you ahead for a time, but eventually lead to a dead end. Becoming a Master is far more difficult than you can possibly comprehend. While you have to explore this difficult journey on your own, know that you will make it ten times harder if you don't possess enough integrity."

While Ves nodded as if he took her lesson seriously, inwardly he felt only relief! So far, Master Willix didn't appear to be inclined to probe his design philosophy any further.

The conversation between them soon became more cordial. As Master continued to inspect the Quint by examining the base platform and the four configurations up close, she occasionally asked Ves or Gloriana to explain their design choices.

"Why did you opt to clad your mech with an alloy that is not natively produced in the Komodo Star Sector?"

"What is the reason for comprising the design of your rifleman mech configuration by making it compatible with both physical and energy rifles?"

"Is there a point to the swordsman mech configuration?"

Her questions were certainly sharp. Ves and Gloriana both exhibited clear difficulties in coming up with satisfactory answers!

Both of them only questioned their decisions more as Master Willix systematically exposed almost every fundamental shortcoming about the mech.

Even if the Bright Warrior was highly optimized and nearly perfect from a design aspect, Ves and Gloriana nonetheless could have made better decisions at many junctions!

As the examination proceeded to the testing phase where a mech pilot began to pilot the Bright Warrior and its different configurations, some discrepancies soon emerged.

The Illuminating Warrior's laser rifle inflicted considerably more damage than its technical specs suggested!

The Shining Warrior's spear delivered significantly greater force with its spear than should be possible!

The Nova Warrior's power reactor was a third more powerful for no apparent reason!

The Solar Warrior's sensors exhibited substantially more effective range without any augmentations to its systems!

At the end of the first day of testing, the entire MTA delegation was abuzz. There was no way to explain these abnormal performance readings! Even as Master Willix continued to examine the physical mech in person and scrutinized the design schematics from every direction, she began to frown as it failed to explain the discrepancies!

Ves looked helpless as the MTA continued to puzzle over his Quint as if they were performing a full certification process.

This wasn't part of the plan! The MTA delegation was only supposed to confirm that the Quint was a masterwork mech and that Ves and Gloriana deserved to be credited for its formation.

Master Willix personally confirmed that there weren't any further issues with regards to their masterwork applications.

This should have been the end of the story, yet the delegation clearly wasn't done with his mech!

While Ves expected the MTA envoys to be interested in studying the Quint, he never gave permission for them to station a pilot in its cockpit and bring the mech online! He also didn't give them leave to test the capabilities of the four configurations by performing some basic tests.

The effects of Lucky's gems couldn't be hidden at this point!

When the differences between the Quint's actual performance and the theoretical performance of the Bright Warrior design were so wide, even Moira Willix became intrigued!

At the end of the day, after failing to come up with an explanation, the Master turned back to the pair.

She projected a bunch of performance charts that outlined the differences in the most obvious way possible.

"Please explain."

As usual, Gloriana pointed towards Ves. "He knows."

Ves awkwardly smiled. "I don't know the mechanics behind these inexplicable performance boosts either. The proto-god that I have instilled in the Bright Warrior design is quite capable, but it isn't capable of improving the raw performance of the Quint. I can only attribute these improvements to Mr. S."

"Understood."

Surprisingly, Master Willix didn't question him any further. Ves found out that attributing every discrepancy towards a mysterious superior mech designer was a very convenient excuse! It neatly fit the guesses that the Master Mech Designer doubtlessly made.

Of course, there was a possibility that Master Willix wasn't fooled, but Ves would take what he could get. Just like his final conversation with Master Olson, the best way to mislead Masters was to confirm their biases!

After the end of the first day of examinations, the MTA delegation exited the underground hall and returned to their parked starship.

They declined Ves and Gloriana's cursory offer to host them at their Austen Estate. Likely, they didn't want to spend the night in the equivalent of a peasant's hovel in their perspective.

"If I may ask, ma'am, how long will you stay?"

"Are you eager to see me leave?" Master Willix quirked her mouth in amusement.

Damn! Master Mech Designers were too astute! Between a Master and Calabast, Ves didn't know who was worse, but he would rather be rid of them entirely!

"We have.. plans." Ves answered. "Due to the Sand War, the Komodo War and other recent developments, we adopted a tight schedule. According to my original plans, I am supposed to undergo an implantation surgery soon."

Willix regarded him with a flat expression. "You would rather stick to your schedule than act as a responsible host? I am very very disappointed in you, Mr. Larkinson."

"My apologies, ma'am. I did not anticipate that you would continue to remain interested in our little masterwork. It is just a bridge mech. Its performance doesn't even fully reach the standard of a second-class mech!"

"You shouldn't beat your own creation down." The Master smiled. "As poor as its baseline may be compared to the multipurpose mechs that I am accustomed to working with, your Quint contains several interesting elements. Whether it is the improvements implemented by Mr. S or your 'proto-god', I have never encountered anything similar in my long career in mech design. When you reach my level, it is quite difficult to witness anything truly novel in mech design! Your Quint has successfully defied my expectations and presented me with innovations that are truly inspiring. Bravo. For a pair of young Journeymen like you, it isn't easy to impress me in this manner!"

Was Ves supposed to pat himself in the back? He would rather shove Master Willix through the hatch of her starship and see her depart as soon as possible!

He thought that Masters were supposed to be busy people whose time could never be wasted. At the very least, that was the impression he received from Master Olson.

So why was Master Willix so bored or idle to remain on Kesseling VII longer in order to study his masterwork mech? Was it truly that exceptional to the MTA?

Maybe sticking five different gems in a single mech was a mistake.

There was no arguing with a Master, however. Despite her politeness, Moira Willix carried herself with the demeanor of someone of supremely high station.

A pair of native Journeyman Mech Designers had no room for refusal!

"Please postpone your planned surgery." She instructed to Ves. "Whenever I encounter something novel, I am filled with questions. It would be helpful for you to be on hand as I thoroughly examine your creation over multiple days."

"No.. no problem, ma'am. How long will we be hosting your august presence?"

Willix tapped her finger against her lips. "A week will do. Please ensure that you and the Quint both remain accessible while I am here."

"We live to serve."

"Good." The old woman nodded in approval. "We won't occupy your time in vain. As long as you remain helpful and receive your masterwork certificates without any further issues, I will submit a request to award you with 1 million MTA merits, split evenly between each of you. With my standing, our sector headquarters will certainly approve of my request."

What?! 1 million merits! Ves completely turned his stance around as soon as he heard this figure!

"Truly, ma'am?"

"I thought we would earn less merits for our masterwork mechs." Gloriana couldn't help but remark. "Our mech is not a proper second-class mech, and we don't plan to submit it to your Association."

Master Willix smiled indulgently at Gloriana. "Those are the rules, but I am a Master. I possess considerable autonomy and authority within our organization. It just so happens that I like the two of you. Both of you are quite remarkable by yourselves, but together you make for a potent pair. I will be watching your careers closely from now on. If your Bright Warrior design is anything to go by, I am confident that you will be able to shake the mech industry as long as you mature."

While Gloriana beamed as if this was the happiest day of her life, Ves only felt his heart sink even further.

Attracting the MTA's attention was the last thing he wanted! He thought he could repel Master Willix by wearing his crazy hat, but how could he know that she was a lot more magnanimous and open-minded than he anticipated?

Clearly, Master Willix seemed to have adopted the attitude of a mentor towards them. Both Ves and Gloriana were promising mech designers who had the potential to provide the MTA and the mech community with a lot of unique innovations.

The Master didn't mind spending more time here to guide and question their work for this reason!

As Master Willix and her entourage finally disappeared into their ship, Ves and Gloriana slowly walked towards the shuttle that would bring them away.

Later that evening, both of them took stock of the meeting in the privacy of their shared bedroom.

As both of them had changed into their pajamas, they sat on the surface of the bed and looked towards each other.

"Master Willix is a lot nicer than I thought." Gloriana chirped. "I briefly encountered some Masters during my time at Centerpoint. Most of them are a lot more preoccupied and dismissive."

Ves shrugged. "Maybe that's the reason why she took it upon herself to travel to the Kesseling System."

His girlfriend winced. "She is certainly good at her job. Some of the questions she asked still haunt me to this moment."

"That's a Master Mech Designer for you. Their depth and breadth in mech design is unimaginably greater than ours. Hiding anything related to mech design from her is an impossible task!"

With seven days to go, Ves feared that Master Willix would keep asking questions. What she managed to uncover today was already bad enough. Multiplying it by seven would almost certainly spell doom!

That was the point, though. Moira Willix found something new and unique in the Quint. Ves feared that she wouldn't leave until she deciphered all of its working!

Ves looked bummed. Aside from the increasing risk of exposure, he also had to postpone his long-awaited implant surgery. He waited for months to integrate the Archimedes Rubal in his head. To delay it by at least a week annoyed him to no end!

"At least she's handing us a million merits for our efforts." Gloriana soothed him. "Doesn't that sound great? We are one percent closer to buying our beyonder ticket!"

"Whoopie." Ves replied flatly.