The Mech Touch

Ves met with plenty more elements of his fleet after his visit to the Swordmaidens.

He spoke with familiar faces like the Ingvar siblings, who were still trying to unearth the potential of the Bright Warriors.

The Second Spaceborn Company of the Avatars of Myth only recently got to play with their new toys.

Due to various reasons, Commander Melkor opted to concentrate the best and bright mech pilots such as Joshua and Jannzi into the First Spaceborn Company. His goal was to create a pseudo-honor guard unit that the rest of his Avatars could look up to and aspire towards joining.

That said, the Second Spaceborn Company was no slouch. It was led by the young but capable Commander Casella Ingvar and fielded its own mech champion in the form of Imon Ingvar.

Though Imon was not as skilled or as fast of a learner as Joshua, his excellent pedigree and upbringing meant that his foundation was very solid. In fact, he was considerably more capable than any other ordinary Larkinson pilot of his generation!

Ves approved of Melkor's trust towards the Ingvar siblings. Both of them possessed remarkable spiritual potential that he hoped to exploit in the future.

So far though, their true potential hadn't been unearthed yet. Though they faced plenty of life-threatening situations during the Battle of Kesseling VIII, none of his mech pilots managed to achieve any breakthroughs, including his expert candidates.

"It's a lot easier to break through in a war than in an incidental battle." He muttered.

The odds of promotion were so low that it was like winning the jackpot. It took many battles for a mech pilot to roll the right dice and find an opportunity to advance to the next rank.

He shouldn't hold any unrealistic fantasies. Plenty of his own relatives joined the Mech Corps by the hundreds and fought more battles than he could count, yet only two to four managed to advance per generation!

"Not everyone can advance as easily as Jannzi, and even she encountered a bottleneck."

From what he knew, expert pilots were extraordinary because they based their entire creed on a specific goal or ideal. While they gained an unimaginable amount of strength after taking their first steps towards godhood, they had to let go some of their mortal aspects during their long journey towards ascension.

Ves believed that this was the most difficult aspect about breaking through. Plenty mech pilots were attached to their human traits. It was not so easy to let go of the identity the mech pilots acquired at birth!

When his shuttle arrived at the light carrier bearing the Second Spaceborn Company, Ves greeted the Ingvar siblings while at the same time inspecting their spiritual potential.

Though he believed that their spiritual potential had grown a bit since the last time he gauged their strength, it was difficult to ascertain any differences.

Though the observation disappointed him a bit, Ves did his best to maintain a positive demeanor.

"I've heard good things about your command ability, Captain Ingvar."

The nobleborn woman couldn't help but beam with pride. "Commander Cinnabar deserves a lot of credit for my performance. I learned many valuable lessons while I was aboard his Ion Tracker. The way he commands the Battle Criers is truly masterful. I am still in the process of developing my own leadership style."

Her words downplayed her own ability, but Ves spent too much time with manipulative people to understand her underlying intent. He hadn't forgotten how sad and bedraggled she looked when she was looking for a job in Kinner space.

In her first command position, her own crew mutinied against her and her former house! Though Ves probably wouldn't have managed to do any better in her position, her first command still represented a major blemish in her record!

Whereas many people would have given up command opportunities entirely after such a shameful outcome, Casella Ingvar was not one of them. She had studied and committed too much time and effort on her chosen vocation to give up after a single failure!

To her credit, she managed to earn Commander Melkor's trust, or else she would have been removed from her position by now. With the sheer amount of mech pilots the Avatars recruited, at least some of them were officer material.

As Ves walked around the mech hangar to inspect the Bright Warriors, he inquired how she was doing.

"The Battle of Kesseling VIII was the first major battle of the current incarnation of the Avatars of Myth, sir." She explained. "I'm aware that your Avatars fought some other battles, but they don't compare to our latest engagement in terms of scale and sophistication. Though we have prepared well, what truly took place was more than we could handle. If not for the timely introduction of the Bright Warrior, the battle in space would have likely ended in defeat!"

The CRC attack force planned their surprise assault on mistaken assumptions. The Fridaymen believed that the spaceborn contingent of the Avatars and Living Sentinels would consist entirely of third-class mechs.

The arrogant second-raters never imagined that Ves would add a bridge mech to his force lineup that could defeat their powerful mechs in open combat!

Sure, Joshua in the Quint may have been responsible for the majority of kills, but the Bright Warrior design had made all the difference in orbit!

As Ves studied the energy of the personnel around him, the Second Spaceborn Company was inordinately proud to be one of the first units to receive this exciting mech model.

The Larkinson vibes exuded by the mechs not only peppered up every Larkinson, but also every other soldier!

Ves didn't need to ask how committed they were towards his clan. The Bright Warriors had already done a great job at encouraging them to align themselves with the Larkinsons!

"Are there any practical problems hindering the progress of your mech company?" He asked.

"Hm, there are the usual issues, but they are not worth bringing up to your attention." Casella replied. "There are other mech companies that require much more attention. The Avatars still don't possess a full lineup of Bright Warriors. In fact, many of our mechs are still lastgen models."

"I'm aware. Right now, our financial outlook isn't optimistic enough to splurge on new mechs. While I am doing my best to remedy this situation and design some more mechs to fill up the holes in our mech lineup, it will take months to see a difference."

"Thank you for your concern, sir. Working for a mech designer like you is always better for mech pilots like us. You are much more prone to outfit us with the right mechs for the job."

That was a given. Successful mech designers usually possessed deep pockets and were very willing to invest in their own protection. If not for his immense responsibilities, his Avatars would have been fully kitted out with modern mechs and sturdy combat carriers by now!

Ves finally broached the subject he truly wanted to ask.

"I'm sure you have heard the latest rumors. If you have the choice to join the Larkinson Clan, will you accept the opportunity?"

Casella Ingvar knew this question was coming as well. She sighed. "This is a difficult matter. The question may not trouble most of my men who come from ordinary backgrounds, but my brother and I are different. We are one of the few surviving descendants of House Ingvar. When the Royal House of the Black Poppy turned against my house, my brother and I both wanted to take revenge."

"You won't be able to do that if you join the Larkinson Clan." Ves plainly said. "Our clan doesn't have any intersection with the Kingdom of the Three Flowers. As much as I sympathize with your plight, it's not our responsibility to avenge the fall of your house."

"I'm aware of that. I would never want to impose my private goals onto you. That is simply too unfair. It's just.."

"Just tell him the truth, Casella." Someone else piped up from the side.

"Brother!"

Imon Ingvar, as brash and impulsive as ever, interjected himself in the conversation. He left the side of his Nova Warrior to join his sister and nominal superior.

"I"m not sure if you are aware of this, Mr. Larkinson, but we nobles take our oaths quite seriously." The male Ingvar elaborated. "It is a great dishonor to break our word. In public, our fellow peers will ridicule us if we tarnished our credibility in such a fashion. In private, we would always feel ashamed for abandoning a promise we

"Imon!" Casella lost her cool and gritted her teeth. "Do you want to air all of our dirty laundry while you are at it? There is no reason to burden Mr. Larkinson with our personal dilemmas!"

"I don't want to dance around this subject any longer, sister. Let's settle this here and now in front of our boss."

Ves blinked. Evidently, this problem was a lot more serious than he thought. The Ingvar twins looked genuinely torn!

Captain Ingvar looked apologetic. "Sorry, Mr. Larkinson. We have been discussing our place in the Avatars and our purpose for a very long time."

"What choice are you inclined towards?"

"I.. favor looking forward." She spoke in a softer tone. "While I was born and raised an Ingvar, our noble house is effectively no more. The few remnants who survived will never be able to return to power. I think that joining your clan and taking up the Larkinson name is a good way to make a clean break from a forsaken past!"

Clearly, her brother didn't agree with that sentiment. Imon growled but did his best to restrain his conduct in front of someone important.

"We are some of the only remaining survivors of an honorable and prestigious house! Without it, we lose any right to call ourselves nobles!"

"Does that even matter, brother?!" Casella placed her hands on her hips. "We lost these privileges years ago! Ever since we turned into fugitives, no one else but us still thinks that we are nobles! It's time to face the truth and recognize that we are on the same level as everyone else in this fleet!"

A brief back-and-forth ensued. The rest of the Second Spaceborn Company seemed to be used to this spectacle. They quickly walked away and made themselves scarce.

"Okay, enough." Ves raised his hand, silencing the Ingvars in an instant. "I understand the gist of your dilemma. While I won't force you to make a specific choice, I just want to tell you that you need to commit to whatever decision you settle upon. If you choose to join the Larkinson Clan, then I expect you to forget about any noble attachments or commitments. I don't want any double loyalties in my clan."

Both Ingvars grimaced, but not too much. They already expected this answer.

Ves didn't leave it at that, though. He couldn't help but make a final suggestion before he left.

"Personally, I think you are going about this the wrong way. If you reject the opportunity to join the Larkinson Clan, what then? Will you eventually leave the Avatars and try to organize a rebellion against the Royal House of the Black Poppy? What can you do by yourselves with a couple of mechs, no army and a limited amount of funds at your disposal?"

"We'll figure something out. There are plenty or rebels in the Kingdom of the Three Flowers." Imon muttered.

"Heh. Most of these rebel movements are simply rabble. They can exist for centuries without ever coming close to meeting their goals!"

The contempt in the faces of Imon and Casella showed that they held the same contemptuous attitude towards rebel movements.

Ves smiled and spread his hands. "Instead of trying to do everything by yourself only to fail due to lack of resources, why not join my clan and stay? Once you become a Larkinson and distinguish yourself, you are entitled to a lot more rewards than now. As our clan achieves success and becomes richer, some of our newfound wealth will flow into the pockets of clan members such as you. What do you think you can do with a million hex credits? What if you receive a billion hex credits a century later? That is enough money to equip several mercenary outfits!"

Both of their eyes brightened as they realized the potential this approach held.

"As long as there are still survivors you can trust to put your money to good use, you can benefit your cause a lot better if you finance House Ingvar's rise instead of trying to do everything yourself!"

His persuasion had a powerful effect. Imon, the most stubborn one among the Ingvars, look convinced!

"With enough money, we can topple the House of the Black Poppy!" He exulted. "Who says we can't revive our fallen house? Mr. Larkinson is right! We don't have to be there in person to make everything right! We just have to provide the funds!"