The Mech Touch

After the rather stiff exchange of greetings at the entrance, both groups of Larkinsons entered the meeting hall.

The large venue had undergone a minor overhaul in the preceding days. The interior decorators transformed the furniture and surroundings to be more in line with Brighter styles. This infused a strong sense of familiarity to the trueblood Larkinsons. Despite fleeing all the way to the Sentinel Kingdom, they still carried forth a piece of their home!

Once they entered the hall, the Larkinsons began to seat themselves at the rectangular tables.

The reunion started off with a sumptuous banquet. With family members sitting on one side and clan members sitting on the other side of the table, they both began to warm their bellies with the regional specialties of the Bright Republic.

The clan and family both made sure to employ chefs familiar with Brighter cuisine to cook the dishes. A lot of nostalgia appeared on the faces of the Larkinsons.

Regardless of their allegiances, both clan and family members began to reminisce about the olden days when the Larkinson Family was still a single entity.

Mothers and daughters, grandfathers and grandsons, aunts and nieces and many other estranged relatives began to loosen up in each other's presence.

It was as Ves had said. Their differences may have grown, as evidenced by the growing disparities between the two groups, but their shared origins and values still tied them together!

Sitting at a small table placed at the end of the hall, the two patriarchs calmly dined opposite to each other.

Two more people sat at the table as well.

Gloriana immediately stood out due to her proximity to Ves and her special identity.

Benjamin Larkinson served as a calming influence to the two leaders.

Both Ves and Ark tried their best to abide by their father and grandfather's desire for harmony!

"I'm glad to see you safe, grandfather." Ves began. "Have the rescuers I've dispatched treated you nicely enough?"

"Oh, the Hexers clearly don't respect the men they rescued." His grandfather ruefully smiled. "Still, that's hardly worth bothering over considering that most of us managed to escape and meet with fellow relatives in this state. I am very thankful for what you have done. It must have been difficult to convince the Hexers to perform such a major operation in an out-of-the-way state."

Gloriana smiled and answered for her boyfriend. "It is no trouble, Mr. Larkinson. My state is very appreciative towards Ves. The Larkinson Family is one of the few truly honorable military families in this star sector. You are too good for the Bright Republic."

Both Ark and Benjamin Larkinson looked at Gloriana with varying degrees of interest. To Ves, it looked as if they didn't really know what to make of his girlfriend!

While Gloriana was an unabashed Hexer, she was also very charming and very adept in social functions. She didn't exhibit the rampant dislike towards men that other Hexers tended to show!

He stretched his hand towards his girlfriend. "Grandfather, uncle, meet my girlfriend. I'm sure you are already aware of her identity. Aside from our personal relationship, she's also my collaborator and business partner. Our respective specialties play well with each other, allowing us to design mechs that are better than what we are able to design on our own. Much of the success that I achieved recently is thanks to her presence in my life."

Gloriana beamed at his praise. "Ves is such a great boyfriend. I'm very happy to be at his side! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect lover!"

"I'm glad to hear that the two of you have managed to make your relationship work. I was afraid that the two of you are only together due to practical reasons."

"We love each other with all our heart!" Gloriana declared in a way that left no room for doubt! "I would do anything to make him happy, and he feels the same way about me. Not even the Friday Coalition has managed to break our relationship!"

Ves quietly coughed when she said those words. Though most of what she said was true, he had some doubts about the claim that she would do 'anything' to make him happy. There were plenty of nights where he was left unsatisfied!

Though Gloriana put up a wholesome act in front of Ves' grandfather and uncle, her identity was not something that the two were able to forget!

The smile on Benjamin's face turned a little frail. "Please forgive this old man, but I am rather perplexed why a Hexer such as you are happy with someone like Ves. Professional reasons aside, the two of you come from completely different states. What do Hexers such as you think of my grandson?"

This was a very thorny question to ask. Ves glared a bit at his grandfather!

Fortunately, Gloriana didn't show any discomfort.

"Ves is.. a special person. As the youngest Masterwork Mech Designer of this star cluster, his identity is different from the other.. men.. we are familiar with. While I can't honestly claim that every Hexer is able to respect him for who he is, my Wodin Dynasty is different. My mother personally approves of our relationship!"

"It doesn't really matter anyway what other Hexers think." Ves quickly interjected. "You don't have to question my masculinity, father. I'm not stupid enough to move to the Hegemony. I'm sure you've already heard that I have set my sights on a different galaxy."

Both of the other Larkinsons looked severe.

"I don't blame you for wanting to leave." Ark remarked. "It's a shame to distance yourself from our family, though. It will become increasingly harder to stay in touch if we go our separate ways."

"Our departure is already a matter of time. Sooner or later, we'll be going elsewhere. I have an immense desire to see what the rest of human civilization is like. Our little corner of the galaxy is hardly enough to satisfy my curiosity!"

The small group fell silent for a moment. Ves made it clear that he was very determined to lead his clan away. Ark and Benjamin knew better than to continue their futile attempt to get the clan to stay.

Benjamin began to divert his interest to Gloriana. He wanted to familiarize himself with the girl who managed to steal his grandson's heart. There was only so much he could gain from reading about her on the galactic net.

"Do you like cats?"

"I just love them!" Gloriana beamed in an adorable manner. She picked up Clixie and hugged her cat tightly against her chest! "My Clixie gets along well with Ves and Lucky. Am I right?"

"Miaow."

Clixie's elegant and well-behaved demeanor fascinated Benjamin. "She is certainly an exemplary cat. How have you been getting along with Ves? Do you share other interests with him aside from your shared liking of mechs and cats?"

"Oh, we are both invested in the Larkinson Clan, of course. My Wodin Dynasty has done much to protect the clan and help it survive against the machinations of the Friday Coalition."

The two Larkinsons didn't react to that statement. While Gloriana didn't lie, her entanglement with Ves was the main reason the Friday Coalition turned hostile to their family to begin with! She could hardly claim to be their benefactor when she herself was responsible for starting the initial fire!

Neither of them wished to rehash an old, controversial argument on the first day of their runion. They were more interested in moving on and looking towards the future.

"I've heard that one of your relatives is an expert pilot." Ark began. "I also heard that he has been pivotal in defending the clan."

"Would you like to meet him, Mr. Ark?"

"It's not a high priority. I am merely curious about meeting a fellow expert pilot. I can't help but feel intrigued to talk to a male Hexer expert pilot."

"Brutus would love to exchange with you, I think. The class disparities matter less to expert pilots, and my brother is already used to interacting with lots of third-class mech pilots. He's not here right now but I'll send him a message to arrange a meeting with you. It would be good for him to share his thoughts to a peer."

Though Gloriana made it sound as if Brutus had a choice, Ves knew that the Wodin expert pilot would do whatever her sister said. Hexer boys were simply trained that way by their female overlords!

The discussion shifted to other casual and innocent topics for a time. Both Ark, Benjamin and even Ves began to learn more about Gloriana.

For example, they heard how Gloriana received a very strict and demanding upbringing in the Hegemony. Despite the high expectations put on her shoulders, she expressed an immense affection towards her mother.

They also learned that Gloriana had an option to become the direct disciple of Master Mech Designer when she studied at Kelma University!

"I respectfully refused the offer." She stated as she elegantly sipped a cup of tea. "While it is a great honor to receive the care and guidance of a respected Master in our industry, I already chose my future direction. Back then, I was confident that I could design the mechs of my dreams with my own abilities! I'm still confident these days. In fact, I'm even more hopeful that I can achieve my goal with Ves by my side!"

The passion she exuded when she talked about her profession was quite intense. Both Ark and Benjamin Larkinson became more impressed by Gloriana. Their unease about her Hexer background gradually eased. They no longer worried as much about Ves being led astray by a woman with a very different view on how men should be treated!

Ves wondered if Gloriana had always been this charming or if she picked up some tricks from him. She clearly went all out to leave the best possible impression behind in their minds!

Eventually, the conversation shifted in a direction where Ark and Benjamin slowly began to hint they wanted to talk to Ves alone.

Gloriana tactfully excused herself. She picked up her cat and left for the restroom in order to freshen up and whatnot.

Once she walked away, both of the older Larkinsons looked at Ves with a mixture of concern and suspicion.

"If your current circumstances are not as ideal as it sounds, please give us a hint." Ark whispered while putting his hand in front of his mouth.

"That's not the case!" Ves softly protested. "There is no coercion or anything like that going on! I genuinely love Gloriana and she loves me back just as much!"

They believed him. "That's good to hear, Ves. We were concerned that the truth was different. After all, just look at how many Hexers are surrounding you. Not only do you have a Hexer as a girlfriend, but you also have a disconcerting amount of Hexer troops surrounding you on all sides!"

"The Glory Battalion are mostly there to protect Gloriana while the Penitent Sisters are hardly aligned with the Hegemony. The latter are basically exiles on punishment duty."

"Sounds like an interesting story."

"I'll tell you about them later. My point is that I'm still an independent man who can make my own decision. I haven't defected to their side, if that is what you are afraid of. I think the best way to describe my relations with the Hexers is that we've become allies. While we share some common interests, I can still make my own choices. Otherwise I wouldn't be so eager to leave this star sector."

Benjamin looked incredibly relieved. "I'm glad to hear that, grandson. While I never had someone like Gloriana in mind when I told you to find a girlfriend, I'm glad to see you have found a woman to your liking. Love is one of the most valuable pleasures in life. Cherish your relationship. The experiences you share with her will only happen once. When you reach my age, you'll realize that your upcoming years will be the happiest moments of your life!"

"I will." Ves softly replied. "I'm committed to Gloriana, and she is to me. While there are several kinks in our relationship, I'm sure we can work them out over time."

"As long as you are happy, Ves. As long as you are happy."

In this moment of reunion, the differences between the Larkinson Family and Larkinson Clan had blurred. Ves and Benjamin were just grandson and grandfather to each other.

This was what family was all about!