The Mech Touch

"We did it, Ves! We created another masterwork mech!" Gloriana happily embraced and kissed Ves after they had all pulled out of their fascination.

Each of the Larkinson mech designers were ecstatic about the results of their stellar fabrication run.

They succeeded in adding another masterwork expert mech to the Larkinson Army!

Although Ves had played an important role in making this possible, he genuinely did not expect that he would be able to hit the jackpot again so soon.

He thought that he and his wife needed more accumulation since they already depleted much of it in their last expert mech design projects.

It was already exaggerated for them to succeed twice in a row. The Shield of Samar and the Everchanger were the culmination of their previous design round and they invested a lot more resources and ingenuity in their mech designs than normal.

The Minerva Project was a bit more average in comparison.

They didn't have access to Unending alloy this time, which was a fantastic material that made the prior expert mechs extra special.

They also did not receive help from an impressive MTA Master Mech Designer.

Furthermore, the Minerva Project was not a passion project to anyone. Neither Ves, Gloriana and the others considered it to be a mech that spoke to them personally.

That didn't stop Ves and her wife from putting in their full effort into the project, but that was mostly because of their professional obligations.

They were accustomed to channeling their passion into their work and the expert command mech also happened to be the flagship project of the current design round.

Therefore, Ves held fairly modest expectations towards this fabrication run. He had traveled to the Cyclical Engine's workshop with the mindset of giving it a try, not really expecting that he would win the biggest prize all of a sudden.

He still had to process this amazing turn of events. To him, it appeared that he and the others put in a lot of effort but not to the point of reaching critical mass.

His gut feeling caused him to think that they had all put in enough effort that the Minerva Project was only a short distance away from reaching the next rung of the craftsmanship ladder.

In this particular scenario, Ves could have given expert mech a final push by integrating one of Lucky's gems.

Yet somehow this additional step wasn't needed this time, and that made him confused!

How could they have made everything so well despite involving a relative newcomer with no experience with masterwork mechs?

"Practice makes perfect!" Gloriana exclaimed as she espoused her own theory of what went right. "Isn't it obvious, Ves? It's all because of our earlier successes. We learned so much about elevating the quality of our mechs due to the previous masterwork mechs we've made. Don't you see that this is a positive feedback loop that will ultimately enable us to make masterwork mechs on demand?"

"I doubt it is as simple as you say. Otherwise, human space would be filled with masterwork mechs." Ves mildly retorted.

His wife arrogantly lifted her chin. "Hmph! Says you. I am more special than you. Have you forgotten my specialization already? Being able to make Masterwork mechs on a frequent basis has always been one of my core goals! As a result, I learn a lot more how to repeat my successes than any other mech designer."

Her argument might sound more convincing if she had proof to back up her claims. It was unfortunate that she was full of herself that she did not think that providing solid proof was necessary to back up her boasts!

Though Ves could readily believe that Gloriana had done a lot to increase their odds of success, he didn't think she deserved the sole credit for what had happened today.

Ves still believed that no one dominated this fabrication session this time. He had kept track of every mech designer including Professor Benedict. Though each of them grew more confident and motivated over time, no one entered into an exceptional state of mind.

As he silently crossed out one theory after another, he ended up with an explanation that sounded a little more plausible than the other ones.

Had they unconsciously become good enough that it was no longer extremely difficult for them to reach the masterwork threshold?

Their mech affinities had risen so high and they had developed a substantial amount of experience in making prior masterwork mechs.

This continually raised the quality floor of their work!

Perhaps the difference of a single success was not that great. However, when Ves and his wife had succeeded multiple times, all of the gains they made from those fantastic attempts continued to stack up until they had attained a formidable height compared to where they started!Pa nda

Novel The simplest analogy that he could think of was stacking data pads on top of each other. A single one might not look impressive, but when dozens of them were precisely placed on top of each other, it became a lot easier for Ves to touch the ceiling of a room if he stood on the stack that he had built!

This theory implied that as long as the stack of data pads was high enough, there would come a point in the future where he could touch the ceiling without exerting any additional effort.

Their success today made Ves think that this was an accurate description of his current state. The only question was how many 'data pads' he needed to add to the pile before it became high enough. Six? Twenty? A hundred? He had no clue.

He still had a lot of time, though. In the meantime, his incremental improvements would slowly raise his base chances of success.

As Ves thought about the success rate of his subsequent mech design project, Commander Casella Ingvar had already begun to familiarize herself with the mech of her dreams.

She hovered closer to the just-completed expert mech and placed her palm on its silver-coated surface.

"Minerva… that's a good name. I'll call you Minerva, are you pleased with that?"

The simply-named Minerva apparently agreed because it responded to her in a deeper fashion.

To her, the Minerva was an expert mech that was just waiting to demonstrate its power! No expert mech was weak, but a mid-tier one like the Minerva was much more formidable in its own way.

"From now on, you and I will be partners for many years. If neither of us fall, we will do our best to keep up with each other. The enemies of the Larkinson Clan will regret fighting against our combined might."

YOUR VOICE SHALL COMMAND THE STARS.

"Don't get too carried away. It is enough to lead our fellow clansmen in battle."

Commander Casella was accustomed to dealing with higher order living mechs. Her considerable experience in dealing with the Quint played a useful role this time.

As the expert pilot and expert mech got along with each other, Patriarch Reginald Cross looked impressed at what the team of mech designers had delivered.

He expected that they had the potential to create a masterwork mech, but he felt both gratified in the expectations he placed on them but also distressed that it wasn't his Mars Project that received this treatment!

"My sister has done it again. Her excellence will not allow anything worse." Venerable Brutus smiled with pride.

"She and her fellow Larkinson Journeymen are truly far above the ones that our clan has recently employed." Patriarch Reginald Cross agreed.

The momentum of the five Crosser Journeymen were incomparable to that of the Larkinson Journeymen.

The latter were not only more competent, but also possessed real accomplishments that could earn the respect of any mech designer!

Now, the difference between the two groups had grown.

Moving resources around or clearing away the fabricated parts hardly required a lot of knowledge. Any mech technician could have taken over their roles.

As Ves kept going over the implications of what he learned today, Gloriana dragged him over to the place where his daughter and his cats were being cared for. Aurelia already lit up as she sensed the approach of her mother!

"Mama!"

Gloriana lovingly picked up the baby and entertained her for a moment. "Mama is here, now. I hope you have enjoyed your time in the company of others. I have a strict set of incentives in place."

Ves gently took their daughter from her hands. "Papa has made a mech that will make our clan grow stronger. I have a hunch I will be meeting them again in the future."

"Hihihi!"

The baby clearly didn't understand what he was saying. Aurelia just wanted to grab onto anything shiny and interesting enough in order to wait for the next move.

"Congratulations to your new masterwork expert mech, Larkinsons." Patriarch Reginald respectfully said. "Many forces in the Red Ocean cannot even dream about fielding a single masterwork mech. It is even more unlikely for them to be expert mechs. On the other hand, your clan is able to field five of them at a time! This is a disproportionately high number for a relatively small organization like yours. I am afraid that people cannot even believe that you have been able to build them up as Journeymen in the span of a couple years."

"We take more risks and put more at stake than many other mech designers." Ves modestly smiled. "We just happen to be lucky enough that our bets have paid off. It got easier at that point. Our successes will become more frequent in the future. That said, we haven't reached the point where we can guarantee the Mars Project will match the splendor of our new expert mech."

"From what I have observed, You are on the right track. I would never bother to ask if other mech designers can turn my expert mech into a masterwork. Unless they are highly-accomplished Masters, no one can give me enough assurances that they will be able to meet my exacting demands. You are different, Ves. You and your team are among the few mech designers that can actually deliver on your promises."

Ves grew awkward. Despite getting ready to collect another masterwork certificate, he was still leagues away from being able to make a masterwork mech whenever he wanted.

Properly speaking, he would have to become an extremely powerful Master Mech Designer before he could reach that point!

Even if he started off early, there was no realistic way that he could raise his chances of success at this stage in his career.

The Minerva Project was just a happy accident in his eyes. Maybe the fact that he had been making so many masterwork versions of expert mechs in particular gave him an advantage when making exceptionally powerful mechs, but the Mars Project's specifications were much higher.

The difficulty of turning a quasi-first class expert mech into a masterwork mech was incomparable!

Although Ves wanted to temper the Cross Patriarch's expectations, the astonishing success today made that difficult.

"Professor Benedict deserves a lot of credit for today's accomplishment." Ves modestly said, choosing to shove most of the burden to the Senior. "He has played a critical role in the development of the Minerva Project, and that was when he acted as an external consultant. Next time, your esteemed Senior will be directly in charge of your clan's flagship project. His work and effort will set the tone for your future expert mech."

The leader of the Cross Clan placed his large hand on Ves' shoulder. "That is a given, but if he is the body, you are the heart. Your role in the design of my new machine is indispensable. I hope you can show the same level of passion and dedication that you have displayed towards your clan's new expert command mech."

"Have no fear of that. I always treat all of my mech designs as if they are my children. Each of them are alive, after all. I already have a few interesting ideas in mind for your Mars Project."