The Mech Touch

At least Commander Taon Melin still had hope of advancing to expert pilot.

By becoming a demigod, Taon eventually had hope of becoming a god pilot. No matter how improbable it was for him to reach the end of this extraordinary journey, his opportunities were still greater than that of Melkor!

Melkor did not harbor much envy or jealousy towards his fellow legion commander. Not everyone was as talented or fortunate as Commander Casella Ingvar, who was able to combine leadership with her own individual progression.

Not every Larkinson needed to become a high-ranking mech pilot in order to feel validation. There were plenty of other ways for people like Melkor to make himself useful to the clan. His role was just as indispensable as that of the mech pilots that sacrificed portions of their humanity in order to attain their version of godhood.

Even so, there was still a selfish part within his mind that felt it was regretful that he would never be able to fulfill his childhood dreams.

While Melkor tried his best to set aside his fanciful notions, a certain shuttle had just entered one of the hangar bays of the Hemmington Cross.

Ves, Gloriana and a small honor guard emerged from the vehicle and met a couple of attendants from the Cross Clan.

"Master Benedict is awaiting your arrival at his workshop. Please proceed further into our ship."

The Larkinson visitors followed the attendants along a familiar route. Both Ves and Gloriana already knew the way to the workshop, but they exhibited no impatience despite the fact that they were incredibly eager to see what the Cross Clan had to offer this time.

The couple finally passed through a security check and entered a rather messy workshop.

The Mars was currently absent because the troops on the surface of Pima Prime V could use its incredible firepower to breach enemy titan shields and strongholds faster.

Even though it was not that good for the damaged ace mech to strain itself further without receiving extensive repairs, the Crossers thought it was acceptable to make light use of its firepower during a time where its powerful guns were needed the most.

As long as the Fridayman didn't have a chance to launch an attack on the invading forces, it didn't matter if the Mars wore out a bit further.

For the time being, the workshop was dominated by several wrecks. Ves recognized numerous high-value wrecks. The Crossers had taken out their fair share of enemy expert mechs during the previous battle.

According to the rules that the Hexers and the Golden Skullers agreed upon, whoever finished off an enemy had the right to claim the resulting salvage.

Though the Larkinson Clan was able to defeat a considerably higher number of enemy expert mechs and claim a portion of the wreckage, the Cross Clan definitely obtained the most valuable remains without a doubt!

This was because Patriarch Reginald not only managed to defeat the Neo Amadeus, but also bring it back in its entirety!

"So this is the Neo Amadeus." Gloriana whispered with awe in her tone. "It is not as imposing as the Mars, but that does not detract from its excellent design. I can still sense the determination to fight from its broken frame."

Ves was able to sense much more than that. His sensitivity towards living mechs was much higher.

One of the reasons why he looked forward to this visit was because this was the first time that he would be able to study a genuine third-party ace mech up close.

One of the biggest questions he had in his mind was whether ace mechs developed by other mech designers had the capacity to become alive.

The willpower of an ace pilot was incredible. Their ability to baptize their own machines and elevate their performance was remarkable. Ves hypothesized that it was definitely possible for ace pilots such as Saint Jeremiah Gauge to be able to impart life into their own machines!

Even if they did not set out to foster an independent personality within their own ace mechs, their unconscious desires might lead them to do so anyway.

As Ves opened up his spiritual senses and examined the inactive but still reasonably whole ace mech, he sensed numerous familiar elements.

"It's alive." He voiced his first impression. "If only barely."

Compared to the full and rounded living mechs of his own making, the Neo Amadeus was incomparably worse!

Gloriana glanced curiously at her husband. "How would you describe the difference?"

"It's difficult to explain. The best way that I can put it is that my living mechs can breed life that is comparable to humans like you and I. They were set up to grow that way from the beginning because I have always structured their spiritual foundations in the right ways. Whoever designed the Neo Amadeus never put any thought into that, so this ace mech gradually formed its own form of life due to the feelings that Saint Jeremiah developed for his latest machine. It's a shame that he only had it for a few years. I would have loved to examine its state after it has been used for a couple of decades."

"You still haven't clarified the differences, Ves."

"Oh. Sorry. It's like comparing a human to a sparrow. The former is a lot smarter and can think deeply on everything. The latter is… not as smart, but can still do stuff that humans can't do such as taking flight. Do you understand my meaning?"

His wife slowly nodded. "I understand the analogy. Humans are superior organisms in any way because of our sentience and our ability for complex thinking, but a small bird can also be decent as long as it sticks to its job and no further."

"The Neo Amadeus is like that, but instead of functioning like a sparrow, it is specialized in functioning like a multi-armed swordsman mech. Even so, the absence of any deliberate design elements has caused it to become a limited and stunted living mech. It isn't able to grow naturally like my own mechs and relies entirely on an ace pilot's strong willpower to force it to mature."

It was a completely alternate path to creating living mechs that resulted in considerably worse outcomes than with his own living mechs.

"What order of living mech does the Neo Amadeus fit into?" Gloriana asked.

"The Neo Amadeus is such a strange and limited living mech that it doesn't really fit in my existing theoretical framework." Ves answered with a frown. "I guess it is comparable to a first order living mech in strength and capabilities, but even then I am reluctant to label it as such. I will probably have to go back and expand my theory by creating alternate categories to describe mechs like these."

If Ves was willing to be less kind in his phrasing, then he would have classified the Neo Amadeus as a stunted living mech.

If the living mechs of his own making were comparable to ordinary humans, then the Neo Amadeus was more like an uneducated dwarven mining slave from a dirty planet like Desala X in the past!

Now that Ves satisfied his curiosity, he no longer spent any time on this topic. There were plenty of other areas of interest that attracted his attention.

Master Benedict had already noticed the arrival of his guests. He stopped his examinations and flew towards the two Larkinson mech designers.

"Ves. Gloriana. You've arrived."

"Good day.."

"I'm sure you are eager to secure your share of the loot, isn't that right, Ves?"

"You know me too well, Benedict."

"Well, let us not delay any further. I have taken the liberty to put the cockpit of the Neo Amadeus under stasis to preserve whatever is inside."

"Your workshop is equipped with a stasis device?"

Master Benedict smiled. "Stasis technology can provide a great amount of convenience in specific situations. Let me bring you closer so that you can take a look."

While Ves looked incredibly eager to examine the ejected cockpit that Patriarch Reginald had brought back, his wife was less than enthused by the prospect.

She only had to entertain a single thought about the gruesome mess that she might encounter to quell her desire to take a look in person.

"Can I stay here and examine the frame of the Neo Amadeus by myself?" She politely asked. "No offense, but whatever the two of you have in mind is not related to my work and specialty."

Master Benedict nodded. "Please feel free to use the scanning facilities of my workshop."

While Gloriana remained behind in order to take a closer look at the main body of the Neo Amadeus, the other two mech designers moved to the other side of the workshop where the cockpit rested inside a protected enclosure.

"Can you sense him?" The Master Mech Designer curiously asked.

"I could already feel him before I entered this workshop. His willpower is a lot weaker than that of Patriarch Reginald, but it is remarkable how much strength and coherence he is able to retain under these circumstances. Are you sure he is dead?"

"You can take a look at his condition to see for yourself."

Ves did so. His armored form slowly approached the cockpit that was put under stasis.

Since the Mars previously ran the entire cockpit through with its large and broad Whale-Cutting Saber, the cockpit gained two large holes through its sides.

Ves was easily able to peer through one of these holes. He could still see a bloody and broken mess of a body.

The entire lower body of the ace pilot was simply gone due to getting struck by the massive mech saber of the Mars.

The upper body along with one of the arms were still recognizable, but none of them endured the massive trauma without serious signs of damage.

Exposure to space along with other damaging influences had seriously deteriorated the body that was only partially protected by the remains of Jeremiah's high-end piloting suit.

Fortunately for both Ves and Master Benedict, the head of the ace pilot was still reasonably intact. Patriarch Reginald had indeed shown a good amount of care when he attacked the cockpit during the last battle.

"So what do you think now that you have glimpsed his body for yourself, Ves?"

"Saint Jeremiah… isn't entirely dead." Ves slowly said. "He may have suffered a physiological death, but his extraordinary willpower hasn't weakened to the same degree. I have always considered ace pilots and other comparable lives as different kinds of energy-based life forms. I think that Jeremiah's ability to maintain the cohesion of his spirit under such extreme circumstances lends a lot of credibility to my theory."

Master Benedict didn't look too surprised. "I can understand why you would draw that conclusion. This is your field of expertise more than anything else, but from what I know about ace pilots, they become increasingly more inhuman the more they develop."

Ves was relieved that there was still plenty for him to salvage from the cockpit of the Neo Amadeus. The stasis effect helped a lot in this regard.

He lifted up a P-stone that he had reserved for this occasion. "I would like to secure my loot. Can I proceed with my retrieval process?"

"You can go ahead, Ves. Do you need me to deactivate the stasis effect?"

"That shouldn't be necessary. It will only hasten Jeremiah's deterioration, I think."

Ves carefully reached out to the weakened spirituality of Saint Jeremiah, only to get to smacked by the ace pilot's powerful remnant will!

"Ouch!"

The hostility from the Gauger ace pilot was as clear as day. There was no way that Jeremiah or whatever was left of him wanted to cooperate with the people responsible for his demise!

"This… is going to be a challenge." Ves furrowed his brows.

How could he coax the spirit of an unwilling ace pilot out of the man's own head?