The Mech Touch



The match between Team Larkinson and Team Hendrix remained surprisingly even after a brief first round of exchanges!

So far, none of the mechs from either side had been downed, though the conditions of a few of them had deteriorated.

Each of the four mechs possessed a lot of mobility, which caused all of them to dance around each other while remaining mindful of the positioning and facing of the other mechs.

It looked as if the mech arena had turned into an intricate dance hall. There was a strange form of coordination between the maneuvers of the opposing mechs.

Rules such as never exposing the rear sides of every mech to an enemy ranged mech forced the mech pilots to make strange movements that did not make sense at first.

It was fortunate that all of the mech pilots who controlled the competition mechs on behalf of the individual teams were professional soldiers. They might not have received too much specialization on mech duels, but they were more than skilled and aware enough to minimize the chances that any of their adversaries could strike at their vulnerable rears.

The only problem was that every mech was vulnerable from attacks targeting their frontal sides as well, but this could be partially mitigated by putting shields or more simply the arms of the mechs in the way.

As the mechs continued to strike each other with all of the attacks they had at their disposal, it quickly became clear that none of them could be struck down so easily!

This did not surprise too many spectators. Team Larkinson may be the favorite to win the tournament but Team Hendrix also had a strong Journeyman Mech Designer!

[Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! I just love it when four well-designed mechs make a good showing of their capabilities! The soldiers loaned to us from the Federal Military of Davute are doing a fantastic job at drawing out their potential.]

[The Twin Souls designed and built by Ves Larkinson and Juliet Stameros demonstrate enough attack power to make life difficult for many of the mechs designed for this tournament, but the combination between the Double Up and the Triple Spray have turned out to be resilient enough to withstand the fire. Can the mechs designed by the talented young travelers defeat the efforts of the most prominent Journeyman in Davute?]

[Beatrice Hendrix's journey in this tournament may end sooner than she would have liked, but that is a part of the game that we call tournaments. Nothing is ever fair and luck is also a part of one's strength. Nonetheless, I am certain that many of our esteemed viewers have taken notice of her competence. I would not be surprised if dozens of mech companies and government institutions have already taken the steps to invite her to join them. She is still a fairly young mech designer, but her potential is great.]

[I agree. It is impressive to see what she has managed to develop in a span of just two days. Her Double Up is not a simple knight mech like the others designed for this tournament. It started out as a mech within a mech and possesses plenty of combat power in either of its forms.]

[Where did she learn how to design all of this? Her design skills and design speed exceed that of many of her other peers. There are 100-year old Journeymen in this tournament that haven't been able to design a mech that is half as good as her Double Up!]

[I wouldn't expect any less from a direct disciple of an established Master Mech Designer. Beatrice Hendrix is a talent who exposed her excellence early on. Master Relice Yovarn took a liking for Beatrice's genius and personally instructed her for over a decade. Miss Hendrix has also worked for Master Yovarn's mech company for numerous years before she has decided to go independent. Just as with many other younger mech designers these days, Beatrice Hendrix decided to emigrate to the Red Ocean by herself. Her Master on the other hand has opted to remain in the old galaxy as that is where her power base is rooted.]

[The new frontier offers countless opportunities for young and enterprising Journeymen. The mech markets here are in flux and there are many mech companies that are seeking to expand their operations. It is admittedly difficult to start an independent commercial enterprise due to the stiff and heavy competition in a busy market as the Davute System, but there are many gaps in the other star system in our newly founded colonial state. Many provinces and more isolated star systems offer valuable subsidies and government support to encourage the establishment of local mech companies that can eventually grow to support a planetary economy. I would recommend all capable mech designers to consider these offers as the outlying colonies will not offer these benefit packages forever. Snap them up while they last!]

As the mechs from both sides continued to dance and tangle with each other, Ves had taken the bold step of approaching Team Hendrix directly.

He could have waited for the match to end and follow a clever strategy in which he explored Beatrice Hendrix's circumstances before giving her a tailored offer, but that was far too slow and circumspect for his tastes.

Ves was a bigshot these days. He should make use of his higher status if that played in his favor.

He could commit actions that were unacceptable to other people.

He already tested that when he commanded his clansmen to violate the laws and instructions of the government.

Since that was the case, Ves bet that he could also break the unwritten rules and the established conventions of the mech industry.

Besides, it helped a lot that this wasn't the first time he invited other Journeyman Mech Designers to become his subordinates.

It was not common for Journeymen to command other Journeymen, but Ves could get away with it as long as the status gap was great enough.

The only potential issue this time was that Beatrice Hendrix clearly did not possess the demeanor of an average Journeyman.

She was not only the direct disciple of a Master Mech Designer, but clearly possessed a lot of confidence in herself.

Beatrice did not run off to the Red Ocean in haste but made a careful decision to find more development space in the new frontier.

Davute was probably not that important to her. While the port system may be a potential destination for her, there were still plenty of other human-occupied star systems where she could ply her trade.

If Beatrice planned to leave the Krakatoa Middle Zone and continue her journey to another zone, then this may be the only window of opportunity for Ves to approach her in person!

Ves always found it easier to convince difficult people to cooperate when he could talk to them in person.

He hoped that his charm would clinch him another deal once again.

"Larkinson." Beatrice Hendrix spoke up first as she noticed his approach. "Have you come to invite me to join your clan?"

Ves did not expect her to be so direct about this topic. Her strong opening threw him off-guard, but he quickly rolled with it as there was no harm in exposing his true intentions.

"Yes. I assume you have heard of our clan before. We are not like the other pioneering organizations in the Red Ocean. Our Larkinson Clan is young but unfettered. We have grown faster and adapted a lot more effectively to the new frontier than other organizations. Due to our high growth, we have a constant need for talented mech designers to join our team and fulfill our growing demand for excellent mechs. Would you be interested in becoming a part of our family?"

Beatrice Hendrix continued to maintain her stony demeanor. She calmly listened to Ves' opening pitch but shook her head as soon as he finished.

"You have done well yourself, and your clan is an example to every pioneering organization in the Red Ocean. That said, I have studied you Larkinsons before and concluded that I would not be a good fit in your company."

Ves frowned a bit. "How so, Miss Hendrix?"

"For one, all of the stories I have heard and documentation that I have read about your clan emphasizes that becoming a Larkinson is permanent. That is not acceptable. I do not want to devote myself to your clan for the rest of my career. I would like to reserve the right to quit my job and either start my own mech company or join another one. Are you prepared to accommodate this demand?"

Ves could have weasled around the truth, but the permanence of joining the Larkinson Clan was one of the most important reasons why every clansmen became so intimate and trusting with each other. The clan would lose an important pillar if he made membership more transient.

"Our clan is meant to be a tight-knit community where everyone treats each other as family." He responded. "So no, I cannot make an exception to this rule."

"Then I do not see what else we can talk about. Your clan falls outside of the list of organizations that I would be happy to join." Beatrice said as she crossed her arms.

That was a clear answer to Ves. While he could probably come up with other arguments that might cause Beatrice to take a second look at his clan, he could not really do anything about the requirement that everyone joining the clan would be a permanent member of it. He had too many secrets to allow his clansmen to run around free and without any supervision.

Still, he did not give up yet. He still had a number of cards to play that might convince Beatrice to overlook a few problems.

"What if I tell you that our clan is on track to being promoted to a first-class organization?"

The female mech designer raised her eyebrow at Ves. "I have heard that before. Many mech designers and companies have tried to impress me with this claim, but none of them have ever succeeded."

"Our chances are better than theirs." Ves retorted. "For example, it is no secret that my expeditionary fleet has managed to find and rescue a missing first-class scion from an alien battleship. The story is a bit long, but what is important is that I successfully forged a connection with the Yorul-Tavik Clan that is based in the Omter Republic."

"So you have gained a few favors. That is far from being able to become a first-rater."

"Don't underestimate those favors. My clever children are all being primed to enroll into first-class virtual schools. They have already passed the demanding tests and are currently being tutored in various first-class subjects so they can keep up with their peers. Even if I myself cannot become a first-class mech designer so soon, one of my children should definitely be able to graduate as one with my support!"

That caused Beatrice to take a more serious look at him. Ves had proven that he wasn't making empty boasts, but that he pursued a concrete strategy to uplift himself and his clan!

While Ves continued to convince Beatrice to take a serious look at his clan, the fight down below continued to escalate.

As the light harasser mech and the hybrid mech continued to exchange blows with each other, both sides knew that this dance couldn't continue forever.

Just after the Furia fired one of its last remaining shotgun shells, it abruptly pulled out the last throwing axe it carried on its bandolier and began to rush forward in preparation to throw it forward.

The Triple Spray immediately backed off and prepped its legs to make a sudden evasive sidestep.

However, just before the Furia threw its final throwing axe forward, it had abruptly pivoted its own direction towards another adversary and launched its throwing axe towards the rear of the Double Up!

The pilot of the stripped mech received an alert that prompted him to move his mech out of the way.

"Evade!"