The Mech Touch

Klaus and Polina actually arrived 40 minutes early. No one wanted to arrive too late and make a bad impression in front of so many important professors and school officials.

When Klaus briefly turned his head around and looked up, he could see a growing gathering of mech designers and other distinguished teachers sitting at the most elevated seats at the back.

They did not attend in order to upstage or replace the new professor today, so there was no need for them to make themselves more visible at the front.

Not everyone hired to teach at the Eden Institute decided to attend, though.

There were plenty of academics that thought that there was no added value to hearing out what a second-rater had to say. The tech they utilized and the knowledge they mastered diverged so much that they practically existed in two different societies. They might not look down on this young and talented Senior Mech Designer, but that did not mean they could accept the notion that he was their peer.

Klaus inwardly shook his head at this phenomenon. He felt an odd connection to this mysterious Professor Larkinson. The treatment they received from many Terrans was far too similar for his liking.

"Look over there, Klaus." Polina's elbow bumped at his side. "It turns out that Gabriel Sekkar enrolled for this course as well. I did not expect this monster to agree to attend a remote class taught by second-rate professor."

Gabriel attracted more than a few glances. Even though he was only a second year student, he had already become a minor celebrity at the Eden Institute!

If Polina Devonshire could be regarded as a clever scholarship student, Gabriel Sekkar was an all-out savant!

As the designated heir of the Sekkar Clan, Gabriel received an extravagant suite of augmentations that did not fall behind the suites granted to the scions of the ancient clans.

Though it was a bit surprising that Gabriel did not attend one of the more prestigious universities in the Red Ocean, he firmly established himself as a leader in his year due to two strong reasons.

First, he almost always earned excellent grades in every course.

Second, he pursued a double degree in both business and mech design!

His study load was even greater than that of Polina, and he had to become proficient in many more disciplines than the other students.

The fact that he could not only keep up with all of his courses, but stand out among his classmates was a testament to his upbringing and potential!

"I am glad I am not in the same year as him." Polina frankly said as she watched the slightly younger double degree student take his seat among his own acquaintances. "It will be difficult to live with the fact of getting upstaged by a student who is enrolled in at least twice as many courses."

As the minutes passed by, the auditorium increasingly filled up. Most people did not know what to expect from this lecture, but that did not stop them from talking and speculating.

Soon, the noise levels automatically started to dim. The hyped lecture was apparently about to begin if the invisible sound suppressors had come online.

The lights started to dim as well. The only location that remained slightly better lit was the 250 seats that were occupied by the students who enrolled in the Frontier Wisdom course.

Before the professor made his appearance in front of much of the student body of the Eden Institute, a smartly dressed young woman floated up to the central podium.

"Good morning, everybody." The woman spoke in a confident but measured cadence. "Whether you are Terrans or guests from afar, we welcome you to this inaugural class of a course that has never been taught before in any institution. Before we begin, I would like to request your patience and understanding for any unexpected difficulties or complications that might arise over the course of Professor Larkinson's upcoming lecture. He has found himself in the middle of an ongoing battle against one of the many alien fleets that have been raiding the outer colonies of the human race."

The announcement provoked a reaction from the crowd. Everyone already heard rumors about it at least, but Klaus and many other students thought that they were just exaggerations meant to hype up this event.

Even though this odd professor had a reputation for living a little too close to the edge, Klaus found it hard to believe that the Eden Institute would actually try to engineer a situation that put one of their professors at mortal risk while performing his teaching obligations!

The entire situation sounded so crazy and illegal that Klaus had automatically dismissed the stories.

The young woman who turned out to be a teaching assistant continued to address the massive audience without showing any sign of concern or nervousness.

"As this course is not as rigid and reliant on textbook learning as others, interaction is essential. Professor Larkinson is not opposed to answering your doubts so long as they are relevant to your studies and do not reach too deeply into confidential or proprietary subject matters. Each student enrolled in this course is permitted to ask questions so long as they do so at the appropriate occasions. In order to keep this lecture organized, we will not extend this opportunity to the remaining guests in this hall. If you truly wish for the professor to answer your inquiries, you can transmit them to his school account, where I will curate them and pass them along if I deem them worthy enough."

As the teaching assistant continued to announce a few more rules, she soon retreated out of sight, leaving the stage empty.

Klaus looked a little thoughtful at this time. Though the young woman spoke like a civilian and possessed the look and bearing of one, he couldn't help but get the feeling that she was more than what was obvious on the surface.

Most of his other classmates did not look like they shared the same suspicions. Even if they did, they knew better than to express their true feelings.

"What are you thinking about?" Polina whispered.

"It is nothing." The young man shook his head. "I hope our professor won't suffer an accident in the middle of his lecture. I am counting on him to earn a decent amount of course credits to pass this semester."

After a short delay, the auditorium finally established a remote connection to a distant starship located in a completely different star system and zone.

Unlike the stereotypical lecture halls or practical workshop environments that remote professors often used as their backdrop, the new professor decided to hold his class in a completely different environment!

The projected area consisted of a large section of a starship bridge. Dozens of men and women wearing uniform red hazard suits were working hard to keep track of a lot of important developments as they sat behind their consoles and work stations.

Overlooking all of them was an imposing armored figure seated on an elevated throne.

There was no doubt that this central figure was in charge of everything. The man possessed the undeniable demeanor of a leader and not a gentle one either. The way he absorbed the information around him and issued short but effective instructions showed that he was not only confident in his judgment, but knew how to maintain control over his subordinates.

This was the man that was supposed to hold a remote lecture in front of a massive audience!

How could he possibly be a serious teacher? Klaus did not doubt Professor Larkinson's identity as a Senior Mech Designer, but this was not the time for him to push his boundaries as a pioneer.

"He looks like a warlord rather than a mech designer." He couldn't help but comment.

Polina smiled. "If you find yourself in the middle of an ongoing battle like him, you would probably want to clad yourself in the best armor that you can obtain."

One of the reasons why the mech design students became so mesmerized by the sight of the professor was his equipment.

While the bridge of this unknown capital ship did not look all that impressive by Terran standards, anyone who worked with tech could easily tell that the man's armor was anything but ordinary!

Klaus couldn't recognize the materials at all, but he could tell that the suit of combat armor had been crafted to an exquisite standard!

Not only that, it also possessed other qualities that he couldn't identify but somehow made it a lot more exceptional.

It not only looked strong and sturdy enough to protect its wearer without faltering, but also possessed a lot of personal charm that anyone with fabrication and craftsmanship skills could appreciate.

This piece of equipment alone was enough to prove that Professor Larkinson had the qualifications to teach Advanced Mech Fabrication!

As Klaus and many other students took in the atypical sight, an ongoing battle continued to progress on the other side.

"Hull breach at section D12-34! The yurzen destroyers are doing their best to compound the damage."

"How long does it take to reactivate the nearest transphasic shield generator?!"

"The engineers report that it will take at least 35 seconds, sir!"

"Bunker A91 has been breached! The Transcendent Punisher housed within has sustained serious damage and lost over half of its cannons. Its pilot is still able to fight and has expressed the determination to continue fighting with his damaged mech."

"The Promethea is being targeted by Stingray 2 again! The transphasic energy shield that is covering her is experiencing greater strain."

"Request Saintess Ulrika to bring her Macharia Excelsia to cover for the Promethea. The latter cannot remain under heavy suppression!"

For a moment, Klaus and many other students questioned whether the school had made a mistake. Did they connect to the wrong teacher by mistake? Had they inadvertently projected a military officer who was supposed to pass on his wisdom to a class of mech cadets?

The Eden Institute would never make such a stupid mistake. The face of the leading figure in red truly matched the image of Professor Ves Larkinson.

None of the Terrans expected their professor to be anything like this. Those who doubted the teaching qualifications of this second-rater did not exactly set aside their well-reasoned concerns, but right now their minds had all short-circuited due to being greeted to an actual battlefield environment.

Even though everyone in the auditorium still remained completely safe in the middle of the New Constantiple System, all of the students as well as many professors were able to experience the pressure and the constant threat of death faced by the people on the other side of the remote connection!

The man seated on the elevated command throne finally took a break from directing his subordinates to address his new 'audience'.

"Hello, Terrans." The man's unhelmeted face smiled in 'their' direction. "This remote class is turning out to be a little rougher than I anticipated. The alien warships that we have provoked into pursuing my factory ship hate us so much that they are doing the utmost to take down my ship. Don't worry. I am still capable of performing my obligations to you. These aliens won't take down my mechs and ship that easily."

Nobody knew whether to take this young professor at his word at the moment.

"Anyway, let's get on to business, shall we? Let me begin this lecture by asking you all a question. Now that red humanity is cut off from human civilization back in the Milky Way, we are heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the native aliens that hate our guts. It is clear that we are in for hard times. The aliens who are assaulting our border territories at the moment are just a prelude of what is to come. My first question to you is as follows: how do we get out of this mess?"

That... was a difficult one to answer.