The Mech Touch

As Ves asked various questions about the circumstances surrounding the Deep Strike Plan, he felt that the Xenotechnician was being unusually candid in his answers.

While the Star Designer clearly dumbed down his responses and elegantly sidestepped any classified information that Ves was not authorized to know, the old man generally went out of his way to provide a lot of advance warnings about future developments!

There were several reasons why such a top leader paid so much attention to a mere second-class Senior Mech Designer, even though he had already been promoted to a tier 3 galactic citizen at a remarkably young age.

"The reality of the Age of Dawn has not fully settled in for everyone." The Xenotechnician spoke in a serious tone. "Humans as a whole do not react well to change. Far too many of us cling to the old and the familiar even when it has become obvious that the old routines have become detrimental to them. I have immense experience with adapting to unknown and unfamiliar tech and paradigms, so 1 understand this contrast well. It is up to us to show red humanity the way forward. We must lead by example if we are to whip people up into shape."

That caused Ves to feel uncomfortable. The mechers were expecting way too much from him! Although he had made a lot of impressive accomplishments, he was sober enough to realize he was still far behind the likes of the Xenotechnician in his ability to affect the course of the war.

Sure, his companion spirits, transcendence glow, Carmine System, kinship networks and so on could all revolutionize the way that red humanity fought the upcoming war, but he had exhausted his box of solutions at this point.

It would take a long time for Ves to develop new innovations that could make a major impact on society. If it took too much time for him to release new applications, then his value to the Red Association would drop until he became a dispensable figure again.

Ves knew exactly how the mechers treated people that held little significant value.

"I will try my best, but my means are still limited."

"That shall not be the case for long." The Xenotechnician spoke with a smile. "It may not be obvious to everyone, but you have inherited the gift of the Polymath. Upon the moment of her loss, she chose you of all people to bear her burden. This says much about her graciousness. You are one of the chief parties responsible for derailing the passing of the Unity Plan, after all. Then again, the two of you have much in common."

Ves suddenly felt a lot more nervous now. Even though he could already deduce that the mechers did not harbor any malicious intent towards him, the fact that he had revealed a lot of sensitive secrets about himself could not be denied!

There was no way the Xenotechnician was blind to all of the clues. To think that the man was still blind and ignorant to the deeper truths was an insult to his vast intelligence and experience.

Perhaps one of the main reasons why Ves was able to meet directly with the Star Designer once again was to address this extremely sensitive subject!

"Your Excellency..."

"Stop." The Xenotechnician raised his palm. "There is no need for you to present any excuses. Let me state our Association's position on your case. We do not care. The past is the past. Many of us have already begun to dredge up the forbidden archives that contain knowledge that we previously considered taboo but is now vital to our survival. The new reality dictates that we must let go of old grievances and fears so that we can focus on what is truly important. If that means treating those we previously considered our enemies to be our allies, then that is the least we can do. It is a shame that the Fist of Defiance has denied my proposal to conduct diplomacy with the native aliens."

That... sounded extraordinarily tolerant. Ves could hardly believe that the Association sounded as if it was seemingly okay that he held on to an extremely valuable but also dangerous crown!

It also sounded as if the Xenotechnician already figured out that Ves held a fragment of the Metal Scroll, but that the Association had no interest in pursuing this any further.

Ves could not let this be. He wanted to gain a firmer answer, if only to reassure himself that the mechers wouldn't come back later in order to find fault.

"Will I have to..."

"We only pay attention to results." The Star Designer interrupted Ves again. "We are not interested in how you solve your problems so long as you continue to make contributions that are commensurate with your ability. Throughout your relatively short career, you have shown the sincerity and dedication to the common good that mech designers should have. We trust that you will continue to serve red humanity in the same capacity. If you have proven yourself to be more capable of harnessing the Polymath's legacy, then that is a benefit to us all. If there ever comes a point where you have regrettably succumbed to the same mania that has afflicted your predecessor, then we shall take action. We are much better prepared now that we are much better informed."

This was a clear and obvious message that the Red Association tolerated him so long as he behaved.

The deeper message was that the Red Association did not consider the remnants of the Five Scrolls Compact to be a threat.

On the contrary. The mechers expected much out of the people who have mastered the inheritance of this controversial organization! No one was more suited to help red humanity adapt to an environment that was saturated with the power of heaven than the cultivators who were proficient in manipulating this potent energy!

The decisions made by the mechers made little sense unless they were truly spooked by what they had learned from their observations of Messier 87.

The native alien races of that huge golden galaxy were apparently so frighteningly powerful that the mechers were even willing to cooperate with Compact cultists in order to increase their odds of winning?

Ves felt incredibly frustrated by his lack of access to this crucial knowledge. The clues relating to Messier 87 shaped so many policies and decisions that it was clear that there were ample reasons to be concerned.

He even had the feeling that the mechers were treating the conflict against the local aliens of the Red Ocean as a training program for the real war that was about to break out in an indeterminate point in the future!

Ves had many questions, but his session with the Xenotechnician had finally come to an end.

"My people will remain in touch with you if I require your input for more private matters." The patient and helpful Star Designer spoke at the end. "Master Xena Wintress holds my trust. You can contact her if you have an important request or wish to pass on critical information to me. Professor Jovy Armalon will be responsible for handling more general affairs. As an honorary member of our Association, it is time for you to become more involved in the running of our civilization. That does not mean you will immediately be invested with great authority. Given your youth and lack of relevant qualifications, we plan to ease you into a position of greater responsibility."

That sounded serious. Though Ves did not want to add too many distractions to his life, he felt it was important for the Red Association to keep him in the loop. He no longer wanted to remain ignorant of all of the major changes that the leaders of red humanity had in store!

"lam honored by your trust. I will do my best to undertake these responsibilities seriously, though I hope you will understand that my research and design work takes precedence for the time being."

"Spoken like a true mech designer." The old man grinned in approval. "Now go. The Mace of Retaliation wishes to have a word with you as well. You can go back to your design lab once you have concluded your final meeting."

There was no wait or delay this time. The Khamatar Reign's teleportation system directly lifted him from the Xenotechnician's temporary office and deposited him in a secure mech testing chamber!

As Ves shook off the increasingly familiar sense of discomfort, he immediately noticed a few familiar sights.

He had been reunited with his work once again!

The Carmine Trooper, the Carmine Conscript and the Carmine Raider had just concluded another testing session.

Their pilots had just exited the cockpits and reported their personal impressions to the avid mech designers and researchers that had been assigned to this exciting new research project.

Only a few days had passed since Ves delivered the three Carmine mechs, and already the mechers had went to town on his hastily designed products.

The Carmine Trooper was almost unrecognizable. Ves originally designed it as a hero mech, but pretty much nothing on the surface looked familiar to him anymore!

If not for the fact that he could clearly sense the growing Blood Pact between the Carmine Trooper and Pilot Tina Ekland, he would have thought this was just another first-class multipurpose mech!

"Damn you guys work fast."

Given the huge concentration of incredibly powerful and competent mech designers aboard this ship, it shouldn't be surprising that the mechers had already upgraded the Carmine Trooper in no time.

The much smaller Carmine Raider received comparable treatment. The messy and sloppy demimech that he designed in record time had also been brought up to first-class standard, but the changes were less extreme.

Ves knew that the mechers had to work around the limitations of the Carmine System. They could have gone a lot further if not for the fact that the Carmine Raider's organic components largely had to remain the same.

Pilot Krio Delamar looked a lot happier. He was practically glowing as he enjoyed the fact that he could now pilot a demimech that could seriously threaten a typical first-class multipurpose mech!

His joy and satisfaction clearly did a lot of good for his relationship with his Carmine Raider. Their Blood Pact had grown remarkably stronger, and not just because of his A-grade genetic aptitude!

The Carmine Conscript presented the biggest surprise to Ves. The mech had undergone the least amount of modifications. Though its armor system and structure had received massive upgrades, the knight mech still lacked additional weapon systems and other modules.

The mechers understood the need to keep its operational load as low as possible. The more complex the Carmine mech, the more it demanded out of the Blood Pact!

What truly surprised Ves was that the mechers had somehow figured out how to successfully pair it with a test subject who wasn't a mech pilot.

Ves still lamented the wasteful and unnecessary demise of Lieutenant Leon Di Maggio.

He thought that the Carmine Conscript couldn't be used anymore, but somehow the RA's biotech researchers either adapted the Carmine System or prepared a special test subject that could safely exchange blood with the killer machine.

"Professor Larkinson." A strong and buoyant voice called out from the distance.

The Mace of Retaliation had changed into a cleaner and less ostentatious uniform, but his presence and domain could not be denied.

"Sir." Ves curtly greeted.

Perhaps the etiquette of greeting a superior mecher and galactic citizen was supposed to be a lot more formal and elaborate, but neither of the two cared about these trivialities.

Once the peak ace pilot reached Ves' side, he gazed across the chamber and quickly admired the three Carmine mechs.

"Every mech represents a new beginning." The Mace spoke as he recalled his own past. "Once a pilot begins to interface with a machine, their futures will change forever. They will all go on a journey that may lead them to greatness, or straight into the abyss."

"I hope my work can help more of them survive."

"We hope so as well, professor."