The Mech Touch

Hundreds of Larkinsons lived on Cloudy Curtain. Many of them left the Larkinson Estate on Rittersberg in order to take part in the new and promising ventures of Ves and LMC.

Most of them were at least partially inclined towards Ves and his bold new vision for their family.

Even so, most Larkinsons disliked turning against their own family members.

The Larkinson Family had never been good at politics and infighting. They never raised their children to scheme and to turn against each other to gain an advantage.

To be honest, they abhorred such conduct. They much preferred the entire family to get along with each other. Open conflict between family was very taboo because it disrupted the camaraderie between every member of the family!

This was also why the steering committee convened behind closed doors. Not even the Larkinson Family could escape division. The best way to control it was by allowing the most influential members of the family to hash out their differences of opinions in a formal gathering.

This was a tradition formed in the early days of the formation of the Larkinson Family.

Now, Ves outright ignored this tradition and deliberately aired his conflict in full view of every available Larkinson!

None of the Larkinsons had ever encountered a situation like this! Even though disagreements between Larkinsons were common, no family member ever dared to do anything in public for fear of disrupting the harmony among their own kind!

Most Larkinsons, even the oldest veterans who had survived multiple wars, reacted to this explosive incident with horror and confusion!

”What is this kid Ghanso doing?! Family never goes after family!”

”How can little Ves be so outrageous to trample on every rule that has allowed our family to remain strong?!”

”I donʼt want to see our family getting torn apart by these two knuckleheads! Can anyone contact Ark?! He should be able to sort this crisis out!”

”Iʼve already asked my contacts, but to no avail! It seems that Ark and the 1st Havensworth Division is currently locked in a battle against a large sandman fleet! There is absolutely no way the Mech Corps will allow us to disturb his mood as he is leading his troops in battle!”

This was an extremely unfortunate coincidence. Ark Larkinson was not only a strong and respected expert pilot, but also a mech colonel who possessed a strong foundation in the Havensworth Mech Army!

It was not very rare for expert pilots to become qualified mech officers able to command a mech company or two, but very few of them became senior officers due to various reasons.

First, expert pilots were generally disinclined to meddle too much in the affairs of mortals. Most of them pursued greater strength and considered the heavy responsibilities of a senior officer to be a detriment to their growth!

Second, anyone who wanted to surpass the rank mech captain needed a certain degree of political skills or at least learned how to curry favor!

The reason why Venerable Ark Larkinson managed to climb up the ranks was because he was very charismatic!

While most expert pilots were rather difficult to get close to, Ark Larkinson maintained both a friendly and dignified demeanor, which turned him into a very good leader!

Ark Larkinson became known as an expert pilot who was impeccably upright and moral. At the same time, he was also compassionate and inspirational.

By relying on these strengths, Ark easily became a mech colonel some years ago, but stalled ever since then. It was far more complicated to become a mech general.

Even so, Arkʼs ability to become a high-ranking officer brilliantly proved his ability to work with people.

If Ark was reachable, he would definitely be able to mediate this disastrous conflict between Ves and Ghanso!

The absence or inability to contact any Larkinson who could deescalate the situation forced every Larkinson to take a stance!

At this time, everyone who watched the broadcast and heard Vesʼ appeal began to make their own decisions.

Very few Larkinsons sided with Ghanso. This was not only because the most duty-minded Larkinsons were currently in the Mech Corps and therefore difficult to reach, but also because the young expert pilot did not appear very likable.

His abrasive attitude and his insistence on following unpalatable orders did not paint him in a good light!

Many retired Larkinson mech pilots ordinarily held much respect for the Mech Corps they served for many years. Yet they were not blind to the factionalism within the military.

The Larkinsons were never taught to navigate the political currents within the Mech Corps, so they ordinarily avoided them altogether.

When Ves accused Venerable Ghanso Larkinson of acting as the lapdog of Mech General Ulrich Cavendish, a lot of veterans unconsciously expressed disgust!

While it was not a problem in itself to obey a superior who belonged to a faction, it was a different matter if the orders aimed at their own family!

Whether Ves was truthful or not, Ghanso never refuted this accusation, which likely signified that it was true!

Therefore, despite the feelings of the Larkinsons towards the Mech Corps, they did not associate Ghansoʼs conduct with the service as a whole!

Instead, they recognized that Ghanso improperly involved himself in some kind of private scheme!

This has led to the indignation of many Larkinsons who would have otherwise remained neutral!

”I donʼt really agree with how Ves is handling things, but at least his heart is in the right place! Someone like him is worth protecting!”

”While Vessie here has broken a ton of rules, at least he believes he is doing what is best for our family! On the other hand, Ghanso has shown that he is willing to follow orders and adhere to rules no matter what harm they do to our Larkinson Family!”

”If I had to choose between the two, I would go for the one who actually cares a damn about our lives! The galaxy is inherently chaotic, and no rule lasts forever!”

Most of these crotchety Larkinson veterans were still able to interface with a mech, though only barely. Their bodies and their brains deteriorated significantly due to aging, causing them to be less responsive and less able to handle the flow of data from a mech.

However, this was still enough to activate a mech and move it to the headquarters of the LMC!

A lot of retired Larkinsons moved into action.

Those who were enjoying their retirement at the Cloud Estate entered into some of the mechs bequeathed by the patrolling Sentinels.

Those who were teaching at the Larkinson Basic Academy at Freslin hopped into mechs as well and headed to the Mech Nursery as fast as possible!

Though Ves hadnʼt explicitly appealed to the Larkinsons outside of the Avatars and Sentinels, they nonetheless offered their support on their own accord!

This was because they wanted to do what was best for the family, and believed that they could do so by showing up and stopping Ghanso from doing anything outrageous!

Though these old and wise Larkinsons were aware that they would be opposing the Mech Corps if they did so, right now the family mattered more!

Of course, this also led to a lot of inner turmoil among these older Larkinsons.

Director Clinton Larkinson who led Vesʼ charity was one of these conflicted veterans.

”I never thought I would be stepping into a cockpit again, let alone stand in the way of the service!” He muttered with turbid eyes.

The old Blackbeak he borrowed from the Sentinels had been stashed for many months as its assigned pilot shifted to a Desolate Soldier.

The knight mech only received a minimal amount of servicing during this time, making the mech a bit difficult to move.

It didnʼt help that Clinton was actually a disabled mech pilot. The damage he incurred in a past war had crippled his ability to pilot mech.

Such damage was actually fairly common among veterans.

In truth, the damage to a mech pilotʼs ability to pilot a mech varied a lot. Clinton happened to have suffered enough damage to reduce his battle effectiveness but not enough to prevent him from moving a mech entirely!

As it was, he could only slowly move his Blackbeak around, and had to take careful steps in order to avoid tripping his machine or crashing against other objects.

There was no way he could fight an expert mech in his state.

This was not the point. Clinton simply wanted to show his attitude and hope that Ghanso would refrain from doing anything worse.

”I only have to show up. This fight canʼt go on any further!” He believed!

Naturally, aside from these veterans who wanted to show their stance, stop Ghanso from doing anything radical or support Ves in leading the family to greatness, a lot of younger Larkinsons made their decisions as well!

Unlike the older generation of mech pilots who mostly experienced a lot of wind and rain, these inexperienced Larkinsons were much more straightforward.

”The Mech Corps should not be our only destination! Ves is right! We donʼt owe the state anything!”

”I think we can go much further in our careers if we stick with Ves! Heʼs a Larkinson, and heʼll definitely treat us better than a military that only ever cared about using us! Weʼre nothing more than thugs to people like General Cavendish!”

”The way the Mech Corps is using Venerable Ghanso is not right! If this is what the military is truly like, then I made the right decision to join the Sentinels!”

Almost every Larkinson among the Avatars and Sentinels joined these forces because they believed in Ves. It didnʼt take much for them to hop into their mechs and gather at the headquarters of the company!

Commander Melkor Larkinson, who was supposed to be recuperating from his recent tour, hesitated a bit longer in front of his mech.

”Ves is going too far.” He muttered.

Unlike most Larkinsons, Melkor had been with Ves for years. He had grown somewhat familiar with his cousinʼs unsavory methods.

Nonetheless, even if Melkor disliked how Ves was handling this situation, he couldnʼt do anything except to offer his support.

As the Avatar Commander, Melkor had already declared his allegiance to Ves! As a true Larkinson, he needed to show his dedication to his commitment regardless of what he thought in private!

”I am the leader of the Avatars! I should do my duty and protect Ves regardless of what kind of mess he made!”

The mech commander threw everything else aside and entered into the cockpit of his personal Crystal Lord. Though it had been months since he last piloted it, he easily got used to his mech again and left the Avatar base alongside other mechs!

Though Melkor deliberately refrained from issuing any orders aside from granting his men permission to pilot their mechs, every other Avatar had followed suit!

The battle-hardened survivors who served alongside Melkor had entered their mechs and moved out even earlier than Melkor!

With the example of these loyal mech pilots, every other Avatar followed their example!

Only a small portion of them consisted of Larkinsons! Even if these Avatars possessed no ties to the Larkinson Family, they still remembered their obligations to Ves!

The Avatars existed solely to protect their only employer, and to stand at the times at this difficult time was doubtlessly the wrong thing to do!

Even though many of them did not possess any confidence in stopping an expert pilot, they still needed to do their duty!

Perhaps the only notable mech pilot that remained behind was Silent William. He wasnʼt an Avatar or a Larkinson, so he wasnʼt obliged to meddle in this situation at all.

The mute mech pilot simply leaned against the wall of a mech workshop and looked out in the distance.

The departing mechs made for an awe-inspiring sight. The support personnel all stepped out and watched them leave.