The Mech Touch

The rest of the evening proceeded harmoniously and without any incident. By the time the celebrations came to a close, Ves stepped outside the banquet hall and stood next to the immense feet of the Aurora Titan installed as a temporary display model.

Standing in such close proximity to his impressive mech left a strong and profound impression to the visitors who were about to depart.

Ves greeted and shook hands with each person who left.

”Thank you for the mug, Raella. Iʼll be sure to return the favor! Tell Melinda I love her and her present!”

”Itʼs nice to get in touch with you again, Charlotte. Good luck with your career within the MTA!”

”I hope you enjoy your stay in the Bright Republic, James. Ylvainans like you are the future of the Protectorate.”

After the long row of guests each received some well wishes from Ves, his grandfather finally received his own turn.

”Youʼve grown a lot, Ves.” He smiled in a way only a grandfather could towards his grandson. ”Iʼm so proud of you, and your father would be proud of you as well.”

”One of the reasons why Iʼm working so hard is to save my father. I still have a long way to go before Iʼm powerful enough to make a difference.”

Both of them sighed and looked sad. Their mood always plunged when they talked about the missing Larkinson.

”Ves.. please donʼt take this the wrong way, but slow down. Donʼt take too many risks. Youʼve already achieved a lot of success, but itʼs only going to get harder from here. Your father wants you to be happy and safe. He would never want you to wear yourself out and ruin everything youʼve achieved just to save his life. If it comes down to it, he would definitely sacrifice his life in order to protect you from the dangers youʼve incurred!”

Although his grandfatherʼs advice was very pertinent, Ves already threw it out of his mind. Slow down? Take less risks? As if!

”I will be sure to keep your words in mind.” Ves lied.

”Thereʼs also something else you should know, Ves. The previous war ended early for a very good reason. While I donʼt know much and Iʼm not at liberty to divulge what little I do know, I think the Bright Republic might get swept up in something very dangerous in the future. In light of this, I think you should prepare for the worst and prepare a number of contingency plans in case your facility here on Cloudy Curtain is destroyed.”

Ves frowned. He hadnʼt put much thought about this looming threat. The few people that knew more all kept their knowledge to themselves.

”Is it that bad, grandpa?”

”I donʼt know. It might be something that can ruin the Bright Republic, but it can also be something that will sweep past us without paying us any mind. All I can say is that it is best to have a Plan B in reserve so that you wonʼt end up starting from scratch in case your assets are ruined.”

Ves tapped the side of his head. ”Donʼt worry, grandpa. My most valuable asset is my ability to design mechs. As a Journeyman, its value has skyrocketed. As long as my mind is sound, Iʼll always be able to rebuild no matter where I end up. Even so, the LMC already has some plans in mind to diversify its operations.”

Aside from investing in the joint venture based in the Ylvaine Protectorate, the LMC might expand to other states in the future. Ves did not want to be limited to the Bright Republic and had always insisted on expanding his reach.

With the authorizations and permissions he received from the Tovar Family, the LMC faced fewer hurdles than before.

Before his grandfather left for the shuttle that would take him back to orbit, he shared one more word of advice. ”One more thing, Ves. Although youʼre old enough to decide on how you live your own life, donʼt pour every moment of your life into work. Although youʼve achieved a lot of success, what is the point of working so hard if you donʼt get to enjoy it? Take it easy and find a girlfriend! I hope to meet my great-grandchildren at some point!”

His grandfather chuckled as he left Ves with those words. For his part, Ves didnʼt dismiss them as readily as Benjaminʼs previous advice.

”I really should get a girlfriend maybe.” He sighed as he watched his grandfather and the others board their shuttles and depart from the Mech Nursery.

His brief reunion with Patricia made him realize that other people were already taking their next steps in their lives. His work was no excuse for him to avoid his love life.

The only problem was that he didnʼt have a woman in mind right now. If Ves wanted to pursue a serious relationship, he really needed to find someone who he clicked with. For someone as paranoid as him, he wanted to share his life with someone he trusted.

Although he didnʼt insist on it, he wanted his partner to be a mech designer as well. If the two of them shared the same profession and rank, they could open themselves up to each other on a deeper level.

Where could he find a woman like that in the galaxy?

”Ves!” Ketis walked up to him in her lavish red dress while hugging Lucky. ”This was a nice evening. I think your birthday party is a definite success!”

”Meow.”

”See? Even Lucky agrees!”

Ves smiled sardonically at her. ”Lucky is merely reminding me of my promise to him. Exotics is all he cares about.”

”Really? How can you even tell that? All I hear from Lucky are meows!”

”I just have a way with animals I guess. Perhaps thatʼs my true superpower.”

Ketis slapped his side with her palm. ”Oh, you! Donʼt joke about that! Iʼm sure that Journeymen like you are hiding something good from us lesser mech designers. Iʼll find out the truth myself when I advance!”

”Itʼs hard to become a Journeyman, you know. Donʼt take me as a typical example. Iʼm a very big exception to the rule.”

Although exceptions always existed, the majority of mech designers who advanced to Journeyman had already reached their middle or later years.

That wasnʼt as bad as it sounded like, because once they reached this height, their ability to make money increased drastically. Once they worked hard for a couple of decades, they could afford to extend their lives by a century, giving them a lot more time to bloom.

Even so, Ves did not want Ketis to turn old when she reached that point. Journeyman who advanced in their later years often didnʼt exhibit the amount of enthusiasm and drive towards becoming a Senior.

”Iʼve always told you not to treat me like a kid anymore.” Ketis whined. ”Iʼm constantly catching up to you. Iʼm already making brisk progress in designing my new variant.”

”Oh? Which base model is your variant based upon?”

”Itʼs a secret.” She grinned.

Ketis refused to divulge the details of the variant she had in store, so they quickly moved on to another topic.

”Youʼre about to go on a really important trip soon, right?”

”Yep.” He nodded. ”A Journeyman is a lot more significant than a Novice or Apprentice. Thatʼs why itʼs not enough to visit their smaller branches in the Bright Republic. For a mech designer like me to visit the sector headquarters is both a pilgrimage and an implicit oath of subservience.”

No matter how great mech designers thought of themselves, the MTA wanted to make sure they didnʼt forget who was truly in charge.

”About this visit, Ves, Iʼm thinking of sitting out this time.”

”Oh?” Ves raised his eyebrow. Although he hadnʼt addressed this topic with her, he always assumed she would tag along. ”I thought that youʼd be interested in seeing the sights. The Centerpoint System is one of the most prosperous star systems in the star sector.”

”Donʼt get me wrong, Iʼm definitely interested.” She said with a serious expression. ”However, seeing you celebrate your success today made me realize that I really need to step up my game. You work so hard all day and rarely take the time to relax and enjoy a day off. How can I do any less if I want to reach Journeyman within a decade? I think I need to devote all my time to my design work in order to make a lot of progress.”

He hadnʼt expected such a strong level of dedication from Ketis. Although he was slightly concerned that she would wear herself out by engaging in mech design all day, he was very gratified at her dedication.

”If thatʼs your choice, then by all means stay. Just make sure to pace yourself.” He said encouragingly.

Ves and Ketis craned their heads upwards as they witnessed all the shuttles lifting off into the air. The Aurora Titan behind their backs enveloped both of them with its homely and welcoming aura.

The birthday party came to an end. As an army of cleaning bots descended from the ceiling to clean up the entire banquet hall, Ves began to cast his gaze beyond the present.

”What is next?”

Aside from visiting the sector headquarters, Ves also remembered that he promised to pay a visit to Master Olson.

”Sheʼll probably expect me to accept an assignment.”

As long as it didnʼt take him away from home for too long, he was fine with whatever she had in store for him.

Even though he hadnʼt derived that much benefit out of his apprenticeship to Master Olson, he always enjoyed the implicit protection of this status. Although the umbrella he was taking shelter under wasnʼt very big compared to the ones she bestowed to her core disciples, it was better than nothing.

The more he enjoyed her appreciation, the greater her support. Ves already understood Master Olson adhered to the principle of equal exchange.

This meant that if Ves wanted to expand his umbrella, he needed to work for it. Right now, Ves possessed too many sensitive secrets such as his design philosophy. If he wanted to fend off the MTAʼs inquiries into his specialty, then being able to invoke Master Olsonʼs protection was a big convenience.

”Heh. Iʼm basically treating my Master as a shield at this point.”

He couldnʼt help it. With the System, Ves didnʼt have much use for Master Olsonʼs tutelage. Even the access to additional sources of knowledge that she provided hadnʼt been very relevant to him lately.

”Well, Iʼll see what my Master has in store once I meet her again.”

Night fell over the Mech Nursery as Ves turned in for the night.

The next day, Ves woke up refreshed and content. After wearing his smart clothing in a different but still luxurious configuration, he entered his penthouse office.

Some of his presents he received last night now resided on his desk. Ves filled up his Devil Tongue mug with coffee as he admired his grandfatherʼs prosperity tree placed next to Melindaʼs Planetary Guard mech figurine.

”This tree is a little weird.”

It looked similar to a bonsai tree. When Ves read up on prosperity trees, he found out that they originated from an odd planet in the New Rubarth Empire.

Prosperity trees emerged from a mutation due to the anomalous circumstances of its origin. They were very difficult to grow as most seeds failed to sprout.

The few that did experienced incredibly slow growth. If nothing exceptional happened, the prosperity tree on his desk would never be able to grow large enough to overtake his desk.

”However, thereʼs an exception.”

On rare occasions, a prosperity tree might enter into a sudden growth spurt! Although many exobotanists tried to figure out the cause behind such an abrupt switch, they still hadnʼt been able to explain the reason for this transition.

As a result, the Rubarthans started to consider prosperity trees as a symbol of fortune.

”Is this really true?” Ves frowned at the tree while holding his steamy mug.

He sensed nothing remarkable about this tree. His senses didnʼt detect any remarkable spirituality from the little growth.

”Perhaps itʼs all superstition.” He muttered.