The Mech Touch

his performance in battle when his father tutored him when he was still a kid.

After half an hour of searching, Ves gave up.
”These stupid archives! ”

None of the historic documents mentioned anything about where the Larkinson ancestor got his mechs.
His fruitless search couldn ’t find a single mention of the mech designer who painstakingly tailored a custom mech for his ancestor.
Someone like that must be a supreme existence, but Ves couldn ’t proceed without further clues.

Ves only had his observations to go on in his quest to unravel the secrets of the Valiant.
For now, he only had a single bold guess.

When he looked at the Valiant, he got a sense of its history.
His memories of what he read about the Larkinson ancestor ’s performance in battle came to the fore.
It was as if the mech became the ancestor ’s living testament.

”It all comes down to life. ”

What if every mech started as a blank slate? What if these mechs were influenced by their experiences?

His perspective suddenly shifted.
If mechs possessed life, then they were also capable of growth.
Every life started as a newborn.
At this stage they were weak and infirm.
If nurtured properly, every life was capable blooming into an incomparable existence.

”A life is never static.
They start off weak, but who can say they can ’t grow up to be giants? ”

When Ves compared his gold label mechs to the Valiant, he got a sense that he was comparing a couple of toddlers to an elderly but grizzled veteran.
Their strengths simply couldn ’t compare.

It begged the question whether the Valiant started off this strong.
He very much doubted it.
Its designer might have passed on some metaphysical traits, but most of the Valiant ’s aura had most likely been acquired later.

Did this mean that his own mechs might be capable of growth?

”Most likely not. ”

He never took growth into account when he passed on his intent to his design.
They were designed to be strong at the very start.
Ves never imagined that his mechs could strengthen its intrinsic X-Factor after he fabricated them.
He was under the impression that the mechs were fixed at birth.

In the end, he blinded himself with his own assumptions.
More specifically, he still looked at mechs as if they were machines.
Before seeing the Valiant, he subconsciously assumed that he could manufacture a complete life.

So long as he manufactured the right inspirations, he could sharpen them into a purposeful intent that complemented his designs.

It completely ignored that life was capable of growing from their humble beginnings.
Every newborn needed two things before it turned into a formidable existence.

First, they had to possess a good foundation.
An ant remained an ant.
Even the most ferocious ant could easily be stomped by a harmless human child.

Ves guessed that his current progress in the X-Factor fell under this category.
His recent designs proved that he was capable of achieving a fairly rating according to the System.
Nevertheless, he faintly thought that he came across a bottleneck.
A moderate rating of C+ was the best he could achieve so far.

So how could he achieve a higher rating? He used to think he only had one avenue available, and that was to keep on strengthening the foundation.
While this might ultimately be the correct path, Ves did not have a single clue on how to proceed.
He was completely in the dark.

Now, he uncovered another path.
While it might not lead to his initial destination, it nonetheless enlightened him to another aspect of the X-Factor.
Now that he was aware of the previously hidden growth component, he could start to replicate the phenomenon in his own designs.

He repeatedly thanked his ancestor and the Valiant ’s mech designer.
His trip to Rittersberg had been worth it for this lesson alone.

”It ’s time for dinner! ”

Ves held onto Lucky and brought him along.
”Let ’s go and celebrate. ”

The entire Larkinson Compound turned into a festive location.
The holiday cheer infected all of the kids, who eagerly ran around with their little sparkling flags.

The cooks served up an extravagant feast for new year ’s eve.
The estate even hired some musicians to put on a performance.

Later at night, the new year finally dawned.
The entire sky lit up as fireworks loudly proclaimed the start of another year.
Elaborate projections came into existence.
They first displayed the Republican Torch before projecting a series of iconic images of the Republic ’s proudest moments.

Lucky meowed in confusion at the noise.
He didn ’t know what to make of all the fireworks.
Perhaps he thought the entire planet came under attack.
Over time, his mechanical cat calmed down once he saw that no one panicked.

A grinning Lanie ran up to Ves and held out her arms.
”Can I hold Lucky again? ”

”Sure. ” He said, and handed off his cat.

The little girl giggled before scampering away with her prize.
Ves smiled at her antics.
His recent brainstorming caused his thoughts to wander.
How would Little Lanie ’s life look like after a decade or two? Would she grow into a demure and stately lady, or would her upbringing shape her into a powerful amazon mech pilot?

”There is so much variation in life. ”

No one could predict the future.
As Lanie belonged to the Larkinsons, she would surely lack for nothing.
However she turned out, Ves hoped she didn ’t grow up with any regrets.

Throughout the night, the Republican Torch with its bright blue fire never dimmed.
Every planet in the Republic ’s borders projected the same unyielding symbol.
It carried the hope and ambition of the entire Bright Republic.
No one wanted the Vesians to invade and despoil their precious planets.

The torch inspired everyone.
They looked at the torch with sparkling eyes and imagined different dreams.
The kids imagined taking up the torch one day.
The adults resolved to fight for their loved ones.
The elderly prayed their previous sacrifices had been enough.

As for Ves? His ambition was boundless.