The Mech Touch

"They do indeed." Professor Galbraith adopted an expectant look. "The Larkinson Clan is a completely different organization from the other ones that have marched through the streets. It will be interesting to see how the people that come from the same home star sector as you has decided to present themselves to the Duvatans."

The Larkinsons wanted to make an impression. That became clear to both mech designers as the first Larkinson mechs turned around the corner.

The crowd on the streets reacted remarkably differently than usual.

The first reason why they did so was because the column of caped mechs were led by expert mechs that also wore identical captes.

This was not the first time a group added expert mechs to a parade. The previous groups that showed them off usually consisted of mercenary organizations that had agreed to fight for Davute after accepting offers that satisfied many of their needs.

Of course, most of the expert mechs that the mercenary organizations were willing to display in public usually consisted of their older or relatively weaker combat assets. Showing this much was already enough to excite the crowd and boost their reputation.

Their true trump cards remained well hidden in order to prevent the critical machines from exposing all of their details to Karlach before the war had even started.

Mech companies such as Rorsh & Rorsh and RT&D had no need to field their own expert mechs as they entrusted their safety to the state. Attacking them was equivalent to attacking the colonial government, which meant that the latter might decide to send over its ace mechs if any belligerents dared to employ expert mechs in an offensive capacity!

The Larkinson Clan's Davute Branch may have agreed to sign extensive cooperation agreements with Davute, but its parent organization still retained its independence and sovereignty. It made a lot of sense for the clan to field its own expert mechs.

The ones shown off by the Larkinsons were different from the ones displayed before.

Each of them were masterwork expert mechs!

It was rare to see masterwork expert mechs as they were usually treated like absolute treasures by the forces that had been lucky enough to obtain them through various means!

In fact, many of the ones that existed to this day were usually legacy machines that had no practical use in combat anymore. They were treated as prized museum pieces and could only be seen in private collections or highly prestigious mech galleries.

Only a clan as bold and unconventional as the Larkinson Clan would blatantly show them off in front of so many people!

However, it was not necessarily their masterwork properties that amazed the crowds.

The vast majority of laymen on the streets did not possess the expertise to distinguish between a masterwork mech and a copycat mech.

What they were actually reacting towards were the glows radiated by the three machines!

The Larkinsons had helpfully decided to space out their column so that each of their mechs could give the people standing or floating to the sides a decent moment to experience their famed glows!

The Amaranto marched first despite being a relatively fragile expert rifleman mech. The oldest known expert masterwork mech of the Larkinson Clan looked extremely well-maintained and had received minor updates to her systems throughout the years.

Though her armor system was nothing special compared to other expert ranged mechs, her offensive orientation was extremely obvious to anyone with a good eye towards mechs.

The most impressive feature of the red-coated mech was her crystalline rifle. It looked different from the metallic armaments wielded by all of the other mechs that had passed by earlier.

Right now, the caped Amaranto rifle radiated in bright rainbow colors. Everyone who stared at it couldn't help but get mesmerized by the mysterious patterns.

Those who were situated close enough to experience the Amaranto's glow experienced this effect more deeply. Some felt blinded while others had the illusion that a spotline shone on their souls.

Regardless, this moment did not last long before the Everchanger marched into prominence.

It was common knowledge that the Everchanger had the special ability to shift to any glow that the Larkinsons utilized before.

This time, the green masterwork expert mech radiated a sense of warmth that was uniquely tied to the Larkinson Clan.

Those that had visited the Cat Nest and approached the giant statue of the Golden Cat in the center of the Ascension Gallery had already grown familiar with this glow, but it was still new to a lot of visitors and colonists.

If the previous glow made them feel as if they touched upon a mysterious quality of light, the second glow caused them to become immersed in a warm blanket of satisfaction.

The Larkinsons possessed a strong attachment to kinship, and the idealistic notions imparted by the current glow of the Everchanger caused many people to develop the desire to become a part of their expanding family!

Whereas the lively Everchanger reflected the inner peace and property of the Larkinson Clan, the Minerva conveyed its martial strength and military professionalism!

The masterwork command mech that was predominantly coated in the silver and green colors of the Living Sentinels made a show of exuding a glow of dominance and control.

Those that were positioned closer to the streets when the impressive expert mech passed by felt as if they had come in close proximity to a dangerously intelligent alien monstrosity!

Plenty of people shuddered in fear and respect. Even if they hadn't seen any of the public combat footage of the Larkinson Army in action, these bystanders decided to never get into direct opposition of the clan if possible.

Compared to the masterwork expert mechs, the relatively modest amount of standard mechs that the clan had been allowed to bring onto the parade attracted less attention.

Nonetheless, there were still plenty of individuals who knew that the Larkinson Clan's mass production models were much more consequential to Davute.

Expert mechs were exclusive to individual pilots while standard mechs could be piloted by all qualified mech pilots!

Of course, people who studied Larkinson mechs before learned that certain models were so strongly geared towards specific groups that they performed poorly when used by pilots outside of the intended target audience.

This was most particularly the case for the Larkinson mechs designed for the Hex Army.

Plenty of Fridayman mech pilots had tried to make use of captured Valkyrie mechs before, but they universally experienced so much pressure and hostility from the glows of the machines that they simply couldn't last more than a couple of minutes in the cockpit!

Even so, a lot of interesting parties believed that the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan could design unique and interesting mechs with useful glows for any client if he was open to accepting commissions.

"What an unusual composition of mechs." Professor Zin Galbraith uttered as he started to drink from his fifth glass of wine. "Unlike the other groups, the Larkinsons are not trying to advertise the variety of their commercial offerings. They are behaving more akin to the mercenaries who have chosen to project their prowess in battle."

It sounded like a wasted opportunity, but Tristan knew the clan well enough that this was not the case.

"The Living Mech Corporation founded by my old friend is already doing well enough. The mech company's manufacturing facilities are all working at full capacity, and while the Larkinsons are no doubt in the process of building more factories, I am not sure they can increase the supply of materials fast enough to keep up with this expansion. It may be better not to attract the attention of so many potential customers only to disappoint them by putting them on a waiting list that can stretch on for months."

"The LMC is indeed on the rise." Professor Galbraith nodded. "The Golden Skull Alliance's exploits in the new frontier has aided enormously in that. The Larkinsons are one of the few people to make use of such a risky and unorthodox means of marketing the strengths of their products. It is both refreshing and reckless."

"That pretty much describes my friend and the clan he has built in his own image." Tristan affirmed.

The red-caped standard mechs of the Larkinson Clan made a drastically different impression than the expert mechs that passed by first.

Though laymen could hardly recognize the signs, mech designers such as Tristan and his table mate could clearly see the blatant signs of crude and hasty metalworking on all of the machines.

In their knowledgeable eyes, the standard mechs might as well look like those crude and cartoonish frankenstein mechs that often showed up in post-apocalyptic drama shows!

Tristan winced at the sight of all of the minor but still noticeable signs of hasty processing and rushed assembly.

The differences especially looked bad considering that they walked behind a trio of exquisite masterwork expert mechs!

"What is Ves thinking?" Tristan became perplexed and muttered. "He and his wife are good at making high-quality mechs. They wouldn't have been able to collect so many masterwork certificates if that wasn't the case. Is it really worth it to bolt what looks like salvaged alien alloys onto their frames due to making a last-minute decision?"

Plenty of mech insiders such as Tristan grew confused at the sight. They either thought that the Larkinson Patriarch had made a whimsical decision at an unreasonably late hour, or that the Larkinson Clan tried to convey a deeper message by presenting such a noticeable contrast of mechs in the most important parade of Davute's history.

Professor Galbraith was leaning towards the latter. His expression turned serious as he put his considerable mind to work.

He even set down his half-empty glass of wine!

"I think the Larkinson Clan is conveying several important points to specific audiences." Galbraith said. "To the general public, the choice to bolt salvaged alien warship debris onto the frames of these mechs conveys the clan's considerable success in defeating powerful alien combatants. To its enemies and rivals, it is putting up an aggressive display to show that the clan should never be trifled with. To the colonial government and supporters of Davute such as ourselves, it is stating its intent and willingness to fight for the colonial state rather than sit back."

That latter message made a lot of sense even if Tristan felt it did not match with Ves' stated goals.

Nonetheless, he had already heard the news that Venerable Ark Larkinson had not only agreed to join the military, but also received an immediate promotion to the rank of mech general so that he could lead his own mech division!

Clearly, the Larkinson Clan had made an extensive backroom deal with the colonial state. Tristan already had a feeling that Ves could come around after Madame Reina Kernsk paid a personal visit to his office.

As the standard mechs marched down the main avenue while displaying varying degrees of stiffness due to their hasty modifications, the message that many people received was that the Larkinson Clan was not just willing to sell its mechs to others.

Instead, the clan also made it clear that it was more than willing to participate in fights itself by putting its own mech pilots into the cockpits!

"What an aggressive clan." Professor Galbraith spoke in admiration. "We truly need an organization like this in our community. All of the other pioneers and mech companies are much more cautious and restrained in their activities. They are older and more concerned with preserving their legacies than taking advantage of the greater opportunities of the Red Ocean. With the Larkinsons setting a positive example, there will be forces in Davute that will become more adventurous in order to earn the same windfalls that have earned the clan so much riches and glory."

The Larkinsons were not allowed to parade as many mechs as the processions that came before, but somehow it made a more memorable impression than any other group that contributed to this parade!