The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1129

Jannzi Larkinson breathed deeply as she brought out the Shield of Samar out into space and towards the demonstration site.

She brushed her shoulder-length raven hair back as she continuously explored how she could better connect to her mech.

Strangely enough, some of the strange advice that Ves had given her actually seemed to work!

Her experience with the Shield of Samar was unlike any other mech she piloted before. As a younger Larkinson, she mostly piloted various training mechs used by many other mech cadets.

Training mechs had been designed to be as easy to interface as possible with as many people as possible. The space knights that she used to pilot felt like docile horses in her mind. The mech responded fairly easily to her commands.

She had never been an exceptional Larkinson. Born to a Larkinson mother at a common planet in the Rittersberg region, she enjoyed a fairly normal childhood. The lengthy visits to the Larkinson Estate every now and end brightened up her days as she got to play with many little Larkinsons.

As she grew up on the stories of her grandparents, her aunts and her uncles, she hoped she would be lucky enough to possess the genetic aptitude to pilot mechs!

Her wish came true when the test results came in! Her genetic aptitude had been graded as C+!

While her genetic aptitude didn’t attract too much promise among the Larkinsons, it was still above average compared to mech pilots in the Bright Republic.

As she took her first classes at the mech academy, the question that came to her next was her specialty.

The decision to specialize in a certain domain of mechs came up early. Many mech cadets couldn’t decide in their first few years at the mech academy. Not Jannzi.

The basic mech academies only focused on teaching the fundamentals of piloting landbound mechs. Young mech cadets would occasionally go on a field trip in space to try out various spaceborn mechs, but their complexity made them unsuitable for most mech cadets to start with. This gave Jannzi very little opportunity to pilot spaceborn mechs in her early teens.

Yet as soon as she entered the cockpit of her first spaceborn training mech, she instantly fell in love with flying free in space.

There was something very fascinating about space. Humanity thrived in it. In the Age of Mechs, the ceaseless expansion of human civilization in the galaxy may have stalled, but it had cemented its rule over countless star sectors.

How could she turn her eyes to the ground when there was so much to explore in space? Planets only made up a miniscule portion in the vast gulf that was space!

She developed a fascination for spaceborn mechs early on, and enjoyed the few times she got to pilot them for real.

Her regular forays to the Larkinsons and the training she received from her family allowed her to explore spaceborn mechs much more often than regular mech pilots. She eagerly learned the basics of piloting spaceborn mechs even before she fully mastered the basics of piloting landbound mechs!

The moment she could choose which advanced mech academy to attend, she immediately chose a famed spaceborn mech academy based in the New Foundation System!

Upon arrival, she eagerly explored the range of possibilities available. Although she enjoyed almost every spaceborn mech she laid her hands upon, her lack of skill in marksmanship made her unsuitable to specialize in ranged mechs.

Of the melee mechs that remained in her consideration, she eventually chose to go for a very uncommon specialty.

She decided to dedicate herself to piloting space knights.

Why space knights?

"Because my friends and comrades need protecting."

Although she enjoyed piloting agile light skirmishers, she found it burdensome to keep up with the rapid decision-making required to make the most of these machines. Other melee mechs were easier for her to pilot, but she just constantly felt vulnerable while piloting those offense-oriented mechs.

Space knights gave her the feeling of piloting a mobile bulwark. They meshed well with her because she felt useful just by being there. A space knight’s main task was to shield more vulnerable mechs from damage, and while it was not a glamorous job, it was a very vital one that Jannzi didn’t mind fulfilling.

Whereas most mech cadets thought dismissively of space knights as clunky mechs that flew like pigs with wings, Jannzi enjoyed the responsibility she took upon piloting this type of mechs.

Everyone looked up to their space knights when they needed cover! Jannzi always felt gratified when she managed to gain the appreciation of her fellow mech cadets for performing this vital role.

The only regret she had was that she wished she had been born a few years earlier. The war already broke out when she attended the advanced mech academy. Although all the advanced mech academies accelerated their training programs in order to hasten the supply of new mech pilots, the war had already ended before she even finished graduating!

To the Larkinson potentates, missing out on the war just before they graduated was one of the most painful moments in their lives!

The worst part about it was that the war ended too early! If the war had lasted five years as usual, then Jannzi would have had enough time to get settled into her new mech regiment. A year should have been enough for her to see real action and become a real Larkinson!

This regret haunted her endlessly after the outbreak of peace. Even if she graduated from the advanced mech academy with honors, she felt utterly listless at the thought of spending twenty to thirty years of endless training, boring patrols and feeble skirmishes before she could finally live up to her family name.

She was so envious at the likes of Ghanso and Porellia Larkinson for being able to bloom during the war!

While Jannzi didn’t have much hope of advancing to expert candidate due to her aptitude, had she been born at the same time as the latest stars of the family, she would have been able to go home with her head held high!

As it was, the war was over and nothing could be done about it. Jannzi completely felt as if she had suddenly gone adrift. What was there to do for her? The Mech Corps which she long hoped to enlist in would never engage in any action that could equal any major battle during the war. How could she find any fulfillment in her duties in those times?