Recent hires and additions to staff reduced the workload on Ves.

The most critical change occurred when the Tovar mech designers finally arrived at Cloudy Curtain.

Ves and Gloriana welcomed them in a grand fashion, making sure to put on a show by dressing up and bringing out as many mechs of the Avatars and Glory Battalion as possible.

Just the presence of elite second-class mechs was enough to suppress any arrogance from the young mech designers of the Tovar Family.

"Miles Tovar, at your service." The man leading his family members said. "I'm an Apprentice and a DCTI alumni."

"Welcome to the LMC." Ves smiled and shook his hand.

"We will be sure to treat you well." Gloriana promised with a reserved smile.

The other Tovars introduced themselves as well. Each of them studied at good schools, though none of them were lucky enough to attend a second-rate institution.

All of them were fairly young, with Miles being the oldest one at thirty-five.

The Tovar Family wouldn't waste this opportunity by sending older mech designers to Ves. Not only had they already expended much of their potential, they also wouldn't be able to live as long.

It was best for the Tovars to send out their younger mech designers in the hopes that Ves could unleash their potential.

Though Miles was the most outstanding among the new arrivals, the other four Tovars weren't too bad. Ves quizzed them along the way to the underground and developed some initial impressions.

Gilbert and Cherie Tovar were the only Novices among the five. Despite their lack of experience, they were also the youngest of the group, having graduated just one or two years ago.

Vela and Pachtold Tovar happened to be Apprentices with a decent amount of design experience, mainly by assisting in various design projects. They were also a bit older but not too much.

The only Tovar mech designer that Ves bothered to engage beyond a perfunctory talk was the eldest. Unlike his younger cousins, Miles was the only one who possessed spiritual potential.

In addition, Miles used to run his own mech company, which made him the only independent mech designer of the five.

"How well did your mech company do?" Ves curiously asked.

"Not as well as yours." Miles honestly admitted. The pressure exerted by Ves and Gloriana was so much that he couldn't put on airs at all. "If not for the aid and resources of the Tovar Family, my company wouldn't have been able to grow."

"Why did the Tovars assign you to us, then?"

"My business is really not worth sustaining. Once the Sand War erupted, all of my mech models stopped selling. Even the aerial rifleman mech I've designed hasn't attracted any attention."

"I see."

A mech company in such straits still had some options available. It could accept a contract to produce mechs on behalf of another company. It could accept government commissions to produce starfighters or other war materiel.

"My role in my company is redundant after we switched to producing other hardware. The only way I can get out of this rut is if I design a mech that is good enough to compete against the prevailing mechs in the mechs."

For an Apprentice, that was incredibly hard.

"Did your Family consult you when they pulled you out of your company and assigned you to work under me?" Ves asked.

Miles smiled bitterly in response. "Having struggled for almost a decade on my own, I'm far from reaching your level. As a mech designer, I have to accept the facts. There is little for me to gain by persisting on my own. So when my family asked me if I am willing to work under you, I accepted the offer within a heartbeat. I believe that I can achieve much more under your guidance."

"You are putting a lot of faith in our ability to guide your progression." Gloriana remarked.

"The two of you are stars in our generation. It's obvious to everyone that your futures are bright. When your fortunes rise, ours will rise as well."

Ves nodded in response. "That's the deal I've made with Senator Tovar. While we can't promise we'll be available all the time, we will make sure to act as your mentors."

Once they reached the lab and workshop floor, Ves introduced the five new additions to the design team to Ketis. Both of them regarded each other with wariness and confusion.

"Don't underestimate Ketis. She's my first student." Ves proudly patted her in the back. "Whenever Gloriana and I aren't around, she's in charge. Do you have a problem with that?"

Perhaps they didn't necessarily agree. After all, they were part of the proud Tovar Family that possessed a storied heritage in the Bright Republic. It was one thing to bend their heads to esteemed Journeymen such as Ves and Gloriana, but why should they let this woman boss them around?

Fortunately, Ketis knew exactly what she should do. She moved forward, displaying hints of her strong, athletic physique.

"If you think you're better than me, you're welcome to challenge me!" She grinned and cracked her knuckles as if spoiling for a fight!

Miles gulped. "We will defer to your teacher's arrangements. We are not familiar with how you work."

"Good!" Ves clapped his hand. "Let's begin the day by initiating you into our design team. Since we're currently engaged in some very important projects, we'll have to get you up to speed while we work."

Different from the Larkinson seeds, the people sent by the Tovar Family consisted of actual mech designers.

Due to their privileged backgrounds, each of them were bright and knowledgeable. At the very least, Ves was very pleased by their substantial foundation. Schools such as the DCTI never neglected this aspect.

The reasons why these Tovar mech designers failed to excel in their careers was because the competition was too cutthroat and numerous. A good foundation was not enough to excel in the market.

It didn't even matter if they had access to easy money from the Tovar Family. The mech company that Miles had founded would have been shuttered long ago if his family wasn't so generous. Like a zombie, his mech company perpetually existed in a state of undeath.

Money alone couldn't buy success.

Though Ves clearly knew that the Tovars could have sent better mech designers to him, he was very pleased with what he received.

These mediocre Tovar mech designers lacked the arrogance that he expected of their ilk. Having experienced the harshness of the mech industry which cared little about their backgrounds, they had long been humbled.

Lack of confidence did not make for good independent mech designers, but it was a different story now. Ves only required them to perform basic design tasks and tedious calculations.

The humbler his subordinates, the more obedient they became.

After the initial week, Miles and the other Tovars adjusted to their new roles as assistant mech designers.

With their considerable foundations, Ves did not have to tutor them too much to get them up to speed on how to perform a specific task.

Productivity, which initially plummeted due to the need to bring the Tovars up to speed, now exceeded the previous levels.

With more mech designers working on the same design projects, Ves and Gloriana tackled a lot more issues at the same time. They performed the most critical design work themselves while farming out the lesser work to their design team.

Previously, only Ketis was available to assist. As much as Ves favored her recent progress, she was just a single mech designer.

Adding five more mech designers to the mix made a qualitative difference. The design team which mainly existed in name for such a long time now took on a real identity.

Though Ves wasn't entirely adept at setting up and managing a design team from scratch, Gloriana possessed a lot more experience in working with a design team.

With her assistance, she made sure to develop the most perfect framework of rules and protocols for their design team.

The clear set of rules and guidelines gave the Tovars some much-needed direction. So long as they knew what was expected of them, they executed their responsibilities without any complaint.

The lab had become a lot more boisterous now that a lot of people started working here. The Tovar mech designers along with the Larkinson seeds that frequently visited here made Ves harken back to the time he'd been assigned to a design team of the Flagrant Vandals.

He briefly wondered how they were doing and whether Professor Velten was still alive.

"I haven't heard any news about the death of a Senior in the Bright Republic, so she's probably fine for now." Ves muttered.

He knew that she wasn't long for this reality, though. The loss of her youngest protege hit her hard. It would be difficult for her to raise a successor in the few years that she had left.

"I'll make sure I'll attend her funeral."

A few weeks more weeks passed by. The Militant Soldier and the Peaceful Soldier both reach the final phases. Once they entered the prototype testing phase of both projects, Ves and Gloriana were no longer as preoccupied.

They earned some much-needed reprieve.

As the Sand War raged on elsewhere, the two lovers cuddled up to each other in the gardens of the Cloud Estate.

"Our work is far from over, Ves. We still have another design project in store."

Ves tried to hold back his grimace. "I'm aware. Vincent Ricklin is scheduled to arrive in a week or so. He will be our next client."

"Are you still upset at this commission?"

"Let's just say I have mixed feelings about it." He sighed. "I don't have the best impression of this prick. The stunts he performed with the second mech I've fabricated in my career was almost enough to kill me or drive me out of business. He's also a terrorist who readily consorts with other lowlives. It's tough for me to restrain my animosity towards Vincent for these reasons."

Gloriana leaned her head against his shoulders. "I can tell from your tone that you're not as upset anymore."

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm still upset. It's just that the crises taking place in this star sector has forced me to broaden my horizons. It's difficult for me to care about my petty grievances in the face of potential annihilation. The survival of the Bright Republic is a lot more important than my feelings."

"That's good, Ves. You're putting duty over selfishness."

"You're not entirely correct. I'm still following my own interests." He responded. "Helping the Bright Republic advances my own goals. I'll work with any devil or scumbag if it means I get ahead."

Their cats soon wandered over and climbed up on their laps. As they petted and cuddled with their pets, they enjoyed a wholesome moment with each other as the cloudy skies started to darken.

The recent departure of a fair amount of Larkinsons made the Cloud Estate a bit less cozy. Nonetheless, plenty of Larkinsons still remained, particularly the younger ones.

As they watched the children run around and play with each other, Ves and Gloriana couldn't help but smile and enjoy this peaceful moment.

"It's a shame that war will disrupt everyone's lives." Ves sighed.

"Humanity has never been at peace." Gloriana sagely responded. "If we aren't warring against ourselves, we're fighting against the countless alien races we've antagonized. The sandmen are the least of them, and already a lot of states have succumbed against their aggression."

Many people who lived in quiet states held the illusion that they lived in a time of peace. Yet the Age of Mechs was not as different from the Age of Conquest as everyone expected.

Under the facade of peace, the embers of war still stirred. Ves had a feeling that the Sand War was just a harbinger of what was to come.