Discovering that Merrill Truman was right at home in a mech workshop came as a pleasant surprise to Ves. He had become incredibly disappointed at the lack of hands-on fluency in his other subordinates.

While he didn't insist that every mech designer should have the same competences at him, he still thought it was an awful idea for someone of his profession to neglect this side of the job!

How could mech designers possibly know what they were dealing with when they never put a mech together piece by piece?

How could mech designers expertly model and anticipate the performance of mechs if they never came close to a component weighing several tons?

How could mech designers possibly claim to understand mechs when they never saw the consequences of battle in person?

All of these questions and more weighed on his mind as he considered the shortcoming in the development of most of his mech designers. Even the more experienced among them such as the team leaders weren't entirely comfortable with working in a mech workshop.

"Manual work is demeaning." Miles Tovar spoke frankly to Ves. "While it is necessary for us to know the basics of what is happening in a mech workshop of a manufacturing hall, it is better to leave the heavy lifting to the mech technicians!"

Ves wanted to summon the Amastendira, press its muzzle right against his temple and pull the trigger!

He almost couldn't believe what Miles was saying! Was he such a highborn elitist snob that he completely ignored the benefits of gaining practical experience in working with mechs?!

"I'm not asking you to be as proficient in tools and speckled with grease stains as an actual mech technician." He said. "I just expect you all to know what you are doing! You don't have to be as good in the workshop as Merrill here, but at least you should be capable of putting together a mech during an emergency!"

None of the Tovars looked very enthusiastic about that idea. "We didn't learn that in school."

"NOT EVERYTHING YOU LEARN IN SCHOOL IS CORRECT!" Ves shouted. "DIFFERENT TEACHERS HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS! DIFFERENT CURRICULUMS EMPHASIZE DIFFERENT ASPECTS!"

Gloriana placed her hand on his shoulder in order to calm him down. "I think he's right. At Kelma University, one of the best mech design schools in the Hegemony, I learned how to build a mech on my own. My professors and instructors didn't insist on these classes because they believed we needed to be humbled. They wanted their students to understand on a deeper level what they were actually designing! When your only experience with mechs is working on them in a design interface, then there is a serious disconnect between your theoretical understanding and reality!"

"Well said." Ves nodded in thanks at her explanation. "You heard it. Since a second-class mech designer like Gloriana has to learn how to work in a workshop, then so should the rest of you! Don't complain! This is for your own good!"

Though some of them complained anyway, Ves would have none of it. Aside from the three who proved their chops, the other eight were too inept! None of them could operate a 3D printer worth a damn and their tools might as well be training weights in their hands!

He quickly had enough.

"STOP! It's irresponsible for me to allow you to work on Jannzi's mechs. The eight of you should go! I'll arrange some training sessions for you at one of the local mech manufacturing plants. Each of you need to shore up your fabrication and assembly skills as quickly as possible!"

It took some time to set up these improvised sessions and cart the inexperienced mech designers to another site.

People like Mayer Torto who were just starting their careers would definitely be able to catch on quickly. The benefits of acquiring and improving this set of skills would definitely boost his competence!

As for the older ones who long avoided mech manufacturing sites like the plague, they still weren't convinced of the merits of acquiring hands-on expertise and experience.

"It's a bit unfortunate that this school of thought is still going strong." He lamented to Gloriana. "I hate the claim that mech designers only belong in a design lab!"

Gloriana shrugged. "You're preaching to the choir here, Ves. I fully agree with you. I would never have never come up with my current design philosophy if mechs are just wireframe models and lists of specifications to me. That said, there is some merit to this school of thought. Mech designers are separate from mech technicians. This idea is particularly prevalent in the more prosperous parts of human space."

That didn't change his opinion. "What those first-rate mech designers do is their business. In my company and workplace, my rules are in place. And one of them is that each mech designer in my design team better know their way around a mech workshop!"

Once he settled this issue, they resumed upgrading the Shield of Samar.

Since the mech was very big, this took a lot of time. A lot of components had to be checked, repaired or replaced as years of use wore some of them down. Though it was no problem for them to continue operating for at least five years or more, Ves did not wish to leave anything to chance.

Anything that maximized Jannzi's chances of survival should be approved! Even if it was horribly wasteful to throw out components that could easily last for decades, Ves didn't care!

Perhaps every mech repair shop in existence would look at Ves in horror, but most of his mind was not on preventative maintenance.

Instead, he awaited the shipment of Breyer alloy with great anticipation. When the Battle Criers finally transferred a tightly-guarded contained filled with bars of expensive exotics, Ves practically dove into them right away!

Though Gloriana already knew that Ves intended to apply Breyer alloy to his mechs due to working on the revision, she still found the shipment to be perplexing.

"Where are you getting all of this Breyer alloy, Ves? Materials like these can't be found in the Komodo Star Sector!"

"My Battle Criers recently came into contact with a powerful black market organization during their previous excursion."

"Oh." She curled her mouth in distance. "I see. I hope they didn't overcharge you. I can't stand their ilk!"

His pre-prepared excuse succeeded in passing muster, at least for now. While it was strange to encounter a random stash of Breyer alloy in this part of space, the material mastered a lot to Ves and Jannzi. They both wanted the Shield of Samar to be the most impervious rock imaginable!

One unexpected benefit was that Gloriana really didn't like underground society. Anything related to pirates, dark mercenaries, smugglers, slave traders and other unsavory types repelled her to no end! They were disgusting degenerates in her eyes, and she wanted nothing to do with these lowlives!

Ves was different.

The irregular part of society existed everywhere. It provided conveniences to those who weren't able to obtain what they wanted the regular way.

While there was indeed a lot of merit in Gloriana's stance, that was because she had never been desperate enough to rely on the underground economy.

She even thought that Ves should stop associating with underground organizations!

"Whatever you need, you can ask me before you go run off to pirates!" She insisted with her arms placed on her hips. "A mech designer of your caliber shouldn't be involved in this sphere anymore!"

Ves shook his head. "I know what I'm doing, Gloriana. These connections are very necessary. Unlike you who can run off to your mother or your Wodin Dynasty every time you want something, I had to rely on myself in my early years! There is way more to human civilization than what is in the light."

"You.. you're so insufferable!"

Though Gloriana continued to disagree with him, they eventually dropped the topic. This was yet another matter where they simply agreed to disagree.

As long as Ves kept his black market interactions away from Gloriana, she wouldn't have a reason to fuss about what he was doing.

In this way, he reluctantly managed to explain the source of all of the Breyer alloy he 'bought' from an unnamed black market organization.

They soon resumed their work. Since the Shield of Samar consisted mainly of armor, it took a lot of time to process the new materials.

Breyer alloy and its constituent materials were incredibly potent or resilient. This made them very hard to work with compared to other materials.

Fortunately, the workshop they were working from had already been outfitted with all of the high-quality fabrication equipment that originally belonged to Gloriana's Stellar Chaser.

With all of the machines available, Ves and Gloriana slowly shaped the Breyer alloy into armor plates shaped to match the contours of the Shield of Samar.

The three subordinate mech designers proceeded to examine the fabricated plates extensively to make sure they were up to par. Once they determined that the component met the standard, they proceeded to assemble it in place.

Ves found out that neither he nor Gloriana needed to pay too much attention to the assembly work. Merill turned out to be so skilled, precise and thorough that she managed to earn both of their trust!

In fact, Ves found it strange that Gloriana approved of Merrill so quickly even though the latter used to be a pirate designer!

"Don't you know she used to muck about in the frontier?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter." Gloriana said as she adjusted some controls on the console of a production machine. "Miss Truman is a woman."

"What? That's it?"

He looked completely confused!

"If you don't understand my point, then don't bother asking!"

"Miaow!"

Clixie echoed her owner's opinion!

Lack of understanding aside, Ves was glad that Gloriana didn't find fault with Merrill. He was worried that his decision to add a former pirate designer to his crew would lead to a lot of controversy, but Merrill was so well-behaved and normal that hardly anything about her screamed pirate!

Work proceeded without any further interruption. Over the course of four, lengthy days, the Shield of Samar began to regain its life. The stripped-down Shield of Samar slowly started to regain its 'skin' as more and more greyish armor plating covered up its exposed insides.

All the while, Jannzi observed the work being done to her mech with rapt attention. She only left in order to sleep or do her daily necessities. Other than that, she tried to witness as much as possible.

"You don't have to be present here." He told her one day. "You hardly understand the technical side of mechs. You aren't gaining anything from observing the refit operation."

Jannzi Larkinson shrugged. "I still want to be here. This is my mech."

The bond she built up with her mech transcended far beyond the typical affection that mech pilots held for their machines!

Ves did not quibble any further once he realized that Jannzi was absolutely serious about her decision.

This was a matter of dedication to her! The Shield of Samar was an indispensable part of her life, and she couldn't bear to be away from it for too long!

Ves was reminded of the old tales and legends where ancient swordsmen spent so much time with their weapons that they even brought them to bed!

Even in the Age of Mechs, there were stories abound of superstitious people hugging their assault rifles in their sleep like they were stuffed animals.

While it was easy to laugh at them and ridicule their behavior, Ves did not think they were doing something useless.

To him, these dedicated soldiers and warriors were forging an emotional bond with their weapons! And this bond was not something fake, but a real spiritual phenomenon that could definitely make a difference as long as it was formed!

The dedication that Jannzi held for her Shield of Samar and by extension its design spirit was probably the strongest that Ves had ever seen. Jannzi did not take her current connection to Qilanxo for granted, but always tried her best to deepen it and bring it to the next level!