Chapter 3083: The Seventh Commander (1/2)
The ceremony began. The entire crowd in the decorated hangar bay became still as Taon Melin's white-robed figure took the center stage.
The monitoring system recorded Taon's remarkable appearance across the entire fleet. Every clansman stationed elsewhere briefly paused and tuned into the clan-wide broadcast to witness this historic moment.
Patriach Ves, Priestess Samandra, General Verle and several other important clan figures stood close by. Each of them extended their blessing to what was about to happen.
”Brothers and sisters, I am honored to receive your attention. While not all of you agree with the beliefs of my fellow Ylvainans and I, we are all part of the same family. Just like you, our mech pilots are dedicated to defending our clan. No matter if you adhere to Prophet Ylvaine's tenets or not, we shall never discriminate or flinch away from protecting you from our common enemies.”
Ves nodded in approval. Taon's speech immediately set a tone that was meant to smooth over the differences between the Ylvainans and the rest of the clan. Since the worshippers of the Ylvainan Faith had never been bastards to begin with, it was easy for the speaker to maintain a positive image towards his group.
”After a long period of preparation, we are finally ready to announce our new mech force!”
Taon majestically swept towards his back where a large emblem was projected in the air. The emblem depicted the same eye symbol that was plastered on the banners hanging from the ceiling and bulkheads.
”In the past, the state where our faith used to be based erected the Eye of Ylvaine for a blessed cause. During the height of the terrible Sand War, the states assaulted by the alien menace continually suffered setbacks. It was only when the Bright Martyr supplied his iconic Deliverer model that our most faithful Ylvainan mech pilots began to turn the tide against the sandmen.”
The projection switched to carefully selected footage of the Sand War. The emphasis of the clips lay heavily on the Holy Soldiers that the Ylvainans fielded in large numbers and the crucial Deliverers who were able to assassinate sandman admirals with ease by borrowing help of 'Ylvaine'.
Though Ves and many other people rarely thought about it these days, his work along with the elite Ylvainan marksman mech pilots literally saved trillions of citizens from total annihilation!
This accomplishment had always been a point of pride to the Ylvainans that had been exiled from their former state. It was also one of the many reasons the Larkinsons thought highly of them despite not agreeing with their beliefs.
”Now, just like before, the Eye of Ylvaine shall once again become the organ which exposes and targets our greatest enemies. Our new mech force will share the burden of defending our clansmen and fighting against any enemy that has affronted our faith or our fellow Larkinsons. We will do so by utilizing the Great Prophet's blessing to ensure that our attacks will always strike through no matter the circumstances! In front of the Eye of Ylvaine, the enemies of life and the Larkinson Clan shall never escape our sight!”
The crowd applauded. Taon delivered quite an uplifting speech, though that was mostly to the credit of the speech writers. Ves had delivered enough speeches to recognize that Taon wasn't entirely speaking his own words. This didn't matter too much because the passion and emotion that Taon put in this performance made it clear he agreed with everything he said.
Ves strode forward at this moment. He held a badge in his hands that symbolized the authority to command a mech force.
”Mr. Taon Melin, the Larkinson Assembly has formally approved the formation of a new mech force. From this day onwards, the Eye of Ylvaine shall become the latest organ to fight on behalf of the Larkinson Clan. You shall move where I command you to move. You must be vigilant against our enemies in the dark. You will defend our people as if they are your own! Do you swear to uphold these oaths?”
”WE DO!” The Ylvainans in the crowd thundered!
Ves smiled. He slapped the badge on Taon's chest. His robe automatically integrated it into the fabric.
”Then rise, Commander Taon Melin, and take your position as the seventh mech commander of the Larkinson Clan!”
The crowd cheered and applauded once again. The vast majority of clansmen welcomed the formation of the Eye of Ylvaine. The religious clansmen already played a key role in the defense of the Larkinson fleet due to their fantastic synergy with the crucial Transcendent Punisher model.
The unerring bursts of accuracy the Ylvainans were able to display with their exclusive artillery mechs was so powerful that none of the other mech forces were eager to adopt a similar machine of their own.
The Avatars, Sentinels and so on knew that they simply didn't possess an advantage in this area. They would only subject themselves to unfavorable comparisons if they attempted to compete against the Ylvainans!
The ceremony continued for another hour as the newly-appointed mech commander began to explain the direction of the Eye of Ylvaine and its overall place within the mech lineup of the clan.
While Commander Taon definitely wanted the Eye of Ylvaine to excel in precision ranged combat, he did not want his mech force to become as one-sided as the Swordmaidens.
”We are the Eye of Ylvaine and the punishers of evil.” Taon lectured. ”We shall fight our foes no matter whether we have a rifle or a sword in our hands. Ylvaine embraces all forms of life. Though we are primarily known for piloting Transcendent Punishers these days, our mech pilots excel in other mech types as well. In the future, our force makeup will become more rounded, but with the Great Prophet's enduring blessing, we shall always distinguish truth from falsehood and bring the light of the Bright Martyr to the darkest corners of the cosmos. We are the harbingers of revelation and we shall be the first to herald the Time of Ascension!”
The clansmen mindlessly cheered at Taon's words even if they took a strange and incomprehensible turn. It didn't really matter anyway. As long as the members of the Eye of Ylvaine fought on behalf of the Larkinson Clan like the other mech forces, who cared what kind of quackery they believed in. All these references towards gods and ascension flew right over the heads of most Larkinsons.
Once Commander Taon was done with presenting his vision, numerous other Larkinsons stepped forward. People like General Verle of the Military Bureau, Speaker Ovrin Larkinson of the Larkinson Assembly and most notably Shederin Purnesse of the Foreign Relations Department all made some announcements and put the rebirth of the Eye of Ylvaine into context.