The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4543

"The Geminis are right about one thing, though." Ketis said as she stooped from her seat at the dining table.

"What is that?" Venerable Joshua said as he looked up at his spouse.

"You need to make a decision. By that I mean a real decision about your future goals and purpose. You've been getting by with flimsy excuses that satisfy your need for answers for only a while until your thoughts stray back to your doubts again. Do you know why you keep bouncing back to the same dilemmas that have been plaguing you for so long?"

"...Is it because I'm unwilling to give an honest answer to the questions in my heart?"

Ketis shook her head. "It's because you are being too selfish. You are so set on making all of these decisions alone that you are forgetting about your greatest strength. You have always been stronger when you work together with others. I am always here for you, Joshua. More importantly, the Everchanger is also willing and able to help. You only have to ask."

Venerable Joshua widened his eyes.

"Of course! How could I forget about my mech?! My reason for fighting should never exclude the feelings of my living mech. How could I have forgotten about what the Everchanger wants in its life?"

"I imagine that the Everchanger doesn't want to impose its demands on you." Ketis guessed. "Mechs aren't meant to inconvenience people's lives. If you consider your machine to be a tool, then there is nothing wrong with that. If you want your mech to be a true partner in crime, then you need to stop thinking about yourself and start bringing those close to you into your decision making process. You might not be able to get through these challenges by yourself, but there are smarter people out there that can do the thinking on your behalf."

Joshua nodded at this argument even though he was still cognizant enough to recognize its flaws.

"I would have to trust that the people that I depend upon are reliable and competent enough."

"That is true. The ability to discern both of these traits is the mark of a good leader."

"You want me to become a leader?"

"Everyone with a sufficient amount of power becomes a leader sooner or later." Ketis stated. "I have learned that lesson myself as I have taken on more and more responsibilities after I became a Journeyman and a swordmaster. The stronger we become, the more we can do, yet we always find ourselves in situations where we just don't have enough. These are the times where we learn we can leverage our strength to build up a powerbase."

Venerable Joshua found it difficult to imagine himself doing so. Sure, he had led or organized small squads and teams in the past, but he was mostly moving with the flow in those cases.

"I have never really proactively done such a thing." He told his wife.

Ketis smirked.

"Then this is a good time for you to start. It will take your mind off the big stuff that has been bothering you again. Set a goal post that you can reach in the medium term rather than in the long term. You need something to work towards to drive you forward without leading you to make enemies out of everyone. I can think of no better way of doing so than by starting your own clique. By forming a large and productive organization that answers to you and caters to your every whim, you effectively have a force multiplier at your disposal. You can get ten times, a hundred times or even a thousand times as much work done than if you try anything solo."

A moment of silence ensued as Joshua mulled over her proposal. It was not in his nature to start and lead an organization of his own, but he did not have any reason to object to it. As long as his activities did not clash with his existing duties and responsibilities, he figured it was alright to everyone.

After spending a bit of company with his wife and children, he moved over to the hangar bay where his trusty old Everchanger stood dormantly alongside a couple of other mechs and expert mechs.

Though the machines all looked as if they had completely shut down, Venerable Joshua could clearly sense the liveliness hidden beneath their frames.

The Everchanger and its living mech buddies were probably socializing within the virtual environment of the Mental Simulation Training System.

Although the patriarch originally created the MSTS to serve as a much more accurate and realistic training simulator, it also served as an excellent base for many other intricate functions.

Dedicated research and development teams were constantly developing more and more functionality to the spiritual platform, although Joshua had heard it was difficult for the developers to make any direct alterations of the MSTS.

As soon as Joshua activated a command that automatically caused his expert mech to open up an entrance to the cockpit, the Everchanger pulled out of the MSTS and greeted its battle partner.

"JOSHUA." The speakers boomed a masculine synthesized voice. "YOU ARE BACK AGAIN. THE FLEET IS STILL ENGAGED IN FTL TRAVEL, SO THERE ARE NO PATROLS ON THE AGENDA."

"Can't I pay a visit to you because I wanted to hang out with you for once?"

"YOU ARE NOT JANNZI. YOU RARELY DID SO IN THE PAST, AND YOU HAVE STOPPED SPENDING YOUR FREE TIME WITH ME AFTER YOU HAVE BECOME A FATHER. YOUR CHILDREN HAVE A MUCH GREATER DEMAND FOR YOUR ATTENTION." _{freёwebnovel.com}

Joshua grew warm as he appreciated his battle partner's concern. "Thank you for your understanding, but that doesn't mean I should neglect all of my friends. Ketis is dropping Kirian and Mayra off at daycare at the moment, so we have plenty of time to talk."

The eyes of the Everchanger briefly flashed. "I CAN TELL YOU HAVE A SERIOUS DISCUSSION IN MIND. YOUR MOOD AND WILLPOWER INDICATES AS MUCH.'

"I had a good talk with Ketis and a few other people. I've been thinking about my reasons for fighting again."

"AH. AGAIN. YOU WERE DOING FINE IN THE PAST MONTHS. I THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A RELAPSE IN AT LEAST A YEAR."

The fact that even his living mech thought that Joshua would backslide again did not make him happy.

"Maybe you're right, but I attended a therapy session with the Gemini Saints of sorts. They forced me to confront the issues that I had supposedly solved but not really. It turns out that I can't dodge my problem by deciding that I should stand up for our clan first before anyone else. It's a lazy copout that won't get me far enough."

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