Mech 401 Chapter 401 Helpful Tips They entered the end sprint.

Ves personally
accompanied the modified prototype to the newly erected testing grounds a fair
distance away from the Mech Nursery. He witnessed each test in person and made his
own observations about the prototype’s performance. From what he saw so far, his
rifleman mech design performed up to expectations. It weaved nimbly around the
obstacle, showing hardly any signs of slowing down. As a fast and nimble medium
mech, the prototype demonstrated both speed and resilience. Even the people who
supervised the tests couldn’t help but let out admiring gasps when the prototype
finally revealed the power of the chest crystal. After being hit by a number of
laser beams, the crystal started twinkling in white. After the test pilot sent out
a command, the chest crystal unleashed a powerful but controlled beam of light with
almost the same properties of a conventional crystal, but with a lot more oomph
behind its power. "The beam is at least twice as powerful as a standard laser
cannon!" That wouldn’t change any paradigms anytime soon, but it sounded impressive
nonetheless. The capability to unleash a laser beam twice as powerful as a cannon
should come as a nasty surprise to the rifleman mech’s opponents. It was too bad
that the crystal couldn’t be charged in any other way than firing lasers at it, not
if you wanted to be safe. The crystal also didn’t hold its charge for very long and
fizzled out rather quickly, throwing up a lot of excess heat into the vicinity as a
result. "It’s still a gimmick." Carlos noted at the side while Ves engrossed
himself in studying the data readouts. "I really don’t see this feature being very
useful. Sure, it’s impressive for a mech of that size to be able to unleash a
powerful beam, but it won’t have many opportunities to show off that feature. It
can only be charged if it’s shot at. Even if it carries a decent amount of armor, I
don’t see any mech pilot volunteering to go out in a laser storm." Ves grunted.
"You’re right, but the crystal can be charged in other ways as well. It doesn’t
discriminate between sides, so there’s no problem with asking other mechs to shoot
at its chest crystal." "As if anything like that will happen. It’s more efficient
if those laser rifleman mechs don’t waste their battery packs on tricks like that."
Ves did not believe it was as straightforward as Carlos made it out to be. He could
figure out several potential advantages to pre-charging the central crystal. He did
not worry about the center crystal lacking any applications. Although the crystal
technology still hid a lot of secrets, Ves was pleased by the value it added to his
design. Perhaps in the future he’d be able to bring out its full strength. The
testing grounds continued to grind away at the prototype. Ves gathered a lot of
data on the soundness of its construction and the performance of each of its
components. He paid a lot of attention to the targeting system, which turned out to
be snappy and responsive, though it wasn’t very accurate at longer ranges. The
further away his mech was from its target, the more effort it had to expend to
break past the enemy mech’s ECM. Against skirmishers which specialized in taking
out ranged mechs, this effect could become very pronounced. A skilled enough pilot
stopped relying on external aids anyway. AIs and processors always glitched out and
failed at the worst possible moments. Mech pilots had been taught to rely on their
own skills instead of the comforts provided their mechs. A mech pilot was there to
pilot his mech, not the other way around. From the fifth day onwards, the testing
grounds started to subject the prototype to more demanding tests. This mostly
involved subjecting it to extreme conditions. They had to find out if the design
delivered all of its promises in terms of survivability. It was at this time when a
very important piece of news spread throughout the Republic. The Mech Corps sent
out a formal message to millions of mech designers. Within the LMC, only Carlos
received a notification from the Mech Corps. It arrived in his comm with a special
sound that his comm normally never released. Both Ves and Carlos looked at each
other with dismay. "I knew this would happen." Carlos sighed and raised his comm to
read the message. "I’ve been drafted." Both of them saw it coming, though Ves
always hoped that the Mech Corps would somehow overlook his friend. After all,
despite graduating as a mech designer, he never did anything of the sort. He had no
designs to his name. He didn’t even publish a single virtual mech. "When do you
have to leave?" "They already booked passage for me. I’m to board the next convoy
from Cloudy Curtain to Bentheim. That’s in two days." "That’s not a lot of time."
"The Mech Corps doesn’t wait for anyone." Now that the first wave of mech designers
got called up, the war would probably enter a heated state very soon. The cautious
probes and occasional raids that characterized the majority of the battles between
the two sides would make way for harrowing battles in space and on the ground. Ves
accompanied Carlos they went through the paperwork. This ensured that Carlos would
seamlessly be able to return to the LMC after his service ended. "How long do you
think the war will drag on?" Carlos asked as they ate a meal in one of the Mech
Nursery’s restaurants. "If it’s the same as the last ones, then it’s going to last
for four to six years." That meant that Carlos might end up a very different man
after the Mech Corps released him. The thought of what low-ranking mech designers
had to go through during the war freaked him out. "Hey!" Ves reached out and
grasped his friend’s shaking hand. "Working near or at the frontlines can be bad,
but it’s also a fantastic learning opportunity! As long as you listen to the chief
technicians in charge, you won’t get lost, I promise you." "Wise words from someone
who had seen it all?" "You can say that." What he experienced on Groening IV and
the Glowing Planet changed his life and built his character. Ves might have
encountered a number of close shaves, but he also came out stronger after he
conquered every challenge in his way. Over the course of their dinner, Ves
proceeded to tutor Carlos on how to survive his coming tour of service. He
enthralled his friend with tales and cautioned him to always watch his back. "A
crisis can happen at any moment. No one will watch out for you when all hell breaks
loose. The only person who cares about your safety is yourself and no one else."
Carlos frowned. "Geez. That sounds really pessimistic. Is it really that bad?" "It
depends on where you end up, but even if you are assigned to the rearguard, you
shouldn’t relax too much." "With my background, I don’t have any chance of landing
a plushy posting." Carlos said with a rueful smile. "It’s straight to the
frontlines for me." Even Ves didn’t hold out hope for Carlos to be sent somewhere
far away. The Mech Corps was not a completely incorruptible institution. Ves grew
up long enough among the Larkinsons to hear about how they really worked. When he
studied mech design at Rittersberg, he heard other stories that confirmed all those
tales. The truth was that low-ranking mech designers with backing and connections
always seemed to end up in the rear. As for mech designers who enjoyed nothing of
the sorts, they somehow never ended up more than a stone’s throw away from all of
the action. The only thing that Carlos had going for was that he worked for Ves,
who in turn enjoyed a modest amount of backing from a Master Mech Designer. Still,
the connection between Carlos and Master Olson was nonexistent. No one believed
that Carlos enjoyed any protection from someone who held an important status in the
Friday Coalition. At best, Carlos was an extension of the LMC and Ves. Despite his
great strides in recent times, Ves knew that his prestige hadn’t reach the level
where people could recognize him on the streets or where the Mech Corps took
special care of him. Carlos had to fend for himself at the frontlines. "I don’t
blame you, Ves. I’m much better off than when I previously worked a dead-end job in
quality control. My design skills have improved a lot, and I’ll be able to offer a
lot of help to a crew of mech technicians." Ves nodded reassuringly. "I’ve kept an
eye on your progress. At your level, you should be capable of modifying mechs."
Mech technicians couldn’t make any significant modifications to existing mechs
without locking them up. Most of the time, they overlooked something critical that
led to the emergence of fatal flaws or compatibility issues. Only someone with a
mech design background could safely perform major modifications such as adding
extra armor to a mech. "That sounds like a good idea. I can stand out in this way."
"Don’t forget to check in with the chief technician before you do anything drastic.
Just because a mech technician tells you something is okay doesn’t mean he knows
what he’s talking about." "You’re always telling me to establish a rapport with the
chief technician. Why is he so important? Shouldn’t I be buttering up my
superiors?" "Who’s going to be your superior? Most of the times, it’s another mech
designer! It would be great if your boss wants to be chummy with all of his
subordinates, but from what I’ve heard, that never happens. Don’t forget that
you’re competitors as well!" Carlos started to get it. "If I perform better than my
boss, he’ll probably try to squash me down, is that right?" "That’s what all the
Larkinsons told me back when I was young. The mech pilots seem to view conflicts
between mech designer as an amusing distraction. It might be funny to them, but
it’s awful if that happens to you." "What can I do then? Will I have to keep my
head down forever? How will I be able to get a promotion out of the frontlines
then?" "That’s where the chief technician comes into play. You see, all those mech
designers sent to the bases are there to help with the repair and maintenance of
all of the mechs of the Republic. You and all the other mech designers are the
guests there. The true person is charge will always be the chief technicians on the
base." Ves made a lot of sense. Carlos nodded like an eager chick as Ves continued
his explanation. "Nothing happens in the mech stables and the workshops without the
approval of the chiefs. All of them are career servicemen without exception and
have the power to ruin the lives of any mech designer that doesn’t play by the
rules. They hold all the actual power there." "I see! So even if they aren’t all
that high up on the totem pole, they’re still more important than the base
commander, is that right?" "For you, yes. Base commanders don’t have any reason to
pay attention to you. Chief technicians do. They treat their mechs like their own
children and hope that mech designers like you do so as well. In order to earn
their acknowledgement, you have to demonstrate that you care." "Isn’t that a given?
I’m a citizen of the Republic, of course I care!" "Platitudes aren’t enough. My
uncle and aunts told me that chief technicians often blow up in front of mech
designers who still can’t get over the fact that the Mech Designers took them away
from their comfy workshops and plopped them in the middle of a war zone. Even if
you want to get out, don’t do it in a way that disrespects he people who fight the
good fight." Ves graced Carlos with many other tips like that. Unlike somehow who
had no clue what the Mech Corps wanted with all of these low-ranking mech
designers, Ves heard a lot from his uncles and aunts who participated in the last
war. Both sides often targeted each other’s mech technicians. As the war dragged
on, the Republic and the Kingdom might experience a shortage in technical
personnel. For that reason, the Republic didn’t hesitate to rope in all of the
marginal mech designers who barely eked out a career in the private sector. "Mech
designers like you are spares in their eyes." Chapter 402 Final Sprin Too many
people tried to make a living as a mech designer. Due to a low barrier of entry
combined with substantial capital requirements, most people who graduated with a
degree in mech design managed to to get one foot through the door. That did not
mean they immediately became full-fledged mech designers. Getting the other foot
through as well took an extraordinary amount of effort. Without talent, wealth or
connections, most mech designers turned into overqualified mech technicians or
marginal businesspeople who only sold two mechs a year or so. Obviously, these low-
ranking mech designers really didn’t do anything useful, so by and large they
wouldn’t be missed if they were pulled out of their current jobs. Like any state,
the Bright Republic faced an abundance of mech designers and a shortage of
technical personnel. Using an abundance of one resource to make up for the scarcity
in the other made a lot of sense. The truth was that low-ranking mech designers
used up a lot of resources that could have been spent more productively. For
example, property prices in Bentheim reached insane levels due to the sheer amount
of mech designers setting down their workshops on the same planet. Bluntly said,
without culling them every once in a while, the Bright Republic’s mech industry
would eventually turn into a stagnant and lethargic environment. Due to his
upbringing, Ves understood some of the opinions policy makers held towards mech
designers. After enlightening Carlos with what he knew, his friend fell silent. "So
they’re treating us as a nuisance, is that right?" He asked. "It’s not so bad. In
the previous wars, many mech designers died, but those who thrived during the chaos
went on to reinvigorate their careers after the war. Don’t see it as a burden, but
instead, look at it as a precious opportunity to polish your abilities under the
most ruthless training program imaginable." While neither the Bright Republic or
the Vesia Kingdom ever admitted it, the Bright-Vesia Wars invigorated the states
and ceaselessly improved their military might. The cost was great, but the
consumption of less wellperforming assets gave ample room for things that worked
better. This applied to both mech pilots and mech designers. States that rarely
engaged in war always lost their edge over time as their underlying inefficiencies
spread through their ranks like an incurable disease. "You sure see the bright side
in everything." Carlos chuckled. "If you ask any other mech designer, they want to
do everything they can to avoid being sent to the frontlines." While Ves believed
in what he said, he mostly wanted to console his friend and shift his mindset to a
more productive mindstate. "That’s the difference between you and the rest. Mech
designers should never stop improving their skills. Every challenge is a valuable
experience that can enrich your skills and your design philosophy. I hope that by
the time you return to the LMC, you can assist me in designing its next mechs."
Carlos immediately perked up. "Is that a promise?!" Haha! I knew that would catch
your attention." Ves smiled and retrieved a small box before passing it to him.
"It’s not a promise, but a possibility. As long as you can show you’ve progressed,
then the LMC will open its doors to your design input." That meant a lot to Carlos.
He knew more than anyone else how much Ves obsessed over the quality of his
products. Ves always took control over the entire design process because he trusted
no one else to do a good job. "What’s in this box?" "Open it up." Four shiny pills
rested in the box. The glimmered in yellow and it appeared as if they had been
shaped by the sun. "Wow! What are these?" "They are special pills meant to give you
a boost in mental capacity. They’re extremely rare and very hard to get a hold of.
It’s already generous for me to supply you with four of them. Make sure to read the
instructions carefully and ingest them in the right order." What Ves gifted Carlos
was in fact a handful of Intelligence Attribute Candies. He spent a significant
chunk of his limited reserve of DP to acquire four of them at once. The System
conveniently tailored them for Carlos too, so there shouldn’t be any
incompatibilities. While Ves wanted to boost Carlos’ Intelligence all the way to
2.0, it would have raised too many flags if that happened. Increasing his
Intelligence by 0.4 should give his friend enough of a boost to unearth his
potential during his tour of service without attracting too much attention. After
sending Carlos off, Ves took a brief rest before throwing himself back to work.
After the Mech Corps processed the low-ranking mech designers, they would certainly
call up the next tier of mech designers. Ves did not have much time left to publish
his second original design. The LMC’s testing grounds never stopped putting the
modified prototype to its paces. Day and night the operators worked in shifts to
explore the range of capabilities that the rifleman mech offered. Especially in the
last days, the mech continued to get beat up by a combination of physical force and
energy attacks. Even then, its frame remarkably held up even as its compressed
armor started to peel apart. His second design inherited a portion of the
resilience of his first design, which would make it one of the more durable
rifleman mechs at this weight class. Weaknesses still remained. Though the mech
could operate for an extensive amount of time with the fuel-based Trailblazer
engine, heat management remained an issue during intensive combat. This was a mech
that performed best in low-intensity battles that dragged out over time. It did not
excel in short bursts of combat such as duels where mech pilots demanded peak
performance and immediate impact out of their mechs. Ves did not set out to design
such a mech in the first place. At its current configuration, his rifleman mechs
neatly complimented his Blackbeak offerings. Both mechs fulfilled different roles
but could go on the same missions without worrying about a mismatch in
capabilities. As one test operator put it, they shared a very deep bond. "They’re
like brothers and sisters." Ves held an ambitious dream of filling up the LMC’s
catalog with an entire family of mechs that all shared the same core traits.
However, the coming war and the demands of the Republic put a wrench in his plans.
He’d be lucky enough to complete his current design before the Mech Corps called
him up. The issue worried him to such an extent that he broke from his estrangement
with his grandfather and sent him a call. "Ves, this is not a good time for me to
speak to you." Benjamin Larkinson answered gruffly as he scratched at his collared
neck. "You’re lucky you called me during a recess in a conference. I don’t have
much time." "I just wanted to ask you if you can tell me when the second wave of
mech designers are going to be called up. I’m in the middle of finishing my second
original design, but I still need a couple of weeks." His grandfather grumbled
underneath his breath. "You know I can’t tell you that. Even if I knew, the Mech
Corps will scorch me over a fire if I leak out the date. All I can tell you is that
you better hurry up." After Benjamin hung up, Ves nodded in satisfaction. He knew
that his grandfather couldn’t explicitly tell him the date, but he was better off
after the call. The hint at the end told him enough. "I can still make it in time."
The testing grounds accelerated the final tests and brutally treated the prototype
like a disposable piece of metals. The mech eventually succumbed under all of the
damage, turning most of its internals scrap to be sent for recycling. Ves gathered
all of the data gathered by the testing grounds
and used them to spot out any remaining flaws in his current design. At this
stage, he largely smoothed out the major flaws in the designs. Most of the data
only indicated that the design contained a number of issues that would be very
difficult to resolve. Most of them already consisted of compromises that Ves had
made in order to achieve a balance between different priorities. Swinging one way
or the other only solved one problem while making another one worse. "It’s too
difficult to optimize this mech any further." He only made a small number of
tweaks, ones which he was sure wouldn’t affect his mech in an unpredictable way.
His focus on haste meant that Ves couldn’t afford to make any additional design
choices. A drastic change that affected the integrity of the entire mech demanded
the construction of another prototype. His grandfather told him to hurry up, so
where would Ves be able to find the time for another round of tests? Ves felt
rather bad about leaving his design in its current state. It wasn’t quite the
perfectly polished machine he was hoping for. Its limited weight and volume
capacities combined with the complexity inherent in rifleman mechs meant that his
design required a lot more time to perfect. "I’m running out of time." Once he
reached the point where he no longer found a way to improve his design in a short
amount of time, he was ready to enter the final stage. "It’s time to give you a
name." Ves spoke out, addressing both his nearlycomplete design and the spirit of
the crystal golem resting in his mind. In the past few months, as he worked to
bring his vision into fruition, Ves constantly thought about the appropriate name
for his rifleman mech. His heart told him that his second original design required
a lofty name to do it justice. Since he constantly channeled the spirit of the
crystal golem when he designed this mech, he came up with a simple but succinct
name for his design. It was one which he had been weighing over together with the
crystal golem. Eventually, the spirit gave out its stamp of approval. "From now on,
you will be known as the Crystal Lord." The name not only described the mech, it
also harkened back to the roots of the crystal golem which would soon inhabit the
design. Ves did not forget about the crystal garden and the corpse of the alien
leader which he retrieved from that magical but fallen place. Something seemed to
have changed when he uttered the name. Speaking it out loud somehow infused it with
some weight, as if it had gained a life on its own. Ves felt as if he was at the
cusp of making history in the field of mech design. He certainly looked forward to
the end product. He had a very good feeling about his second original design.
Working with a spirit derived from a powerful being of the past was a very novel
experience, and one that would certainly impact the X-Factor in a powerful way.
"Will I finally break into the B grade with the X-Factor?" He was about to find
out. Ves looked around in a conspicuous manner, even though nobody else was present
on his private workshop floor. After scanning his surroundings, he turned to his
comm and activated his Privacy Shield before engaging the Superpublish option. [Are
you certain you wish to Superpublish the Crystal Lord CL-A-01 design?]
[Superpublishing in progress. Please wait...] [Design Evaluation: Crystal Lord CL-
A-01] Model name: Crystal Lord CL-A-01 Original Manufacturer: Ves Larkinson Weight
Classification: Medium-Light Recommended Role: Mobile Rifleman Mech Armor:
BCarrying Capacity: D Aesthetics: C+ Endurance: B Energy Efficiency: C+
Flexibility: B Firepower: B Integrity: B+ Mobility: B Spotting: C+ X-Factor: BCost
efficiency: D Project involvement: 100% Original component composition: 18% Overall
evaluation: The Crystal Lord is a speed-oriented third-class rifleman mech design
that, like its knight mech predecessor, excels in lengthy conflicts. The crystal
technology embedded into the frame and the rifle of this design is novel and can be
an asset to the design in certain circumstances. [You have received 1,000 Design
Points for completing an original design that has no other equivalent.] [You have
received 1,000 Design Points for designing a mech with a substantial presence of X-
Factor.] Chapter 403 Price of Performance The System provided a very flattering
evaluation of the Crystal Lord compared to its usual conduct. It always graded his
designs in comparison with similar models which competed in the same market
segment, so Ves always got a good picture on how his designs would fare in the
market. The most important take from the evaluation was that the X-Factor finally
broke through the ceiling! This immediately prompted Ves to whoop in excitement. "I
did it! Hahaha! Finally!" The moment he Superpublished the design, the spirit of
the crystal golem finally left his mind and began to inhabit the abruptly improved
design. This lifted a huge weight off his chest, allowing Ves to breathe easy for
the first time in months. He hadn’t realized how much of a burden the crystal golem
represented. Its mental strength had actually grown by a fair margin! Ves just
never realized the change because it happened gradually. "I hope you enjoy your new
home!" While Ves had no idea what kind of difference it made, it was still a cause
for celebration. He looked forward to seeing footage of the mech in battle and see
whether its mech pilots drew strength from the X-Factor. After he got over his
jubilation, Ves sobered up and started to study his design from a more sober
perspective. What had the Superpublish function accomplished? The System promised
that the function would comprehensively improve his design by ten percent. "What
does ten percent actually mean?" It was like claiming to improve a piece of art by
ten percent. How could you quantify the improvement in an objective manner? Was it
a straightforward boost in specs, or would the System work in a more indirect
manner? Ves was very curious about its methods, so he quickly dove into the
results. He turned his attention back to the evaluation. "Hm. It’s kind of a
muddle, now that I see it. That’s not very great." While a lot of criteria scored
rather high, some of them fell short of his expectations. Even with the power of
the Superpublish effect, the System could only do so much to boost the inadequacies
that he left in his design. His design received a lot of scores in the B range,
which meant the Crystal Lord performed better than average in those criteria, but
not to the extent of becoming a compelling selling point. His design also came with
two very impactful weaknesses that Ves hadn’t fully taken into account before he
published his design. First, the carrying capacity of his mech was rather dismal
for its mission profile. Mechs expected to be deployed for many days or weeks
needed to carry its own supplies. As big, independent war machines famous for their
ability to operate under difficult conditions without excessive requirements,
having a rifleman mech that could hardly carry its own supplies was a big demerit.
"It’s like a ship geared to traverse long distances but only having the fuel
capacity to complete half of it. There’s a mismatch between possibility and
reality." Still, his customers should be able to get around this problem by passing
the burden on mechs with greater carrying capacities. While that sounded like a
excuse, it happened all the time with regards to light mechs. Larger outfits even
relied on dedicated transport shuttles or cargo mechs to carry their supplies
during deployments. So while the Crystal Lord’s carrying capacity looked
disappointing, it wasn’t anything fatal. "The cost is another matter." Despite
using up much less expensive compressed armor plating than the Blackbeak, the cost
of the Crystal Lord actually surpassed the knight mech. The difficulty in
reproducing the crystals embedded in the chest jacked up the price by quite a lot.
Once he improved the crystal synthesizer, Ves expected to bring down the cost by a
decent amount. Still, even if he solved this issue, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be
able to charge an affordable price for his rifleman mechs. Even with a hundred
percent success rate in producing the crystals, the fact that it gobbled up a lot
of pricy exotics added up a hefty amount to the total price tag. "It’s not cheap to
implement these gimmicks." He frowned as he looked at the breakdown of the
production cost of a single copy of the Crystal Lord. The gold label mech with a
full-sized chest crystal cost 10 million credits more than a mech that left out
this boondoggle. The cost became much more generous if Ves shrank its size as he
planned to do with the bronze and silver label versions of the same model. The
extra costs would only amount to 4 to 5 million credits. The total estimated
production cost was hard to determine due to the constant fluctuation in the price
of raw materials. For the gold label Crystal Lord, Ves carefully estimated that it
cost around 45 to 50 million credits to reproduce a single copy. Ves couldn’t help
but wince when he finished his calculations. "This is already more than the
Blackbeak." Many people would scratch their heads if they saw the difference in
costs. Rifleman mechs always cost less than knight mechs. Only rarely would the
reverse be true, especially with models that shared so many commonalities with each
other. "Well, the Blackbeak is a basic mech that looks beautiful on its own while
the Crystal Lord needs a big fat jewel in order to feel appreciated." The Blackbeak
product line competed in a fairly niche market segment. The competition wasn’t as
intense, allowing Ves to focus on its fundamental attributes and rely on them to
drive its sales. The Crystal Lord faced a much more brutal environment. It was not
enough to compete on an even playing field. It needed a step
up in order to stand out from the dominant models in the market. Ves relied on
several unique advantages to increase the appeal of his Crystal Lords. "The specs,
the gimmicks, the X-Factor and my Mastery should all be powerful draws in unison."
He didn’t let his design’s shiny toys distract him from his core goal to deliver a
well-performing design. As the System’s evaluation attested, the performance of his
rifleman mech by and large surpassed its equivalents by a modest margin. As Ves
called up the Superpublished design and compared it to the pre-published version,
he spotted various subtle but ingenious improvements. "It’s truly worth it to
Superpublish this design!" If he hadn’t gone for this extra step, then he wouldn’t
be able to justify the prices he planned to charge for his mech. His own thoughts
combined with the consultations he held with the Marketing Department allowed him
to come up with a tentative pricing scheme that would slightly put the Blackbeak to
shame. "The bronze label variant should cost 65 million credits while the silver
label will still look appealing if I charge 75 million credits for it. As for the
gold label Crystal Lord, only a price of 90 million credits will do it justice."
The premium he charged for the bronze label version that the LMC would rely on
third-party manufacturers to produce looked very reasonable. It cost a bit more
than a Blackbeak, but its performance combined with the value that the gimmicks
brought to the table should lead to a brisk amount of sales. The LMC mass produced
the silver label version in-house, therefore they cost a fair bit more. In
exchange, buyers would receive a Crystal Lord with the same crystals as the bronze
label versions, but activated with the help of the crystal cube. "Anyone else can
reproduce these crystals given time and effort." When the LMC would inevitably
bestow some licensing contracts to a couple of third-party manufacturers, they
would receive detailed design schematics that lined out how to create the crystals.
Ves never expected to keep its secrets to himself. Due to the MTA’s enforcement of
licensing structures, Ves would still be able to benefit in case some other company
pirated his innovations, but that still allowed his competitors to flood the market
with imitation models. Being an innovator meant you had to spend a lot of money and
resources to invent something new. While this allowed you to release a product on
the market that enabled you to recoup your costs, it also enabled rivals to copy
your finished product and release their own versions without those burdens. "This
is why the licensing scheme exists." The MTA knew that designs could never stay
confidential and that competitors constantly stole from each other. The licensing
scheme existed to moderate these tendencies and to encourage innovators to keep on
inventing new stuff. To Ves, it didn’t always work, but at least it tried. "It’s
better than nothing." The activated crystals which enjoyed a significant boost in
power compared to unactivated crystals allowed the LMC to protect itself against
the inevitable outbreak of imitation models. When those competitors tried to copy
what Ves had achieved, they would quickly find out that they lacked an essential
ingredient. Without it, their imitations would have no appeal compared to the
original models. Still, despite his many justifications for putting those high
price tags on his products, it remained to be seen whether the market could stomach
them. In a mech market where most premium rifleman mechs sold for around 40 to 45
million credits, asking buyers to cough up at least fifty percent more money to buy
a slightly higher-performing model wasn’t easy. "It’s up to the Marketing
Department from now on." Unless they convinced consumers that the Crystal Lord of
the merits of its features, the LMC wouldn’t be able to charge a fair price. This
would definitely be a herculean challenge for his up-and-coming mech company. "We
had a lot of help with the introduction of the Blackbeak. This time, we’re on our
own." The LMC released the Blackbeak with a lot of fanfare because it was his first
original design. That was something special and a milestone to any mech designer.
In comparison with the abundant amount of publicity attracted to any debut designs,
a second original design from the same mech designer hardly roused any interest.
Buyers and publications both considered those kinds of product releases routine.
"It’s going to be hard to attract the attention of a lot of publications and build
up hype for the Crystal Lord." The problem was exacerbated by the fact that Ves
might very well be absent at the upcoming press conference that would introduce the
model to the galaxy. Right now, Ves had a lot on his plate, and very little time
clear it up. "I best finish the rest of my to-do list." Ves proceeded to move
quickly. In order to pass the MTA’s validation process for each new original mech
design, he needed to deliver a physical copy for them. He therefore went up to the
fabrication floor and reserved the Dortmund production line for himself. In the
next three days, Ves carefully reproduced a flawless copy of the gold label Crystal
Lord. Though he wanted to rush its fabrication, Ves forcefully pushed down his
impatience and adhered to a slower pace that minimized the risk of slipping up. He
paid the most attention to synthesizing and activating the two crystals that would
accompany the mech. He also capped off the finished product by personally affixing
the label and one of Lucky’s best gems in the cockpit of the mech. When Ves stepped
back, he joined the mech technicians standing to the side. They all practically
worshipped the first production mech as if it was a god come to life. What struck
Ves the most at this point was that he could feel the impact of its powerful X-
Factor in his heart. The mech radiated a sense of pride and threat in equal
measure. Ves could not forget about the alien race’s lamentation for being so
small. By fulfilling the dreams of the crystal golem of being put into a massive
war machine that towered over most people it would come into touch, it carried a
sense of completion that Ves had never encountered before in his other mechs. The
Crystal Lord hadn’t just come to life. It also enjoyed its return to the living.
Chapter 404 Marketing Strategy A lot of publicity accompanied the release of every
new original mech design. Throughout the galaxy, millions of different mech models
appeared on the market each day. How would consumers be able to make sense of the
deluge in new designs? In practice, due to resource limits, license limits, and
regulatory restrictions, most mech models competed solely in the state it
originated from. While this cut away most of the competition, it still left Ves
with thousands of competing designs that fought over the limited attention span of
their potential buyers. This time, Ves wouldn’t be able to enjoy the advantage of
making his debut. Fortunately, the LMC of today was a lot bigger than when he
published the Blackbeak design. Back then, he still based his company back at his
old, cramped workshop. Right now, the LMC not only owned three production system,
it also expanded its payroll by several times. Many problems that seemed difficult
to Ves to solve by himself could easily be handed off to the right departments in
the company. Gavin was his contact person in the Marketing Department, which had
been tasked with the challenge of making the Crystal Lord a success. Even before
Ves completed his design, the Marketing Department already laid out the groundwork
for the upcoming release. "The MTA will be done with the validation of the Crystal
Lord in two weeks or so. How soon can you arrange a press conference to introduce
our latest product line to the Republic?" Gavin quickly referenced a data pad. "We
are working with all hands on deck right now. In principle, we can hold the press
conference at any time, but we’re still having trouble with inviting a sufficient
amount of publications. Some of these news and media empires are really tough
customers." People interested in buying mechs rarely browsed the public catalog and
sorted through the huge number of available models. They researched what they
wanted on the galactic net and listened to advice from sources of authority. News
portals and mech portals formed a particularly powerful influences that could
collectively make or break a new mech model. The key to making the market aware of
his new product was to push it to the public consciousness through a combination of
promotion and news coverage. "Now that I’ve published my design, your progress in
this area should go much faster, am I right?" "That’s right! It always helps to
have a concrete example to show off!" Gavin eagerly nodded. "I do have to say it’s
a really smart idea for you to add such an attention-grabbing gimmick to your
latest product. That already makes the Crystal Lord ten times better in terms of
marketability." "Added to that, its premium price point and its similarities to the
Blackbeak line should also help with giving the Crystal Lord a boost." Gavin looked
a bit more hesitant at that. "The close relations between the Blackbeak and the
Crystal Lord will definitely be an asset, considering that your first design is
already so prominent. In the right circumstances, we can definitely enable the
Crystal Lord to piggyback off the reputation of the Blackbeak. It’s only..." "The
price?" "Yes. The price. Even for your vaunted gold label masterpieces, charging 90
million credits is price gouging even to me. Everyone in the Marketing Department
is sceptical whether you can get the Crystal Lord to take off with such a greedy
price point." Ves shook his head. "I don’t agree. You have to be aware that the
Mech Corps will call up the second wave of mech designers
very soon. The number of gold label Crystal Lords on the market will definitely be
a fraction of the gold label Blackbeaks currently in existence, and those already
have a very magnanimous resale value." "That resale value trended upwards over
time. It’s something that happened organically. You can’t prematurely declare that
your next product will instantly be worth the same." "It’s a high price, but I
think it’s more than fair considering what it brings to the table. The Crystal Lord
is packed with value. In my opinion, the high price also serves as a symbol of its
worth. If I charge any less, then the market won’t take my product as seriously."
"They might not think so highly of the Crystal Lord, but at least they can afford a
copy." Gavin retorted. "If they want a more affordable copy, they can set their
sights to the silver and bronze label Crystal Lords. Sure, their chest crystals
will only be half the size, but it still retains much of the capabilities of the
gold label version." "Even if they’re a little cheaper, it still won’t be easy to
push them into the hands of our customers. Only you would think that there are
buyers ready to snap up rifleman mechs valued at 65 and 75 million credits."
"Leaving the gimmicks aside, charging such a price is still reasonable if you think
about how I’ve integrated a substantial amount of compressed armor into its design.
Most other armored rifleman mechs are only partially clad with the same kind of
armor!" "Alright, enough!" Gavin sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You don’t need to
convince me of the appeal of your new design. I just wanted to make you aware that
most of the market will react the same as me when they first get to know our new
product." "I’m sure that you already have a plan to address those issues." Ves
pointedly stated. He already let the Marketing Department know of the overall specs
of his design as soon as he completed his draft design. If they hadn’t figured out
how to overcome these issues, then what was Ves paying them for? "All I need to
know is is your overall strategy. Do you have anything solid?" "Well, the Crystal
Lord is actually a great product for the spoiled brats segment. Think about it. The
models are all expensive high-spec machines with cook gimmicks that make it a
natural hit among the rich kids that wants to pilot something distinct." Ves curled
down his mouth. "You mean people like Vincent Ricklin?" "Exactly so. Laser rifleman
mechs are universally popular in the mech market. A lot of potentates default to
piloting these kinds of mechs because that’s all they’ve trained for. We found out
there’s a decently strong demand for premium rifleman mech models that’s expensive,
easy to show off and easy to pilot." That caused Ves to nod and frown at the same
time. "The Crystal Lord definitely fits the first two criteria. As for being easy
to pilot, well, according to the test pilots that put the prototype to the test, my
design is definitely one of the more difficult rifleman mechs to pilot. I’ve always
designed the Crystal Lord to meet the needs of professionals, not the so-called
spoiled brats who shy away at the first sight of blood." He made many design
choices that increased the performance of his mech at the cost of adding to the
burden of the person in the cockpit. Mechs designed to be easy to pilot often took
a lot of decisions out of the hands of their mech pilots, thereby simplifying the
control interface to a manageable level. This might be acceptable to the casual
potentate that never piloted a mech out of simulations, but a skilled mech pilot
that relied on his machine to stay alive demanded more control. Through his recent
Mastery experience with Alven, Ves learned how important it was for him to be able
to fine-tune every possible action made by his mech. Alven might be a religious
nut, but his skill in piloting mechs was very real. The explanation came as
unwelcome news to Gavin. As a norm and someone who never really bought into the
mystique of mechs, he wasn’t aware of subtle but impactful details like this. "Oh.
That is going to be a problem then. While I’m sure there are a couple of rich kids
out there who know what they’re doing, I guess we can’t go through with our
original plans." They continued their discussion for a bit. Ves emphasized that the
Crystal Lord fared best when piloted by someone skilled. Just like with the
Blackbeak, the Crystal Lord was not a toy to be shown off to friends. Ves designed
it to endure the rigors of war, and he was determined to see it thrive in the
coming battles. "Well, there’s one more group who this mech should appeal to."
Gavin suddenly remembered something. "All of those gangs and mercenary corps that
returned from the Glowing Planet and received their rewards are still flush with
money. Although many of them have already placed new orders, it’s impossible for
them to run out of money soon. I bet there are a couple of mercenary commanders and
gang leaders who are willing to spend a little extra to obtain a prestigious mech."
That sounded like a much better target audience. Ves quickly nodded. "That’s the
right approach. You can even approach the Whalers and sound them out if they are
interested as well." After Ves became reassured that the Marketing Department was
on the right track, he left them to complete their preparations while Ves returned
underground. He couldn’t afford to slack off in what might be his last month with
the LMC. First, he began designing the bronze and silver label variants of the
Crystal Lords. With the Blackbeak line, the different labels mainly resulted in
cosmetic differences. Principally, their performance should be equal, though in
practice differences in familiarity, skill and equipment resulted in substantial
differences in performance. Ves couldn’t do the same for the Crystal Lord, mainly
due to the difficulty of synthesizing and activating the huge chest crystal.
Fortunately, Ves already took into account that he might have to downscale the
chest crystal, so he easy modified the original design to accommodate much smaller
crystals without overhauling the entire schematic. It only took a couple more days
for him to verify the soundness of his changes in the simulations. "I don’t have
the time to fabricate a physical copy and test the bronze and silver label variants
for real." He decided to dump the problem on the lap of the Production Department
and let them fabricate the variants and bring them to the testing grounds on their
own. If nothing surprising happened, both of his variants should be able to pass
muster. In that case, the LMC could submit the designs to the MTA for certification
before putting them into production. Due to his impending absence, Ves helplessly
delegated a lot of the responsibility of bringing all three labels to the market to
his subordinates. Inevitably, the board of directors would have a say in the
decision making as well, though Ves planned to ram through a couple of new
regulations that curbed their power even further. Lawyers in the service of the
Larkinson Estate drew up much of the LMC’s articles of incorporation. In hindsight,
Ves made a mistake by relying on these people to draw up the governance structure
for his company. The lawyers made sure that minority shareholders such as the
Larkinsons retained a measure of power without being too obvious. "As much as
they’re family, I can’t let them run the LMC in a way that runs counter to its
mission." Ves did not rely on the the Administrative or Legal Department to come up
with the amendments. Pretty much everyone who worked there reported to Jake, who in
turn was a Larkinson loyalist through and through. Putting them in charge of this
matter would be like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. Instead, he
consulted an external corporate lawyer based out of Bentheim behind the backs of
his entire company. With the help of the corporate lawyer’s advice, they managed to
formulate some changes that patched the most egregious loopholes in the corporate
charter. In this way, even if Ves wouldn’t be able to attend the board meetings,
the rest of the board still wouldn’t be able to decide on things willy nilly.
Chapter 405 Agen In order to make sure the LMC wouldn’t be wracked by rudderless
leadership, Ves made it so that he could appoint an agent to make decisions on his
stead on the board. The only problem was he needed to appoint someone he could
trust with an incredible amount of power. After all, the LMC was a growing multi-
billion credit mech manufacturer with bright prospects. It only took one power-
hungry madman to topple everything that he built in the past two years. As Ves
tried to wrack his brains for possible candidates, he started to get a headache.
"Carlos would have been a perfect agent for me." He knew his friend inside and out
and knew that he didn’t enjoy the backing of anyone else. As someone who benefited
hugely under Ves, Carlos could certainly be trusted to value his interests over
those of the other Larkinsons. A significant shortcoming of Carlos was that he
never excelled in any of the business courses, so he probably wouldn’t be able to
steer the LMC as well as Ves. Naturally, a bigger problem was that the Mech Corps
already snatched Carlos up along with a deluge of other low-ranking mech designers.
After he ended up in the clutches of the military, Ves hadn’t received any word
from Carlos since. His friend completely fell off the radar, which was to be
expected. The military took communications with the outside galaxy very seriously.
Even taking the time to say hello to your parents through the galactic net could
leak out an enormous amount of sensitive data to any eavesdroppers. Thus, even
remotely, Ves could not expect Carlos to be available to act as his agent. "Who
else can I turn to?" As the temporary chairman of the board, his agent held the
power of life and death over the LMC. That was really something that could not be
belittled. Ves himself was too busy to revel in the amount of power and wealth at
his fingertips, but that did not mean he was unaware of their deathly allure. He
mentally went through several candidates, but he found to his dismay that most of
the people he knew shared a connection with the Larkinson Estate. Even Chief Cyril,
who knew the most about mechs in the company outside of Ves, never hid his roots as
a retainer. After going through more than a dozen different names, Ves ended up
with two possible candidates. Each of them possessed their own merits and
shortcomings. If he picked the wrong person, the consequences for the LMC would be
very dire. The first candidate who Ves tentatively took into consideration was
Melkor. Although he was a Larkinson as well, his youth and his inexplicable
estrangement with the Mech Corps insured he didn’t fell into the established
factions of the Family. "In a way, he’s kind of a failure, or the Larkinsons would
have never let go of him to serve as my bodyguard." Putting Melkor in charge of the
board, if only temporarily, would make it clear to the rest of the board that Ves
still kept a pulse on what went on there. Melkor’s possessed a firm but understated
personality that would likely lead to a restrained atmosphere in the board. After
all, from what Ves gathered from his cousin, Melkor brooked no nonsense. The
downside to putting a mech pilot in charge of the board was that Melkor knew
nothing about designing mechs or conducting business. He possessed no relevant
knowledge that allowed him to make informed decisions, or understand the topics
being discussed in the meetings. Another problem with Melkor was that he would have
to put his foot down in front of their grandfather. Despite his job as a military
advisor, Benjamin always took the time to be present at the board meetings. As the
temporary chairman, Melkor should be able to hold more sway than their grandfather.
"Will Melkor be able to stand up to grandpa, though?" That was a very pertinent
question. Benjamin Larkinson enjoyed a vast amount of prestige in the Larkinson
Family. Not only did grandpa work for the influential Ministry of Defense, he also
used to be an expert mech pilot. Practically the entire younger generation of the
Larkinsons worshipped him as one of their gods. From what Ves gathered of Melkor,
his cousin did not enjoy a close relationship with the rest of the Family. Neither
did he seem like someone who revered their grandfather. Still, Ves always had the
sense that Melkor hid a lot about himself to everyone. He never showed anyone his
true nature. His habit of wearing a big visor that covered the entire upper half of
his face made it extraordinarily difficult to read his expressions. In the end, Ves
could never pin down where Melkor stood. He may be a disaffected Larkinson looking
to spread his wings outside of the umbrella of the Family. He might also be hidden
Larkinson loyalist who had secretly been assigned to keep an eye on Ves and push
him in the right direction once in a while. "I’ve already entrusted him with some
responsibility. What does it hurt to add a little more to his plate?" Ves already
tasked Melkor with leading and expanding the Avatars of Myth. That reminded him to
arrange some matters for his personal force as well. He still needed to hear back
from Captain Silvestra and make plans for expanding their fleet. Compared to
picking a mech pilot like Melkor, Ves found the alternative to be a little more
attractive. During the early stages of his business, Ves relied on Gavin and Calsie
to do a lot of things on his behalf. As the LMC formally came into being and hired
hundreds of professionals, the role these two former students played in the company
became less and less. That did not mean that Ves had sidelined them entirely. It
was easy for Gavin to adjust change his role. Not only did he let Ves keep tabs on
what the Marketing Department was up to, he also acted as his personal assistant in
many other areas. If not for his current responsibilities and his strange opinions
in some areas, Ves would have no qualms about appointing Gavin as his agent.
"Calsie might be a better choice." She was a dutiful worker who possessed a deep
understanding of the local issues. Ves always relied on her reports on the local
situation to keep himself abreast of what went on in Cloudy Curtain. Ves honed in
on her law background. While that didn’t turn her into an expert concerning mechs
or business, she should be able to possess a sufficient understanding of the
discussions in due time. She also wouldn’t be vulnerable to clever wordplay or
dirty tricks. If Ves put someone like her in charge of the board, then she wouldn’t
flinch from anyone, including his grandfather. She would be able to understand very
well how much power she held in her hands and how much responsibility Ves had
thrust in her. Since she didn’t possess any relationships with the other members of
the boar, he could trust her to avoid any favoratism. "She’s still awfully young
though. She’s also related to the Pioneers." Calsie never hid her inclinations for
the Pioneers, and believed that the LMC should seek for ways to collaborate with
each other. Ves was not a fan of political entanglement. He couldn’t forget how the
Pioneers revealed their true faces to him long ago. Even if they turned a new leaf
with their change in leadership, a leopard could hardly change its spots. In this
case though, it was not as if Calsie would be in a position to do a lot. It would
be really obvious if she changed the direction of the company in a way that favored
the Pioneers. Instead, Ves worried more about her youth and lack of experience.
Would she be able to handle the responsibility and stand up to a bunch of
professionals who surpassed her in every aspect? "She doesn’t need to be an expert.
She only needs to hold her ground." To act as his agent meant it would be
sufficient for Calsie to understand the broad strokes of every proposal. Ves
decided to go with Calsie instead of Melkor, because he thought that the influence
of the Larkinsons was already bad enough. If she subsequently attempted to benefit
the Pioneers, then at least they would be able to play as a counterbalancing
influence within the internal politics of the company. He activated his comm and
called Calsie to his office. After a moment, she arrived at the top floor of the
office and sat down on the other side of the imposing office. "I have a job for
you. I don’t know if you are interested, but how does it sound like to take up the
post of temporary chairman of the board?" He subsequently explained the details of
the job and what he expected of his agent. As expected, Calsie looked floored by
the responsibility. "I-I-I’m just a local girl. Boss, this job is way too big for
me! I’m not qualified to be the chairman of anything!" "Nonsense. The job isn’t as
hard as it sounds, and since you are taking charge in a temporary capacity, you
don’t need to know all the ins and outs. Still, I suggest you study some basic
textbooks about mech design and how to run a mech business whenever you’re off-
duty. It’s important for you to master the general gist of what goes on in the
company." Ves diminished the daunting nature of what it meant to be his agent by
breaking it down into manageable chunks. She only needed to assume a limited amount
of responsibilities at the start. Once her knowledge caught up, she could slowly
expand the range of decisions she would be able to affect. Naturally, Ves made it
clear that she should never act in a unilateral manner in any proactive decisions.
Basically, he wanted Calsie to act as a gatekeeper for every major suggestion
proposed by others. Her job was to say no to any ideas that went against his
interests. "If you put it like that, the job doesn’t sound so hard." Calsie’s frown
started to ease. "I still don’t get it. Why me? Why not Gavin, or someone else you
trust. Am I special in your eyes?" She looked at him with a mix of bewildered
accusation. Ves did not enjoy being stared at in that way, and quickly held up his
hands. "It’s not that I trust you over anybody else, but out of every other
candidate, you are the only one I know who doesn’t work directly for anyone else.
Your ties with the Pioneers is of little concern to me. You would be the only
person on the board who comes from Cloudy Curtain. Maybe all that’s needed to keep
the LMC in the right direction is a local touch." In the end, Ves had to put his
faith into Calsie and hope she did not disappoint. To her credit, Calsie did not
appear to be duplicitous in her loyalties, and Ves had a good feeling about her.
After a little bit more persuasion, Ves managed to get her to agree to become his
agent. As Ves introduced her to her upcoming duties, Calsie quickly frowned when
she got her hands on the amendments that Ves was about to propose at the next board
meeting. "I can see why you want to close all of these loopholes, but the other
directors are going to be pissed." He shrugged. "I don’t need to care about their
opinions." "Disaffected board members can do a lot of damage, you know. The worst
thing that can happen is if they enter into an accord with your enemies or
competitors." "I already thought about that. In exchange for allowing these changes
to come to pass, I’ll agree to let the LMC issue a modest amount of dividends. I’ll
also throw in some stock to them so that they enjoy a direct benefit." Bribing
people always worked wonders. Ves mainly resorted to this method because he
couldn’t think of any other way to keep the board members somewhat on his side.
After all, the amendments he was about to suggest would definitely impact their
ability to influence the direction of the company. After wrapping up the matters
concerning the board of directors, Ves sent Calsie out of his office and worked
through the list of things he needed to arrange. "I still need to fabricate a
couple of gold label Crystal Lords. I still owe a copy to the Oodis Mudriders,
while the Avatars of Myth needs a bunch of them as well to form a strong nucleus of
mechs." Ves especially placed a lot of importance on the latter. It would be a
shame for his own personal force to rely on inferior silver label products. Due to
the growth nature of the X-Factor, it wasn’t efficient for the Avatars of Myth to
get accustomed with mechs that Ves intended to replace with superior variants at a
later date. The only problem was that Ves lacked the time to fulfill the needs of a
force that numbered at least 40 mechs. "If I want to meet all of their needs, I’ll
have to fabricate at least ten gold label Crystal Lords and several more gold label
Blackbeaks." That sounded impossible to fulfill in a short amount of time. Even if
he planned to quickly wrap up his other work and spend the rest of his days as a
free man on fabricating the mechs, he shouldn’t expect to finish more than four or
five handcrafted mechs. "The Avatars of Myth will have to make do with what they
can get." He shrugged. Chapter 406 Primacy Ves had to arrange a lot of stuff before
his impending departure. Over the next week, he accomplished a lot of things. He
held a board meeting where he introduced Calsie and rammed through a couple of
changes in the corporate chapter. He kept himself up to date with the Marketing
Department’s plan to roll out of the Crystal Lord models. On some moments, Ves
squeezed out the time to visit Lucky. His gem cat meowed weakly at him whenever he
visited. It seemed that Lucky still needed a couple of months to get back into
shape. "I’ll be going away soon. According to the regulations of the Mech Corps, I
can’t bring any possession along with me. You’ll have to stay behind." "Meow..."
"Just keep an eye on the Mech Nursery, alright? Hang around Calsie and Melkor if
you can, and scare away anyone who issues threats to them. They’re my two most
influential agents and I can’t have them succumb to any outside coercion while I’m
away. "Meow." "I’ll be sure to arrange for a steady supply of choice minerals and
exotics. You’ll never starve as long as the LMC exists." "Meow..." He hugged and
played with Lucky for a couple of times, but he regretfully kept these tender
moments brief. "There’s one more thing I need you to take care of." Ves said and
slowly detached his trusty comm from his wrist. He subsequently bound it to Lucky’s
neck. The comm’s advanced construction quickly shifted into a locked configuration.
"Keep my comm on you at all times, and never let it anyone grab a hold of it. Got
it?" "Meow?" "Yes, it contains the System." "Meow!" "I know, but I don’t have any
other choice! The Mech Corps take security very seriously. I heard that any
incoming mech designer will be stripped of his possessions and be issued new ones
instead. I can’t have this comm falling out of my sight and into someone else’s
hands." This not only applied to his comm, but also his shield generator and all of
his anti-grav clothes, which he planned to stash in the vault. Spending a long time
without the System daunted him a little. Ves admitted to himself that he became
dependent on having the possibility to spend DP at any time to get out of a fix.
Being forced to forgo his safety rope unsettled him more than he thought. "I
couldn’t have made it this far without the System." On the flipside, this would be
a rare moment in time where he could prove that he could make do without the
System’s many conveniences. True mech designers built up their careers by
themselves. Though many of the successful ones benefited from a lot of outside
help, Ves figured that no one enjoyed a leg-up as much as him over the same period
of time. From a talentless hack to a rising young star, Ves owed the System more
than he could ever repay. The thought constantly lingered in the back of his mind.
One day, a reckoning might come where he may have to pay an awful price. For now,
it was not as if Ves lost a lot of capabilities. It would be impossible for him to
earn a lot of DP while he worked for the Mech Corps. "Added to that, the Crystal
Lord is a Superpublished design. In exchange for elevating its quality, I lost the
opportunity to earn any DP from its sales." That would affect him a lot, he knew.
The handsome trickle of DP he earned from the Blackbeak alone was very substantial.
Once the LMC allocated some of its production capacity to the Crystal Lord, his DP
income would be cut in half at the very least. Therefore, losing access to the
System for a time wouldn’t affect him too much. This made it a little easier for
Ves to stomach going without this aid. For now, he made do with a generic comm that
contained nothing important. As he went through his to-do list, he also spoke with
Captain Silvestra. She thought highly of the Trieste TRLC-343 light carriers.
However, his suggestion to put her in charge of the starship contingent of the
Avatars of Myth met a surprising objection from the female captain. "Thank you for
thinking so highly of me, sir, but I’m not qualified to hold a multi-ship command."
She replied over the comm. "In both the mercantile and mercenary navies, it’s
something of a taboo to thrust a junior captain like me in a position of leadership
over multiple fully-fledged ships. It takes decades of training and experience to
become a senior captain or fleet commander. They are the only ones competent enough
to keep track of multiple vessels and effectively command them in battle." This
posed a problem for Ves. "I don’t know any senior captains and I don’t know a thing
about running a fleet. Can you assist Melkor in finding a good and trustworthy
senior captain that can crew and run the two Trieste-class light carriers that I’ll
be ordering soon?" "That won’t be a problem." The captain of the Barracuda smiled.
"I know a handful of former mentors who may be interested in commanding over a
fleet of state-of-the-art light carriers." The price tags attached to the Trieste-
class vessels drained the majority of his personal fortune. In return, the Avatars
of Myth gained an incredible amount of capability with regards to interstellar
mobility and spaceborn battles. The two purpose-built ships could not be compared
to the deluge of cheap, clunky converted carriers which always risked coming apart
at the slightest touch. These consisted of improvised rust buckets converted from
outdated cargo haulers that had reached the end of their service. The only reason
they had been made space worthy again was because the shipyards replaced the FTL
drive and a handful of other essential parts during the conversion process.
Naturally, in the race to offer the cheapest converted carriers, the more dubious
shipyards often cut a lot of corners. The amount of accidents these converted
carriers suffered each year in the Bright Republic alone could fill up a book.
According to Captain Silvestra, fleet commanders with the right qualifications
rarely accepted the invitation of a random mercenary corps to command their
ramshackle ships. Attracting the services of these venerable spacers who enjoyed a
supreme status in the mercantile and mercenary navies required a lot of effort.
"Hmm." Ves mused. "So will it be difficult for us to attract a qualified
commander?" "There’s no problem at all. They all salivate at the possibility of
commanding over two proper light carriers. In addition, working under a mech
designer is a cushy job. Unlike working for a mercenary corps, you always seem to
have a lot of money to spend, and you don’t go out to dangerous regions nearly as
often." Many mech pilots thought the same. Ves understood her point after he made
that connection. "While I’m gone, I’ll be sure to set aside a lot of funds in order
to crew and maintain the ships. Just to be sure, every major spending decision
needs to be cleared by Melkor. He’ll be having the ultimate say over everything
that happens in the Avatars of Myth. Will that be okay?" She nodded. "Sir, this is
nothing unusual. The outfit commander’s words are law. It’s up to us ship drivers
to bring his mechs to the right planet at the right time." It used to be the other
way around. Admirals, fleet commanders and ship captains with the power to scorch
entire planets used to reign supreme. The so-called ground pounders that formed the
landbound contingent of the armed forces often endured mockery and abuse by the
elites that ran the warships. Nowadays, the Age of Mechs placed mech pilots in a
position of primacy. Outfits always pushed their mech commanders in a position of
leadership. It was unheard of to let a ship captain be a figurehead, even if that
person commanded over a starship that was ten times as expensive as all the mechs
in the outfit put together. After his talk with the captain, Ves looked at his
schedule and saw that he addressed every pressing issue. The only item on the
agenda of importance was the upcoming press conference. "For now, I should
fabricate as much gold label Crystal Lords as possible." In order to spice up the
press conference, Ves planned to bring along a handful of gold label Crystal Lords
and auction them after the grand reveal. Just the hint of it would attract a horde
of collectors, thereby boosting his new product line’s exposure. His hard work in
elevating the status of his gold label offerings allowed him to cash in on it at
this crucial moment. A fair number of mech insiders knew that any product that
carried this label would have an extraordinary amount of value. The X-Factor alone
helped a lot in reinforcing their emotional impression of his mechs. "I can always
count on collectors being suckers." Ves smirked before he furrowed his brows. "Yet
I can’t base my business model around serving their demands." Milking the cash
cows known as collectors required a fertile field for them to feed on. Without
building up the status of his regular production models, he had no leg to stand on
if he wanted to charge a huge premium for his top-tier mechs. Therefore, Ves and
the Marketing Department did not count on collectors alone to hype the Crystal
Lord. They needed to reach their intended market segment which would be responsible
for the bulk of their sales. "We’ve got to find a way to make our value proposition
relevant to the private sector." This was not a matter of delivering a certain
amount of performance or including an innovative new gimmick. At the heart of it,
mech designers like Ves produced machines of war that aimed to meet the needs of
those who relied on them to do their jobs. What kind of mech pilots did his mech
appeal to the most? The elites. The commanders. The talents. The Crystal Lord
wasn’t called a Lord for nothing. Both its price and performance elevated the model
past most of its peers. Potential customers ranged from outfits that nurtured
promising talents, or mech commanders that wanted to make a bigger impact on the
battlefield. The LMC’s Marketing Department worked with this premise and started
priming the local media environment with teaser ads of the new model. With the help
of Marcella who knew the market inside and out, they found the best ways to spark
some interest in the upcoming press conference. All of this cost a lot of money, of
course. The LMC already lost some cash by issuing dividends, and now it spent even
more to fund an advertising campaign for a product that hadn’t even been sold yet.
The increased spending delayed the acquisition of more production lines, but Ves
believed his company would be better off in the long run by investing so early in
marketing the Crystal Lord. In the meantime, Ves slaved away his time by churning
out mechs after mechs from the Dortmund production line. A constant rotation of
mech technicians stood at a distance and observed his every move. They needed to
learn how to fabricate a copy of the Crystal Lord on their own after Ves was gone.
Though the Crystal Lord used up less materials than the Blackbeak, its fabrication
process was a lot more complex. From the HRF armor to highly intricate mechanisms,
this mech required a lot of finesse. At best, he could complete one Crystal Lord in
a little more than two days. Perhaps over time, he and his mech technicians would
become more familiar with the process, but the time savings wouldn’t be too much.
"This is a mech that’s difficult to mass produce." Ves did not consciously design
the Crystal Lord to be so troublesome to fabricate. The cramped volume and lack of
space reminded him of his troubles with the Caesar Augustus and the Mark II. His
vast experience with those two outdated designs taught him how to handle situations
like this, but that did not mean his employees could go over these bumps as well.
"Being difficult to produce isn’t necessarily a bad thing. At least it will cut
down on the imitations." Chapter 407 Farewells Over the course of several weeks,
Ves fabricated eight gold label Crystal Lords. Together with the first production
model, the LMC would be able to show off nine of them at once at the looming press
conference. A while ago, Ves tentatively settled on holding the press conference in
a couple of days. Though the announcement didn’t leave much time for everyone else
to arrange their schedules, he believed that a lot of people still planned to
attend. "Interest in our new model is has peaked." Gavin spoke as he reported the
matter to Ves in his private office. "The teasers have done their job, but without
showing anything more solid than a silhouette, it’s extremely hard to generate new
fans." "We’ll make do with what we have. How many confirmed guests are we talking
about?" "We’ve roped in over two-dozen local publications. None of them are major
players, and only a couple of them have state-wide reach." Ves frowned. "Nothing
bigger has shown any interest?" "No. We tried our best and even offered a
substantial amount of bribes, but those huge publications that are followed by
people throughout the Komodo Star Sector hardly pay attention to Apprentice Mech
Designers. You have to be an extremely talented Journeyman Mech Designer in order
to rouse their interests." Though he found it disappointing, Ves did not expect
anything else. It had already been an extremely rare occasion for a publication
such as the Rimward Star Herald to do a feature on him. Even that got quickly
ignored and buried underneath all of the major news that popped out shortly
afterwards. "Have you gathered any more intelligence about the second wave?"
"According to the latest rumors circulating in the mech industry, the Mech Corps
has almost finished settling the first wave of mech designers. They’ll likely call
up the second wave early next week." "Ves tapped his fingers. "Hm. I’ve done what I
can in Cloudy Curtain. The Barracuda arrives in orbit tomorrow morning. We’ll
depart for Bentheim to prepare for the press conference. Make sure you finish
everything that needs to be done on this end before you go." "Will do, boss!" As
Gavin left his office, Ves contemplated how the LMC would fare in his absence.
Right now, a lot of tiny mech workshops and mech boutiques shuttered their doors by
the thousands. Hardly a day went by without reading up on the doom and gloom among
the tiny mech manufacturers. These marginal companies only managed to cling onto
solvency as long as their only mech designer remained in charge. The sudden absence
of a vast majority of of mech designers caused most of these businesses to shutter
their doors, sometimes by the founders themselves. This in turn disrupted plenty of
supply chains and caused a deluge of unemployed people who used to work for these
small mech manufacturers to end up on the streets. Fortunately, the LMC remained
steady throughout all the turmoil. With two currentgen product lines in its
catalog, the company would be able to remain relevant for at least eight more years
without any further input by Ves. "This is a good time for my company to grow and
accumulate more wealth." Unless someone else published a design that competed
directly against his mechs, the LMC should be able to sustain a regular cash flow.
It mattered little whether Ves published more designs or not. His current two
designs already covered a decent swathe of the market. Ves spent his final day in
Cloudy Curtain meeting his people one more time and saying goodbye to them. He even
took a shuttle trip downtown and visited Dietrich to get in touch with the Whalers.
Ever since they helped out in repelling the Vesian raiding force, their prestige
enjoyed a substantial boost. Their rule over Cloudy Curtain had solidified and
couldn’t be shaken anymore. Dietrich obviously looked like he was having a good
time. Ves entered a recently constructed night club that the Whalers had demolished
and built from the ground up with all the bells and whistles. It made heavy use of
widearea projectors to cast an illusion of walking among the stars. The view
disoriented Ves somewhat, but he slowly got used to walking in the middle of space.
Comets zipped by while stars emitted light and heat. He eventually reached Dietrich
who nursed an expensive drink. "Are you off to join the war?" He asked with a bit
of alcohol on his breath. "In a way. I’ll likely be allocated to a design team." "I
heard about that! My mates tell me that they’ll gather a hundred or so mech
designers and put them in a single base in some forgotten corner of the Republic
and let you guys sort things out from there." "It’s not quite as simple as that.
Mech designers like me will be joining the existing design teams as extra manpower.
They can never have enough mech designers to do all of their grunt work." Most of
the time, people like Ves would be granted the privilege of running loads of
simulations or repetitive computations. Some jobs could be left to AIs while other
jobs required a lot of creative judgement. Mech design was both an art and a
science, after all. Ves hoped that publishing the Crystal Lord design would enhance
his status just enough to avoid the lowest level of grunt work. It remained to be
seen whether the Mech Corps took note of his work, but it couldn’t hurt to try. Ves
ordered a light drink and sat on the opposite side of the table to Dietrich, who
dismissed his hanger-ons. As Ves enjoyed the imported liquor, he turned to an
important topic. "What’s in store for the Whalers in the next few years? You guys
are expanding like crazy. Cloudy Curtain alone won’t be able to hold you all."
"Hahaha!" Dietrich burst into laughter. "It’s that obvious? Well, since you already
guessed, there’s no need for me to hide. We’re planning on branching out, but not
in the way you think. All the neighboring star systems in the Bentheim region is
spoken for. The gangs who occupy these systems all have backers just as troublesome
as Monty the Beheader. We can’t just fob them off without provoking a lot of
formidable existences." "So you’re looking for places further ahead?" "Exactly!
Right now, we’re eying a quiet star system that’s closer to Rittersberg than
Bentheim, but not too close to make things difficult. You know what everyone is
saying about this war. There’s always a chance the Vesians might accomplish the
impossible and conquer the Bentheim System. Having a few fallback options ready
would be really handy." "The chance that the Mech Legion actually manages to break
through is small. They first have to crack Fort Havensworth before they can even
think about moving further inward, That’s never happened before." Both of them
nodded. Neither appeared to seriously entertain the thought of a Vesian
upset. Walter’s Whalers only made some preparations in order to calm the nerves of
its own people. "So what are you here for, really? I doubt you visited to sample
our drinks." Ves nodded and put down his half-empty glass. "In truth, I wanted to
ask some favors from the Whalers. Basically, I want you guys to watch over the LMC
and take care of them if it’s convenient for you guys. I hope you can help my
company out again if the Vesians for some reason try to raid the Mech Nursery
again." "That’s difficult for me to promise, you know. We’re in the middle of our
transformation. Our combat effectiveness isn’t all that great right now." "At some
point, your rookies will stop being inept. I’m confident the Whalers will become a
force to be reckoned with. At that time, I hope you haven’t forgotten about me and
my company." "That won’t happen! You can count on us!" They subsequently discussed
more concrete matters. In exchange for explicit support, the LMC would occasionally
supply the Whalers with silver label mechs. Though they could still afford to
purchase these mechs at market prices, Dietrich never turned down free stuff,
especially mechs of this caliber. "Great! It’s always troublesome to order a
homegrown mech of yours. Sure, we can place our orders to another company, but
we’ll only be able to get our hands on the crappy bronze label mechs. Getting them
directly from your factory will save us a lot of trouble!" For the rest of the
evening, Dietrich showed him around the newly erected bases erected by the Whalers.
Gone was the stink, the rusting walls and overgrown ground. The new bases looked
every bit as formidable as the smaller bases maintained by the Mech Corps. Even if
the Vesians returned in greater numbers, the Whalers would still be able to hold
them off with these new bases. The next day, Ves packed his luggage, which wasn’t
much, and boarded a shuttle to the temporary spaceport set up just outside of
Freslin. Strictly speaking, with the self-destruction of the old spaceport in
Orinoco, Ves did not have to make this detour. He could have chosen to lift off
into orbit directly from his doorstep. It would be bad form to do so, though.
Traffic heading up into orbit or down to the surface would become a chaotic mess
without a spaceport acting as a central hub. They also played a vital role in
inspecting ships and cargo for any untoward surprises. Only smugglers and other
criminals ignored spaceports. If Ves followed suit, he would be painted in the same
brush as them. Therefore, Ves endured time being wasted on this side trip. Once his
shuttle finally lifted off into space and docked next to the Barracuda, Ves along
with Gavin and a handful of key personnel boarded the corvette and made themselves
at home. "Set course to Bentheim and depart whenever you’re ready." "Aye aye, sir!"
Captain Silvestra responded curtly from the bridge. Ves headed up to the tiny
observation room at the uppermost deck of his ship and looked down on the greyish
globe that represented Cloudy Curtain. He was leaving Lucky, the System, his shield
generator, the Vulcaneye and his anti-grav clothes behind. Ves felt awfully
vulnerable without these possessions. Only the Amastendira remained by his side.
The System granted Ves the option to store the high-grade laser pistol into his
Inventory. Surprisingly, Ves was able to store and retrieve the Amastendira from
the Inventory even without the System. This was very good news to Ves. While he
didn’t expect to resort to the weapon at all, he still found it reassuring that he
could count on at least one way to get out of a crisis. The Barracuda quietly
engaged her thrusters and joined the convoy of cargo haulers making for the nearest
Lagrange point. Among other cargo, they also held eight of his Crystal Lords. The
first production model had already reached Bentheim long ago and recently finished
its validation trials. There was no suspense at all. The Crystal Lord design passed
with very high marks. The MTA even generously valued its licensing contract at 5
billion bright credits, which was 2 billion more than the Blackbeak! The high value
attached to its licensing contract would certainly help burnish its credentials.
Right now, the MTA kept the news confidential to anyone but Ves, but he could
certainly imagine everyone’s surprise the moment he revealed the sum. "I’m not just
an average Apprentice Mech Designer anymore." He smirked as he turned away from the
view of the shrinking planet. He already set his sights beyond the Crystal Lord. At
this time, Ves thought about the years ahead of him. Mech designers never stopped
learning. Getting drafted into a design team shouldn’t be an excuse for him to stop
his progression. "Even without the System, I can still find a way to become a
Journeyman Mech Designer." With his abundant amount of Skills, Ves more than
satisfied the knowledge requirement to advance to Journeyman. The other two
requirements set him back. He lacked experience in designing original mechs and he
was still in the process of developing his design philosophy. In a way, Ves could
still work on those two requirements as part of a design team, but he could only do
so if he was entrusted with greater responsibility. "Mindless work won’t cut it for
me. I’ve got to be in a position where I can truly contribute to the designs in
development." Ves already imagined the challenges he would face. With Senior Mech
Designers calling the shots, a junior like him possessed no status at all. Right
from the start, he faced an uphill battle trying to earn everyone’s
acknowledgement. "I’ll see how I can proceed once I get there. I can’t completely
rely on secondhand stories to form my plan. I have to see how a design team is run
with my own two eyes." Chapter 408 Diminishing Confidence Once they arrived at
Bentheim, Ves and the people he brought along went to work. They booked one of the
better convention halls in the center of Dorum to hold their second product this
time. It took a lot of effort to secure a booking on short notice. Coincidentally,
a mech manufacturer that previously booked in the same period had shuttered its
doors due to recent events. "The ongoing war is making a lot of people concerned."
Marcella explained as she met with Ves at the entrance of the enormous hall.
"Business is going well for now, but a lot of influential people have started
moving away from Bentheim." That meant less customers and less demand. Ves hummed
at the news. "Hm. Will it affect our opening?" "You’ll be seeing a lot less movers
and shakers in the crowd. Instead, they’re sending out their representatives.
Therefore, take note in your presentation to who you are talking to. To reach the
people holding all the money, you have to appeal to them through their reps." The
recent raids by the 3rd Imodris Legion terrified the entire Bentheim region.
Magnates and wealthy families that contemplated moving out all pulled the trigger
and left the volatile planet behind. This reordered the local power structure and
disordered the local economy even further. Still, despite all the doom and gloom
pervading throughout the streets, life went on, and so did the mech industry. Press
conferences continued to be held all the time for the mech designers that remained
to introduce their new designs. Not every mech designer got called up to serve. The
Bright Republic knew that they would cripple their entire domestic mech industry if
they did so. In general, they left aside those who contributed enormously on their
own and those who already served in the previous wars. Thus, even if most of the
younger generation of mech designers disappeared from the market, the mech industry
as a whole would still be able to stay aloft. As they toured the empty hall,
Marcella began to explain the recent situation. "This is a time of war. Though most
of the news is kept from the public, the Republic is extremely concerned about Lady
Amalia’s legion. She hasn’t shown up since the raids and that’s a huge concern. The
threat she poses is a lot more damaging to our confidence than actually showing up
to attack a star system." "In other words, she’s hanging the 3rd Imodris Legion
over our heads like a sword of Damocles?" "Exactly so. Some mech manufacturers are
thinking of winding down, while others are starting to stockpile rare resources.
Prices have gone up by ten percent since the raids." This was only the start. As
the war progressed, prices would continue to skyrocket, bankrupting over half of
the mech manufacturers based in the Bright Republic. This happened in the previous
war and the wars before that. Ves knew that his company was in better shape than
most. He deliberately set a high profit margin on his products in order to absorb a
substantial spike in costs. He could afford to do so because the LMC exclusively
produced premium mechs. Though Ves recently developed an ambition to enter into the
ultracheap bulk mech market, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the razor-thin
margins as of yet. His company wasn’t geared to compete on that level yet. They
finished touring the hall and Ves nodded in satisfaction at the open spaces. A
high-end convention hall like this not only provided ample space to show off
multiple mechs, it even offered a small-scale arena space to show off the live
combat capabilities of their mechs. Gavin met the pair near the arena. "Boss! This
arena doesn’t offer a lot of space, but the security screens are powerful enough to
endure a full-powered blast from the Crystal Lord’s chest laser! Why don’t we hold
a live duel?" "A duel isn’t the best way to showcase the Crystal Lord’s strengths."
Marcella retorted. "Just like the Blackbeak, the Crystal Lord is a mech that excels
in battles of attrition. Let’s not repeat the near-disastrous design duel that
happened last time. The stakes are higher now." The mech broker had
a point. Laser rifleman mechs and the Crystal Lord in particular only showed their
true value if they had time to wear down their opponents. Besides that, the arena
barely provided a ranged mech like the Crystal Lord enough space to show off its
mobility. "This is the downside to booking a convention hall in the middle of the
city. There are other halls in the outskirts that offer much more room to
maneuver." "Hm, what’s done is done. We’ll have a lot more trouble trying to
attract people to attend our product reveal if we held it in the outskirts." They
decided not to display the prowess of their mechs in a duel. Instead, they planned
to show off some of the features of the Crystal Lord through target practice and
live demonstrations. The arena offered just enough space to do so safely.
Throughout the rest of the planning sessions, they also formulated how to conduct
the rest of their product reveal. They needed to awe the crowd in more ways than
one in order to justify the sticker price of their mechs. Marcella laid out their
priorities. "Our main job is to convince the crowd that the Crystal Lord brings
enough value to the table to make the prices seem reasonable. Forget about the
pricing schemes for the silver and gold label mechs, the 65 million base price for
the bronze label Crystal Lords will definitely be met with ridicule." Getting
laughed at would be the worst thing that Ves could face in the upcoming press
conference. He worked hard to earn some credibility in the business. Botching this
presentation would ruin all that he worked for and land the LMC in a difficult
position. As they drew up some concepts and brainstormed some ideas to illustrate
the Crystal Lord’s appeal, a siren started to ring outside the streets. Their comms
quickly started beeping in unison. "It’s an alert!" "Are we under attack?!" Ves
quickly asked. "No." Marcella quickly shook her head. She was much more familiar
with the local sirens than Gavin and Ves. "This is the secondary alert. It means
that a star system nearby is being attacked at this very moment. The sirens are
meant to bring us up to readiness in case the attack spills over to the Bentheim
System." Everyone turned grim at the news. "Is it the 3rd Imodris Legion?" They all
checked the news on their comms. "Information is scarce. The Republic is keeping a
tight lid on the news. All they are saying is that the Coscos System is facing the
combined might of two spaceborn mech regiments." "The Coscos System!" Ves uttered
in shock. "Isn’t that the place where most of the high-grade fuels are refined?"
Marcella nodded. "It hosts a vital strategic fuel refinery works that processes the
rare materials from several rich gas giants. It’s essential to the Mech Corps and
they are usually guarding it tightly." "Perhaps. But will it be enough to repel two
Vesian spaceborn mech regiments at once? And what is the rest of the 3rd Imodris
Legion doing?" The worst possible news could be that this might all be a
distraction for a larger move. This was why Bentheim sounded out those sirens. The
authorities tasked with guarding them didn’t have a clue where the Vesians struck
next. "Don’t fret too much, Ves. The Vesians don’t have the numbers to threaten
Bentheim. The odds of an attack here is rather minimal. Without spaceborn mechs,
the remainder of the legion can only strike lightly-defended planets with only a
basic garrison of spaceborn mechs." Ves already knew that. He fretted not because
he thought that Cloudy Curtain happened to form one of those lightly defended
systems. If Lady Amalia chose to do so, she could easily send out an entire
regiment to overwhelm the rural planet’s feeble mechs and turn all of its
industries into ash and smoke. The only reason why he hadn’t fallen into a full-
blown panic was because he knew that Cloudy Curtain was too small-time for the
Vesians to bother to commit to such an attack. It didn’t make too much sense to
risk an attack on a planet that hosted only a single medium mech manufacturer. They
spent a couple of hours in relative silence. Ves and the rest of the workers
continued to plan out their press conference, but they toned down some of the
fanfare. It would be in poor taste to hold an upbeat press conference right after a
major attack. News began to trickle out after more than half a day of silence. The
Vesians had been repelled, but some of the refinery complexes that orbited the gas
giant suffered grievous damage. The Mech Corps muffled everything else. No one knew
how many refineries sustained damage and whether the Republic could salvage them in
a short amount of time. Though the Bright Republic sourced its fuels from many
sources, the Coscos System happened to be one of the biggest and most developed
site due to its proximity to the Bentheim System. Crippling it would certainly
disrupt the supply of fuels to mechs and ships. This was bad news for Ves and the
LMC, as both of their product lines ran on fuel instead of energy cells. "The
demand for fuel-based mechs won’t collapse overnight." Marcella consoled Ves. "It
might be a little more difficult than usual to convince buyers to opt for your
mechs, but this is a temporary condition." The Bright Republic wasn’t stupid. Even
though it invested heavily in the refineries at the Coscos System, they established
many smaller refineries in other star systems. Furthermore, they also spent a
substantial sum to import them from states blessed with an abundance of fuels. Ves
kept up with the news even after they finished the planning session. At night, he
stayed up late browsing the news portals for any scrap of information they could
squeeze out. The news sounded pretty bad, but at least it hadn’t gone worse. The
Bright Republic estimated it could bring back its refineries to full capacity
within half a year. Of course, this only held up if the Vesians didn’t attempt to
strike them again. In order to guard against another attack, the Mech Corps quietly
considered whether they should allocate some of their forces to the Coscos System.
Through news like this, Ves understood what the 3rd Imodris Legion was really
after. "They weren’t serious in destroying the fuel refineries at Coscos. They want
to exploit the current shortcomings in the defensive strategy opted by the Mech
Corps." This wasn’t anything complicated. The Mech Corps could never spare the
mechs and manpower to defend every desolate star system that fell within the
Republic’s borders. Instead, they chose to concentrate their mech regiments in a
handful strategic star system, and deployed some of their forces to reinforce a
nearby star system that fell under attack. There was much to be criticized about
this lackluster strategy. Though welldefending systems like Bentheim enjoyed an
abundance of protection, many other star systems like Cloudy Curtain needed to rely
on gangs or a handful of volunteer militia to keep out the troublemakers.
Reinforcements often came late or not at all. In the previous wars, many star
systems burned due to the lacking response of the Mech Corps. Still, as bad as it
sounded, adopting other strategies would inevitably lead to worse outcomes. The
danger of spreading out forces increased the odds of letting them be defeated in
detail. It would be trivially easy for the Vesians to concentrate their invasion
fleets and stomp the inadequately defended star systems one by one. The Mech Corps
constantly grappled with this recurring dilemma, and even though they sustained a
lot of criticism over the years, they never budged from their stance. It was not as
if they resigned themselves to be a punching bag. During the previous wars, they
sometimes raided the Vesian star systems in return, thereby exploiting the same
gaps in their defenses. Still, that had nothing to do with him. All Ves should be
concerned about at this moment was to find a way to push his product onto the
market. "In two days, the market will get to know of my new product." Chapter 409
Military-Industrial Complex On the day the LMC unveiled the Crystal Lord design,
the tense situation in the Coscos System cast a shadow over Bentheim. Underneath
the grey, overcast streets of Dorum, fewer people walked by as everyone worried
about their jobs, their safety, and whether the Republic could repel the Vesians
yet again. Ves looked down on the streets from Marcella’s office. "The public is
getting more uncertain these days." He spoke. "The Bright Republic fought against
the Vesia Kingdom for how many times? And never have we succumbed to their
onslaught." "There’s always a fluke. The Vesians might have called up an ally, or
the Mech Corps may have screwed up at some point. You know the Vesian nobles keep
trying to invade the Republic because they hope they’ll eventually get it right and
blow past our defenses." That was the awful thing about living in a state entangled
in a generational war. The only reason why the Vesians haven’t permanently
instituted a state of war against the Brighters was because they didn’t have the
resources to sustain their aggression. "Did you fight in the previous war?" Ves
suddenly asked. "You obviously haven’t started out as a mech broker." The woman
shrugged. She softly caressed her artificial limb. "I took part in the previous
war, aye. It’s not a pleasant experience and I don’t really want to talk about it.
I was too young back then. Young and stupid. I still needed five more years to
graduate from the mech academy, but the Republic instituted accelerated training
programs that attempted to cram everything we needed to learn into a span of only
two years." Ves understood. When the war dragged on and pilots began to grow
scarce, the Republic tended to scrape up the young and the old. These days, it took
eight years to turn a fresh potentate into a barebones mech pilot, but they could
barely pilot an industrial mech in the basic academies.
In order to gain more advanced fighting skills, the mech cadets also needed to
spend some years at an advanced academy. The most well-rounded programs often ran
for six years. Therefore, the best and most qualified graduates spent at least
fourteen precious years in the academies. They not only learned how to pilot a
mech, but also how to work as a team and how to kill an enemy mech. At the advanced
academies, they stopped learning the basics of each mech archetype but chose to
specialize in a single role to their utmost. Practically every state in the human-
dominated parts of the galaxy adopted this mech training model. It originated from
the galactic center where firstclass mechs would also be extremely complex to
pilot, but it spread out to the rest of the galaxy as academies in poorer star
sectors lacked the resources to provide effective teaching. Marcella continued her
story. "In truth, I only experienced the end of the last war. They put a handful of
prematurely graduated mech pilots like me into battle-scarred units where the only
mech pilots who survived are those who are the toughest and most resilient men and
women I have ever met." "Did you enjoy your time with them?" "I sure did. Most of
my friendships today can be traced back to my service time. Those who survived
formed a bond. We fought and watched each other’s back even as missiles rained down
on us and took out a hapless colleague. They taught us not to blink and keep on
marching forward." "Your luck must have ran out at some point." "Yup. It happens to
the best of us. The war began to wind down at that stage. The planet we fought over
was bombed to hell and back. There was hardly any area in sight where the soil
hasn’t been disturbed by passing mechs or spent ordnance. Just when I thought I
could make it through the end, the Vesians pulled off their final offenses. I
barely got into the cockpit of my mech before a surprise attack punched right
through the chest of my machine. That was the closest to death I’ve ever been." Ves
could imagine the horror of getting your cockpit breached by a mechscaled weapon.
"You survived, obviously." "I was one of the lucky ones. Supplies ran short and the
doctors became overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wounded that poured into their
treatment facilities. Did you know that mechs are horribly lethal? Anyone facing a
mech directly in battle will rarely get away unscathed unless they have their own
mechs. It takes many tons of armor to endure a casual attack by a mech." Both of
them fell silent after that. As a young man who never experienced the previous war,
he only heard about its horrors from the second-hand stories his aunts and uncles
were fond of repeating. Naturally, most young kids at that age hardly understood
the cynicism acting as an undercurrent to their tales. Kids like Ves only focused
on the glory and heroics of piloting mechs. Now that he grew older, Ves felt a
little more ambivalent about war. He disliked it, but as someone who designed and
sold mechs for a living, his entire business model revolved around conflict.
Without war, who needed mechs? "Sounds like it hasn’t been a pleasant experience
for you. Why did you enter the mech broker business then?" "Well, my ability to
pilot a mech has fritzed up due to the wounds I suffered back then. Due to the
backlog of wounded, by the time a medical bot arrived at my side, I lost the
opportunity to regrow my arm. I didn’t understand the weird the science stuff the
stupid bot spoke out, but I knew by then that more than ten years of my life is
wasted. Think about it. What was I supposed to do with all my years of learning how
to pilot mechs?" "So you continued to get involved with mechs, just in a different
way." Marcella nodded. "After the war, everyone tried their best to forget what
happened. The new generation of mechs swept through the galaxy and people needed to
make sense of the new designs that rolled out of the mech factories. That’s where
people like me come in. Just because I can’t pilot them anymore doesn’t mean my
mind has turned stupid. I studied under a mentor at first. I learned all of my
business acumen from him. After that, I branched out on my own." "Mechs have a way
of persisting." Ves remarked with a rueful smile. "Now that I think about it, there
are many possible careers for veterans such as you to pursue. There is still life
after war." "A lot of mechs get trashed after the war. Salvagers eagerly strip the
battlefields and recycle them down into usable resources. Together with the onset
of the new generation of mechs, everyone wants better mechs. It’s become somewhat
of a clockwork pattern for us." "Ah?" Ves picked up a doubtful tone in her voice.
"It’s as if there is a conspiracy behind it all. There’s this thing called the
military-industrial complex. You heard of it, right?" "Sure I did, but people
always tell me there’s no truth behind it. The militaryindustrial complex is a
silly conspiracy theory!" "Are you sure about that?" Marcella pointedly asked. "You
might be thinking that you’ve joined the big boys now that your mechs sell by the
hundreds every month, but you’re still a small-time player to the true rulers of
the Republic." "Even if they exist, it’s not as if they can do anything about the
Vesians. At the heart of it, it’s the Vesians who are constantly prodding for war."
Marcella pointed her finger at him. "That’s because their version of the military-
industrial complex is a lot more simpler than ours. They don’t even bother to hide
in the shadows. What do you think those greedy nobles are really after? Do they
want to help the royal family conquer the Bentheim System? Hah! Even if they lost
millions of men and many thousands of mechs, they still accomplished their goals!
The Vesians aren’t out to conquer our territory in the first place!" That came as
something of a surprise to Ves. For what reason drove the Vesians into such a
persistent pattern of war against the Republic? "What’s their true goals then."
"They want to cling onto their power! Just think about it. Without war, how much of
our populations would explode over time? Every planet would become an unlivable
mess after a hundred years or so of uninterrupted growth. Even with the boundless
amount of planets in the galaxy, it’s too expensive to settle them all!" What
Marcella said sounded vaguely familiar to Ves. "Isn’t this one of the
justifications people bandy about when they question the MTA and CFA’s role as
protectors of the human race?" As the two most powerful trans-galactic
organizations, they potentially held the power to end all internal conflicts
throughout human-occupied territories. However, just because they held the power to
stop all wars didn’t mean it was a good idea to do so. From what Ves heard about
the two powerful organizations, they lacked the confidence to impose a unified
human order over so many star sectors. "Is the MTA and CFA in on it?" Ves asked.
"Sure! Why not? They know as well as we do that too many humans are born each
years. By the time I end this sentence, another billion or trillion or so babies
are born right at this moment. The other alien races liken us as locusts who only
know how to reproduce, and I can say they hit the nail on the head. With the growth
rates maintained by every state, it’s inevitable for planets to become cramped."
"Therefore, states needed to engage in war in order to cull their population?" It
sounded excessively brutal and needlessly convoluted to Ves. "Why not lower the
birth rate?" "Haha!" Marcella laughed. "That’s easy to do, but would any state want
to? It’s fiendishly difficult to crank up the growth rate after generations of
cultural brainwashing. And besides, it doesn’t help if only a single state
institute these kinds of restrictions. Their neighbors will quickly swell in
population and manpower and treat them like a poor and easily exploitable
territory." "How does this relate to the so-called military-industrial complex?"
"Well, the most powerful authorities of our race have collectively decided that
mechs are good and need to be spread as far as possible. Wars between states form
the most convenient way to sell a lot of mechs, and curb the excessive growth in
people as well! This exists in every layer of human society, from the galactic
level to the level of an individual state. No matter how big of a scale the complex
turns out to be, they all want to profit out of death and misery." It sounded like
villainous aspiration, but Ves felt like they made the right decision. The top
influences that held sway over human society reigned the fate of their entire race.
They could not be soft-hearted nor show any weaknesses to the aliens that lingered
at their borders. The military-industrial complex actually sounded like a bunch of
people that Ves could get along with. Where could he sign up? Marcella read the
look in his eyes and signed in disappointment. "You’re a mech designer, so of
course you take their side. All I can say is that you’ll definitely change your
tune by the end of this war. It’s going to be a very long slog and there will be
plenty of times when you get to witness the devastating consequences of war." "I’m
not a sheltered person, you know. I’ve witnessed first-hand how far a battle can
go. I’m also a Larkinson. I’ve heard many tales about the previous wars." Ves and
Marcella didn’t quite see eye to eye on this issue. Mechs gained prominence over
four-hundred years ago and would continue to be relevant for centuries to come.
Designing mechs and selling them was a noble profession in these times. "When you
step up to the podium this afternoon and show off your new creation, think about
what you are introducing to the market. Will your mech be used to destroy, or to
defend? You are responsible for how your war machines will be put to use. The blood
that your customers are spilling
with the help of your creations will inevitably stain your own hands." Ves tried
hard not to think too much about the misuses of his products. Ever since Vincent
Ricklin took his Marc Antony Mark I and laid waste to the upper echelon of his own
family, Ves stopped paying attention to what his customers did with his mechs. He
only provided the mechs to those that needed it. His responsibility for his mechs
ended as soon as they arrived in the hands of his customers. "I think the crowd
will eagerly wish to own a copy my new mech." Chapter 410 Moment of Truth Ves left
Marella’s office and boarded an armored shuttle that conveyed him towards the
convention hall. Along the way, he tried but couldn’t quite get Marcella’s words to
disappear from his mind. On a whim, he activated his comm and performed a few
casual searches on the galactic net. The cursory search revealed a statistic that
Ves had always overlooked. "Casualties as a result of collateral damage?" He knew
what collateral damage meant. Backlash against it arguably ended the Age of
Conquest, which some people referred to as the Age of Warships. With the onset of
the Age of Mechs, mass extinction and widespread slaughter ceased to happen, but
that didn’t mean it stopped happening entirely. Missile barrages notoriously
inflicted wide swathes of devastation. With the effectiveness of ECM these days,
over eighty or ninety percent of missiles never hit their targets. Instead, they
veered away and flew a bit further before exploding upon the first obstacle they
came across. Many cities hollowed out and collapsed this way. Cannons also
frequently pled guilty to this, but surprisingly the humbler laser rifle took the
crown. Their ubiquity, availability and low cost per discharge meant that mech
pilots who piloted laser rifleman mechs frequently showered their opponents with
laser beams. Ballistic rifleman and railgunner mechs exercised much stricter
trigger discipline because they couldn’t afford to waste their ammunition.
Therefore, Vs got a completely different conception of laser rifleman mechs. Who
knew that the humble straight and narrow laser beams actually resulted in more
deaths and collateral damage than more explosive weapons? "This is mainly the fault
of the mech pilot." If these laser-happy mech pilots exercised the same trigger
discipline as their ballistic and kinetic counterparts, they wouldn’t let this
statistic balloon. "This isn’t my responsibility." By now, over a thousand
Blackbeak mechs circulated throughout the Bright Republic and elsewhere. Ves did
not keep tabs on what their pilots did. Someone could have crashed their mech
through a school full of children and Ves wouldn’t know. Even if he did, what did
it have to do with him? "People don’t blame a shuttle manufacturer if some madman
took their shuttle, hacked all the safeties, and crashed it into office building."
The only reason he would check up on his products was to see whether their X-Factor
aged and developed unique flavors. Right now, it would be too early to tell, so Ves
planned to wait a couple of years before performing an in-depth study of the
effects. Once the shuttle arrived at the convention hall, Ves went inside and
oversaw the final preparations of the product reveal. This time, the LMC went for a
more elaborate concept that transformed the entire hall into a projected
battlefield. It all looked impressive and lifelike as Marcella’s brokerage supplied
the advanced equipment to turn illusion into a hyper-realistic simulations. The
experience went beyond spectacular visuals. Ves felt the vibrations from the
footsteps of a Crystal Lord as it walked by. He could heard the sharp tang of a
laser rifle discharge as another projected mech fired its weapon at a distant enemy
mech. For the battlefield, they picked out a sprawling ruined urban landscape.
Rubble and debris littered much of the abandoned city, as months of fighting turned
every street into an unlivable mess. "This is what happens after every battle."
Seeing the awful state of the buildings and the remains of abandoned vehicles
strewn about put everyone present in a somber mood. In light of the recent attack
on the Coscos System, Ves opted to color his presentation in a serious tone. He
nixed the original plan which involved excessive cheer and exuberance. Not everyone
supported this last-minute style change, but Ves knew that they needed to be
tactful in order to avoid public condemnation. "Are all the props and projectors in
place?" "We installed and tested every prop yesterday. Everything works as planned,
boss." Gavin answered as he studied a data pad that contained all of their
planning. "All nine mechs are shipped in place as well, with the first production
model standing in the place of honor." "How about the permits? Did we receive
permission from the convention hall and the authorities to activate all nine
mechs?" "We only managed to do so after Marcella’s brokerage greased the wheels.
It’s harder than usual for the LMC to do business in Bentheim because we aren’t
based here. We only have a branch office that’s in charge of marketing and after-
sales support, and it’s too small for us to cultivate important relationships with
the people in power. If not for Marcella’s deep connections, we wouldn’t have been
able to get away with this plan." Ves nodded as if he expected the outcome. As the
LMC grew up from a oneman operation into a medium mech manufacturer, he gradually
realized that many rules could be overcome with a sufficient amount of power and
influence. Nothing was impossible, and only very few rules turned out to be
absolute. While the prohibition on activating mechs was a very sensible one to
limit the chances of disaster in the middle of a densely-populated city, too many
people flouted these rules and got away with it. "It’s like an unofficial tax." A
few hours went by as Ves prepared and rehearsed his presentation. He couldn’t
delegate the responsibility of introducing the Crystal Lord design to anyone else.
Mech designers needed to show their pride at their own products. Therefore, even if
he wasn’t the best public speaker in the company, he readily accepted the
responsibility. In the meantime, the entrance to the hall opened up and let in the
first attendees. The journalists and representatives of various publications and
organizations arrived first. They blinked past the omnipresent projections of the
ruined urban landscapes and the silhouettes of the new design skulking in the
shadows and claimed their preferred spots to record the upcoming press conference.
Batches of collectors arrived next. Some of them previously showed up to the
Blackbeak’s reveal event as well, but for many of them, this would be the first
time they got to see Ves up close. The mech industry as a whole started to take
note of the LMC due to the spread of the Blackbeaks. While the poorest mercenary
corps eschewed the expensive models entirely, many of the better-off outfits
started to take a shine on the models. It came in three slightly different flavors
with varying levels of pricing and availability, so everyone with money could take
their pick. As these influential forces started using the Blackbeaks, their
benefits became evident as well. Besides their performance, the Blackbeaks also
became renowned for their ability to accommodate mech pilots particularly well.
Whether in terms of ergonomics or the elusive ’feel’, the Blackbeaks stood out for
their excellence in making pilots feel as comfortable as if they returned to their
mother’s wombs. Now, with the rumored introduction of a second model which
inherited most of the traits of the Blackbeak, some of the industry insiders wanted
to see what the fuss was all about. As they milled forward and took their seats,
they started guessing what the LMC had in store for them. This time, news of their
development hadn’t leaked out, which was a minor accomplishment in itself. "You’re
up in five minutes." Gavin reminded Ves as the hall became increasingly packed. "I
know. I’m ready to go at any moment." "Be careful of the hecklers in the crowd.
Since we opened our doors to bystanders, you can bet on getting challenged on the
spot." The massive convention hall would appear to be too empty if they held the
press conference in front of a modest gaggle of invited guests. In order to make
the reveal event appear more successful, they advertised the event to the people
walking past the convention hall. Anyone could enter for free once they registered
their identities. Despite the gloom on the streets, they managed to fill up the
hall just enough to make the place seem packed. Naturally, it also led to a bit of
chaos as bored teenagers and crying babies added to the noise. They quieted down
once a massive projection appeared that introduced the LMC and its recent history.
The introduction was meant to build up some hype before the actual event. Moments
later, someone sent a signal to Ves. "That’s my cue." As Ves appeared on the
podium, a modest round of applause rang out. He confidently strolled to the front
and beheld his audience. "Welcome to the Living Mech Corporation’s second product
reveal. As the founder and chief designer of the LMC, it is my mission to offer
people like you the option to purchase a mech that’s different." He extended his
hands which caused a life-like silhouette of the Crystal Lord to loom behind him.
The mech was no projection this time, but an actual physical copy piloted by a real
mech pilot. Clever use of lighting caused the mech to be obscured to the point
where the audience couldn’t spot its laser rifle. The mech hadn’t even revealed its
visage, but already the crowd became subjected to a formless pressure that
originated from its X-Factor. "Our new design is an extension of the philosophy
that underpins the Blackbeak. Much like the knight design, our latest
offering is a tough, enduring and well-balanced machine. After months of
development, we have managed to succeed in designing a mech that translates all of
these strengths into a different archetype." "Is it another knight mech?" Someone
from the press suddenly asked out loud. Ves smiled at the reporter. "It is not.
While the LMC is known for its history of publishing knight designs, we are not
exclusively focusing on a single type of mech. Instead, our latest design adopts a
very different role on the battlefield. I am sure that you will be astounded by the
features we’ve packed into our latest design." Ves meandered a little with his
speech as he talked around his new design without revealing it. Anticipation built
up in the crowd as they got entranced by his words. It didn’t help that their
surroundings grew increasingly busy as the simulations took to life by depicting a
lifelike battle. "We at the LMC are committed to offer our customers an alternative
to the dominant models of the market. We pride ourselves to delivering quality and
uniqueness. Rather than tread the path of my colleagues, our next design is
sufficiently distinct that we can say with some confidence that nothing like it has
ever been released in the Komodo Star Sector!" Everyone’s anticipation had reached
the peak. Ves quickly watched for cues from Gavin who stood unobtrusively at the
side. His assistant passed on a signal that indicated that he already spent more
than enough time on sidestepping around the main event. Ves bowed and moved on with
the revelation of his new design. "Introducing our first range of rifleman mechs,
the Crystal Lord!" Lights banished the darkness obscuring the frame. For the first
time in history, the Crystal Lord entered into the view of the public. Gasps
sounded out as everyone beheld the unusual-looking design. "It’s a rifleman mech!
Medium weight class, armed with a laser rifle, carrying an external backpack
module." "What a small and compact laser rifle! It’s as small as the rifles wielded
by light mechs!" "Look at those sleek curves. This is a mech that’s optimised for
speed. How fast can it run?" "It’s not only fast, but tough as well. Look at the
texture of that mottled brown exterior. That’s the same compressed armor utilized
in the Blackbeak design." "What? The LMC put knight armor onto a rifleman mech
design? How crazy is that!" "I don’t know what this mech does, but I absolutely
want a copy no matter the cost!" "Me too!" The guessing game started immediately
upon the reveal. Everyone’s first impressions was tinged with shock. They felt
shocked not only because of its unusual traits, but also because the X-Factor
continued to influence their impression of the mech. It was as if they admired the
statue of a god. The Crystal Lord somehow inspired a lot more awe and worship than
other mechs. Ves discretely smiled as he watched the effect play out in front of
his eyes. Mech 411 Chapter 411 Shocking Design "Wait a second! What’s that huge
transparent material embedded into the chest?" "That looks like a glass-like
composite. Is that a cockpit window or something?" "Don’t be ridiculous! This mech
is obviously built to fight. Incorporating windows in those kinds of mechs is one
of the stupidest things you can do!" The chest crystal sparked another round of
speculation. Ves let the crowd go on for half a minute before he resumed his
speech. "Introducing the first generation in the Crystal Lord product line, the CL-
A-01 is exquisitely designed to meet the needs of the men and women who are
burdened with defending the Bright republic for years on end. It’s a mech designed
to last for ages, and is designed from the ground up to maximize its longevity."
Ves spent the next ten minutes going over the basic specs of the mech. He showcased
its speed, which was very important for all mobile rifleman mechs. He also
reintroduced the Veltrex armor system and its particular properties that made the
Crystal Lord a lot more resilient than many other rifleman mechs. Naturally, he
also couldn’t forget about the crystals. "On top of the amazing level of
performance offered by our design, the Crystal Lord also makes use of a feature
derived from technology recovered from alien ruins. Let me introduce to you the
benefits of the two crystals embedded into each copy." The Crystal Lord at the
front unarched its back a little, giving the crowd a better view of the giant
diamond-like crystal. "The crystal at the chest is not a decorative component. It
is a core weapon in the Crystal Lord’s kit that delivers a powerful blow under
certain circumstances." As Ves laid out its properties, someone at the crowd rudely
yelled out. "What nonsense is this?! Absorbing energy attacks? Shooting them back
out? This is just another useless gimmick that’s only good for marketing!" Ves did
not take offense at the latest hackler. Instead, his smile turned into a grin.
"Seeing as how many of you are skeptical, why not witness it in action? We have
prepared a secure stage where you can see this feature in action with your own two
eyes." The Crystal Lord walked towards the arena stage that’s been cordoned off
since the start of the reveal. The audience eagerly approached the sides of the
arena and milled close. Opposite to the original Crystal Lord stood another copy.
Once both mechs took their places, one of them started winding up its laser rifle
and began to fire a high-powered laser beam that burned for seconds at a time. The
more knowledgeable people among the crowd looked impressed. "Look at the power
behind that beam! That’s not what you see every day from a rifle that size!" "Is
this laser rifle really a light model? Many medium-sized laser rifles don’t pack
that much of a punch!" "Hey, instead of watching that rifle in action, why not look
at the mech that’s being hit. Its armor is still unscatched!" At this distance and
with both mechs standing still with their ECMs turned off, it was impossible for
the shooter to miss. Every laser beam landed squarely against the crystal, which
sustained minimal damage but instead devoured every bit of energy sent in its way.
The level of absorption demonstrated by the Crystal Lord only applied to the gold
label versions of the mech. The chest crystals needed to be really large and
activated by the crystal cube before it could withstand the full might of a full-
powered laser rifle. Furthermore, only hits directly to the chest and onto the
crystal would have their damage negated. Any laser beams that glanced to the lower
chest or the neck and shoulders would only have a fraction of its energy negated.
No matter the truth, Ves would be a fool to inform the crowd of those shortcomings.
He wanted to introduce his new design in the best possible light, so he regarded
this product reveal as selling a fantasy. "As you can see, the chest crystal is
capable of tolerating high amounts of energy damage and can absorb them inside as
well. If you look at the readouts to the side, you can clearly see that we haven’t
curbed the power output of the laser rifle in any way. What you are seeing right
now is what the new custom laser rifle for the Crystal Lord can output in a
sustainable manner!" "Where can we buy this rifle? It’s lighter and more powerful
than anything I’ve seen!" Ves laughed a little. "We have no plans to produce and
sell a standalone laser rifle except to replace a broken sample. This weapon works
best with the Crystal Lord, which is highly tailored to this specific rifle model."
"How come this rifle is so powerful?" "That’s because we incorporated a smaller
version of the Crystal Lord’s chest crystal into the mechanism of the rifle. Its
many wondrous properties allow us to substitute much of the conventional components
that add a lot of bulk to the rifle. It’s smaller and lighter, but still delivers
the same amount of damage of a full-sized rifle." As Ves elaborated on the
crystals, the chest crystal quickly reached its saturation point. It could no
longer continue to absorb more energy. "Don’t think this crystal is limited to
absorbing energy. What comes in must also come out." To illustrate his point, the
saturated crystal instantly discharged a thick white beam against a target prepared
to the side. The white beam burned through multiple layers of armor plating,
demonstrating the awesome power behind the cannon-like beam in a direct fashion.
"That power!" "Look at the energy readings! It’s more powerful than a laser
cannon!" "Hah! More powerful, but is it useful enough? Don’t forget that the
crystal absorbed a lot of laser beams. How many mechs will stand still on the
battlefield and how many enemies will conveniently aim at their chests? I stand by
my words! This is nothing more than a marketing gimmick!" Some people still
remained sober, to which Ves could do not against. It wasn’t as if they distorted
the truth. The utility of the crystal was much less than what the mechs depicted.
Still, the overall reaction of the crowd looked encouraging. Ves still managed to
sell the idea that the crystals held a lot of utility. Ves walked back to the
podium. The two mechs in the arena followed suit, as did seven other identical
mechs. A strange effect emerged as nine gold label Crystal Lords stood side by side
as if they made up a single cohesive squad of mechs. Ves used this trick before and
back then he already managed to shock the crowd into silence. This time, the X-
Factor in his design had reached another level. Although Ves wasn’t sure of the
difference, he knew that it would definitely deliver a bigger impact on the crowd.
Multiple auras blended together and amplified each other. Some of the people rubbed
their eyes, while others forgot to blink as they stared at the nine exquisite
mechs. It was as if the Crystal Lords came to life. They collectively radiated a
sense of pride and threat. Their dark coloring
and strange head shapes added to the sense of mystery behind these mechs. "The
Crystal Lord is more than a product. It is a mech. Not just any mech, but one that
will grow on you. This is a mech that can be a lifelong companion to any mech pilot
looking to invest in their future." The projections around them started to depict
the Crystal Lord in battle. The simulations crafted a vision where the Crystal Lord
endured constant battles, only to be patched up and sent back into battle again.
The sequence highlighted its robust construction and its resilience against wear-
and-tear and the test of time. The battles also showcased the fights that best
suited the Crystal Lord. It excelled in longer engagements and was suitable to be
used in extended deployments. "We hereby announce the Crystal Lord is available to
order from this moment onwards. At the end of this press conference, five of our
exclusive gold label Crystal Lords will be auctioned out. The silver label versions
of this mech will immediately begin production, but take note that supply is very
limited for the time being. Bronze label Crystal Lords will soon enter the market
after we have completed negotiations with the appropriate third-party
manufacturers." Sensing the end of the presentation, the crowd and in particular
the press started bombarding Ves with questions. While Ves could have opted to
leave the stage, he chose to remain and answer the questions. Despite the risk of
facing difficult questions, answering them increased the Crystal Lord’s exposure.
"Your new design sounds very impressive and all, but I can’t help wondering, how
much does it cost?" Immediately, the reporter asked the one question that everyone
wanted to find out. The crowd of bystanders might know nothing about mechs, but the
people sitting closer to the front knew much more about mechs. What Ves had
introduced so far about the Crystal Lord was overwhelmingly positive and definitely
outperformed the mainstream rifleman mech models that dominated the market. "The
Crystal Lord is a premium mech design positioned at the upper end of the local
market. The base price for the limited-quantity gold label prestige models is 90
million credits." That caused pretty much everyone to gasp. "I can buy two good-
quality rifleman mechs with that much money!" "Forget about those overpriced
mainstream junk, I’d rather buy four or five budget models instead!" Ves continued
on as if he didn’t hear the outrage. "The silver label Crystal Lords will soon be
made available for 75 million credits, whereas the bronze label Crystal Lords will
be sold for 65 million credits." The fact that even the cheapest version came at a
more expensive price than the Blackbeak caused everyone to become perplexed.
Certainly, the mech was powerful, but did Ves have to be so greedy? If not for the
nine mechs standing in a row behind him, the crowd would have been more vocal in
their outrage. "Absurd! This toy is too expensive! I’m out of here!" "I don’t know.
It’s expensive and all, but we can afford to buy one. It’s a pretty good mech if
you only want quality." Another reporter put forth a question. "Mr. Larkinson, your
Crystal Lord looks very impressive. What we want to know is did you design this
mech by yourself?" "I worked on this design from the beginning of the design
process. Only at the very end did I consult an anonymous mech designer. That entity
who shall remain nameless generously tweaked my design and optimized it further."
"So it’s not your own work!" "I have meticulously logged the design process to the
MTA to back my words. Much of the Crystal Lord’s DNA is still my own work. The
anonymous contributor only smoothed out some inefficiencies." Some people looked
skeptical, while others showed a more understanding expression. Those familiar with
his history automatically assumed that Master Olson had lent a hand. Most people
didn’t care. They only wanted to see or get a hold of a good mech. The fact that
Ves accepted help only added to the soundness of the Crystal Lord design. "The
quality of the Crystal Lord is acknowledged by the MTA as well. Those who wish to
acquire an open licensing contract of the Crystal Lord design will have to pay an
upfront sum of 5 billion credits." As soon as he revealed the figure, the crowd
turned numb yet again. Five billion credits was an extremely impressive number for
an Apprentice Mech Designer. Most designs only held a value of 500 million to 2
billion credits. The skeptics grew less skeptical as they quietly referenced their
comms. The moment Ves mentioned the figure, he knew that some of the attendees
wanted to confirm his words. Therefore, he arranged for the secrecy around his
design to be dropped at that moment. Everyone could browse the MTA’s public
database and call up the entry for the CL-A-01. Ves hadn’t lied. The info page
prominently displayed the license valuation at 5 billion bright credits. "A design
worth 5 billion credits! That’s unreal!" "Who validated this gimmicky design? The
MTA should investigate whether the people who tested this mech have slept on the
job. There’s no way it’s worth 5 billion credits!" "Maybe this mech has something
going for it. I don’t know, but the MTA has never been wrong." The credibility of
the MTA formed a powerful cushion which stopped the skeptics from spreading any
falsehoods. Ves had tactfully left the MTA’s valuation at the end of this product
reveal because he needed to counterbalance the negative sentiment that emerged when
he detailed the sticker prices of his mechs. Right now, the 5 billion license
valuation overshadowed the earlier event entirely. Every mech insider spoke with
glowing words as they discussed the awesome sum among themselves. In this light,
charging well over 60 million credits for a single Crystal Lord didn’t sound so
crazy anymore. Chapter 412 Heckler Ves managed to raise the expectations of his
potential customers. This was good for him, but not so good for others. This would
be the perfect time for someone to spoil the party. "I have a question!" A thirty-
something year old woman with curling blond hair and a stylish beret stood up and
asked. The way she spoke with force and gravitas somehow pulled everyone’s
attention to her. Ves instantly recognized the training put the manner she
modulated her voice. She meticulously trained to achieve this effect. "Go ahead."
Ves replied simply, trying to appear as unruffled as possible even as he recognized
he faced a tough customer. "I do not doubt the craftsmanship of these admittedly
impressive copies, but they are from your top-of-the-line label, are they not? How
many of them will be made available, and what are the differences between these
mechs and your readily available offerings?" Ves may have been able to dazzle most
customers, but the woman spotted the loopholes in his presentation. Against this
line of questioning, he had no choice but to tell the truth. "The Living Mech
Corporation’s gold label mechs all come with a guarantee that they have been
handcrafted by myself. Therefore, they are only available in limited quantities. Of
the nine mechs you see before you, five is made available for auction while the
other four is reserved for internal use. For the time being, the LMC will not be
releasing any gold label mechs, for obvious reasons." The mech insiders nodded in
understanding. Many mech designers already disappeared from Bentheim, making it a
much less livelier place. Once the Mech Corps called up the second wave of mech
designers, the only ones who remained would be the elderly and the special cases.
With regards to the limited quantity of gold label Crystal Lords, the news
benefited the collectors the most. The rarer the model, the more valuable their
investment, though they also had to be prepared to bid high in order to get their
hands on a copy. "There are differences between the three labels." Ves continued.
"The gold label version is the most complex design in this product line and
features the largest chest crystal that has received special treatment that makes
it more effective. The silver label Crystal Lords that my company produced in-house
is nearly identical to the gold label version, but incorporates very small amounts
of simplification in its construction and will also host a smaller chest crystal,
but will similarly benefit from special treatment." "What’s the performance
difference?!" "Both the silver and bronze label chest crystals are unable to hold
as much energy, so they will reach their saturation at roughly half the amount.
Their output will be similarly affected by the same proportion." This put a slight
damper on everyone’s enthusiasm. A single beam with twice the power of a laser
cannon was very impressive because it outputted a very high amount of thermal
energy at once. This helped a lot in terms of penetrating heavily-armored
opponents. With a half-strength beam, this effect would be much less pronounced.
Unless the mech pilot possessed supreme control, it would be impossible for two
halfpowered laser beams to hit the same spot on a moving target. The damage would
certainly be spread out over a wider surface area. Therefore, even if they
outputted the same amount of energy, the effective damage differed remarkably. On
the battlefield, these differences could become a matter of life and death. "What’s
the use of this gimmick then?" "Do not forget that it offers a remarkable amount of
defense against directed energy weapons. The beams unleashed by the bronze and
silver label Crystal Lords are still extremely powerful and can deliver a sucker
punch to any opponent regardless of the expenditure of their laser rifles." Ves
thought about this problem and before and delivered a prepared response without any
hitchups. Since most of the Crystal Lords made available consisted of lesser
quality mechs, it was important for the
LMC to highlight the usefulness of the smaller crystals. In any case, Ves mainly
spoke to the mech insiders in the crowd. As long as he won them over, he achieved
his goal. Sadly, the woman wasn’t done. "Do you have a physical copy here so we can
compare their differences?" "We do not have one on hand, but we can provide
something even better." Ves replied and snapped his fingers. A large amount of
carrying bots emerged from a back entrance. They all carried high-quality portable
simulator pods supplied by Marcella’s brokerage. The bots brought over a hundred of
these pods at a time. "Any potentate here is free to try out the virtual copies of
each version of the Crystal Lord for fifteen minutes at a time! You may opt to test
out the mech in a number of prepared scenarios, from empty sandboxes to complex
battlefield environments." A substantial portion of the crowd lit up at the
appearance of the simulator pods. Though they only worked for potentates, a
significant part of the crowd actually consisted of active duty or retired mech
pilots. "Is there any multiplayer available, or will the simulations serve us with
AIcontrolled bots?" The woman asked. This was important, because the LMC
meticulously placed the setpieces in the simulations to bring out the Crystal
Lord’s potential. Allowing the attendees to bring the Crystal Lord design in an
online competitive environment might lead to awkward situations where the design
failed to demonstrate any value. As a design that thrived in longer engagements,
the Crystal Lord did not favor the high-intensity combat inherent in mech duels.
"From tomorrow onwards, the LMC will release all three labels of the Crystal Lord
onto Iron Spirit and other virtual games. Those present here will be allowed to
experience our new products in a variety of situations." Ves admittedly dodged the
issue, but did it in the best way possible. People would still be able to test out
the Crystal Lord in more dynamic combat situations, they just needed to wait
another day. In fact, Gavin proposed to delay the release of the virtual mechs by a
single day for several reasons. First, it stopped the naysayers from pointing out
that the LMC lacked confidence in their own designs. If the female heckler
continued to ask, Ves could easily put out an excuse that they delayed the release
due to technical or legal reasons. Secondly, a delay of a single day might not
sound like a big deal, but it would be way too late for the reporters who raced to
publish their pieces on the press conference by the end of the day. The news
portals all prided themselves on delivering up-to-date news. It made no sense for
them to wait another day just to test out the Crystal Lord a little more. After
all, Ves already brought out a sufficient number of readily available simulator
pods. Who cared if he manipulated the the scenarios? The reporters that attended
the press conference came here to cover a product reveal. Reviewing the mechs could
be done by specialists at a later date. The woman very obviously looked unresigned.
Ves made ample preparations this time. The previous instance where Ves allowed
himself to get caught up in the moment when Michael Dumont challenged him to a
design duel wouldn’t happen again. Ves couldn’t read any hesitation in her eyes,
but he figured that she might be adjusting her plans right now. "Fair enough." She
said. "Yet you still have all of these working, physical copies on display. Why not
showcase their capabilities in a live duel?" That caused the crowd to swing back in
her favor. Her argument sounded very compelling. No matter the benefits of
experiencing a simulation, they all lacked the raw, visceral impact of real mechs
fighting against each other in front of their eyes. "The Crystal Lord is not a
duelling mech. Its a high-mobility premium rifleman mech that maintains its
strength for hours at a time whereas many other mechs might reach their limits at
that time. Unless we reserve the largest arena on Bentheim and let the duel format
stretch for hours, you won’t be able to appreciate the Crystal Lord’s true value."
A lot of people looked disappointed. Suitable or not, everyone loved to watch a
mech duel. They found it rather disappointing that Ves did not plan on showcasing
the power of his mech in any duel. His answer also precluded any challenges.
Cowardly as he might seem, Ves left little means in which others could challenge
him to a design duel. Ves figured that the woman who asked the questions might be a
mech designer. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to hone in on the holes in
his presentation. He smirked minutely at her, as if he was confident he could
defeat all of her tricks. Right now, the only thing that could lead to a lot of
trouble is if someone insisted on a duel. In fact, it looked like the woman still
possessed a means to pressure Ves. "I have a friend who is a mech designer. He
happens to have designed a similar mech in terms of performance. Why not accept a
challenge from my friend?" "Hahaha!" Ves laughed. "Does his mech sell for upwards
of 90 million credits? Has he incorporated an energy-absorbing light crystal in its
chest? Is his laser rifle as light as mine? I doubt it unless your friend is a
Journeyman Mech Designer!" Not a lot of mech models sold for 90 million credits in
the first place in the Bright Republic. They mostly consisted of customized designs
that incorporated a rudimentary level of resonance. His retort left the woman with
little openings to pursue her challenge. Whether her friend was at the same level
as Ves or not, the chances of coming up with a mech that was similar to the Crystal
Lord was minute. Although the crowd would still enjoy a duel between mechs of
different configurations, it didn’t serve that much of a point in the context of a
design duel. An ordinary mech duel tested the skill of the mech pilots and the
qualities of their machines. It was primarily a contest between the pilots. The
designers played second fiddle in that regard. A design duel on the other hand
tested the skill of the mech designers in designing the best mechs possible. If the
mechs shared little in common, then the influence of other factors such as the
matchups between different types of mechs and the skill of the mech pilots became
more relevant. Such duels still went on, but the person being challenged would
generally be regarded as a genius or a fool. The woman appeared to open her mouth
once again, but Ves forcefully forestalled her words by holding up his palm. "There
are other guests who want to ask a question. Let them have their turn." Raising his
palm in this way was actually a signal for someone in the backstage to muffle the
woman’s words. As she attempted to utilize her compelling voice yet again, no sound
escaped her throat. Hidden machines embedded into the convention hall dampened the
sound of her voice just as they left her mouth, preventing anyone else from hearing
her voice. This was one of the benefits of renting an upscale convention hall. The
cheaper ones lacked this convenient feature, forcing organizers to resort to more
disruptive means if they wanted to silence a troublemaker. Still, many mech
insiders recognized what went on. His solution had been fairly discrete, but the
smart ones in the crowd couldn’t help but lower their impression of Ves and the
LMC. As acidic as the woman might have been, she asked a lot of questions that they
should have brought up in the first place. Ves didn’t care. As Ves continued to
answer questions from others, the earlier harsh questioning became less acute in
everyone’s minds. That was not to say that the reporters didn’t challenge him on
certain points, but they obviously didn’t care whether the Crystal Lord succeeded
in becoming a hit. All they wanted was more material to add to their articles, and
Ves largely obliged. Chapter 413 Like A Drug Once the first attendees exited from
the simulator pods, they shared their remarkable experiences to the people waiting
in line. "Remarkable! It’s so lifelike! This is the best mech I’ve ever piloted!"
"I can’t believe how much at home I feel when I pilot the Crystal Lord! I tried all
three versions and the gold label mech is by far the most sublime!" "The cheaper
bronze label model is no slouch either! Let me tell you, my mercenary corps already
owns a silver label Blackbeak. Piloting a bronze label Crystal Lord is almost the
exact same experience!" Their subjective experiences and lack of technicalities
that they could point out as issues led to a growth in positivity. Everyone focused
on the good points of his design, and those who tried the models out in the
simulations came away with strong desire to pilot the mech again. "Fifteen minutes
is too short! I can’t wait until tomorrow to pilot this virtual mech again! I need
the real deal!" "When will the auction start? Let me get my hands on a copy as fast
as possible!" Ves deliberately arranged the simulator pods to be placed in the
vicinity of the nine gold label Crystal Lords. He also allowed the guests to
approach the mechs and touch their cool metallic surface. This way, the vast
majority of the attendants became exposed to the mutually amplified auras radiated
by the mechs. It was difficult to describe their effects on the people who neared
the mechs. Everyone gazed at the machines with reverence. Some even lowered their
heads in respect. As they discussed the Crystal Lord design among themselves, their
thoughts and words would unconsciously be colored by their altered moods. Nobody
showed any awareness of this effect. As far as Ves was concerned, he achieved the
same effect as outright drugging them into liking the Crystal Lord design. The
thought of it caused him to smirk, and as he continued to make himself available
for questioning, he radiated supreme confidence in his work. Under the intangible
but
near-oppressive might of the Crystal Lords, no one dared to affront their dignity
by mentioning any shortcomings. Most of the crowd subjected those that raised any
critical points with dirty looks. Under this strong social pressure, troublemakers
found little means to raise another ruckus. Of course, Ves and the LMC did not
leave everything over to fate. After answering another question, Ves briefly
excused himself and walked to the side. Gavin greeted him with a nod as he kept his
eyes on his data pad. "How many troublemakers have been carted away by security?"
"Twenty-five and counting." Gavin answered. "Since they only tried to heckle you,
Sanyal-Ablin isn’t able to hold them back and question them. We haven’t been able
to trace whether they attempted to stir up trouble on behalf of others and who
their employers might be." "Don’t count on finding that out even if we held them
custody. These professional agitators are smarter than that." Ves grunted. "Still,
Sanyal-Ablin is surprisingly effective in rolling them up before they could make a
scene." Gavin raised his head and grinned. "That’s what you get when you hire the
best. SASS has a lot of experience in crowd control. It makes sense when you
consider how obsessive the Konsu Clan is about conformity. The AIs they employ are
keeping a close watch on every attendants at once. The moment they attempt to raise
their voice, the sound dampeners immediately silence their throats." "Too bad they
didn’t caught that woman." Ves frowned. "Why hasn’t security stepped in?" "They
couldn’t silence her at the time because she took the place of an invited guest and
sat close to the front. By standing up, she called out a lot of attention to
herself while making any attempts at silencing her really obvious. Her voice also
carried a strange property that inserted doubts in the AI." That was something else
he wanted to know about. "Who is she, anyway? How come she’s in our guest list?"
"Her name is Mellie Neverland. She’s actually a cousin of Andar Neverland. She’s a
mech designer as well, though she works at one of the larger mech manufacturers in
Ansel. According to her record, she doesn’t have a lot of designs under her belt.
She only contributed a small part of a couple of larger collaborative projects." He
somewhat understood her background now. "She’s a graduate of the Ansel University
of Mech Design, isn’t she?" Gavin looked down at the data pad. "You’re right!" An
outsider like Gavin might not be fully aware of the influence of the AUMD. Ves
guessed that Mellie had been tasked by someone from the AUMD to drag down the
perceived value of the Crystal Lord as much as possible. "Could it be Mr. Neverland
who is behind Mellie’s attempt?" Gavin spoke out. Ves shook his head. "It doesn’t
make any sense for him to do so. He’s earned a sizable fortune with mass producing
the bronze label Blackbeaks for the domestic market. Sure, his Elemental Mech
Engineering isn’t suited to produce the Crystal Lord, but that is no reason to risk
his current licensing contract with us. The mastermind is likely someone else
connected to the AUMD." As for why someone from the AUMD wanted to spoil his party,
Ves could think up a lot of reasons. It might be due to animosity against those who
with foreign ties, or an attempt to diminish his value in front of the Mech Corps
so that he wouldn’t take away a plump assignments from their graduates. "I don’t
get it, boss. Why does the AUMD feel the need to put you down?" "They feel
threatened by someone like me. I studied at Rittersberg, a place filled with
spoiled brats descended from decadent billionaires and poisonous politicians. A
small number of mech designers who graduated from my school act all high and mighty
once they enter the industry. They compensate their lack of talent and ability by
bullying everyone aside with their connections or their wealth." "I thought the
mech industry is an extremely competitive field." Gavin replied with puzzlement.
"Shouldn’t those rich kids make fools of themselves once they publish a couple of
designs?" "Ordinarily, their lack of talent is exposed in very short order. You’re
right in that the market won’t be fooled by a bad design. However, those with means
have other tricks available to them. The easiest way is to hire or coerce a more
capable mech designer into designing mechs in their stead." "I see." Gavin nodded.
"So these good-for-nothings stay in business far longer than they ought to. Still,
isn’t it easy to expose them in that case?" "Hahaha." Ves laughed in a low tone.
"Who would dare go against their influence by challenging their competence? Anyone
who sticks out their head won’t gain a lot of rewards, but instead piss off a
powerful influence." "Still, you don’t seem like one of those spoiled brats you’re
talking about. Unlike them, you’ve demonstrated your actual skill several times in
public." "That’s even worse. Since the graduates of the AUMD can’t take out their
frustration on those spoiled brats, they train their firepower on schmucks like me.
Even though I enjoy some backing as well, they can’t help me out in this area."
"Why not? You’re a Larkinson and an apprentice of a Master Mech Designer. That
should scare loads of people off." "Those influences can deter a casual bystander,
but they don’t look so scary to those in the know. We Larkinsons are fairly famous
in the mech pilot circles, but we don’t have any influence in the industry other
than myself. As for my Master, she’s many light-years away from the Bright
Republic. I’m just a nominal disciple, so how much does she really care about me?"
The few times she met her, Ves in fact felt as if Master Olson genuinely cared
about him, if only a little bit. Perhaps she might have ulterior motives and
perhaps she saw a use for him in the future, but Ves never got the impression that
she regarded him as dirt. Still, as busy as she was, Ves never fooled himself into
thinking that he registered high in her list of priorities. A Master Mech Designer
wielded enough influence to affect the entire Friday Coalition. She probably spent
most of her time on developing her own enterprises. "Besides catching people who
wanted to make a fuss, Sanyal-Ablin also caught a couple of armed people outside
the steps." Gavin spoke in a serious tone. "How many?" "Only three, but all of them
had been kitted out with stealth gear. Regular security companies would have been
fooled by these measures." "These guys aren’t much of a threat even if they managed
to sneak inside." Ves waved away the threat. "Whoever sent them is too small-time
for us to track them down. Tell Sanyal-Ablin to deliver them to the local
authorities and let them handle the thugs as they see fit." The high-class
convention hall hid an abundance of defenses. Before anyone could pull out a gun
and shoot into the crowd, a large number of solid plates would emerge from the
ground to block his line of fire. Anyone with a bit of know-how should know about
this and more. That a bunch of stealthed assassins or saboteurs attempted to cause
a major incident anyway showed their lack of importance. "Have any more people
entered the hall since the end of my presentation?" "A fair amount of people are
constantly coming through. In fact, it’s starting to become a problem. Too many
people are entering, and not enough are going out! By now, Sanyal-Ablin is forcing
the people outside to queue up and wait their turn." "This is a good sign." Ves
smiled. "The men and women clamoring to come inside must have heard about the event
from a broadcast or through word of mouth. What they heard about the Crystal Lord
must have been extremely positive as well. Otherwise, they won’t be coming in such
great numbers." "A lot of mech designers are attempting to enter as well. Per your
orders, the guards refused them entry." "Good." Ves nodded. Mellie Neverland and a
handful of other mech designers only got to attend this product reveal because of
their relations to him or the LMC. Ves did not look forward to getting challenged
to a design duel, so he straightforwardly forbid entry to other mech designers.
Perhaps he might be pissing off a lot of fellow colleagues, but he wouldn’t be the
first mech designer to do so. He found it more important to retain complete control
than to please potential troublemakers. Once he took a look at the contents of the
data pad, Ves nodded to Gavin and patted his shoulder. "Keep up the good work. Try
and find a way to get people to leave. I want as many people to witness my mechs as
possible today." "That’s going to be really hard. Look at their faces. Do any of
the attendees look like they want to go?!" "Figure something out with Sanyal-Ablin.
They should be good in this as well." Around ten minutes later, Ves saw a result.
He didn’t know how, but SanyalAblin managed to set up a rotation. Aside from the
invited guests, everyone else could only linger in the hall for a limited amount of
time. Time went by and Bentheim’s sun fell over the horizon. By the end of the
local day, tens of thousands of citizens and tourists visited the hall and got a
close glimpse of the nine impressive mechs. The auction held at the evening went
great as well. The collectors and representatives all stewed underneath the
combined auras for hours at a time. Such a strong and pervasive exposure to the
effects from the X-Factor of the mechs inured them to its influence. However, even
if they got used to the charm of the mechs, they still couldn’t think about parting
from their presence. The representatives of different collectors who hadn’t decided
to attend all did their best in convincing their bosses to bid on the gold label
mechs. Some even managed to pull their collectors from whatever they were doing in
order to attend the auction in person. This led to a raft of eye-watering bidding.
The most expensive mech auctioned for
134 million credits while the cheapest one went for a respectable 122 million
credits. While the winning bids hadn’t reached the level he had hoped, Ves could
still call this day a success. "Still, even if I managed to woo the crowd, I don’t
know if the rest the market will be so easily convinced." Without seeing the mechs
in person, others wouldn’t be drugged by their auras. Will the Crystal Lord models
still appeal to them? Ves could only wait until tomorrow to find out. Chapter 414
Skepticism After a successful day of presenting the Crystal Lord, Ves patiently
slept and waited until the next day to find out the public’s response. As he ate
breakfast in his hotel room, Gavin came up to him and provided him with a brief
report. "Almost every publication who attended the press conference wrote glowing
praise about the Crystal Lord! We succeeded in wowing them and transfer their
enthusiasm in their reporting!" Ves accepted the data pad and skimmed through the
articles they published in the morning. Some delivered unfiltered words of
admiration, while others looked more restrained, as if the editors of the
publications forcefully leashed their over-enthusiastic reporters. Nonetheless,
getting that much was more than sufficient for the LMC. Interest in the Crystal
Lord obviously spiked upwards and millions of people started looking up the mech on
the galactic net after just a few hours of exposure. "What about the negative
articles?" "There are a lot of other publications who are trying to throw shade on
the Crystal Lord. Some of them are excessively negative while others express some
doubts at its value proposition. I don’t believe that all of these news portals are
following someone’s orders. They just don’t buy into the hype." "Hm, that’s to be
expected." Ves nodded gravely as he sipped a cup of coffee. "Even though the
Crystal Lord looks impressive when you see it in person, it’s hard to convey its
value onto a spec sheet. It’s unusual for an Apprentice Mech Designer like me to
publish such an expensive design." "The main point the skeptics are raising is if
it is a product looking for a market. Most rifleman mech models in this price range
are designed by Journeyman, and all of their products are a notch above your own in
terms of value for money. The only wildcard is the amount of value your gimmick can
bring to the table." Ves smirked. "That’s exactly why I kept working on this
feature that all of you thought was a big waste of time. I never intended it to be
a game-changer in a battle. As long as people think it’s useful enough to justify
its price, it’s accomplishing its mission." The virtual models of the design
appeared onto the different simulation games as well, allowing the public to
explore their strengths at their own pace. The first reviews already reached
glowing levels as many of them became affected the X-Factor of the virtual mechs
they piloted. As Ves read through the reports, he got a sense that this effect
became a lot stronger than compared with the Blackbeak. Anyone who piloted the
virtual version of the offensive knight design came away with much less enthusiasm.
Perhaps that was one of the main differences between B and C-grade XFactors. The
responses of the early adopters sounded no different than those who piloted any of
his mechs in person. This happened to have formed a powerful boost for the newly
published Crystal Lord. The overwhelmingly positive feedback elevated the virtual
models to a whole new level. As they gained in popularity, they also became more
prominent in the virtual marketspace, leading to more curious players trying them
out. "It’s too bad that it’s a fairly demanding mech to pilot." Gavin noted
sullenly. "It’s classified as a 5-star virtual mech in Iron Spirit, so not a lot of
people are qualified to purchase and pilot it in the first place." Right now, the
higher-leagued player base of online games like Iron Spirit had plummeted due to
the war. These working men and women needed to focus their full attention on
surviving the war. They had no time to waste on games in simulations that didn’t
cut it as a professional training tool. Ves still smiled. "The more exposure, the
better. Great things start from small steps. Building up some grassroots popularity
for our new design is never a bad thing. The more the laymen talk about it, the
more the professionals take note. Word will spread, and eventually interest will
blow over to the people in charge of procuring mechs." "Actual sales are still very
modest. We may have received a lot of orders for the silver label Crystal Lord, but
we aren’t getting any further orders except from those who attended the
conference." They both knew that the Crystal Lord might be off to a rough start.
Ves already thought about it extensively and believed that the situation might
change once people start to convey their experiences with piloting the mechs in
circulation. "These things take time. It’s normal for potential buyers to hold back
on purchasing an expensive mech. They want to avoid being scammed, so they’ll only
start to move once we receive some positive feedback from the first wave of
customers." "Yeah, about that, we’re kind of in a tight spot with regards to
production. I don’t need to tell you this, but the Mech Nursery is bottlenecked by
the fact that it only runs three production lines. That was already insufficient
with the silver label Blackbeak and now with the silver label Crystal Lord on top,
their waiting lists have reached an insane proportion." This was one problem that
the LMC couldn’t easily solve. "We already went into debt in order to finance the
acquisition of two additional Benson production lines. Do we have to dig a deeper
hole?" "You can always have the company issue more stock. The LMC is obviously on
the rise, so its stock is really hot right now." "No. Absolutely not." Ves quickly
shook his head. "I haven’t changed my mind on this stance. The other shareholders
don’t want to dilute their ownership. Personally, I don’t feel desperate enough to
sell my own shares either." The LMC currently faced a paper loss resulting from
missed opportunities. That was an entirely different to sustaining real losses by
spending much more money than they earned from their revenue streams. Basically,
the company was already in a pretty good spot, but everyone wanted to move over to
a better position. They just had to pay a price in order to do so. Ves already
relayed his opinion on the matter to Calsie, and tasked her to coordinate with the
board and the Finance Department to find out a solution that made everyone happy.
With the LMC’s financial growth prospects, taking out another loan shouldn’t be
difficult, but the sticking point was the amount of investment they wanted to make.
A conservative expansion entailed acquiring two second-hand production lines on the
cheap, while more ambitious plans called for diving deep into debt into order to
finance a whopping amount of six new production lines. Though Ves did not look
forward to saddling the LMC with debt, in the long run it paid off. The only worry
was that something drastic happened in the meantime that might disrupt the
company’s future profit streams. In these uncertain times, it became increasingly
harder for mech manufacturers to obtain loans at favorable rates. One of the most
awful consequences of the earlier mass raids by the Vesians was that banks suddenly
hiked all of their interest rates overnight. It was a lot more expensive to owe
money to them after that point. This was why the question of financing a further
expansion required a lot of consideration. Even after they made a decision, they
might spend a month or two on negotiating the best possible terms with the banks
they wanted to go in bed with. Once they finally managed to acquire the production
lines and get them up and running with an expanded crew of mech technicians, at
least half a year might have gone by. All the while, demand for the Crystal Lord
piled up. To placate the urgent demand, the LMC pretty much had to resort to
relying on third-party manufacturers yet again. This was something else that Ves
had delegated to Calsie and the rest. "What kind of third-party manufacturers are
expressing interest in producing the bronze label Crystal Lords?" "Well, first off,
you’ve got Vaun Industrial." Gavin began. "They are remarkably open in their
intentions, despite not earning as much from their Blackbeaks as they hoped. Bronze
label Blackbeaks only make up a tiny portion of their total earnings, so it’s
rather unusual for them to be so forward about licensing the Crystal Lord. I get
the idea that if not for the steep 5 billion credit price tag for the standard
contract, they might have already signed it instead of coming up to us." Ves
nodded. "Vaun Industrial is a big player, and they excel in volume and precision. I
don’t really like to go into business with them though, but it’s hard to refuse a
partner once they have a foot in the door." Unspoken was the fact that despite the
lack of passion in their production methods, they did a really good job in
fabricating his mechs. They matched the design schematics to an almost obsessive
level of precision, and no one ever reported any major defects from the mechs that
rolled off their sophisticated production lines. "I don’t know why you’re so hung
up about Vaun. They’re our best partner by far with regards to the Blackbeaks.
They’re a lot better than Neverland’s EME, which still needs constant monitoring
from us in order to avoid any slip-ups." "It’s difficult to explain. It’s enough
for you to know that I would rather work with companies like EME with all of its
troubles than Vaun. The latter see mechs as commodities while the former knows
there is more to quality than mechanical perfection." Someone like Gavin wouldn’t
understand, so they quickly moved
on from this point. They discussed some other matters, such as the company’s
liquidity and how much they needed to spend on promoting their new design. "We
should keep the hype alive by running occasional ads." Gavin suggested. "Once the
hype dies down completely, it’s hard to bring it back to life. We should spend at
least 100 million credits a month on this, and that’s the bare minimum. Once Vaun
Industrial and other partners crank up their production lines and produce the
Crystal Lord by the hundreds, we can really ramp up our promotion by then." "Even
if we’re in the process of acquiring more debt, don’t skimp on the promotion. The
first month after publishing a new design is the most crucial period of all. We
can’t afford to neglect the importance of shaping everyone’s first impressions of
our new mech. Gavin dutifully noted all of his words and would send them off to
Calsie later. In the meantime, Ves finished his breakfast and allowed some
attendants to brush up his clothes and appearance. He adopted a couple of smiles
until he settled on one that seemed modestly polite. "How do I look?" Ves asked.
"Confident, but not arrogant. It’s the right look for a mech designer who’s
talented and is aware of it. You don’t want to widen that smile, or else you might
come across as unhinged." The reason why they went through the trouble of brushing
up his appearance was because they scheduled a whole host of interviews for today.
While they hadn’t gotten any major publications to come and talk to Ves, they did
garner the interest of many smaller local news portals. Though they didn’t reach a
very wide audience, they formed an influential voice in certain communities. A
mosquito’s leg still contained meat, so Ves filled up his plate with as much of
them as possible in order to substitute for a single chicken drum. It was grueling
work, though. Ves needed to maintain a constant veneer of poise in front of the
recorders. "Boss, don’t think about how much the interviews will tire you out.
Instead, think about what you get out of this. You only have to endure a single day
of suffering." "I don’t know. I feel kind of desperate accepting all of these
interviews from hack publications. For example, I don’t even know why you invited
The Mech Conspiracy. They’re a bunch of crazies!" Gavin laughed. "Crazy as they
are, they are actually some of the most loyal customers you can have as long as you
make them like you. Just study their latest conspiracy theories and find a way to
portray the LMC in a good light." "That’s impossible. These people believe that
half of the MTA has been taken over by bots, and that every mech is secretly
brainwashing their mech pilots into worshipping some unknown lizard-like race."
"It’s a good thing you don’t look like a lizard." "Haha." Chapter 415 Public
Persona Despite all of the work that Ves put into promotion his new design, the
effect was hardly noticeable, but every little bit helped. He had no doubt that
once they finished setting things up with the third-party manufacturers, people
would have much more to talk about as more of them got exposed to his mechs.
Throughout the next week, Ves participated in several promotional events in a row.
The reason why he filled up his schedule with these activities was because this
might be his last opportunity to put in a good word on his newly released design.
After returning back to his hotel room, he felt tired to the bone. Even though his
mind and body reached reached a transhuman state, the amount of activities he took
part in almost crushed him into a worm. His spiritual exhaustion had reached a
peak. "I can’t do this any longer. I’m not cut out for this line of work." As the
lead designer of the LMC, it was extremely important for Ves to get his face out
and shape his audience’s impressions of his new mech. Still, the company relied too
much on him to do everything. While he worked to shift some responsibility to
others so that it wouldn’t collapse in his absence, Ves realized he overlooked one
key player. The LMC needed a spokesperson. "Gavin?" "Yes, boss?" "Who will take
over as the face of the company when I’m gone?" Unlike Ves who did all the work,
Gavin only stayed on the sidelines and arranged his schedule. He still looked
relatively fresh and look eager to freshen up his boss so that he could drag them
to another promotional event. The moment Ves asked the question, his assistant
looked pained. "Calsie isn’t suitable for this role, and neither am I. We’re too
young and we don’t understand mechs the way you do. The best we can put forth is
Jake Altern." Jake was an old man and single-handedly expanded the LMC from a
smallscale mech workshop into a proper medium mech manufacturer. The COO knew more
about the business side of the company than anyone else, including Ves. Still, did
the LMC benefit from putting forth an old geezer who couldn’t get into the nitty
gritty details when it came to discussing the intricacies of mechs? "Jake is too
old and doesn’t have the expertise to answer industry-specific questions." Ves
concluded. "True. A young company such as ours needs to present a dynamic image.
Most of our customers are mech pilots or mech commanders who looking for
alternatives to the most conventional options on the market. Presenting a stiff and
old-fashioned image goes against our positioning." "Well said, Gavin." The only
problem was that this left no one qualified to represent the LMC in public. "Boss.
If we can’t use an insider, why not adopt an outsider?" "Hm. I was thinking about
that as well." Not all mech designers wanted to show up in front of a recorder and
have his face projected throughout the entire state. They put up different kinds of
as their surrogates, and over time this experimentation have led to a number of
best practices. The most popular solution was to put forth a mech pilot as their
public voice. Though not too well-versed in the technical design and construction
of a mech, they knew all about the stuff that customers really wanted to know. Mech
pilots understood other mech pilots the most. This common level of understanding
helped a lot in roping people into becoming their customers. The only problem was
picking the right person. Ves did not want to put up Melkor or anyone else from the
Avatars of Myth. Being a spokesperson was a full-time job these days and mech
pilots who chose to take on this role needed a lot of grooming to present a
knowledgeable but authentic image in public. "If you don’t have any other
suggestions, why not let the LMC sort this problem out on its own?" Ves would have
liked to select his own spokesperson, but he had a feeling he would be gone very
soon. "Very well. Put it on their agenda and make sure they select someone by the
end of this month. Once the bronze label Crystal Lords are beginning to appear on
the market, we need to be more active in our promotion." They didn’t discuss
anything else that evening. Ves was too tired and hit the sack soon after. The next
day, a fateful message arrived at his comm. It was the message that portended his
next step in life, for good or ill. "The Mech Corps is calling." Ves briefly
checked the galactic net and saw that a lot of other mech designers received the
same message as well. The Mech Corps formally called up the second wave of mech
designers to fight for their state. Despite knowing that this day was long in
coming, Ves still felt uneasy about it. He heard so many second-hand stories about
mech designers in the Mech Corps that he didn’t know if he should believe them all.
He also didn’t know if the Mech Corps valued him enough to assign him to a
meaningful role. "There’s no use dragging this moment out." Although the message
granted its recipients a generous amount of time before they needed to report to
the Mech Corps, Ves wanted to get in early. He learned that tip from a classmate in
school. "Arriving early demonstrates your dutifulness and shows you care." The Mech
Corps constantly kept watch over its mech designers. Those who showed signs of
disgruntlement and dragged their feet in their work tended to be transferred away
from a research base and be sent straight to the frontlines. However, before he
submitted himself to the Mech Corps, Ves planned to make one final visit. He raised
his comm and called up Melinda. "Hiya Vessie." Melinda greeted him, though not with
a smile this time. "I heard about what just happened. You’re joining the war,
aren’t you?" "Yeah." Ves nodded. "Don’t worry about me, I’m not going to be picking
up a weapon anytime soon." Melinda still looked worried. "You should still watch
out for yourself. The Mech Corps looks strong on the outside, but it’s made out of
countless cliques that fight over every scrap of resources they can get. That’s one
of the reasons why I opted to join the Planetary Guard. It’s much simpler here,
since we’re only responsible for defending a single planet." The burden of
defending more than a thousand star systems at once fell heavily onto the shoulders
of the Mech Corps. It was a difficult job to juggle at the best of times, but once
you factoring in the limited amount of funds and resources it had at its disposal,
then internal fights often broke out. Mech pilots being what they were, it wasn’t
unheard of for hem to punch each other in their faces. Even upper echelon would
sometimes be guilty of this, as they all used to be mech pilots themselves. They
learned their entire life how to develop their aggression and channel it against
their opponents. Learning how to compromise came much later in their careers.
"Since I’m going to be cut off from everyone very soon, I’d like to pay a visit to
you. Are you free for today?" "Hm, it’s all hands on deck at the Planetary Guard
right now, but we recently stepped down from the highest state of readiness. As
long as ask around for some favors, I can
probably clear up a couple of hours in my schedule. Is that alright?" "That sounds
great!" A couple of hours later, Ves arrived at a stately-looking condominium in
the middle of Dorum. Melinda’s current apartment was actually one of the rewards he
dangled out for her in exchange for piloting the Blackbeak in the duel against
Captain Vicar’s Havalax. As far as condominiums went, the place Melinda lived
portrayed a lot of quiet elegance. It was probably a huge hit to women, but others
might like it as well for all the peace and quiet it radiated. The inner spaces
contained a lot of gardens and minimalistic artwork. Together, they provided
residents with a rare moment of serenity in an otherwise busy planet. Once he
reached the top of the condo, Ves stepped inside the penthouse, which commanded a
sweeping view over Dorum. "Welcome to my place!" Melinda waved from a sofa. "Looks
like you are doing well for yourself." "Heh, ever since the duel, I can’t even show
my face in public anymore. Even though a lot of time has passed, hardly anyone
forgot about that fight. I beat down a captain of the Mech Corps! Hardly anyone
else can claim they can do the same!" As Ves took a seat on the opposite sofa,
Melinda blabbered on about how everyone treated her with more importance. The
Planetary Guard started grooming her into an officer while her fellow mech pilots
constantly slapped her back for showing that they could measure up against their
military counterparts. Ves smiled at her stories. If not for her current career,
she would have made a perfect spokesperson for the LMC. "What do you think about my
new design?" "I followed your press thingie while I was out on patrol. Don’t tell
my captain I did so." She winked at him. "All in all, if you weren’t my cousin, I
would have smacked your mouth. Really now, do you really have to charge so much for
a rifleman mech? It’s insane!" "It’s not meant to be a mass-production model. The
Crystal Lord offers several enhancements over the mainstream models." "Hah! Sure,
but who would want to buy a single overengineered mech when they can get two normal
ones instead?" "My product doesn’t cater to the average consumer." "I’m telling
you, each time I see you, your mouth is getting bigger and bigger. You’re greedy,
Ves. It’s gotten to the point where its blowing over to the rest of the Larkinson
Family. Last time I visited Rittersberg, all they talk about is stocks and
dividends and how much money you’re going to shovel in their piglike throats." Ves
laughed awkwardly at that accusation. "Everything’s easier with money. Do you think
a fancy place like this can be bought for a couple of credits?" "That’s not the
point I’m trying to make. You used to be small and cute, you know? Just like any
other munchkin at the Larkinson Estate." "I’m a grown person now. My innocence is
long gone." "I get the feeling you lost a lot of other things as well along the
way." Melinda spoke with a low voice. "Meeting you again has made me realize you’re
turning into something else. The Ves I used to know is slowly making way for a
different kind of person." "What kind of person are you talking about?" "You’re
turning into one of those stereotypical mech designers you see in the dramas. Not
the losers who are barely keeping their workshops afloat, but those successful ones
who let their achievements grow their egos blow through the roof." Ves knew what
she was referring to. The mech designers portrayed in those stories tended to be
the ruthless sort who fought and cheated their way to success. They didn’t hesitate
to order a hit on their competitors if they could get away with it. They treated
their own subordinates like furniture and their customers like sheep. In the
dramas, mech designers like that often showed up as conceited villains who thought
they could get anything they wanted as long as they threw enough money at it. They
treated their existence as if they had been descended from gods, and they openly
behaved as if the galaxy revolved around their whims. As Ves momentarily reflected
on himself, he had to admit he changed from two years ago. "Even if I’m a different
person now, I hardly walk and talk like one of those stupid caricature. I only
changed because this is the way that business is done. The true mech industry is
hardly cutthroat to the extent where I dress up in stealth clothing and sneak into
the bedroom of my rivals to assassinate them in person." The convoluted stories the
entertainment industry came up with regards to mech designers boggled the mind.
Though they also broadcasted other stories where mech designers played the hero, it
was far too common to see them in the role of ruthless mech magnate. Melinda didn’t
appear to be convinced. She stared hard at Ves as she stood up and walked close to
him. Once she reached his position, she extended her hands and grabbed his cheeks,
only to pull them apart. "I know the old Ves is still there! Come on out!" Chapter
416 Sign Here Ves spent a couple of hours at Melinda’s place. They reminisced about
the past and exchanged their thoughts about the war. Unlike most Larkinsons,
Melinda didn’t seem so eager to distinguish herself in the great conflict. "I’m not
so hungry to earn acknowledgement from our uncles and aunts. What’s the use of
making a name for yourself when you end up in an early grave?" "You should be
careful with such talk. Others might think you’re a coward." "So what if they did?
I’m my own person. I don’t need anyone’s acknowledgement. Besides, I’ve more than
earned my chops in the Planetary Guard and that stupid duel." "What will you do if
the war reaches the surface of Bentheim? It could always happen." "Pah." Melinda
dismissively waved her hand. "The Vesians never managed to set foot on Bentheim
before and they won’t do so for the foreseeable future. They can’t break the
Republic all by themselves." "It can always happen. No one can be certain of how
this war will progress." "Even if the Vesians arrive at my doorstep, I’ll continue
to do my duty. There’s no question about that." Melinda stated with conviction.
"Just because I’m not eager to earn for glory doesn’t mean I’ll run away at the
first sign of trouble. I merely don’t buy in the glory that the other Larkinsons
are talking about. I must be lacking those genes." No one truly believed the
Vesians could succeed in breaking through. They feared the possibility, but
hundreds of years or unending failure inured everyone to the status quo. Ves
faintly found that attitude to be wrong. Maybe it was because he experienced these
tumultuous times for himself, but his intuition told him that this time would be
different. The problem was convincing others of the gravity of this current
conflict. "By the way, have you gotten in touch with Raella?" Mentioning the
current black sheep of the Larkinson Family sank Melinda’s mood to the bottom of a
pit. "She isn’t accepting my calls. From what I can gather, nobody else has managed
to get in touch with her. She’s completely involved in her own little world. From
the intelligence that the Planetary Guard has gathered, she’s become something of a
champion pilot to the Blood Claws. They parade her out whenever they need to fight
a mech duel." "That sounds dangerous." "I won’t argue that. Raella’s got as much
balls as any Larkinson serving in the frontlines. Mech duels that take place in
official arenas are already dangerous enough, but the underground arenas are ten
times worse. It takes a real survivor to make it out alive from there." Both of
them looked a little worried, but Raella made her bed. If she thought she could
handle it, then Ves couldn’t do anything about her reckless choice. "How
influential are the Blood Claws? Are they a big deal?" Melinda snorted. "Hah! Big
deal? They’re massive! They just hide it well. They control roughly a third of
Bentheim’s seedy underbelly. Nothing happens on their territory without them
knowing about it. They’re a violent bunch and the aftermath of their fights are
always a hell to clean up. The only reason why they aren’t mopped up is because we
can never stamp them out and the cost would be too much for us to bear." This was a
familiar refrain that every authority figure repeated when someone asked why they
hadn’t mopped up the gangs. "What are the Blood Claws good at?" "Hm. They don’t
have any specialties as far as I know. They’ve dipped their fingers into gambling,
extortion, stimulants, pirated mechs and more. Whatever you can think of, they
probably have someone doing it. That’s what makes them so pervasive." "They sound
like swell guys." "They used to be worse. They only cleaned up their act once they
couldn’t expand anymore." He enjoyed his time at Melinda’s, even if he couldn’t
stay for long. It was inconvenient for him to travel to Rittersberg, so talking
with one more Larkinson besides Melkor reminded him he was a part of the Larkinsons
as well. Blood was thicker than water, and Ves had a feeling he needed to count on
them sooner or later. "This might be the last time I see you for several years."
Ves said as he stood at her doorstep. "I hope you take care of yourself, and keep
an eye on my company as well." She shrugged. "Will do, though it doesn’t look like
your company needs it. Your new mech is catching a lot of attention." "I’m glad to
hear that." Ves checked the updated status report on the exposure of the Crystal
Lord. Interest in the mech grew significantly, mostly because several pilots tried
them out in simulators. Their good impressions translated into glowing praise,
which attracted their friends to try a hand at piloting the mech as well. Even with
the positive word-of-mouth, the amount of orders hadn’t grown by much. Buyers still
wanted to hear more experiences from those who owned and piloted the physical
copies of the mech. "They’ll have to wait for a long time, since as far as I know,
every bidder who won a mech at the auctions are pure collectors." These types of
people cared a lot about the condition of their mechs. The newer, the better. It
would be best if the mechs hadn’t been piloted at all since they passed their
testing phases. It would be impossible for them to show off their new purchases by
sticking a pilot into their cockpits and increase the wear and tear of the mech by
skipping around. In any case, Ves wouldn’t have to deal with this issues very soon.
Instead, he needed to report for duty. He entered an armored shuttle and directed
it to bring him towards a processing center of the Mech Corps in the outskirts of
Dorum. After a short amount of time, the shuttle and its escorts settled down onto
a massive parking space that hosted hundreds of shuttle. As Ves exited the vehicle,
he took in the din of conversation and realized that he hadn’t arrived as early as
he thought. Many other mech designers had already packed their bags and waited for
the moment the Mech Corps called up the second wave. His comm beeped as it received
an automated message from the processing center. They sent him a map of the
processing center and his schedule for the next couple of days. "Looks like I’ve
got a lot of inspections to go through." Ves sounded a little worried because his
body and mind was nothing like a baseline human. Even though the Bright Republic
must have noted down his abnormalities, it would still raise some eyebrows with the
Mech Corps he thought. At this stage, a lot of mech designers already arrived. Ves
took a casual glance of the people disembarking from their shuttles and aircars and
guessed that most of them consisted of Apprentices and Journeymen. Ves easily
distinguished the latter from their attitude, body language and privileges. They
treated obvious Apprentices like air and only held an equal conversation with other
Journeymen. To be sure, Journeyman Mech Designers enjoyed a lot more prestige
because it was at this point that the mech industry regarded them as fully
competent mech designers. Before advancing to this rank, mech designers still
possessed a lot of holes in their knowledge base and couldn’t fully guarantee the
soundness of their designs. In contrast, regardless of the person involved, any
Journeyman Mech Designer who received formal recognition from the MTA could be
counted on to deliver battleworthy mechs. Their designs covered every base, and
often carried something extra in order to distinguish their products from others.
This was why even if the LMC reached the point of selling thousands of mechs, the
industry still regarded it as a small-time player. His low rank hobbled the
reputation of his designs. He could forget about conquering a significant share of
the mech market as long as his status remained the same. "I still have a lot of
work ahead of myself in order to reach their heights." Most Journeyman Mech
Designers looked to be in their middle ages, though it was hard to guess due to the
use of age-prolonging treatments. Many Journeymen enjoyed enough success to be able
to afford the most preliminary suite of treatments that stretched out their aging
process. They couldn’t get back their youth, but the time of their natural deaths
could still be extended by at least a century. People who enjoyed age-prolonging
treatments couldn’t be distinguished from a baseline human unless they exhibited
some characteristic traits. Most of the time, their behavior could be described as
wearing a young skin, but acting like an old person. Ves only rarely saw so many
people who behaved in this manner before. Ageprolonging treatments was something
that was out of the hands of the general public. Even the Larkinson Estate couldn’t
afford to provide any treatments to their most famous family members such as
Grandpa Benjamin or Uncle Ark. This was also one of the shortcomings of age-
prolonging technology. Ves didn’t understand the science behind it all, but it was
generally known that it took a lot more effort to extend the lives of a potentate
or mech pilot. Their brains operated in a different manner from the brains of
baseline humans. Theirs was much more active and in fact wore out a little faster.
Ageprolonging treatments needed to be calibrated very specifically to accommodate
the unique brains of every mech pilot. The higher their rank, the bigger the
challenge. The Bright Republic at its current state simply couldn’t afford to
subsidize any age-prolonging treatments for their expert pilots. This actually led
to a lot of them to pack up their bags and emigrate to the Friday Coalition or some
other powerful state in a different star sector. The amount of expert pilots who
stuck with the Bright Republic was very little. Naturally, these expert pilots
wouldn’t necessarily have a good time in their new homes, and it wasn’t as if the
Mech Corps possessed no means of retaining some of them. Usually, they signed
contracts with talented pilots that stated that if they happened to advance to
expert pilot while in active duty, that they still needed to serve the end of their
terms before they could go. This illustrated the disparity in treatment between
different ranks. Even if the Bright Republic didn’t possess enough means to please
all of their talents, they sure tried their best to accommodate them. Ves witnessed
the differences first-hand. Whereas Ves only received a message on his comm and a
projected AI as his guide, junior officers personally received every incoming
Journeyman. They would quickly be led to a smaller building off to the side that
nonetheless looked more luxurious. "Some day, I’ll retreat the same kind of
treatment." Ves shrugged and continued to follow the blinking projected ball that
led him across the parking area and towards a large hangar-like structure. Inside
the cavernous walls, large amounts of mech designers lined up to report for duty
and to go through their first inspections. Despite the enormous lines, Ves moved
forward rather quickly. The Mech Corps didn’t choose to conduct their business
inside this giant hangar for nothing. Once Ves arrived at the front, a bland-
looking serviceman checked his identity and signed off on a whole stack of virtual
documents. "Sign here to acknowledge that you understand the rules and regulations
of the Mech Corps, and that you cannot use ignorance of these regulations as an
excuse." "Sign here to confirm you agree with the secrecy clauses. The Mech Corps
takes confidentiality and information security with the highest level of
importance. Report immediately if you carry any electronic or biological implants,
no matter how small or unrelated they might be to spying activities." Ves dutifully
noted some of the abnormalities in his body, most notably the Jutland organ. Even
if the Mech Corps likely knew all of this before, he couldn’t afford to slip up
right at the start. "Note down the possible conflicts of interest that might occur
during your service time. Be as detailed as possible, and include both foreign and
domestic influences." "Sign here to consent to invasive health checks. The Mech
Corps reserves the right to unilaterally operate and modify your body and its
physiological functions without needing to adhere to any medical justifications."
"Sign here to state that during your service, you will put the interests of the
Bright Republic over the interests of any other state or comparable entity. In case
of a conflict of interests, you should immediately report it to your superiors."
Chapter 417 Theory By the time Ves biometrically signed the twenty-odd documents,
his fingers almost cramped up. Some organizations were content with scanning the
DNA or the pupils of a person, but the Mech Corps adhered to a much more rigorous
standard. The sheer amount of actions Ves needed to do to sign each document was a
struggle in itself. The Mech Corps was determined to prevent any mech designers
from committing fraud or misrepresenting the truth. Ves understood why, of course.
Mech designers primarily designed mechs, but were capable engineers as well. They
used to pull off all kinds of tricks, from hacking the devices that held the
virtual documents and changing their clauses, to putting forth a remote-controlled
android to serve in their stead. The most extreme example actually consisted of a
spoiled brat who ordered the kidnapping of another mech designer. Gruesome surgery
turned the victim’s body into a clone of the spoiled brat, while extremely brutal
brainwashing slowly turned his personality into a passable imitation of the
mastermind. The entire scheme actually stood a good chance of working because the
Mech Corps didn’t perform invasive inspections back then. The doppelganger
dutifully pretended to be someone else and while some may have held some
suspicions, no one realized the truth. The only reason why it fell through was
because the spoiled brat showed himself in public when one of his parties went out
of control. People quickly started to scratch their heads why this good-for-nothing
mech designer could be in two places at once. Wasn’t he working on debugging mechs
in some isolated research base? "Go on ahead and wait for inspection." Ves moved on
and followed the guide to a closed-off modular clinic. Throughout the rest of the
day, he went through an extensive amount of tests. Due to his abnormal body, he
enjoyed increased scrutiny and had to endure a lot more tests despite the existence
of records that told the exact same story. "We just want to be sure we got the
right person." A doctor muttered when Ves asked why. The Mech Corps wasn’t
interested in the potentially miraculous effects of his Jutland organ. Instead,
they held a lot of concern about its unknown functioning and the intentions of its
creator. Who knew what kind of biological programming it contained. Ves came across
the first obstacle then
and there. "You’ll have to stay back, Mr. Larkinson." The doctor said as he
furrowed at the inconclusive results in the reports. "We can let you go through the
next steps of your initiation until we have received some assurances that you
aren’t carrying anything that might prove to be a detriment." Ves expected that
something like this might happen. "I can refer you to Master Olson’s
representative. He can vouch for me." "That will help a lot!" In cases like this
where the Mech Corps lacked the means to resolve the issue, they would normally
hold back the mech designer in question and dither on their assignments. Ves wanted
to avoid such an awful fate, so he already prepared something beforehand. He raised
his comm and sent out the contact details for Horatio. "This is the contact for
Master Olson’s steward. He takes care of all her administrative issues and knows
about my situation." The doctor retreated and corresponded with Horatio. Ves
couldn’t eavesdrop on their conversation, but he had no doubt that the most
contentious issues would be waved away. After all, Ves was not the only mech
designer here with connections to a foreign state. The Friday Coalition was a
behemoth compared to the Republic, so the latter had no choice but to swallow every
pill served in its mouth. Some time later, the doctor returned and wordlessly
nodded his head at Ves to move onwards. "Thanks." Although the experience was a
little awkward, and the Mech Corps would never fully trust him, Ves knew that he
had cleared the most essential hurdle. He went through a final inspection where
some bots stripped all of his clothes and belongings and issued him a bland, grey
replacement outfit along with the most primitive comm he had ever seen. "This thing
doesn’t even have a single app installed besides a clock." After that, Ves reached
a dormitory area where a handful of mech designers bunked inside small modular
rooms erected for the purpose. He entered a room only to meet three unfamiliar
faces. "Look at what we have here! The latecomer has arrived!" "Took you long
enough!" "You missed dinner, but we saved some for you." Ves smiled and went inside
and took a seat at the square table in the middle. "Thank you, I’m starving."
Dinner in this case consisted of nothing more than a bland, stale nutrient pack
along with lots of water to hydrate his stomach. "Is this it?" Ves frowned. "It
looks rather... bare." Even prisoners got to enjoy reconstituted food that used
nutrient packs as raw materials. Serving the dry bars of unidentifiable biological
matter without any processing was jokingly considered as a borderline war crime. He
introduced himself as Morgan Hollenfield. One of the three mech designers sighed.
He was a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and looked a lot older than the other
two. "The Mech Corps wants to show who’s boss around here. We only get to enjoy the
nutrient packs as breakfast, lunch and dinner until we go through what they call
their lightest version of boot camp." Everyone frowned at that. As a rule, mech
designers were nerds and geeks. What did physical fitness have to do with how well
they designed their mechs? "It’s another way to put us down!" A younger man burst
out. "Those jumpedup mech pilots always think they are in charge, and want to drive
in the point that we are their slaves!" Morgan quickly pressed the young man’s
shoulder. "Calm down, Jim! The Mech Corps is always listening in! You can land
yourself in a lot of trouble if you talk like that!" "As if I care! I had a good
career lined up and several designs in the works. I wasn’t supposed to be called
up!" Morgan awkwardly laughed at Ves and the other mech designer. "Don’t mind Jim
too much. He’s a scion of the Ronan Family." That caused Ves to widen his eyes a
bit. The Ronan Family owned a lot of asteroid mining operations. They weren’t a big
player in the resource market, but carved out a niche spot for themselves. Jim
probably enjoyed a lot of benefits if he was related to that Ronan Family. His
company would be able to incur much less costs to produce a mech if it took
advantage of raw materials being sold to it at cost price. However, to Ves, Jim
didn’t look as if he enjoyed that much success. He looked a bit pathetic compared
to the final mech designer. The young man noticed the inquisitive stare and held
out his hand to Ves. "Bartholomew Yi. Apprentice Mech Designer. Just call me Bart
for short." The man’s appearance only showed a hint of asian characteristics, so
that side of his bloodline must have thinned out a bit through the generations.
"Ves Larkinson, also an Apprentice Mech Designer." All four were obviously
Apprentices with their own pride and accomplishments, so nobody treat each other as
anything but equals. Ves may have designed some great mechs and enjoyed the backing
of an influential Master from the Coalition, but the others didn’t lose out too
much in their own careers. As Ves gradually consumed the nutrient packs, he got to
know his three new roommates. "I’ve designed fifteen original designs in my
career." Morgan proudly boasted. "Though they haven’t won any awards, all of them
turned out a handsome profit." "What type of mechs did you design?" Ves asked as he
tried to swallow another bite of dry nutrients. "Oh, they run the gamut from light
mechs to medium mechs, skirmishers to knights, landbound mechs to aerial mechs. The
only kind of mechs I can’t design are spaceborn, aquatic and heavy mechs."
"That’s... a really wide range of mechs." Ves said, a little stunned. It wasn’t
unheard of for mech designers to design a broad sweep of mech types. However, Ves
always learned that mech designers needed to apply some focus, especially in the
formative stages of Novice and Apprentice. Scattering too much at such an early
phase risked stalling a mech designer’s development in developing his own style and
design philosophy. From the askance looks that Jim and Bart directed to Morgan,
they must have thought the same. "I know what you’re thinking." Morgan replied,
demonstrating his selfawareness. "Your reactions are just like everyone else who
hears about my record, but hear me out. What if, I’m on the right track, and you
guys are dead wrong?" "That’s impossible!" Jim erupted after smacking his palm
against the tabletop. "Who’s ever heard of an Apprentice advancing to Journeyman by
designing every type of mech in the galaxy? Even if you have the lifespan to
complete all of those designs, your focus is so diluted that there’s hardly any
style to speak of!" Ves nodded in agreement. He held the same opinions as Jim,
blunt as he might be. "That’s where the entire mech designer community is wrong."
Morgan grinned and crossed his arms while leaning back. "Admittedly, some of you
may advance to Journeyman in the next decade or two. That’s okay. Mech design is
not a race. Just keep in mind that you’ll regret it for the rest of your lives if
you move on so fast without rounding out your experience." "Why so?" "Because mech
design is all about reaching the pinnacle in mech design! Think about it. How can
you reach the top when you skimped out in your foundational stages? The moment you
advance to Journeyman after designing only five to ten or so mechs, you are
progressing on top of an unstable foundation." "What constitutes an unstable
foundation?" Bart furrowed his brows. Unlike Jim, he appeared to be more interested
in Morgan’s theory. "My mentor has taught me that a good foundation consists of a
comprehensive understanding of the sciences related to mech design." Morgan raised
a finger. "That’s only one part of the equation! Don’t forget that to become a
Journeyman, you need to be more than a good learner. The other two requirements are
to design several original mechs and to develop your own design philosophy. In
truth, the design philosophy is connected to the other two criteria. It’s the goal
that every Apprentice is aiming for, and it happens to be the part which everyone
is trying to rush through!" "That’s nonsense." Jim retorted. "Most of the Master
Mech Designers today are geniuses who advanced rapidly through the ranks. The
faster they reach Master, the brighter their future! Anyone who took more than a
hundred years to reach that exalted rank has no future at all." "You’re wrong!
Rushing through the Apprentice stage is as if you are building a starship with no
FTL drive! Sure, you can still build a decent ship without it with fully functional
power reactors and thrusters. This is enough to drive the starship from planet to
planet within a single star system. However, the moment you want to jump into FTL
in order to reach a better star system, you will suddenly find yourself coming up
short, because you forgot to install the FTL drive at the construction phase!" The
analogy sounded really compelling, but none of the other three designers looked
convinced. "Mech design isn’t anything like building a starship." Ves calmly
replied. "As Jim has said, many Master Mech Designers seem fine even if they only
spent a couple of years as Apprentices." Enough hard proof existed on the galactic
net to prove his assertions. "Oh sure, those Masters all seem impressive trying to
outrace each other." Morgan waved their accomplishments away as if they were
nothing. "To me, they’re like toddlers running around in the sandbox. Is Master
Mech Designer the end point of our careers? No! Above Masters, there are Star
Designers!" Star Designers! These were the true pinnacles of mech design in the
galaxy. Legendary figures like the Armorer and the Polymath worked with the most
cutting-edge technologies available to humankind in order to push the envelope of
what mechs became capable of achieving. "What do Star Designers have to do with
your theory?" "If you’ve read their biographies, then you should know that none of
them started out as geniuses. Except for the Polymath,
but she’s a weird one. Aside from her, everyone else started off like you and me.
Average. They were dullards even. They lingered in the Apprentice phase for decades
before they advanced to Journeymen. Instead of regarding those periods as their
lowest point, perhaps they are actually the secrets to their success!" Jim and Bart
looked stunned at Morgan. However, Ves did not appear to be convinced. "There’s a
very big hole in your theory. The other Star Designers might have stalled in the
Apprentice stage, but they haven’t branched out in their design work." Chapter 418
Eternal Sorrow The hierarchy among mech designers looked like a very fat and short
pyramid. Novices were as abundant as red dwarfs in the galaxy. Only a fraction of
them reached the Apprentice-level, but anyone could advance to this stage as long
as they studied hard and received some opportunities. Reaching Journeyman Mech
Designer was a watershed. Many tried but failed to reach this rank despite all the
effort they put in their development. Ves did not have a good clue what it took to
reach Senior and Master-level, but it must have been accompanied by extremely
stringent demands, because less than one per mille of mech designers in the
preceding ranks managed to break through. As for reaching the rank that went beyond
Master, most people didn’t dare to dream about it. Even though enough Masters
existed in the galaxy to fill up an entire planet, only the MTA only recognized
seventy-or-so Star Designers. Perhaps a few more Star Designers existed who hadn’t
made themselves known, but by and large there shouldn’t be more than a hundred of
them across all of humanity. Their power and influence transcended states. At that
stage, even the firstrate superstates treaded lightly around them. Many Star
Designers renounced their former loyalties and became independent entities that
worked for the common good of mankind. It could be said that Star Designers
transcended their former bonds and shackles and have reached a level of existence
on par with god pilots. Both types of humans formed the absolute best of what
humanity had to offer and were worshipped by trillions of humans. Low-ranked mech
designers like Ves, Bart and Jim constantly thought about how to reach Journeyman-
level. It was way too soon to even think about advancing to Star Designer, but
Morgan amazingly already thought about a strategy to reach this supreme existence.
Although Morgan’s theory sounded logical, Ves read the same biographies as well.
They were mandatory reading in school. Every mech designer should have read at
least a dozen different biographies. "Star Designers emerged through chance,
opportunity and coincidence." Ves explained the common understanding on Star
Designers. "Many geniuses who have quickly reached the Master stage have never been
able to touch upon the threshold to the next rank. Although we don’t know why that
is so, no one has ever told us it’s due to a supposedly ’bad’ foundation. Besides,
if the only way to get a good foundation is to linger in the Apprentice stage for
hundreds of years, then the galaxy would be flooded with Masters right now." Morgan
instantly shook his head. "Ves, my friend, I thought you looked smart, but you fell
into this trap as well. Just think for one second about the biographies you’ve
read. Is all of it true?" That caused everyone at the table to blink. Certainly
they told the truth, right? "Why would they lie?" "Why won’t they lie? Those
biographies read like fairy tales or adventure novels! Do you really think those
Star Designers went through all that nonsense and transformed into strange
existences that has turned them into something special? It’s all drivel fed to the
masses in order to keep the upper echelon in power!" Morgan continued to rant about
his assertions for a couple minutes. Ves, Jim and Bart all looked at each other
with perplexed smiles. Ves couldn’t take it any longer. "It’s all well and good to
state that the biographies are fictional, but what are their true stories? Just
because the early days of those Star Designers don’t conform to what is being told
in the books, that doesn’t mean they adhered to your theories either. You have no
proof." "That’s because they’re keeping it all a secret! It’s a conspiracy against
nobodies like us!" The man could claim all he wanted, but nobody else bought his
shtick. After finishing his bland dinner, the rest of them tried to move on from
this topic. Ves got to know about his other two bunkmates. "I’ve never gone to any
universities or institutions." Bartholomew Yi began. "My father is a mech designer
as well and he believes he can teach me a lot better than any school in the
Republic." "So you learned everything you knew from your dad?" "Correct. I even
joined his design team and assisted in developing a couple of his models. They all
worked out well. The experience gave me enough confidence to design my mechs." "Did
you start your own company or are you working for dad?" "The latter. There’s no
point in starting up a seperate company if I’ll eventually inherit my dad’s
existing company." Bart’s story sounded fairly typical. A small but substantial
portion of mech designers learned the craft from their parents. Such a teaching
method was even more intimate than apprenticing to a Master, because one’s father
or mother always taught their descendents with utmost care and attention. That
said, the mech industry as a whole looked down on homeschooling. Mech designers who
learned from their parents and no one else often ended up as pale imitations of
their parents. They knew the theories and could replicate a past work, but when it
came to applying their knowledge to develop new designs, that was where most of
them fell short. Ves didn’t say anything about that to Bart. He didn’t want to piss
the homeschooled mech designer off. "How many mechs have you designed?" "Not much,
only four. Like my father, I specialize in spaceborn mechs." "That’s more than than
me. I only have two original designs under my belt, and my second design only came
out recently. What about you, Jim?" "Hm, I only designed one original mech, a nice
little light mech. I’m still taking it slow." It turned out Jim’s design hadn’t
caught on in the market. The disappointing sales figures burdened his company with
losses, which forced him to crawl back to the Ronan Family for some money to tide
his company over. Naturally, Jim didn’t sound so pathetic when he meandered through
his story, but Ves was sharp enough to pick out the truth. "What were you working
on as your second design?" "It doesn’t matter anymore." Jim sighed. "This war has
made everything moot. My company will certainly be shuttered without my presence.
I’ll have to figure something out once the Mech Corps releases me." Out of everyone
in this room, Jim appeared to be the least successful mech designer. Ves got the
sense that he had barely made any progress since reaching Apprentice. Even Morgan
possessed a better track record, though that could also be accounted to his age.
The older man truly designed a substantial amount of mechs, each one better than
the last one, though none of them ever sold more than a couple of thousand copies
each. As they got to know each other, they realized that besides their rank, they
had very little in common. Morgan possessed the most experience by far, but his
insane theories caused him to stall in his progression. Jim achieved the least
success, but he could draw on a lot of help from the Ronan Family, either through
paying less for raw materials or through direct cash infusions. Bart grew up in a
comfortable environment, having everything handed to him with a silver spoon. As
for Ves, though he only published two designs, he built up everything on his own,
though he conveniently left out the role the System played in his rapid ascension.
This caused the group’s dynamics to shift. Jim’s perpetual resentfulness made him a
hard person to befriend, while Bart’s easygoing ways reflected his lack of
struggle. Morgan shifted to become their unofficial leader in a way. No matter what
they thought about his beliefs, it couldn’t be denied that he really designed over
a dozen different original designs. Such an accomplishment deserved recognition. As
for Ves, he fell somewhere in the middle. He was actually the youngest of the group
and possessed very little practical experience compared to the others. Yet even
Bart spend years to advance from Novice to Apprentice whereas Ves only took a
couple of months. Out of the three young men in the room, Ves burned the brightest
and held the most potential. The only reason why the others didn’t regard him
higher was the fact that he possessed a complicated backing. In truth, Ves got the
sense that everyone felt envious at him for catching the attention of a Master Mech
Designer. It made them regard him as a competitor more than a possible friend. The
distance suited him fine. Ves held many secrets, and he wasn’t eager to let anyone
get too close. Not when he couldn’t protect himself in the event he slipped up.
"What’s it like to apprentice under a Master?" Morgan asked with some curiosity in
his face. "My mentor is only a local Senior Mech Designer, so I’ve never seen a
Master in the flesh. Are they truly magical?" Ves thought back on the Leemar Open
Competition that took place so long ago and refreshed his impressions of the
Masters that sat on those tall pedestals. "They are every bit as impressive as you
think. They look human, but inside they are biological weapons dedicated solely to
designing some of the best mechs in the galaxy. You simply can’t relax around any
of them at close proximity." When Ves personally met with Master Olson, he felt as
if he entered a zone in which his judgement became a little fuddled. Back then, he
hadn’t noticed any discrepancies, but looking back on
it made him suspect that being in the presence of a Master affected him in many
subtle ways. He couldn’t really tell what kind of influence Master Olson exerted
around her, so Ves somewhat doubted whether it was simply a combination of
apprehension and admiration at seeing a Master up close. Morgan sighed. "I wouldn’t
have the guts to try my luck in Leemar. The Friday Coalition looks down on mech
designers that arrived from the boonies. It’s truly unfair for us." "That’s the way
the galaxy works." Jim added with a bit of sageness in his voice. "People who are
born in the galactic center have it best. Anyone else are country bumpkins in their
eyes. Even the rulers of the Friday Coalition are nothing more than a bunch of ants
in front of a lowly security officer from the galactic center." This was the
eternal sorrow for those born in the galactic rim. The circumstances of their birth
sealed their fate before they could even learn their first words. The galactic
center was unimaginably dense and wealthy, but it couldn’t afford to subsidize the
development of the outer galaxy. Ves found this turn of conversation to be too
depressing. "Our starting points are different from the mech designer who enjoy an
abundance of privileges that they take for granted. However, the galactic rim isn’t
too far behind in pumping out Masters. It takes more than wealth to improve." That
gave them a ray of hope again, though Morgan looked about to repeat his theories on
maximizing the chances of reaching Star Designer. Everyone else quickly raised
another to forestall his story, thereby avoiding another crisis. After a couple of
hours of relaxing and occasional chitchat, they retired for the night. As Ves tried
to lie comfortably on his stiff, cold bed, Ves thought back on Morgan’s
explanation. Despite clashing with most of the contents of the biographies of Star
Designer, his theory looked like it made a lot of sense. "Am I walking down the
wrong road right now?" The mech industry placed a lot of attention on talent and
potential. Those who advanced faster than others would be considered talents, while
those who muddled through and reached Journeyman-level in their fifties were
regarded as people who would soon reach a dead end. The reason why the mech
industry placed so much importance on speed was because it indicated that this
person had a lot more in store. It was extremely expensive for influences to
nurture a Master, and it might not even work! "Should I change my plans?"
Previously, Ves thought about doing the bare minimum in his Apprentice stage. Once
he designed three more mechs, he’d be able to tick another box. No matter how many
times Ves tried to dismiss Morgan’s ranting, he mind constantly drifted back at
some of his assertions. The older mech designer’s belief that you need to design
more mechs than five to develop a proper foundation sounded very attractive to Ves.
Well, it wasn’t as if he’d be able to design a mech while he served in the Mech
Corps. "I’ll think about it later." Chapter 419 Differen The next days, the Mech
Corps began to perform a lot of tests. They wanted to know everything about the
capabilities of their mech designers. Physical tests only formed the start of it.
Due to his endowments, Ves breezed through examinations that sought to test his
strength or endurance. However, once he moved on to examinations that tested his
coordination and how well he played certain sports, he fell flat on his face due to
a lack of practice. His strange performance instantly distinguished him among the
crowd of hundreds of mech designers in training unit. Even his bunkmates had to
reassess his existence. "Why are you such a freak, Ves?" Bart asked with goggling
eyes. "Bad luck from a mission gone wrong at the frontier." "Wow, if can call that
back luck, then you are more than welcome to pass it over to us!" "Haha! I wish.
It’s mostly my own fault for accepting the mission in the first place." Besides
finding out their physical limits, the processing center also stressed out their
cognitive limits. The entire training unit went from examination to examination
where they needed to perform specific actions such as memorizing as much pages of a
random book in a short amount of time. While performing a single test wasn’t that
big of a deal, the Mech Corps seemed keen on carting them off from test to test
without any time to rest. This quickly led to a lot of protests from many mech
designers. "Our treatment here is outright disrespectful!" "Are we training to
become commandos or something?! I’m almost falling apart at the seams!" They mostly
complained at empty air, as the Mech Corps never sent out any human face to conduct
the tests. Instead, they relied on bots and projections to corral the mech
designers as if they were guinea pigs. The strange methods all added to the
illusion that they somehow ended up in a prison instead of a training center. A lot
of mech designers carelessly uttered their frustration at the inane treatment they
received. Many of the Apprentice Mech Designers who got called up in the second
wave all enjoyed a certain amount of success in their careers. They expected to be
treated with a measure of respect. Instead, the processing center went out of its
way to make their lives more difficult. A lot of mech designers attributed this
behavior to the mech pilot-centric focus of the Mech Corps and the wider society.
Only a handful of people such as Ves knew the truth. As a Larkinson, Ves already
possessed a lot of awareness on how the Mech Corps worked. The grumbling of the
mech designers couldn’t compare to the harsh training every mech pilot endured
before they were allowed to enter the cockpit. To Ves, they acted like a bunch of
babies. Out of his bunkmates, only Morgan appeared to be aware as well. "They want
to break us down and shave off some of our egos. Who among us doesn’t possess a net
worth of at least a couple of hundred million credits? It would be hell if they put
us all in a base without attempting to adjust our attitude." Ves nodded. "It’s more
than that. It’s pretty clear that Journeymen are receiving different treatment from
us. They’re probably being groomed in a different way, possibly to lead over
juniors like us." Even if they knew what went on, it wasn’t as if they could become
immune to the constant manipulation. Humans didn’t work that way. Attitude and
behavior came from the mind and body. Both could be manipulated in a million
different ways. If some smart alecs thought they could endure the annoyances
without becoming affected, they had another thing coming. Over the next couple of
weeks, Ves and the others finished their tests and moved on to actual training.
Each mech designer trained together but received individual goals they needed to
achieve by the end of the training session. Failure to comply led to very severe
punishments. Ves pretty much fell into the illusion that he went through a boot
camp. The exercises pushed him harder than anyone else. Where as one person only
needed to lift a boulder the size of a child, Ves had to lift a boulder the size of
an adult. The training program also sought to push the limits of his cognitive
functions. His exercises would be ten times harder than anyone else. Sometimes, the
disparity would be even wider. His superhuman intelligence caused him to excel in
brute force cognitive functions such as memorizing a raft of texts or performing
mental calculations that might have stumped an average mathematics professor. Ves
also seemed to excel in more creative aspects such as sketching out a mech
described in a single page that was filled with abstract words. His ability to
visualize a mech from vague and fanciful concepts actually caused others to look
like him as if he was a freak. "Ves Larkinson is a monster. He simply isn’t human!"
"Don’t get close to that freak.A single handshake of his will break every bone in
your hand!" "Do you think he prefers tall women? Drat, if I knew a hunk like him
was here, I would have undergone a treatment to shorten my stature!" It came
without saying that Ves did not enjoy all the attention he was getting from the
training unit. While some of the mech designers exhibited exceptional cognitive
functions, they couldn’t be compared to his own abilities. On top of that, he also
possessed an abnormally strong physique. As his performance became increasingly
exceptional, his bunkmates started to distance themselves from him. No longer could
Ves walk up to them as an equal and talk about what they thought about mechs. Even
Morgan admitted his inferiority in front of Ves. In his mind, though he would
certainly be having the last laugh, he should do his best to keep his head down
while he was weak. "It must be really nice to have a Master looking over your
development." Jim sullenly said after a brutal round of training one day. All of
them felt physically and mentally exhausted. "She must have stuffed you with all of
the latest genetic boosts. How many did you get?!" Ves frowned as he lay on top of
his bunk. He was in no mood to argue. "I only got one. As I mentioned before, all
of my other changes are a result of my own actions. There are many wondrous things
in the frontier. It’s dangerous to wander outside of human space, but that’s
exactly where the last treasures of the galaxy reside." "You’re hiding something!"
Jim burst out and pulled himself into a sitting position on his bunk. "I heard from
the others that you shouldn’t have even passed through the first inspections! You
only got through because you ran to mommy for help!" "Now that was uncalled for!"
Ves barked back. Using that particular word in that manner wore down his patience.
"I won’t deny your words, because it’s true, but what does it matter? I came here
to do the same thing that everyone else is doing. I am here to serve the Republic."
"Hahaha!
Keep your stupid drivel to yourself! All I’m seeing is someone who is better than
us trying to act like he’s one of us. Let me tell you, it’s useless! You trying to
fit in with us is like a wolf pretending to be a sheep among a herd. The only
ending that’s in store for us is you putting all of us down!" Ves did not get angry
at Jim’s outburst. Everyone was tired, and some even held a lot of accumulated
resentment. In these kinds of situations, people often said things they didn’t
really wish to express if they possessed a sober mind. His mother taught him to
avoid such arguments by not getting into them. Therefore, Ves merely rolled around
in his bunk and tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, Jim took that as an affront.
"Are you ignoring me, Ves? Answer me! Why are you here!?" His raised voice caused
the other two bunkmates to add their own voices. "Shut up, Jim." Bart wearily
frowned. "Ves is on a different level than us. That’s got nothing to do with us."
Morgan held a very different opinion. "You know, maybe Jim is on to something. I
keep thinking why Ves is slumming it out with mortal men like us. Then I realized
the truth. He’s not an Apprentice Mech Designer. He’s a Journeyman!" His outburst
caused the other three to jump. What?! "Think about it! In every single exercise
that the Mech Corps is subjecting us to, he’s head and shoulders above the rest.
He’s beating us up so badly that even our mothers can’t recognize us anymore! A
monster like Ves fits in more with Journeymen than Apprentices!" "B-B-But-But-But
Ves only started designing mechs two years ago! How could he jump from Novice to
Journeyman in that time?!" "Do you really need to think about it? A Master Mech
Designer is capable of doing anything as long as she’s willing to spend a lot of
resources. My take is that Ves has a ’special’ relationship with Master Olson, if
you know what I mean." "That’s slanderous!" Ves retorted back to Morgan. He felt
obliged to defend Master Olson’s honor. "My relationship with my Master has always
been cordial and proper!" "Says the boytoy!" Jim taunted to Ves. "I don’t know how
a hick like you got lucky and caught the old hag’s eyes, but you aren’t a real mech
designer! All your achievements are due to the gifts you received! You never
accomplished anything by yourself!" This impacted Ves a lot more than he thought.
He felt deeply affronted by the way that this loser of a mech designer accused him
of having everything handed to him. Even if he benefited from the System his father
had left him, the thing hardly allowed Ves to breeze through the ranks. He worked
hard to get to this point! "Really, it’s obvious now that I realize it." Morgan
uttered as he pointed an accusing finger at Ves. "The only reason why the people
upstairs placed here is because you’re here to stir us up! Smearing all of our
faces with your inhuman level of performance is another form of torture to us!" Jim
cursed and jumped to his feet. "Bastard! Go back to your masters and tell them to
sod off!" Before Ves could utter a defense, Jim bolted towards the bunk where Ves
was resting on with remarkable haste. His exhaustion didn’t seem to be a factor as
his outburst lent him a lot of strength. "Get off me!" Jim started to punch, kick
and claw at Ves. It might have been very severe if not for his pathetic amount of
strength. His attacks did nothing to Ves. His body was like a sponge that absorbed
Jim’s mindless attacks as if it soaked up water. Though Ves really wanted to punch
Jim in the face, he withheld his body and remained on the defensive. He already
knew what would happen next. A loud tone sounded out in the room. Moments later, a
massive electric shock ran through all four occupants. Even Ves became paralyzed,
in part because the shock mainly targeted at his nerves, which still remained
fairly vulnerable. The shock succeeded in stopping Jim from lashing out. His body
shook and shivered as his body completely went out of control. Half a minute later,
the door opened and a couple of black-coated armored bots hovered in. They clawed
at Jim who was sprawled on the floor and hauled him out like a sack of meat. The
door closed and locked after the departure, leaving the remaining three occupants
to deal with the after-effects of the shock attack. Ves was really beginning to
hate this experience. He had a feeling Jim wouldn’t be the last designer to be
carted off. Chapter 420 Training Regime After that day, reality started to sink in
the mech designers. Even the most ignorant among them learned that the Mech Corps
did not care about their status and their achievements. No matter how many mechs
they designed or how many pilots used their products, everyone started from
scratch. The ongoing pressure from the exercises and the inhuman way the processing
center treated the mech designer really took a toll on everyone. No one had the
time to smile and chat with each other. They needed to conserve every available
moment to rest and regain their strength. This suited Ves fine. By now, his
alienation among the other mech designers reached the furthest point it could go.
The only reason why his status as a pariah didn’t bother him was because the mech
designers didn’t treat their closest friends that differently. The constant
frustration and exhaustion sent everyone into a pit of self-wallowing isolation.
Everyone was too numb to do anything more. It was at this point that the training
regime started to move beyond senseless exercises. They entered classrooms which
served them with images of the Bright Republic. A pair of bedraggled mech pilots
leaning against a wrecked mech. A city bombed to oblivion, only to be rebuilt anew.
An enormous fleet carrier surrounded by a flotilla of combat carriers orbiting
around a glittering planet. Throughout the inspirational visuals, it repeated a
constant refrain. "We are the bastion of reason." "We are the torch that lights up
the end of the galaxy." "We are all that stand in the way between freedom and
tyranny." In their tired states, most mech designers soaked up the message without
resistance. Ves on the other hand possessed a much more potent recovery speed, so
he remained very aware throughout these indoctrination sessions. Frankly, he didn’t
know what to think either. Most of the footage sounded inspirational, but to Ves
they largely fell flat. He already possessed a lot of attachment to the Republic
and hardly needed any reinforcement in that area. Along with indoctrination, the
mech designers also started to learn other necessities. They memorized the
hierarchy of the Mech Corps, how they should behave among themselves and to the
servicemen of the Mech Corps, and what they needed to do if they ever fell into a
precarious situation. It became clear to Ves that the Mech Corps explicitly didn’t
train them to be servicemen. They didn’t fit in the usual hierarchy. Instead, mech
designers took on an auxiliary role that existed apart from any existing bureau.
They weren’t taught how to handle a weapon, nor did they need to salute to any
officers. Instead, they learned how the design teams of the Mech Corps worked and
in what place they fit in. They learned the many different roles mech designers
played and how their work impacted the regiments that made use of the designs. "The
war between the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom is a conflict that is fought
with mechs. It is vitally important that the mech pilots fighting on the frontline
have access to the latest designs. Each mech model possesses their own strengths
and weaknesses. Once a vulnerability is known by the enemy, that model loses its
advantage on the battlefield." Regiments constantly demanded new designs to
replenish their wrecked mechs and become less vulnerable to the known faults of
their current designs. "Your only role is to assist the lead designer and his main
assistants in optimizing their designs. It is not your responsibility to suggest
new features or perform additional changes to the design." The lessons hammered
home that as Apprentices, they possessed no right to speak in front of a room
filled with Journeymen and Seniors. Ves really chafed at that restriction. The
lessons obviously aimed to turn them into obedient cogs in a giant design machine.
Instead of being able to design a part or suggest some modifications to an existing
design, the Mech Corps only expected them to perform grunt jobs. He distinctly felt
his competences should have elevated him to a greater role. Too bad no one cared.
Two months went by in this vein. The training program superficially molded them in
a way that allowed them to seamlessly slot into any working design team. After the
end of their training program, hundreds of mech designers assembled into neat ranks
at an open area. As Ves discretely glanced around, he found that many mech
designers looked as if they lost their spirit. Even the likes of Morgan and Bart
adopted the same numb expressions. Both of them dealt with the pressure in slightly
different ways. Morgan developed a tendency to mutter to himself to sleep while
Bart often needed to pace around in their dorm before collapsing into sleep.
Throughout it all, the mech designers hardly spoke with each other in whatever free
time the schedule granted them. Ves hadn’t spoken anything aloud in weeks. At this
moment, they heard footsteps. A pair of hard boots clattered forward as a uniformed
officer of the Mech Corps strode to the front of the assembly. "Mech designers of
the Republic. Your two-month training program is at an end." The man immediately
began. "Seventeen of you have been declared unfit and are now serving out their
penalties." The crowd cared little about the likes of Jim and a couple of other
mech designers who broke down and went crazy. They just craved to return to a
somewhat normal society. The arrival of another human being actually provided
mental succor to the deprived mech designers. "The war waits for no one. Although
your training program should have been much more extensive, the fighting at the
frontlines has heated up. The Republic needs you you serve your state. Are you
willing to bear the torch?" Everyone automatically raised their arms as if they
held up a torch and roared a resounding cry. "Good." The officer nodded. "Your new
assignments await. I bid you good luck and hope your work will help save the lives
of our pilots at the front." After that, they enjoyed their first period of rest
and relaxation in a very long time. With no expectations being thrust upon their
shoulders, they looked around with clueless expressions. Moments later, they
received a new set of documents in their military-issued comms. Ves activated the
device and skimmed through their contents. They turned out to be his new orders.
"Is that it? Is this really the end?" Some of the mech designers broke their stoic
exteriors upon realizing that they no longer needed to go through what they
considered to be the equivalent of torture. They were more than ready to move on
from this horrible place. Ves couldn’t blame them. He felt the same. None of the
designers shared where the Mech Corps sent them off to. Even though their comms
projected the documents before their eyes, it could only be read by them and no one
else. The contents also carried a confidential label, which they learned should not
be spread without an express order from their superiors. Ves didn’t know where
Morgan and Bart would be sent to next, but his current assignment came as something
of a surprise. He’d been assigned to the design team of the 6th Flagrant Vandals
Regiment. This wasn’t an unknown regiment. In fact, it enjoyed a lot of fame or
notoriety depending on who you asked. It was the last regiment of the 3rd Tarry
Division, which mainly garrisoned a lightly populated region in the extreme
’bottom’ end of the border between the two states. Ves blinked in surprise at the
assignment because the 6th Flagrant Vandals Regiment was a tried-and-true spaceborn
regiment. To someone who dealt exclusively with landbound mechs, he was like a fish
out of water if his assignment forced him to work with spaceborn mechs. "What is
the Mech Corps thinking?" He quickly thought about the Flagrant Vandals. Though the
public didn’t hear too much about this regiment, Ves heard more than enough stories
from the Larkinsons who served in the previous wars. The Vandals didn’t call
themselves this way for nothing. They served as a dumping heap for problematic mech
pilots. Any Larkinson who had the pleasure of fighting alongside the Vandals all
mentioned how much they hated the ill-disciplined brutes. "They’re a bunch of
thugs. I’m ashamed they are a part of the Mech Corps! They should have been
cashiered en masse!" "Don’t think for a minute that you’re safe with a Vandal.
They’ll cheat, scam or coerce all your wages from your bank account. Watch yourself
well, and don’t ever end up alone in a room with a Vandal." "Scoundrels, they are
all scoundrels! Ever since Colonel Lowenfield took over the reigns, it’s gone
downhill over there!" Ves never heard anything good about the Flagrant Vandals. To
him, who hoped to be assigned to a more renowned frontline regiment such as the
Infernal Hellhounds or the Fire Fists, the news came as a huge disappointment to
him. His performance should have entitled him to better treatment. "Is it because
of my complicated situation?" Perhaps the Mech Corps didn’t trust or expected much
from him. To a basket case like Ves, it was much more convenient to dump him to a
design team attached to one of the most expendable regiments in the Mech Corps. As
Ves went through the motions and let a bunch of bots guide him and the others
towards a swarm of waiting shuttles, he started to recall more stories about the
Vandals. Though they apparently carried a bad reputation, they also possessed a lot
of ferocity. Nobody accused them of cowardice. This was because the Vandals was one
of the few regiments that took up the responsibility of raiding Vesian space.
Whereas almost every mech of the Mech Corps operated within Republic space, the
Vandals eagerly snuck past the stretched southern border between the two states and
revelled in causing havoc in star systems the Vesians thought would never suffer an
incursion. The more Ves thought about it, the more he realized that it might not be
a misdemeanor for him to join their design team. "It’s not like I’ll be stationed
aboard their combat carriers as they pass through the border." Ves felt better
about that. The only thing he needed to figure out was how he could adjust his
skillset to accommodate the peculiarities of spaceborn mechs. It wasn’t that simple
for him to design a spaceborn mech without any prior experience. As the shuttle
lifted off from Bentheim, Ves looked around the cabin and figured that they
wouldn’t be sent to the Vandals. They probably had their own assignments. Of all
the faces seated in the chairs, Ves only recognized Morgan. The man happened to
turn around and their eyes suddenly met. "Nervous?" Morgan asked out of the blue.
"No. I’m excited." A few seconds passed before Morgan spoke again. "Look Ves, I did
some thinking in the last month, and I realized I went too far that day when Jim
let his frustrations take him over. Thinking back on that time, it’s pretty stupid
of me to accuse you of being someone’s tool. Can you forgive me?" Ves did not know
what to say to the other mech designer. While he felt indignant about it at the
time, he long pushed the matter to the back of his mind. "I won’t forgive you, but
I’m willing to let matters go." He eventually replied. "Don’t be so quick to
believe in conspiracies next time." "Thanks." Morgan nodded and turned back around.
Naturally, Ves didn’t believe that Morgan would change his ways. That man still
believed that he needed to design every possible mech type in existence before he
advanced. While Ves didn’t ascribe to that theory, he found the logic behind it to
be too compelling to dismiss it entirely. Perhaps Morgan spoke some truths about
the consequences of rushing through the Apprentice stage. At this moment, he was
still undecided about the matter. He didn’t know if he should delay his advancement
and absorb more experiences or continue his fast-faced growth and break through to
Journeyman as fast as possible. It was a good thing that Ves had plenty of time to
choose. "I’ll get back to this when I reach the point where I can advance." Ves
leaned back in his chair as the shuttle broke through orbit and zipped towards a
floating military station. A whole mass off military transport ships moored
alongside the station. One of them would probably bring Ves to the Tarry System or
somewhere close. Mech 421 Chapter 421 Like Pirates After a number of transfers, Ves
entered an old-model transport ship. While large number of bots filled up the
ship’s cargo hold with containers of supplies, Ves and two other mech designers
entered a nearly-empty passenger compartment. The compartment offered enough space
for thirty passengers, though space was at a premium and the amenities left much to
be desired. The yellowing white-paneled corridors and the faded and worn furniture
made it clear that the vessel wasn’t well-maintained. "This is where you mech
designers will stay for the time being." A crewman assigned to guide them said as
he chewed some sort of stimulant that would have seen him cashiered aboard a
properly-run ship. "Once you enter, the main hatch here will lock so you won’t
wander off and disturb the rest of the crew." "We have to stay here for the entire
duration of the trip!?" The only female mech designer among them spoke out.
"There’s barely anything inside!" "You can always stay within your bunks and go
back to sleep. There’s a cabinet of nutrient packs along with a food recombinator,
so you won’t starve. If you want some distraction, we left you some data chips that
contains some of the games we play in our off time." Ordinarily, Ves could at least
browse the galactic net if he wanted a distraction. However, ever since he received
his military-issued comm, he started to get around the fact that the Mech Corps
would never let someone like him with a sliver of access to the rest of the galaxy.
The local networks plainly refused to let his comm access the galactic net. The
spacer quickly went through some obligatory safety instructions before letting the
mech designers stew inside their empty but cramped abodes. A couple of seconds
passed by as the three looked at each other awkwardly. "Let’s claim our bunks
before the others arrive." "Good idea." The young woman nodded. They each split up
and entered some of the available cabins to claim their preferred sleeping spots.
Ves stayed within the cabin and started to rearrange his thoughts. Ever since he
learned he would be joining the design team of the 6th Flagrant Vandals, he dredged
up every piece of knowledge that pertained to spaceborn mechs. While spaceborn
mechs didn’t look very different from aerial mechs, they actually operated under
very different circumstances. An aerial mech could operate in space in a pinch, but
would only be able to express eighty-or-so percent of their strength. Spaceborn
mechs on he other fared much worse in atmospheric conditions. Some didn’t even
carry a strong-enough flight system to let their mechs remain aloft under standard
gravity conditions. Compared to landbound mechs, spaceborn mechs predominantly
carried a notch less mass around. This was because it took a lot of energy to move
these mechs around in space. The heavier the mech, the more energy it took to get
it to move and make it come to a halt once it reached its destination. Therefore,
spaceborn mechs consisted of a much higher proportion of light mechs,
though plenty of medium mechs existed as well. Besides the space knight mechs,
every other medium spaceborn mech tended to mass at the lighter end of the medium
weight class. The decreased mass allowed these mechs to accelerate and decelerate
rather quickly with more efficient but less powerful flight systems. It wasn’t
unheard of for spaceborn mechs to be able to last an entire standard day in space.
"They’re smaller and lighter, but they’re also more fragile." The emphasis on speed
and agility and the vast room for maneuvering in space shifted the design of
spaceborn mechs away from a reliance on armor. While the existence of Space Knights
and the like still proved that armor played a role, in space, speed, or rather
acceleration was king. The higher a mech’s ability to accelerate, the better it
would be able to dodge incoming attacks. Fast, unpredictable dodging patterns threw
off the aim of enemy pilots. For this reason, ballistic weapons was a tad bit less
popular in space, though they still played a huge role when it came to attacking
ships. It took far too long for lasers to carve through the hull of an enemy combat
carrier. Melee mechs played a role as well. Light skirmishers generally boasted
excellent thrust-to-weight ratios, allowing them to close the distance to elusive
ranged mechs and carve them up from up close. "Still, the lack of any cover in
space makes ranged mechs the dominant types of mechs in space." Many battles took
place in orbit or in the middle of an empty patch of space. Only rarely did battles
erupt in asteroid fields or any other area where lots of objects floated nearby.
The lack of any cover for mechs to hide behind heavily favored ranged mechs. Even
though their targets were easily capable of dodging most enemy fire, as long as a
squad of mechs coordinated their fire, they could trap their target in a cage where
they would get hit no matter where they dodged. "In short, it’s a numbers game as
well." Spaceborn mechs therefore tended to be rather cheap and disposable. Their
lighter construction meant they got damaged more easily and needed more frequent
repairs or replacements. Fortunately, they rolled off the production lines in great
numbers. Only their mech pilots couldn’t be replaced. Although spaceborn mechs
skimped out on a lot of areas compared to landbound mechs, the one component they
left intact would always be the cockpit. "This way of combat still sounds really
wasteful." The nature of space combat meant that skirmishes started and ended
quickly. Whoever won the fight received the opportunity to salvage the wrecks and
recoup the costs. When Ves finished sorting out his knowledge base, he realized he
still possessed a couple of holes in what he acquired up to this point. "For
spaceborn mechs, it’s important to know how flight systems works and how to
compartmentalize the interior of a frame to the point where every separate
compartment was airtight. The most complicated variable related to space combat was
definitely heat management. Without ground and air to transfer much of the heat
generated by mechs, mechs mostly radiated out their heat like the ancient practice
of toasting a bun. This was far too slow compared to the amount of heat a mech
built up during battle, so mech designers did everything possible to extend the
time a spaceborn mech could fight without becoming too hot. The Bright Republic
didn’t have access to a lot of means to improve the heat management of their mechs.
Therefore, the Republic’s spaceborn mechs tended to be built according to endurance
and efficiency rather than peak performance. That was one area where Ves happened
to know a lot. Ves reluctantly concluded that he should be able to understand most
spaceborn mech designs. He could even design a mech on his own, though it would be
a lot more inefficient compared to what was available in the market. Someone
knocked at the door of his cabin. It was one of the guys who initially boarded the
ship. "Mr. Larkinson? Can you come to the common room? We should talk." "Coming."
Ves jumped to his feet and smoothed down his standard-issue clothes. The Mech Corps
stocked the dressers in the cabin with a simple green uniform that carried a patch
of a half-designed mech. This was how a working uniform looked like for mech
designers called up during the war. The mech designers that formed the true core of
the design teams wore the same uniform, but boasted a couple chevrons that denoted
their higher stations. As Ves exited his cabin and approached the common room, he
took a seat at an oil-stained table. He looked around, and besides the young man
and woman who arrived aboard the transport ship together with Ves, no one else was
there. "Is this it?" Ves frowned. "I believe so." Bentheim held an enormous amount
of mech designers. Ves only saw a couple of hundred mech designers in the
processing center where he went through training, but the Mech Corps erected a lot
of other processing centers elsewhere. All those mech designers should have
finished their training by now and boarded their ships today. "Maybe we finished
sooner than others." "I just checked the panel near the hatch." The other man said.
"It projects the estimated departure time of this ship. She’s disembarking from the
military station in less than fifteen minutes. It’s safe to say that other
passengers won’t be joining us." This really startled Ves a bit. "Truly? I thought
that design teams needed at least fifty mech designers or more." During his
training, Ves learned that design teams typically employed around full-time mech
designers. During wartime, these design teams needed to accelerate the development
of new designs, so the Mech Corps supplied them with a lot more mech designers. The
reinforcements consisted of one or more Journeyman Mech Designers accompanied by at
least fifty Apprentice Mech Designers. Hearing that this transport ship would
depart with only 3 Apprentice Mech Designers was a whole other thing. Neither of
the two other mech designers had a clue why their ship was empty of passengers.
"Maybe the Tarry System already received a batch of mech designers, or maybe they
are aboard a different ship." "Don’t kid yourself." Ves interjected. "This is the
only transport ship that’s headed to the Tarry System. It’s not because their needs
are already met, but because one ship is sufficient to supply the Vandals."
"What?!" "Do you know what the 6th Flagrant Vandals looks like?" Both the male and
female mech designers shrugged or shook their heads. "They’re a bunch of rogues."
Ves began, and proceeded to bring his fellow mech designers up to speed with their
reputation. "They sound like pirates!" Ves found that description to be
particularly apt. It actually led him to believe that the Flagrant Vandals used to
be a pirate gang that went legitimate. The table fell into silence once again. Both
the other two mech designers shuffled around their chairs with discomfort. They
took part in the same training regime as Ves, so they still looked at him with
apprehension. "I’m not going to bite you all." He sighed. "I’m a Larkinson. You
ever heard of them? I’m no different. I just chose to be a mech designer instead of
a mech pilot." That helped calm them down a little. The Larkinsons were known
entities to the two designers, so associating them with Ves turned him into a
somewhat more relatable person. "Let’s start with the introductions. You already
know who I am, so let’s move on to you two. Who are you?" The woman started first.
"My name is Laida Nnvist. I’m an Apprentice Mech Designer." "Where are you from?"
"...Haston." That caused Ves to take another look at Laida. The woman looked young
and rather timid, completely unlike the stereotypical assertive hags that often
came from this low-class city on Bentheim. "That’s... interesting." Ves quickly
turned to the other guy in the room. "And you?" "Pierce Yuvalis." The man spoke in
a low tone, as if he was affected by the presence of Ves as well. "I came from the
Friday Coalition." If Laida’s peculiar background raised some eyebrows, then
Pierce’s origins absolutely floored Ves. "Which partner do you hail from?" "The
Gauge Dynasty." Both Laida and Ves stared at Pierce as if he was an alien. How in
the hell did a mech designer who hailed from the most powerful partner of the
Coalition ended up in the clutches of the Mech Corps? "Tell us more." Pierce
provided some context. "My father is a mech designer from the Republic who
emigrated to the Gauge Dynasty and married a local there." Though Pierce was a
little reticent, Ves applied a little pressure in order to get him to open up. It
turned out that Pierce was the oldest among three children. He was also the least
talented of the three. Whereas his younger siblings excelled early in their
studies, Pierce turned out to be a tad bit slower in being able to understand the
fundamental sciences that every mech designer needed to learn. His father, angry
and disappointed at Pierce’s performance, pretty much banished the lad to the
Republic. Ves didn’t know what to say about that. It must have been a crushing
letdown to be sent away by your own father. Moving from the most prosperous part of
the Friday Coalition to the backwards Bright Republic would have pushed most mech
designers into ending their own lives. Hearing their stories and matching them with
his own made him realize that they were outcasts. Chapter 422 Stories The transport
ship sluggishly separated from the military station and fell into formation
alongside a convoy of vessels heading in the same direction. Most of the other
transports would drop out along the way as they reached their destination star
system. Only one ship was scheduled to reach the Tarry System, an important but
fairly isolated defensive border system. In the standard territorial depiction of
the Komodo Star Sector, the
 Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom were situated at the northwest portion the
map. Any ship that travelled further northwards reached the borders to the vast
frontier. The Tarry System was located at the southern portion of the border
between the two warring states. It anchored a vast stretch of low-value star
systems with scarce resources and even scarcer population. The Tarry region
therefore held limited value even for the Vesia Kingdom, because they would need to
allocate far more mechs to garrison the region than what was economical. This
didn’t mean that the Vesians ignored the border region entirely. Sometimes,
desperate nobles shied away from the heavy fighting at the center of the border. On
paper, the Tarry region only held a couple of mech divisions, so it should have
been an easy target. The truth turned out to be different. Located far away from
Bentheim or Rittersberg, the Tarry divisions sat at the far end of the supply
lines. Nevertheless, they learned how to make the most out of limited resources.
The sheer amount of distance from the political and economic centers of the
Republic granted the Tarry divisions a lot more leeway on how to operate their
mechs, and they did well in adapting to the circumstances. "From what I heard about
the Tarry divisions, they form their own faction within the Mech Corps." Ves
explained in front of Laida and Pierce. The strength he displayed during the
training sessions elevated him to the forefront of their little group. "They’re
often the last divisions in line to receive new upgrades or additional resources. I
think this is the case for us as well. There’s no getting around the fact that we
are the least desirable mech designers of our batch." Somewhat surprisingly to Ves,
the other two designers accepted his assertion without any challenge. Both Pierce
and Laida encountered many disappointments in their lives. "Let’s make the best of
things. At least we aren’t being accompanied by some Journeyman Mech Designer that
wants to boss us around. We can relax throughout the journey." Ves studied the
appearances of his newly assigned colleagues. Pierce looked similar to what Ves
looked like before his various enhancements. Though he appeared rather skinny, his
eyes reflected a very keen and measured mind. He possessed a black mop of hair not
too different from Ves, though he let the grooming bots style his hair in a very
neat and slick fashion. As for Laida, Ves felt as if he faced a timid cat. The
young woman’s body language displayed her lack of confidence that shouldn’t be
present in Apprentice Mech Designers. She possessed dull light brown hair which was
styled in a plain and boring bun. Her standard green uniform added a bit more
sharpness to her body, and if not for her slouch, she would have looked moderately
attractive. Ves met a handful of female mech designers in his life. Those who
achieved some success always held their heads up high and asserted themselves in
some way. For example, despite being just a Novice back then during the Leemar Open
Competition, Miss Barakovski acted like she was a queen among peasants. Patricia on
the other hand acted in a more enigmatic fashion. Both at Rittersberg and at
Leemar, she acted as if she was no one special, but her stellar performance made it
impossible for anyone to dismiss her presence. Therefore, Ves really didn’t
understand why Laida put herself down like that. Through some prodding, they got to
know each other a little better. Ves expected that they would be working together
from now on, so it was important for him to establish a good rapport with designers
of the same level. Ves shared some of history to the two designers. What they found
most impressive with Ves was his willingness to partake in dangerous expeditions.
"I don’t have the guts to do the same." Pierce admitted with a rueful expression.
"Mech designers aren’t meant to be out in the field." Ves understood the sentiment.
"That’s true in the strictest sense, but sometimes you won’t be able to achieve
your dreams without putting in some extra effort. With so many mech designers out
there doing the same things over and over, it takes a lot of inspiration and a
unique perspective to stand out from the crowd. The rewards are also good as well."
"It’s too dangerous. Sorry, but I don’t agree with you. Better designs come from
hard work. As long as you study hard and apply your knowledge well, you should be
able to achieve more solid results." That only worked up to a point, Ves thought,
but he didn’t argue the point. Instead, he asked the other man a question. "You’re
an Apprentice as well, right? What kind of work did you do since you graduated?" "I
worked at at a major mech manufacturer and joined their design teams. It wasn’t as
large as the ones where we are heading into. The lead designer did most of the work
and assistants like me only played a role in the debugging process." "How good is
the lead designer?" "Oh he’s really good. He’s old but he’s a very seasoned
Journeyman Mech Designer. He often stopped by to teach some points to us. I really
benefited from his tutelage." Unmentioned by Pierce was that the Journeyman Mech
Designer likely held an ulterior motive for doing so. The way Pierce spoke about
the leader designer didn’t carry a lot of endearment. Likely, the Journeyman wanted
to catch the attention of Pierce’s father. There was nothing wrong with that in his
eyes. Both Pierce and the lead designer benefited from such an arrangement. The
only problem was that it didn’t look as if the lead designer succeeded in his goal.
"What kind of mechs have you worked with?" "I have an extensive amount of
experience in working with several different types of landbound mechs. I’ve taken
part in the design process of at least eight different types of mechs." That
sounded very impressive, though it was easier to do when you spread the workload
over multiple designers. "Sounds like you have a lot of experience working in a
team." Ves nodded. "I only worked on my designs on my own. I’ve never really
collaborated with others when it came to developing an original design." While Ves
admired Pierce’s experience in working on many collaborative projects, the other
two mech designers expressed their own admiration to him for relying on himself to
develop a functional design. Pierce let out a weary sigh.""Even with my
experiences, I only ever attempted to publish a single original mech. I couldn’t
get the lead designer to release the funds for me to fabricate a prototype. It
wasn’t a commercially attract product, he said." It wasn’t easy to make the jump
from taking part in a collaborate project to designing mechs on your own. Ves only
managed to do so by acquiring years worth of knowledge with the help of the System.
"If you want to design your original mech, there’s no substitute for learning the
theories on your own. Teaching can only go so far." "I know. I have access to
plenty of reading materials, but the things I need to learn are too much or too
hard." "Even so, at least you have access to them. THat’s a lot better than what
most mech designers enjoy." After learning just enough about Pierce, Ves turned to
Laida, who had been listening quietly all this while. "What about you? What’s your
story?" "I graduated from the AUMD." It turned out she excelled in school in Haston
and succeeded in applying to Ansel on a scholarship. This was extremely impressive
for someone who grew up in Haston. Still, Laida didn’t talk too much about her
experiences in the AUMD. She skimmed over her years in school and skimmed through
her graduation. "After that, I found a job at a design studio. I chose to
specialise in designing aerial mechs, so I became involved in all of the designs
that could fly." "How many designs have you contributed to?" "Over twenty different
designs." "That’s a lot." "It’s not that impressive. Design studios work
differently than mech manufacturers. We developed as much designs as possible, and
many of them consisted of variants that shared a lot of things in common. Only one
out of ten of our designs are licensed. The rest end up collecting dust in an
archive." Even so, Laida must have gained a lot of experience in working with
different mechs. This was the norm for mech designers that worked in a team. Though
Ves still thought he had the edge in terms of independent design, he probably would
fare a little worse if he ended up in a situation where he had to work together
with others. "I have one question for you, Ves." Laida blinked at him. "Why did you
choose to stay in the Republic? With your opportunities, you could have made a name
for yourself in the Coalition." Ves and Pierce both shrugged their heads. "The
Coalition isn’t so easy to establish a foothold on. There’s more money to be made
there, but there’s a lot more competition there as well. The best and brightest of
the Komodo Star Sector all flock to Coalition space in order to take advantage of
the higher spending power and more abundant resources. What they don’t realize is
that as outsiders, they are already on the back foot compared to the locals." "Oh."
"I’m doing fairly well on my own here in the Republic. My company has grown fast
and I’ve already published two original designs. I would have never been able to
achieve this much if I tried to do business in the Coalition." The Bright Republic
was also his home and the root of the Larkinsons. Ves felt at home here in a way
the Coalition could never provide. Their cultures different too much for Ves to
ever grow comfortable in that prosperous second-rate state. Pierce knew a lot about
this as well. "There are too many foreigners in Coalition space. The Carnegie Group
is the most attractive destination for them as their institutions accept the most
outsiders. What these foreign mech designers don’t realize is that the Carnegie
Group only
picks out the best. The vast majority of foreigners aren’t able to accomplish
anything except to become saddled with mountains of debt." "What happens to those
with debt?" "They hire themselves off as slaves, basically." Pierce answered
grimly. "The Coalition doesn’t call them that, though. They instead employ
extremely restrictive hiring contracts that run for a period of fifty or even a
hundred years, depending on which coalition partner you are dealing with. A mech
manufacturer from the Konsu Clan can even get away with a contract that lasts for
your entire lifetime." "Who would ever accept that kind of contract?!" "A lot more
mech designers than you think. You have to realize that it’s extremely expensive
for someone from a third-rate state to live in a secondrate state. The price of
everything you buy is a hundred times more expensive. That goes for rent and
tuition as well." In short, staying a single year in Coalition space cost as much
as living a hundred years in an average third-rate state like the Bright Republic.
"Why don’t they declare themselves bankrupt and start anew?" Pierce shook his head.
"The laws of the Friday Coalition only extends that right to its own citizens.
Foreigners like you and Ves won’t get away that easily. They’ll put a metaphorical
gun against your head and force you to sign a contract of indentured servitude.
Don’t think that you will end up designing mechs after signing such a contract.
You’ll mostly be used as human calculators that need to do jobs that require human
judgement." "Therefore, the Friday Coalition isn’t that good of place to go unless
you are supremely confident in your talent." Ves added after that. "And in most
cases, they won’t even consider employing a mech designer who graduated from an
institution from a third-rate state. We’re too low-class for them to take us
seriously." Laida looked crestfallen at the news. Ves figured that she might have
held some hopes for starting elsewhere, but the truth was often brutal. Chapter 423
Design Process It took three weeks for the convoy to meander through Republic
space, dropping a couple of ships off at every star system along the way, before it
reached the Tarry System. By then, the convoy only consisted of a handful of ships.
The three mech designers noticed none of that. The crew kept them in their assigned
compartment and never issues any notifications except to warn them of FTL
transitions. As a group of outcasts, none of them shared much in common, nor did
they speak too much about their background beyond the basics. The restrictive
passenger compartment contained nothing but furniture and food. The few projectors
they found couldn’t be turned on to display a news feed or outdated dramas. Thus,
with nothing else to do, they shifted to talking about the only thing they had in
common. "What are the nuances of designing aerial mechs? What do you have to take
into account?" Ves asked as he sat across the table from Laida. "Aerial mechs are
designed specifically according to a range of gravities. Most designs work best at
1.0 g, the standard gravity of Old Earth, because most states prioritize on
terraforming planets that closely match this gravity." "Not all planets feature
standard gravity. A significant amount of planets have gravities that range from
0.5 g to 2 g." Though the woman was rather shy when it came to her personal life,
she carried herself with a bit more confidence when it came to her expertise.
"That’s why a mech that’s designed to operate at 1.0 g will always lose against a
mech designed to operate at 0.6 g on a 0.6 g planet." "Why is that so?" Ves
furrowed his brows. "A mech that’s rated to fly at 1.0 g carries a much stronger
flight system. I can understand why it won’t be able to perform as effective in a
2.0 g environment where gravity is twice as strong, but if the gravity is forty
percent weaker, shouldn’t it be forty percent stronger?" "You landbound mech
designers are all the same." Laida rubbed her head. "You have to realize that
aerial light mechs devote up to half of their volume and carrying capacity to their
flight systems alone. I can’t say too much about medium mechs, but for light mechs,
every cubicle centimeter is as precious as exotics. Space that could have been used
to strengthen the mech’s armor or firepower instead has to be dedicated to powering
the flight system or shunt away its heat." "Ah. So it’s a matter of priorities. So
if I understand you correctly, an aerial mech that’s designed to fly in 0.6 g will
allocate less capacity to supporting the flight system?" "Correct." Laida bobbed
her thin head, causing her bun of hair to bob in a cute fashion. "You can say that
such a mech is becoming less of an aerial mech and more of a landbound mech. In
extreme cases, such as small moons or large asteroids, an aerial mech could
theoretically make due with a handful of anti-grav modules for three-dimensional
propulsion, though the lack of atmosphere in those environments is better suited to
spaceborn mechs." "What’s the difference between spaceborn mechs and aerial mechs?"
"Early on, there wasn’t any difference. Mechs with flight systems did double duty
because it was more affordable to design and produce a single model that could do
both than dedicate two separate models entirely. It’s only later that the two
classifications came into being." "Because of specialization?" "Yes. A mech
designed to operate in space doesn’t need to accommodate for gravity. Instead, they
have to be designed to withstand a lot of g-forces and rapid changes in course. As
for aerial mechs, they need to be able to retain their balance in the air at all
times. Their flight systems are also tweaked to be highly efficient in
counteracting the force of gravity that is being exerted from below." Laida freely
explained all of the nuances behind designing aerial mechs. Ves heard about some of
these maxims, but never in such detail and accompanied by the personal insight of a
mech designer who knew what she was talking about. Of course, Laida didn’t explain
her insights for free. Among mech designers, an exchange of this nature required
Ves to put up knowledge of equal value. As Laida finished providing Ves with a
general overview of aerial mechs, she began to ask her own questions. "What do you
need to pay attention to when you design an original mech on your own?" "A lot of
things. There’s too much to mention. Leaving aside the material requirements such
as possessing the right licenses and having access to the production equipment,
designing a mech is mainly a test of your vision." "Vision?" Laida frowned as she
pursed her lips. "What is vision?" That caused Ves to stare at Laida as if she
forgot to wear a helmet on a spacewalk. "You studied at the Ansel University of
Mech Design, right? Don’t they teach you the importance of vision in their
classes?" Laida still looked clueless. "They primarily focused on teaching the
sciences to us. The school calls it setting a firm foundation. Without knowing the
math and science behind designing mechs, there’s no chance of becoming a qualified
mech designer." Through their talks, Ves found out that Laida was indeed fairly
competent in that area. Her intelligence couldn’t be underestimated and it was
impressive how well she grasped the mechanics of designing an aerial mech. However,
Ves found it really strange that her school neglected to teach the artistic side to
mech design. "Designing mechs is both an art and a science. Building up a
foundation sounds good and all, but that doesn’t prepare you to design a mech on
your own. Did they even teach you the steps you needed to follow to develop an
original design?" "...No. Many graduates of the AUMD are expected to learn these
lessons after graduation. A lot of promising alumni take in the most promising
graduates and teach them the ropes." Despite her talent in learning, Laida fell
outside their scope. Her hometown of Haston did not fit in the elite society of
Ansel. She was lucky that other employees still valued her AUMD degree. She
reluctantly joined a design studio as a junior assistant and enjoyed a first-hand
glimpse on how the designers of the studio created new aerial mech designs.
However, the design studio’s generosity had limits. the senior designers never
seriously groomed her into becoming a senior designer in their studio. Perhaps that
was why Laida radiated a lack of confidence. "Laida, designing an original mech is
not that hard." Ves said softly. "It comes from the heart, not the mind. True, a
mech is a technical product that can be broken down in a set of parameters, but if
everything can be solved with numbers, why don’t we leave the job of designing
mechs to AIs?" Creating a complex war machine the size of a building opened up an
endless amount of possibilities. Its design could take on countless of shapes. Some
of them might be better than others, but none could claim to be perfect. Even the
strongest processors in the galaxy would never be able to derive the perfect mech
design. Because it didn’t exist. "Rittersburg might not be the most renowned
institution in the Republic when it comes to mech design, but the method they
taught me has served me well in my career." Ves understood why the AUMD took a
different approach. For Novices and Apprentices, it was indeed important to
accumulate as much knowledge as possible. Someone who didn’t know the answer of one
plus one could forget about designing a mech. For the next half hour, Ves conveyed
her with a brief introduction of the basic approach on how to design an original
mech. It started with setting a vision. Without a solid clue on what you wanted to
design, your work wouldn’t be constrained by any rules. Mech designers who forgot
about vision often strayed from their initial intentions and let their designs to
be affected by feature creep and disharmony.
Only after a designer established a vision for their mech could they begin to
follow the other steps. Ves briefly explained on what she needed to pay attention
on when she moved to the draft stage. "The specifics aren’t very important. A good
draft design is flexible enough to accommodate a number of different component
licenses. Don’t set anything in stone, or else you will limit yourself to
components that turn out not to fit with your design." After that came feedback,
the initial design phase, the initial simulation phase, the prototype testing
phase, and depending on the amount of time, manpower and resources available, the
design process might loop back into a second round of designing and testing. "That
sounds exactly like how we work at the design studio." Laida nodded once she
realized she came back to familiar territory. "Designing mechs is a very iterative
process. Involving more designers allows for more directions to follow. Sometimes,
the lead designer of a project changes after each new iteration. The studio takes
the original design and publishes it while the design team that’s in charge of the
project is already developing a new variant." Ves nodded in understanding. Adopting
such a development cycle enabled the design studio to come up with a large amount
of variants, each of them carrying unique traits due to the change in lead
designers. "When you work on your own, you don’t have the luxury to iterate all
that much. Up to now, I only went back to the design board after one or two rounds
of testing. Due to practical constraints, I couldn’t spend more than a couple of
months on each of my original designs." "That’s still an impressive achievement!"
Laida softly praised as her eyes grew a little more worshipful at him. "I could
never finish an original design within a year." "A year is too long. If it takes
you that long to get a design together, then you aren’t ready to embark on this
venture." "How can I speed up my work, then?" "Think long and hard about your plan.
When I designed my mechs, I could have spent a lot more time on modelling the
performance of my design. Yet I only spent a month or so on this at most. Do you
know why? Because the tradeoff wasn’t worth it. I could have spent another month at
crunching the numbers, but it would have only improved my work by one percent or
less." Granted, many people cared about about that one percent. The whole point of
the Mech Corps drafting so many mech designers was to provide more manpower to
operations that only achieved something substantial as long as it involved enough
people. It was a very brute force way of solving a problem, but as long as it
worked, the Mech Corps did nothing wrong. Laida needed some time to realize this
point. "I learned never to let go of an opportunity to improve the design, no
matter how slim the parameters grow. It’s hard for me to adjust my thinking into
letting these opportunities go." "Trust me, when you run your own business, you
need to get used to balancing costs and priorities." Ves chuckled in amusement at
her struggle. He felt as if he threw a cat in a bathtub full of water. "When
designing your mechs, you should never lose track of your vision for your design.
Parameters are important, but I’d rather let go of some percentage points of
performance and adhere to my vision than the other way around." Ves truly provided
a different perspective to Laida. Though his approach to mech design didn’t sound
very complicated, it different substantially from everything she learned from the
design studio. None of the senior designers there talked about a vision. The only
thing that resembled a vision was a list of demands that their designs should meet.
A different voice spoke out from the side. "You’re wrong, Mr. Larkinson." They both
turned around to see Pierce, who had just finished taking a shower. "Why am I
wrong?" "Your method is too rigid. It’s all well and good to visualize your end
goal at the start of your design process, but designing a mech is a very fluid
process. The more you flesh out your design, the more you start to reconsider the
choices made at the start. You always know more when you are in the middle of
designing your mech than when you started on the draft." "The iterative cycle is
meant to accommodate a mech designer’s desire to change his choice." "That’s
different." Pierce retorted. "It’s like putting a box of rusting bolts from one
side of a storage room to the other side of the storage room. The correct decision
here would be to take the box away from the storage room entirely." This was a very
different mindset from what Ves had encountered before. Chapter 424 Ruffians "Why
do you say so?" Ves asked Pierce. Though the other mech designer looked a little
uncomfortable at voicing his thoughts, as a mech designer he had his own way of
doing things. "Well, from what I’ve learned from my father’s admittedly brief
tutelage, your method is best suited for beginners who aren’t always able to
control their impulses. Sticking to a well-defined concept formed at the start is
very helpful preventing the project from going out of control. Yet it’s not the way
an ambitious mech can be designed." Ves thought about it a bit. Pierce had a point.
"If you are designing something experimental, then I can see why you would want to
keep your options open, but it sounds too much as if you are starting your design
with no idea what will happen as a result." "The people I worked with think that
designs that can be imagined from the start of a project aren’t good enough to be
developed. A great design is a product that is only revealed at the end of a
lengthy journey of exploration." "Is that how it goes in the design team of a large
mech manufacturer?" Pierce nodded. "The mindset among the older, more experienced
designers is that they need to be more unconstrained in their design process. The
best designs they came up with are often the result of long periods of
experimentation. The fewer the limitations, the higher the odds of creating
something remarkable." This was a completely different perspective from what Ves
had learned. "How can mech designers keep control? It sounds really chaotic to me
if nobody on the design team have a common vision on what their end product should
look like." "That’s exactly the merit of this approach. Because everyone has a
different picture in mind for the design, everyone has the opportunity to test out
their insights. This way, you get the most options possible and allows the lead
designer to pick from a wide range of possibilities." "So the key here is the lead
designer." "Yes. The lead designer is the only person on the team who needs to
retain some semblance of control. In some design teams, he acts as a herder that
guides the mech designers under him in the right direction. In other teams, the
lead designer takes the role of the composers, and imposes a bit more order in the
process. THe most important factor however is that the design team should be setup
in a way that takes advantage of each member’s creativity." Ves understood the
point of such an organizational structure when Pierce mentioned creativity. It
allowed every member to contribute, thereby effectively making the most out of the
design team’s creativity. In other words, it compensated for the lead designer’s
lack of imagination. "I can see the advantages in such an approach." Ves replied.
"Yet it sounds awfully wasteful and inefficient. Many ideas will be tried without
any chance of ever getting incorporated in the main design. An incoherent vision
will also do the design no good when it ends up with a lack of harmony." That last
point was difficult to explain. Ves really wanted to say that his method of
fostering the growth of the X-Factor in his designs wouldn’t work if he didn’t hold
on to a strong and predetermined vision. All three mech designers argued about the
merits of both approaches. Ves was a strong proponent of previsualisation, while
Pierce thought that such an approach was only suitable for inexperienced mech
designers. "What do you think, Laida?" "It depends on your goal. Although it sounds
simple and limiting, the approach from Ves sounds the best if you are designing an
original mech on your own. As for exploring many different ideas at once, it’s only
suitable if there are lots of mech designers working on the same project." In the
context of a design team, the two methods determined whether the lead designer
wanted to take a top-down or bottom-up approach to mech design. "The latter
approach only makes sense if the design team consists of a gathering of equals."
Ves stated. "In nearly every other case, the design team will be better served if
the lead designer exerts control." After a bit more back-and-forth, they couldn’t
come to an agreement on this topic. To Ves who valued mechs for their intrinsic
identities, he knew the importance of defining a mech’s existence from the start.
However, he couldn’t convoy this argument because it touched upon his trade
secrets. Ves prized his secrets above everything else, so he willingly let the
argument end with a tie. Laida still looked a little confused, but she appeared to
be getting around the idea of developing a vision for her design. Throughout the
rest of the journey, they discussed other matters related to mech design, and each
designer came away with learning something new. From Laida, Ves learned what he
needed to pay attention to when he designed an aerial mech. From Pierce, Ves became
enlightened to the different methods used by mech designers in the Gauge Dynasty.
From both, he also learned how to work in different design team environments. This
was essential knowledge to him because he desperately lacked experience in this
area. As Ves happily soaked up knowledge and gave out some of his own in return,
the transport ship finally reached
the end of the convoy route. The weathered transport transitioned out of FTL at
the edge of the Tarry System. For the first time in weeks, the outer hatch opened
up. A crewman popped his head inside. "We’ve reached the Tarry System. A shuttle is
on its way to take you to another ship." Ves looked up at the news. "This isn’t our
end destination?" "Not from what I heard." Perhaps the Vandals maintained their
bases elsewhere. The mech designers shrugged at the news and waited to be picked
up. With their arrival to the Tarry System, some of the restrictions to their comms
had been lifted for some reason. They gained access to a highly limited network
that nevertheless proved to be a treasure trove of information. "A number of
battles have already occurred in the Tarry System." The reports made available to
them didn’t specify the number of mechs involved or how many of them got wrecked.
They didn’t even mention the units involved either. The only special thing about
the reports was that they detailed the designs of the mechs involved and analyzed
their strengths and weaknesses after the fact. This granted Ves and the others a
pretty good picture of what kind of mechs saw use on this part of the frontlines.
Ves quickly came to a conclusion after skimming through the reports. "When it comes
to both ground and space warfare, the mechs here are smaller and lighter. Pitched
battles are rare, but skirmishes and raids are the order of the day." The others
agreed, though they stayed silent. Their reading and comprehension speeds couldn’t
keep up with Ves. "Have the Vesians ever committed to an invasion?" "They
overwhelmed some border systems at the outbreak of the war, but hadn’t moved
forward since. They are still consolidating their gains and haven’t made a major
move since." The Vesians took the slow approach in the Tarry region. With much less
mechs and resources allocated to this front, the Vesians moved at a snail’s pace.
Yet despite their languid pace, they proved impossible for the Tarry divisions to
dislodge. As they read the reports, the transport ship quietly reached a midpoint
in the System, whereupon the mech designers suddenly had to leave the passenger
compartment. Without much ado, they entered an airlock which extended out an
enclosed ramp onto the hatch of another ship. Once they walked across and entered
the airlock of the other ship, they entered a metallic grey corridor of a small and
cramped corvette. "Mr. Larkinson, Mr. Yuvalis and Miss Nnvist, right?" An easy-
going spacer greeted them as they entered the ship. The man looked like he could
use a good shave, and his red-colored uniform could use another wash. "Your cabins
are already prepared. It’s a little tight here, so you’re going to have to bunk
with the crew. Apologies for that." Ves and the others looked at each other. Nobody
had a clue what went on. "Lead the way." The spacer guided them to their cabins as
he casually chewed a stimulant, something which the Mech Corps strictly forbid.
"You guys came at a swell time. Professor Velten has been ringing the Mech Corps
for extra manpower for years now. It finally took the outbreak of the war for those
stingy bastards to send some of you out to the Vandals." "Who is Professor Velton?"
"That’s the boss man of the research base you’re about to go to. I can’t tell you
where it’s located, it’s all hush hush and such. All I can say is that the Vesians
will never be able to pin it down." They reached the cabins where their bots
dropped off some of their luggage. Ves continued to ask some questions from the
crewman. "Is this ship part of the Vandals fleet?" "She sure is! She’s called the
Bloodless Dagger, born and bred as a Vesian but taken as a prize by us a couple of
years ago. We sure taught those bastards a bloody lesson back then!" The three mech
designers looked shocked at the spacer. "The war didn’t even start until more than
half a year ago!" "Hah! It’s not like we need a declaration of war to stir up some
trouble. We Vandals are all about taking opportunities. The Vesians have always
been our enemy. Peace with the Vesians is a big fat lie. We’ve raided their systems
and trade routes plenty of times and they have done the same to us. The only
difference now is that we don’t have to go through the trouble of camouflaging
ourselves as pirates." The more the spacer blabbed on about the previous actions of
the Vandals, the more they sounded like pirates! "Why all the raids?" Ves couldn’t
help but ask. "Because we’re the 6th! Those fancy ponces over at Rittersberg and
Bentheim never send out adequate supplies to us! Our division is at the end of a
long supply chain, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th regiments get their turn
first before leaving the leftovers to us! Hah! By the time we receive our supplies,
everything has been siphoned away." This happened a lot in the Mech Corps, but Ves
never realized that the 6th Flagrant Vandals had it so bad. "So the Vandals have
resorted to stealing from the Vesians to gather their supplies?" "Yup." "How do you
get away with it?" The spacer grinned. "It’s all thanks to Colonel Lowenfield. Ever
since she took charge of the Vandals, we’re no longer begging the others for fuel,
parts and other supplies." This colonel must be a remarkable leader if she was able
to control this bunch of ruffians. The Bloodless Dagger didn’t stick around the
Tarry System for long. She headed towards a nearby gas giant’s Lagrange point and
smoothly transitioned into FTL. As the three mech designers spent their time aboard
the corvette, they quickly learned that the crew didn’t make any attempts at
keeping them under control. Besides restricting their comms, they allowed Ves to go
outside their cabins and explore the tiny ship, not that they saw all that much. It
was still a corvette. Though the crew acted a little casual around the mech
designers, they still showed some discipline in their normal operations. They at
least still showed signs of being a part of the Mech Corps in the things that
mattered. The Bloodless Dagger was well-maintained for a captured ship and none of
the spacers appeared incompetent. It showed that the corvette had definitely taken
a lot of risks. "You know, maybe it’s not so bad to be assigned to the Vandals."
Chapter 425 Hellca The corvette entered a lifeless star system with no known
settlements. Ves and the mech designers weren’t allowed to know where it was
located, which underscored the importance of this seemingly empty system. After
another day of coasting towards the inner system, they stopped by a vast asteroid
belt that ringed around the dull yellow sun. From there, Ves expected to enter some
sort of secret asteroid base, but instead the corvette came face to face with one
of the largest industrial ships he had ever seen. "Is that a factory ship?" "That,
and more. You’re looking at the one and only Wolf Mother." The so-called Wolf
Mother was imposingly large. Larger than a fleet carrier, even, though both her
hull and armor couldn’t compare to a ship dedicated for battle. As a factory ship,
the Wolf Mother was basically a manufacturing complex compressed in a single hull
with some thrusters and and FTL engine slapped to her. The Wolf Mother’s design
looked rather crude, displaying many gaps in the hull that led to empty cavities
that hadn’t been filled since her commissioning. "So this is where the Vandals
design and produce their mechs?" Ves asked in a weird voice. "That’s right."
"That’s not possible! A ship of this size can’t service an entire regiment’s worth
of mechs!" A normal regiment fielded around two-thousand mechs at a time, but that
didn’t take into account the spare parts and spare mechs that would be necessary to
keep the unit at full strength. Despite its massive size, only a tiny portion of
the factory ship could be dedicated to the production lines. Each production line
expended an enormous amount of power and resources, so Ves estimated that the Wolf
Den only held two production lines at most, and that would be straining the ship.
To that, the spacer sent a cheeky smile at Ves. "Who said we need to rely on our
own mechs to fight?" "Oh." Ves forgot about the usual conduct of the Flagrant
Vandals. They were so cutoff from conventional supply lines that they needed to
steal or scavenge everything for themselves. This also applied to mechs. The
imposing manner of the Wolf Mother only grew as the tiny corvette approached one of
her docking spaces. The factory ship looked so immense that her hangers even
offered enough space to let in the Bloodless Dagger, not that they did so this
time. The Bloodless Dagger didn’t require any servicing. "How old is the Wolf
Mother?" Pierce asked. "She’s over thirty years old. She’s actually a product of
the previous war." Ves didn’t know whether he should feel afraid or reassured at
that fact. The vessel definitely looked like she had been through a war. Much of
her armor looked like a patchwork construction where different holes and battle
scars had been covered up by any available armor plating the Vandals could get
their hands on. This led to a very shabby appearance. If not for her size and
solidness, Ves would have mistaken the Wolf Mother for a floating junk heap. The
interior of the ship looked a little better compared to her exterior. Once the
Bloodless Dagger docked with the factory ship and let out the mech designers, Ves
felt as if he entered a cross between the Mech Nursery and a fleet carrier. The
Wolf Mother was completely geared towards logistics. Massive grinders and other
processing equipment broke down asteroid chunks and extracted every useful
materials from the remains. Elsewhere, mighty production lines churned out part
after part for both mechs and ships. The brief view he got as a guide led them
across the corridors made it clear that the Wolf Mother had been built in a
piecemeal fashion.
She started small, but the Vandals tacked on more compartments over time, until
she eventually reached her current size. This haphazard method of expansion might
have suited the Vandals well, but it left little room for protection. Even a much
smaller combat carrier would be able to endure more damage than this tough-looking
but fragile-shelled logistics ship. After passing through a maze of corridors, they
reached a large out-of-theway compartment. "This is your stop. Professor Velten is
expecting you." They entered what appeared to be a design lab. Rows of terminals
connected to powerful processors stood ready to perform any number of simulations.
Further ahead, Ves spotted areas which facilitated the design process in many
different ways. For example, one open space contained a table that supported
minifab. This tiny 3D printer only worked with a handful of materials, but through
the application of different treatments, it was perfect for fabricating tiny models
that could help with the visualization of the design. The newcomers entered an
office to the side. Professor Velten looked up from the data pad he studied and
smiled. "Come on!" The Professor was a short and aging woman. She obviously enjoyed
a coupe of age-prolonging treatments, but they didn’t seem to be of very great
quality. Nevertheless, her status alone forced the three arrivals to show a measure
of respect before taking their seats, because the professor turned out to be a
Senior Mech Designer. "Ah, it delights me to see new chickens have come." The
professor smiled in a slightly creepy manner. "You are the fourth, fifth, and sixth
mech designers to have arrived from the inner regions of the Republic." The old
woman spoke no further but eyed them as if they were exotics. "Ahem, Professor,"
Ves began. "What are our responsibilities?" That forced the absent-minded professor
back into the present. "There is much that needs to be done! You may have realized
that we are very shorthanded. Even if we cut back our projects, we are barely able
to keep up! There are a total of three Journeyman Mech Designers under my wing, and
each of them lead a small design team of around three Apprentices." That didn’t
sound like an impressive team at all. "Due to... the difficulties in securing a
sufficient amount of time, money, resources and manpower, I have restricted the
development of new and improved designs to three different mech lines." A typical
design team with over a hundred mech designers working together could easily
support the development of a dozen designs at the same time. Professor Velten’s
team barely managed to scrape by with only three designs. Like a lonesome granny
who only saw her grandparents once a year, Professor Velten treated Ves, Pierce and
Laida like they were precious treasures. "Three Apprentices have already arrived
from the Rittersberg region. Along with your arrival, that makes six fresh faces.
Sadly, that’s the extent of their generosity. They haven’t even sent us some much-
needed Journeymen!" After ranting a bit about the lack of concern from
headquarters, Professor Velten returned to the topic at hand. "It’s best if the
three of you split up and each take part of one of the three projects in
development. It is not as if the addition of three extra Apprentices to a single
project will make any difference compared to sending only one. It takes at least
ten more mech designers for the synergy to become apparent." The professor didn’t
let them choose their assignment. She briefly read their profiles and track records
and arbitrarily added them to the teams that best matched their skills. "Miss
Nnvist, you will be joining the design team that is working on the Inheritor
spaceborn skirmisher design." "Mr. Yuvalis, you shall be joining the design team
that’s responsible for improving the Akkara heavy mech design." "As for you, Mr.
Larkinson, you will fit wonderfully with the design team that is developing the
successor to the Hellcat spaceborn hybrid knight design." What? A spaceborn hybrid
knight design? Before Ves could puzzle over the extensive challenges behind
designing a hybrid knight with enough capacity to support a flight system,
Professor Velten pushed them out and ordered them to meet with their respective
design teams. The professor unceremoniously shooed them away from her office. Once
the hatch locked, they all looked at each other. "The professor is a little senile,
is she not?" Ves remarked. Neither Laida nor Pierce dared to comment on Professor
Velten’s mental state. She was a Senior Mech Designer after all. Even if they left
her presence, she could still be listening in through the countless bugs embedded
in this compartment. Ves sighed. As someone who met a Master Mech Designer in the
flesh, the prestige of a Senior Mech Designer hardly fazed him. He even found the
professor to be a rather pitiful person. Perhaps her erratic mind was the reason
why she lead the design team of the Vandals. After consulting their comms, they
split up and entered different compartments. Ves entered a sub-lab area where three
other Apprentices sat behind a row of terminals performing various simulations and
microadjustment of the latest iteration of the Hellcat design. The other
Apprentices stopped their work once Ves entered the compartment. A thin man with a
towering height in his late thirties looked up from the schematics of a power
reactor and turned his attention to Ves. "Have you come from Professor Velten?"
"Yes, sir. These are my orders." Ves passed over a data chip to the Journeyman, who
slipped it into his terminal and read the contents. One tidbit caused the man to
stop his perpetual glower for a moment. "You’re a Larkinson? Are you related to..."
This was a familiar refrain to Ves. "Yes, I’m part of the Larkinson Family." A few
seconds passed. "Very well then." The Journeyman nodded and resumed reading his
records. "It says here that you have experience in designing hybrid knights." "Not
exactly, sir. I haven’t designed a hybrid knight from scratch. I developed a
variant of an existing model." "Which base model?" "The Caesar Augustus." That
caused the tall man to scowl. "That piece of crap?! Why did you waste your time on
that bloated mess?" "I didn’t have any choice. I received its production license
from a generous grant." After making it clear that Ves didn’t deliberately choose
to work with the Caesar Augustus, the Journeyman calmed down. "Very well then.
Despite your limit track record, at least you know your way around with hybrid
knights. Do mind you, a spaceborn hybrid knight is a radically different creature
from a landbound hybrid knight, so don’t think you have the edge over your fellow
Apprentices." The Journeyman bobbed his head towards the three young Apprentices
who sat attentively as they studied Ves. "My name is Alloc Brandstad, and I’m the
only Journeyman Mech Designer that lasted more than five years under Professor
Velten’s supervision." Alloc spoke those words with an exhausted tone.He shook his
head and returned Ves his data chip. "Keep that chip safe. Otherwise you’ll get in
trouble with the Wolf Mother’s security contingent." "Understood, sir." "Let me
apprise you of the role of the Hellcat within the Vandals." The 6th Flagrant
Vandals used to be supported by a team of over fifty mech designers. That was only
half as much as any other regiment, but it was more than sufficient to the
undersupplied Vandals. For some reason or another, the design team diminished to
its current state. Professor Velten need to make a brutal choice and cut back the
active number of designs in development. She chose to retain the most essential
designs that formed the core of the Vandals. The professor’s choice of retaining
the Hellcat in active development turned out to be very controversial. "Hybrid
knights are difficult to design at the best of times. Spaceborn hybrid knights are
almost impossible to design even if you put over a hundred mech designers to the
task. Nevertheless, both Professor Velten and Colonel Lowenfield put down their
feet. The Hellcat is an essential mech that enjoys a place of honor among the
Vandals." Much like the Caesar Augustus, the Hellcat was a versatile mech meant to
be piloted by leaders. The Vandals fielded less than twenty-five Hellcats at a
time, mainly because they couldn’t scrounge up enough mech pilots that could make
good use of a hybrid knight. "Make no mistake." Alloc said with emphasis. "Despite
the small number of Hellcats in existence, they have served as the linchpins of the
Vandals in every single battle in space since their inception. The hellcat is more
than a single design. It is a symbol." Chapter 426 Boondoggle Developing and
improving the Hellcat design required an enormous amount of effort. Yet the Hellcat
design team only consisted of four permanent mech designers with two temporary
additions, of which Ves was one of them. Professor Velten supervised the entire
effort and occasionally stepped in to solve some difficult issues, but she was too
busy to spend all of her time on a single design. "Professor Velten isn’t as spry
as she used to." Alloc said in an emotional fashion. "A couple of decades ago, she
could easy keep track of dozens of concurrent designs, but now... she’s barely
holding it with three concurrent designs." Any mech designer who advanced to the
rank of Senior was a formidable person. No one ever reached this height by being
stupid. Professor Velten must have been an intellectual force at her prime. Ves
barely knew anything about the 6th Flagrant Vandals or Professor Velten. Both
diverged so much from how the Mech Corps usually organized their units that Ves
wondered what lay at the heart of their difficulties. "Sir, I’ve just arrived and
I’m not very familiar with the Tarry region or the Vandals. Can you give me a
rundown on the mech regiment?" Alloc sighed
and released a weary breath. "The Flagrant Vandals look kind of bad, don’t they?"
Ves nodded. "That’s because the Vandals never quite fit into the Mech Corps." Alloc
briefly explained the origins of the Vandals. It used to be setup by an ambitious
general over sixty years ago. The general tired of the constant defensive attitude
of the Tarry region divisions, so erected an additional mech regiment with the
express purpose of giving the Vesians a bloody nose. "The only problem with the
Vandals is that the Tarry region is poorly endowed. It can barely field whatever
forces they already possessed. Burdening the regional headquarters with a full
regiment of mechs and everything that came with it pretty much broke the budget."
Other problems also became apparent. Entering Vesian space was a perilous ordeal
and while the Vandals achieved some early successes, they occasionally ran into a
prepared opponent that decimated their raiding forces. The regiment used up a lot
more mechs, mech pilots, ships and supplies than originally projected. "So what
changed from the start?" Ves asked. Alloc shrugged his head. "Headquarters came up
with a new order for the Vandals that’s never been recalled. The 6th Flagrant
Vandals needs to be completely self-sufficient. They have to fabricate or procure
their own mechs and ships and they need to recruit and train their own mech
pilots." This completely cut off all of the support that was necessary to sustain a
mech regiment. Maintaining the mechs alone drained a lot money, but supporting all
of the ships was even worse. If Ves didn’t know anything better, then the Tarry
region’s regional HQ wanted to dissolve the Vandals by starving it to death. "It’s
a good thing that we’re more resilient than that." The Journeyman Mech Designer
grinned. "We slimmed down our ships and mechs, all of our mech pilots have taken
pay cuts and steal everything we need from the Vesians when we’re short on
something." Still, financing an entire mech regiment through raiding planets and
trade ships could only stretch so far. Most mech regiments would have collapsed
eventually from the burden. "Our budget declined year after year. Nothing we did
could have changed our downward slide. The biggest burden by far is the cost of
replacing aging mechs and ships. Even if we’re able to recoup most of the costs by
recycling them, we were still bleeding a ton of money this way." "Were?" "That’s
right. I didn’t misspoke. Ever since Colonel Lowenfield took over as our regimental
commander some time ago, she made a clean sweep of our regiment. She cut down costs
to the absolute minimum by trading away our only fleet carrier, letting go of as
much support personnel as possible and shutting down all of our bases. Under her
urging, we’ve completely transitioned into a nomadic fleet." Relying on logistic
ships such as the the Wolf Mother factory ship formed the core to their strategy.
Though it cost a lot to maintain their operations, their ability to move with the
fleet meant that the Vandals never had to worry about stretching their supply lines
if they ever went deep into enemy space. Ves felt a little nervous after hearing
this. "You mean the Vandals bring the Wolf Mother along whenever they cross the
border?" "Exactly! She spends more time in the Vesia Kingdom than the Bright
Republic even. We know the Kingdom inside-out and while the Vesians have caught us
out a few times, we’ve always been able to get away." "Has the regiment lost any
logistic ships over the years." "A handful of smaller vessels have succumbed to the
enemy in recent times. They didn’t last very long under enemy fire." Great. When
Ves imagined serving in the Mech Corps as a mech designer, he always thought he
would be put in some secret base deep underground. Serving aboard a moving factory
ship was an entirely different matter altogether. The Vesians must be hunting for
the Wolf Mother all the time. Alloc briefly looked at the time. "That’s enough
about the Vandals. We’ve got to get back to work. Ves, since you’re new, you should
study the design files of the Hellcat first before you do anything else. The
Hellcat is an exceedingly complex design, and were it not for your prior
experience, I would have given you a refresher course instead." Everyone turned
around and went back to work. Alloc passed around a weathered data pad to Ves
before he returned to debugging some piece of software. Ves didn’t disturb the
design team any further and sat down at a sofa pushed into a corner. He activated
the data pad and began to study the confidential documents held within. "So this is
what the Hellcat looks like." The Hellcat’s humanoid frame looked bulky but
powerful. Its head was shaped like a lion, but that was the only reference to its
name. The rest of the design evoked pure power due to the thickness of its armor
and how many weapon systems it carried. One arm carried a saber and the other arm
carried a kite shield. The kite shield wasn’t all that thick and didn’t provide
full coverage, but that lessened some of the weight concerns of the knight. The
Hellcat compensated for the deficiency in the shield by bulking up its armor to the
very limits of what was expected of medium mechs. The Hellcat’s second weapon
system consisted of a pair of wrist-mounted nail drivers. A nail driver was a
rather exotic weapon that didn’t see much use. However, they packed a substantial
kinetic punch without demanding too much space. Mech designers referred to them as
the poor man’s railgun. The pair of nail drivers wouldn’t be very accurate if fired
from the arm of a hybrid knight, but they granted the Hellcat a potent close-ranged
punch that would be useful in a variety of situations. The only downside to the
nail driver was that it only carried three nails in its tiny magazine. Along with
the nail in the chamber, a Hellcat could only output 8 nails in total before
needing to reload, which turned out to be a massive pain for the mech pilot.
Changing magazines in the thick of battle was impracticable at best. Much like many
other hybrid knights, the Hellcat also carried a pair of missile launchers on its
shoulders. As a fairly low tech weapon system, it hardly looked special in his
eyes. The true worth of a missile launcher lay in the missiles themselves.
Surprisingly, the Hellcat’s tube diameter diverged from the standard used by the
Mech Corps. Each state used their own standards in order to prevent the enemy from
using their own munitions against them. If the Vesians ever captured a couple of
containers worth of missiles, they were better off recycling them than trying to
modify them to fire out of their own missile tubes. Adopting the enemy’s technical
standard on a mech that was supposed to be the standard bearer of the Vandals said
a lot about the regiment. "The Flagrant Vandals can’t afford to ship in Republic-
standard missiles, so they’re getting them from the Vesians instead." It sounded
crazy, but on second thought it was a brilliant design decision. The Flagrant
Vandals spent a lot of time in Vesian space and frequently replenished their
supplies by raiding enemy trade routes. Since the Vesians loved to employ a lot of
missiles, many of these convoys would be carrying tons of mass-produced missiles.
Rather than destroy the shipment or recycle them down, the Vandals were better off
if they made of them. This became especially attractive after months of moving
behind enemy lines. The only complication was that these missiles implemented
safeguards that prevented them from exploding in the Mech Legion’s faces. The
Vandals needed some time to crack these safeguards before they could put them into
their own launcher tubes. "A saber for close-ranged combat, a pair of nail drivers
for close-to-medium ranged burst attacks and a pair of missile launchers to provide
long-ranged suppression." The weapons might be different, but the Hellcat pretty
much adopted the weapon patterns as the Caesar Augustus and the Marc Antony. Many
other Hybrid knight designs copied the same pattern to the point where it became a
standard in the industry. The Hellcat’s flight system was the last thing that
grabbed his attention. Ves became impressed and concerned at its sheer size. It was
about fifty percent bigger than any other flight system he had seen on a medium
hybrid knight. It took a lot of power to keep them running for a decent stretch of
time. Ves turned to another file that detailed the internal architecture of the
design. It looked completely different from what he imagined. Ves expected a
crammed up interior where each part tried to squeeze out its neighbors. Much like
the original Caesar Augustus, mechs needed to accommodate a lot more components if
it wished to support so many weapon systems. The internal architecture of the
Hellcat turned around his expectations. The internal components took up much less
space than he thought, which allowed the design to feature a high level of
redundancy and compartmentalization. The Hellcat was unimaginably tough. Its armor
was thick enough to take a good beating, but its internals extended the durability
of the mech by a significant amount. Inside and out, the Hellcat put the original
Caesar Augustus to shame. How did the design team do it? The secret quickly became
evident. "This is a really expensive design." Ves performed some mental
calculations. He took note of the material composition of the mech and ran the
numbers on their cost. The raw materials required to fabricate a brand new Hellcat
cost as much as 350 million credits at market prices! That was as expensive as a
heavy mech! "This is a prestige mech!" The Hellcat was a marvellous design that hid
a lot of ingenious tricks and nuances that Ves didn’t fully understand. Professor
Velten was a legitimate Senior Mech Designer, so the Hellcat’s design contained an
invisible strength that brought
out strength beyond what it materials should have been able to bring out.
Nevertheless, cheap materials could only be elevated up to a certain point. In
order to meet the Hellcat design’s insane demands, Professor Velten resorted to
powerful exotics that did more with less. That came at an enormous cost. In fact,
when Ves compared the performance of the Hellcat to an average heavy knight, he
could hardly justify its existence. "Why do the Vandals treasure the Hellcat over
more practical designs?" Heavy knights provided a lot more impact on the
battlefield. Sure, they were too unwieldy to be used in space, but that was not a
reason to develop an expensive boondoggle like the Hellcat. The files failed to
list any information that could satisfy his curiosity. Ves had enough of looking at
the schematics. He needed to see some footage of the Hellcat in action. Chapter 427
Shock Attack When Ves asked Alloc to see some footage, the Journeyman immediately
agreed to provide him with some footage. "The footage is stored in the restricted
archives, so you can’t access it from your comm or from the terminals in this room.
The proper procedure would be to apply for access to a secure terminal in an
isolated chamber. Normally, only Professor Velten can weigh on your request, but
she handed me a lot of leeway in these matters." Alloc quickly prepared a code and
access pass for Ves. After pointing out where he could find the isolated chamber,
he returned to work. He used the pass to unlock the secure hatch and enter the
barren but highly restricted chamber. A very visible laser turret constantly
tracked his movements as he walked to the middle where he sat down on a stiff,
metal chair. After supplying the code into the terminal, the projector began to
expand and run some footage of a battle that happened around four years ago. At
that time, the Bright Republic was at peace and Ves was still studying at
Ritterberg. No one had a clue that a handful of combat carriers of the Flagrant
Vandals penetrated the border and crossed several noble domains until it reached
the interior of Vesian space. Their target? A massive refinery complex in an
otherwise quiet star system midway between the mines and nearby industrial planets.
The complex orbited a rocky, broken planet that suffered numerous asteroid impacts
hundreds of millions of years ago. Most of those asteroids turned out to be made
out of several exotics. These materials reacted with the minerals buried beneath
the surface to produce a strange new substance that made for extremely flexible
armor plating that performed well against kinetic impacts. The footage started with
the raid already in progress. The Railguns and lasers flew in each direction as
several companies of the Vandals assaulted the defenses of a massive depot in a
head-on collision. What struck Ves the most was that the attackers hardly looked
any different from the defenders! Much of the mechs used by the Flagrant Vandals
actually consisted of a hodgepodge of distinctly Vesian designs! The battle went
well for the Vandals. They scoped out their target and gathered as much
intelligence as possible before committing to the raid. They brought more than
enough mechs to overwhelm the defenders. Although the defenders possessed enough
mechs to put up a stiff fight, they were chained to the refinery complex in orbit.
Their static turrets fell like dominoes and their defensive positions started to
crumble from the sheer amount of fire being thrown in their way. The Vandals
primarily made use of ballistic and kinetic weaponry. Though they wouldn’t be able
to outlast a force that fielded mechs with laser weapons, their damage output was
extremely high so long as they didn’t run out missiles. Just as it looked as if
their mechs would easily break through the defensive line, more than one-hundred
Vesian mechs popped up from behind. "Enemy reinforcements from the rear!" "Where
did they come from?!" "We’ve got to get out of here!" The Flagrant Vandals
deliberately chose to attack a privately-owned refinery complex defended by nothing
more than a company security force. The lightly populated star system shouldn’t
have been able to support any other mech force, so the appearance of over a hundred
additional mechs unsettled the Vandals. "Calm down." A clipped and clinical female
voice broke through the chaotic chatter. "They outnumber us, but won’t be able to
match our grit. Gather the Hellcats!" The woman began to issue a rapid set of
orders that split them into two. Most of the Vandals continued to press against the
complex, while a smaller portion of mechs looped around to face the incoming horde
of mechs. As the reinforcements came closer, the Vandals learned their makeup.
Threefourths of the incoming mechs consisted of frontline mechs while the remainder
consisted of cheap melee mechs. Facing them were twelve nearly identical Hellcats.
All of them were piloted by officers or elites. Pulling them out of the assault on
the complex risked delaying the breakthrough, but the Vandals had no other choice.
"Your orders?" Colonel Lowenfield spoke for the first time since the start of the
footage. "Meet the enemy reinforcements and smash them apart." Her orders sounded
simple and to the point. As Ves watched and listened to this record of past events,
this was the first time he heard Colonel Lowenfield’s voice. To his ears, she spoke
without the usual force and gusto of mech pilots when they were on duty. She
sounded like an office worker instead of a commanding officer. Nevertheless, the
lack of weight in her voice didn’t detract from her gravitas. The Vandals followed
her orders without question, as if they had absolute fate in her leadership. What
Ves couldn’t understand was why she felt so confident about her Hellcats. Even
though their performance was extremely good, sheer numbers always had a way of
negating any advantage in quality. "The disparity in quality is not enough to make
up for the deficiency in numbers." That was what Ves concluded if he applied the
the conventional maxims. Any other commanding officer would have allocated at least
thirty mechs against the incoming reinforcements. As the fresh wave of Vesian mechs
neared the battle site in orbit, the dozen hybrid knights prepared their missile
launchers. The protective ports retracted, allowing the missiles to escape from the
launchers and arc out into space. The missile launchers carried by this older
iteration of the Hellcat used larger mech-sized missiles. Each Hellcat only
released twelve missiles each. Therefore, they only unleashed 144 missiles in their
only volley. Nevertheless, these missiles packed quite a punch. The reinforcing
mechs must have recognized their own missiles because they quickly halted their
forward acceleration and entered a defensive posture. Numerous lasers started
firing from their formation in an attempt to shoot the missiles down. It was tough
going for the Vesian mechs because these large missiles incorporated many elements
that made it more elusive. For the most basic-level mech pilots that piloted the
frontline mechs, their abysmal accurace insured that the chance of knocking down a
missile was low. The only thing the reinforcements had going for them was their
sheer weight of numbers. More than half of the missiles got shot down by the sheer
spread of fire, but that left a lot missiles alive. The Vesians barely had time to
brace their mechs before the missiles impacted their frames. "That was a good
volley!" "I love flinging their missiles back to them!" None of the missiles
carried enough force to destroy a mech outright, but all of the impacts succeeded
in throwing the Vesians off-balance. "Charge!" The hybrid knights accelerated
forward in a sluggish manner. Even though they carried proportionally huge flight
systems, it took some time to get them going. However, once they built up a
reasonable amount of speed relative to the Vesian formation, the amount of force
they could produce upon impact was extremely serious. Meanwhile, the Vesians just
recovered from the missile salvo. The missiles outright disable four or so mechs
while heavily damaging ten or so more. Every other mech only suffered scratches
from the flying debris. "Hellcats, charge formation!" The highest captain of the
Hellcats ordered. The hybrid knights adjusted into a V-shaped formation as they
neared the Vesians. Both sides accelerated into each other, so the time before
impact wouldn’t be very long. The Vesians might have gotten an inkling of what they
planned. Their legless spaceborn frontline mechs frantically opened fire at the
incoming Hellcats. Many shots went wide but those that hit only added a couple more
scratches to their armor and shields. "Ready the nail drivers!" The hybrid knights
adjusted the grips of their sabers and shields and extended out the barrel of the
nail driver poking out of their wrists. "Aim at your designated targets!" The
captain transmitted a series of targeting instructions that focused everyone’s fire
on a handful of important-looking mechs. "Fire!" The nail drivers emptied out their
chamber, releasing a long and sharp nail that flew forward until it met the
Vesians. Every mech that the captain targeted suffered a lot of damage. Many mechs
flung backwards upon getting hit, and all of the nails that hit had been able to
punch through their flimsy armor. The Vesian formation fell into disarray yet
again. The lead Hellcat officer successfully managed to take out the mechs that
carried the officers in charge of the reinforcements. Though the surviving officers
of the Vesian reinforcements quickly imposed order, the damage was already done.
Though they managed to reassert their formation, they hadn’t been able to retaliate
as effectively. The Hellcats spent the rest of their time on approach by emptying
out their magazines at the enemy.
Most of those nails hit as the fire hadn’t been concentrated on any single enemy
mech. Instead, the scattered fire was meant to disarray the enemy formation and
prevent them from bracing against the imminent collision! "Bring it on!" "Vandals
Ever-burning!" "Three, two, one, impact!" "Yahoooooooo!" Twelve spaceborn hybrid
knights simultaneously tore through the mechs of the Vesians. The difference in
mass proved to be decisive. The Hellcats bulled through several mechs with their
kite shields held in front. Though the shields quickly got dented, the Vesians
completely didn’t know how to handle the sudden intrusion. They aimed their barrels
at the hybrid knights in the midst of their formation but hesitated in pulling the
trigger. Their formation was too packed. While that added to their cohesion, once
the Vandals entered their midst, they risked missing the intruders and damage one
of their fellow mechs instead. "They’re dispersing!" "It’s too late!" The
commanding officer of the Vesian reinforcements decisively ordered his mechs to
split, but it was far too late for that. The Hellcats moved in unison as they mowed
down mech after mech. The Vesian frontline mechs never lasted more than a second up
close while the Vesian melee mechs only delayed their destruction by a couple more
seconds. Mech after mech got cleaved apart by the brutal sabers wielded by the
Hellcats. As the Vesians belatedly dispersed, the Vandal elites split up into two
squads. Six mechs went high while the other went low. Though splitting up into two
squads of six wouldn’t allow them to catch all of the Vesian mechs, they still
exhibited strength beyond what their numbers suggested. "Hybrid knights are shock
weapons." Ves realized as he watched the Hellcats make a mockery out of a Vesian
force that outnumbered them. Though this force was fairly shabby, Ves still found
it impressive that the Hellcats managed to route the mob without sustaining any
losses. "Very interesting." After smashing the reinforcements, the Vandals easily
broke through the orbital complex and stole all of its inventory before breaking it
up and sending the pieces into an inescapable descent to the rocky planet below.
The key takeaway of the footage was the way the Vandals used the Hellcats. Though
they would usually be dispersed among the rest of the Vandals, whenever the
commanding officer needed it, he or she could easily order them to form up in a
single group of Hellcats. Several Hellcats working together was a lot stronger than
he thought. Naturally, much of the victory was achieved due to the disparity
quality between the two forces. The Hellcats didn’t fight against the Mech Legion.
If Ves had to guess, the reinforcements looked a lot like mercenaries. This was
also why the Hellcats proved to be so effective. The Vandals mainly raided enemy
infrastructure. The weren’t meant to go toe-to-toe with the Mech Legion, the Vesian
premiere mech force. The Mech Legion was famous for their high morale and their
willingness to fight to the death, but the outfits that did business in the
Kingdom’s private sector was made out of much less sterner stuff. "It’s much more
efficient for the Vandals to attack their morale. As long as the Hellcats deliver a
sufficiently great shock, they’ll be able to route any number of inferior mechs."
Outfits in the private sector never fought to the death. As long as they glimpsed a
hint of defeat, they wouldn’t hesitate in running away. Chapter 428 Prestige Mech
Ves only needed to witness a single battle to understand the characteristics of the
Hellcat design. Even though its design appeared to be a little scattered, in actual
fact it prioritized one capability above all others. "The entire frame is built to
deliver a devastating collision attack." The schematics and material composition
prioritized sturdiness and shock resistance. It insured that even if the hybrid
knight built up a lot of speed, it wouldn’t fall apart as soon as it collided with
another mech. Even the shield that looked a little small for a knight hid a
surprising amount of resilience. The additional weapon systems facilitated this
mode of combat. They were meant to soften up the enemy and disrupt them from
meeting the Hellcats in a prepared formation. "That’s why these Hellcats don’t
carry much ammunition around. They’re only designed to deliver one big whallop
before they close in with their shields and sabers." Still, for a highly advanced
mech that incorporated many ingenuities, its design was also surprisingly one-
dimensional. Its strengths were evident, but that only magnified its weaknesses.
The biggest and most egregious fault spoke for itself. "The Hellcat is too heavy."
Spaceborn mechs relied on speed and acceleration to move around in the vast void of
space and to dodge most of the attacks fired in their direction. An exception
existed for knights, but usually mech designers exerted their utmost to minimizing
their weight. The less they weighed, the easier it was to change their direction on
the fly. Right now, the Hellcat resembled a transport ship in its movement
characteristics. It weighed a lot and though it possessed a larger flight system
compared to other medium mechs, the increase in propulsion force couldn’t keep up.
"This mech is as heavy as a Caesar Augustus." The same weight on a landbound mech
like the Caesar Augustus played to its advantages. Locomotion on land demanded much
less of a mech. The weight might slow it down, but it also added weight to its
movements and allow it to anchor itself into place whenever it received a mighty
impact. In space, this weight came with much more downsides. The amount of time
needed to adjust the Hellcat’s inertia was at least twice as long as a conventional
space knight. This difference was quite massive when it came to fast-paced battles
such as smaller skirmishes in space. Essentially, this meant that the Hellcat
excelled in larger battles where they faced company-sized forces and more. "It’s
not a duelist mech, that’s for sure." The second major downside to the Hellcat
design was its lack of staying power. Every part in its design cranked up as much
power as they could possibly unleash without degrading their longevity by too much.
Even with light and careful use of this mech, it would eventually by itself within
a decade. The Hellcat simply demanded too much out of itself. Naturally, the upside
to this was that the mech pilots could be assured of the best performance possible
whenever they committed to the battle. Before that, they needed to carefully
conserve their Hellcats in order to prevent them from running out of steam before
the decisive moment came. Mechs designed to stay in reserve and exert their full
power in a single maneuver had always existed, but they never went to such
extremes. The mech industry had a moniker for mechs like that. "A prestige mech.
It’s the parade horse of the regiment." What Ves meant by that was that the Hellcat
served a dual purpose. It broke through stalemates and reversed unfavorable
situations not only through its objective performance characteristics, but also
through shaping everyone’s perceptions. The Hellcat was a standard bearer and the
trump card of the Flagrant Vandals. Every mech pilot that fought alongside a
Hellcat would receive a boost in morale. On the opposite end, enemies that
recognized the Hellcat and everything it represented must be feeling a little
suppressed. In truth, the Hellcat’s ability to boost to friendly morale and damage
enemy morale was much more important than the material damage it could unleash. By
delivering an overwhelming impact in a single moment, it exceeded the limit of how
much enemy pilots could deal with. If the Hellcat exhibited a more gradual
performance curve, while it would be able to last much longer in a battle, the
shock to the enemy wouldn’t be as potent. Ves understood the challenges faced by
the Hellcat design team. With only five Apprentices and one Journeyman working
full-time on this design, hardly any progress could be made. The Hellcat’s design
was simply too complex. After returning to his team, Ves began to integrate himself
with the team. Over the course of several days, Alloc taught him his
responsibilities and what kind of expectations the design team shouldered. "The
Hellcat is not a fixed design like you see with private sector mechs." The
Journeyman patiently explained. "Mechs in the military can come in many different
variants. You can see it as a cross between updating an old design and modifying an
existing design. For minor changes, we don’t bother fabricating new mechs, but
apply them to existing mechs. This way, we can be sure that they possess the right
configuration to deal with their upcoming missions." "How many brand-new mechs are
fabricated in a year?" "Not as much as you think. The Flagrant Vandals have learned
how to be frugal. You’ll have to take that into account when you do your work. You
need to incorporate some tolerances and account for the most common cases of wear
and tear. This is because our mech technicians reuse as much old components as they
can get away with it. Professor Velten is watching out for this so you don’t have
to be too concerned." Alloc also explained the nature of the work being sent in his
way. Predictably, the Journeyman didn’t think much of Ves and his abilities. After
hearing that Ves excelled in physics and was passable in a couple of other areas,
the seasoned mech designer dumped some trivial assignments onto his lap. "Our
design team is short-handed and the Hellcat needs tons of tweaks. Whenever
Professor Velten and I introduce a major change in the Hellcat’s design, the knock-
on effects are numerous. Many components are affected, some for the better and some
for the worse. Your responsibility as an Apprentice is to record and quantify these
effects, and whenever possible
provide a suggestion on how we can mitigate the detrimental side effects." While
Alloc sounded solemn and made his task sound important, Ves knew he was being
pushed aside to the kids table. Still, Ves had only just arrived. He wasn’t
arrogant enough to believe he could outmatch an actual Journeyman who was deeply
familiar with the design in question. He adopted a humble posture and did his best
to reign in his arrogance. "Understood, sir. I’ll get right on the job." Ves spent
the next couple of weeks keeping his head down and doing what he was told. To be
frank, the makework he received required hardly any thought at all. Most of the
time, he inputted some settings in a mathematical model and let a portion of the
Wolf Mother’s immense processors simulate the outcome. Someone less knowledgeable
than him might need hours to come up with the right settings and determine which
models to use, but to Ves that was as easy as breathing air. He even showed some
initiative by adjusting some of the math behind the models to best suit the exact
conditions of where the Hellcat would be deployed. The nature of his work meant
that Ves mostly waited around for the processors to spit out their data. He idled
around and looked at the others who worked with utmost concentration on their own
assignments. As the new kid on the block, the other Apprentices didn’t know what to
make of him yet. In their off-time, they were usually too tired to socialize a lot.
A complex design like the Hellcat required at least twenty mech designers to
achieve stable amount of progress. All of that work that should have been carried
out by twenty Apprentices was actually being shouldered by only five Apprentices.
Ves did not downplay his abilities, but neither did he call out too much attention.
He merely accepted every task sent in his way and completed it a little bit faster
than anyone else could manage. The only reason why he couldn’t solve the problems
instantly was because he couldn’t do anything to speed up the simulations. The
processors only provided so much processing power to him. The massive factory ship
needed to reserve the bulk of her calculations to her other operations. Still, Ves
believed his performance exceeded expectations. He hoped that Alloc would notice
and entrust him with more meaty tasks, but he was all out of luck in that regard.
Alloc was fully preoccupied in his own responsibilities for the moment, and until
he finished his current assignments, he wouldn’t pay attention to anything else.
All of the other Apprentices in his design team was too self-absorbed in their own
work, so the only people Ves could really talk to were the other Apprentices from
Bentheim. One day, Laida, Pierce and Ves gathered in a canteen adjacent to the
labs. As they filled up their stomachs, they talked about their work. "The
permanent mech designers don’t take us temps very seriously." Pierce complained.
"It’s not our fault we haven’t spent years obsessing over a single mech model
line!" Laida agreed with the sentiment. "They don’t expect very much from us. The
mech designers who arrived a little earlier from the Rittersberg region are in the
same boat. They’re even keeping secrets from us!" That was the most annoying fact
about their work. The design teams expected them to understand the designs they
worked with and become familiar with their characteristics. However, while they had
access to the top-level schematics, they couldn’t access the details to the
proprietary systems. For example, Ves couldn’t find out the exact material
composition of the armor and the internal support structure. Neither would he be
able to study the designs of key components such as the engine and power reactor in
great detail. The software he worked with treated these elements as black boxes.
Ves was allowed to work with them as a whole as part of modelling their
performance, but he wasn’t allowed to tinker their internal makeup. "It’s
understandable why they chose to compartmentalize their proprietary knowledge." Ves
responded neutrally. "We’re newcomers and we won’t be sticking around for long.
Compared to careerists like them who have volunteered to serve the Mech Corps for
decades, conscripted mech designers like us are unreliable." That depressed the
mood in the table. None of them like to waste their time here. Working in a design
team of the Mech Corps was both an obligation and an opportunity. They could not
only access a lot of textbooks and teaching materials depending on their merits,
they could also play around with the immense amount of proprietary technology
developed in-house. Many of the implementations used by the Mech Corps would not
show up in the MTA’s catalog of licenses because the Mech Corps didn’t license any
of their advancements. Sure, much of what they developed could be replicated with a
similar enough license, but a standard solution from the market would not be
tailored to the exact situation at hand. "We should try to make the best of
things." Ves said. He spoke the same words to Carlos a few months ago. "At the end
of our service period, what did we get out of this unique time in our lives? I
don’t want to look back and conclude that we missed out on treasures that we can
only obtain in our time here." While Laida and Pierce both expressed their
frustrations, they didn’t possess the spine to assert themselves. Not that Ves was
anything different at this point, but his ambitions would eventually drive him to
greater things. His words served as a reminder to them to not be content with their
current status and miss out on the benefits that they could grasp. Certainly, every
temporary mech designer needed to play the long game here and work themselves into
the system without stepping on everyone else’s toes. "Did you hear? The Wolf Mother
is almost done with harvesting the asteroids in this system. It’s about to rendez-
vous with the main fleet of the Vandals." Chapter 429 Small Steps Life aboard the
Wolf Mother did not seem so hectic to Ves. He spent most of his time in the
compartment assigned to the design department. This only took up a fraction of the
space aboard the massive factory ship. The factory ship was like a city compressed
into a capital ship. It housed thousands of servicemen and devoted caverns of space
to the industry of keeping the Vandals afloat. A lot of responsibility rested on
the shoulders of the Wolf Mother. While it wasn’t unheard of for vagabond outfits
to pursue a nomadic lifestyle aboard their ships, in the Komodo Star Sector, it was
rarely seen on this scale. From the basic information that Ves received on the
factory ship, she used to start off as a smaller logistics ship. After some time,
the voracious demands of the Flagrant Vandals necessitated further expansion.
Modules kept being added along her hull. The rising demand for services caused the
Vandals to expand the capabilities of the logistics ship to a reckless extent. More
asteroid breakers, more refineries, more alloy forge, more repair bays. The
expansion never ended, though it slowed down at this point due to physical
constraints. The shipwrights among the Vandals did their best to accommodate the
expansions. They strengthened the hull, overhauled the internal structure and sized
up the essential components such as the power reactor, the thrusters and the FTL
drive. Ships of the Wolf Mother’s current size were hardly seen in the Komodo Star
Sector. Further expansion necessitated an essential upsizing to her FTL engine,
something which could not be done by in a third-rate state like the Bright
Republic. Only the Hexadric Hegemony and the Friday Coalition could afford to field
capital ships of that scale. In truth, it was cheaper to maintain a single base on
an asteroid or an abandoned moon. Running a ship came with its own costs, and a
vessel that ballooned to such a size must be using up an enormous amount of power
and fuel each day. Yet that was also the genius of it. The capability to move their
main logistical base around gave the Vandals unparalleled flexibility in their
deployments. From the stories he heard, the Vandals became famous even before the
outbreak of the current war for their deep raids. They struck Vesian star systems
situated well within the Kingdom’s interior are fleeced their complacent industries
to the bone. While this sounded impressive and commendable, not everyone in the
Mech Corps thought so. People would hardly be able to distinguish them from
pirates, and their conduct of sneaking around to attack the weakest parts of the
Vesians was seen as dishonorable. While the warrior culture of the Mech Corps
allowed for clever tricks and strategies to defeat an enemy force with ease, the
Flagrant Vandals took it too far. The shamelessness in which the Vandals avoided
standing battles against the Mech Legion led to their estrangement from the
conventional military order of the Republic. A mech pilot of the Vandals regarded
themselves as Vandals and not as a serviceman of the Mech Corps. This was a
problem, because the mech pilots who served in any other regiment held loyalty to
both without any conflict. Occasionally, Ves heard some talk of that nature
whenever he ate in the canteen. Mech designers only made up part of its clientele.
A lot of crewmen working in the nearby compartments ate their meals in this
canteen. "We’re Vandals, not soldiers." "Leave the heavy fighting for the big
boys." "I heard they’re downgrading our paychecks again. As if they couldn’t get
any lower!" "Damn, what are the field marshals up to? They’re letting the Vesians
intrude upon our territory for the umpteenth time. When will they ever have the
guts to hit them back?!" "Hah, we’re the only ones who give a damn about that. We
might as well be an alien species to the big chiefs." Talk like this was a bad
indication of how far the Vandals became estranged
to the Republic. The Tarry region was already isolated enough, and this
undercurrent of resentment posed a lot of risks to the Mech Corps. Maybe it was the
Larkinson within him, but no one else shared his concerns. Outsiders like Pierce
and Laida didn’t know anything better, but for Ves who grew up with the Larkinsons,
some of the talk sounded outright mutinous. "You know, won’t things be better if we
just pack up and go?" "Whadda ya mean?" "Think about it. What has the Republic ever
done for us? We built up the Vandals all by ourselves without a single credit from
the state. We worked hard to pay for what we got, so how are we any different from
a mercenary corps? If you think about it, we’re actually worse than mercs. At least
they get paid, whereas we get nothing at all!" "That’s not entirely true. We still
have access to their facilities and their database. We couldn’t have gotten this
far without all of the advanced technology at our fingertips." "I still think we
should make a getaway. It would be easy as pie. We aren’t anchored by any planets.
Those with families who live on the surface of one can just take them along for the
ride when we leave Republic space." "It does sound easy. Getting cut off from the
data banks will hurt us hard, but the Wolf Mother has a lot of life in her yet."
This was merely a sample of the talk that sometimes popped up from the lowest ranks
of spacers. It did not mean their officers or the mech pilots fostered the same
ideas. Without a better exposure of life among the Vandals, Ves couldn’t make any
definite conclusions. It still looked bad though. The canteen was surely monitored.
Why hadn’t any officers come and reprimanded the spacers? "Maybe they don’t care."
The crewmen aboard the Wolf Mother could be extremely dedicated to the Vandals and
did their utmost to keep the Wolf Mother running. Yet they could also be extremely
lethargic when it came to the rest of the Mech Corps. The only person who could
make or break this regiment was the elusive Colonel Lowenfield. Despite her name
popping up everywhere in every important event in the last few years, Ves still had
no clue what made her so respected among the Vandals. "Did you hear? The colonel
has recalled all of the detachments. We’re almost done with our repairs and
resupply." "Oh, finally! I’m bored to tears staying in this noname star system. I
want to see some action!" "Me too! There’s always a good score to be found when we
shear the wool off the Vesian sheep. I’m broke and need more money!" Ves shook his
head and finished his meal before returning to the labs. He returned to his
terminal only to see that the simulations in the queue needed another hour to
complete. He still had some free time on his hands. He was pretty much the only
person who enjoyed this privilege. A less capable mech designer would have spent a
couple of hours trying to get the settings right or spend many late nights on
interpreting the data. The workload put into his lap could not keep up with his
capabilities. If not for Alloc’s current preoccupation with getting the software
right for the Hellcat, then he might have been more attentive to how fast Ves
completed his work. Ves quietly sighed. He looked around and saw that one of the
mech designers had left. While everyone except Ves constantly faced a mountain of
work, it was important for the mech designer to keep in touch with how the mechs
performed for real. Occasionally, Alloc assigned a mech designer to liaise with the
mech technicians and the mech pilots that worked with the Hellcats. They mostly
gathered feedback and measured the state of the existing Hellcat mechs. He wanted
to come into contact with the mechs as well, if only to get out of this tiny corner
of the Wolf Mother. Ves had never seen a true Hellcat mech and that hampered his
work somewhat. Other mech designers might be fine with a bunch of technical
documents, but much of what made his work great was his feel for the intangible
qualities of a mech. Within a day or two, the Wolf Mother finally moved. She first
exited the asteroid belt and headed towards the border of the lifeless star system
with a couple of escorting combat carriers in tow. Once they reached the edge of
the system, they transitioned into FTL. The entire factory ship bucked and groaned
while Ves momentarily lurched when that happened. "Oof!" The other mech designers
laughed. "The first time is always the worst!" Ves rubbed his head for a bit. The
moment the factory ship entered FTL, Ves felt as if a nail had been driven through
his skull. "How come it’s so painful? It is safe to be aboard the ship when it
enters FTL?" "This is normal to us." Alloc answered gently. "You have to keep in
mind that the Wolf Mother expanded in an ad-hoc fashion. There was hardly any
planning involved. Slapping modules onto her hull without restraint has made the
Wolf Mother rather unstable. The Wolf Mother’s FTL drive is barely rated to carry
along a ship of her size and mass. Some kinks are to be expected." In other words,
the FTL drive could barely cope. The worst case scenario was that it might
eventually break from the all of the strain. Bad things happened when FTL drives
blew apart, especially when the ship was still in FTL. Only a handful times did
ships drop out of FTL after their drives became inactive. Most of the time,
something freaky would happen and the rest of the galaxy never saw the ship again.
"How well is the FTL drive protected?" "Oh, the Vandals aren’t unaware of dangers
posed by a faulty FTL drive. They’ve put their best engineers to keeping it in
shape. There’s also a lot of security surrounding this component. Nobody can wander
in and do what they want with this critical part of the ship." That might protect
the FTL drive from boarding troops and internal sabotage, but it did not help the
Wolf Mother’s inherent vulnerability to outside attacks. She was not a ship meant
for battle. Therefore, the recent orders concerned Ves a bit. Heading deep into
Vesian space was a perilous matter even in times of peace. There was always the
risk of getting tracked down by a dogged Vesian task force on its way to the
frontline. Ves id not know whether to see it as a good thing or bad thing, but it
was undeniable that he would be able to grasp a lot more opportunities in that
case. His time with the Vandals might stretch for years, so he would have plenty of
time to ingratiate himself with the crew. "Ves, are you available?" One of the
young men looked around for help and saw that Ves was basically daydreaming behind
his terminal. "I need some help with this stupid equation. I followed all of the
instructions according to the handbook but the simulations are getting out of
whack." "Show me what’s the problem." This was the first time someone asked him for
help. The three permanent Apprentice Mech Designers often consulted among
themselves and never asked Ves or the other designer from Rittersberg for any
input. Vse took a look at the model and spotted the problem at first glance. "It’s
no wonder your simulation delivers such a nonsensical result. There’s nothing wrong
with the equations or the model. It’s this bad set of data that is at the root of
the problem. This is a typical case of garbage in, garbage out. Look at the input
data. Do these measurements seem correct to you?" The mech designer worked with
actual measurements taken from a previous visit to the mechs. Whoever took these
measurements made a mistake somewhere down the line. Once Ves pointed out the
problem, the mech designer could handle the rest. The young man nodded at Ves with
a modicum of respect this time. As Ves wandered back to his terminal to go back to
his daydreams, he smiled in satisfaction. "It starts with small steps." Chapter 430
Mech Lineup Every time the Wolf Mother transitioned in and out of FTL, the entire
deck lurched and a nauseous feeling overcame Ves. He never really got used to it,
but the other mech designers in the design department shrugged it off like they got
sprayed by mist. The Wolf Mother already transitioned over seven times. From this,
Ves could infer that either the range of the Wolf Mother’s FTL drive was really
short, or they traversed a huge distance. The Vandals didn’t release a lot of
information to someone low in the totem pole like Ves. He learned more from
eavesdropping the spacers in the canteen than in the pathetic amount of documents
made available to him. The most he knew about the layout of the factory ship came
from contingency plans in case of disaster, and they only outlined the most direct
path to the escape pods. What he did learn from from listening in on the crew was
that the factory ship’s exhibited an onion ring-like shape. The original logistics
ship that formed the core had already been changed beyond recognition, but most of
the central functioning of the Wolf Mother was buried here. It contained the
databases, the processors, the combat information center and many more goodies.
Tacked on to the top, bottom, port, starboard, bow and stern of the original
structure were many other modules. For example, the compartments that made up of
engineering took over the entire rear end of the Wolf Mother. Those who entered
this section in person described it as a chimera of ship components that kept the
factory ship up and running. One day, Professor Velten called up every mech
designer in the department for a general meeting. Ves filed into the conference
room after the others and sat on a random chair in the rear. The room could have
housed over a hundred mech designers. With only sixteen people present, the place
had obviously seen better times. "It is the time for our monthly update. For the
six of you who transferred in recently, this meeting serves to bring us all on the
same page." The old woman nodded to Ves and the other temps. "Let us begin with
everyone’s
works. Journeymen, please present your progress." The Journeyman Mech Designers
who led their individual design teams walked up to the front and projected their
results. Ves watched keenly as he got to see the details of the other two actively
developed designs. The 6th Flagrant Vandals started up as a spaceborn mech regiment
in order to raid Vesian shipping lines. Only later on did they acquire the
capability to field mechs on land. Still, spaceborn combat remained the norm among
the Vandals as most of the time they couldn’t afford to stick around a star system
long enough to go through the trouble of descending and ascending from orbit. The
most widely-used design in active development was therefore the Inheritor line of
spaceborn light skirmishers. Their small stature enabled the Vandals to fabricate
them fast and cheap from the Wolf Mother’s own production lines. Their simple
nature also lowered the burden of training rookie pilots into becoming proficient
in piloting these mechs. "We failed to find any means to reduce the weight of the
cockpit by zero-pointthree percent while retaining the same level of protection. I
have personally tried to vary different shapes and sizes, but the current iteration
is already highly optimised. Tweaking the ratios of the alloys used to construct
the cockpit has led to a minor amount of weight savings, but will also weaken the
cockpit by a disproportionate amount." As the Journeyman in charge of its
development reported on his team’s progress, Ves understood more of the nuances of
its design. The Inheritor aimed to be fast. It had to be nimble enough to turn on
the fly and powerful enough to accelerate to a great speed. The Inheritor relied on
these strengths to close the distance quickly and tear apart vulnerable ranged
mechs with its twin knives. This was extremely hard to accomplish on a light mech
which needed to devote a substantial amount of internal volume to its flight
system. "How much progress have you accomplished in decreasing the size of the
Inheritor’s flight system?" Velten asked from the side. "We accomplished a little
bit more in that area. The Mech Corps recently released new formulas for alloys and
composite materials. I’ve selected the formulas that are most compatible to the
Inheritor’s flight system and tried to simulate what would happen if we substitute
the old formulas with the new ones. Most outcomes didn’t come out in our favor, but
I’ve tasked my team to tweak the design in order to provide a better fit for the
new formulas. These results look more promising, as you can see on this
projection." Ves paid a lot of attention on this particular topic. He lacked first-
hand experience in working with actual flight systems. Working with outdated flight
systems for virtual mechs didn’t count in his eyes. He noticed that every other
mech designer paid a lot of attention as well. In a way, this was a valuable
opportunity for the Apprentices to listen in to the insights of a Journeyman Mech
Designer. As Ves learned more about the development process of the Inheritor, he
found out that the current state of the Inheritor was in a very good place. Its
relative lack of complexity made it easier to tweak some of its elements without
throwing everything else into chaos. Of course, the mech designers faced many
limitations as well. They weren’t allowed to exceed the Inheritor’s mass and
volume, no matter how much of an improvement they achieved. This truly frustrated
the designers who worked on the Inheritor because they accumulated a list of over a
hundred easy changes they could implement if only the Vandals relaxed the
restrictions. "To sum up my report, I truly believe it will benefit the Vandals if
we can convince Colonel Lowenfield to agree to a two-point-five percent increase in
mass and three-point-seven percent increase in volume for the Inheritor design.
There are so many new innovations just waiting to be implemented." Professor Velten
nodded gently. "I will take your words under advisement in my next meeting with the
colonel." In other words, nothing would change and the status quo persisted. The
Journeyman must have realized it as well and looked deflated as he returned to his
seat. Another Journeyman went up to report on the work done on the Akkara line of
heavy landbound mechs. The 6th Flagrant Vandals predominantly used Vesian mechs,
which was very unusual for a mech regiment of the Republic. They didn’t buy these
mechs from the market and neither did they fabricate them in-house. Instead, they
stole the brand-new machines by raiding mech manufacturers or scavenged damaged
ones from battles. The Vandals had become so adept at sourcing mechs in this manner
that they stopped ordering mechs from the Mech Corps entirely. There was only one
downside. They couldn’t get their hands on any heavy mechs. Only a proper military
force fielded heavy mechs. To the Vandals, they could only obtain Vesian heavy
mechs by raiding military bases or attack proper Vesian mech regiments. The Vandals
would be crazy to do so. The losses they’d sustain in any single assault wouldn’t
make up for the acquisition of a couple of heavy mechs. So, as burdensome as it
sounded, the Vandals had to continue to develop their own heavy mech design. "We’ve
finally solved the air intake issue for cycling the heat build-up. It turns out
that the filters we placed to protect the mechanisms aren’t coping too well when it
comes to moisture in the air." Compared to the more polished state of the Inheritor
design, the Akkara appeared to be a lot less refined. The development problems
outlined by the Journeyman sounded a lot more basic and impactful. They weren’t
dealing with a highly optimised design. The Akkara was still a work in progress.
"We are still unable to determine whether it is better to stick with the older
targeting system that is relatively reliable or the newer one that is made
available by the Mech Corps." "What are the issues with the new system?" Velten
asked. "The newer targeting system isn’t interfacing properly with our design. We
don’t know why, but I think it’s because the Akkara possesses a lot more gun tubes
than it can cope." The Akkara heavy mech was a landbound mech that weighed so much
that the Vandals never moved them from beyond their landing sites. As the only
heavy mech of the Vandals, the Akkara distinctly served a defensive role. On land,
the Akkara’s moved on four legs to provide a stable firing platform. Dozens of
rapid-fire laser and ballistic cannons dotted its spider-shaped torso, allowing it
to bombard anything that approach from the ground and air. A special feature of the
Akkara was that it served as a weapon platform in space as well. Its heavy design
incorporated some of the traits more often seen on spaceborn mechs. This allowed
the Akkara mechs to stay relevant in space battles as well. Every Vandal combat
carrier incorporated special bunkers that enabled the Akkara to anchor its four
legs into the bunker structure and fire out its weapons from the well-placed slits.
"We’ve experimented with changing the layout of the cannon barrels, and have come
up with three alternatives that should better balance out the stresses placed upon
the mech whenever it fires off its ballistic cannons. One solution is better for
land and the other is better for space." Balancing out the Akkara’s performance on
land and in space demanded a lot from its design. Ves didn’t envy their design
team, because optimizing the mech for one environment often compromised its
performance in the other environment. Once the Journeyman listed out a bevy of
solutions, Alloc finally made his way up to the front. "My team has not made any
significant improvements to the Hellcat design." With those words, Alloc laid out
the reasons why, though Ves already predicted them. The spaceborn hybrid knight
incorporated too many systems. Thereby, a change in one system affected the
performance of the others, often in a detrimental way. This was a classic reason
why hybrid knights hadn’t become more prolific. "Lately, my work on drawing out
more strength from the Hellcat design through tweaking its software has met a wall.
I’ve already worked extensively in this area and most of my progress in the last
few months represent the easy solutions. Any further improvement requires an
exorbitant amount of time to dig up." Velten honed in on this remark. "So you
believe it is no longer worth your time to work on the programming of the Hellcat?"
"It is not cost-effective. All the bugs that I could think of have been squashed or
circumvented. Any further improvements demands lots of research. My time is better
spent on other things." "Very well then. If you believe there is no further merit
to put your attention in this area, then you may change your focus. What do you
have in mind?" "We are still working on strengthening and miniaturizing its
oversized flight system. Our core issue with the flight system is that it generates
a large amount of heat, something which our hybrid knight has never really learned
to cope with. I’d like to take a stab at improving its heat management systems."
The professor nodded in approval. "Research our options and present them to me in
private. I’ll derive a change in the Hellcat’s design according to the data that
you present to me. Continue on with the report." The rest of the report sounded
familiar to Ves, as he worked on them himself or helped his colleagues solve some
of their conundrums about them. The Hellcat design still hid a lot of secrets, but
Ves already understood the broad strokes. After Alloc finished his presentation and
returned to his seat, Professor Velten went up again and made an announcement.
"Pardon the secrecy that is hanging over the department. We needed to make sure
that Colen Lowenfield’s plans for the Wolf Mother hasn’t leaked." Everyone looked
at
each other in a worried manner. "Ma’am? Where are we right now?" "That’s a good
question." Velten smiled. "The Wolf Mother has just arrived at Tomalin System.
There is nothing special about this star system. It is an out of the way location
in the Tarry region. The reason why it is our focus is because we are about to meet
with the Vesian rebels." Everyone was taken aback at the news. They were actually
collaborating with rebels this time! Mech 431 Chapter 431 Collaborate "As you may
have heard, the 3rd Imodris Legion inflicted substantial damage to the Bright
Republic’s morale. Although the Republic can cope with the material damage of their
raids, it is much harder to restore the hearts of our citizens. The Mech Corps
therefore expects the Flagrant Vandals to pay back the Vesians in kind. Colonel
Lowenfield has therefore decided to pay back the 3rd Imodris Legion in kind by
striking at their dukedom." This alarmed Ves and some of the others because Imodris
was a prosperous dukedom situated in the interior of the Vesia Kingdom. The Vandals
would not only have to cross the border, they also needed to hop from star system
to star system without revealing their presence inside Vesian space. That was
almost impossible to accomplish. The moment the Vesians detected their presence
within the border, they would surely dispatch a hunting party to the Vandals. Owing
to their territorial advantage, the Vesians have an easier time to surround the
Vandals than the latter slipping the noose and returning to Republic space. "In the
short but illustrious history of the Flagrant Vandals, our regiment has deployed to
Imodris several times. Each time the alert garrisons of Imodris detected us
quickly, sparking harrowing fights where we broke through the blockades at heavy
costs. While the colonel does not intend to flinch from Imodris, neither can we
afford to make the same bull-headed approach." Therefore, the Vandals cultivated
some relations among the rebels. "With the help of the so-called Vesian
Revolutionary Front, Colonel Lowenfield is confident we can circumvent the strict
Vesian monitoring in their desolate star systems and approach a highly
industrialized planet without any forewarning." In other words, it was like
breaking into a heavy defended mansion by bribing the butler into letting them in.
The risks and perils of such a move could be imagined. Perhaps the ultimate plan
was a little more elaborate, but from what Ves heard so far, many things could go
wrong. The first and most important they should ask was whether they could trust
the rebels to keep their word. Professor Velten didn’t reveal too much about this.
"The colonel is handling it. We have collaborated with this group of
revolutionaries before, and they have been proven to be reliable as long as they
are handsomely paid. Admittedly, this raiding expedition can’t compare to the minor
border incursions we collaborated on before." From Professor Velten’s description,
the VRF didn’t sound like much. As a monarchy in a time where humans advanced to a
point where they settled half the galaxy, their existence was very controversial.
Those who grew up in the kingdoms and empires usually took their existence for
granted, but those who grew up in Republics and other forms of nonhereditary
governments thought of monarchies as backwards. This last point was a
generalisation, not an absolute. This meant that not every Vesian believed in
letting a bunch of spoiled and entitled nobles and royals dictate every facet of
their lives. A governance system where a small number won big would always present
a lot of losers. Those who suffered directly from the injustices within the kingdom
eventually formed several resistance groups. True to their chaotic nature and their
rejection of strong authority, they couldn’t manage to form a united front. The VRF
was one of the only rebel groups that still worked to unite the different
resistance movements together. They achieved limited success in this area as many
groups only paid lip service to this ideal. Nevertheless, it could not be denied
that the VRF was well-connected. However, this also increased the risk of
cooperating with them. The Vandals not only needed to trust the VRF, they also had
to put faith in their ability to persuade the local rebel movements into
facilitating this risky operation. "As of now, the Wolf Mother will enter into an
elevated state of readiness. Contact with the outside galaxy will be even more
restricted than before, so our database will no longer receive any updates from the
central database maintained by Mech Corps. Keep this in mind when you work on the
designs. You will not be able to rely on recent innovations to solve your
problems." Half of the mech designers in the room groaned. Quite a few of them
managed to solve long-standing problems by applying something that wasn’t possible
before. Cutting off the updates to the database forced them to revisit old methods
and try to get them to work. This was extremely slow and frustrating work.
"Professor?" Someone asked. "What kind of tweaks do we have to make to ready our
mechs for the coming battle?" "Good question. While I am unable to inform you of
our target, I am still allowed to relay some conditions. First, the star system is
heavily defended from space, but the Vesians pulled half of the defending mechs to
reinforce the frontlines. What remains of its garrisons consist of reserves, much
of them recruited from the local population." This was an important detail. "The
planet in question isn’t being run very well. The nobles in charge are decadent and
the planet has been running a deficit for years. The planetary administration is
forced to skimp on their services, which has made much of the underclass very mad.
It’s a breeding ground for rebels, and the VRF thinks they can convince the local
rebels into disabling some of the local defenses in orbit and letting us in." This
time, Ves raised his hand and asked a question. "Ma’am, why would the local rebels
agree to let their home planet suffer? Won’t we be making things worse for them by
raining down death and destruction?" "That is a valid point to make." The professor
nodded, yet waved her hand dismissively. "We have made the appropriate precautions.
We are more than aware of the risks and we know more about the Vesia Kingdom than
most of their citizens. Almost everyone in this state has a bone to pick with
someone else. This is nothing new for us." The Flagrant Vandals hadn’t run amuck in
enemy space without learning a thing or two about their enemy. Although most of the
time they operated alone, sometimes they cooperated with the local factions if they
needed access to a sensitive area. Although Professor Velten didn’t intimate
anything of the sort, Ves read more from her answer and the way she chose to answer
it than she wanted to reveal. If Ves wasn’t wrong, one of the major reasons the
Vandals stayed afloat up until now was because it also collaborated with the noble
factions! Though Ves kept his expressions neutral, inwardly he felt shocked at the
audacity of it all. He would bet that no one in high command even knew about this!
What would the Mech Corps think if one of their mech regiments collaborated
directly with a faction of the Kingdom? The news alone would shock the entire
Republic! Professor Velten couldn’t blame his level of observation. Ves heard many
stories about some of the murkier deeds of the Mech Corps from his father and the
other Larkinsons. Even then, none of those tales matched the brazenness in which
the Vandals shook hands with the Vesians. Ves guessed that the Vandals only
cooperated in an opportunistic fashion. The rivalry among the Vesian nobles was
legendary, and the Vandals probably presented themselves to discontented nobles as
a convenient way to ruin their rivals. As the meeting wrapped up, Professor Velten
called up the Journeymen to hold a more private discussion while letting the
Apprentices enjoy a rare break. Ves, Laida and Pierce gathered around in a corner
turned into a makeshift lounge area. A couple of comfortable chairs and sofas
provided an oasis of calm during the most frustrating moments of work. Pierce
looked at Ves and Laida with a questioning pair of eyes. "Have you two been getting
overwhelmed by the work they pile up on your desk?" Laida nodded. "The Inheritor
design is frustrating. Nevermind that it’s a spaceborn mech and that I only
specialize in aerial mechs, but the Inheritor is showing its age. There is hardly
anything we can improve without drastically overhauling its design." "So it’s a
legacy design?" "It’s not old to the point to be called a legacy, but it’s design
originated from the first half of this current mech generation. We are now late in
the cycle and there are several major advancements in currentgen technology that we
are missing out on for the Inheritor because the effort required to transform every
Inheritor mech in existence is too much." The Inheritor mechs serve as the
workhorse of the Vandals. It was one of their most common mechs, and highlighted
their preference for close-ranged combat against other mechs. "Ves, what do you
think about the Inheritor?" Laida asked him in a way that made it hard for him to
withhold his answer. "I don’t know. I’ve never seen the Flagrant Vandals in action
besides some incidental battle footage. To me, the Vandals are living at the edge
of the moment. It’s true that fielding lots of light mechs is cheap and easy, but
that lack of weight will cost them dearly if they are ever forced into a position
to fight against a proper Vesian mech regiment. For example, any of the 3rd Imodris
Legion’s regiments can smash them into pieces." "That’s counterbalanced by the fact
that they are easier to pilot and excellent in overtaking supply convoys." This was
why the Vandals regarded the Inheritor so
highly. The Vandals faced a lot of difficulties in recruiting capable mech pilots.
Any recruit with promise would be snapped up by the more desirable regiments. The
Vandals mostly received the dregs the service. They couldn’t do much against mech
pilots with attitude problems, but those with lack of talent in piloting could
still be brought up as cannon fodder inside an Inheritor mech. Compared to Laida,
Pierce faced a very different problem with the Akkara. "Heavy mechs are different
from light mechs. There’s much more leeway in their design. Even though it’s rather
old as well, its internal architecture changed so much over the years that I can
hardly call it outdated. My team has done well in updating it to the latest
standard. The only problem is that our implementations fall short." "Because there
are too many systems inside a heavy mech, am I right?" "That’s right. My father
once taught me that it is a heavy commitment if you wish to embark on designing a
heavy mech. The Akkara design is a basket case of incompatibilities. There is
hardly any optimisation done because the Wolf Mother’s processors would crash if we
threw too many things at it. Heavy mechs should be designed in proper research
bases, not aboard a factory ship." Lack of manpower and computing power slowed down
the development of the Akkara design. It was a very unsubtle mech and required
brute force to solve many of its problem. "Is your design team biting off more than
they can chew?" "That’s an understatement!" Pierce huffed. "In my eyes, while the
Akkara design fills an important gap in the lineup of the Vandals, we can’t keep up
with the complexities of this parade horse." Ves could have said the same. Though
the problems with the Hellcat didn’t sound so extreme as the Akkara, a hybrid
knight came with its own bag of issues. "All three designs developed internally by
the Vandals have one thing in common." Ves remarked as he put his mind on them.
"They’re products of pride." "Pride?" Ves shrugged a bit. "Maybe you can call it
stubbornness. If the Flagrant Vandals wanted to, they could have borrowed a ready-
made design from the central database. I’m sure the Mech Corps developed a raft of
highlyoptimised designs of a light skirmisher, a medium hybrid knight and a heavy
cannoneer." "Why stick to the current designs then?" "Because every mech regiment
prides their own identity. Only rarely will a mech regiment borrow a design cooked
up by other design teams within the Mech Corps because that would be admitting that
they can’t wipe their own butts." "That’s crazy." Laida murmured as she shook her
head. "We’re not like any other mech regiment. Our design team is less than a fifth
the size of any other team. We can only cope with developing one design at most."
No matter how much they think the current policy was stupid, none of it could be
changed. Ves sighed and sank down into his sesat. "This isn’t the only area where
the Vandals are sticking to their guns. These guys have taken self-sufficiency to
an unprecedented height for a mech regiment of the Mech Corps. It’s baked into
their DNA." That has served the Vandals well so far, but how long could they go on
in the same manner? Eventually, they would hit a wall. Chapter 432 Conflicting
Directions Ever since Ves embarked on the path to become a mech designer, he
progressed at a rapid pace. He liked to think he learned to see things others
didn’t. Though his place among the Vandals only allowed him to observe a tiny part
of their functioning, what he derived from it worried him a lot. Ves placed his
hand against the surface of the bulkhead and felt its cold metallic touch. The Wolf
Mother traveled through a succession of star systems. Each time the ship exited
FTL, the entire ship underwent a minor upheaval. It spoke much about the haphazard
way the Wolf Mother grew to her current form. Yet despite this side effect, nothing
suffered any ill effects. The resourceful crew of the Wolf Mother timed their most
critical operations around the schedule of transitions. They made sure that the
production lines didn’t work on something delicate whenever the ship entered or
dropped out of FTL. "You’re tougher than you look like." Much of what made the
Vandals survive up to now came down to their ingenuity. They scraped by with a
fraction of the resources that a proper mech regiment enjoyed. Though he found
their design development plans to be perplexing and the legality of some of their
actions a little iffy, he had to admit that the Vandals was the top regiment in the
Republic in terms of resourcefulness alone. Having lived among them and observed
them up close made Ves a little sympathetic to their cause. Despite their outward
displays of cynicism, they still retained a core of discipline and duty. With
regards to his work, his routine remained the same, though Alloc finally started to
notice that Ves finished his work faster than others. Now that he ceased to be
preoccupied with tinkering with the software of the Hellcat, Alloc finally spent
more time watching over the mech designers working under him. Compared to the other
Apprentices, Ves stood out in how relaxed he approached his assignments. At some
time, Alloc pulled Ves aside into a private office. The Journeyman Mech Designer
stared at the younger man with a penetrating stare. "Ves, according to the logs in
your terminal, the speed at which you are nailing down the right numbers is a
little frightening. It’s so out of bounds that I’ve been testing you with a number
of different problems. The way you work with math and physics is frankly
frightening for a mech designer of your age. Who are you?" "I’m Ves Larkinson, no
one else. As for how I got to be so good, didn’t you read my record?" "I’ve seen
nominal disciples to Masters in action before. None of them have rocketed upwards
as fast as you." Alloc frowned as he tried to crack the secret behind Ves’ ascent.
"Though I don’t specialize in Physics, the ease at which you solve complex issues
related to this field surpasses what I’m capable of. Are you an alien or
something?" Ves laughed a little. "Sir, though my genes are kind of mixed up right
now, I’m still a human in heart and blood. My life experiences are a little
different from others." One thing that Ves was most afraid of was eliciting Alloc’s
jealousy. It would be extremely depressing if his direct superior wanted to squash
Ves down due to being unable to tolerate someone younger being better than an
actual Journeyman. It appeared that Ves did not have to worry about that account.
As much as Alloc enjoyed his own status, the dire state of the 6th Flagrant Vandals
and the Hellcat design team had left Alloc in a state where extra talent and
manpower should be cherished. "You’re an anomaly, Ves." Alloc concluded with utmost
seriousness. "I can’t quite put my thumb on you. Nothing in your record makes
sense.The only way to explain it is if some unknown influence is cultivating you."
Ves could say nothing against that. He couldn’t mention anything about the Mech
Designer System and how it had been a massive aid to his mech design career. He
would rather let Alloc make his own conclusions. After some time, Alloc nodded and
smacked his fist against his palm. "I understand why the Mech Corps sent someone as
promising as you to the Vandals. Unlike headquarters, we don’t care about your
allegiances at all. You’re aboard the Wolf Mother just like the rest, so I hardly
believe you would do anything that would go against our interests. We are literally
on the same boat in that regard." Though Ves felt a little pissed that Alloc
casually questioned his loyalties like that, he was smart enough not to make a fuss
about it. This was a critical moment for him. Opening his mouth would just ruin his
chances. "I’ve decided now. Since we’re so short-handed, I’ll let you pick your own
assignments. I’ll increase your privileges so that you can access the planning and
the list of issues for the Hellcat design. I don’t have the authority to unlock the
entire design schematics to you, but you should have plenty to do with the access
you already have." "Thank you, sir! You won’t regret your decision!" "You better
not slack off, Ves. The Flagrant Vandals has already joined the main fleet, and we
have already crossed the borders. While I can’t predict how much time it takes to
reach the Imodris Duchy, try to present some solid results within a month. Any
longer and we won’t have the time to implement any improvements you’ve made to our
existing Hellcats." Ves promised to respect the confidentiality of the information
made available to him. Satisfied, Alloc delivered on his promise and raised the
amount of files Ves could access. Among the miscellaneous documents that Alloc
unlocked for Ves, the most important piece of information was the succinct list of
issues and problems facing the Hellcat. They consisted of observations made by the
mech pilots that handled the Hellcats and the problems foreseen by the mech
designers themselves. All of the problems amounted to a very long list, though most
seemed rather trivial. Still, for a perfectionist like Ves, he became dismayed when
he finally realized the extent of the imperfections. "This is only the tip of the
iceberg." Many more problems wracked the Hellcat design. They just hadn’t been
observed yet. "Let’s forget about the problems out of sight. The visible ones alone
are more than enough to keep me busy for years." Alloc took a chance in increasing
the privileges enjoyed by Ves, but unspoken in that move was that his superior
expected more things. Ves needed to prove his chops and repay Alloc’s trust. Not
everyone responded well to his increase in responsibilities. Something like this
couldn’t be hidden from the other Apprentices. "Sir! I protest! Mr. Larkinson is
just a temp! He’s the last person among us who should be handling
all of that sensitive information!" Alloc happened to have a very effective
response to that argument. "Tell that to me once you can outsmart Mr. Larkinson."
No one dared to make that claim. In the previous weeks, Ves painstakingly
demonstrated his competence, which much have surely damaged their confidence.
Though he was an outsider who only joined the Hellcat design team due to the war,
his presence had already improved their efficiency. Though the Apprentices didn’t
look resigned, they could only keep their opinions to themselves. They stared
enviously as Ves browsed the expanded database in a leisurely manner. "What shall I
tackle?" Ves had no time to pay attention to everyone else’s stares. Alloc expected
great results from him, so Ves needed to pick something impactful that fell within
his capabilities to solve. Not a lot of problems met this criteria. He flicked
through each and every problem on the list. Even if he rejected most of them, it
was still valuable for him to read this list. "Hmmm... software again, not my cup
of tea. Increasing the actuation speed of the legs, sounds more interesting, but
that’s hardly consequential for a spaceborn mech. "Enhancing the power of the
wrist-mounted nail drivers... that sounds interesting." The nail drivers served a
small purpose to the Hellcat design, perhaps too small. Due to weight and space
constraints, the nail driver only accommodated four nails in total. This was highly
limiting and only really gave the Hellcat an extra lifeline in certain situations.
"Can I increase the power of the nail driver or overhaul its internal mechanisms?"
He already thought of a couple of tweaks, but a bigger solution remained elusive.
Professor Velten must have gone over this problem plenty of times and this time was
no different. The nail drivers enjoyed her personal attention for a time and she
optimized the nail drivers to the point where she couldn’t come up with more gains.
As Ves studied the schematics of the nail driver and some other components, he also
perceived the flavor of Professor Velten’s design philosophy. It felt a bit
strange. Since the Hellcat was a collaborative project, the purity of its design
was rather muddled. Still, Professor Velten’s imprint stood head and shoulders
above everyone elese’s, including the minor work that Ves imparted on the design up
to now. "Ves found it difficult to describe Professor Velten’s design philosophy.
"Perpetuance? No. "timelessness, enduring, fading." One of the hidden dangers in
the Hellcat design was that Ves faintly sensed some weaknesses seeping into the
heart of its design. For some reason, Professor Velten started to lose her love for
the design. Ves couldn’t blame her. The Hellcat’s numerous demands tore it apart.
It needed to fly, use up three weapon systems at once and it needed to be
wellprotected as well. It was enough to hear his heart out! Though he didn’t think
well of the Hellcat, the way the Vandals made the most out of the design made Ves
realize that not all mechs had to be technical masterpieces. "A good mech isn’t
necessarily the one with the best specs or the strongest XFactor. The best mech is
the machine that gets the job done. In this regard, the Hellcat made a definite
impression on the enemy. Therefore, Ves found it regretful that Professor Velten
started to slide. "I can’t let this downward trend go on. Whatever is going on with
Professor Velten, she can’t leave her own work in the dust like this. It deserves
more." In choosing where to start first, Ves no longer relied on the data included
in the reports. Instead, he closed his eyes and started to commune with the design
on a spiritual level. It was hard, incredibly hard. In order to understand the
nucleus of this mech, Ves needed to cut through all of the interference. Too many
people used to work on this design. Their mixed sentiments polluted the design and
made it harder for Ves to get a read on the design. Ves continually refined his
methods, but they only amounted to a limited amount of improvement. What Ves got
out of the Hellcat design was decidedly mixed. He perceived conflicting emotions
from two unknown designers that nonetheless left a huge mark on the design. "Seems
like Professor Velten hadn’t designed this mech after all. She inherited from other
Seniors." The imprints of those two echoes were so strong and distinct that they
couldn’t be anything else but Senior Mech Designers. Though Ves couldn’t get a
solid read on the design itself, Ves figured he could infer some of its core traits
by interpreting the imprints from the Seniors. This was a very fascinating
experience, and despite appearing like a lazy idiot in the presence of the other
mech designers, Ves cheerfully plunged into the depths of the two distinct flavors.
"Interesting!" Much of the issues surrounding the Hellcat design could be traced
back to its original designers. They possessed very distinct outlooks and wanted to
pull the Hellcat into two seperate directions. One designer favored defense, and
possessed a lot of experience in designing knights. The other designer emphasized
versatility, and must have possessed a substantial amount of experience in
designing hybrid and multipurpose mechs. Both of them somehow ended up working on
the same project, and from the looks of it, neither of them possessed authority
over the other. They had been forced to cooperate on equal terms. "What a tragedy."
Whoever ordered them to do so didn’t know anything about mech design. With no
obvious lead designer in charge of the project, the Hellcat grew in scope and its
featured ballooned to its present bloated state. Though they did a remarkable job
in slimming down its internals, the interconnectedness of it all hadn’t aged the
Hellcat very well. "It’s a design that’s difficult to update." Chapter 433 Rotten
Core As a spaceborn hybrid mech design, the Hellcat had been stretched into two
opposite directions right at the onset of its conception. In the eyes of someone
like Ves, he would argue that the Hellcat lacked a unifying vision that could have
guided the design to better straits. "It’s as if two stubborn kids wanted to play
with the same doll and stretched it out between them as they tried to claim sole
ownership over the toy." The consequences to this could be imagined. The Hellcat,
with its incongruous tiger head and substantially armored build looked like a cross
between two very different mechs. The addition of the nail drivers and the missile
launchers seemed more like gimmicks tacked on as an afterthought rather than a
mainstay that the mech could rely on to save the day. "At least the Caesar Augustus
can rely on its miniature laser cannons to take out targets just out of range of
its sword." The Caesar Augustus was a much more inferior mech in terms of specs and
scope, but the mere fact that it had been designed by a single mech designer who
knew what he wanted made it a more coherent design. Compared to the first work of
an Apprentice Mech Designer, the Hellcat incorporated many advanced techniques and
applications. Even after studying the additional documents made available to him,
Ves hardly understood how the original designers managed to stuff so much
capabilities in so little space. Nevertheless, the current foibles with the Hellcat
design underscored that technical prowess couldn’t compensate for a lack of vision.
"It’s not that it can’t be done, but this is just a case where the original
designers didn’t leave any leeway for the future." Ves found it sad that such a
promising design had been born with what effectively amounted to a deformity. It
didn’t became very evident at birth, but as it grew older, the design started to
crack and show its weaknesses. Therefore, the responsibilities piled up on the
shoulders of the Hellcat design team was too much for them to cope. Even Ves
couldn’t steer away a ship that was determined to travel right into a sun. Sadly,
even if Alloc and Professor Velten were aware of this critical fault, they couldn’t
convince the Vandals to replace their prestige mechs with a different design.
Organizational inertia meant that the design team needed to stick with this
creaking product no matter how much it fell apart. "How depressing." This important
realization put his role into perspective. He shouldn’t attempt to do anything too
ambitious. With his current level of skill, he had no chance in revamping the
design to a healthy state. The best he could describe its situation was that the
longevity of the design was running out. Rather than extending its useful lifetime,
Ves could only improve some minor performance parameters in order to let the
Hellcat make the most out of its final years of active use. Ves had no doubt that
the Vandals would eventually be forced to drop the Hellcat design during this war.
The Vesian mech designers faced a lot of pressure in improving their own designs,
and if the Hellcat failed to keep up, its end would come sooner or later. "That’s
something that will happen at least a year from now on. For now, the Hellcat is
still a viable mech." He returned to the list of problems and decided to tackle an
issue that was challenging but one he could also complete within a month. It
concerned a very persistent problem regarding the energy efficiency of the mech.
The Hellcat’s high performance metrics and ability to make an immediate impact on
the battlefield came at a cost. The power draw was enormous and the heat that it
built up was very problematic for a mech in space. When the design originally came
into being, the original designers already mitigated these issues. However, as the
years passed and the design kept being tweaked to keep up with the current times,
the old optimisations in terms of power draw and heat dispersal ceased to work as
effectively. The design had strayed too much from its old lines, and the
introduction
of new components complicated the internal architecture in ways that made it much
less efficient. It all sounded boring to a bystander, but the veteran mech pilots
that have piloted the Hellcat for years became increasingly frustrated at this
downward trend. The report on the problem came with a quote from a very pissed off
mech pilot. "Why is it that the Hellcat keeps getting worse? I don’t care about
faster flight systems and more lethal nail drivers! I just want a mech that can
last an entire fight! Hell, it won’t even last a short skirmish sometimes. Fix this
issue immediately or roll back the design to an older version!" The problem had
obviously brewed for an extended period of time. The Hellcat design team should
have been more responsive on this issue, but for some reason they kept on holding
to the same course. In all honesty, solving this issue required a multi-
disciplinary approach. Ves wasn’t sure if he possessed the right breadth and depth
of skills to be able to provide a solution to this problem. After all, neither
Alloc nor Professor Velten had done anything about it, though that might be because
they had bigger things in mind. "In any case, this is a useful starting point to
prove my worth. It’s a very legitimate problem that needs solving anyhow." Ves
began to dive into his work by investigation the evolution of the design in recent
years. He wanted to trace back the changes to specific changes in the design so he
could come up with localized solutions. All of this was boring and tedious, but Ves
never lost his motivation. Several weeks went by in a fog as Ves single-mindedly
focused on this sole issue alone. He made a substantial amount of progress, but the
sheer amount of changes left him a little fatigued. It was too much work to
establish the consequences of every single change to the design. To be honest, he
was being stymied by the sheer level of interconnectedness of the design. His
inability to understand the Hellcat down to its roots also didn’t help. There was a
level of depth and complexity to each of its shapes. Ves felt like he was toddler
looking at a painting and ruining it by dabbling his fingers through paint and
raking them across the canvas. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, his solutions
only made things worse. Still, at least he made some progress, however sluggish it
turned out to be. Any progress was better than no progress at all, but it defied
the high hopes he had started with. Ves grossly underestimated the actual challenge
of reshaping an already completed design at the Senior level. "My progress is too
slow." Ves muttered as he furrowed his brows. Several weeks into his task, and he
only completed a fourth of what he should have accomplished. A lack of
understanding lay at the heart of his inability to progress. He couldn’t do much to
advance his understanding of the higher-level concepts that made Journeyman and
Senior Mech Designers unique. Short of breaking through himself, Ves would have to
accept that his perspective would be limited for the time being. He could still
advance his understanding in a different direction, something which he already did
quite well. Therefore, one day, Ves put down his work and marched up to Alloc.
"Sir?" "What is it, Ves?" "I’d like to request an opportunity to witness the
Hellcat in action. I’ve spent a substantial amount of time with its design, but I
still only have a vague idea of how this mech is supposed to perform in action."
Alloc frowned and turned away from his work. "A mech designer is supposed to be
content with the design schematics alone. There shouldn’t be any need to see a real
Hellcat." "Respectfully, that’s not the way I work. The best I can describe it is
that I design my mechs from feeling. Without a feel for a design, I can’t work with
it as well as I ought to. The Hellcat is at least ten times more complex than
anything I’ve ever worked on before, so it is even more vital for me to get a
handle on the mech action." "I’m not inclined to grant your request. I’m under
orders to keep temps like you in one place. It’s going to take a lot of effort to
convince Professor Velten to grant an exception for you." Ves already expected
something like this, so he provided an immediate response to that argument. Ves
waved his hand, causing his comm to transfer his work up to now. "Look at what I’ve
accomplished. This is only a fraction of what I am able to do." Curious, Alloc
turned to his terminal and studied some of the solutions that Ves came up with.
They weren’t anything groundbreaking, nor did they improve the performance of the
Hellcat by a substantial amount. Nevertheless, it was already impressive for an
Apprentice Mech Designer to lessen the problem of excessive power draw by a
fraction of a percentage point without negatively affecting anything else. "Hm."
The Journeyman quickly processed the solutions Ves came up with. "These solutions
don’t seem half-bad. We’ll need to perform a lot more simulations in order to
verify their soundness, but you have made a substantial contribution to our design
team." Ves sensed a caveat there. "This does not mean that I can allow you to run
off to the mech pilots and pester them to show off their Hellcats to you. You have
to realize that there is a time and place for things. We do not allow anyone to
come into contact with a Vandal." In the end, Ves did not receive approval and had
to go back empty-handed. Why didn’t Alloc grant his seemingly reasonable request?
One possible explanation stood out. "There must be something going on that can’t be
leaked." Ves thought back on what the recent announcements were about. The Colonel
Lowenfield intended to sneak the 6th Flagrant Vandals all the way to the Imodris
Duchy from the border. This was a daunting task for any mech regiment that hailed
from the Kingdom’s mortal enemy. The only way the Vandals could get this far
without detection was if they enlisted the help of the local rebels. "Have the
Vesian rebels already rendezvoused with the fleet?" The idea was frightening, but
sounded very real. Perhaps the Vesian Revolutionary Front hadn’t come with a
handful of emissaries, but brought a couple of carriers and mechs along for the
ride as well. This basically meant that a mech regiment of the Republic willingly
joined hands with an element of the Vesia Kingdom! It did not matter if the Vandals
struck a deal with the rebels, the mere fact that they owed their allegiance to
Vesia, if not for the Kingdom, was a huge affront if news ever leaked! "Why would
the Vesian rebels accompany the Vandals with their own war assets?" It didn’t make
any sense. The 6th Flagrant Vandals might not be very impressive compared to the
rest of the Mech Corps, but it was a proper mech regiment at its core. Ves tried to
wrack his brains but couldn’t come up with any satisfactory explanation except for
one. "What if they lied to us?" This was a very serious accusation to make, and a
tenuous one as well since Ves based this conclusion off a series of very wild
conjectures. Still, it reinforced his impression that something shady was going on
with the Vandals right now. Perhaps their presumed mission of penetrating deep into
Vesian space in order to raid their industrial planet wasn’t so simple after all.
"All of this is wild talk without evidence." Without confirmations, his ideas
remained ideas. Although he had a very overactive imagination, sometimes the truth
often turned out to be simpler than he suspected. Still, Ves wasn’t comfortable
with staying put. If nothing else, he had a duty to follow the leads and see where
he ended up. "There’s too much at stake. I can’t afford to be negligent." Chapter
434 Higher Concepts Ever since he started questioning the motives of the 6th
Flagrant Vandals, Ves regarded his posting in a different light. The undercurrent
of discontent and the general apathy towards the Mech Corps may not be confined to
the lower ranks. What if the underlings merely reflected the honest attitudes of
their superiors? Sitting behind his terminal, Ves turned around his head and
regarded Alloc and the Apprentices in a different light. Besides the temp sent from
the Rittersberg region, the others all had a couple years of service under their
belt. Curiously, not many mech designers in the design department of the Vandals
stuck around for more than half a decade or so. Alloc happened to be one of the few
exceptions due to being mentored by Professor Velten. Everyone else seemed to have
been sent to the Vandals as punishment or exile. Could he talk to them about his
concerns? "No." Ves did not kid himself that he could find a place aboard the Wolf
Mother without any form of monitoring. Having left his personal comm with the
Privacy Shield behind on Cloudy Curtain, he no longer possessed any means of
blocking any electronic ears and eyes pointed in his direction. "Besides, where do
their loyalties lie?" Not every mech designer entered the private sector and
started a business to sell their own mechs. Some wanted an easier path in life, so
they applied to established mech manufacturers or design studios to exercise their
craft. Naturally, only those with promise received the best job offerings where
they could actually be involved in the design of a mech. Average mech designers
stood no chance in obtaining an important position, and would always devolve in a
glorified technicians. In fact, a large number of chief technicians graduated with
a degree in mech design, only to be relegated to a job in the mech stables or mech
workshops. The same pattern persisted in the military. The Mech Corps relied on
many different mech designs, and they needed a huge number of mech designers to
keep their mechs fresh and up to date. Working in the Mech Corps formed a
particularly attractive prospect to most mech designers. They pay was bad, but the
benefits were good
and every mech designer assigned to a design team received varying levels of
access to the central database, which not only contained lots of designs and
exclusive technologies, but also contained a library of very valuable textbooks.
All of this made working for the Mech Corps a good starting point for any mech
designer that lacked the confidence to dive into the cutthroat competitive private
sector. Once they served for twenty years or more and retired from the service,
they would be in a much better position to enter the market. "Since the mech
designers in the service value their time here so much, why don’t I see any older
ones?" While the Apprentice Mech Designers aboard the Wolf Mother varied in age,
they tended to be in their thirties or younger. What Ves really paid attention to
was that none of them had been in the design department for long. "Where are all
the veteran designers?" Had they been transferred out or cashiered, or did
something else happen to them? Ves tried to approach the topic in an oblique manner
when he conversed with some of the Apprentices during mealtime. "Say, our teams are
awfully short-handed." He said in a casual manner as he ate his soup next to a
colleague. "Why aren’t the higher ups increasing their effort at expanding our
teams?" The tired man munched on a meatpie for a bit before he answered. "No one
wants to come and work for the Vandals. We’re the refuse pit of the Vandals. You
don’t volunteer to work for us, you get sent here. And while the Mech Corps loves
to dump all their problem cases in our laps, they’ll be accused of committing war
crimes if they did that to every mech designer they don’t like." They both chuckled
a bit at that. "It’s not so bad here. Sure, the Vandals are a little shabbier than
most, but we still have plenty of room in our three design teams. My question is
why are we so chronically undermanned? This isn’t a new phenomenon." "I don’t know
what to say." The other mech designer shrugged, though he seemed a little more
reticent this time. "There used to be some mech designers in our team that are
senior to me. They served for a couple of years but their exhaustion continued to
grow. They would have collapsed sooner or later." "Did they?" "Professor Velten
approached them before they got to that point. The professor offered to transfer
them to a new, exciting and secret design team far away from the Wolf Mother. I
don’t know all the details, but from what I’ve seen from the faces of the mech
designers who accepted, they all looked ecstatic." "Did every mech designer accept
the transfer?" "Yup. You’d be a fool not to. While I appreciate the chance to
contribute to the Hellcat design, it will ruin you if you try to work with it for
more than a handful of years. There’s something very corrosive about this design
that grates at your sanity. I don’t know how to describe it. All I know is that I’m
already feeling that my limit is within sight." This sounded very strange to Ves.
He put down his spoon and faced his colleague with open eyes. "Why is the Hellcat
design so damaging?" "I asked Alloc one day, and he said that the Hellcat is a
design that incorporates transcendent concepts that only Journeyman Mech Designers
and higher could handle. It’s always said that Apprentices aren’t mature in the
field of mech design, and I guess this is one of the most important reasons why."
Ves believed this statement. It explained much of how the mech industry worked. He
only heard an inkling about it during his studies, probably so that the professors
could shield them from the truth, but it might indeed be the case that advanced
designs possessed such an effect. He even figured that it might be related to the
intangible qualities of a mech, but that shouldn’t be it. Ves did not perceive
anything damaging during his own investigation of the Hellcat. It was likely the
other mech designer was right, and that it was a case of overstraining the mind
when dealing with concepts beyond the means of understanding. There were plenty of
secrets hidden in plain sight, and Ves might eventually go crazy as well if he dove
too deep in the design nuances of the Hellcat. After Ves finished his dinner, he
left on his own accord. For the next several days, he broached the same topic to a
couple of other mech designers. Ves wasn’t close with any of them so didn’t receive
any good answers, but he figured that they believed that nothing sinister was at
play. The key takeaway from his questioning was that the story he heard possessed
an element of truth. Mech designers indeed needed to get away from a design that
was slowly driving them insane. What Ves wanted to know was where they went. As far
as Ves was aware of, the 6th Flagrant Vandals did not maintain a separate group of
mech designers. So where did those people work? Was it another mech regiment, or
something shadier? Ves ended up with more questions than answers, but he did not
believe he achieved a fruitless result. While he couldn’t follow up on his detail,
he believed that it might be very important down the line. "That still begs the
question that I haven’t been able to answer." He came no closer to finding out what
the Vandals planned to do. This frustrated him to no end, which slowed him down
when he was on duty. He wasn’t in the mood to improve the power efficiency of the
Hellcat when all he could think about was whether the Vandals committed treason.
There was a difference between breaking some rules and committing outright treason.
His initials impressions of the Vandals painted a picture of a tragic and neglected
mech regiment. Now though, Ves wondered if the Mech Corps might have a good reason
to keep the Vandals at arm’s length. "The Mech Corps isn’t in the habit of fooling
around unless it concerns internal rivalry." It was obvious that the Flagrant
Vandals fell outside of the dominant factions in the Mech Corps. They stood on
their own and had no one powerful to back them up. Even their own division pushed
them aside. It couldn’t be helped if the Vandals became disillusioned at being kept
on a leash. The only problem was that every mech designer was confined to a small
part of the massive factory ship. Besides those who liaised with the mech pilots
and mech designers, no one had gotten a glimpse of what happened at the heart of
the Vandals. Ves supposed that he could have tried to pry some information from
Alloc and Professor Velten, but he didn’t dare pull off any tricks in their
presence. Both were not only busy, but they could also be remarkably perceptive if
they directed their full attention to him. The only saving grace was that they
prioritized their own work over looking over the shoulders of their subordinates.
"Am I in a dead end?" He was unwilling to let his inquiry end so soon without
grasping even a hint of the truth. Though everything seemed fine and nothing might
be wrong, he would never feel at ease among the Vandals as long as his questions
remained unanswered. "I need an opportunity." So far, he failed to receive any
dispensations from Alloc, but Ves did not intend to give up now. Perhaps he needed
to work a little longer in order to appear dependable enough to be sent on liaison
assignments. For now, the key was to excel in his work. After squaring away his
doubts and uncertainties, Ves dove back into his work. This time, his results
improved, and Ves managed to optimize the Hellcat design in a marginally better
way. Just before the start of Professor Velten’s next conference, Ves handed over
the final set of solutions to Alloc. They were less dramatic than he hoped, but all
of his solutions should be sound. Alloc only briefly skimmed through his work.
"I’ll take them up to the Professor the next time I see her, but you did a good
job." "Thank you, sir. I was hoping for better, though." The Journeyman released a
cynical smile. "We all do, but the Hellcat does everything in its way to thwart our
efforts." In the end, Ves grudgingly received Alloc’s approval to continue working
on his own pace. This was important to Ves because he would be able to continue to
pick out the best assignments. At the next conference meeting, a routine of sorts
had already settled. The Professor made some inconsequential announcements while
the Journeyman walked to the front to mention their latest excuses why they hadn’t
made any better progress. Professor Velten appeared to be paying serious attention,
but Ves questioned whether her mind was even present. Sometimes the old lady
doddored off. After the conference, Professor Velten suddenly turned around and
called up Ves. "Mr. Larkinson! Please come with me!" For a moment, Ves thought he
had been caught. Yet no one really paid any attention to the call besides Laida and
Pierce. With some reluctance, Ves filed into the Professor’s private office and sat
down in front of the Senior Mech Designer. She immediately broached the topic as
soon as he sat down. "It has come to my attention that you are a relatively
successful mech designer." Why did she ask him that? "Success is a difficult term
to quantify, but arguably yes, I do believe I have done well." "When your records
first came into my view, I did not think much of your prior experience. An
Apprentice with only two original designs under his belt is barely a genuine mech
designer. So it is a surprise for me to hear that you are one of the primary mech
designers of a design that’s been all the rage in the market right now." "Huh? Ah,
what I mean is, which design is selling well?" "The Crystal Lord, your landbound
rifleman mech design." Chapter 435 The Cage Ever since Ves entered the clutches of
the Mech Corps, he became isolated to the outside galaxy. In an age where spying
and leaking sensitive data was trivially easy, the military organization undertook
extreme measures in order to keep their rank and file from revealing
anything they shouldn’t have. While the Flagrant Vandals might not see eye-to-eye
with the upper hierarchy, they happened to be in total agreement with regards to
operational security. As a mech regiment that regularly invaded Vesian space, any
incautious leaks might even devastate their numbers. Therefore, access points to
the outside galaxy was extremely limited and heavily monitored. The moment Ves
revealed a hint of propriety, his entire terminal would shut off. Thus, over the
past couple of months, Ves had no idea how the LMC fared in his absence. In truth,
he didn’t really worry about their fate. The company was in decent hands and it
offered two solid original designs in its catalog. The Blackbeak medium knight
already proved to be an enduring seller. Even if the market for offensive knights
started to become somewhat saturated, demand for the LMC’s homebuilt silver label
editions was projected to remained high for at least a couple more years. Ves was
much less certain about the newly-introduced Crystal Lord design. Though it carried
over much of the qualities of the Blackbeak, the different type and the range of
improvements he incorporated in the design made it an unquestionably more promising
mech. The Blackbeak was meant to compete in a niche, while the Crystal Lord had
been designed to challenge the dominant mainstream mechs that was responsible for
the bulk of of the sales for rifleman mechs. It had a lot of things going for it.
The premium licenses and materials allowed it to outperform cheaper models and Ves
had Superpublished the design on top of that. Its current performance parameters
fit well in a multi-year conflict with the Vesians. More crucially, the Crystal
Lord was the first design that broke into the coveted B-grade for the X-Factor.
While Ves did not truly understand what this new height of X-Factor meant, he bet
that the mech pilots who got to pilot a Crystal Lord must be feeling very
privileged about piloting such a smooth machine. Lastly, the Crystal Lord also
incorporated some gimmicks based off alien crystal technology. Though it was hardly
anything groundbreaking compared to the heights that humanity had reached, crystal
technology like this was rare in a backwater state like the Bright Republic. It
should perform particularly well against mechs that predominantly relied on lasers.
All in all, the Crystal Lord possessed all of the elements to be a breakout
success. Yet even as Ves had high hopes for his second original design, the mech
market for rifleman mechs was extremely competitive. Realistically, all three
labels of the Crystal Lord should have priced themselves out of consideration for
most potential buyers. Therefore, it came at a surprise to him that Professor
Velten indicated otherwise. "May I know how well my Crystal Lord design is doing?"
Though Ves faced heavy restrictions in terms of how much information he could get
in touch with, the Senior Mech Designer faced no such constraints. She easy
answered his question. "The Crystal Lord has been something of an anomaly when you
first released it onto the market. They didn’t know what to make of it, and sales
have stayed modest for the first month. Expert opinions about your design is
decidedly mixed, with many of them recommending their audience to stay away." To an
outside pundit who had never seen a Crystal Lord in person, its value proposition
seemed like a bad deal. Rather than break the bank by buying a single overpriced
rifleman mech, it was much more efficient to buy two affordable rifleman mechs for
the same amount of credits. "What changed since then, professor?" She eyed him with
a curious look. "The early adopters of your models discovered two advantages that
aren’t present in many other mechs. First, your gimmick is a lot more useful than
anyone has thought. Wielding a lighter laser rifle and possessing more advanced
defenses against energy weapons on the chest helps keep the mechs alive during the
most intensive engagements." "The Crystal Lord has seen action?" "Vesian raids have
intensified. They have likely been emboldened by the daring raids of the 3rd
Imodris Legion. The pressure we are facing back at the home front is immense.
Mercenaries are forced to repel small raiding parties that have sneaked through the
gaps in our defense lines." Though Ves paid the most attention to the Crystal Mech,
he couldn’t help but feel a little reassured from the way Professor Velten spoke
about Republic space. At least outwardly, she still displayed kinship with their
state. "The Mech Legion fields a substantial number of mechs armed with laser
weapons. Against these mechs, your Crystal Lord has stood out as the mech with one
of the highest rates of survival. Normal rifleman mechs regularly get trashed,
that’s why they are so cheap. Yours is a little more effective than usual into
keeping it and its pilot alive, and that ends up amounting to a substantial amount
of cost savings." Ves nodded in a modest manner. "That is also my intention, ma’am.
The Crystal Lord is supposed to be a long-term investment. Its true value will
manifest over the years. You mentioned a second reason for the surging demand for
my mech. Can you tell me what it is?" Her eyes grew a little sharper at that, and
she tried to peer into his soul through his eyes. Ves carefully maintained his
posture and met her gaze with a neutral look. "Every mech pilot that has ever
piloted a copy of the Crystal Lord has turned into its raving fans. It has garnered
a die-hard following that is continuing to grow the more people get in touch with
it, no matter the shape it comes in. Bronze label, silver label, gold label, every
edition of your mech exhibit the same concerning trend. Even the virtual copies of
the Crystal Lord is distressingly effective in converting people into your fans."
It should have been good news for Ves, but instead he started to sweat inside. Had
he overdone it? During the early testing, the X-Factor never exhibited such radical
effects on a mech pilot’s psyche. "Are people accusing me of brainwashing my
pilots?" Fortunately, Velten shook her head. "This is not a repeat of the Farund
Affair, if that is what you are worried about. Even though the pundits can say
whatever they want, the truth is that the Mech Trade Association validated your
design. This carries a lot of weight among us. To be sure that your company and its
partners haven’t been producing mechs that deviated from the official design, the
MTA has dispatched some investigators and inspected their premises. All of the
companies involved have been cleared." Ves knew that he was innocent, but the MTA
didn’t know that. They needed to verify his company’s products and their operations
on their own in order to determine the facts. "I take it no one believes my company
has tampered with the neural interfaces?" "Yes. The controversy has died down after
several critics have attempted to dismantle the neural interfaces. In hindsight,
their exuberance can be attributed to how extensively you’ve met their demands. You
possess an extremely keen understanding of what mech pilots seek from their
machines." Was Professor Velten probing him whether he benefited from a Mastery?
Ves instinctively moved to deny the implicit suspicion, but quickly hesitated. The
reason why he would want to keep it under wraps because he wouldn’t be able to
explain how he got to enjoy this exclusive privilege that Master Mech Designers
only reserved for their prized direct disciples. As someone who fell outside that
coveted category, Ves shouldn’t have received so much nurturing. Yet did that
matter if Professor Velten very likely wouldn’t find out the truth? Mastery was a
sensitive topic at best, and those who experienced it already showed its benefits
through their work. Velten had no reason to follow up because she could already
access his top level design schematics from the MTA and see for herself. His
response to this situation was critically important and might govern the rest of
his stay with the Vandals. There was a risk that the truth might leak out that he
gained his Masteries through a more dubious source. Yet Ves deemed the risk to be
acceptable in the face of what was at stake. His investigation into the truth of
the Vandals had come to a screeching halt due to the restrictions he faced. This
was a chance for him to loosen some of those restrictions and grant him wider
access to the secretive mech regiment. "This is supposed to be a secret, but my
designs are benefiting from the fact that I have gained two Masteries, one for
knight mechs and one for rifleman mechs." Velten did not respond with any surprise.
Instead, she raised a single eyebrow. "How curious. If the Mech Corps knew what
kind of mech designer you are, they would have never pushed you into our hands."
"It’s not something I wish to advertise." She grinned. "Indeed. Well, one mech
regiment’s misfortune is another blessing to the Flagrant Vandals. You’ve
demonstrated through your work in the private sector that you deeply understand the
demands of those we serve, the mech pilots who bravely pilot their mechs into the
most dangerous situations imaginable. Out of all three of the design teams under my
wing, no mech designer can say they have acquired a Mastery. Not even I have
enjoyed such a privilege..." Velten sounded somewhat regretful about that. Ves felt
it was a shame as well. At her age, her design philosophy had already taken shape.
She missed out on a lot during her formative years. As talented as she was back in
her youth, if she acquired some Masteries at that early stage, her career would
have skyrocketed, and there was a very real chance that she could have advanced to
Master. "What do you have in mind for me, professor?" "Mr. Larkinson, I see now
that your talents are grossly underutilized. The success of your Crystal Lord is
the
strongest proof of your abilities. Did you know that your company has shook hands
with over five third-party manufacturers, and they still can’t keep up with
demand?" Hearing that almost frightened Ves out of his chair. What was Calsie
doing?! Didn’t he tell her to pick her partners carefully? Going in bed with five
different mech manufacturers so soon was too fast! How would the LMC be able to
control the quality of their output? "I did not know that. I feel rather troubled,
actually." "Plans change. I can’t tell you much about this, but I believe your
company is on the right track. That is all you should know. The Mech Corps
maintains a policy of isolating its mech designers from the news of their own
companies. You are working for us, not the market." "I understand." Ves nodded.
That made a lot of sense. "In light of your newly unearthed strengths and your
diligent work ethic you’ve shown up to this point, I plan to elevate your position
under this department in order to best take advantage of your unique talents."
"What will my new position entail?" "You are to be appointed as our permanent
liaison to the mech pilots that utilize our homegrown designs. As someone who knows
mech pilots the best, you are eminently suitable to understand their specific
wishes and convey them to our design teams. Take the rest of the day off. You’ll
start on your new assignment tomorrow." "Thank you, professor!" This was exactly
what he wanted to hear! Though the manner in which he gained this assignment was a
little strange, he nonetheless escaped the cage the Vandals set among most of its
mech designers. Staying in this cage for months on end seemed like torture to Ves.
Though he loved to design mechs as any other designer in the teams, he would have
gone crazy if he worked with numbers and figures all day. Ves was a very hands-on
designer. Without seeing a mech in the flesh, he would never be able to understand
it as deeply as he wanted to. Now, he finally got the chance to see what the
Vandals were really like, starting with the mech pilots that formed the core of the
regiment. Chapter 436 Left Behind The Bright Republic truly transitioned into a war
footing by now. Spending on consumer goods decreased while spending on all things
related to war ballooned. Prices of basic goods already started to rise as everyone
started to stock up on basic goods. Food, water, weapons and more began to be sold
at greater quantities. This came at the cost of luxury goods, whose manufacturers
found it increasingly difficult to convince the citizens to spend their money
lavishly. "Will luxury be able to feed me when our planet is blockaded? Will the
most fashionable pair of shoes around be able to defend my children if the Vesians
want to take them away?" Most of the newer companies started to go bust while the
older, more conservative companies endured. They had gone through this rodeo many
times before, and squirreled away lots of liquidity and resources beforehand. This
largely mitigated the economic impact on the Bright Republic’s economy, though a
downturn in activity was inevitable. Although the Republic did not suffer a lot of
material damage in the opening stages of the war, the damage to morale was more
significant. Public confidence had taken a large nosedive ever since the 3rd
Imodris Legion stomped their boots all over of the Bentheim region. While the
aggressive Vesians didn’t have the guts to attack a stronghold, their strategy of
attacking many lightly-defended targets succeeded in harming the spirit of the
citizens who lived on those same rural planets. That the Mech Corps never caught up
to Lady Amalia’s legion before it successfully returned to Vesian space really
struck as a blow to the Mech Corps. The will of the people was a very ephemeral
entity. It could swing up and down depending on the most notable events. Right now,
everyone went about their lives with their heads bent a little down. Ever since the
war broke out, the Vesians had marched through tons of border systems. While the
Mech Corps achieved some victories here and there, the larger trend made the
Vesians seem as if they were on fire. The veterans and the elderly knew that this
wasn’t anything unusual. The Mech Corps purposely drew back their lines and
consolidated their defenses. Their counterattack would come sooner or later after
the Mech Legion ran out of steam. The Vesians always had a tendency to overextend.
"You ain’t seen nothing yet, son. The Vesian bastards don’t move as one. Their
nobles are a bunch of jackals who only think for themselves. Just you wait. They’ll
split up eventually." In the meantime, many planets increased their defenses and
started to recruit more militia from the populace, even if they didn’t possess the
right aptitude to pilot mechs. Though it was a generally accepted fact that a non-
mech force would never be able to defeat a force of mechs, norms still played a
vitally important role in many areas. Besides acting in a support capacity, regular
humans also fought as infantry or in manned vehicles such as tanks and aircraft.
After all, a mech force was good at destroying things, but they weren’t too
suitable in occupying conquered planets and couldn’t reach everywhere. Infantry,
tanks and aircraft might not play the main role, but they provided an effective
form of support to any mech force. However, recruitment was heavily stymied by the
fact that it wasn’t very popular to join these branches of service. Pretty much
every action drama that have been broadcast in the last four-hundred years depicted
them as easilybeaten foils to any enemy mechs that wandered along. If the citizens
wouldn’t volunteer, then the state just had to push them along. Already, several
waves of conscription swept the populace. They mostly picked up the unemployed
youth and young adults who had been laid off when the companies they worked at
shuttered their doors or downsized their operations due to the difficult economic
conditions. This further depressed the general mood in the Republic and made it
seem awfully empty at times. On Cloudy Curtain, Calsie watched over the premises of
the Mech Nursery. The white-faced office structures blended harmoniously with the
trees planted in their midst. They also neatly hid the ugly forms of Sanyal-Ablin’s
defensive turrets. She looked a far cry from the college graduate from before. She
underwent a minor makeover that made her appear more mature, though the wisps of
youth was still present under her makeup. She wore a white power suit that mentally
stiffened her spine. She sorely needed all the help she could get in order to
browbeat the different interest groups involved with the LMC to comply with her
directives. Somehow, she managed. Running a company as its temporary boss wasn’t
easy, but she enjoyed plenty of help. Under her tentative leadership, the company
largely followed the same trend as before. The Living Mech Corporation had just
expanded its number of production lines from three to five. This allowed the
company to produce the silver label Blackbeaks and Crystal Lords without
excessively neglecting either of the two highly sought after mech models. The doors
to the penthouse office suddenly opened, allowing Melkor to enter the expansive
space. The maturing Larkinson was the only other person besides Calsie who
possessed unfettered access to the office that used to be occupied by Ves. "How is
the training coming along, commander?" "The ’rookies’ we’ve recruited have are
starting to show signs of advanced coordination, ma’am. They’ve always been ready
for battle, since we only signed up experienced mech pilots, but it’s hard work to
get them to unlearn their previous routines and get them to adopt our own." "Will
the Avatars of Myth be able to repel a company of the 5th Vavulan Chasseurs if they
come again?" "Not quite, ma’am. The Chasseurs are a battle-hardened mech pilots
with centuries of tradition to guide them. They aren’t pushovers and they won’t be
cowed by the current state of my men. It will take years of training to get to that
point. The only edge we have is our advanced mechs." The Avatars of Myth employed
the Crystal Lord in greater numbers than anyone else. Not only did they possess
four exclusive gold label copies, they also fielded a whopping twenty silver label
Crystal Lords. Fabricating them all out of the LMC’s own pocket cost the company a
lot. Almost the entire board of directors howled when Calsie and Melkor came up
with the plan, but they pushed through regardless of the pain. At least Grandpa
Benjamin remained ambivalent about the matter. Naturally, the LMC also spent itself
broke by expanding their number of production lines. They had no choice but to go
further into debt, with the excuse that the company would be better off with the
extra defenses. Though the LMC’s mountain of debt had ballooned, the production
lines had been put to good use. Mechs started flying off the premises as fast as
they could produce, and the extra per-unit licensing fees streaming in from the
third-party manufacturers did much to reassure the frazzled Financial Department.
"Do you think we’ve moved too fast?" Calsie asked as she turned away from the
window and its marvellous view. "I’ve taken the company into a direction that won’t
make Ves very happy. We’re knee-deep in debt and heavily reliant on our partners to
keep the sales volume of our prodcut lines high." Melkor dismissively huffed. "Ves
is a little too selfish for his own good. He expects everything to dance at the
palm of his hands. I’m not an expert in business, but from what I see, the faster
we get things done, the better we’re all off. We needed those mechs in our hands as
fast as possible." "Why so? Are the Vesians winning?" "Not as such. Simply think of
it as a contingency. It’s better to go into debt and have the mechs ready than the
other
way around. The previous raid on the Mech Nursery has made that more than clear to
me. What does a healthy balance sheet mean against the Mech Legion? No matter how
exemplary the LMC handles its finances, it’s of little use when civilization gets
thrown out the window in order to make way for war. The only thing that counts in a
fight is how many mechs and weapons we possess. That’s the true measure of wealth
in my eyes. Ma’am." "Excellently said, commander. Money that’s sitting in the bank
is of no use at all when the Mech Legion comes again. Only money that is spent on
increasing our strength can make a difference during wartime." Calsie replied with
a smile. She always felt uneasy about her decisions, but Melkor’s reasoning
provided her with the mental crutch she needed to alleviate her guilt. "I’m sure
that Ves won’t be pleased if he returns from his tour of service with the Mech
Nursery in ruins." Compared to this piece of mind, dealing with difficult and pushy
creditors hardly seemed like a bother to her now. "Why have you come? Our next
scheduled meeting is in three days." "It’s about the Crystal Lord. I’ve finished my
own investigation about its... effects." "Oh? Do tell me the results." As the mech
pilot of one of the coveted gold label Crystal Lord mechs, Melkor possessed a
unique opportunity to experience the best of what Ves had fashioned into being.
"Piloting the Crystal Lord is an entire experience. There is nothing routine about
this mech. Everything I enter the cockpit and before I even engage the neural
interface, I feel as if my mech is already welcoming me home." "What do you mean?
Are you saying that the Crystal Lord is running an AI even in its active state?"
"Nothing like that, ma’am. It’s... hard to describe. I can feel from my heart that
I belong to my mech, and my mech belongs to me. Even now, I can’t bear to be away
from my precious mech." "That sounds unhealthy. Have you checked with the doctors?"
"We have performed more than enough tests to rule out any explicit brainwashing. In
that, our investigations concur with the ones done by the Mech Corps and any other
pundit who have tested this out." "Then I don’t see what the problem is. Certainly,
the reason why you feel addicted to your mech is because it’s a really good
machine, right?" "Right. Something like that. My apologies, ma’am. I’m not the best
with words." "No need to apologise. You are doing good work as the commander of a
company-sized outfit." The two discussed a little bit more about the Crystal Lord.
Since the Avatars possessed the largest amount of Crystal Lords, they gained a lot
of practical insights about the model. Melkor conveyed what they learned to Calsie
so she could use the information to tweak the marketing of the product or introduce
some other changes. As they spoke, they kept a respectful distance from each other,
both physically and status-wise. For whatever reason, Ves chose to appoint Calsie
at the helm, so she took precedence over the mech pilot. Melkor didn’t mind. As
long as Calsie did a decent job and avoided steering the LMC into disaster, he
wouldn’t mind taking orders from her. Of course, he constantly kept his eye on her
in the event she took the wrong turn. "How is the ship component of the Avatars
doing? Your force is about to receive the first Trieste-class light carrier from
the shipyard, if I recall. Are you prepared?" "To be honest, no." Melkor shook his
head. "We’re having difficulty recruiting competent and reliable spacers to staff a
single ship, let alone two. Fleet Commander Rofane is doing his best, but the
hiring market is practically dried up. Anyone with the skills to serve on a
spaceship have already been snapped up by companies and outfits left and right."
"This doesn’t sound very good." Calsie frowned. "Can’t we hire from abroad?" "I’m
not very keen to hire foreign spacers. The chance of something going wrong is
unacceptably high. I’d rather keep the light carriers in a depot collecting dust
than rush them into use while they are riddled with hidden threats." "What does
Rofane think?" "The fleet commander is less than enthused by my opinions. In his
view, spacers are spacers. Once they sail the endless night, they have renounced
their ties to the land. He’s a true-blooded spaceborn ship driver, that’s for
sure." Fleet Commander Rofane had been recommended to lead the ship contingent of
the Avatars by Captain Silvestra. He was an old but boisterous barrel of a man who
worked for several mercenary corps in his lifetime. Though he was highly competent
and his record was straight, he possessed rather strong beliefs about the
superiority of spaceborn humans over their landbound counterparts. Keeping the
outspoken fleet commander in line was very troublesome to Melkor. Chapter 437
Shifting Agendas "On some days, I regret accepting Rofane into the fold." Melkor
continued. "He’s constantly pushing me to lift the restrictions on recruiting
foreigners so he can hire more spaceborn spacers. I don’t want to make the problem
any worse than it is right now with him alone, so I’ve been fobbing him off." "I’m
not sure if Ves will mind too much if you recruit some people who come from another
state. As long as they aren’t Vesians and are willing to commit to the Avatars,
they should be fine and dandy." Melkor shook his head. "I can’t take the risk,
ma’am. Although Ves explicitly set up the Avatars of Myth to serve as his personal
force, true loyalty can’t be bought. We are much more like a mercenary corps in
that regard. Nationality is the only thing we have in common. Once I throw that
away, the Avatars would have nothing else to bind them all together." As much as
Melkor wanted to loosen the reins, he resisted the temptation. It was better to
solve the problem over time rather than commit to an irreversible course of action.
"For now, we have no need for you to deploy the Avatars elsewhere, but that might
change in the future." For now, the Avatars of Myth had been tasked with defending
the Mech Nursery. The lack of ships didn’t affect their operations as long as they
stuck to this mission. Still, circumstances changed, and if a crisis ever happened
in a different star system, the Avatars would be forced to rely on others to
transport their mechs to their destination. This took way too much time and money,
and transport services generally refused to convey a shipment of mechs into danger.
This highlighted the eventual need to own a wholly-owned carrier fleet. Now that he
was here, Melkor might as well get some other things off his chest. "By the way,
though I try to stay out of your business decisions, aren’t you intertwining the
LMC a little too deeply with Cloudy Curtain?" Almost as soon as Ves entered the
Mech Corps and dropped off the grid, Calsie implemented a fairly significant policy
change within the company. Under the reign of Ves, the LMC had always stood aloof
from local politics and society. Besides settling on the planet, pushing some
marketing and paying some taxes, the company didn’t make itself felt. Calsie
changed all of that. She rejected the premise that the LMC benefited best if it
took on a completely neutral stance. Instead, she firmly pushed the LMC into a path
of greater integration and cooperation with local stakeholders. This policy of
engagement took on many forms. For example, as deep as the LMC was already in debt,
it spared some cash to subsidize the underfunded mech academies of Freslin. The
institutions all praised the LMC for the muchneeded rain of funds. On a higher
level, the LMC also started to support some of the initiatives of the newly
emboldened Pioneers, mostly by putting in a good word for the business-friendly
activists. With the Greens and the White Doves suffering from an unprecedented
amount of indignation, the Pioneers was at the cusp of taking over the thoroughly
discredited Planetary Assembly. To Melkor, the growing relationship between the LMC
and the Pioneers started to reek. "I don’t have to justify my decisions to you, but
if you must know, a company can’t settle on a planet and pretend its a silo. The
LMC is the most prominent company on Cloudy Curtain. How can it not give back to
the community that has welcomed it with open arms?" "I wouldn’t exactly describe it
in that way, ma’a’m." "Then let me rephrase it in a blunter manner." Calsie spoke.
"The politics are rather turbulent right now. While the Republic’s investigators
ultimately failed to find the culprits of the self-sabotage incident, everyone and
their dogs know it’s the White Doves who are at fault. While they can still rely on
the support of hardcore pacifists, average people have left their side in droves.
This is the time the Pioneers need to make their case. As long as we can help them
overcome this hurdle, the LMC will be rewarded with countless of benefits!" "I take
it you will receive some benefits as well?" "This isn’t about me." Calsie shook her
head. "This is about the future of the LMC. The company can’t ignore politics, and
the Pioneers can’t achieve their aims without some help from local businesses. Only
through combining our strengths will we both be able to achieve our goals and
better everyone’s lives. This is called corporate social responsibility." The woman
sounded so slick when she said those words that Melkor could hardly think of a
retort. Melkor knew that Calsie had always been connected with the Pioneers, but
the way she flagrantly defied Ves in keeping the LMC neutral was something else.
She made a very persuasive case why this was the best decision. "Don’t take it too
far. When Ves returns, he’ll have some words to say to you." "I am aware of the
consequences, commander. However, may I remind you that Ves didn’t put a bot in
charge of the LMC. He wanted a human to represent his wishes because he needed
someone who could think in this position. From a logical
perspective, there are way too many reasons why we should get in bed with the
Pioneers and not enough reasons to stick to ourselves." "If that is what you think,
ma’am." Melkor couldn’t argue any further because the unofficial partnership paid a
lot of dividends. They already got a lot of things done, the most important of
which was to steer the decision to rebuild Cloudy Curtain’s spaceport at Freslin
instead of Orinoco. This provided a lot of convenience to the LMC as it constantly
shipped in raw materials and shipped out finished mechs. As Calsie and Melkor
discussed some other matters, life went on at Cloudy Curtain. One of the more
impactful ways the LMC intruded into the sphere of the local inhabitants was that
it took over or set up various businesses in Freslin under an LMC-branded
investment group. They mainly took on the form of sports and social clubs, as
culture was something that Cloudy Curtain had always been lagging behind. The LMC
also took over the faltering businesses of local craftsmen and entrepreneurs who
offered something unique but never gained enough exposure and market reach. The
city of Freslin lapped it all up. The entire local region experienced an upsurge in
interest as the LMC single-handedly brought up its educational, cultural and
business standards. "That mech company is the best thing to grace our planet since
our founding!" "Mr. Larkinson is a hero to us! Even as he’s gotten rich, he hasn’t
forgotten about the little man!" "We should kick the White Doves off our planet! To
think they want to deprive us of all of these benefits. When I think back on how I
supported them in the past, I should have deserved a kick in the head!" While
Freslin experienced an upsurge, the nominal capital of Cloudy Curtain suffered from
a worsening sentiment. None of the cheer from Freslin had managed to reach as far
as Orinoco. As the rescue services excavated the corpses and the construction
companies cleaned up the ruins, the city was at a crossroads on how to proceed. The
average citizens started to lose faith in the ruling coalition, and that was really
bad, because the people in Orinoco used to be their strongest supporters. The
Greens began to distance themselves from their bosom buddy. Although the Greens and
the White Doves were often mentioned in the same sentence as if they were a single
entity, in truth the Greens believed in somewhat distinct ideals. This was why they
also escaped much of the blame that had befallen the White Doves. Pretty much
everyone in Orinoco believed they had been behind the bombs that exploded the
spaceport and headquarters of several important businesses in the city. Though they
full-heartedly denied the accusations, public opinion did not care for the absence
of proof. The White Doves possessed the right motive, and that was enough to
establish a link. "Look at how Freslin is partying every day. Why can’t we get some
of that love?" "As long as the White Doves are in charge over here, there’s no way
in hell the LMC will think about us." "Maybe it’s time the White Doves take a hike
and build a hippy enclave in the wilderness. There’s plenty of open space on our
planet. They can pack up their stupid beliefs and take them away from here so we
can finally enjoy some economic development!" "Let’s kick out the Greens as well!
They love their forests so much that they can build a city in the trees!" As much
as public sentiment had turned against the established powers, change was rather
slow in coming. Cloudy Curtain was still coming off a state of emergency, and a war
raged on the wider Republic. For now, the ruling coalition earned a grace period
which they could use to shore up their falterning support. In the background, the
representatives of the two dominant farming consortiums looked at the changes being
wrought on Cloudy Curtain. Their expressions didn’t look happy. "We have been
hiding our claws for far too long. Whoever among us who predicted that the LMC
would stay a small and niche mech manufacturer has obviously missed the mark." "How
can I know that this devilish Mr. Larkinson is such an abnormally good mech
designer?! The speed in which he progressed is inhuman! Don’t forget that all you
initially dismissed him as a threat early on!" "Now now, settle down. This is no
time for recriminations. Despite the worrying trends happening on our planet, it is
not a given that we should make a move." Someone from the Luvon Consortium stood
up. "We can’t stand by and let the White Doves collapse on itself!" "We can and we
will." A powerful voice from the Raleigh Consortium interjected. "No matter how
much we dislike the direction that Cloudy Curtain is heading, we should adapt to
the times. Our previous posture of total isolation is a mistake." "You are sounding
dangerously like a Pioneer." "Pioneer, Green, White Dove, these are all labels.
What matters is keeping our Consortiums relevant. As much as the LMC sucks up all
the spotlight right now, the farms of Cloudy Curtain will always be its main export
product." The conference fell to a momentary silence. Tension ratcheted up between
the Raleigh Consortium, which favored the Greens, and the Luvon Consortium, who
supported the White Doves. Eventually, someone from the Luvons spoke. "We are not
willing to let our political enterprise fall like that. To that end, we have
prepared a plan that can reverse our setbacks and return the planet to the old
order." "What are you cooking up?" "Something drastic. I’m afraid I can’t say.
Leaking the details would be devastating to us and our cause. Let us take care of
everything. I can guarantee you that the LMC will cease to exist when we enact our
plans." The conference ended with those ominous words. The Raleigh Family exhibited
a lot of worry about the plans of their historical allies, but without any further
information, they could do nothing but stand from the sidelines. "The Luvons talk
big, but they are the ones who let the LMC grow from a cub into a tiger." "These
long years of peace on our planet has ossified their minds. Maybe we should
seriously consider the overtures from the Pioneers from now on." "Let us not act
too hastily. I’m not sure what the Luvons intend to do, but it shouldn’t concern
our interests. No matter who comes out on top, we should wait until the outcome is
clear." "As much as the alliance between the LMC and the Pioneers is growing in
strength, the Raleighs and their White Doves are stronger than they appear. It’s
not a given that they will lose. It depends on how much strength they want to
reveal to the galaxy." Chapter 438 Barras At the border regions, the war raged on.
Occasionally, the Vesians pushed forth hard, leading to battles that engulfed
thousands of mechs at once. The outcomes of those battles were decidedly mixed.
Most of the times, even if the Brighters repelled the Vesians, they sustained just
as much losses. Both sides would be economically ruined if they continued to lose
so many mechs at once, so after the initial pushes, the Vesians slowed their pace
by a little bit. Nonetheless, the Vesian aggression could not be contained. The
need for the nobles to one-up each other and distinguish themselves in battle led
to grueling back-to-back battles in some of the hotspots of the border regions.
Planets like Citadel Havensworth became littered with so much wrecks that neither
side could afford the time to salvage them all. It was said that during a war, the
true facets of man would be revealed. Many mech pilots who thought themselves
heroes turned out to be the first to eject. Others went through life without
challenges, but measured up in the face of adversity, such as Ghanso Larkinson of
the 1st Volari Starhawks. Most mech pilots didn’t exhibit any differences. They
knew their calling in life and signed up to pilot a mech knowing that they would
face the Vesians in battle. Even someone who disdained the war such as Melinda
Larkinson resolved to do their duty. Despite their noble striving, the war did not
go in the Bright Republic’s favor. The Vesians scored several important victories
that brought strategic star systems into their fold. Each star system that fell
paved the way for deeper incursions into Republic space. One remote star system
close to the border faced a small but determined assault from a Vesian mech
regiment known as the 3rd Kallas Carabiniers. The Carabiniers heavily favored
medium rifleman mechs in their mech lineup. Versatile and deadly in great numbers,
they trained extensively and came up with many advanced tactics to maximize the
potential of their ranged mechs. Right now, the Herendal System which held a modest
amount of mines suffered an invasion by this regiment. The Mech Corps only
stationed a couple of mech companies on the planet, and none of them were line
units capable of facing the Vesians in a head-on clash. The only way the defenders
of the only inhabited planet of Herendal could keep their grip on the system was to
employ a large amount of mercenaries. Several large-scale mercenary corps answered
the call. Though the mission entailed a lot of risks, the they payoff was big so
long as the Vesians didn’t invade. With regards to missions, every mercenary corps
hoped to spend some months in quiet, boring patrols. Though they earned their
living from their battle capabilities, fighting the Mech Legion was a daunting
prospect. In general, the Mech Legion did not often bother to invade small,
unimportant star systems. Mercenary commanders relied on this fact to gamble on
their missions. If they lucked out, they enjoyed a nice vacation while earning lots
of pay to boot. If their luck fell short, then they’d be forced to back up their
commitments and do their best to fight off the Vesians. Barras Swan happened to
have chosen badly. As the commander of a medium-sized band of mechs called the
Orange Liskers, he chose
to gamble on a quiet posting to the Herendal System. Though the star system was a
little closer to the frontlines than he liked, the Liskers needed the pay as it
went deep into debt to replace its previous battle losses. "I should have never
bought this mech! Though if I did, I would have never experienced this beauty
either!" The reason why Barras was so desperate to earn a large reward was because
he impulsively ordered a copy of the Crystal Lord. Even though he only purchased
the bronze label version of this line of mechs, the expenditure almost broke the
Liskers, with many of the rank and file grumbling why Barras spent so much but only
kept the best for himself. He was guilty in charge. The truth was that Barras felt
tired about piloting another subpar rifleman mech that cost around 20-30 million
credits. He thought about buying a new mech in the price segment above that figure,
but when he heard about the amazing capabilities of the Crystal Lord, he settled
his eyes on the ominous-looking model as soon as possible. Some days, he regretted
his purchase, and on other days he felt thankful about it. For now, Barras felt
both as his battered Crystal Lord continued to run through the brownish forest of
this terraformed planet. Barras panted inside the cockpit of his Crystal Lord.
"It’s been two days already! How can they still be in pursuit?!" The swift and
nimble mechs of the 3rd Kallas Carabiniers landed on Herendal with a splash. They
immediately smashed apart the mech companies of the Mech Corps before turning their
firepower to the mercenaries that tried to come to the aid of the defending mechs.
All hell broke loose. The critical fault that brought the defenders down was that
they consisted of many different outfits. The Mech Corps occasionally bossed them
around, but they lacked convincing power due to their limited numbers. Right now,
the Carabiniers succeeded in smashing hundreds of mechs at a time by defeating the
different outfits one by one. They actively shied away from larger concentration of
mercs, and only engaged when they outnumbered their prey. It was a very despicable
way to fight, but it worked. The Carabiniers moved fast and managed to hit the
outfits before they finished their preparations. Right now, they employed their
considerable edge in speed into hunting down the stragglers that split in every
direction and ran for the hills. "Goddammit, I should have never gave in to my
greed!" A scattering of laser beams struck from behind. The raking fire briefly
added another scorch mark to his Crystal Lord’s back. Yet remarkably, the rear
armor largely held up. The thin layer of Veltrex armor proved to be highly
effective in absorbing short bursts of energy weapon fire. As long as Barras
immediately jinked his mech, he could make sure that no single spot on his mech
suffered from a sustained burst of fire. "At least I’m getting my money’s worth!"
The combination of armor and speed on the Crystal Lord allowed for unexpected
synergies. It performed extremely well against laser weapons, which happened to be
the mainstay weapon of the Kallas Carabiniers. The Crystal Lord lasted much longer
against them for that reason alone. Still, that hadn’t been enough to turn the tide
in the opening battle of the Orange Liskers. Barras had to witness first-hand how
each of his trusted comrades-in-arms faltered due to the disparity in discipline
and battle spirit. Some of them managed to eject, while others breathed their last
on Herendal. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but Barras quickly shook them
away. Everyone who took up the mercenary life accepted the risks that came with
this vocation. It was a rough and dangerous life, but one which mech pilots also
enjoyed a lot of freedom. Thoughts of vengeance percolated in his mind. Barras
checked his fuel and battery reserves and noted that both were critically low. Even
if his mech provided him with an amazing amount of endurance, two days of constant
chasing took their toll. "I can’t run any further without shaking off my pursuers."
The Crystal Lord slowed down in its steps as Barras prepared his exhausted mind for
yet another battle, which might be his last this time. The pursuing mechs emerged
from the trees, and as soon as they got a clear view of the Crystal Lord, they
fired their laser rifles at it without hesitation. Some of the laser fire raked the
crystal embedded in the center of the chest, while the rest of the energy splashed
harmlessly against the armor of the premium mech, though some sections of plating
started to get dangerously thin. Barras ignored incoming fire and aimed carefully
before shooting a highpowered beam from his surprisingly slim rifle. The laser hit
one of the Carabinier mech and burned a nasty gash at its leg armor. Though the
laser failed to penetrate the internals, another hit might finish the job. As
Barras waited for his rifle to cycle away the heat, he immersed himself in his mech
and moved nimbly between the trees. Though the tree trunks looked substantial, they
could not be used as cover as most laser beams instantly burned through them.
Barras mainly took the presence of the trees as mental comfort. "Three opponents.
They’ve been running for a while as well. They don’t look as fresh as before." The
Carabiniers had split up their forces in order to mop up the routed defenders.
While the models of the Carabiniers couldn’t rival the longevity of the Crystal
Lord, they regularly rotated the mechs on the field by deploying transports in the
air. The fact that they secured orbital and aerial supremacy meant that they could
shuttle around their mechs with near-impunity. However, they still needed to be
cautious in the presence of an enemy ranged mech like the Crystal Lord. Barras
almost managed to burn through the armor of one transport that strayed too near.
"If my estimates on their timing is correct, then this trio should have been
switched out in an hour. This is the best time for me to thwart their pursuit!"
Barras hated himself for getting away when much of his men and women got killed or
captured by the Carabiniers. He channeled his fury through his mech, who seemed to
be as eager for battle as him. Several strange insights started to flow past his
mind as his mind studied the terrain and his opponents for any potential
opportunities. "There!" Barras drove his Crystal Lord back, which sprung like a
gymnast as it turned around and ran towards a certain destination. The three
Carabiniers jumped in pursuit. The Crystal Lord didn’t need to run very far before
it reached a rushing river. Barras hesitated for a moment, but jumped his mech knee
deep into the waters. A large bout of steam escaped from the lower surface of the
mech as the persistent heat it built up started to dissipate into the cold, rushing
water. The Carabiniers caught up again and started to fire at the Crystal Lord. Due
to being in the water, its mobility had become affected, leading to serious damage.
Some of the internals even started to get exposed! That was when the Crystal Lord
unleashed two laser beams at once. It bracketed the Carabinier with the damaged leg
from two directions. Though the mech dodged away from an incoming beam, it did not
expect the other beam released from the Crystal Lord’s chest. It got hit in the
leg! "Yes!" Barras quickly adjusted the aim of his rifle and managed to compound
upon the damage to the leg of the faltering mech. Its momentary slowdown proved
fatal as the laser beams finally burned past the thin leg armor and wrecked the
internals. The Carabinier mech collapsed onto its knees. Barras had no time to
finish it off. It kept wading through the waters, moving away from the immobilized
mech while the other two Carabiniers focused on taking down their persistent prey.
"Hahahaha!" Barras laughed as he saw the chest crystal getting charged up again.
Though its capacity wasn’t very great, it fired off many times more than the
crystal of a gold label mech. Again, Barras repeated the same trick that snagged
another Carabinier. This time, he hit the mech in the chest, which didn’t amount to
a lot of damage. "Damn!" It took a couple of successive hits to finally penetrate
its chest armor. At this point, the Carabinier who piloted the mech fell back. It
had no choice but to do so, because one more hit would have disabled or destroyed
the mech. "Now, there is only one." The only problem for Barras was that his laser
rifle’s last battery pack was spent. "Tch! If only they didn’t destroy my backpack
module!" The Crystal Lord kept all of its spare battery packs in its backpack
module. That worked fine most of the time, but in a running engagement like this,
it had been one of the first things to be destroyed. "I can only put my faith on
this crystal." After making a decision, Barras resolutely turned around his Crystal
Lord and charged the remaining Carabinier. The Vesian mech had seen two of its
fellow mechs falter in succession against this supremely tenacious mech, and its
mech pilot was starting to feel the pressure. Laser beams raked the Crystal Lord in
a chaotic manner. Only some of it hit the exposed internals, while the rest
splashed against the mostly-intact sections of armor. A significant amount of
energy channeled into the chest crystal as the laser beams kept comping. Once it
had reached saturation, it unleashed a tight but potent laser beam that Barras
aimed straight at the enemy’s laser rifle. The weapon got hit, and promptly
malfunctioned. Both sides lost their primary weapons and resorted to their backup
knives. The Carabinier started to back away, but the Crystal Lord wouldn’t have any
of it. Barras was fully engaged in the fight and wanted nothing more than to dish
some hurt onto his pursuers. A brief but brutal exchange took place. The Carabinier
mech was of worse quality than the Crystal Lord. Its uncompressed armor
allowed the Crystal Lord’s weak knife stabs to enter after a couple of sustained
stabs. Barras screamed as the Crystal Lord’s knife slipped through the cockpit of
the enemy mech. The Carabinier mech futilely tried to stab its knife through the
exposed weak points of its adversary, but Barras constantly kept his mech moving to
avoid getting pinned down in such a manner. Eventually, the Crystal Lord hadn’t let
him down. The mech stood over the fallen Vesian mech, worn and almost out of fuel.
Barras laughed ruefully at himself as he looked at this situation. "This is both
the best and worst purchase I have ever made." Chapter 439 Georgia Georgia Lyall
turned to the main recorder of the news program. "In our next segment, let us talk
about the latest mech model that has upended the upper segment of the rifleman mech
market." "Are you talking about the Gizlin Mark IV?" A fat pundit who proudly
referred to himself as Osmon the Mech Sage probed. Another pundit on the panel
shook his head. "That’s the wrong price segment. We’re not talking about that cheap
piece of trash that falls whenever it encounters a breeze!" "Professor Marklen is
right." Georgia nodded. "The mech model I’m referring to is the iconic-looking
Crystal Lord!" A projection of its design and some key specs started to appear from
the table in the middle of the studio. "Designed by Ves Larkinson, this premium
rifleman mech model comes in three different variants, and are mainly distinguished
by quality. The so-called gold and silver label mechs are produced by Mr.
Larkinson’s own Living Mech Corporation, while the more affordable bronze label
mechs are left to various licensed manufacturers." "I do have to say that the
bronze label Crystal Lord is barely representative of this excellent design!" The
Mech Sage interrupted in a brisk manner as he swigged a glass of beer. "I’ve seen
all three labels in person, and the only mechs worth a damn are the ones produced
by the LMC and no one else!" "Ahem," Georgia tried to wave the Mech Sage down. "As
I was saying, the Crystal Lord entered the market with a minor stir due to its
extreme features, many of which has elicited a lot of arguments over the galactic
net." The news anchor proceeded to list the notable traits of the Crystal Lord,
from its lightweight but resilient construction for a medium mech to the strange
gimmicks incorporated in the chest and rifle of the mech. Lastly, she addressed the
pricing of the mech. "As of this moment, the gold label Crystal Lords are nearly
impossible to obtain. As a variant that is prized for its exquisite quality and
excellent performance in battle, the main reason why they are so hard to obtain is
because it bears the privilege of being handmade by Mr. Larkinson." "A Larkinson,
you say?" The Mech Sage popped up again. "Any relations to ’those’ Larkinsons?"
"Ves Larkinson is indeed related to the famous military family. In fact, his
grandfather is none other than Benjamin Larkinson!" "Splendid! No wonder his mechs
are so fantastic! The Larkinsons know their mechs, that’s for sure! Did I ever tell
you how I made a bet with Ark Larkinson back when we were in boot camp? We bet on
who could last out in the cold out in the dark at night at our desolate training
camp the longest! The winner would get all of the porridge the both of us received
from the mess hall for a week. Did you know what happened?" Georgia sighed
inwardly, but she maintained her smile because she knew the mech nerds that watched
her program lapped up these kinds of stories. The Mech Sage wouldn’t have been a
mainstay of her news portal otherwise. "What happened?" "The drill instructors
immediately put a stop to our bet, but afterwards immediately kicked us out in the
cold for the rest of the night! We shivered and shivered and hugged each other’s
bodies to keep ourselves warm! It was one the most miserable nights I’ve ever spent
in my life!" Imagining the famous Colonel Ark Larkinson as a scruffy young mech
pilot spending the night out in the cold with nothing but another buddy for warmth
must have sent the audience cracking. Georgia possessed a thin implant over her
eyes that indicated that her audience indeed reacted positively to the anecdote.
Sometimes, she wondered why she ever agreed to host a broadcast program about
mechs. Still, lots of people watched those shows, and the pay was good, so Georgia
maintained her smile and pressed on. "That’s interesting to hear, but let us get
back to the Crystal Lord. Initially, the models entered the market with a whisper.
The specs looked attractive, but the pricing scared many people away. The initial
sales came from those who attended the product reveal. All of them we’ve
interviewed were ecstatic about the Crystal Lord models." "Who can blame them?"
Professor Marklen interjected this time. "This dangerous line of mechs possess a
powerful capacity to manipulate the judgement of any person that comes near one of
these dangerous mechs. They are an abomination and should have never passed
validation! I don’t know what the MTA is doing these days, but whoever validated
this monstrosity of a design should be executed for treason!" Georgia knew she had
to intervene. "Now now, professor, let us not cast any blame upon the MTA here. The
fine folks that keep human space in check are nothing if not thorough." Marklen
obviously disagreed, but he received a quiet signal that he should firmly shut up
about this topic. He had no choice but to comply. Professor Marklen was another
regular guest to the program, though he didn’t appear as much as the Mech Sage. He
was a bona fide mech designer, but was merely an assistant professor to a small
institution on Bentheim. His main value in the program lay in the fact that despite
holding the title of professor, he possessed a lot of eccentrics thoughts. "I still
think the LMC has the ethical duty to pull the Crystal Lord from the market."
Marlken persisted, this time making sure he didn’t involve the MTA in his argument.
"While by all accounts the neural interface is a bog-standard reproduction of a
standard model that is prevalent in many designs in the Republic, we can still
constitute that everyone who has ever piloted a Crystal Lord or came into viewing
distance of it became strangely affected." The Mech Sage slammed his meaty palm
against the table top while letting out a burp. "Maybe they just appreciate a good
mech! With so many crappy designs being published these days, the young Larkinson’s
latest work is a breath of fresh air." Georgia nodded, seemingly in agreement.
"There are even rumors percolating over the galactic net that the Crystal Lord
design is even eligible to be nominated for the Best Mech Design of the Year in the
Junior category. What do you say about this possibility?" "It’s outrageous!"
Marklen screeched. "Safety studies have barely started on the Crystal Lord, and
already the mech industry wants to elevate it onto a pedestal? That is highly
irresponsible! There are too many oddities with this mech, from the alien-derived
crystal technology to the way it assimilates everyone it gets in touch with. I want
to reiterate that I want to see this design banned!" The Mech Sage laughed again.
"Hahahaha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a week. There’s no way the
Crystal Lord will be taken off the market. You’ll have half the market rising up in
protest. For better or worse, the Crystal Lord is peaking in popularity. Everyone
wants a piece of it, and the mech manufacturers aren’t pumping them out fast
enough." "Why has the Crystal Lord become such a remarkable success despite its
tepid introduction? If you take away the magnetism of the mech and look at the
numbers on the spec sheet, the mech provides poor value for money." "Ah, that is
what everybody thought, but they were wrong." The Mech Sage waggled his fat finger.
"Some of the features of the Crystal Lord don’t sound very impressive on their own,
but taken together, they are actually able to reinforce each other. For example,
cladding a fast mech with a thin layer of compressed armor normally doesn’t do too
much, but the Crystal Lord is really, really fast." "Does that make any
difference?" "It makes a huge difference! The faster you move, the more damage you
can spread out over your entire frame! The speed of the Crystal Lord is really
unreal for a medium mech. It’s almost like a light mech in a sense. Though its
agility is a little worse, its fast enough to prevent any ranged mechs from
focusing their fire on a single component of the Crystal Lord. That massively
improves its survivability on the battlefield." Professor Marklen did not agree, or
rather he was not willing to let the Crystal Lord become more attractive in the
eyes of the audience. "All of that sounds great, but you are overlooking two
important factors. All of that running around will wear out the Crystal Lord. For a
design that is prized for its endurance and longevity, its parts can’t keep up with
extensive use. Already we are hearing stories about some parts fallen off the
Crystal Lord after surviving a stressful engagement." "That’s only the case with
the bronze label variants! None of the silver and gold label Crystal Lords have
reported any excessive wear and tear!" "Not yet, but the designs for the three
labels are functionally the same, barring a few exceptions. It’s impossible for
this problem to be absent in the more expensive versions of the Crystal Lord. As I
was saying, the problem of accelerated wear and tear is compounded by the fact that
this mech is really expensive to maintain. Much of the value from this design comes
from its premium materials. Repairs on the field are impossible to perform because
the components of the Crystal Lord require a whole laundry list of raw materials to
reproduce." This was a problem that some ecastic owners of the Crystal Lord had
just begun
to encounter. From the Trailblazer engine to the crystals, from the Veltrex armor
system to the HRF armor system, Larkinson’s design utilized too many different raw
materials in its construction. Mech technicians already started to hate the design
for being so difficult to repair in the field. "You know, back when I was making a
name for myself in the previous war, a lot of repairs are improvised patchworks.
Even the mechs that are designed in-house can’t be restored to their original
condition on any battlefield environment. The mech designers leading over the mech
technicians have always made do with whatever they could get their hands on.
Sometimes, to patch a hole in the armor, they even resorted to plain steel!" "That
does not disprove my original point." The professor persisted. "Even in times of
momentary peace, it’s a strain on logistics to supply all the raw materials to
fabricate replacements parts. That reminds me, the second reason why the Crystal
Lord is a burden to any outfit is the fact that its muchpraised Trailblazer engine
only accepts medium-density mech-grade fuel." "It’s a fuel-efficient engine design
from the Friday Coalition!" "Just because it comes from the Friday Coalition
doesn’t mean it deserves an automatic seal of approval. The Trailblazer engine is
not an engine design that has been formed by one of the Coalition’s famous
equipment designers or manufacturers. It has instead come from the hand of a single
mech designer. It is inevitable that his biases have affected his design. The
Trailblazer engine might be efficient if used in the Coalition, but here in the
Bright Republic medium-density fuel is getting harder and harder to obtain." "The
refineries are still up and running." The Mech Sage sullenly said. "For how long?
Fuel refineries are the number two or three highest priority targets that the Mech
Legion always aims to destroy. If past trends holds true to the present, then we
can expect the price of medium-density fuel to double or triple in the middle phase
of the war." That was something that the Crystal Lord design couldn’t do anything
about. Every customer that bought the Crystal Lord for long-term value would
eventually start to wince when they received their fuel bills." "Is this enough to
take the Crystal Lord out of contention for Best Mech Design of the Year?" Georgia
asked, spotting an opportunity to get back on the foreground of the discussion.
"This isn’t a possibility. It’s an ironclad fact." Marklen confidently spoke. "The
Crystal Lord may be enjoying its time in the spotlight right now, but sooner or
later the public will shake away the brainwashing and wise up to the truth!"
Georgia smiled as she received another bit of news from the producer. "Well, I’m
afraid you’ll have to be disappointed, because word has just come in. The Bentheim
Mech Court has just announced their shortlist of nominations for the Junior
category of Best Mech Design of the Year, and Mr. Larkinson’s Crystal Lord is in
the list!" A groundswell of astonishment spread throughout the audience that
watched the program. Other news portals and mech portals quickly released the same
news, confirming the rumors that the Crystal Lord was in contention to receive a
prestigious reward! Chapter 440 Built To Raid The true worth of a mech designer lay
not in their skills or experience, but in the quality of their designs. One did not
necessarily lead to the other. Even if a mech designer possessed a genius-level
intelligence and enjoyed extensive tutoring from renowned Masters, his products
might still end up lackluster and without inspiration. This often happened in high-
pressure learning environments in the galactic center and the galactic rim. Their
abundant wealth and population enabled many hopefuls to study mech design. Yet once
they entered the ultracompetitive mech markets there, they instantly got swamped.
They learned in the most brutal fashion that to be a successful mech designer, they
needed to be more than technically adept. They needed to have a sense of art and
craftsmanship. "Mech design is both a science and an art. Among two functionally
similar designs, the one which resonates more with the people will always have an
edge." Artistic sense could be trained, but only up to a certain point. It was
something which could never be defined or measured in hard numbers. What one person
found beautiful, another person might think of it as trash. The key to mech design
was to design a mech that appealed to a broad audience. If that couldn’t be done,
then it should at least be attractive to its target audience. To be nominated to
win the award for Best Mech Design of the Year, a design had to possess more than
technical prowess, though that was also indispensable. The Crystal Lord design
happened to be strong at both. The product line exhibited pretty good specs and
possessed a clean and mostly faultless design. However, the main qualities that
pushed it into contention to win an award was its inexplicable effect at impacting
both bystanders and mech pilots alike. The mech possessed a weight to it that could
hardly be seen in other mechs besides those that possessed a very special history.
Many mech designers who witnessed the copies in person and mech pilots who tried
out the virtual copies in online games all puzzled over what made the Crystal Lord
so special. When they compared the Crystal Lord to the Blackbeak, they noticed the
same qualities, but at a weaker level. Clearly, the Crystal Lord was not a fluke,
and its compelling allure must have been a deliberate design feature. As mech
designers and mech pilots puzzled over the mystery, word of mouth spread far and
wide, and even foreign markets showed interest in importing the remarkable mechs.
All of this had made the powerful and influential Bentheim Mech Court take note.
Besides presiding over difficult disputes and contentions in the mech industry,
they also recognized the works of brilliant mech designers who resided in the
Bright Republic. That the Crystal Lord had been acknowledged by the Court was
already an enormous honor. Though it only fell into contention in the lowest grade
of its awards, demand had already spiked once the news leaked out. All of this
thrust the LMC into a spotlight, but sadly the mech designer who shaped the
remarkable design was many light-years away from the spotlight. While his company
accepted more and more accolades, Ves was cooped up in his newly-assigned office to
prepare to take up his new duties. Despite having cut off his connections to the
mech industry back, Ves found it rather strange that his achievements directly led
to a promotion in the hollowed-out design department of the 6th Flagrant Vandals.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes as he took a break from his reading. "The Crystal
Lord must be selling like hotcakes right now if word of it had managed to reach the
Vandals." Though Ves still felt a little bewildered about it since his
accomplishments back home shouldn’t have affected him like this, he decided to roll
with the punches. In preparation for the new tasks Professor Velten expected him to
complete, Ves needed to get up to date with various protocols and technical data.
The extra reading imposed on him didn’t help so much because much of the true
secrets of the three actively developed designs of the Flagrant Vandals remained
enclosed inside impenetrable black boxes. Though it annoyed him to be deprived of
how certain key components worked, he slowly realized that it wasn’t just a matter
of secrecy. The professor also wanted to preserve his sanity. Spending the last
couple of days trying to digest the new information already strained his mind
somewhat, though his mental fortitude was a lot stronger than anyone realized. "The
so-called higher concepts don’t seem so nebulous now that I think about it." He
muttered. "The main reason why they are so dangerous is because they can
potentially ruin someone’s design philosophy." From the brief instructions the
professor had given him, Ves needed to be very prudent with what he read. Ves
remembered what she said back then. "The process of learning is one of the
strengths of a civilized race. Each generation, the human race advances a little
more because they learned from the mistakes of their predecessors. Yet we spend so
much of our lifetime learning from others that we risk losing the ability to think
for ourselves. There are lots of dangers involved with indiscriminate learning.
Besides learning faulty information, you also risk narrowing your perspective on
matters. Once this transfers to your developing design philosophy, you essentially
become prematurely locked to someone else’s stance on mechs." Basically, Velten
wanted Ves to study up so he could be of more use, but not go too far with his
learning unless he wanted to destroy his ability to cope with the unknown and
design mechs that could truly be called as his own work. Ves knew she had a point,
and as much as Ves wanted to dismiss the risks, he couldn’t. Though he wouldn’t get
confused by the higher concepts, the danger to design philosophy and artistic
vision remained as potent as ever. The more he learned, the more he agreed with the
solutions of the original designers, and the less he tried to figure out
alternative solutions. Designing mechs eventually needed a hands-on approach. The
more successful mech designers never reached their heights by relying on learning
alone. They also applied their knowledge and tested the boundaries between what
they knew and didn’t know if it would be possible. Thus, as much as Ves wanted to
delve into the depths of the archives, he forced himself to pull away. "I know
enough about the three designs to get the gist of them all." He mainly read up on
the other two designs developed in-house by the Vandals. Both the Inheritor light
skirmisher and the Akkara
heavy cannoneer served vital purposes that underpinned many of the strategies
employed by the Vandals. Ves needed to become as familiar to their nuances as he
understood the Hellcat hybrid knight. The Vandals heavily slanted towards spaceborn
operations. It was obvious that they designed the spaceborn Inheritor design to be
fielded in large numbers. The mech excelled at raiding fleeing trade convoys, but
was pretty much useless in many other situations. The spaceborn Hellcat design
served as the big brother of the Inheritor mechs. Larger, more powerful and
exceedingly more expensive, the Vandals only needed a couple of them to stiffen up
a company of Inheritor mechs. As for the dual-purpose Akkara design, it provided
the Vandals with a heavy amount of ranged firepower, albit in an immobile package.
By sacrificing mobility, it was able to field a lot more firepower and armor than
usual. The Akkara basically served as the semi-mobile defense turrets of the
Vandals, and was a very interesting design to Ves. Its unabashed simplicity should
have made it an easy mech to design, but the truth was actually opposite as the
design team responsible for its continuous development often slipped up due to the
sheer amount of systems packed into the design. "The Vandals aren’t too interested
in fielding ranged mechs." Ves got the sense that the Vandals treated the Akkara as
a necessity. Allmelee mech regiments were particularly vulnerable to being kited to
death by faster ranged mechs. Almost every mech regiment of the Mech Corps
developed their own spin on rifleman mechs. Not the Vandals. They cared so little
about ranged warfare that they would rather resort to Vesian mechs stolen from
their targets during their raids. From his additional reading, Ves learned the
reason why. The Vandals found excessive amounts of ranged weapons to be very
destructive. This was good if they wanted to obliterate their opponents, but often
times they wanted to preserve as much as they could in order to derive some value
out of their spoils of war. "Melee mechs can control their damage output much more
precisely than their ranged counterparts." He didn’t forget about the fact that
rifleman mechs caused the most amount of collateral damage out of all the different
types. This was especially egregious in battles in space. An attack on a transport
risked damaging its structural integrity. If the ship suffered too many attacks, it
might break apart, spilling its cargo and often also ruined it all. In that sense,
almost every aspect of the Vandals was deliberately geared for raiding and raiding
alone. Nothing about their mech usage suggested that they showed any interest in
fighting pitched or defensive battles. They basically looked for the best way to
bully a weaker adversary. Before he went and liaised with the mech pilots about the
Wolf Mother, Ves met up with Laida and Pierce in order to pick their brains. They
worked extensively with the two designs and he could benefit from hearing from a
different perspective. The two other mech designers from his batch hadn’t achieved
anything remarkable during their time in their design teams. Unlike Ves, they
hadn’t been able to draw any attention to themselves. Their skills and
accomplishments were too average to elicit any interests from their superiors. This
turned them rather bummed as they witnessed the sudden promotion of Ves. This made
them rather cranky when Ves went up to them to hear what they had to say. "The
Inheritor design is a death trap." Laida spoke with frustration. "It’s a design
that kills more mech pilots than any standard spaceborn skirmisher design from the
central database. It doesn’t perform all that well and its armor is as thin as a
datapad in some areas. Such a mech should have been abandoned at the start." Ves
did not expect such an outpouring of negativity. "Why do the Vandals place so much
importance in it, then?" "The only redeeming factors of the Inheritor are its
price, ease of fabrication and speed. The most important goal of the Inheritor
design was that it had to be easy to reproduce in a variety of circumstances. It
tries to incorporate as little exotics and possible, and when it does require some,
it would always be the cheapest or most abundantly available exotics that they
could steal from the Vesians." "So the Inheritor design is weak because that’s the
price the Vandals pay for the ability to fabricate them anywhere?" "Exactly. Its
many weaknesses aren’t well-kept secrets. Frankly, any mech pilot would feel
appalled by the lack of the robustness in its design. Even for a light mech, the
Inheritor goes through extreme lengths to make them fast but affordable." "Have you
experienced the same shenanigans at the Akkara design team, Pierce?" Ves asked the
other mech designer after he was done listening to Laida. "We aren’t suffering from
the same problems. Not a lot of mech pilots specialize in heavy mechs, so there
will always be a shortage of heavy mech pilots." "What about the design itself?
Does it exhibit any weaknesses?" Pierce took his time to answer the question. "It’s
a work in progress. Every day, something changes, and not always for the better.
From what I’ve experienced, the Vandals really don’t like this big lump of a mech.
I think they’re even neglecting the design in some cases." As Ves heard about the
two mechs from his colleagues, his impression of their actual state worsened.
Understaffed design teams and combined with a lack of appreciation for all the
effort put into the designs sounded really bad to him. He couldn’t do anything
about the staffing, so instead he focused on changing everyone’s impression about
these mechs. Mech 441 Chapter 441 Death Traps The 6th Flagrant Vandals only
appreciated the Hellcat design due to its iconic status within the mech regiment.
Even then, the Vandals hadn’t actually invested a lot of resources into improving
the design. Even if the Mech Corps hardly sent any mech designers to the Vandals,
couldn’t they have supplemented their design teams by hiring them on their own? Ves
didn’t understand why they placed so little importance to the design department.
Professor Velten was supposed to be chummy with Colonel Lowenfield. Couldn’t the
Senior Mech Designer make a better case for her department and stop its gradual
deterioration? "Well, I’ll be taking a look at another piece of the puzzle soon."
Once Ves finished his talks with the other two mech designer, he proceeded to take
up his first task. This time, Professor Velten wanted him to focus his efforts
towards the Inheritor design first. "It’s the most prevalent model of the Vandals."
The professor told him. "Therefore, I’d like to see if there is any way you can
make a contribution to its design. Even a minor improvement can save dozens of
lives due to how much the Vandals depends on this design." Therefore, his first
task was to listen to the people who worked with the Inheritor mechs on a day-to-
day basis. Ves looked down at his comm and set his destination. The device
flickered to life and projected a small line that led him through the confusing
maze of corridors of the massive factory ship. "I’m finally stepping out of this
cage." As he went through the corridors and took a few lifts downwards, Ves saw
lots of new things. He passed by several important compartments, such as a workshop
that repaired broken mech components to a mineral processing area that turned raw
asteroids into usable resources. Each of these sights opened his eyes to what the
Wolf Mother hosted. At the size of a capital ship, she could truly be called a
mobile factory in space. "There’s so much industry going on inside this ship." He
already knew in an abstract way that the Flagrant Vandals depended on the Wolf
Mother along with a couple of smaller logistics ships to keep the entire mech
regiment afloat. Yet he never got exposed to the extent to which the Vandals worked
to make it possible. Besides being struck by the scale of these operations was the
fact that everyone who worked in these compartments wore the uniform of a Vandal.
That basically meant that they were proper servicemen and not some kind of civilian
help they picked off the streets. It made sense for the Wolf Mother to be staffed
by so many support personnel, but his estimate on how many people worked aboard the
ship had to be adjusted upwards by several thousand people. "Repairing broken mechs
and fabricating new ones is a massive industry in itself." Ves genuinely admired
the entrepreneurial spirit of the Vandals. Without access to external sources of
funding, the Vandals managed to scrape by on their own with the help of their
factory ship. And besides the whacky FTL engine, the Wolf Mother was very well put
together for a vessel that the Vandals constantly worked upon. Ves hardly noticed
any flaws in the structural integrity of the areas he walked by. After a long walk,
he finally reached one of the hangars where the Vandals assigned a squad of
spaceborn mechs. Though the Wolf Mother always tried to stay out of fights,
sometimes the fight came to her. It was imperative for the factory ship to possess
some means of defending herself. As Ves came up to the nearest hangar, he went
through a security check before being allowed inside. "Wow." The space wasn’t very
big. Compared to the cavernous hangars of the Ark Horizon, the hangar he entered
could only fit a squad of ten mechs and some spare machines. In order to save a lot
of space, the ceiling of the hangar was kept as low as possible. This made it
rather awkward to move around the spaceborn mechs as they couldn’t utilize their
flight systems without mashing their heads to pieces. After looking around, he
spotted a Vandal wearing the markings of a chief technician. Ves waved at the woman
and approached her as she supervised the modification process of an unknown Vesian
mech.
"Chief Carnon?" The middle-aged woman nodded her robust-looking head while she
chewed a stimulant. "You must be the new kid the old hag told us about. She made
you out to be some kind of mech whisperer. Well, you don’t look like it." Chief
Jezebel Carmon didn’t look to impressed with Ves, and he didn’t blame her for that.
His official track record was rather thin and he was still very young to be working
with designs on this level. "Are all chiefs supposed to be acting as tough as
nails?" "It comes with the job. You try ordering around a bunch of numbskulls for a
couple of years. My men will do the strangest things if I’m not around to keep them
in line." Chief technicians knew their way around with machines a lot better than
the average mech technician, but their true value lay in their leadership
abilities. Without their steady presence, any mech maintenance department would
fall apart. "I’m here to help with the Inheritor design. First up, can you lead me
to a copy of this mech?" "Sure. Follow me." A couple of mech pilots milled about.
With the Wolf Mother constantly travelling in FTL, there wasn’t a great need to
keep the mech pilots on hand. Still, in the event the fleet she travelled with
entered into an ambush, at least a couple of mech pilots needed to be ready and
waiting at all times in order to deploy the moment the Wolf Mother returned to
realspace. Ves imagined the mech pilots of the Vandals to be a little rowdy, the
opposite of the mech pilots of the elite regiments or companies. What he actually
saw were mech pilots that fell in between. They didn’t look as classy as someone
like Captain Vicar, but neither did their appearances resemble the disheveled gang
members of Walter’s Whalers. If nothing else, they resembled highly disciplined
mercenaries. Chief Carmon led Ves to the nearest Inheritor, which also happened to
be in a sorry state. Its razor-thin armor suffered gashes to its legs and its
torso. His judgement told him that this inheritor had been targeted by a single
rifleman mech. A mech pilot stood in front of his mech with a pensive face. Upon
sensing someone coming close, he turned around and greeted Carmon and the newcomer.
"Lieutenant Chandis, this is Ves Larkinson, a mech designer from the labs. He’s our
latest liaison." "I liked the old kid better." Chandis muttered, completely
disregarding the fact that Ves stood in front of him. "That last mech designer was
a good listener, and he always promised to convey my wishes to the professor."
"Lieutenant, I am not that mech designer. I’m much better than him, in fact." The
lieutenant chuckled. "Do you, now? We’ll see about that." Ves looked around and
tried to change the topic. He settled on the Inheritor that the mech technicians
were in the process of beginning their repairs. "What happened to this mech?" "Our
opponents lucked out during the last raid. We steamrolled a Vesian trade convoy a
few months back and made it out with a handsome amount of loot. It’s too bad the
comrade who piloted this mech is still recovering in the infirmary. "If this mech
got damaged a few months ago, why hasn’t it been repaired yet?" "We’re short-
handed." The chief blunty replied, and waved her arm to encompass the entire
hangar. "This is only one of several hangars aboard the Wolf Mother, and her
maximum capacity pales in comparison to the dedicated hangars aboard a proper fleet
or combat carrier. Hiring has always been difficult for us so we’re working at our
wits end sometimes. It doesn’t help that the factory ship assigns most of the mech
technicians to the production lines or the mineral processing machines." "I see."
Same as the design department, it turned out the maintenance department suffered
from a shortage of people as well. When Ves previously passed through the other
compartments, he didn’t get the idea that they suffered from a shortage of skilled
workers. Strange. Why hadn’t the Vandals managed their manpower better? He would
have thought that skimping out on the mech technicians led to many delays and
mistakes with regards to servicing mechs. What were they thinking?! Ves began to
ask more questions about the Inheritor. He wanted to know why it looked so shot up
after only suffering a couple of solid hits. "The armor might as well not be there.
It’s sufficient enough to resist small arms fire, but mech-sized weapons encounter
no obstacle when they strike the Inheritor." "Doesn’t it possess enough speed to
mitigate most incoming attacks?" "That’s what it’s supposed to do. The reality is
that there are many situations where we have to slow down or stop. Just think about
it. When we raid a trade or supply convoy, we have to match our speeds relative to
the transport ships we’re aiming to raid. The delta vee will practically approach
zero when we come close." "What about its flight system?" Ves continued his
questioning. "The Inheritor is supposed to possess a very high thrust-to-weight
ratio. It shouldn’t be too difficult to keep jinking back and forth." The
lieutenant scoffed at that. "Jinking around like that all the time will eat up our
energy cells and put more stress on the frame. The Inheritor is so fragile that
there’s a very real risk of breaking something important if we shift our mechs in
an abrupt manner." "You don’t think much about the Inheritor, do you?" "Yeah.
Unlike the dumb recruits that trickle in from time to time, I’ve been a Vandal long
enough to understand how badly we need to squeeze our budget. If it were up to me,
I’d say we should throw away this worthless design and transition to whatever light
mechs the Vesians are using." "The higher ups already thought of that." Chief
Carmon said. "They quickly decided that there’s no way they can rely on raiding to
supplement our mechs because we can’t get enough light skirmishers. Every transport
that ships over a batch of mechs always carry a hodgepodge of different designs.
It’s really difficult to get the type of mechs we need the most." "That still
doesn’t mean the Inheritor has to be as thin and cheap as possible!" The lieutenant
screamed back. This time, Ves could feel the force of the mech pilot’s indignity.
"We have so many Inheritors lying around that we don’t know what to do with them.
Why can’t we invest in tougher mechs that are a little more expensive to make than
what we have right now?" "I think it’s a numbers game to them." Ves speculated. "A
smaller number of more capable mechs won’t be able to hold out against a large
number of lowquality mechs. This is very important for a mech regiment like the
Whalers. They need to spend their money as best as possible." Ves did not dare to
pass any judgement on that scheme. Instinctively, it made a lot of sense, but the
constant casualties and the frequency of the mechs turning into floating wrecks in
space remained very high. It was as if this had been a deliberate choice. The
lieutenant showed Ves around the Inheritor after he finished his grumbling. Chief
Carmon hovered close and commented on the uncommon features of the Inheritor
design. "You see these arms here? They’re one of the strongest parts of this mech,
as skirmishers rely on their arms and how much weight they can put behind them to
penetrate through armor. It sometimes gets really difficult to peel away the armor
plating of a tough ship like a combat carrier." Ves noticed that. Normally, it
didn’t really hurt if the arms were oversized, since a spaceborn mech always fought
in space. As long as the design balanced out the arms to the rest of the frame, it
would still be able to fly in space on a stable trajectory. "Are there any problems
with the arms?" "Not as such, but I have a couple of pet peeves about them." The
lieutenant replied. Ves nodded as he inspected and touched the arms up close. The
scarred and tarnished alloys felt cool to his touch. "Let’s hear it then." Chapter
442 Calculus of War Lieutenant Chandis had a complaint for practically every aspect
of the Inheritor model. Much of the reason why was because its design had been
tailored for what the higher ups thought what was best for the entire mech
regiment. The wishes of the individual mech pilots who would have to rely on these
death traps to survive in space hardly registered in comparison. Every improvement
needed to be weighed against more practical concerns such as cost and ease of
fabrication. If either of these two factors became negatively impacted, then
Professor Velten wouldn’t approve of the changes. Therefore, much of the complaints
he heard from Chandis had already been echoed by the reports he read from the
database. Still, there was a huge difference between reading about the problems
from a dry and succinct document compared to hearing it from a mech pilot who had
to deal with the consequences on a day-to-day basis. Chandis probably knew about
some of the concerns that played in the background, but he made a persuasive case
anyway, largely by employing his emotions. "Too many comrades have died from this
inadequate piece of dung!" Chandis kicked at the plating of the mech. Despite being
relatively thin in the scale of mechs, a human foot could never leave a mark on its
surface. "Look, just tell your bosses to invest some more money into quality mechs.
These Inheritors aren’t worth the materials they’re built from!" "It’s actually the
opposite." Chief Carmon remarked from the side. She maintained her jaded expression
throughout the lieutenant’s tirade. "The Inheritor is doing a great job in
maximizing the strengths of its materials. The only problem with this approach is
that there’s a limit on how much we can optimize their strengths and create more
synergies." In other words, it was as as if the Vandals sculpted a miniature mech
out of sand. No matter how exquisite they carved the model of a mech, one good kick
could effortlessly blow it away. Fiddling with the shape and dimensions
of the sand model only affected its structural integrity by a minor degree. Such
changes would never be able to provide a comprehensive boost in survivability. The
only way to do so was to carve the miniature mech model out of a stronger material
such as stone or wood. However, doing so demanded more money and effort from the
Vandals. Ves had read the internal documents on the Inheritor, and in one of them
Professor Velten brutally calculated the cost efficiency of switching the
Inheritor’s material composition to a stronger mix. She concluded that increasing
the costs by fifty percent would only raise the overall longevity of any random
Inheritor mech by twenty-nine percent or so. To Ves, that sounded very normal. Only
at the lowest end of the mech design spectrum would the level of improvement be
proportional to the increase in material costs. After that, the law of diminishing
returns came into effect. Improvements became increasingly harder to achieve
without spending a fortune. In practical terms, an absolutely trashy mech that cost
3 million credits in raw materials to produce could be twice as good if the cost of
materials was 6 million credits instead. However, if a mech that cost 45 million
credits got overhauled with materials that cost 90 million credits, the actual rate
of improvement might only be around 10-35 percent. The range was rather large
because it heavily depended on the skill and vision of the mech designer. However,
the point was clear. Every mech outfit or mech regiment needed to find a balance
between their income and expenditures. Spending lots of money and resources on
expensive mechs might sound good, as they often lasted longer on the battlefield,
it might not be able to make up for the huge upfront costs. The calculus that
Professor Velten performed had led the 6th Flagrant Vandals maintain the current
design of the Inheritor in its current state. Regardless of its performance, it was
easy to fabricate from cheap exotics that were abundantly available from the market
and lots of mundane materials that could be mined from practically any asteroid in
any desolate star system. Ves estimated the market price for the Inheritor at
around twenty million credits. This didn’t sound so bad. The Vandals basically
substituted the role of frontline mechs to the Inheritor. Yet no one ever
complained about frontline mechs. In exchange for chopping offs some limbs or even
the heads of these mechs, they piled up on lots of cheap armor and slapped some gun
barrels on it to make them effective at range. Although the abundance of armor
didn’t protect the mech all that well and slowed it down for quite a bit, as long
as they stayed at range, the mechs would not be exposed to too much risk. It was
different for the Inheritor. The only thing it had going for was speed and
acceleration. Besides that, it possessed no range at all, forcing the mech to close
in to knife fighting distance in each engagement. The Vandals needed to commit the
Inheritors in a single go, which was very risky as complications constantly
happened on the battlefield. All of these concerns passed through his mind in an
instant. While Ves sympathised with Lieutenant Chandis and his men, Ves too needed
to think about the big picture. The big shots evidently decided that they would
rather sustain more losses in mechs and lives than to invest in upgrading the
muchmaligned design. "I will see what I can do, lieutenant." Ves answered vaguely
when Chandis expected a response from him. "Your concerns are being noted." He felt
like this liaison gig wasn’t as important as he hoped. Sure, he got to see more of
the Vandals, but if he constantly ended up in situations like this where he
wouldn’t be able to make people’s problems go away, then it was difficult for him
to feel happy about it. The Inheritor design was a light skirmisher that was built
to be cheap. Ves could find no leeway in meeting any of the demands set by Chandis.
Nevertheless, he dutifully toured around the hangar while Chief Carmon showed him
around the place. Ves spoke with a few other mech pilots and heard the same
complaints. This time, he changed up the conversation a little. He heard more than
enough bad things about the Inheritor. He wanted to know what made this design so
important to the Vandals. "Well, I gotta admit one thing about this mech." The mech
pilot explained as he stood in a straight posture in front of his mech. "It teaches
you how to pilot a melee mech in space. There’s no substitute to actual battle
experience. No matter how much we trained in the academy and during boot camp,
there’s always the realization that whatever simulations we are in is fake. Only
with our backs against the wall will we be able to see if we measure up as a
Vandal." Ves thought that these words carried a lot of weight in the Vandals. Even
though he hadn’t spent too much time with the mech pilots, he spotted a subtle but
pervasive division between mech pilots who used the Inheritor to those who used the
other models. The were rookies. They mostly consisted of inexperienced mech pilots
who had been banished to the Vandals for some reason or another. Piloting this
death trap of a mech seemed like a reckless and wasteful decision as it played fast
and loose with their lives, but the incredible amount of pressure they endured also
seemed to polish off their rough edges. Those that had spent a longer time with the
Inheritor behaved more mature in front of Ves, while those who only transferred in
a couple of months ago still exhibited problematic behavior. One guy happened to be
extremely aggressive. "Piss off!" A man younger than Ves snarled when they
approached. "I don’t want to talk to stupid techies like you!" Ves frowned. "I’m
here to ask some questions. What is your problem?" That really riled the mech pilot
up. He jumped to his feet and approached them with his fists. "My problem is that I
don’t like your face!" Before Ves could do anything, Chief Carmon moved with
confident ease and thunked the man onto his butt with the swing of her multitool.
"Knock it off, brat! We don’t tolerate roughhousing like this around here!" The
casual way in which Chief Harmon dealt with the aggressive mech pilot spoke volumes
to Ves. He got the sense that outbreaks like this happened plenty of times as mech
pilots unwillingly transferred into the Vandals. While Ves wasn’t in the mood to
talk to a mech pilot who wanted to punch him in the face, he had a duty to fulfill.
He put down his animosity and asked his perfunctory questions. "What do you think
about the Inheritor design?" "It’s dangerous. Spaceborn mech battles may revolve
around speed, but there are many instances where you can’t dodge everything that
comes in your way. This stupid mech completely ignores that possibility. Do you
know how this model got its name?" "No. Do tell, please." "Word around here is
they’re called that way because their designers hope the mechs last long enough to
be inherited by my children. Hahaha! As if they will last more than a year during
wartime!" Ves didn’t know if this was true, but he doubted it. Up close to several
Inheritor mechs, Ves could feel the intangible echoes embedded into the frames.
These mechs had been designed from the onset to be disposable products. Of course,
they should last long enough to provide enough of a return on investment to the
Vandals, but beyond that nobody cared if they got wrecked. The Vandals would mourn
if a single Hellcat got destroyed. Partially due to the enormous cost in
fabricating a copy, but also due to its symbolic value. In comparison, the Vandals
wouldn’t blink at all if they lost ten Inheritor mechs in a single fight. That was
just the cost of doing business. As long as the Vandals got more in return, the
damage was negligible. Evidently, this newcomer knew this and vented out his
frustrations. "They sent me out to die here! I’m a medium mech pilot. There’s no
way I can master a light mech so quickly! They purposely put me here to kill me."
Chief Carmon couldn’t restrain from whacking the mech pilot over the head with a
light tap of her tool. "Nonsense! Larkinson, don’t listen to this lad. He’s just
angry at himself for screwing up at his old posting. There’s no way we would drive
our own mech pilots into a corner." That was true, in general. A mech pilot that
loosened his restraints could be a very dangerous person. The amount of damage he
could inflict when he stepped inside a mech was gigantic. Ves actually expected the
Vandals to deal with this problem already, but they let the crew and mech pilots
talk smack all day. It was as if they didn’t care. Maybe the young man’s words hid
a kernel of truth. Did the Vandals accept every type of person the Mech Corps threw
at them with open arms? With the wild personalities these troublemakers possessed,
not everyone would mellow out during their stay here. Ves felt obliged to speak
some words of defense. "This isn’t the best mech model that came into existence,
but let’s not exaggerate things here. As long as you aren’t too unlucky, you’ll be
able to survive inside the cockpit of an Inheritor." Talking with the mech pilots
left him with a whole bunch of negative opinions to sort through. Ves didn’t leave
it at that and also began to question the various mech technicians in charge of
defending the factory ship. One of them was an older man, and he used to be a mech
designer in his early years of adulthood. He hadn’t been able to make it on his
own, so he tried to find some meaning in his life by serving in the Mech Corps.
Someone with a background in mech design possessed a lot more insights on the
nuances of a design than outsiders. "The Inheritor is not a difficult design to
maintain. It’s actually very ease. There’s one downside to this mech that I’m a
little more dubious about." "What is that?" Ves said as he leaned in.
"The Inheritor seems like a derivative of a better design. A greater design.
Perhaps even an elite one." Chapter 443 Lack of Appreciation The old mech
technician’s claim sounded very absurd to Ves. Perhaps the reason why this fellow
hadn’t made it as a mech designer was because he constantly came to weird
conclusions like this. How could a design of a disposable mech like the Inheritor
be a variant of a high-end mech design? Ves turned to Chief Carmon. "Have you ever
seen a superior version of the Inheritor?" "Not even close." The chief shook her
head. "I’ve been a Vandal for over twenty years and been posted on more than eight
different carriers and I’ve never seen any other version of the Inheritor than the
one we’re currently looking at. I know this model like the back of my hand and
there’s no tolerance for improvement besides using better materials." That caused
Ves to look at the frame of the Inheritor in a different way. The design might not
be all that good, but what would happen if he replaced the low-quality materials
with better ones. He performed a brief visualisation of the result. His conclusions
led to the a similar route to the road that his Crystal Lord design had taken.
"What is the Inheritor design is clad in compressed armor?" He asked. "The main
advantage of the Inheritor is that it’s fast even for a spaceborn light skirmisher.
The downside to that is that its armor is extremely flimsy. Replacing its
lightweight armor with compressed armor plating will substantially negate this
disadvantage." "That’s exactly right." The former mech designer said. "You can also
replace the core parts with better versions." It would be a completely different
design. The performance of such a machine would be a multitude of times more
effective than the cheap hunk of alloys the Vandals relied on as one of its
workhorse models. Yet none of it mattered. "This design you’re describing doesn’t
exist." Ves said. "Not if what Chief Carmon said is true. It might be that the
original designer had a quality mech design in mind when he originally developed a
premium mech, but he never made it into fruition. Afterwards, when the Vandals
commissioned him to design an affordable light skirmisher for space battles, he
must have recycled some of his old work." Every mech designer created more designs
than they could put to use. They usually archived their unused designs and utilized
some of its elements in other projects to cut save a lot of time and effort. The
more Ves thought about it, the more this conclusion resonated to him. Maybe that
was why the Inheritor was a little unsuited in its role as a disposable mech. "It
sounds possible, but without any proof, we’re guessing in the wind. Besides, even
if it turns out to be true, that doesn’t make this model any better." Ves wanted to
get the conversation back on track. He steered the conversation away from baseless
speculation and turned back to his original job of gathering feedback on the
Inheritor mech. He didn’t learn much new after talking with all of the mech
technicians. Sometimes, they described some problems concerning the difficulty in
assembling or repairing certain sections, but fixing those issues required a lot of
time and didn’t measurably strengthen the mechs at all. Still, in the back of his
mind, Ves could fathom the reason why the Vandals possibly utilized a heavily
downgraded version of an excellent design. It made no sense. Someone as skilled as
Professor Velten or any of the Senior Mech Designers that used to work for the
Vandals should have been able to design an optimal spaceborn light skirmisher from
the ground up. Ves left that question to the side and concentrated on his work. He
also didn’t forget about observing his surroundings. He hadn’t forgotten his
earlier desires to figure out what made the Vandals tick. At the end of the day,
Ves returned to his cabin and summed up the feedback he received in a bland report.
Ves didn’t focus too much about what he put into words because they mainly echoed
all of the existing problems known by the design department. Instead, he focused on
his other observations. The main takeaway from his walk around the ship was that
the Vandals acted with less discipline than they should have behaved, but they made
up for it in their sense of unity and their trust in their leadership. Besides the
malcontents who piloted the Inheritor, everyone else displayed no displeasure at
being assigned to one of the least desirable mech regiments of the Mech Corps. "The
Vandals maintain a true esprit de corps." This identity that set them apart from
everyone else lifted their hearts and gave them strength. Ves had seen similar
beliefs in outfits like Walter’s Whalers. Their esprit de corps arguably made them
fifty percent stronger, if only because they wouldn’t cut and run at the first sign
of trouble. This strong collective belief made it even stranger that it did not
extend to the pilots of the Inheritor mechs. Their relationship to the Vandals was
akin to the status of Pierce and Laida in their design teams. As temporary workers,
they would only stay for a stint or two before being assigned somewhere else. The
difference between the two situations was that mech designers transferred away in
peace, while the mech pilots most often had had to pay for their lives. The
possible kept nagging at Ves to he called to Laida for them to meet at the canteen.
When he arrived at the place, he ordered a quick coffee and some snacks and sat
down on the opposite of Laida. The young woman looked tired. "Did I call you up
when you were about to go to bed?" "Yes." "I’m sorry about that." Ves sheepishly
scratched his head. "I didn’t think about the time." "It’s fine. You wanted to talk
about the Inheritor, right? I’ve been having many restless nights due to this
design. It doesn’t make sense." Laida spoke about some of her issues. Different
from what the mech pilots brought up, she addressed more technical issues. "The
root of the problem lies in the demand that the Inheritor has to meet a standard in
terms of speed and acceleration. This is forcing us to design the Inheritor as
lopsided as possible to accommodate these wishes. It’s the entire reason why its
flight system is rather overpowered for a design of that stature, and why we don’t
have any weight capacity left to thicken its armor. They’re asking us to do the
impossible, so we only delivered half of what was promised and forgot about the
other half." "So you believe it’s not a deliberate choice to make the Inheritor so
fragile?" "Not really." Laida replied after a momentary pause. "It’s due to
helplessness from our design team, mostly. Did you know that in the last twelve
months, we’ve only been able to increase the durability of the Inheritor by two
percent? That’s miniscule!" A two percent increase in durability without resorting
to more expensive materials was an impressive achievement depending on the starting
point of the design in question. Increasing the toughness of a heavy mech by two
percent meant that it could withstand a lot more firepower in absolute terms.
Increasing the toughness of a thin light mech by the same proportion hardly made no
difference at all. It wouldn’t even let the mech endure one additional ballistic
rifle shell. So the progress the Inheritor design team had made over the past year
really amounted to squat. "Has all of the potential in this design been exhausted?"
"As I said, it’s mainly because of orders from the top that we can’t improve this
design. If you ask my entire design team, they’ll say that the Vandals should have
switched over to a different design a long time ago." As Ves discussed the issues
of the Inheritor design a little more, Ves increasingly got the suspicion that the
Inheritor was indeed derived from a better design. Ves still didn’t know the reason
why, but he increasingly believed that this was a deliberate choice from Colonel
Lowenfield or Professor Velten. There was something more a stake behind this
seemingly inane choice to stick with the Inheritor design. After finishing the
meeting and letting Laida return to bed, Ves retired for the night and returned to
work the next day. His new assignment didn’t entail documenting the same old
complaints by the mech pilots. The professor tasked him with coming up with
concrete improvements in the designs the Vandals developed on their own with the
help of his unique strengths. Ves had no clue how to do this after hearing about
the awful state of the Inheritor. "The Hellcat and Akkara designs are a mess, but
at least they have a lot of room to improve. The same can’t be said about this
stupid piece of junk." As Ves made his rounds to the other hangars of the Wolf
Mother, he heard the same things over and over again. It really made him question
Lowenfield and Velten’s sanity for persisting with this inadequate design. Not that
any other light skirmisher would do much better, but with a minor bump in cost, the
longevity of the mech would increase by a significant amount. Ves found it strange
that the Vandals refused to accept this generous trade-off. After all, the law of
diminishing returns didn’t bite so hard at the start of the curve. While his
prospects of coming up with effective solutions diminished, he at least tried to do
his best. Ves particularly took advantage of his freedom of movement to stroll
through as many ship compartments as possible as he passed from hangar to hangar.
He got to see how every other section of the factory ship looked like and how many
people worked to keep the mech regiment running. It humbled him in a way. He passed
by a lot of enormous machines the size of a couple of mechs jumbled together. The
scale of these machines caused him to fall into an illusion that it wasn’t the
Vandals driving the Wolf Mother, but it was the Wolf Mother dictating the actions
of the
Vandals. Ves shook his head. "What kind of nonsense is that?!" He quickly turned
back to his work. As Ves met with many mech pilots and mech technicians and
personally performed a deep inspection of a disassembled Inheritor mech, Ves
continued to perceive the intangible qualities of the Inheritor. "Too bad it’s
hardly there." These mechs had never been truly valued since their conception.
Their designers intended for them to last a couple of years at most, while the
Vandals obviously didn’t take any special care of them despite fielding them by the
hundreds. This led to the formation of dead or stunted spiritual existences within
the mechs. With hardly anyone showing any care for these mechs, it was no surprise
that they couldn’t fully mesh with their mech pilots. Most of the mech pilots Ves
had questioned described the piloting experience in awful terms. One mech pilot
described it as landing on a bed of nails, trying to flail your limbs in order get
out, only to suffer more injuries as a result. "Maybe that description is a little
too extreme." After experiencing so many Inheritors through sight and touch, Ves
realized its design failed to live up to its promises due to a common thread. The
Inheritor was unloved. Seemingly no one appreciated this design. Its designers
regarded it as a throwaway mech. The technicians who fabricated it en masse tried
to rush the work as fast as possible. The mech pilots who had been assigned to
pilot these death traps all hated spending one more second in its cockpit than was
necessary. Ves honed in on this observation and thought that this might be the
opening he was looking for. Could he turn this difficult and unloved design into
something that people could be proud of working with? Chapter 444 Stairs No one
appreciated a light mech except for light mech enthusiasts. It took a special kind
of mech pilot to truly enjoy the rush of speed, even if it meant sacrificing a lot
of personal protection. The reason why Ves stuck to a medium weight class for his
Crystal Lord design was because he did not wish to narrow its potential audience
any further. An overly narrow mech design might not face much competition in its
niche, but it would also be destined to obscurity. The main issue at play with the
light skirmisher archetype was that its effectiveness drastically different on
land, air and space. Light melee mechs saw the most use in landbound mech combat.
Combat took place in smaller areas and mechs on land moved slower and their weapons
exhibited many restrictions in range. This allowed light mechs to approach their
landbound prey with ease by taking advantage of the natural cover of the terrain.
Spaceborn combat stripped most of those advantages. Terrain on land was often
complex, while space was literally and empty void. Light mechs would be as bare as
as they were born if they flew through this completely open space as they
approached their targets. The effectiveness of this mode of combat could be
imagined. Granted, many battles in space occurred in slightly more complex
environment. Only rarely would two enemy forces meet in the middle of empty space.
Most of the time, a mobile force attacked a static position, such as a mine or a
space station. These fixed features afforded light mechs with sparse but effective
cover. Nevertheless, it would usually be the defenders taking advantage of
available cover. This protected them from ranged fire and forced the attacking
force to enter their kill zones. Reading through the summaries of the various
battles the 6th Flagrant Vandals had fought, most Inheritors met their end in this
way. "Shot down in the process of closing the distance." It was an ignoble end to
any mech. Sometimes, the Vandals were obligated to attack a well-defended position.
They possessed a number of knights that could absorb a decent amount of blows, the
Hellcat being the most prominent one, but a charge needed to be supplemented by as
many mech frames as possible in order to spread the incoming fire. In these cases,
the mech commander in charge of the assault would always accompany the knights with
a horde of Inheritors. Despite being one of the most fragile punching bags in
space, the Vandals evidently had no qualms in employing them as cannon fodder. When
Ves met with Laida again during lunch and told her his conclusions, she shook her
head in sadness. "It’s horrendous." She spoke with a whisper. "The longer I stay in
the Inheritor design team, the more I realize that none of them care. The only mech
designer who still cares a bit is the temp from Rittersberg and myself, but we are
growing number every day. It’s hard to prioritize decency when we are faced with
constant demands to increase its cost-effectiveness." "I thought your design team
isn’t making much progress these past few years." "That’s not exactly right. It’s
true that we haven’t been able to increase the Inheritor’s performance parameters,
but we did manage to shave off ten percent of its manufacturing cost in that time.
Most of our efforts are spent on achieving as much cost savings as possible as
opposed to actually improving the design in battle." That sounded really crazy to
Ves. The Vandals spent an enormous amount of money and resources keeping everything
running. He could certainly understand if they needed to be frugal with their
spending, but cheapening an already barebone mech design even further was basically
starving their own hunting dogs. "That sounds like your design team is trying to
creatively cut as much corners as possible. There’s no way the structural integrity
of the Inheritor design can be maintained." Laida nodded grimly. "It’s a tradeoff.
If you can reduce the cost of the frame by one percent by substituting one material
for another, you would accept it as long as it won’t weaken the mech too much. In
this case, as long as the mech won’t weaken more than a tenth of a percent, the
design team will accept the change with open arms." In other words, the Inheritor
design had most likely weakened over time. A performance decrease of a tenth of a
percent didn’t sound so bad, but its design team constantly applied new solutions.
A tenth of a percent turned into a half percent. A half percent turned into one
percent. One percent turned into two percent. This slide in performance didn’t
happen fast enough for the mech pilots to notice, but that didn’t mean it was
negligible. The effectiveness of the Inheritors would continue to decline and their
mech pilots risked dying even faster. The Vandals was like an abusive parent to the
Inheritor design. Even as they made use of it, they constantly talked it down or
starved it in order to save on costs. Although Ves did not understand the
priorities of the higher ups, he believed that their entire approach to the
Inheritor design should be upended from the ground up. Rather than approach it from
a perspective of reducing its burdens, they should instead seek to increase its
value. When Ves laid out his suggestion to Laida, she did not seem very hopeful at
his suggestion. "The Inheritor design doesn’t have much of a future in my eyes. All
the lowhanging fruit has been plucked, so it’s nearly impossible to increase its
parameters without increasing its cost or adding more weight and space." "I think a
change in perspective is still necessary. Your design team has been seeking ways to
cut its cost for so long that they forgot to do anything else. If it were up to me,
I would have expanded the cost allowance by five percent or so in order to get them
to start thinking into the other direction again." Laida remained skeptical. She
believed that the Vandals couldn’t be shaken out of their established impressions
of the Inheritor design. Ves wasn’t willing to settle this issue like that. So when
he returned to his office, he compiled a report and sent it to Professor Velten. He
also scheduled a meeting with her in order to explain his thoughts in person. He
got to meet her later in the day. As he entered her office and sat down on the
other side of the desk, he looked at Velten and tried to figure out if most of the
demands on the Inheritor had been imposed by the Senior Mech Designer. Though she
looked like an old lady and her mind wasn’t as agile as before, she still radiated
a faint sensation of solidity. It was as if Ves faced a slab of compressed armor
instead of a fragile human being. The Senior Mech Designer took no note of Ves when
he entered. Instead, she fixated her attention on an unknown component design
projected from her desk terminal. Ves curiously glanced at the part and tried to
figure out what it did. It did not resemble any of the standard mech parts such as
an engine or power reactor. His long-buried Signals and Communications Skill
started to rouse itself from its sleep after he tentatively identified some sub-
components that had to do with sending and receiving signals. If he had to make a
guess, Professor Velten was working on a supersized transceiver customized for a
very specific design. At this power and size, the transceiver should have no
problem communicating through long distances and strong jamming. He guessed that
Velten was preparing this transceiver for the upcoming grand raid on the Imodris
Duchy. "Ah. Mr. Larkinson. You are here now. Good." She spoke as her head abruptly
shifted upwards. She waved a hand which winked the projection out. "I have been
anxiously waiting for you to report back on your progress. To my surprise, after an
entire week, the only points of note in your reports are rehashes of old problems
and a rather ludicrous suggestion that we should shift our paradigms concerning the
Inheritor design." Though she sounded harsh in her judgement of his work, Ves did
not immediately concede. He did not wish for his report to be filed away and
forgotten by all. He strongly believed that the problems he documented
and the solutions he proposed would measurably strengthen the Vandals. "Professor,
forgive me for being somewhat blunt, but the Inheritor mech has long been stagnant
as an actively developed design. Hardly anything improved except for its cost
efficiency, and you know as well as I do that these cost savings came at a cost.
The war we are waging against the Vesia Kingdom won’t end until a few years later.
If the Flagrant Vandals intend to depend on the Inheritor design to carry them
through the next five years, they should invest in making it stronger, not
weakening it any further." The professor looked at Ves with a small frown. She
tutted at Ves and knocked her desk with a finger. "Let me ask you something. Do you
know how much credits it takes to support an entire mech regiment?" "I’m sorry,
ma’am. I don’t have a clue." "There are many costs associated with running a force
of over two-thousand mechs and all the logistics necessary to maintain them and to
convey them across the stars. Fuel, salary, maintenance, replacements and more all
form a persistent drain on our finances." "Yet the Hellcat and Akkara designs are
both expensive and extravagant in terms of features. From my time in the Hellcat
design team, I’ve noticed that everyone is constantly working on squeezing out more
performance out of the hybrid knight. They might not always succeed, but they
always strove to climb the stairs. It’s entirely different for the Inheritor.
Everyone is walking backwards, going lower and lower until eventually they reach
the ground." The analogy succinctly illustrated his point. Ves just hoped that
Professor Velten would be swayed by his argument. Unfortunately, her face remained
impassive. "The Hellcat and Akkara designs fulfill a very different role in our
mech lineup. These mechs carry a substantial amount of armor and their longevity is
great." In other words, even the professor treated the Inheritor like dog poop. "I
think it’s a disservice to the Inheritor design if we think of it as a burden." Ves
emphasized. "I am aware of the costs involved with improving the quality of this
design, but I really think it is necessary to do so, ma’am. Just give it a chance."
"No." "Uhm, pardon me?" "Nothing of the sort will be done." Velten spoke with
finality. "Though I can see the merits in your unique perspective, that doesn’t
outweigh the priorities of the Vandals and the mech Corps. There is no leeway in
this matter." Ves continued his attempts at persuasion, but got rebuffed by the
professor each time. He started to believe that Velten did not hold any decision-
making power on this matter. She never relented on the expectations she had set on
the designs she surpervised. The issue ended without any changes to the policies
set by the Vandals. Ves was deeply disappointed at this outcome. It made him feel
as if he wasted the entire week. "Perhaps it is a mistake to assign the Inheritor
under your supervision. It is a very complex design that is bound to many goals."
She thought of something else. "Perhaps you could need a break. It just so happens
to be that we will soon be transitioning out of FTL to meet with a delegation of
the Vesian Revolutionary Front. One of the terms of our deal with them is that they
commit their own mechs to our forces. I’d like you to join Alloc as he studies
their designs." His eyes began to shine. "I’ll do my best, ma’am." After wasting
his time on the Inheritor, Ves deeply wished to experience something else. Meeting
the Vesians and studying their mechs up close sounded just the right kind of thing
to distract him from his failures. He also wanted to see for himself how chummy the
Flagrant Vandals and the Vesians rebels acted in each other’s presence. Did they
consider their cooperation a necessary evil, or was there something more behind
this scheme? Chapter 445 Vesian Revolutionary Fron "Have you met with these Vesians
before, sir?" Ves asked as innociously as possible as he adjusted his formal
burgundy uniform. The 6th Flagrant Vandals regimental colors consisted of wine-red
and black, though they mostly wore black uniforms in their day-to-day duties. The
formal uniform that Ves just received would only be worn in their first meeting
with the rebel delegation. After all the of the pomp and ceremony scheduled for
today had passed, Ves would return to his standard dark green working uniform.
"We’ve had dealings with the VRF before. A lot of Vesian rebel movements are
localized on a single planet. The bigger players only span the range of a single
duchy at most. Culture and customs differ a lot between different duchies, so it’s
hard for these rebel groups to find any common ground with each other. The Vesian
Revolutionary Front is one of the few exceptions to this rule." "Are they the most
powerful rebel group in Vesian space?" "They’re not. In fact, groups that span a
single duchy can easily mobilize ten times as much mechs and sympathisers than a
broader movement like the VRF. They’re too bland and distant in the eyes of the
rebels on the ground." "Then what makes them so valuable to us that we have to
greet them with a formal ceremony, sir?" Ves asked with puzzlement in his voice.
"Just because the different rebel movements don’t agree on many matters doesn’t
mean that they ignore each other. Sometimes, they want to trade a resource their
duchy has in abundance with another resource that can’t be sourced from the same
region. To facilitate this kind of trade in a completely lawless undergrounding
setting, a trustworthy intermediary is needed." Ves got it now. "Ah, so the VRF
have profiled themselves as bridge builders that can connect different groups
together, but only to the extent they are comfortable with. I imagine one of the
reasons why they can engender trust is because they aren’t big enough to threaten
the position of these regional rebel movements." "Exactly so." Alloc nodded as they
began to move through the corridors. "Regional rivalries exist in any states, but
it’s magnified to an extreme extent in the Vesia Kingdom. Nobles fight against
nobles and it’s not unheard of for the rebels that exist to overthrow them to get
into feuds as well. It’s like internal conflict is baked inside their DNA." That
only made it more admirable for the VRF to stay above the infighting. "So if they
aren’t very strong, why are they sending their own mechs to us?" "It’s one of the
demands that Colonel Lowenfield has set. Though we’ve always cooperated with each
other without issue, there’s always the possibility that they might stab us in the
back. Hosting some of their assets aboard our ships will guarantee us against
betrayal." "So they are hostages?" "You can look at them in that way, yes, but they
are our guests as well. We’ve done well with the help of the FRF so it’s important
to treat them cordially at all times. They’ll mostly stick to themselves so you
won’t have to be afraid of starting any incidents with them. Just don’t ask them
why they joined the VRF. The reasons are often traumatic." The pair of mech
designers in burgundy spent a few more minutes traversing the corridors in silence.
Due to the size of the Wolf Mother, it would take them at least fifteen minutes to
arrive at their destination on foot. A proper capital ship incorporated several
aids to get people to their destination faster, such as internal trains or lifter
platforms. Unfortunately, the Wolf Mother’s ad-hoc expansion hadn’t taken these
conveniences into account, and employing devices like lifter platforms posed a
potential security risk. Thus, Ves and Alloc had no choice but to trudge their way
down the decks and towards the sides of the Wolf Mother. Walking through her
cavernous depths gave Ves the illusion that he was descending into the belly of the
beast. "How are you holding up in your new assignment, Ves?" Alloc asked. "Not very
good." He replied honestly. "I haven’t been off to a good start. Try telling
Professor Velten that the development on the Inheritor design needs to undergo a U-
turn." The Journeyman Mech Designer chuckled. "I can imagine why you would suggest
that. It’s not the first time such a suggestion has been bandied about." "If the
same suggestion has come up before, why is no one taking it seriously?" Alloc
sighed. "Because it’s about money." "Everyone always tells me that the Vandals are
short on money, but how could they? They have the Wolf Mother! That’s a portable
mineral processor and mech factory! They can easily generate a lot of income by
fabricating and selling a lot of mechs." "It’s not so simple." Alloc shook his
head. "First, the Mech Corps isn’t allowed to enter the private market. It would
open up a lot of can of worms if economic interests started to interfere with
purely military interests. Second, let me fill you in on a secret." What secret did
he refer to? Alloc leaned close to Ves and whispered something in his ear. "The 6th
Flagrant Vandals is heavily indebted. I don’t have an exact figure, but my
estimates is that the Vandals owe around 200 to 400 billion bright credits." Ves
almost tripped when he heard that enormous sum. "Billions, sir? Not millions?" "I
didn’t misspeak. It’s billions of bright credits. Yet that’s not the most
frightening thing. The question you should be asking is who the Vandals borrowed
the money from. I can tell you one thing. It’s not the Mech Corps. They wanted to
cut off the funding for the Vandals in the first place, so there’s no way they’ll
even consider extending loans to us." All of this information caused him to remain
off-balance. What was wrong with the Vandals? Was a mech regiment of the Mech Corps
even allowed to take out a loan? "Sir. Are the Vandals still leaking out money?"
"Yep. It’s a waterfall. Even after we got rid of our fleet carrier and built up the
Wolf Mother, we still can’t break even. You have to realize that raiding Vesian
space
isn’t actually profitable for a mech regiment of our scale. Pirates don’t suffer
the same problem because they’re mostly running a handful of ramshackle ships and
crumbling mechs. They hardly spend anything to keep themselves afloat. It’s
different for us because we’re bigger and we have quality standards." "Even if the
Vandals are heavily indebted, slimming down the Inheritor won’t necessary save a
lot of money. I would argue that it actually increases the costs, since they get
wrecked so often." "Professor Velten doesn’t think so. As I mentioned before, she
has performed a whole raft of calculations that sets the Inheritor’s current cost
picture as its most cost effective position. The mech is strong enough to last a
while but cheap enough that it won’t hurt that much if we need to replace a copy or
two." "Still, the Vandals would only save a hundred million credits or so over an
entire year. The costs savings doesn’t seem to be worth it if it keeps weakening
the design, sir." "Just because the Vandals have accumulated a mountain of debt
doesn’t mean we are eager to raise it even higher. The main reason why we haven’t
been able to break even is because there’s hardly any profit to be made in times of
peace. If the war hadn’t erupted by this time, the Vandals would have truly been
forced to disband." Ves looked at Alloc with an amazed expression. "Does that mean
this upcoming raid is motivated by money?" "Exactly." Alloc replied softly. He
leaned in again to whisper something else. "I can’t tell you our target, but you
can bet it’s a highly-populated star system that holds a lot of advanced
industries. As long as we can rob it blind, we can take a huge chunk out of our
debt off the table." What Alloc revealed to Ves was a revelation. He hadn’t fully
appreciated how bad their financial situation affected their daily operations. Even
as they showed off a lot of outward strengths, internally they barely made ends
meet." It became clear to him that the Vandals stakes a lot more than he thought on
the upcoming raid. The outcome of this ambitious operation might very well decide
whether the 6th Flagrant Vandals remained afloat or be swept away in the annals of
history. They finally reached their destination after another bout of silence.
Heavily armored security officers dressed in dress garb or fully-enclosed
exoskeleton suits checked them for any threats. After confirming security that they
were harmless, Alloc and Ves went through the armored hatch and entered into the
largest hangar of the Wolf Mother. They joined a group of neatly-dressed servicemen
standing in rows. They didn’t have to wait for long for their guests to arrive. A
dozen mechs along with two sturdy military-grade shuttles flowed in from the hangar
doors. They carefully settled down in the hangar set aside for them. The Vandal
mechs that used to occupy this space had been transferred to another ship in the
fleet. They settled down one by one according to invisible instructions. The mechs
arrived with their weapons bearing obvious seals, not that it would stop them from
accelerating into the waiting crowd and stomping them all to muddy bits with their
feet. That was why the really important Vandals such as Professor Velten or Colonel
Lowenfield had been left out of the greeting party. Instead, some captain Ves had
never seen before led the delegation from the Vandals. A few minutes later, the
shuttles opened their hatches. A handful of formally but soberly dressed men and
women emerged out of the Vesian shuttles, accompanied by a small host of lightly
armored guards. The makeup of the Vesians largely matched the delegation from the
Vandals, only with much less people. It was as if both sides had agreed to send
somewhat important people but not the truly indispensable ones from their
organisations. To Ves, such hedging defeated the purpose of taking hostages. Would
the VRF truly care if the Vandals pulled out their guns and shot the Vesians dead
before they could utter a word of protest? "Mr. Meffeth!" "Ah, captain, it is good
to see you again!" A jolly-looking fellow greeted their captain with a bear hug.
"It is my pleasure to be aboard your fantastic factory ship again." Mr. Meffeth
smiled and glanced at the rest of the welcoming party as some musicians started to
play a martial tune. "Very uplifting. I hope to see our latest cooperation to
proceed in the same vein." The captain laughed and pulled Mr. Meffeth by the
shoulders. "With the help of your connections, I’m sure we’ll both profit
handsomely." Ves listened carefully as the two leaders spoke about matters beyond
what he should know. They never went into specifics, probably due to how many
people had gathered here, but what little they revealed was very valuable in
confirming what he had guessed beforehand. Even as his ears stayed open to pick up
the useful facts from the litany of empty platitudes, he scanned his eyes over the
other Vesians who came out of the shuttles. The majority consisted of friendly-
looking men and women in their forties or fifties. Despite their drab uniforms,
their posture and composure reminded Ves of diplomats or traders rather than
partisans who eked out a marginal existence. They must be earning well for
themselves as a mediator between different rebel movements. Only a handful of
Vesians carried themselves differently. Besides the guards and the obvious military
types, the Vesians brought three people who all carried themselves in the same
manner as Alloc and Ves. The Vesians brought their own mech designers. And they all
happened to be women as well. One older woman stood over a pair of curious-looking
young women. The matron must be a Journeymen while the younger women must be
Apprentices. All three happened to be pretty as well in different ways. Chapter 446
Three Ladies The welcoming party held a banquet for the visiting representatives.
Though the Vesian Revolutionary Front ostensibly resisted against aristocracy and
the excesses associated with them, they weren’t strangers to the finer things in
life. The Flagrant Vandals pulled out a lot of stops to impress the newcomers. The
dining hall was situated at the top decks that encompassed a massive transparent
dome from above. Ves saw unknown stars and unknown ships orbiting around the Wolf
Mother. He also spotted the red dwarf, but couldn’t determine where they were in
Vesian space. "To my friend, let us toast!" "Haha!" Mr. Meffeth blustered. "You
always bring the finest wines from Rittersberg!" For a mech regiment deep in debt,
they sure held little back for this occasion. Ves recognized several exclusive
dishes that must have cost a lot of credits to acquire. The cloud rice from Cloudy
Curtain, the luminescent blue mushrooms from Bentheim, the finest red wines from
Rittersberg and the aeliotonoc whale meat imported from Moira’s Paradise served to
everyone present could have afforded half an Inheritor mech. The sheer amount of
waste really boggled his mind. Though Ves lived a lot easier when he started
earning loads of money, he didn’t spend his money on frivolous and temporal
luxuries such as good food and wine. He was way too busy to slow down and
appreciate the finer things in life. Ves regularly ate simple meals reconstituted
out of cheap nutrient packs. "Alloc, who is this young gentleman over here?" The
mature-looking woman asked as she daintily played with her salad. "This is Ves
Larkinson, an Apprentice who has just arrived at the Vandals a couple of months
ago. He’s very bright and has unique talents." "Unique you say?" Florissa Minyn
drawled out as she twirled a finger. Her eyes glazed over to Ves and he could feel
the curiosity bursting out from them. "Are you talented in many areas?" Ves
awkwardly smiled. "Alloc is exaggerating. I’ve only entered the industry for a few
years." "Ves doesn’t have much practical experience, but he’s good with theory and
he has a special touch for improving the piloting experience. His customers back
home are rabid fans of his work!" That caused the other two girls to glance over in
his direction. A blonde who introduced herself a little earlier as Iris Jupiter
asked another question. "So you’re an entrepreneur in the Bright Republic? How many
mechs have you sold?" "I don’t keep track of the exact figure. If I include the
sale of mechs from thirdparty manufacturers that have licensed my design, then it
should be around three-thousand to five-thousand mechs I think." If Ves only took
the sales figures of the LMC into account, the number would look much less
impressive. All three women looked mildly impressed. The other girl, a raven-haired
woman called Lucille Hornbach blinked at him as if he was an alien. "That’s
impressive, Mr. Larkinson! You must have earned an enormous amount of bright
credits! Why are you even here?" Florissa quickly bumped Lucille with her elbow.
"That’s not very polite!" "Sorry!" "It’s okay, Miss Hornbach. I have nothing to
hide." Ves smiled at them, even though he just said a big fat lie. "My history is a
little complicated. I’m apprenticed to Master Carmin Olson. Even though I’ve only
received a few pointers from her so far, it inevitably casts some doubts on me. I
don’t blame the Mech Corps for pushing me away from the frontlines." None of the
Vesian mech designers cared about that. Their eyes practically sparkled as soon as
he mentioned his Master. "You’re apprenticed to Master Olson?! The genius that rose
up from the Vermeer Group?!" "Yes. That’s the one." The two girls squealed in
unison in a stupendously high pitch, causing conversation nearby to be disrupted.
Florissa embarrassingly hushed the two girls and waved at everyone to turn away.
"We are not aboard our own ships anymore. Pease show some more decorum!" "Sorry,
auntie Florissa." Both girls apologized while hanging their heads in a glum manner.
Their casual attitude seemed completely
unlike most mech designers he had met before. If no one told him that they knew
how to design mechs, Ves would have mistaken them for teenagers barely out of
school. Both of them looked pretty and young that spoke of exquisite care in their
appearances. While this was normal among the young elite, the girls behaved in a
somewhat carefree manner. It made Ves a little confused. Were these people even
rebels? He previously imagined the resistance members living aboard shambling
starships and barely having enough funds to make ends meet. Evidently, the
delegation of the VRF showed no signs that they suffered any hardships. Mr. Meffeth
spontaneously held a drinking contest with the captain from the Vandals while the
three women charmingly kept the conversation with Ves and Alloc running. They
quickly moved to a first-name basis, which wasn’t unusual for someone from the
Bright Republic but was highly unusual in Vesian culture. "Florissa, how are your
designs doing in the VRF lately?" She smiled at Alloc. "I am doing very well so
far. Although I have not published any new designs by myself, all of the
collaborative project that I’m involved in has been spread to the entire
organization." "How big is the VRF?" Ves asked with genuine puzzlement. Sometimes,
he had the sense that the VRF was a behemoth, but other times it was a medium-sized
organisation that had been stretched out to cover the entire Kingdom. "We’re not
allowed to tell you the exact figures, but it’s safe to say that we can give a
couple of mech divisions from the Mech Corps a run for their money." That wasn’t
enough to overthrow an established Vesian duchy, but it would certainly be able to
cause mass disruption if the VRF deployed them all at once. Naturally, Florissa
could have lied about their strength. Ves thought that an all-encompassing
organization like the VRF should have had a few tricks up their sleeve. Not that it
was any of his business. "What are your specialties?" "I am a specialist in
spaceborn flight systems." Florissa answered first as she glanced at Alloc. "Part
of the reason why I am transferred aboard your lovely factory ship is because your
design department lacks this specialty. It’s a show of good faith on our part, and
a sign of appreciation for all the assistance you have rendered us over the years."
Again, Ves received another clue on the closeness of the ties between the Vandals
and the VRF. "What about you two ladies?" They both looked at each other for some
reasons before they smiled at him. Iris spoke first. "I’m a specialist in neural
interfaces, while Lucille is a heat sink specialist." All three of them possessed
an eclectic mix of very specific specialties. Two of them happened to be very
relevant to the design department. As for the specialty mentioned by Iris, Ves
almost had to do a double take. "You design and customize neural interfaces?" Ves
asked with more than a bit of doubt. Messing around with neural interface was
dangerous work at the best of time. Implemented incorrectly, and a mech could
easily fry the brains of their mech pilots. The vast majority of mech designers
utilized standard neural interface models that the MTA made available for free. In
general, there was little demand for customizing neural interfaces. Everytime
someone messed with it, they risked upsetting some sort of limit and turned the
neural interfaces into torture machines. "It is a family tradition." Iris spoke
proudly. "We Jupiters have worked on neural interfaces designs under the auspices
of the MTA for generations. They’ve approved each product we’ve released over the
years." "Is that still going on?" "Sadly not." She replied, seeming genuinely
stricken all of a sudden. "A long time ago, we Jupiters affronted a relative of a
powerful duke. The incident was small and nothing should have come out of it, but
the duke himself moved to retaliate against our entire lineage. We lost everything
within a matter of weeks. Our contracts turned invalid, our partners stopped
supplying us, our employees left our research labs and our products got smeared on
the galactic net." Florissa sighed and pulled Iris into a hug. "What the Jupiters
have suffered is something which happens all too often in a tyrannical state like
the Vesia Kingdom. The nobility is always right. In a dispute between a noble and a
commoner, we have as much rights as a pig reared for slaughter." When Ves was
young, he often heard tales of such abuses in school. He realized later on that the
stories were meant to malign the Kingdom and made them out as a place of horror who
would dearly bring their abuses over the the Republic once they conquered it. It
was the duty of everyone from the Republic to resist such tyranny. Propaganda or
not, the stories always held a kernel of truth. Hearing such an example from Iris
really made it clear to Ves that the lessons he learned at school hadn’t pulled
those anecdotes from thin air. "Have you adjusted yourself to living with the
rebels? What is there to do with them?" "Oh, the VRF has been good to us." Iris
nodded as she wiped away her tears. "You have to know that while our rebel movement
can easily get our hands on mechs from the private market, it’s difficult to hide
our whereabouts. We would rather buy the raw resources from the market or the other
rebel groups and fabricate our own mechs. Keeping our design and production
activities inhouse guarantees that the mechs don’t come with spying devices or
software hacks." "So it’s a matter of maintaining complete control over your mechs.
I can understand that." Ves replied. "Do you keep all of your designs for internal
use or do you also sell your mechs to other groups?" Florissa answered this
question. "We maintain a lucrative business in selling mechs to the smaller rebel
groups. It’s not easy for newly established rebels to get their hands on fully
functional mechs. This helps them kickstart their rebellion and allows them to
cause more trouble to the nobles." That didn’t sound very good to Ves. There was no
way a small group of malcontents could threaten the rule of the established powers
in the Kingdom. Ves did not ask for the outcomes of these so-called rebellions.
Instead, he focused on the other aspects of their stories. "It sounds like the VRF
has taken on the role of the black market." "That’s exactly what we are in Vesian
space. As an organization that resists the tyrants who believe they have a
birthright to do everything they want, we’ve suffered too many betrayals from gangs
and pirates that are able to supply us of the things we needed." "The Vesian
underground scene is split into two parts." Alloc interjected. "One part consists
of the regular scum of the galaxy. They don’t care about nobility and politics.
They even like such a system, because nobles sometimes become their best patrons."
"Alloc is correct." Florissa nodded. "In our eyes, the noble Houses are nothing
more than gangs that enjoy official sanction. The two work well together whenever
their interests align. It’s not safe for rebel movements like ours to build a long-
term relationship with the underground groups. The trust simply isn’t there. That
is why we have built up our own underground trading network. We are one of the few
middlemen that rebels across the Kingdom can trust." Truly, the more Ves heard
about the VRF, the more his impression of them veered away from a traditional rebel
group like the Bentheim Liberation Movement. Whereas the BLM lived like cornered
rats that sought refuge in the deepest depths of the planets or in the most
desolate corners of a lifeless star system, the VRF merrily went about earning a
handsome profit from facilitating trade between different rebel groups. They
sounded surprisingly mercantile for a movement that ostenably sought to overthrow
the feudal order. "How far along are rebel groups like yours to launch an
uprising?" Ves pointedly asked. All three ladies fell silent for a moment. Chapter
447 Charming The oldest among them, Florissa, recovered the quickest. "The Vesian
Revolutionary Front has been planning the downfall of the nobles for decades.
Unlike other movements which attempt to enact an immediate change, we have been
much more deliberate in our approach. As much as we think the nobles are
detestable, without convincing the rest of the commoners who are ignorant of the
abuses, our rebellion doesn’t stand a chance." In other words, the VRF talked big
but didn’t do much to back up their words. Ves understood their position somewhat,
but these Vesian rebel movements all sounded like they enjoyed their current
position a little too much. Well, it was none of his business, so he simply
shrugged and moved on. "Will the three of you be helping us out?" "That is why we
have been sent. I have already corresponded with Professor Velten for the last
couple of weeks, so we know what to expect. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
Perhaps Ves could make use of their presence. "All three of our designs could use a
lot of help. If I may say so, I think it’s best you start with the Inheritor
design. The light skirmisher is our most stagnant project and could dearly use a
firm push." "Ah, your famous Inheritor mechs. Well, we can’t make any promises, but
we will see what we can do. Perhaps our specialties will provide the breakthrough
you are hoping for. We make no promises, though. We are restricted in the advances
we can extend to the Vandals. Trading some of our prized secrets will demand an
equivalent trade." "We expect nothing less." Alloc answered for Ves. "We can
compensate you for any assistance you can provide or technologies you can introduce
to us through your shell companies." As Alloc discussed the issue with Florissa,
Ves learned that the VRF established a concrete presence in the Republic space. In
fact, they owned a whole string of shell companies that performed various
services on their behalf! The main issue for the Vandals was that as a legitimate
mech regiment, it couldn’t resort to pirating designs and exclusive technologies.
To make such a transaction seem proper and above board, the VRF made use of its
shell companies to provide some of their transactions with the veneer legitimacy.
It all sounded very shady to Ves, but apparently that was the way the Vandals and
the rebels always did business. As the two older mech designers engaged in their
own conversation, Ves had been left with the two younger ladies. Both Iris and
Lucille looked charmingly at Ves with big, blinking eyes. Ever since they
associated him with Master Olson, they inched a little closer to him, though that
was difficult since they sat across the dining table. Of the two, Ves hadn’t heard
much from Lucille, so he decided to ask about her background. "So, are the
Hornbachs a family of mech designers like the Jupiters?" "No, nothing like that."
She shook her head. "I started studying material sciences and transitioned into
mech design halfway. No one in my family has ever been involved with designing
mechs before. It turns out that designing mechs is a lot more enjoyable to me.
After I graduated, I already had a job lined up at a major mech manufacturer." "So
did you already specialize in designing heat sinks?" Lucille nodded. "I became
famous for that immediately. I studied long hours into the night after work to
increase my knowledge on heat sinks. I worked hard in the company to assist in
designing the best heat sinks for their products. All of this went well until..."
"Until?" "Until the patron of the mech manufacturer fell. I thought that the
company that I worked for was an independent business. Only later did I find out
that it’s actually owned by a small count who fell out of favor. Once his enemies
got rid of him, they took over all of his assets, including his company. That’s
when all the trouble began." "Did they harass you?" "Nothing of the sort. They
simply raided the money the company had set aside to invest in new licenses and
research. We needed that money to develop new mech designs. Without it, our future
was bleak. Eventually the company let me go because they couldn’t afford to retain
so many mech designers." That didn’t sound so bad. "So how did getting fired end up
with you joining the rebels? That’s quite a leap, you know." Lucille smiled a
little ruefully at him. "I joined on my own volition." Ves wanted to rub his
fingers in his ears. Did he hear that correctly? "Isn’t that a little premature.
Not that I have anything against the VRF. It just sounds a bit impulsive to me."
The young woman sighed and brushed back her lustrous black hair. "I put my heart
and soul in that company. They truly made me feel at home. Having been ripped away
from them, only to see them deteriorate from lack of investment pained me more than
anything. I pity those who are still left in the company trying to plug a ship that
is leaking air from over a thousand different holes. Ves somewhat believed her,
even if he thought she was being a little hasty with her decision. Many companies
tried to foster loyalty and commitment among their workforce. Ideally, each person
who worked for the company would develop a cult-like attachment to them. It was the
best formula to retain talented employees and it had worked for humanity for
thousands of years. Miss Lucille sounded like a typical dupe who had bought in to
the whole corporate culture. "Are you happy with the VRF?" "I am, though there are
too many mech designers in their ranks I think. That makes it a little more
difficult for me to stand out." "I imagine it helps that you specialize in
designing heat sinks. Not a lot of people pay attention to them, despite relying
heavily on them to keep their mechs running." "If you think about it, every mech is
a giant heat generator." Lucille said. "Energy is converted into various movements
and attacks. Large amounts of waste heat emerge from these transformations. Despite
the progress that our race has made since they emerged from Old Earth, we still
haven’t been able to achieve perfect efficiency. Waste heat is a fact of life, no
matter the race. Whether it’s humans or aliens, we are all facing the same
constraints." Many mech designers treated heat sinks as an annoying necessity that
hey begrudgingly include in their designs because it wouldn’t function without
them. That was the wrong mentality to adopt. Heat sinks formed a vital function
that wasn’t any less important than a power reactor. One part generated usable
energy, while the other part handled the waste heat. Ves had in fact gained a new
appreciation of heat sinks ever since he won the Amastendira. The wondrous weapon
that utilized some of the most advanced technologies from the galactic center
utilized something which the weapon referred to as a dimensional heat sink. It
basically absorbed any waste heat within its body and shunted it into another
dimension, thereby solving the problem in the easiest but also most extravagant
manner possible. Although the dimensional heat sink only worked up to a point, it
was still an amazing picture of what the end point of heat sink technology looked
like. Ves hoped that he could incorporate them into his own design one day. Ves
entered a brief discussion about heat sinks with Lucille. Despite his broad base of
knowledge, Lucille knew quite a bit about materials science, while her insights
into thermodynamics veered into a completely unknown territory to him. It became
clear that with regards to heat sinks, she was truly a specialist who was leagues
ahead compared to a generalist like Ves. Someone with her specialty was in high
demand to any design team that worked on spaceborn mechs or mechs that
predominantly relied on energyintensive weapons such as lasers. The banquet ran on
for several hours until it came at an end. During this time, Ves spent most of his
time learning more about what they brought to the table as mech designers. As Iris
and Lucille both possessed specialties that pertained to specific components, they
could potentially provide a substantial boost to the three designs that the Vandals
still kept developing. As the guests retired to their own compartment aboard the
Wolf Mother, Ves and Alloc walked back to their own section of the massive ship.
The corridors had dimmed down a little, signifying that it was standard night time.
Once they fell well out of earshot from the Vesians who attended the banquet, Alloc
began to speak. "Did you enjoy your time with the girls?" "Uhm, they’re very
competent, sir." "Rrrright. Competent. Interesting choice of words." The Journeyman
curled up his lips before bringing them down to a frown. "Don’t fall for their
tricks. The VRF always sends out a couple of vixens to us. They’re always easy to
talk to and pleasing to the eye, but that still can’t change the fact that they’re
Vesians." Ves grasped the implied meaning and stopped smiling as well. "I
understand. I think. If that’s the case, what is the VRF after?" "It’s one of the
many games they play. The VRF may not look impressive as an insurgency movement,
but their influence reaches well beyond the borders of the kingdom. They have their
fingers in a lot of different pies. Don’t underestimate their skill in trade and
diplomacy. They’re always out to make a deal with you, couched in terms that sound
great at first, but turn out to come with several inconvenient caveats." "If
they’re so inconvenient, then why do the Vandals accept this kind of behavior,
sir?" "Don’t ask me." Alloc shrugged helplessly. "I once asked the same thing to
Professor Velten. She told me that it’s one of the concessions the Vandals have
made to the VRF. The slick-talking diplomats of the rebels have even gotten us to
agree that any mech designer that wants to defect to the VRF is allowed to do so
without restrictions." That really got Ves to halt. What a ridiculous concession!
"Has anyone ever taken up this offer?" "Pff. Look at how few designers are on our
design team and you have your answer." That was impossible. There was no way the
Vandals would tolerate the VRF stealing over eighty mech designers from them. Ves
looked at Alloc with a suspicious eye. "Okay, maybe I exaggerated." Alloc held up
his hands. "Only five mech designers that I know of has defected to the VRF over
the past decade. Those mech designers haven’t been content in their current
postings anyhow, so good riddance to them. The only regret that we have is that
they are all rather good at what they do. The VRF mainly targets Journeyman Mech
Designers. That’s what Florissa is here for. She’s mainly targeting me and the two
other Journeymen in our department." Though age gaps didn’t count for much in this
day and age, people would still from at couples whose ages visibly diverged. It
would be unseemly for Ves to hook up someone like Florissa. Instead, he could look
forward to the advances of Iris and Lucille. Great. "Well, the cat’s out of the
bag. Now that I know, I won’t fall for their tricks." Ves declared with some
conviction. "That’s what they all say, Ves, but when it comes to the matters of the
heart, we turn into some of the dimwitted sentient beings in the galaxy. Love makes
you stupid." Despite Alloc’s warnings, Ves did not think much of the threat posed
by the three women. He was a Larkinson, and a Larkinson never abandoned the
Republic. He also thought of himself as a rational thinker. Though he acted on a
couple of reckless impulses from time to time, at his core he believed himself to
be an enlightened thinker. There was no way Ves would turn silly because of a silly
face. Chapter 448 Guest Designers The design department gathered in the conference
room next day. Professor Velten introduced the three guests from the VRF to
everyone. "I expect you to treat our guests
with decorum, but also be mindful of what you are and aren’t allowed to say. I’ll
send you a detailed list after this meeting. Read it carefully and memorize what
you are not allowed to tell. I don’t need to remind you that the Mech Corps doesn’t
take it lightly if they see elements of their exclusive technologies ending up in
the hands of the Vesians, no matter if they are royalists or rebels." Once she made
her point clear, she moved on to the main point. "With the arrival of the
delegation from the VRF, our plans have accelerated. Our main fleet is currently on
track to arrive at our target in roughly two weeks. This means there is no time to
implement any major revisions for the time being. The main priority of the Vandals
is to repair and upgrade every mech that still needs working on. Make no mistake.
We need as many mechs operational as possible." This was it. The first major
operation of the Flagrant Vandals since he arrived. And this one was a real doozy.
Though his days aboard the Wolf Mother had passed by in peace, in actual fact the
factory ship and her escorts dove deeper and deeper into Vesian space. It was
actually a miracle that the Mech Legion hadn’t found them out. That and the VRF did
a good job securing passage for the Vandals. One of the other Journeymen raised his
hand and asked a question. "What will our jobs be?" "Your design teams are to
continue to seek every possible method of improving the performance of your
designs. Our guest designers will offer their services to to your teams on a semi-
rotating basis. Try and get a quick fix done within a week so we can quickly
propagate those fixes to the current crop of mechs that the Vandals have on hand."
After that, everyone split up and got to work. Florissa, Iris and Lucille all
started to advise the design teams on how to tweak or improve their chosen
specialties. No matter their motives, Ves had to admit that their specialized
knowledge came in really handy. In particular, Florissa’s extensive expertise on
flight systems far surpassed everyone else’s grasp on this large and complex part.
Professor Velten might possess a much broader base of knowledge, but even the old
lady hadn’t immersed herself into perfecting flight systems to such an extent. The
Vesian Journeyman practically charmed everyone with her friendly demeanor and and
openness to answering any questions the Apprentices asked. She rotated between the
design teams of the Inheritor and the Hellcat, but due to a lack of time, the
professor instructed her to focus most of her efforts on improving the flight
system of the Hellcat design. "The Hellcat is one of our best mechs, and has to be
in tip top shape for the upcoming operation. We also have much less Hellcats on
hand, so it will be easier to modify them all in time for the Vandals to begin
their assault." When Ves heard about the decision, he winced and shook his head. It
seemed like the Inheritor could never earn a break. As for Lucille, her expertise
into heat sinks led Professor Velten to instruct the Vesian Apprentice to spend
most of her efforts on improving the maximum heat capacity of the Akkara heavy
cannoneer design. "The Flagrant Vandals will be descending from orbit numerous
times according to the latest plans. Since we are rather lacking in the ranged
firepower department, it is of utmost importance that our Akkara mechs can output
as much firepower as possible to defend our landing zones." With the two guest
designers already veering away from the other designs, the Inheritor design was
left with hardly any love. The only guest designer who remained was an odd bird who
possessed a specialty that wasn’t conductive to quick fixes. Nevertheless, Ves
thought he could use her esoteric qualifications as a vehicle to enact his own
improvements. The good thing was that Iris was remarkably open to his ideas. She
smiled at him and touched his shoulder with her palm. "That’s great! I was afraid I
wouldn’t be of use. The VRF has a lot riding on this operation as well, you know.
Anything that can make the Vandals stronger will also make our lives easier as
well." Ves hadn’t heard anything like that before. "The Vandals aren’t raiding the
industrial star system on their own?" "Of course not, silly." Iris held up a hand
in front of her mouth as she giggled. "Industrial star systems are heavily
protected by several garrison regiments. While not all of them are mech regiments,
their combined strength is more than what the Vandals can handle even if they bring
all of their assets to bear. That’s why you need us." "You mean the rebels don’t
have any qualms with being seen together with the Vandals?" Something like that
sounded truly crazy. Rebels working in concert with their foreign enemies was
generally seen as a profound betrayal that wouldn’t endear the citizens standing on
the sidelines. "That’s we aren’t planning on showing up in our own colors. Our
organization and its partners have already applied the coatings of a pirate
organization to our mechs. Our presence will therefore be explicitly seen as a
destructive one, rather than an attempt at liberating the star system. It’s too
early to attempt such a momentous action." That was a devious if dishonest plan.
Ves had to applaud their daring to moonlight as pirates. They could rain as much
destruction as they wanted while their public mouthpieces decried the devastation
and put the blame on the fat and lazy nobles that let the pirates run roughshod
over their star system. What Iris revealed to Ves hinted at the magnitude of the
next operation. This was no simple smash and grab kind of raid. This was a major
assault on a highly developed star system. The ensuing damage would be hard to
imagine, but so would the loot the Vandals might be able to abscond. To his eyes,
the Vandals definitely played with fire this time. They took on an unimaginable
amount of risk, but if their daring action succeeded, the rewards would be enough
to turn around the fortunes of the declining mech regiment. Besides robbing the
abundant amount of riches that any industrialized star system possessed, a victory
would also be a major boost to their reputation. Striking the Imodris Duchy a blow
that they would continue to feel for generations would definitely be a feat that
the Mech Corps had to propagandize as far and wide as possible. The Vandals
definitely aimed to secure a continuation of their existence. Because the stakes
were so high, Iris had been tasked to find any way boost the performance of the
neural interfaces in any way possible. Even if the manipulation of neural
interfaces was fraught with catastrophic failures, Velten did not have the luxury
to keep an expert on the sidelines. Due to her strange expertise, Ves happened to
be a good fit for her. His supposed expertise accomplished something similar to
what Iris accomplished, but from a different approach. In the end, they both aimed
to increase the compatibility of the mech pilots with their mechs. Since the Akkara
and Hellcat designs already enjoyed the attention of the two other Vesian
designers, Ves steered Iris into working on the much less appreciated Inheritor
design. She broke her perpetually charming smile upon hearing his suggestion. "Is
the Inheritor not a low-class design? It is hardly worth our attention." Ves became
a little angry at her casual dismissal of a design that hundreds of mech pilots
relied on to stay alive. "There are many lives at stake, far more than with the
Hellcat and the Akkara mechs. If you care at all about the lives of those poor
pilots, then you owe it to yourself to better their chances of surviving the coming
battle." To her credit, Iris noticed his displeasure and quickly turned contrite.
She bowed in front of him. "I’m sorry! That was very insensitive of me. I hope you
can forgive me!" He had mixed feelings about her sudden apology. She made a very
convincing display of being sincere in her regret, so Ves couldn’t it again her. He
softened a bit and nodded. "Don’t forget our creed as mech designers. We exist to
serve the mech pilots and better their ability to fight. Sometimes I think that
some of my colleagues have forgotten this priority." As someone who grew up among
the Jupiters, it was impossible for her to be ignorant of this saying. Otherwise,
their family wouldn’t have been trusted by the MTA to work on developing new neural
interfaces. "I will take your words to heart." She pressed her hand on her chest.
"Please show me around." Ves brought Iris to the workplace of Inheritor design
team. All of the mech designers were somewhat familiar to Ves, but the presence of
Iris was a novelty to them, especially since she was a very pretty girl. However,
Iris stuck close to Ves, which somehow made it impossible for the other men to
approach her or pull her into a conversation. They all looked back at Ves with
mixed expressions. Ves did not have time to play any games. He immediately broached
the topic of coming up with some short-term fixes for the Inheritor. "What kind of
fixes have you guys been planning?" The Journeyman in charge of the team answered
his question. "You know our situation as well as I do. We essentially have nothing
to suggest." Ves expected this answer, though he still felt disappointed when he
heard it from the team leader’s mouth. Every easy fix possible had already been
exhausted before. The Inheritor design team had in fact come up with many more
solutions, but the only way they could implement them was if Professor Velten
lifted the restrictions imposed on the design. Fat chance of that ever happening.
Therefore, Ves planned to be a little creative this time. "This is Iris Jupiter. As
you know, she knows more about neural interfaces than all of us put together. I
suggest we allow her total leeway into seeing if she can improve the neural
interface of the Inheritor and assist her
in any way possible. What are your thoughts?" No one objected to his suggestion,
partially because they didn’t have a direction and Ves just pointed one out for
them. Even the Journeyman went along with him. Years of working on the frustrating
mess that was the Inheritor design had really taken a toll on his confidence.
Meanwhile, Laida sat quietly at the side. She hadn’t spoken up even once, but she
regarded Iris with an ambivalent attitude. The design teams of the Vandals
generally held quite a few more men than women, and the introduction of Iris to
their team completely changed their dynamics. After settling in, Iris immediately
went to work. She sat behind a spare terminal and browsed all of the relevant
design schematics and documents in rapid tempo. Ves sat next to her and worked on
preparing his own solution. His main issue was that it wasn’t easy to foster the X-
Factor in a mech. Certainly, the difficulties increased exponentially when dealing
with a collaborative project that had already produced many copies of the mechh.
Ves simply didn’t think about raising the X-Factor of the Inheritor all the way to
a B-grade. Raising it to an F or an E-grade would be enough of an accomplishment,
but only if he could find a way to achieve such a feat. How could he bestow the X-
Factor to a design that was already mature? How would he be able to achieve this
without overhauling an entire mech? Chapter 449 Trivial While Iris devoured every
detail about the Inheritor design she was allowed to access, Ves practically sat
motionless as he struggled to come up with an approach that worked. Before the Mech
Corps assigned him to the Vandals, Ves never truly collaborated with another mech
designer on a joint design. Sure, he modified plenty of existing mechs and he
briefly worked together with another mech designer during a competition, but those
didn’t concern true mechs. The Inheritor design spawned hundreds of mechs and
formed the backbone of the Vandal spaceborn mech contingent. Due to the constant
minor updates to its design, a lot of variations existed within the mech regiment,
but all of them roughly shared the same commonalities. This also happened to
include their spiritual stunting. They never had the chance to develop even a hint
of life from the onset their design came into being. To someone like Ves who
exhibited a basic appreciation for almost every mech, this attitude of treating
them as disposable commodities irked him in a very fundamental way. That mentality
clashed squarely against his budding design philosophy. What he faced right now was
perhaps one of his greatest test in his career. Even if no one would put him to
task for failing to come up with a solution, he would still feel bad for himself
for letting the Inheritor mechs be deployed into battle in their grossly inadequate
states. To find a viable approach to this seemingly impossible task, Ves needed to
go back to the root of his theory on the X-Factor. What did he wish to accomplish?
"I want the Flagrant Vandals to succeed with as few losses as possible." "I want
the Inheritor design to receive more appreciation to increase the odds of success."
"I want the Inheritor to be a mech that possesses just enough life to be of
assistance to its mech pilot." What means did he possess to engender the X-Factor
into a design or mech? "I can work on a mech in person and infect it with my
focused mentality." Ves already proved this method worked. The spiritual entity of
a mech was a smorgasbord of all the emotions and thoughts of the people who worked
on the mech and its design. This was why his gold label mechs possessed such a
strong X-Factor and why the mechs the MTA materialized into being appeared
clinically dead. As much as Ves knew for certain that this method worked, the
amount of labor involved was exorbitant. There was a reason why the LMC sold less
than a hundred of his coveted gold label mechs despite their enviable profit
margins. It required too much personal attention from him, and he had better things
to do with his time. Forcing a mech designer to fabricate a mech in person was like
forcing an architect to construct a house by hand. "This is the dumbest solution
available to me. It works, but it’s not practical." To truly affect every Inheritor
at once, Ves needed to affect a change in its design, and subsequently allow it to
be passed on to the mech technicians who applied his changes into the existing
mechs. Ves had never done anything like this before. The challenge daunted him
because we was treading completely new ground, and unlike before, he did not have
access to his precious Mech Designer System to cheat his way out. Still, System or
not, Ves had never relied on its help to progress his understanding of spirituality
and the X-Factor. Everything he gained so far had been products of his own
enginuity. Mostly. He turned back to his original goal, to find a way to induce a
comprehensive improvement of the X-Factor in each copy of the Inheritor. To do so,
the design itself needed to acquire measurable amount of X-Factor. "According to my
theories, all it takes is my personal involvement." Ves possessed a substantial
amount of Spirituality, far beyond a regular human being. This enabled him to
imprint his thoughts onto an existing mech with some effort. The same should apply
to working on an existing design. To sum it up, it did not matter what kind of
changes he made to his design. As long as he did it extensively enough to leave his
fingerprints on the design, its X-Factor should definitely be contaminated by his
thoughts. Perhaps enough to foster some kind of life in this deadbeat design. All
of this sounded as if he came up with a solution to his problem, but in fact Ves
was no better off than before. "I can’t think up a way to improve this design."
Therein lay the rub. With several Apprentices and a Journeyman working day after
day on this design, its level of optimization had reached an insane level. Even if
they focused on cutting costs rather than increasing its performance, so much time
had passed and so much work had been done that a newcomer like Ves wouldn’t be able
to spot any holes in its design. Ves turned to Iris, who tucked her coiffed blond
hair behind her ear. Perhaps she noticed his stare, because she turned her head and
looked at him with a questioning expression. "What is it, Ves?" "Ah, I’m still
brainstorming some ideas. I’ve thought of several ways to improve this design, but
they can’t be applied because Professor Velten won’t allow it to exceed the hard
limits imposed on it. I can’t get around these limitations." Not normally at least,
but with the help of Iris he may be able to accomplish something. "I’d like to work
together with you for something." "Uh, what?" "When you come up with some
modifications, bundle some of mine in them as well. I’ll try and come up with some
ways to compliment your work so that they’ll mesh well together. Then, let’s serve
our work in front of Professor Velten and see whether she’s still willing to reject
our combined solution." "I’m not so sure about this, Ves. It sounds as if these
hard limits exist for a reason. If she’s as obstinate as you say, she won’t change
her mind just because of my presence here." She had a point. His suggestion may not
sink in to that old coot and her rigid insistence on keeping the Inheritor as light
as small as possible. "Then perhaps I can go at it in a different direction." He
mused for a moment. "I think I have a way to stay within the limit. Instead of
upgrading the design, I can sidegrade it. The mech won’t improve, and there’s a
risk of introducing inefficiencies, but I think this is the right way to go." Iris
didn’t agree with his assertion. "The Inheritor is highly optimized in its current
configuration. A downgrade will certainly lead to unintended consequences. Without
months of testing, you can’ insure that the design will take a step backwards in
performance." "Even if you’re right, I still have to try." They turned back to
their work. Iris spent the first day reading up as much as she could before
requesting to see some Inheritors in person. While she toured the Wolf Mother’s
various hangars to observe the mechs take some readings, Ves sat behind his
terminal hard at work at overhauling one of the most important but also
inconsequential parts of a mech. The cockpit. When Iris came up with her quick fix,
she would inevitably demand a change to the cockpit’s neural interface. This device
played the main role in establishing a connection between a mech pilot and a mech.
Some neural interfaces put hard bucket helmets on the top of a mech pilot’s head.
Others extended alloy rods on each side of the headrest of the piloting chair. Many
more did not employ a visible apparatus at all. Instead, their workings had been
embedded into the seat or behind a wall panel and worked to establish a fully
remote connection. Each method came with their own advantages and disadvantages.
The Inheritor employed a wireless design due to the mech’s tendency to perform lots
of rapid turns in space. While the cockpit’s inertial compensators negated most of
the g-forces applied to the mech pilot, they didn’t always work as intended,
especially when the cockpit sustained damage. Therefore, light mechs predominately
utilized a remote interfacing method, thereby allowing mech pilots to jostle their
heads around in every direction without bumping into anything stiff. These remote
connections generally worked fine, but their reliability always came into question
when fighting in an area with heavy interference. For example, fighting somewhere
close to a sun or a black hole where all kinds of strange effects occur would
always interfere with the signal between the mech and mech pilots. Better
technology and higher quality designs helped mitigate this problem, but even in the
galactic center, nothing could beat a physical connection. One of the ways in
which Ves thought that could work was to suggest Iris to come up with a plan to
switch the remote interface to a physical buckethead interface. Some mech pilots
preferred the so-called buckethead interface because its reliability was without
question. Naturally, it didn’t need to be shaped like a bucket. That was just a
general term that mech pilots and mech designers used. The more correct term was
helmet, and it could even be stripped down to a headband if needed. No matter the
size and shape, the shift from a remote interface to a buckethead interface allowed
for modest weight and space savings. A remote interface came with a lot of
complexity that could only be dealt with by sufficiently powerful hardware. In
comparison, a buckethead interface worked relatively straightforward. It was an old
school technique that had received countless of refinements over the centuries.
Many superfluous aspects and parts had shrunk over the time, to the point where
they only took up half the space of a remote interface. Ves opened up a design
program, loaded the file of the Inheritor design, and proceeded to draw some
sketches for his changes. The first thing that had to go was the old neural
interface. He would leave the job of filling the gap to iris. In the meantime, Ves
turned back to the design and began to sketch out further changes to the interior
of the cockpit. "Raise the height of the forward console by 2 millimeters." "Change
the seat leather from an organically sourced leather to a synthetic substitute."
"Four monitor projections to the left is overkill. A mech pilot often uses two at
most. I can definitely shave one off." Ves did not focus on solving the major
issues of this design. Instead he homed in on the cockpit and planted a lot of
minute changes that no one except Ves would notice. None of what he suggested so
far would be able to propel the Inheritor’s performance to another level. The
quality and magnitude of his work didn’t matter as much as how much time he spent
on leaving his fingerprints on the design. The more, the better. Volume counted the
most. Even if it was an inconsequential change such as shifting the chair of the
pilot forward by a millimeter, it did not change the fact that the design had been
affected by his intentions, however brief it may be. Over the next several days,
Ves continued on his project to overhaul the entire interior of the cockpit. Iris
meanwhile followed his suggestion and worked on designing a buckethead interface to
replace the old and familiar remote interface that the Vandals had always used for
this mech model. Both of them rushed to complete their work as fast as possible.
Ves had in fact finished his laundry list of trivial modifications, but he still
needed to spend several more days in simulating every possible thing that could go
wrong. Several things did in fact turn up creating new vulnerabilities, but it was
a lot easier to Ves to simulate the cockpit as opposed to an entire mech. Ves
rapidly plugged the holes as they came. Once they reached the end of the week, Ves
and Iris both stepped forward into Velten’s office, ready to present their
solutions. They walked close together and when they sat down on their chairs, Iris
put her hand over Ves’ hand, which he readily accepted. This was a moment of truth
for the both of them. Ves smiled at Iris before he turned to face the old lady.
"Well, what have the two of you achieved? I hope you haven’t wasted the last week.
Let’s hear your proposal." Chapter 450 Driven No Senior Mech Designer ever made it
to their rank by being stupid. Despite her slow responses and her erratic behavior,
when it came to mechs, Professor Velten was as razor sharp as any mech designer.
She immediately took note of the abundance of superfluous elements in his design
proposal. "Mr. Larkinson, of all the elements of a mech that you could have chosen
to work on, you focused on the cockpit. Worse, besides switching the neural
interface systems, most of these changes appear to be purely cosmetic! I can
understand if you’ve made the cockpit sturdier or increased its ability to
withstand a breach, but all you have done is rearrange its interior! What do you
have to say for yourself?!" Ves held up his hands. "It’s not cosmetic, ma’am! Far
from it! Every adjustment I have made is needed to increase the ergonomics of the
cockpit!" In order to cover for his ability to affect a mech pilot through the X-
Factor, Ves had delved into real ergonomics several times before. Just for this
occasion, he brushed up on his theory by referencing the textbooks the Mech Corps
made available through the central database. "According to Leitzbritz’s theory of
luminescent comfort, putting more than three projectors in a row will excessively
distract the mech pilot and..." "The height of the piloting chair is set according
to the average height of every mech pilots in the service more than a century ago.
That’s fine as a whole, but the average height of the mech lots in the Flagrant
Vandals is a little bit shorter than that..." Ves basically spun a tale of nonsense
cloaked in scientific rigor. The vast majority of his adjustments had no point.
They were only there so that Ves could leave his fingerprints on the design. While
he changed plenty of things inside the interior, getting these changes approved was
a very different matter. After a couple of minutes of blabbering on, Ves reached
the end of his prepared speech. He waited in a tense moment of silence as Velten
parsed his words. "I have no doubt that your applications are sound." She conceded
slowly and knocked a gnarly knuckle against her desk. "Yet none of it seems worth
it. How will any of these changes improve the performance of the Inheritor? As much
as you tout the benefits of this proposal, there is an alarming lack of hard
estimates on how much the design will improve. How am I supposed to approve to the
wholesale modification of every Inheritor in our possession, thereby wasting a
large portion of our limited logistical capacity?" In other words, Ves might have
talked a good game, but he hadn’t been able to justify why the Vandals should
overhaul the cockpit interiors of every Inheritor. It wouldn’t take a lot of time
and effort to rearrange the interior of a single cockpit, but it was an entirely
different story when it came to hundreds. A mech regiment as large as the Flagrant
Vandals constantly ran their production equipment night and day, doing all sorts of
tasks. The mech technicians always had more things to do. Thus, convincing the
Vandals and Professor Velten that his changes was worthwhile would always be an
uphill battle. Fortunately, Ves already prepared an answer to this question. He
withdrew a data chip from his pocket and gently put it on the desk. "I have already
tested out the changes. The raw data and the results are in the data chip. Please
take a look, professor." The professor looked at him with a little skepticism, but
she didn’t dismiss the data chip out of hand. As she slid the secure data device in
her terminal, she began to peruse the logs and data that Ves had recorded during
the tests. This was his trump card for this meeting. During his stay with the
design department, he heard many stories about Professor Velten. Everyone spoke
about her ironclad rigidity on certain matters. If she expected someone to finish a
report within a day, he better well do it or he would face a reckoning. If she said
that someone should increase the performance of a specific component by a couple of
percentage point, the entire design team would be forced to slave for weeks or
months until they finally achieved their goal. A mech designer like the professor
was set in her ways, and she never showed any leeway in anything. That troubled Ves
a lot, and he struggled to think of to deal with this personality trait until he
realized that if he played things correctly, it could play to his advantage. While
most of his fellow mech designers grumbled about Velten’s inflexibility, Ves
recognized that she was simply a mech designer that worked in terms solid numbers
and quantifiable results. In other words, she was a very data driven engineer. To
overcome the objections of someone who was driven by data, Ves merely had to serve
up additional data that played in his favor. So in the final day before he had to
report to the professor, Ves brought Iris to one of the Wolf Mother’s hangars and
conferred with Chief Carmon and Lieutenant Chandis. "I have a way to renew the
Inheritor." He began after pulling them aside. "Iris and I have worked on a set of
minor modifications that will boost the performance of a mech pilot. The changes
aren’t very big, but it could potentially be the start of something bigger." Ves
proceeded to explain a summary of what he had in mind. "What do you need us for
then?" Chief Carmon asked as she crossed hear hefty arms and chewed on an illegal
stimulant. "I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re kind of busy right now. We
don’t have time to spend on installing fancy frills like a spiffed up cockpit." The
lieutenant voiced his own objections as well. "My men are used to piloting with
bare heads. They won’t take buckethead interfaces very well. Light mech pilots
really hate those unwieldy things!" "Don’t knock it until you try it! I only need
one mech and a test pilot to gather some data. What will it hurt? Besides, once I
can get this modification proposal approved, it might open the door to further
improvements." They both thought that this was a waste of time, but the carrot that
Ves had dangled at the end sounded very tempting. If Ves could get the obstinate
professor to approve of further modifications to the Inheritor design, then they
stood a chance of vastly improving its survival rate. To that end, letting
Ves free reign on a single Inheritor mech was a cheap price to pay. "Okay, you’ve
convinced me. Go ahead, but don’t change anything else!" "Thanks!" Ves and Iris
proceeded to inspect the Inheritors in the hangar and selected the most up-to-date
one because it matched the current design the closest. After that, Ves personally
worked on tearing out the old interior and replacing it with his own. He did
everything in person, from fabricating new replacement parts, to assembling them
into place at their exact positions. Iris in the meanwhile worked to fabricate and
install the buckethead interface system. Though Ves could have taken care of this
chore on his own, he found it best to leave it to a genuine expert. "It’s best you
leave it to me because I can tailor this neural interface to our test pilot." She
said. "Not all neural interfaces are born the same. The best ones are made to
accommodate the mind of a specific mech pilot." So Ves left the job of installing
the best neural interface system as possible on their testbed mech while Ves
cobbled together the rest. He worked quickly but efficiently, helped by the fact
that none of the work involved anything challenging. At his level of skill, putting
together the revamped interior was a piece of cake. All the while he worked on
overhauling the interior, he focused his mind on the Inheritor in order to foster
its X-Factor. Since it wasn’t his own design, he did not attempt to usurp its
dominant flavor, nor did he try to go directly against the intentions of the
original designers. The Inheritor’s X-Factor still needed a direction, though.
While he couldn’t go against the mech’s original intentions, he could add something
small to it that nudged it in a better direction. Therefore, when he drew up the
modifications to the design, he infused it with a single, abstract idea, one that
would have presence even if it was diluted to an enormous extent. Anything more
complex might not hold up because of his lack of involvement in the design. Ves had
seen plenty of mechs of other designers that held some potential, but ended up with
stillborn spirits. That was because even if the mech designer put a lot of his
heart into his design, he washed his hands off them as soon as he completed it, and
left the production of the mechs to some efficiency-driven mech manufacturer. Thus,
Ves needed to keep things simple. After a bit of thinking, he bestowed the
Inheritor design with the concept of survival. Why survival? It was more than
simply wishing that it would last longer on the battlefield, though that would
certainly help. Ves chose to focus on the concept of survival because it was the
primary drive of a short-lived species, no matter if it was mechanical or
biological in nature. Ves likened it to humanity’s place in the galaxy. Were they
not like the Inheritor version of a sentient race? When humans first sprang up
during the Age of Space, they were seen as weak and pathetic sentients by the alien
races that ruled their corner of the galaxy. Humanity’s intelligence, strength and
lifespan all fell below average to the more privileged races that evolved on
planets with an abundance of exotics. Well, humanity enjoyed the last laugh. Their
lack of dependence on exotics and relatively high birth rate allowed them to
outgrow those stagnant and snobby alien races. Yet why did humanity come to
dominate half the galaxy while other humanoid races that shared the same broad
traits wallowed in obscurity? Many human supremacists likened their success to fate
or their superior genes, but more sober-minded scholars and philosophers attributed
it to their drive to survive. Their race faced constant challenges during their
rise, and each time they overcame their existential crises through grit and the
drive to stay alive. Survival was one of the most primal goals that drove the human
race, and Ves incorporated its purest form into the design and the mech he
modified. He felt it taking shape underneath the materials he shaped and placed
according to his will. He even rejected the assistance of bots to help him carry or
lift the heavier components. Instead, he did as much work by hand as possible in
order to strengthen his involvement into the modification work. His dedication to
his work had not gone unnoticed. Iris paused in her work of installing the neural
interface systems to ask him a question. "You don’t need to lift everything by
yourself, Ves. Bots can do the same thing as well, you know? You only need to check
their work afterwards if they left some discrepancies." "It’s not about efficiency.
Otherwise I would have listened to your suggestion or let some mech technicians do
the heavy lifting. It’s about dedication." "Dedication?" "Yeah, it’s..." Ves
briefly paused his work to look at Iris. Should he tell her something like this? It
hinted strongly towards one of his secrets. He decided to keep it vague. "It’s
about remaining involved through every step of the way. Without implementing my
proposals by my own two hands, how can I know whether they will work as planned?
With me on hand, I can instantly recognize if something doesn’t pan out the way I
want to. This way, I can insure I will deliver the highest quality possible. That’s
the true meaning of dedication." His words put Iris to thought, but only for a
moment. While Ves spoke the truth, it was only a small portion of what he was
really after. He hoped that Iris would quickly dismiss his words as wishy washy
aspirations and go back to her work. Instead, she smiled at him and spoke out her
own thoughts. "You know, I’ve always had a feeling that mech designers don’t do too
much on their own. You’re the first person who put my feelings into words. I always
felt better about the mechs which I personally worked on. Now I understand a
little. Thank you for that, Ves." Ves wanted to palm his face. It wouldn’t have
been so bad if he mentioned this point to Alloc instead of a Vesian. The more he
worked by her side, the less her identity mattered. They were both mech designers
who respected each other’s competences.