The Mech Touch

After a lengthy argument, the swordsman mech proponents finally got the better end of the argument. They successfully convinced the other Larkinsons that the needs of swordsman mech specialists needed to be met with a configuration that suited their distinctive fighting style.

"There's a lot of variety in swordsmanship styles." Hager Larkinson pointed out. "There are duelists who rely on finesse, berserkers who like to hack their opponents with double swords—"

"—Let's not make this anymore complicated." Ves raised his hand. "Let's just settle for the most standard one-handed longsword as the starting weapon for this mech configuration. It might be possible to assign other kinds of swords to this configuration, but I'm not making promises at this point."

He already had his hands full trying to stuff three different melee configurations in a single platform! He didn't have the time or interest to expand the range of the swordsman mech configuration any further!

Perhaps he should throw this issue to Ketis. On second thought, that was a bad idea. The machine he envisioned was so complicated that it would definitely exceed her current capabilities!

In the end, they settled for four different configurations.

A general rifleman mech configuration.

A space knight configuration.

A swordman mech configuration.

A lancer mech configuration.

The four of them encompassed a broad swathe of possible spaceborn mech types and served the needs of most mech pilots.

Those who specialized in more obscure mech types such as light skirmishers, striker mechs and artillery mechs were out of luck. They had no choice but to adapt to the available configurations or stick with an existing mech model.

Fortunately, every Larkinson understood the difficulty of accommodating their needs. It was already a luxury for them to be able to have a say in the design of their own mech!

Ves clapped his hand. "Alright, I'll try to make these four configurations work. Combining four mech types in a single platform is a considerable challenge and I can't promise they will all perform equally as well."

"How extensively will we field this upcoming mech platform?" Magdalena asked. As the commander of the Living Sentinels, this was a very pertinent question! "From what we know so far, you intend to design a very expensive and very complicated mech. While it sounds fantastic to pilot a mech that is somewhat tailored to our specific needs, I'm concerned whether your budget can handle the expenditure of producing hundreds of mechs and associated parts for the different configurations!"

"There is no need for concern, commander. Money is not a problem to mech designers, and I've already secured an excellent supplier for rare exotics. Feel free to make demands. I'll see whether I can incorporate them into the platform or one of the configurations. As long as your suggestions strengthen the mech or facilitate the training of our mech pilots, I'll consider them seriously."

It took some time for the Larkinsons to be daring enough to pose some demands.

"Can you pair the space knight configuration with a round shield rather than a tower shield. The extra width is very useful in a number of situations. While this will make the mech more unwieldy, it is easier to form a shield wall with other space knights."

"Please make sure the swordsman mechs are fast and mobile enough. They can partially take over the functions covered by light mechs this way. In any case, swordsman mechs rarely need to strike heavy blows in spaceborn combat. Large and heavy weapons are too unwieldy to keep up with the rapid pace of battles in space."

"One of my biggest pet peeves about lancer mechs is the disproportionately high casualties they suffer at the moment of impact or the period that follows afterwards. Everyone is always raving about how deadly they are if they can get off their charge, but not a lot of people pay attention to the risks the lancer mech specialists incur."

All of this feedback and more gave Ves a lot of information.

Some of them consisted of general insights and best practices that he was mostly familiar with through his various studies and Mastery experiences.

The rest consisted of more specific demands, some of which Ves couldn't easily meet. He plainly voiced his opinion on whether he could incorporate a suggestion in his mech design or not. Over time, he formed a more specific list of requirements he should take into account when he embarked on his design project.

"What do you think so far, Ves?" Magdalena asked. "Are we asking too much? It shouldn't be easy to accommodate so many demands."

Ves offered his clan members a reassuring smile. "It's a challenge, but I'm up for the task. I wouldn't have chosen to design a modular mech platform otherwise. This is not only helpful to our clan, but also to my professional development. I'll let you know if I encounter any setbacks, but I don't expect to encounter one that's serious enough to block my progress. I'm not an average mech designer. I'm very confident in my skill!"

In terms of technical design skill, Ves might be a bit worse than Gloriana, but he had the benefit of a much broader knowledge base! He should have solutions for most technical problems as long as he worked on them long enough.

Of course, Ves preferred to leave these thorny puzzles to Gloriana, who possessed a talent for offering elegant solutions.

Both of them specialized in very different aspects of mech design. This was one of the main reasons why they fit so well as a professional couple.

This temporary separation from Gloriana really took a toll on his mood. He was starting to miss her more and more. He was already starting to yearn for her brilliant smiles, her unique perfumes and her loving hugs!

He regretted that he admitted his dislike towards the Hexadric Hegemony and its culture. He should have lied instead of coming clean. Why he did so at that moment was a complete mystery to Ves. He lied many times without feeling any guilt. Why couldn't he do the same to his girlfriend?

In any case, the damage was done. Ves could only hope that they could get over this bump in their relationship.

If Gloriana truly insisted that Ves needed to become a Hexer, then… he might have to cut his losses.

Despite the considerable damage to his interests, Ves wouldn't hesitate to separate himself from Gloriana if the cost started to outweigh the benefits.

In any case, the Hexers might be overlords in the Komodo Star Sector, but Ves doubted their reach extended much further.

"We've been talking about the specifications all the time, but what about the glow of the mech?" Commander Melkor asked. "That's your distinctive strength, right? What can we expect once we finally have our hands on your mech?"

That was an easy question for Ves to answer. He smiled and pushed Lucky from his perch before picking up the book resting on his lap.

"This will be our glow."

The Larkinsons all paid close attention to the Larkinson Mandate. While their sensitivity varied, they still managed to perceive various sensations!

A part of it came from their spiritual bond with the book and the Golden Cat. Another part came from the intrinsic glow and concentrated spiritual pressure emanating from the relic.

Their reactions already showed that they viewed the heirloom as an important part of their clan!

"I thought that glows only appear on mechs." Someone scratched his head.

This assumption was wrong. Many Larkinsons suddenly realized that Ves was able to impart glows to other objects aside from mechs!

They didn't know what this meant. None of them were very familiar with what Ves was capable of despite benefiting from his work.

A part of Ves was disappointed with their ignorance. The Larkinsons may have been great at raising mech pilots, but they were deficient in other fields. Mech design was still too foreign for most of them. Aside from Ves and the handful of Larkinson seeds, there was no one else in the clan who came close!

Most of the original family's technical expertise came from trusted retainers. The Larkinson Family raised people like Chief Technician Cyril Hockett and sent them to schools in order to cover these needs.

It seemed that the Larkinson Clan was largely following in the footsteps of the old family in this regard. While Ves was fine with relying on retainers for most positions, the clan really needed to become more literate when it came to mechs. The lack of technical fluency shown by his relatives was frankly embarrassing!

In any case, the current topic turned to the character of his modular mech platform. This was something that was simple to explain and understand.

Every mech design had to conform to a vision. This was something that Ves always believed in. Whether a vision had been set at the beginning or the end of the design cycle, the end product always had to provide at least some value to justify its existence!

"The central premise of my mech is simple." He said. "If you push aside all of the complex technical concerns, my modular mech platform will basically become a mech that will define and exemplify our Larkinson Clan!"

"What do you mean by that?" Rhode Larkinson asked. The young mech pilot looked confused. "I get that the mech is supposed to be tailored to our strength and skill, but what kind of advantage does that bring?"

"I've already mentioned my goal in facilitating our mech pilots into promoting to a higher class. That doesn't mean that my Larkinson mechs are only meant to be used as training resources. They are supposed to be effective in battle against most of the opponents that we might encounter in the foreseeable future. I am not designing a mech that is meant to lose a battle. We must be able to win against many possible opponents. Not only against a third-class mech force, but also against a second-class mech force!"

"What?! That's impossible, Ves!" Melkor slapped his thigh. "You yourself managed to trounce several mercenary corps that each fielded hundreds of mechs by relying on four automated battle machines! Aren't you asking too much from us? No matter how well this so-called Larkinson mech will perform, it's doubtful we'll fare any better than those poor mercenaries!"

The expressions of the other Larkinsons each cast doubt on Ves' statement. They truly can't imagine how they could face up against a Fridayman task force.

Even if the Larkinsons fielded an expert pilot and outnumbered their opponents, they would truly suffer a lot of casualties if they attempted to overpower a second-class mech force!

Ves didn't see it that way. One of the biggest differences between third-class mechs and second-class mechs was the disparity in materials.

More specifically, the quality and resilience of mech armor differed substantially between the classes.

He just happened to possess an endless source of Breyer alloy. While this material was a bit too basic in the eyes of a first rater, it was still strong enough to serve as viable mech armor in the perspective of a second rater!

Of course, protection was only one side of the story.

If Ves took a basic third-class mech like the Desolate Soldier and replaced its entire armor system with one that was based on Breyer alloy, it wouldn't necessarily be able to contend against the Fridaymen.

Its defensive qualities may have improved, but its attack and mobility aspects hadn't caught up! All of these factors left enormous holes that made this altered Desolate Soldier completely unsuitable against a superior force.

Ves had already thought about this, though. He was willing to invest as much money as necessary to narrow these gaps and upgrade the other aspects of his Larkinson mech to a level that made it viable against second-class threats!

He wasn't asking for much. He didn't need his mech to be competitive, but it should at least have a chance! He wasn't willing to rely on the Glory Batallion and Wodins to guard him against the Fridaymen!