The Mech Touch

"This design… what have you been doing with them?" Ves wondered.

"I asked Sharpie to help me." Ketis answered. "He's been really helpful, though I feel a bit drained whenever he does something to my design. Whatever it is, I think it's useful! Whenever I think about it, I feel as if I'm more in tune with it. It's a swordsman mech designed by a swordwoman. It doesn't get any more genuine than this! Don't you agree, Ves?"

Ves didn't necessarily subscribe to that theory, but he nodded because he didn't want to pop her bubble. "Your personal experiences are invaluable to your work. It's just that I still don't entirely think this mech concept can actually work. Using two broad-bladed swords as shields is still an awful idea no matter how you look at it. A proper shield is much thicker and covers a significantly larger surface area. Certain models of shields even come with sharp edges if you still want to add some cutting power."

"I already told you that I am not interested in designing something as boring as a knight mech. Even if this idea isn't practical, I still want to design it to completion, just to see how well it can defend against ranged attacks.

"Well, if you're sure. I like your commitment at least. Fail or succeed, at least you'll get something out of it. Just don't try to push faulty products down the throats of your target audience."

"I know, Ves. I think this mech could be very interesting to the Swordmaidens. Defending in this manner is something that every Swordmaiden mech pilot has trained in. My sisters don't like to pilot traditional knight mechs because they heavily constrain their ability to attack. Offering an alternative that suits their fighting style can go a long way into improving their tactical flexibility."

Ves continued to study her updated design. Compared to the original, it was a bit more developed. It also gained a lot of technical refinements based on his feedback.

Her strength as a mech designer had become a lot more impressive to him. Due to all of the candies he stuffed in her, the amount of knowledge she possessed was already sufficient.

The challenge she faced was utilizing what she learned. Ves suffered from the same problem sometimes and that was an unavoidable consequence of absorbing too much theory and know-how from the System at once.

He didn't expect much improvement in this aspect. He was wrong.

Not just this defensive swordsman mech design, but all of her other personal mech designs exhibited the same degree of maturity as well. It was as if she had transformed from an awkward, inexperienced Apprentice into a more seasoned mech designer who knew her craft well!

He saw the hint of an Apprentice that was ready to advance to Journeyman at any time.

What she did to the mech design might become her main direction.

He pointed at the sword wielded by the duel-wielding swordsman mech projected in front. "Although I'm not sure what Sharpie has done, my best guess is that it has imparted some of his strength to the mech design. Any mech derived from this design will probably be able to channel some of that into its swords."

"And therefore make it sharper, right?"

Ves reluctantly nodded. "That's my guess, but I'm not certain whether it will work. Though Sharpie is a part of you, it is not a good habit of using powers you don't understand. You need to know what you are doing in order to make true progress."

"I'll take that into account." Ketis grimaced. "I don't know whether I'll even be able to do so, though. From what I heard, we're facing some very powerful enemies soon. Without anyone to help us, will we be able to escape?"

"It's hard to say. We're not going down without a fight, though. We've plundered a lot of resources from Ulimo Citadel and we're already starting to make good use of them. In addition to that, I have some other surprises in store that may be able to level the playing field. Warships may be the ultimate weapon in the galaxy, but the ones built and operated by pirates are probably ramshackle and deficient in many ways. There is no way the shipbuilding infrastructure in this unstable region can sustain the production of better-quality ships."

It took a lot of people and some very expensive machinery to build a starship, and that only applied to the simplest ones such as transports and cargo haulers.

The bigger and more sophisticated a ship, the greater demand on expertise and infrastructure. Since the Nyxian Gap was not known to be an intellectual or industrial powerhouse, the Allidus Alliance must have wasted far more resources on building the Gravada Knarlax than the pirates should have.

It didn't really make sense to Ves at first. Then he began to recall the bottleneck on mech pilots.

Though there were always outcasts and criminals fleeing into the Nyxian Gap every day, the supply of mech pilots still remained limited.

In comparison, the amount of norms that entered this region was a lot higher. Even if non-mech pilots weren't treated as well, those with useful skills could still find a place in the pirate community.

Being able to crew a warship with norms was the biggest advantage to fielding them. Though truly skilled and knowledgeable people such as naval engineers and command officers were still in short supply, they didn't catch as much attention as mech pilots. It was therefore easier for any pirate faction to prioritize employing them. The Allidus Alliance only had to spend a couple of years to gather and train a full crew.

Ves continued to evaluate Ketis' recent design work. She even showed him an updated draft design of her so-called Monster Slayer mech.

Different from the rest, the Monster Slayer was a second-class mech design. Even though her draft was anything but complete, Ves spotted many more points that might have worked in lesser mech designs but would surely become a problem if Ketis wanted to design a higher-specced mech.

"You haven't designed any mechs yet, Ketis. While I understand your haste, it's better for you to take your time and focus on studying what makes a second-class mech different from a third-class one. What I'm seeing right now is that your depth of knowledge in this area is too shallow."

The woman looked glum. "It's still an early version. I'll keep working on it. I don't want to downgrade my design. My goal is to deliver something useful to the Swordmaidens, and I don't want to wait several years to do so. If we survive the coming crisis, then becoming a second-class mech designer is my second-highest priority after trying to advance to Journeyman!"

"How close are you to breaking through?"

Ketis shrugged. "Beats me. Did you know beforehand whether you would advance?"

"I did so right after I completed the design of the Aurora Titan and presented it to the market. You haven't designed or published a single complete mech design of your own making yet, so you don't know what you're missing out. Once you start serving customers, any customers, you will experience a degree of satisfaction that is unique to creators."

He stretched his hand and placed it on top of her own hand. "It is easier to destroy than to create. Just look back at the Age of Conquest. It takes centuries to turn a barren planet into a thriving population center. It takes a single battleship to bombard it all to oblivion."

"Aren't the products we make supposed to be used to destroy?"

"You're not wrong, but that's not the complete picture. Humanity is a race that thrives on order. Ever since our civilization has started, we have constantly expanded our territory and exploited more resources in order to make greater greations. Weapons, farming implements, houses, vehicles and more can't be made without people like us who develop the knowledge to create all of these essential products."

Ketis raised her hand to adjust her poofy beret. "What does that have to do with what I said?"

"Weapons are tools. Mechs are tools. Their immediate use may be related to violence, but they are actually the means which people use to impose order. Warfare is nothing but a struggle to gain supremacy. The galaxy may look a little bad with all of the petty wars taking place between states, but conflicts like these can't be prevented. Our place in this society is to supply the war machines that our customers need to further their own interests."

"And that leads to order?"

"Yes." Ves sincerely nodded. "As long as our mechs are the strongest, our customers will reign supreme in their respective domains."

"What if our customers consist of both sides of a conflict?"

"Then they have both made a good choice. Regardless of who wins or loses, the battle will solely play out by the rules that we have set. This is a different form of order."

Ketis narrowed her eyes at her. "I don't know. It all sounds like crap to me. Mechs are big, powerful machines that can kill thousands of people in a minute. Every battle fought by mechs has led to a lot of destruction. Just look at the pirate bases that we have overrun."

"They're pirates." Ves dismissively snorted. "Setting them back is a great way to increase the order in civilized space."

Ketis crossed her arms. She looked increasingly skeptical at him. "It all sounds like excuses to me. Why can't you just admit you just want to channel your urge to destroy something with your mechs? Isn't that why we have entered the Nyxian Gap?"

"That's different! We didn't enter the Nyxian Gap to satisfy this nonexistent craving! We set out to earn a lot of MTA merits in the fastest way possible!"

"Uh huh. Whatever you say."

Really. What was Ketis talking about? Did she think of Ves as a savage or something? That couldn't be further from the truth!

He coughed. "We've strayed from the original topic. Let's head back to my original point. Right now, you have become better at designing mechs, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are a good mech designer."

His student looked confused. "Isn't that the same?"

Ves shook his head. "Designing mechs is just one aspect of being a mech designer. There are steps preceding this act and steps following this act. Before you design a mech, you need to understand your target audience. What do they need? What do they prefer to use? What are they lacking?"

"I already did that with the Swordmaidens. None of my mech designs are irrelevant to them, even my dual-wielding design."

"You possess a unique advantage in that area, I'll give you that." He conceded. "It's what happens afterwards that you need to work on. Right now, you have little experience in this. While you have participated in several successful design projects, those works belong to Gloriana and I. As an assistant, your contribution is marginal, so you don't feel the same sense of pride and accomplishment that we do. Every creator craves validation. It is the reward that your inner mech designer sorely needs to lift you to greater heights."

She didn't understand him. How could she? Her uneven development had left her very stunted in this area. The reason why Ves placed so much importance in this aspect was because he predicted that she would definitely be able to step up once the addressing this shortcoming.

Ves truly hoped to see her turn into Journeyman soon. Still, it was hard for him to feel optimistic about her chances when his fleet was under an enormous crisis. What could Ketis possibly do if she ever manages to advance to Journeyman?

Unlike expert pilots, mech designers did not exhibit any flashy powers when they formed their design seeds. All of the excitement happened in their minds.

He sighed. "Just work at your own pace. You don't need to hurry. You're still young."