The Mech Touch

The meeting concerning the Minerva Project lasted several hours. The gathered mech designers addressed a lot of additional topics such as the defenses of the expert command mech and the budget allocation to all of its major parts and systems.

There was a lot to discuss about and they hadn't even addressed how they would integrate the resonating materials to the mech design!

For that, the Journeyman had to delegate much of the crucial work to Professor Benedict. He was the only one among them that could make the resonating materials sync with the expert mech and the expert pilot.

"I am not familiar with the Talasmir and the Pecker Carbon that you have acquired from Vulit." The Senior Mech Designer said as the conversation turned to the extraordinary capabilities of the Minerva Project. "I must examine the samples and perform experiments on them in order to determine their usage. I will also have to obtain Casella Ingvar's cooperation in order to achieve the best results. This will take time and I will not be able to provide any specific solutions until the design project has passed a certain stage."

Ves and Gloriana didn't look too surprised. Master Willix also took her time to perform her responsibilities in the previous Larkinson expert mech design projects. Of course, she didn't need to perform a lot of work in person, but she possessed much greater capabilities than a Senior who didn't have access to the latest tech.

"We understand, professor." Gloriana replied. "The pace of the Minerva Project is not high because we are currently on many different projects at this time. Nonetheless, the Minerva Project is not the most complicated expert mech design that we have worked on, so it should not slow us down too much."

They discussed a bit more about how to proceed from here. Everyone needed to work together to select the right parts and flesh out the draft design further. Gloriana was also open to new suggestions as long as they were good.

Once the meeting ended, Ves and Professor Benedict stayed together in order to hold a more private talk among themselves.

The two hadn't spoken to each other in private for a long time, so neither of them were in a hurry to talk business.

They calmly walked around the design labs and looked at the hundreds of assistant mech designers performing their own individual tasks. Much of them were doing typical assisting functions such as researching different tech and materials that the lead designers might choose to implement in their different mech designs.

Others were already solving basic design problems that the lead designers had thrown at them. While Journeymen such as Ves could easily solve these problems in time, it was better to delegate them to others so that they could concentrate on more difficult matters.

Since the Larkinson Clan had recruited so many assistant mech designers, it would be a waste not to make use of all of the manpower!

The industrious and harmonious sight put a smile on Professor Benedict's face.

"You chose well, Ves. These young mech designers are all motivated and capable. None of them are slacking off by my judgment."

"A good incentive system helps a lot with that. My wife is also a hard taskmaster. None of the assistants dare to take their assignments lightly with her around."

"I can see how that helps." Benedict said.

The two resumed the little tour. Although the Larkinsons were all working on sensitive matters, there were sufficient privacy screens in place to prevent unwanted leakage of sensitive materials.

Even if Professor Benedict was able to circumvent this precaution, Ves didn't really care. None of the design projects had reached an advanced stage so there was nothing specific to leak at this time.

The two mech designers eventually retired to another private workplace before they began their true discussion.

"I should not tell you that Patriarch Reginald Cross is paying close attention to this design project. His patience is wearing thin after he has seen the results of your previous expert mech design projects. He knows that there is a large chance that he will be able to obtain the mech of his dreams."

"We can't guarantee that his future expert mech will become a masterwork." Ves cautioned.

"I am aware of that, but Reginald is… obsessed." The professor admitted.

That was a pretty strong verdict coming from a mech designer who had once allowed his obsession to ruin his first career!

"Well, we won't have to keep him waiting for long. Once we successfully complete the Minerva Project and develop a good basis of cooperation between us, we can proceed to design Reginald's expert mech with plenty of experience under our belt."

The Minerva Project was an important precursor to this crucial job because it was a lengthy practice run for Professor Benedict and the Larkinson mech designers.

Although each of them were good at their jobs, they were unaccustomed to working together. They needed to spend the following months solving all of the teething problems that would inevitably crop up due to several unfamiliar mech designers working together for the first time.

Ves not only had to make sure that he could cooperate with Professor Benedict, he also had to pay attention to Sara Voiken who he had yet to collaborate with either.

Though all of it was new to Ves, he looked forward to building up more experience in this regard. In the future, he would probably collaborate with many different mech designers, and it would be handy if he was already accustomed to working with complete strangers.

"Do you think that Gloriana has chosen a good direction for the Minerva Project?" Ves asked. "Please give me your honest thoughts."

The Senior Mech Designer chuckled at his request. "I do not have a strong opinion about her choices. Miss Gloriana is a competent mech designer, and some of the questionable decisions may not be her fault. Perhaps the end user has issued a number of special requests. It would explain the decision to implement a submachine gun mode to the weapon."

"Ah. Yeah, she would never design a mech that reduced its fit to its mech pilot."

"It is fine for expert mechs to possess distinct vulnerabilities. No mech can guard against any threat. The Minerva Project is an expert mech that is inherently meant to operate alongside allies. It must rely on friendly elements rather than itself to address its greatest concerns."

Ves sighed. "I guess we'll have to leave it at that."

He still wanted to pair the Minerva Project with a bigger and more powerful gun, but he understood why Gloriana wanted to keep the weapon more restrained. The command mech needed powerful commanding capabilities in order to make full use of Commander Casella's abilities.

"Your current expert mechs are all powerful, but that is because Master Willix has provided you a great degree of convenience. Do not expect the same level of results from me. I am still inferior to a Master of her caliber." Professor Benedict warned.

"We understand. We're already happy if you can grant our expert mech decent resonating abilities. Over time, we'll be able to handle this matter ourselves."

It would probably take a few decades for that to happen. Ves had many many strides as of late, but becoming a Senior required a lot more accumulation that simply couldn't be done in a short amount of time.

While it was true that exceptional mech designers such as the famed Polymath managed to advance a lot faster than that, she was an outlier who operated differently from every other mech designer. Ves did not think he could come close to challenging her illustrious speed records.

"Don't obsess too much about expert mechs, Ves. You are still a Journeyman. You should be cutting your teeth into more reasonable mech designs."

"I'm doing that as well, but I cannot stand aside when our clan needs another mech design. My design philosophy plays a crucial role in making them stand out from other expert mechs."

"I'm aware of that, or else my friend Reginald wouldn't have waited for you for so long." Professor Benedict smiled. "To some mech designers such as your spouse, expert mechs and even more powerful machines may be their ultimate dream. I do not think you are one of them. You have done good work with your expert mechs, but you have made an even greater impact on the mech community with your standard mech designs. This is where your real strength lies."

Ves nodded in agreement. "I do like to affect as many people with my work as possible, but expert mechs are interesting as well. The lessons I learn from designing these high-end mechs can also be applied to lower-end projects."

He didn't want to talk too much about his own mech design trajectory, so he soon attempted to change the topic.

"Professor, if I may ask, my clan and I couldn't help but notice that the Cross Clan gained a lot of new combat carriers all of a sudden. We've tracked the tournaments that your Crosser mech pilots have participated in and they didn't win enough ships to account for the numbers. How did your clan obtain the other half of combat carriers?"

The Senior Mech Designer directed a coy smile at the Journeyman.

"Curious, aren't you? I'm not surprised. Combat carriers don't appear out of the blue, especially in the Red Ocean where the shipbuilding industry is too limited. I won't keep you in suspense. Just as you and your fellow Larkinsons have aligned yourselves with different MTA Factions, so have I. Unlike you, I have much more to offer to them, and I am much closer to advancing to Master as well. Finding a willing partner to exchange a few dozen combat carriers to me is not an insurmountable problem. I merely had to offer enough compensation."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "Did you promise your new 'partner' anything that might compromise our alliance?"

"No." Professor Benedict shook his head. "I would have brought it up with you if that is the case. My promise is very simple. If and when I advance to Master and settle into my new rank, I am obliged to participate in several future advanced design projects for free. That is all. That doesn't sound so nefarious, right?"

Ves inwardly sighed in relief. He had come up with many ludicrous possibilities why the Cross Clan was able to gain so many starships with ease. It turned out that Professor Benedict merely indebted himself to another party.

As far as obligations went, designing a few mechs was one of the least worrisome possibilities. Mech designers existed to design mechs. Professor Benedict would still do his work as normal. The only difference was that he had to work for a different client.

"I can't help but notice that you haven't mentioned the faction you are cooperating with. Which one did you get into cahoots with?" Ves asked as he recalled he almost missed this little detail.

"Do you truly want to know?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I am suggesting that you may feel better if you are kept in the dark."

Ves began to grow concerned again. "I would rather shine a light in the monster's face than have it lurking around me for years on end. The more you act mysteriously, the more I need to know the answer. Just give it to me, please."

"Well, you asked for it." The Senior shrugged as if he didn't care about the consequences. "I have always developed an affinity to the Unbound Humanity Faction of the MTA."

The Unbounders!

Ves looked shocked at the professor. Although he was glad that Professor Benedict didn't get into bed with the Dissolutionists, the Unbounders were barely any better!

One group of people wanted to dissolve the MTA while the other wanted to get rid of all of its rules. The actual differences between them weren't that big!

"…Why?"

"Don't you think that we are constrained by too many rules these days?" Professor Benedict smirked. "Not many people are able to realize how we have confined yourselves in too many artificial boundaries.My… personal beliefs have turned me into a natural ally of the Unbounders. After we came into touch with each other, we found that there is a good basis of cooperation between us. Since this faction is not particularly popular within the MTA, it was fairly easy for me to become valued by them… This is also how I have managed to gain a large concession soon after entering the Red Ocean."