The Mech Touch



Despite the many shortcomings and limitations of modular armor systems, Ves still felt it was a promising piece of tech.

It was not as easy for enemies to disable modular armor systems. The mech designers who worked hard to elevate their effectiveness had made sure to minimize the chances that their life works would be rendered useless with the activation of a single countermeasure.

So long as the mechs equipped with this kind of protection functioned as normal, they would definitely be able to defeat comparable machines!

After all, mechs with modular armor could dynamically reinforce sections that were under heavy attack.

They could also plug any gaps in their innermost protective layers to prevent them from collapsing.

Furthermore, mechs like this also had the option of purging spent or unnecessary modular armor plates in order to obtain a substantial boost in mobility.

When Ves thought about equipping dozens of different Larkinson mech models with modular armor systems, especially the highly intelligent and adaptive ones developed by Beatrice Hendrix, his desire to bring her to his fold became even greater!

In order to increase his chances of winning her over, he felt it would be a good idea to give her a tour through the Cat Nest, and not just the public areas that were open to tourists!

This was a rare privilege as the Larkinson Clan hardly allowed any outsiders to step foot into the core areas of its local stronghold.

At the time of the appointment, Ves dressed up in a slightly more formal version of his patriarch uniform and moved all the way out to the landing zone to await the arrival of his honored guest.

While Ves knew that he was giving away a lot of bargaining power by putting so much effort into winning over Beatrice, he did not have much choice.

He would rather give her extra concessions in order to reel her in than let her go. Her specialization could add a lot of value to his clan as it was especially suitable for more expensive and premium mechs that the Larkinsons favored!

"Welcome to the Cat Nest, Beatrice!" Ves greeted the woman as she stepped out of her shuttle. "I hope that you will be able to enjoy your visit and get a sense of what we are all about during your tour today."

"Meow~" Lucky greeted as he flew over to the beautiful brown-haired woman.

Beatrice Hendrix studied the gem cat with an intrigued expression.

"So this is your famous pet. I can't identify the alloys at all. Fascinating. Are they self-repairable?"

"They are." Ves responded. "How did you figure that out, Beatrice?"

"I have encountered similar materials in the past. They possess a distinct combination of characteristics that are not that difficult to identify."

"Ah, I see. Let me bring you deeper into the Cat Nest. I guess we should start with the Ascension Gallery."

"Ah yes. I have heard that it is one of the most iconic tourist attractions of Davute VII. It is a place that you will have to visit in person to fully appreciate all of the ornaments."

"That is right."

They moved to the Ascension Gallery. In order to make the visit as unobtrusive as possible, Ves had already commanded the staff to close it to visitors for the day.

From the moment the pair of Journeymen stepped inside the central hall while being accompanied by a group of honor guards, they all came under the influence of the most defining glow of the Larkinson Clan.

"So this is the Golden Cat that is strongly associated with your clan." Beatrice said as she genuinely looked impressed. "What is it, exactly? Is it just a symbolic personification of the Larkinsons, or is it a more literal god as many people including your people claim to be the truth?"

According to the background checks conducted by the Black Cats, Beatrice Hendrix grew up in a secularist environment, so Ves did not have to speak any nonsense about religion.

"The Golden Cat is a real existence." He stated plainly to her. "I can tell you more, but that will touch upon the trade secrets of our clan. What I can share with you is that she is one of our greatest sources of strength. She is not a god, but she is definitely an extraordinary existence. Our people have a close working relationship with her. We support her while she helps us in turn. We take what we need from each other and benefit throughout the process. There is nothing divine about this transaction, though a lot of people who don't know any better mistake it as such. I can't really do anything about it. Reality is far greater than what most humans assume. There are many unknowns in the cosmos, and our clan just happens to master one of its more mysterious aspects."

Beatrice frowned as she listened to his answer. His words conveyed a lot of information, but without any greater context, she failed to grasp his deeper meanings.

"I still do not understand what your Golden Cat represents."

"That is okay. Let me show you around the Ascension Gallery so that you can get a better understanding of what our clan has built over the years."

Ves gave her a tour through both wings of the Ascension Gallery. He briefly provided explanations for every prominent mech or design spirit on display, making sure to never go into any specifics that were too controversial to share to the uninitiated.

Though Beatrice expressed many doubts about the nature or the motives of the design spirits, Ves went out of his way to explain that they were all helpful so long as the Larkinsons helped them in turn.

"These 'design spirits' of yours sound as if they are fully independent beings that are capable of making their own decisions." She shared one of her views. "What is stopping them from ending their relationships with your clan in the future? How badly will your troops and your customers get affected by their mass withdrawal?"

He grimaced when he thought of this scenario. "It won't be pleasant. However, I have already taken these kinds of scenarios into account. People will get pissed and people will miss the extra functionality that design spirits can add to our products, but it is hardly the end of the galaxy for us. Living mechs still possess a lot of intrinsic value even without the benefit of the glows provided by all of our design spirits. If necessary, I can obtain substitutes that can fulfill similar roles to the original design spirits as long as I have enough time. Therefore, the departure of a long-term business partner will not affect the health of our clan and mech business."

The substitute design spirit would be like a baby compared to other spiritual entities. The glow of such a creation would not be as strong and useful as that of an older being, but there was little Ves could do about that.

He did not hide the downsides of design spirits, but he made sure to explain to her the benefits of using them in their products.

"Design spirits can provide a lot of utility and sometimes power that cannot be obtained through more conventional means. The Pacifier model is probably my most well-known example of that. They are being sold at a scale that is unimaginable for other Journeymen because their tranquil glows are just too suitable for law enforcement and peacekeeping duties. Do you know how many MTA credits it costs to add a glow to one of our products?"

"0.1 MTA credits? No, that does not sound correct. Your third-class mech designs also feature glows."

"It costs 0 MTA credits to bestow our mechs with this feature." Ves smirked. "Do you understand now why many of our products sell so well? Their value propositions are higher because they provide more benefits relative to the prices we charge for them. The only real cost is the need for me to get involved in the design process. I am sure you understand."

"I do. Thank you for explaining that. What you have shared is fascinating. I do not believe there is any organization that has done anything comparable with mechs. In fact, I doubt even the Mech Trade Association is able to replicate your unique works!"

As a mech designer, Beatrice Hendrix was much more capable of appreciating the benefits and value of his design applications. Ves did not need to tell her much in order to earn her appreciation.

Of course, Ves had to share real information with her in order to make her understand. This could be rather dangerous as he was sharing more information than he wanted to expose to other parties.

He was essentially betting that his earnest efforts to present his clan and his works to her would convince her to become a Larkinson.

Once they ended their relatively short but insightful tour through the Ascension Gallery, Ves decided to bring her to the main manufacturing complex of the Davute Branch.

"Let me bring you to the Hammerworks."

The Hammerworks Manufacturing Complex took up a lot of real estate in the Cat Nest. It was the reason why the Larkinson Clan bought this large plot of land in the first place.

As Ves brought her inside the less sensitive production halls that were in the process of fabricating a large amount of commercial mechs, Beatrice quickly became impressed by the scale of production.

"How many production lines do you have?!"

"I don't really know." He shrugged. "The Hammerworks is constantly expanding, so the numbers change every month. I can tell you that our workers here can easily mass produce more than 2000 mechs a day."

"2000?! That is an entire mech regiment!"

Ves did not really consider this to be a notable fact, but it held a completely different meaning for an independent Journeyman Mech Designer who had no mech company or factory in her name.

Let alone produce a hundred mechs, she wasn't able to fabricate a single mech without renting a third-party workshop!

As Beatrice studied the modern production lines that constantly produced a lot of parts and assembled them into brand-new living mechs, she never lost her awe at the scale of industrial activity.

"Does your clan own this entire manufacturing complex, or did you erect it with the help of outside investors?"

Ves smirked. "The Hammerworks is all ours. It officially belongs to the Living Mech Corporation. Just so you know, I directly own 72 percent of its shares, so I am its majority owner. The Larkinson Clan holds 24 percent of its shares while two different Master Mech Designers hold a 2 percent stake each. You can ignore the latter two. Master Carmin Olson and Master Toqueman Huron have never interfered with the running of my mech company as far as I know."

The female mech designer looked gobsmacked. It was as if she couldn't believe that he had managed to grow the LMC to this point while effectively retaining 96 percent ownership over the mech company!

He could quickly sense that her demeanor towards him had undergone a substantial shift. It turned out that Beatrice was much more easily impressed by material proof of his clan's wealth and prosperity.

"This is nothing." He told the dazed Journeyman Mech Designer. "I own a factory ship that holds our best production equipment. Since she is currently being refitted by the MTA, we have temporarily moved all of that stuff to our Genesis Lab and our more secure production halls. One of our latest acquisitions happens to be the AP-VEX first-class superfab. Did you know it cost me 5 million MTA merits to exchange it from the Association? I've also upgraded my main design lab with other high-end instruments and equipment for a total cost 30 million MTA merits. This might sound like a lot to you, but to a prolific contributor to the MTA and humanity like myself, this is just a drizzle. I invested at least ten times as many MTA merits on upgrading the Spirit of Bentheim into a quasi-first-class factory ship."

"..."

This time, his words broke Beatrice Hendrix!