The Mech Touch

The testing and debugging process of the Greenaxe and the Bloodripper lasted for a few days.

The complexity of the two quasi-first-class expert mechs was greater than many of the mechs that the Larkinsons had designed in the past.

The use of many advanced technologies, some of which had been developed in cooperation with local Terran partners, firmly elevated their sophistication and raised their floors and ceilings by substantial margins.

This had many implications, but the most important one was that the Greenaxe and the Bloodripper had so much room for growth that they could fight in their current configuration for a long time without falling behind.

This was one of the goals that Ves wanted to reach for these expert mech design projects. He knew about the existence of general cultivation elixirs. Once Venerable Glendale and Venerable Rodrigo got started on them, their growth would definitely be astonishing.

It would be awkward for them to advance to a mid-tier expert pilot in a few years, only for their expert mechs to be unable to keep up with their growth.

Neither Ves nor Gloriana wanted to revisit their works so soon!

This was why they designed the expert axeman mech and expert light harasser mech to remain competitive for a long time.

Even if it would be difficult for Venerable Glendale and Venerable Rodrigo to make full use of their new expert mechs, they would be able to exert a lot more power once their resonance strengths had reached a more comfortable level!

The Greenaxe and the Bloodripper happened to be so strong in their current configurations that it wasn't strictly necessary for them to get overhauled in order to remain relevant in the hands of high-tier expert pilots.

In any case, since the two expert mechs wouldn't receive any major updates for quite a few years, it became crucially important to get everything right the first time.

Ves and Gloriana had set aside every priority in order to complete this necessary chore. They also relied a lot on Alexa's help. Her immense data processing capabilities and her extensive familiarity with many high technologies turned her into the perfect assistant mech designer.

The three mech designers finally had a moment to relax once they finalized their adjustments and bid farewell to the Larkinson expert pilots and expert mechs.

"It is almost a shame to see them go." Alexa Streon commented. "The Greenaxe and the Bloodripper are so impressive that it is an injustice to keep them as second-class mechs. As long as you implement a number of targeted upgrades such as replacing the power reactor, you should easily be able to convert them into serviceable first-class expert mechs. I also find it curious that you are sending your two latest works to a foreign mech division. Why have you not attempted to send them to your expeditionary fleet?"

Gloriana crossed her arms. "It is because Ves is too tolerant as a patriarch. He refuses to take charge and punish his uncle."

Ves coughed. "Don't talk about stuff you don't understand. My uncle Ark is following an alternate development path. While I don't really care about gaining control over territory and working so closely with states, there are Larkinsons that do not share in the same ideals. Davute can also supply us with a lot of starships, including capital ships. You can never have too much of them in this dangerous galaxy."

"Davute can only supply you with second-class starships." The Terran mech designer said.

"That is true." He sighed. "We formed this deal in a time where I was nowhere close to a tier 3 galactic citizen. It is true that second-class starships are not much use to the Premier Branch. Even so, it is not as if we can obtain first-class starships with ease."

Alexa did not look surprised. "First-class starships are strategic assets in every upper zone. They are a necessity to all Terran clans. Each of them have become obsessed with producing high-level warlords that can protect their territories. The more starships in their possession, the greater the probability that they will be able to benefit from the New Elites Program. Losing is not an option."

This meant that the various Terran powers had become extremely reluctant to trade away their starships. Each one that controlled their own shipyards only built hulls for themselves or their closest partners. There was no more room for orders placed by third party customers.

Ves shrugged at that. "Since that is the case, then we should be lucky enough to get our hands on second-class starships. Our original contract with the Colonial Federation of Davute is still valid. It is prudent to never put all of your eggs in a single basket. If the Premier Branch ever suffers a catastrophic loss or if anything happens to me, our remnants can always fall back to the safe haven provided by the Davute Branch. The same also applies in reverse. If my uncle Ark ever screws up and has to evacuate Davute in haste, our other branches can always lend a hand."

It was unrealistic to uplift every Larkinson to a first-rater. Ves had given up on this notion by this time.

He did not think it was bad to maintain a heavy presence in the middle zones. There were still plenty of talents among second-raters that would otherwise go unnoticed by the established first-class powers.

It was also a lot easier to instill a strong sense of loyalty and belonging to these people who wanted to start a new future in the Larkinson Clan.

With the accumulation of more permanent EdNet quotas, it would become easy to promote the most promising Larkinsons to first-raters. Whether they could compete against native first-raters was another matter, but at least their loyalty should never be in doubt!

In any case, Ves and the other Larkinsons of the Premier Branch went back to their normal routines.

The mech designers eagerly studied the huge amount of empirical data gathered during the testing sessions.

It became a lot easier for Ves and Gloriana to correct and optimize the implementation of their nextgen technologies now that they were no longer working blind!

Many of their mech designs in development benefited from the added clarity and certainty.

The Jupiter Project and the Blood Star Mark II Project particularly made huge strides. Ves and Gloriana had already completed the development of their less important systems, and it would only take a few more months before they were done with the more important features of the two high-tier expert mechs.

On a certain evening, Ves and his family had just finished their dinner and settled down in the living room of their private villa.

Although their current villa was much smaller and less opulent than their former abode in the Cat Nest, it was a lot more secure since it was located in the middle of Diandi Base.

"Meow-"

Gloriana and Aurelia sat next to each other as they petted the gem cat that had laid himself on both of their laps.

They both watched a newscast of a local Terran channel while talking about what Aurelia had learned at school.

"Miaow miaow!"

Clixie's hunting instincts became stimulated as she chased and pounced after a squishy mechanical mouse!

The annoying toy not only happened to move blazingly fast, but also possessed a lot of agility.

There were plenty of times where the toy mouse managed to trick Clixie into leaping into the wrong direction!

"Hihihi! You need to do better, Clixie!" Andraste giggled as she held a colorful game controller device. "I won't give you a treat if you can't catch Mr. Mouse."

"Miaowwww!"

Ves meanwhile sat down on the ground and observes his son playing around with his latest Mekanos.

"I'm bored, papa." The brown-haired boy complained. "I have already put together so many level 3 Mekanos that I can hardly think about designing anything new. Am I good enough now to move up to level 4?"

"We shall see. We agreed that your mother gets to decide whether you are ready to handle greater customization. I suppose you have spent enough time with these rather basic Mekano parts. Let me take a look at your works."

Although Ves did not like the Polymath, he did not possess an unreasonably dislike towards her works.

She was a prolific inventor. The young Star Designer contributed far too many different technologies that people relied upon in their daily lives. No matter how impure her political motivations may be, her technological contributions were undeniable!

Even so, Ves couldn't help but harbor faint suspicions towards the Mekano toys that she invented.

It would be so easy for the Polymath to subtly indoctrinate young and naive children by tampering with their toys.

Yet no matter how many times Ves inspected the Mekano Sets, none of them contained a trace of the Polymath's design philosophy. They were all mundane products that had been mass-produced without any extraordinary influence.

This was why he allowed Marvaine to keep playing with them. They were simply just too good at instilling valuable technical skills to children who aspired to become mech designers.

As Ves inspected the craftsmanship and design choices of a fairly simple but well-constructed hybrid mech, the newcast suddenly became interrupted by an unexpected development.

A loud tone blared from the speakers as well as everyone's comms.

This caused everyone to stop what they were doing!

"That... that is an emergency alert from the Red Two!" Gloriana gasped. "Are they finally ready to announce the new mech generation? It is about time they unveil their next batch of technological advancements."

Ves looked a little more skeptical as he picked up Marvaine and moved over to another couch. "I'm not sure about that. The Red Two should have scheduled their announcement in advance if they wanted to unveil their latest tech. Issuing a universal alert is a different matter. Only the most serious developments merit this emergency measure. I hope nothing catastrophic has happened."

The parents, children and cats all settled down so that they could watch the Red Two's latest priority broadcast.

Almost every other red human did the same. As long as they had access to the galactic net, the universal alert had most definitely reached them one way or another!

As people continued to access the live feed, everyone waited patiently for the mechers and fleeters to unveil their next move.

Soon enough, two familiar figures appeared in front of a familiar stage.

The Lord of Thermodynamics and Fleet Admiral Stanley Argile stood behind the projected logos of the Red Association and the Red Fleet.

Both of them were powerful figures in their own rights, but today they spoke on behalf of their respective organizations.

The fleet admiral spoke up first.

"Humans of the Red Ocean. After months of secret preparations and maneuvering, we are finally ready to deliver retribution to the indigenous aliens. Today is a day where the most precious alien blood shall be shed. As we speak, four of our hidden armadas are on the cusp of launching an all-out assault on 4 of the 27 so-called Tide Stations that were responsible for separating us from the Milky Way! Our most powerful forces shall rain blood and fire to the lackeys of the Red Cabal and their phase whale masterminds!"

"What?!" Gloriana gasped. "The Tide Stations are located deep within alien space! It is nearly impossible to sneak so many forces close to these highly fortified locations."

"So this is why all of the god pilots disappeared shortly after the Great Severing occurred." Ves realized. "The Red Two had been preparing for this move from the beginning. Perhaps not even the aliens expected for the Red Association and the Red Fleet to launch an all-out attack on some of their most formidable strongholds!"

The Lord of Thermodynamics addressed red humanity next.

"Operation Night Jazz is the culmination of our efforts over the last half year. Now that the time for secrecy has passed, we invite you to observe the attacks that are about to commence. We will broadcast all four battles as they unfold on different feeds. You will be able to witness the advance of four different armadas that comprise thousands of warships and an innumerable amount of mechs. Each armada shall be led by two god mechs and two dreadnoughts. Cherish this moment. We shall unveil our latest and strongest tech over the course of the battles."

Nearly every red human reacted with shock at this announcement.

Not only were the strongest forces of red humanity about to attack the heart of the alien opposition, but the Red Two also decided to broadcast the battles to the public!