Chapter 1051
With the peace talks going apace, the relations between the Brighter and Vesian attaché improved markedly. While their easygoing conversations didn't lead to any cross-border collaborations or business deals, they nonetheless added to the tentatively optimistic mood in Kester Hills.
"The peace talks are proceeding very productively, Ves." Professor Ventag said as he paid another rare visit to Ves. His expertise as a Senior Mech Designer took up most of his free time due to all the mech-related clauses being negotiated upon. "Normally, the treaties between the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom are relatively barebones, but this time is different. With other concerns looming on the horizon, we desperately need to find some common ground and pool our strengths together."
That sounded practically alien to Ves. He frowned. Why did the professor bring this topic up with him of all people? "What kind of common ground are we talking about, professor?"
"The terms are still being discussed, so take it with a grain of salt, but I have received permission to fill you in on what we are working. First, let's take a step back. Previously, we talked about the impending transition to the next mech generation. Are you still aiming to hit the ground running in the next generation?"
Ves nodded. "I am."
"Do you know how expensive that can get?"
"I know that the cheapest new component licenses are worth tens of billions of credits at least. As for the good stuff..."
"You can forget about licensing the good stuff." Ventag shook his head. "It is plainly unaffordable for you to acquire the rights to make use of the latest components that the MTA has prepared. In fact, even NORA Consolidated will have some issues if they pay full price for a complete set of component licenses."
"What does the treaty have to do with the new licenses?"
"I was getting to that. You see, the MTA maintains multiple layers of licensing systems. There is one for individual companies, one for states and government entities, and one for alliances and collectives. What the delegations are working on right now is a way to pool the financial resources of our states together to form the third kind."
Ves raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom are actually agreeing to work together on something? And it's with component licenses of all things? No offense, but how can they possibly tolerate such a cooperative venture?"
"Your view on humanity is very cynical, Ves. Although the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom will forever remain adversaries and rivals, that is only in the context of our little pool water. As the little fish, it's fine if we compete against each other. However, what happens if a shark enters the pool? It would be stupid of us to keep fighting against each other. While an outright military alliance is a bridge too far for us, more modest means of cooperation is not out of the question."
"I see." Ves said. "Pooling the resources of our states together to give our mech designers a leg up makes sense."
"The alliance that is created when the peace treaty comes into effect is founded for the express purpose of acquiring a collection of expanded licenses from the MTA when the new mech generation commences. These expanded licenses grants the alliance organization the right to sublicense the component designs they acquired to every company and organization that takes part under strict conditions."
"Sublicensing is a thing with designs?"
"Of course! Mech and component are very expensive, Ves. Do you think that every mech company pays the full fees upfront all the time? The MTA allows for certain accommodations to ease a mech designer's access for licenses, within stringent limits. For example, the expanded licenses vary their fees depending on how many times it can be sublicensed. The majority of the funding provided to the alliance are provided directly by our two states. They are essentially subsidizing the future development of their mech industries."
What a novel arrangement! Ves couldn't help but be astounded by the ambition of setting up such a powerful alliance. This had the fingerprints of Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester all over it! In fact, he strongly suspected it might be the brainchild of Camden Tovar himself. It was the kind of diplomatic solution that a consummate diplomatic like himself would come up with to achieve some limited form of cooperation between the two rivalling states.
Ves picked up something very crucial. "You mention that expanded licenses can only be sublicenses for a certain amount of times. So it effectively amounts to a quota?"
"That is a good way to look at it." The professor nodded with a pleased smile. "Right now, we are contemplating on making the alliance acquire expanded licenses with the right to sublicense them for a total quota of five-hundred, or two-hundred-and-fifty per state. In case of the Bright Republic, it is a given that around a hundred of these sublicenses will be extended to the mech companies founded by our Seniors. Around fifty more will be sublicensed to various government, academic and nonprofit institutions."
"That leaves only a hundred for the rest." Ves already had an inkling of what Professor Ventag had in mind. "Are you saying that the LMC is eligible for the remaining quota?"
"I expect that there will be a lot of competition for the quota. When the Bright Republic's mech industry hears about it, every mech designer will go crazy. However, with Senator Tovar and my support, you can skip this entire hurdle and be directly eligible for a coveted quota. I cannot emphasize the value of this quota. Good use of the new licenses may see your new mech designs be propelled beyond this star sector! Any Journeymen not automatically eligible will fight like sharks in a tank for a quota, but you get to enjoy a free pass if all goes well. We intend this to be a reward for all the services you have rendered and a favor for your continued dedication and service to us and the Bright Republic. Do you understand the value you are receiving?"
"I am very clear about the favor." Ves uttered with an astonished breath. "I am inordinately grateful to the senator and you for bestowing me this opportunity!"
How could he not be shocked by the depth of favor being bestowed upon him? This was practically giving him access to hundreds of billions or even trillion credits worth of new component licenses! Ves always knew that Senator Tovar never skimped on his rewards. This was just the latest example of the benefits he could accrue by remaining in his favor.
Of course, there were two sides to a coin. The professor explicitly said that the value of a quota to the sublicenses issued by the alliance exceeded his merits so far. Saving Senator Tovar from getting kidnapped and preventing Colonel Xelven and Count Reginald's heads from being absconded gave him a huge amount of kudos, but it seemed as if it didn't completely cover this humongous favor.
In other words, Ves became more intricately tied to Senator Tovar and Professor Ventag's camps. Ves only received this quota by virtue of his connections to both of these eminent individuals. As long as he remained on their good side, he would continue to benefit from the sublicenses.
If he somehow pissed them off or cut ties with them, then Ves believed those sublicenses could easily be taken away from him without any warning.
After all, it was the alliance that managed the sublicenses, not the MTA itself. This alliance organization would come under the administration of the governments both the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom, which effectively meant that their senior statesmen called all the shots.
"There is one important point to keep in mind. Do not presume this is a free service." The professor added. "Expanded licenses are extremely expensive, and the only reason the two states are even capable of acquiring them is because the MTA allows them to offset the costs with certain favors and allows them to repay their huge debts over a larger span of time instead of all at once. The ultimate goal of the alliance is to break even."
"So it is essentially a loan rather than a gift?"
"An enormous loan, yes. If the LMC receives a quota, it essentially gains the right to make use of the new generation's component designs immediately while deferring the associated fees at a later date under generous conditions. This is a valuable service in itself because as long as you take advantage of the reduced competition and increased market demand for new generation designs, you will stand to make an incredible amount of profit."
"How will the LMC pay back the money owed?"
"Through a flat per-unit licensing fee. No upfront costs. Depending on how many sublicensed component designs you include in your new design, you'll have to pay the alliance a million credits to tens of millions of credits for each new generation mech sold. This is standard business practice."
Ves smiled thinly. "If everything goes well, the alliance will be able to do more than break even. They'll be able to run a profit."
Ves was familiar with the tradeoffs between licensing a design by paying a single lump sum at the start, by paying a small fee for each use of the license, or a combination of both.
The latter was most common in the mech industry, but not the most ideal.
In situations where a mech designer had complete faith in the success of their design, it was much more advantageous to pay a couple of billion credits for a good license upfront and be rid of any further obligations to pay more fees. When their mech models that made use of those licenses sold for thousands or tens of thousands of copies, the huge upfront licensing costs could quickly be earned back within a year or two.
Every mech sold after this period were no longer burdened with repaying the debt. They therefore offered higher product margins, which in turn entailed higher profits for the company.
On the other hand, if a mech designer was designing something risky or lacked confidence in their own products, then it was much more advantageous to license a design with a pay-per-use payment scheme.
For example, each mech sold meant the mech company paid 250,000 credits or something to the licensor.
The lack of upfront cost made life much easier for the smaller and struggling mech companies. They lacked the capital to produce mechs at scale and wouldn't be able to afford expensive standard licenses.
However, this convenience came at the cost of lower product margins and therefore lower profits. It also made products burdened by on-going pay-per-use fees rather uncompetitive in the long-term.
When market conditions worsened, the first products to become uncompetitive and unprofitable would always be designs that made use of pay-per-use licenses.
Naturally, the licensor, which in this case would be the alliance, stood to rake in massive sums of continuous sub-licensing fees with this payment scheme. It took advantage of the enormous financial strength bestowed by two states and turned it into a way to milk the best mech designers of their states of some of their earning power!
As a businessman, Ves understood the mercantile intentions of Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester very well. For the alliance to pay back the enormous investment the states put into it, they needed to hand over the quotas to the most successful and most business-savvy mech designers.
It was therefore already a given that the Senior Mech Designers of the two states would all be granted a quota. As for the remainder, leaving aside the governments and universities and such, the Journeymen would all be forced to fight over the scraps that remained.
In this, an important condition emerged. The professor adopted a serious expression. "While the Senator and I can give your mech company a backdoor into the alliance, your eligibility is not assured right now. Whether your mech company is granted a quota is highly dependent on whether you can advance to Journeyman by the time the new generation commences. As much as we can bend the rules for you, there is no possible justification that we can use to grant a quota to an Apprentice. I'm sorry for that, Ves."
Ves understood this message very well. Little kids should play in the sandbox while the adults did all the real work. He never felt more motivated to advance to Journeyman right now, and hopefully his upcoming design would give him the impetus to take that much-desired step!
"I will definitely advance to Journeyman within a year. You can count on it, professor."
Chapter 1052
The revelation of an alliance to administer sublicenses of new generation component designs excited Ves to no end. After the professor returned to his own duties, Ves stewed over the implications of this ambitious scheme.
"Professor Ventag never mentioned the cost incurred by the states, but it must be extremely hefty." Ves murmured to himself. "The alliance is in effect licensing a whole set of component designs five-hundred times under special conditions. Even if they are able to obtain a bulk bargain from the MTA, the discount won't be disproportionately large or else everyone else would have already made use of sublicensing schemes."
Another issue with regards to expanded licenses was that the MTA clearly didn't hand them over willy-nilly. Ventag already remarked off-handedly that the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom acquired them in exchange for various non-monetary favors to partially offset the huge sums involved.
Ves guessed that these favors came in the form of increased MTA intervention in the mech industry, the right to set up more military bases in their territories and perhaps a crackdown on behavior that the MTA frowned upon.
In the perspective of galactic geopolitics, this essentially meant the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom aligned themselves closer to the MTA. Of the four most powerful trans-galactic influences, the Big Two and the first-rate superstates all vied for influence throughout the rest of the galaxy.
It was generally a good idea for distant, unimportant states to balance their relations with all four of these powerful entities. In this case, however, the decision of the two states implied that they inched closer to the MTA at the cost of distancing themselves a bit from the other three influences.
"The CFA won't be pleased their main rival managed to worm their way further into the two states." Ves predicted.
None of this concerned Ves. Instead, he would rather much think about the implications to his medium-term business plans.
Once the war ended, he always intended to find a way to earn huge sums of money to afford some of the cheaper new generation component licenses. He was always aware of their pricey licensing fees, so he never aimed to acquire a full set. It was much more realistic for him to license a couple of core component designs to form the nucleus of his new designs.
"This opportunity is even better. Instead of picking and choosing among the cheapest and poorest new generation component designs, I'll be able to gain the rights to make use of the full set without going bankrupt!"
The terms offered by the alliance sounded generous to him. Even though his mech company, which would be the legal entity which sublicensed the component designs from the alliance, owed a continuous flow of fees while selling mechs based off the sublicenses, it was a win-win arrangement for everyone involved.
He knew that only a handful of entities possessed the muscle to refuse the temptation offered by the alliance.
"Perhaps the biggest companies led by the most successful Seniors can skip the alliance and use their own financial muscle to gain more favorable component licenses. As for every other company, it just makes more sense to forgo the massive upfront fees and ease their entry in the new generation by spreading out the costs of sublicensing the new component designs."
Ves did not envision making use of the new generation licenses forever. Usually, a decade into the new generation was enough to allow other component designers and developers to catch up and offer better alternatives at cheaper prices.
However, by then, the first entrants into the market for new generation mechs already captured large swathes of market share and earned a killing. As long as those first entrants didn't publish too many flops, they would certainly be able to hold onto the advantage they gained at the start of the new generation!
"The important point is that mech designers have to hit the ground running. Use the new generation component designs to design amazing mechs. Use the earnings from selling those fantastic new mechs to license evolved versions of those component designs. Rinse and repeat."
Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, the scale of earnings grew larger and larger as long as each design was a solid success. However, just climbing up the snowy mountain took a lot of effort in itself. It was unreasonable for most mech designers to be able to make it all the way up to the top, and even Ves doubted he could go beyond halfway.
The alliance was like a shuttle that picked him up from the base of the mountain and flew him all the way up the top without putting in his own effort.
Naturally, he needed to pay the alliance back for the shuttle ride in other ways, but it beat climbing the enormous mountain with his own two legs.
"This solution solves one of the biggest problems facing my company in the next ten to twenty years." Ves sighed.
All he could say that Professor Ventag knew his condition and the condition of his company extremely well to offer this kind of opportunity to him. While it was predicated upon his advancement to Journeyman, both Ves and the Senior knew very well that this wasn't a difficult hurdle to overcome in this case.
A more concerning implication was that Ves needed to continue to cosy up with his current backers in the Bright Republic. With Senator Tovar as the principal backer from the government and Professor Ventag as his backer from the mech industry, Ves would be assured of a quota despite being one of the youngest and least-experienced Journeyman Mech Designers eligible for this opportunity.
Flashlight might also throw in their support from behind the scenes. They would love it if a mech company under their sphere of influence became a part of the exclusive club of quota owners.
On the flipside, Ves also predicted that he would draw the attention of a lot of jealous Journeymen. He could not ignore the political implications of making use of a backdoor into this new sublicensing system.
"This is a direct shot across the bow to all of the Ansel mech designers."
A quota to Ves, who appeared to be connected to Rittersberg, the Tovar Family and the DCTI was one quota less to a promising and talented Ansel mech designer. In fact, considering the recent KNG Affair, Kadar and Neyvis might miss out on a quota despite their robust design skills and abundant experience!
"It's not really fair, is it? Yet that's life."
The main concern that Ves had to keep in mind that all of this political support did not come for free. Nothing ever came for free. Aside from the financial obligations built into the sublicensing agreements, Ves also needed to continue to maintain relations with his current backers.
While Ves was rather leery of being taken advantage of, especially in light of the depth of Senator Tovar's schemes, it wasn't as if he took advantage of the situation as well. Both of them won in this arrangement. It was just that Senator Tovar won enjoyed the last laugh.
Perhaps one day, Ves would be able to lean back in his comfy chair befitting his status as an overlord and laugh as he occupied the lion's share of any win-win agreements he brokered. That day was very far away at the moment.
It was enough for him to be the junior partner of such an arrangement.
As for the whiners? Who cared. Ves shouldn't have to pay attention to the criticism that accused him of occupying a quota that a better Journeyman Mech Designer deserved more!
"I'll make the critics shut up with the quality of my upcoming designs. I can be just as good as those older Journeymen with decades of experience under their belt." He grinned.
Ves strongly felt that all of the hardships he suffered so far recently had been worth it. You just couldn't buy this sort of leg up. If Ves spent his entire time during the war locked inside some research base performing unimportant work, then he would have never been eligible for such a magnanimous reward.
He was well aware that Senator Tovar and Professor Ventag wanted him to feel grateful and appreciative of this opportunity. The expectation was that Ves would continue to serve on their behalf. For now, that was fine. All of the caveats did not detract from his good mood at all.
As the negotiations progressed, the professor came back again to inform him that the structure of the new cooperative venture had been fixed. If all went well and both states ratified the peace treaty, they would collectively start up the BV Alliance for the sole purpose of administering the expanded licenses obtained from the MTA.
Ves didn't need to guess what the letters B and V stood for. In fact, he found it surprising that Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester dared to be bold enough to allude to the names of the two states with the word 'alliance'. Was this some kind of hint of what the future had in store?
"Impossible." He shook his head. "It's probably a sick joke of theirs. There's no way our two states will agree to join hands in a military alliance."
Portend of the future or not, the BV Alliance seemed to be set in stone according to the Senior. That only left the ratification of the treaty in order to insure the BV Alliance came into being. Ves still felt uncertain whether the two states would actually do that despite the strong animus of support it enjoyed right now from the two delegations.
On his end, Ves needed to hurry up and advance to Journeyman in order to truly secure a quota. Nepotism only went so far, and the influence of the Tovar Family alone was not enough to dictate the entirety of the Bright Republic.
When Ves went back to his fourth original mech design, he refined his mech concept into maturity with the occasional help from Professor Ventag.
Although the man was awfully busy, even a few minutes worth of advice was sufficient for him to realize some improvements over his sketches for a super-medium space knight.
Ves held off on working on the images that would support the design's X-Factor for now. He already had his hands full trying to make the design feasible and effective from a technical standpoint.
As he worked on refining his vision for hours at a time, the only image he really needed was Qilanxo. Thinking about the Sacred God and her amazing feats guided his design work towards a certain direction.
In its current form, the vision for his upcoming mech entailed a heavy reliance on its polarization ability.
"It's bigger and more massive than an ordinary medium space knight, but the drop in mobility does not quite make up for its increase in protective power. It will have to make up for that shortfall with clever use of well-placed polarization fields."
This added to the burden of piloting the mech. Ves knew it could get very intensive trying to calculate the optimal placement and size of the fields during pitched battles. This was an advanced mech design aimed squarely at advanced pilots and specialized space knight pilots.
As a cherry on top of the cake, Ves added another gimmick to his design as well. Inspired by the god crystals embedded throughout the surface of bodies, he planned to reuse the alien crystal technology that he previously used in the design of the Crystal Lord.
By embedding various amounts of small crystals throughout the exterior of his space knight design, it became even more resilient against energy damage. Extremely skilled mech pilots would be able to take advantage of their positioning to absorb a limited amount of incoming laser fire and fire off a weak light beam in return when they accumulated enough energy.
Naturally, their offensive power wouldn't be as exaggerated as the large crystal embedded into the chest of the Crystal Lord, but every little bit helped even if it seemed like a marginally pointless gimmick.
"This is probably going to be one of the most complex space knight designs that is ever published onto the local mech markets in recent times." He surmised.
If he wanted to stand out with his design, he would be sure to accomplish that. His fourth original mech design was anything but generic!
The only concern that worried him right now was whether there would be enough mech pilots who could make use of the added possibilities of his design.
Chapter 1053
Complexity in a mech design came with many implications. Often, both mech designers and the market believed that more complex mechs possessed a higher potential to perform better than 'simpler' mechs.
This was generally the case. However, this rule was a lot more muddier in practice because of the difficulty of maximizing the potential of a mech.
Many mech pilots, particularly those with below-average genetic aptitudes, often struggle to make full use of standard mechs. Some even never improved beyond the basics when piloting a frontline mech which heavily automated many features such as its targeting system and its locomotion system.
If basic knight or rifleman mechs were already too complex for ordinary mech pilots to fathom, what about advanced mechs?
Each feature or gimmick added to the functionality of a mech design increased the number of variables that mech pilots needed to take into account. They already needed to pay attention to hundreds of variables, such as their energy reserves, their armor condition, their damage states, the local air pressure, the environmental temperature, the heat levels of different mech components and much, much more.
Adding additional features on top might very well overwhelm these mech pilots and cause them to either mentally shut down or force them to pick up the bad habit of outright ignoring some variables.
All was not lost, however. While most mechs came with a substantial learning curve, mech pilots who persisted in training with the complicated mechs would increasingly become more proficient in drawing out their strengths.
It just took a lot of time and effort. The more complex the mech, the higher the learning curve.
One thing was for sure. The design Ves had in mind came with a rather steep learning curve despite being based off one of the most simplistic mech types. Knight mechs and their spaceborn cousins were known as one of the most easiest mechs to pilot.
That wasn't the case this time. The super-medium space knight envisioned by Ves brought a lot of new options to the table.
"Will it be a hit in the market?"
Without performing extensive market research, he truly didn't know. Yet his experience so far told him that it occupied a strong if narrow niche in the mech market. Considering how necessary space knights played a role in many spaceborn mech forces, the actual market demand might surprise him. His design offered very compelling possibilities to discerning mech buyers not afraid to deviate from standard mech doctrines.
As Ves contemplated on the increasing complexity of his mech concept while he finalized it, time continued to pass until the negotiators finally settled all of the terms of the peace treaty.
Everyone had been invited to attend the closing ceremony of the peace talks. Secretary Lowe forced him to be garbed in a full dress uniform, which was the fanciest and most formal version of his military uniforms. All of his medals were on full display and shone or glowed in eye-catching ways.
The secretary smiled at him. "Recordings will be made of the closing ceremony. All the news portals will run them when the peace treaty is finally being made public. Remember that this is an event for the history books. Maintain your composure and act like you belong. Your impressive array of medals will look good in the historical archives.
"So I'm basically there as a medal stand in order to make the footage more impressive." Ves smiled ruefully.
"Don't say as if you don't benefit. As a young man in a sea of old people, you'll attract a lot of attention. Just the fact that you are a part of Senator Tovar's delegation is enough to enhance your reputation."
"Am I entitled to more medals? I recently earned a lot of merit. That should count for something, right?"
Secretary Lowe shook his head. "Unfortunately, Senator Tovar has exhausted his connections to the higher ups of the Mech Corps. It will be difficult for him to arrange additional awards to you when you already earned several major distinctions very recently. Some generals and officials might accuse him of padding your accomplishments for political aims rather than genuine merit."
"My merit should not be in question!"
"I'm not arguing with you, but the generals won't see it that way. From what I have gathered, Senator Tovar will make sure the Mech Corps will grant you some form of recognition after we return to the Bright Republic. It is very difficult for him to make his case while we are many lightyears away from New Foundation V."
While Secretary Lowe made it sound like Senator Tovar fought hard for the awards that Ves deserved, the truth was probably less glamorous than it sounded.
Ves figured that Senator Tovar was too busy trying to shape the peace treaty and arranging the political turmoil that resulted from the botched attacks on his person and the peace talks to divert any attention to anything else.
He tried hard not to feel bad about the stalled opportunity to pad his row of medals. Ves did not consider himself a gloryhound who chased after awards and recognition from the military like his uncles and aunts once described.
While he felt honored that he received all of those awards, many regular servicemen performed their utmost and never received anything more than a pat on their back each day.
A decoration conferred honor and recognition, but when it came down to it, a medal was merely a piece of metal tied to a ribbon. The social value ascribed to these pieces of metal tied to ribbons was considerate, but was it essential to Ves?
Not really.
Therefore, Ves dropped the topic and allowed Secretary Lowe to adjust the fitting of his full dress uniform. When he looked at his appearance in the mirror projection, he did admit he looked rather dashing. If not for his green-tinged mech designer uniform, he might be mistaken for a mech pilot instead!
"Alright Mr. Larkinson, you are ready for the show. Go out and make the Republic proud by appearing as your best!"
Once everyone dressed to the nines, they filed into the conference chamber, which the Reinaldans rapidly repaired and reinforced after the previous attack, and stood to the sides while Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester stepped forward in unison.
They approach an exaggeratingly large data pad and signed the electronic document contained within with their own names.
"Senator Camden Tovar and Prince Colchester of the Royal House of Vesia, on behalf of their respective states, have finalized the terms of the peace treaty!" Someone announced in a loud and formal tone. "The peace treaty is ready to be ratified by the administrations of the respective states!"
Everyone applauded politely, mindful of how they would appear in later footage. Absolutely no one acted outside of their station. Even if Ves wanted to scratch his ear due to an itch, he resisted the urge to perform such an undignified action in public.
For the principal representatives of the two states to sign their names on the agreements did not mean it went into effect. In fact, the battle had only just begun.
Ves knew that the next step after finalizing the terms of the peace treaty was to take them back to their respective states and have their governments ratify the entire treaty.
The confusing mess of Vesian politics aside, the Bright Republic's process for ratifying a treaty was relatively straightforward. In theory, the Bright Senate were allowed to consult the peace treaty and consent to ratification. Once they did that, the bright president went on to sign the treaty, formally ratifying it on behalf of the state.
Before the attack on Kester Hills, Ves always doubted whether the Bright Senate would give their consent at all. The political factions that made up the Bright Senate all held varying positions about the war, but most were generally supportive of it. How could they ever be persuaded to give up their opposition to the peace treaty?
Apparently, Senator Tovar had them by the balls. By turning concrete evidence of foul play back to his critics, he possessed the leverage to shut them up lest he air their foul laundry.
Ves had to admit that was a pretty good way to stifle opposition to the peace treaty. Even so, the Bright Senate did not speak for the rest of the Republic. Would the average citizens be able to stomach an early peace with the Vesians?
Probably. The Bright Republic was always the more disadvantaged side of the wars.
Ves worried more about how the Vesians managed to convince their own subjects to swallow the peace treaty. They were much more fervent about the war and would therefore likely resist a premature peace the most.
Prince Colchester had his work cut out for him. It must be much more difficult for the prince of a weak Royal House to get every ducal house to come to a consensus on the peace treaty.
After signing their names on the virtual document, the two statesmen slowly departed after posing for the recording devices. They were far too old to mingle with the crowd of rabble, after all.
In their place, both Colonel Xelven and Count Reginald retook their places as the lead representatives of their respective patrons. Their heads were firmly reattached to their bodies again, and Ves hardly noticed anything out of place, though that didn't necessarily meant they made a full recovery.
Surprisingly, Colonel Xelven directly approached Ves with a smile. "Mr. Larkinson! I never got to thank you for saving me! I apologise for not expressing my gratitude earlier. The operations I went through are not for the faint of heart, you see."
Ves chuckled. "I understand. Not everyone gets to experience what you went through."
"I believe you had help when you saved me, is that right?"
"The presence of Venerable Foster did indeed prove useful in thwarting the intruders." Ves replied, though he did not add that he mainly used her as a meat shield to deter the traitors from shooting at him. He needed to remain diplomatic, if only for posterity. "I think this is a rare instance where a Brighter and a Vesian managed to accomplish something when they worked together."
That sounded good, right? Ves mentally padded himself on his back for coming up with something so positive.
However, Colonel Xelven smiled wider for some reason. "Ah, perhaps we should reunite you with your Vesian partner. I'm sure she will be thrilled to meet her comrade-in-arms for one last time. Come with me!"
The colonel abruptly grabbed onto Ves' arm and practically dragged him over to a small gathering which included Count Reginald and Venerable Foster.
"Ah, it seems our honored Brighter guests have taken the initiative to approach." The Vesian count said with a pleased expression. "Mr. Larkinson, thank you for saving this poor old man's life."
"I was merely doing my duty." Ves replied with a stiff smile. He tried hard not to look at Venerable Foster who stood next to the old count. "Peace is too precious to allow some malcontents to spoil the party."
"Well said!" Count Reginald complimented before he gently pushed Venerable Foster forward. The expert pilot could have easily resisted the push or even knock the noble out cold, but she knew better than that. "Venerable Foster, why not stand next to Mr. Larkinson? The two of you are both heroes. The both of you will look lovely in the recordings."
Venerable Foster looked as stiff at Ves at the suggestion. "That might not be appropriate. We serve in opposing militaries."
"This is no longer a time of war. As far as we are concerned, a new time is dawning. The time where Brighters and Vesians are forced to take up arms when they encounter each other is over. How better to symbolize our efforts than to have the two of you stand in front of the peace treaty?"
"What a splendid idea! Let us immediately make the arrangements!" Colonel Xelven enthusiastically added. "This is a peace treaty that is intended to secure the future of our younger generation! While the previous captures of Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester will look good for the archives, I'm sure the news portals would love it if they can display an image of the peace treaty alongside a pair of young heroes!"
Under the haranging of Colonel Xelven and Count Reginald, Ves and Venerable Foster proceeded to undertake one of the most awkward impromptu recording sessions they had ever gone through.
When Ves attempted to draw his arm towards Foster's back to look a bit more friendly, she growled under her breath.
"Touch me and you'll die."
Chapter 1054
The closing ceremony and all the recordings made there signified the end of the peace talks. No one expected it to pan out so smoothly as the negotiators found common ground a lot easier than they should. It was as if the irreconcilable hatred between the two states never even existed!
"It's probably a function of the real threat looming over our heads." Ves surmised as he boarded the Lormant Carnival. Their stay on Harkensen II had ended and now everyone was on their way back. "As long as you're rational enough, it just makes too much sense to put down the fighting between us to a halt."
Preparations for ratifying the recently-finalized peace treaty were already underway in the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom. Despite the collusion of several highly-placed officials and statesmen in both states, getting everyone else to play along took a lot of wheeling and dealing.
The political machinations behind getting domestic support for the peace treaty went way above Ves' head. He was not a politician nor a bureaucrat, so he left that domain to those who reveled in it such as Senator Tovar and his allies.
One welcome surprise that reassured Ves and the others was that the need to maintain secrecy decreased by a lot. The escort fleet received additional ships and mechs from the Spiral Shockers as reinforcements.
The best part of this development was that the reinforcements stopped bothering with any camouflage and brought their military-grade equipment! The elite Spiral Shockers that arrived to usher the Tovar Peace Delegation back home were able to display their full combat strength!
"Not that anyone has any reason now to attack us besides kidnapping Senator Tovar."
Even then, with the reinforcements from the elite mech regiment, the cost of attempting an attack was too ruinous to attempt.
"Besides, the negotiations proceeded without a hitch and the peace treaty has already been finalized. Even though we're bringing back the data pad with the formal copy of the text, the contents have already been sent back to the Republic through the galactic net."
It wasn't worth it to throw a mech regiment onto the bulked-up escort fleet just so they could destroy a fancy single data pad that only held some historical value at best.
To the opponents of the peace initiative, the rice had been cooked. Right now, the political battlefield concerning their attempts to continue the war moved on to the Bright Senate instead of wherever Senator Tovar could be found.
In short, it meant that Ves could finally put down his guard somewhat and retract some of his paranoia.
The long ride from the Reinald Republic to the Bright Republic took several weeks. During this time, Ves quickly finalized his vision for his mech after receiving occasional input from Professor Ventag.
He couldn't have crafted such an intricate and well-put vision without the experience and depth of knowledge of a genuine Senior. As he finished his presentation of his super-medium space knight, the professor looked somewhat pensive if intrigued.
"It is not a space knight for the average mech pilot." He declared. "The additional options help compensate for the weaknesses brought by your design's unusual weight class, but it is up to the mech pilot to make the most of it. A great mech pilot can achieve fifty percent more value out of your mech compared to a regular space knight, but how many of those are around? Most will squander your super-medium space knight's potential."
This wasn't anything new to Ves, who made peace with his design choices. "If that is the price I have to pay to design a unique mech, then so be it. This is a mech worth designing in my eyes. It's more expensive than regular space knights and it will very likely fall into the premium price category, so amateurs have no place in piloting such an expensive machine."
"Even if your upcoming design flops in the market, it's fine. For a young mech designer like you, it's the experience that counts. In any case, NORA Consolidated takes up most of the burden of producing and maintaining your upcoming mech model, so you'll only have to be concerned with a loss of reputation."
The LMC would still be able to rely on the success of its existing mech catalog to keep it aloft. However, Ves truly did need to add a third product to his meager catalog because the impending transition to the next generation already depressed sales and forced margins lower.
A niche product like the one he intended to design might not have much mass market appeal, but the high product margins allowed it to be an enduring source of cash flow just when the profits of his first two mech models failed to cover his company's ongoing expenses and debt obligations.
The professor just wanted to make sure that Ves would be prepared for the consequences if he proceeded to continue onto this path.
"The internal architecture of my design will probably be above me." Ves admitted. "Since this falls under your specialty, I will rely on you to shore up my shortcomings in that area. I'll instead focus most of my design efforts on the exterior and mechanical layout of my design."
"That is for the best. This is mainly your design, after all, so try not to rely on me more than you have to. From my evaluation of your design skills, your fundamentals are all robust, so it is not a problem for you to independently design the exterior features."
Now that both mech designers came to an agreement on the overall concept of his super-medium space knight, Ves returned to his quarters and proceeded to flesh out his vision into a formal draft design.
Ves had been thinking about how to employ his Triple Division technique. At this stage of the design process, it would help him out a lot to finalize the image intended to shape the X-Factor of his upcoming design.
He already thought over it for many times. Similar to the Crystal Lord, this time Ves introduced an incredibly strong spiritual entity in the form of Qilanxo.
As Ves held her in his thoughts all the time, he felt as if he managed to connect to her, if only nebulously.
He even had a feeling that she was still alive somehow. The imagine of Qilanxo in his mind was just too rich and vibrant, though it was only a pale copy in comparison to her actual spirit.
"Is this what it is like to use a living entity as a basis?" He wondered.
Why didn't he think of this earlier? While it sounded outlandish, basing his images off actual living entities might produce dramatic results!
In any case, Ves expected much from Qilanxo's image. As a Sacred God, her image already fulfilled the role of totem animal.
That meant he needed to accompany it with images for the base model and the human myth. One to adjust Qilanxo to the circumstances of a space knight, and the other to adjust the mindset of the mech pilot to the complexities of piloting his mech.
He first constructed the image for the base model. It took on the shape of the super-medium space knight with the addition of the two gimmicks that Ves had mind. It would take a lot of proficiency on the part of the mech pilot to master the use of the polarizing module and the embedded light crystals, and the image of the base model would help them be more comfortable with their operation.
That was the easiest part so far. Since his mech is so complex, the strong animal instincts provided by Qilanxo demanded strong direction. The human myth should be nearly as strong as a totem animal, or else the balance would be tilted too heavily against the kind of advanced decision-making such a complex space knight asked of their mech pilots.
Ordinarily, Ves would conjure up an image of a mythical human being from his imagination, but he wondered if that was all he should do. What if he repeated what he did for Qilanxo and drew upon an existing human figure to base his human myth out of? It would be even better if the role model for his human myth was still alive!
The moment he entertained this notion, he was almost scared to push through. What were the consequences of using someone else as the basis for the human myth? Did some imaginary trademark police exist in the imaginary realm that would retaliate against Ves if they found out that he ripped off an existing person's likeness for his own ends?
Ves felt as if he engaged in piracy for some reason. He was no different than those pirate designers who merrily borrowed published designs without paying the fees for their use. The only difference was that the other mech designers stole concrete design specifications, while Ves only stole something imaginary.
That didn't detract from the sense of wrongness he felt if he actually went through with this course of action. He already felt somewhat uneasy when he borrowed Qilanxo's likeness, but she was technically an exobeast, so she didn't enjoy as much rights as an actual human.
"Even so, I feel as if I am standing at a crossroads. The decision I make here might have major implications for the future."
His intuition faintly hinted at him that the decision to draw upon a living human being, particularly a mech pilot, might result in something drastic. It was absolutely not as simple as inventing a fictional character in a fictional setting as the basis of his human myth!
"Should I go through with this course of action or should I let sleeping dogs lie?"
Was that even a real question to Ves? He had always been bold with certain decisions, and wasn't his super-medium space knight pretty much a test bed for his various innovations? Since he already deviated from convention a number of times, what was the harm in attempting one more divergence from the norm?
The only problem right now was that Ves lacked a solid source of inspiration for his human myth. He pretty much decided early on that he would base his image on an expert pilot.
After all, why settle for something mediocre for the human myth when he could easily draw upon the likeness of the best?
Ves did have some concerns about drawing upon the likeness of an existing person. He actually did it once for the Blackbeak in the case of using the likeness of a mech athlete called Jackknife Jake.
Yet that person already died, and however remarkable he performed in the water-filled arenas of Moira's Paradise, he was not too exceptional as a mech pilot.
"There's a huge difference between an ordinary mech pilot and an expert pilot."
He didn't have to settle for expert pilots. What about ace pilots or god pilots? Since he was already doubling down on his experiments, why not go all the way?
Somehow, Ves did not think it would be so easy to rip off the likeness of those that people referred to as gods in human form. A shudder ran through his spine when he tried to estimate the strength of their spirituality. He faintly suspected that they might very well crush him in that area alone.
What he intended to do would take place in the imaginary realm where spirituality reigned supreme. Perhaps Ves could easily toy with the likeness of a regular mech pilot with a weak and completely intangible spirit, but what about those with actual spiritual strength?
Considering that his Spirituality was strong enough to resist Venerable Foster's force of will, he predicted that any backlash that he incurred from this action wouldn't crush his mind and turn him into a vegetative state.
"Now I'll just have to decide who to pick."
Unfortunately, no expert pilots came to mind for him right now. Expert pilots specialized in piloting space knights were very rare, and while the Bright Republic did in fact employ several of them, he wasn't fully up to date with their records.
Ves activated his military-issued comm and tried to access the galactic net or an internal database, only to get denied.
"Perhaps I should just ask."
Chapter 1055
The escort fleet made brisk progress in returning to the Bright Republic. It took more direct routes while enjoying heightened protection from the Spiral Shockers.
The highly-alert mech pilots of the elite mech regiment took their previous failures very hard. In order to make up for their abject performance, they intensified their security measures and proactively scared away any ships or mechs that strayed close.
Most of the attachés began to mingle together on the Lormant Carnival. Each of them maintained connections with the Tovar Family, so all of them belonged to the same side.
Ves didn't really quite fit into their circles due to his youth and perceived lack of value. In their eyes, he was Senator Tovar and Professor Ventag's pet. Even owning a multibillion credit business like the LMC failed to qualify him as an equal among their esteemed ranks.
"Well, I'll reach those heights in time." He shook his head.
He was still young and had a long and fruitful life ahead of him with the help of his genetic optimizations.
Still, he missed the company of Lord Javier. As part of some under-the-table dealings, the Bright Republic finally surrendered custody over the Vesian noble. Lord Javier was now a free man once again and would be returning to the Imodris Duchy under Prince Colchester's protection.
He did not miss Venerable Foster. That acrimonious expert pilot never hid her intense dislike for Ves. She used to hate him because he was a Brighter, but lately she began to develop a personal vendetta against Ves for some reason.
"That woman needs to learn how to relax. She's way too intense for an expert pilot."
Most of the Larkinson expert pilots were much more well-adjusted. However, none of them quite ever measured up to Venerable Foster's rapid growth and future potential. Ves had a notion that Foster's single-mindedness was the source of much of her strength.
"The purer the mind, the more coherent the spirit."
Of course, it wasn't all good. There were downsides associated with developing in this direction. Most notably, Venerable Foster's personality exhibited some extreme traits that reminded Ves of the Skull Architect. They possessed a similar kind dedication towards their own pursuits, to the detriment of everything else.
"It's too bad she's isn't specialized in piloting space knights. She would have been an interesting test subject to use." Ves idly chuckled. "Then again, her strong affection for the Hafner Duchy and the Vesia Kingdom might lead to adverse effects."
This was also why Ves limited his search for a suitable human myth to Brighter expert pilots. He did not wish to introduce a strong discomfort to his domestic customers by saddling them up with lingering animosity towards their own state!
"I'm not that stupid."
At this point, Ves felt less like a mech designer and more like a wizard. He found it remarkable how he incorporated a spiritual component to what others purely regarded as a technical and artistic profession. The increasing involvement of metaphysical elements in his design philosophy led to a design style that placed more importance on the spirit behind a design than its performance parameters.
It was fine if his mech did not perform at its best on paper. A mech was not a machine that worked in isolation. Instead, it achieved its full potential when paired with a mech pilot.
Properly speaking, his main specialty concerned the combination of man and machine rather than the machine by itself. When he designed a mech, he wasn't only making design choices with regards to the technical specifications of his mech, but also attempted to influence the performance of the mech pilot!
The former required technical design skills, while the latter demanded more ephemeral intervention on a spiritual level.
It all sounded a bit tenuous to Ves. If not for believing in his own design philosophy and for all of the empirical proof he observed, he would have dismissed all of the hocus-pocus as pseudoscience.
"The more I excel in this area, the more noticeable the effect. At some point, some very observant industry insiders are going to ask some uncomfortable questions."
Ves didn't know yet how he would handle the inquiries when they came. He couldn't lie when it came to his design philosophy, because it was the central belief that underpinned his entire work!
As much as he became increasingly more apprehensive at what the hell he was actually doing, he had already decided upon this direction. There was no turning back unless he wanted to break his design philosophy, which at this point would negate everything he worked towards.
"I'm almost a Journeyman. It's too late for second thoughts."
Right now, Ves wanted to access the records of expert pilots specialized in piloting space knights. He only knew a couple of them who occasionally popped up in the news, but there might be more of them in the Mech Corps who emerged recently during the war.
Ves visited Professor Ventag's stateroom and approached the Senior with his unusual request.
"The records of our expert pilots are extremely sensitive and strictly guarded." Ventag frowned. "You are asking for a lot. Worse, you haven't provided me with a good reason for me to give you access. Why do you need to study their records?"
"My upcoming super-medium space knight design is a mech that is suitable for highly-skilled mech pilots specialized in piloting space knights." Ves replied as he came up with an excuse. "I want to study the best and see what they have in common and how they employ their space knights to their full potential."
"Even so, I can grant you access to plenty of records and archival footage of advanced pilots. They are the actual target audience for your design, and you should tailor your space knight to them. Expert pilots operate on an entirely different paradigm and it is a bad idea to copy the traits of expert mechs onto more conventional mechs."
"I'm not looking to copy an expert mech. I merely want to see how far an expert space knight pilot can push this mech type to its limits."
The professor shook his head. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't grant you permission on the spot. There are rules and procedures in place to protect our expert pilots."
"I see. My request does sound rather presumptuous." Ves looked disappointed.
After conveying his request, they moved on to other topics. One of the more important events concerned what happened next now that the peace treaty was on track of being ratified.
"As far as I'm aware of, while the rest of the Bright Republic is still kept in the dark about the peace treaty, the higher annals of power are already wrangling over whether to accept the treaty. I am not sure how long it will take for them to come to an agreement, but it might happen shortly after we return to the Bright Republic."
"What will happen to me when the war has ended?" Ves asked.
"The Mech Corps will slowly pull back its war footing and begin to take stock of the damage. They'll also start releasing their conscripts from their obligations by batches. The reason why they don't release you all at once is because they're afraid the Vesians might be faking their own demobilization. In any case,you don't need to be concerned about remaining shackled to the Mech Corps for long. Our influence is enough to arrange for you to be discharged ahead of most of the pack."
"Thank you for that." Ves said with relief. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to return to my company soon enough."
"Even though the war hasn't been as lengthy and destructive as everyone initially expected, the Bright Republic's economy has still entered a downturn. Be sure to get your company in order when you take charge."
They discussed some other matters, of which the most important one was making use of certain raw material suppliers. Part of the benefits of moving into the camp of the Tovar Family was that Ves gained the right to enter into favorable supply contracts with some of the family's connected industries as long as he met some conditions.
"Scale is very important when you enter into business with some of these suppliers." The professor mentioned to Ves. "The more you buy, the cheaper the rates. What the suppliers love the most is a stable, high-volume business relationship."
In other words, the more successful his mech products, the higher his product margins. The combination of high sales and decreased costs due to scale resulted in an insane level of profits.
However, this was easier said than done! Ves knew that he wouldn't be able to take advantage of this opportunity at this point in time. Both the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord were premium mechs that only achieved a moderate volume of sales so far. Even if their value depreciated to midrange mechs in the future, they still didn't possess the mass appeal of many of NORA Consolidated's popular mech model.
It was even worse when it came to the expensive boondoggle that was his fourth original mech design. His yet-as-unnamed super-medium space knight was on track of becoming an extremely niche product.
Even with the considerable support of Professor Ventag and NORA Consolidated behind the new mech model, Ves pessimistically predicted that it would only sell a couple of hundred copies a year at most.
It would be truly too difficult to break through an annual sales figure of more than a thousand copies due to the offbeat design of his space knight!
That reminded Ves that he should try and figure out a more convenient way to refer to his design. Just calling it the super-medium space knight in his mind all the time started to become tedious.
"Do you have any suggestions on how to name my mech?" Ves asked out of courtesy.
Professor Ventag idly waved his hand. "A name is very personal to a mech designer. Since you are the lead designer of our joint design project, it falls to you to decide upon its name."
To be honest, Ves already toyed with names such as the Bulwark or the Barrier. However, naming his mechs with such generic terms would only drag down its prestige. His new design should have an ostentatious name that made it stand out from the rest.
"I'll think about it." Ves murmured. "Right now, I'm still deliberating on this matter."
"Don't wrack your head over it. A name is just a name. You don't need to be too poetic about the label you are attaching to your design. Some mech designers forgo names entirely and refer to their designs exclusively with code numbers."
Ves smiled but shook his head. He rejected such an approach that dehumanized the mechs. If he ever wanted mech pilots to treat his mechs with affection, then giving them a unique name was an important component in the humanization process.
"There is one more thing you should know. Since you are close to advancing to Journeyman, I don't see the harm in informing you of what will happen at that point. First, you'll have to visit the Mech Trade Association's sector headquarters in the middle of the Komodo Star Sector. It's situated at a star system that sits right at the border of the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony."
"Why must I go there?" Ves frowned.
Such a trip sounded like it would take months, even if he took the most direct route.
"You don't have to depart immediately. However, you'll only spit in their faces if you take your sweet time to pay a visit to their headquarters. I suggest you make plans and depart immediately. There are several reasons why the MTA demands newly-advanced Journeymen to visit their headquarters. I am restricted from saying them, but know that it isn't detrimental to your career prospects. Journeymen are valued no matter where you find in the galaxy."
The professor's reassurances hardly gave Ves some relief. While he was afraid of entering the belly of one of the biggest beasts in the Komodo Star Sector, it didn't sound like he had a lot of choice in the matter.
What would happen if they demanded extremely stringent identity verification, the kind where they drew his blood? It was impossible for Ves to refuse to hand over his blood.
Hopefully, the headquarters didn't possess any means to find the obscure markers that connected him to the Five Scrolls Compact...
Chapter 1056
The obligation to pay a visit to the MTA's headquarters in the star sector once Ves advanced to Journeyman unsettled him after his meeting with Professor Ventag.
Unless he wanted to cut ties and run off into the frontier to become a fugitive pirate designer like the Skull Architect, he had little choice but to pay tribute to the MTA in this way.
It was yet another concern that Ves had little choice but to comply if he wanted to maintain his elevating status within civilized space. As the professor already mentioned, advancing to Journeyman would permanently mark him as an individual of note in the galaxy.
No longer would he be considered a forgettable individual in the uncounted masses of the rest of humanity. A Journeyman Mech Designer stood on the same footing as an expert pilot such as Venerable Foster, Venerable Xie and Venerable O'Callahan in terms of social status.
Ves huffed. "In practice, expert pilots enjoy all the glory and adoration of the public."
Most mech designers were fine with that. Their profession didn't lend them too well to public spectacles. Compared to a straightforward mech duel between mech pilots, a design duel between mech designers was an absolute bore to watch to most laymen.
The increasingly vain part of Ves hated the popularity disparity between the two professions, but the rational part of him cautioned him that there was little use obsessing over this matter. For better or worse, expert pilots enjoyed all the limelight in the Bright Republic.
Perhaps as compensation for their relative lack of attention, Journeyman Mech Designers usually grew insanely wealthy. Practically every Journeyman who entered the private sector became a billionaire within a couple of years.
Even the Journeymen who opted to work for the public sector or the military received a lot of benefits in the form of access to exclusive knowledge or other accommodations.
"Journeyman Mech Designers have it good." Ves remarked with hungry eyes. He couldn't wait to become one himself! "I'll finally get rid of my pitiful Apprentice status and become a real adult in the mech industry!"
Naturally, the increased power and ability of Journeyman Mech Designers also meant he received new commitments. They couldn't just run off and do whatever they wanted.
With power came responsibility, that was one of the messages that Professor Ventag tried to convey to Ves earlier. As the main galactic regulatory organization for mechs, mech pilots and mech designers, the MTA would make sure that Ves wielded his power responsibly instead of going astray that caused the Skull Architect to flee from the Friday Coalition.
His advancement to Journeyman also led to another major change. His relationship with Master Olson changed substantially as well at that moment. He would finally become a mech designer worthy of her notice.
"She did tell me that she expects me to assist her organization in some way." Ves remembered.
Every Master Mech Designer led a vast organization and influence network of subordinate mech designers and associated companies. As a young and relatively recently-advanced Master, Carmin Olson's influence network was not as large or mature as the influence network of the older and more established Masters.
To Master Olson, the assistance of every mech designer counted, particularly one who she invested in early like Ves. Even if their relationship was mostly transactional, Ves was fine with associating himself to a Master in this way.
Just like his recent association with Senator Tovar, he already benefited from staying under Master Olson's umbrella. Occasionally working on her behalf would allow him to enjoy greater protection and access to exclusive goodies.
"One day, I'll be in Master Olson's position, and many mech designers will compete for my favor." Ves daydreamed with a silly smile.
Even before his advancement to Journeyman, his return to civilian life also gave him the opportunity to reconnect to the System. His reunion to the mystical incarnation of the Metal Scroll was long overdue. Despite its contentious origins, right now Ves highly desired to make use of it to increase his chances of designing a successful super-medium space knight.
"Some of the suggestions made by Professor Ventag is rather hard to follow. It would be good for me if I am actually able to understand the essence of those difficult principles."
A few days quietly passed by as the escort fleet made its way back to the Bright Republic. Surprisingly, Professor Ventag paid him a visit in his quarters and deposited a data pad on his desk.
"Do you remember your earlier request? Ordinarily, Apprentice Mech Designers aren't allowed to access the records of our esteemed expert pilots. However, I've pulled some strings and traded some favors to fulfill your wish. Through a lot of effort, I managed to receive permission to share a redacted record of a single space knight expert pilot from a friendly mech regiment. This is the best I can do for you. Is that enough for your needs?"
Ves picked up the data pad with a careful grip. He felt very grateful for Professor Ventag's efforts on his behalf. "Thank you for fulfilling my request. I'm sure I can do a lot of good with this even if it contains only a single record. It must have been difficult to pry it loose from the Mech Corps."
"You have no idea." The professor chuckled. "Remember, I'm only doing this favor for you because of our friendship and to repay what you've done for us so far. Continue the good work."
Message received. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind in the future."
"By the way, don't take that data pad out or try to copy its contents elsewhere. You only have six hours to study Venerable Fontain's record before the data pad automatically wipes its contents. The guards stationed outside your quarters will come and pick it up after you're done with your perusals."
Ves hardly twitched when he heard that guards had been stationed just outside the hatch. "Got it. I'll be sure to make the most of my time."
When Professor Ventag left, Ves eagerly turned on the data pad. He studied the contents and saw that it contained a number of documents and recordings. The highly secured data pad contained a random collection of descriptive documents, training footage, after-action reports, actual combat footage and even a brief exposition of the individual expert mechs piloted by the expert pilot in question!
"So it's Venerable Rota Fontain!"
Most citizens of the Bright Republic could recite the names of at least fifty expert pilots at the top of their heads. The more well-educated among them could even repeat more than a hundred names.
Venerable Rota Fontain was not the foremost expert pilots in the service of the Mech Corps. However, as one of the few expert pilots who specialized in piloting space knights, he was not an obscure individual either.
The main reason why Ves recalled Venerable Fontain served with the 8th Spiral Shockers of the 3rd New Foundation Mech Division! He even heard rumors that Venerable Fontain was actually part of the reinforcements sent to accompany the triumphant Tovar Peace Delegation back to the Bright Republic!
"It would make sense that Professor Ventag has the most success in persuading the Spiral Shockers to make an exception to the rules."
Familiarity and good connections made everything easier. Ves did not enjoy a close relationship with the Spiral Shockers, but he was pretty familiar with the elite mech regiment. They were pretty stuck-up and didn't make friends very easily. Only a Senior Mech Designer connected to the Tovar Family like Professor Ventag commanded enough respect from them to loosen up their shoulders.
Ves figured this was the way the upper echelons routinely got things done. It was fine if they didn't possess a direct connection to the party they tried to gain favor from. They just needed to issue their request to a friend of the party in question who would do the heavy lifting.
The effectiveness of this method depended on the influence of his connections. In this perspective, getting close to the Tovar Family made a lot of sense as they were one of the most influential organizations in the Bright Republic!
Ves shook his head as he tried to rid himself of distractions. "Well, let's get back to Venerable Fontain. The contents of this data pad won't last forever."
He first browsed his heavily-redacted profile. The man was fifty-five years old and survived the previous war. In fact, he advanced to expert pilot shortly after enduring the ravages of that harrowing conflict.
Sadly, that was too late for Venerable Rota Fontain to contribute to the previous generation's war effort, but he made up for that in training intensely for the current war.
In fact, even if the majority of the Spiral Shockers were put on standby in the New Foundation System, small detachments were occasionally sent to perform special operations in occupied space. The majority of the redacted records were in fact related to these sensitive missions that Ves had no business knowing.
That unfortunately left him with little up-to-date combat footage.
"What a shame. I was looking forward to that."
The more Ves knew about venerable Fontain, the more substantial his image of the expert pilot in his mind became. Studying actual combat footage would help him a lot in visualizing how this space knight expert made use of the traits of his expert mechs.
When Ves browsed through the records even further, he came to the part where they described Venerable Fontain's three expert mechs.
All of them were closely based on standard medium space knights, especially the earlier iterations. Apparently, Venerable Fontain mostly stuck to the basics when he just advanced to become an expert pilot, but evolved his piloting style to incorporate new methods only accessible to mech pilots of his caliber.
It quickly became clear that Venerable Fontain prioritized balance between the mobility and defensive capabilities of his expert mechs.
"Neither too defensive or offensive in use. Due to the quality of their materials and the exquisiteness of their designs, Venerable Fontain's expert mechs are capable of fulfilling both roles at the same time!"
As long as someone invested enough money in a design, their traditional weaknesses didn't apply anymore. It was the same with Venerable Foster's hugely expensive Beliasius. While it was an offense-orient hero mech, all of the Rorach's Bone used in its construction turned it into one of the toughest and most resilient mechs that Ves had ever witnessed!
Many knight mechs would feel ashamed when they compared their defensive prowess to the defensive might of the Belisarius!
"It's a good thing that Venerable Foster lost that disgustingly extravagant mech." Ves smirked.
The succession of expert mechs led to a gradual evolution into facilitating a fighting style unique to Venerable Fontain.
Overall, his mechs fulfilled two separate roles. The first was to be a defensive bulwark against overwhelming opposition. Some of the special operations the Spiral Shockers engaged in called for a certain amount of discretion. They were limited in the amount of mechs and ships they could bring into enemy territory.
This unfortunately led to occasions where they found themselves trapped and vastly outnumbered by the enemy. In these cases, the role the Phovon, Venerable Fontain's current expert mech, provided was critical in facilitating their disengagement!
However, the second role the Phovon adopted was that of an unstoppable juggernaut. Its heavy mass and relatively powerful flight system enabled the Phovon to mimic a cavalry and accumulate a devastating amount of momentum!
When the Phovon unleashed all of that momentum in a single titanic impact with its shield held in front, practically nothing that stood in its way could survive intact!
Reading about the Phovon's offensive uses reminded Ves of a battering ram or a siege engine. Due to the low agility of the Phovon, Venerable Fontain mainly used this mode of attack to batter space stations of starships. Anything that was large and relatively deficient in agility became a prime target to Fontain's unstoppable charges!
Ves became inspired by the descriptions. "Is it possible to incorporate this kind of attack to my own space knight design?"
Chapter 1057
As much as Ves wanted to incorporate some offensive capabilities to his defensive mech, it looked unfeasible. What Venerable Fontain of the Spiral Shockers achieved with the Phovon was beyond mortal reach.
"The mech will certainly undergo a huge amount of stress from such substantial collisions." Ves murmured has he continued to study the contents of the secure data pad. "The design can only come so far in mitigating the incredible forces resulting from these destructive charges. The materials need to be strong enough as well."
It didn't look hopeful for his super-medium space knight design. While it could take a beating, it fared best against energy weapons. The polarizing fields worked fantastic against lasers, but did not do enough to block the damage from ballistic or kinetic rounds.
This was a deliberate design choice to Ves. Everyone knew that laser technology would be undergoing a significant jump in power in the next mech generation, so designing his mech to cope with laser weapons only made more sense, especially in space where laser weapons were ubiquitous.
Taking a direction against energy weapons left his design with some shortcomings against physical weapon. Its complicated internal architecture did not lend itself too well against sustaining severe shocks to its frame.
While Ves found it regretful to leave such a weakness in his design, he could only take a single direction at a time. Besides, a space knight design was already fairly robust, so it was no slouch when it came to absorbing physical damage.
"Mobility is another area where my space knight falters."
A regular space knight actually possessed quite a decent amount of mobility. Their uncomplicated design and lack of weapon systems allowed them to dedicate more of their internal volume to powering a stronger flight system.
While this added capability didn't allow a space knight to keep up with a light skirmisher, it was sufficient to provide them with some offensive options.
Not so for his space knight. It was just too big and with all the extra bells and whistles, it didn't leave enough room to fit a flight system that could keep up with the increase in mass.
In short, regardless of what Ves attempted to do, he couldn't escape the fact that he was essentially designing an obese medium mech when looking at its external appearance.
"My fatty mech's acceleration won't be able to keep up with all the other mechs in play. It takes too much effort to lug around its fat here and there."
That relegated his fatty mech to a purely defensive role.
It was a shame to Ves that he couldn't make use of the offensive aspect of Venerable Fontain's kit, but he couldn't have everything.
A couple of hours went by as Ves delved in deeper into Venerable Fontain's record. The favor provided by Professor Ventag substantially enriched his knowledge with regards to space knights.
He did not particularly lie when he said that it would be useful for him to know what space knights could do when taken to their limits. The Phovon, Venerable Fontain's current expert mech, was a masterpiece in design.
Even though the redacted records were relatively sparse in its details, Ves ascertained that multiple Senior Mech Designers put a lot of effort in pooling their respective specialties together in developing such an exquisitely balanced space knight.
The Phovon's existence showcased the extensive involvement of the Bright Republic's Seniors into the design of its military mechs. Expert mechs did not come about randomly, and their designs simply couldn't be bought from the galactic mech market. They were too rare and tailored to individual expert pilots to be able to work well with others.
To be able to design an expert mech for an expert pilot was an immense privilege and a great opportunity. It allowed mech designers to showcase their design ability in a project with much higher budgets and much fewer practical limitations on the use of expensive materials and components.
Yet Ves could only admire them from afar for the foreseeable time. While it wasn't unheard of for Journeymen to design expert mechs, in practice the Mech Corps would rather turn to the best rather than the second-best to design their strategically important expert mechs.
At the end of the six-hour reading period, the data pad fizzled out. The guards stepped into his quarters without warning and silently took the useless pad out of his grasp even though Ves could do nothing to restore its contents.
When the guards departed, Ves sighed and leaned back against his chair. "Expert pilots are such amazing figures."
He witnessed the power and majesty of expert pilots first-hand on several occasions. It was a shame that those glimpses were too infrequent. Venerable O'Callahan piloting the Parallax Star against the Frosty Meteors made the most striking impression to Ves. That man dared to charge his expert lancer mech straight into the bow of a starship!
"If he wasn't so senile and close to death, he would have been able to showcase his power more often."
Venerable O'Callahan's tragic case showcased the downside to pursuing a mech piloting career. The mutated brain structure that enabled mech pilots to interface with their mechs through the man-machine connection made it difficult for them to extend their lives. Just the first round of life-prolonging treatments geared specifically towards mech pilots was already far out of reach to most expert pilots.
It was different when it came to Journeyman Mech Designers. As long as they worked hard enough and didn't fool around all day, they would eventually be able to scrounge up the money to undergo the first round of life-prolonging treatments. It helped that they didn't have to pay as much as expert pilots because of their 'simpler' brain structures.
"To be an expert pilot is to earn glory and immortality through deeds. Most don't grow older than a hundred-and-thirty years old, but what a fulfilling life they've led!" Ves said in admiration. "To be a Journeyman Mech Designer is to slave away more than half of your extended life just so you can advance and gain enough earning power to purchase another century of lifespan."
Venerable Fontain was already middle aged and after a decade of service, old age would eventually catch up with him, deteriorating his mental agility to a point where it was best to thrown in the towel.
Cases like Venerable O'Callahan who clung to any opportunity to pilot an expert mech was in fact very rare. Most expert pilots already earned so much glory that they were content to retire on a high note.
Additionally, expert pilots weren't immune to loss and injury. Each time they entered the battlefield, they risked coming back in pieces or not at all. The Bright Republic fielded many expert pilots, but the Vesians were no slouch in this department either. The main role of an expert pilot was to contain an enemy expert pilot!
"In any case, I know enough now about Venerable Fontain to start with the next phase."
This was the fateful moment. He constructed an image around Venerable Fontain and felt no resistance. The details he learned and the battles he witnessed allowed Ves to construct an imaginary facsimile of the expert pilot in his mind.
Ves took it slow. He wanted to incorporate almost every detail about his piloting style except for his offensive tendencies. In the best case, some of the skills of the expert pilot might just bleed through to the mech pilots of his fatty mechs through the X-Factor.
For some reason, forming the image did not feel very burdensome to Ves. In fact, when he previously constructed the image of Qilanxo, he only felt a light burden as he bumped up against something unusual in the imaginary realm.
The lack of consequences despite drawing upon a living expert pilot as his inspiration caused Ves to halt before he combined the three images. The lack of weight with regards to his current actions sparked some suspicions to Ves. Was he actually using his technique to its full potential?
His intuition suggested no.
Ves frowned. "What am I missing?"
He experimentally poked around the totem animal and human myth in his mind. They fell short of his expectations. They were hardly different from the images invented from nothing out of his own imagination!
What was the point of drawing upon existing entities when Ves could conveniently design an artificial image from the ground up?
There had to be more. Ves could feel it. He just needed to employ the right technique. Something which was hard to do since a convenient manual didn't exist. As a pioneer in this domain of mech design, he needed to figure out everything by himself!
Ves halted his current spiritual actions and left the images separated in different corners of his mind while he tried to parse the logic of his current actions.
First, mechs and mech designs possessed a spiritual component that influenced the man-machine connection. Ves called it the X-Factor.
Second, the X-Factor resulted from an alignment in spirit between the mech, mech pilot and mech designer. As long as all three of them were of similar minds, the X-Factor exerted its maximum effect.
Third, Ves could consciously shape the X-Factor of his mech design by imbuing them with a spiritual imprint that he called images for convenience. These images were ordinary imaginary creations from his mind, but due to the effects of his Spirituality he was able to breathe life into the images, making them more tangible and living.
Fourth, Ves did not have to base these images out of nothing. He could draw upon existing entities, whether alive or dead. The strongest proof of this assertion was when he made use of the spiritual fragment of a long-dead miniature crystal builder leader to form the principal part of the X-Factor for his Crystal Lord design.
He recalled the time he first came in touch with that spiritual fragment. He came across some ruins and through some shenanigans, he obtained some objects including the corpse of the crystal builder leader that held the spiritual fragment.
Ves lit up his eyes. "This is the key!"
Back then, his ghostly mother drew upon the spiritual fragment with ease. He remembered that she also taught him how to do it himself.
He was still upset that she stole the crystal leader's corpse and appropriated it for her own use, but he largely got over it. As much as he tried to deny it in his mind, his heart already came around to the possibility that she was truly his mother rather than some alien ghost that adopted her identity.
Ves believed she was not who she seemed back when she was alive. Both his mother and the System's origins appeared to be tied to the secretive but unimaginably powerful Five Scrolls Compact.
Even if he advanced to Journeyman, he was in no position to touch upon these topics. Ves left this matter aside and turned his attention back to the advice his mother once imparted to him in their last meeting.
"Resonate with their desires."
In essence, Ves needed to commune with the inspiration of his images. It was not enough to construct a facsimile of his impression of them in his mind. A copy would always be a copy. In order to make them true to life, Ves needed to take another step!
He developed a bold notion. Why settle for copies when he could turn them into an offshoot of the originals? If he could figure out how to apply his mother's resonance technique, he'd be able to borrow some of the spiritual essence of the originals and use it for his own ends!
What a brilliant method!
Yet... would it really be so easy to infringe upon the spiritual territory of a living expert pilot?
What about a more formidable entity like Qilanxo? Not only was she a lot stronger in the spirituality department, she was also incredibly far away.
While Ves believed that physical distance did not play a large role in the imaginary realm, he still needed to put this assumption to the test.
He breathed deeply and centered his mind while he made himself comfortable in his seat. "There's only one way to find out."
Chapter 1058
Ves developed an explanation of what he was missing with his current images. He also remembered a possible solution to the problem.
All good, right?
"Not exactly." He frowned.
He felt a bit apprehensive about his actions. Would it really be fine to knock upon the door of someone else's spiritual territory and ask them if they mind if Ves borrowed a piece of their spirituality?
Spirituality was not limitless, nor could it be supplemented so easily when lost. Ves faintly thought back of when Captain Orfan first interfaced with Qilanxo's vast and ancient mind. A lot of strange metaphysical interactions took place at that time that was difficult to explain. Personally, Ves believed that Qilanxo bestowed Captain Orfan with a portion of her mighty spirituality, thereby propelling the mech pilot straight into an expert candidate!
When Ves studied Qilanxo's spirituality after this phenomenon, he noticed that her spirituality weakened substantially. This essentially told him that spirituality was a scarce and finite resource that was difficult to replenish and needed to be treated as such!
Perhaps the other party wouldn't be aware of the infringement. Yet Ves could not help but sweat if he somehow tipped them off and made them become aware of what they just lost!
He held off on performing the supposed Spiritual Resonance technique on Venerable Fontain. The escort fleet adhered to a standard day-night cycle and it was currently too early for most servicemen to go to bed.
If Ves wanted to maximize his chances, he preferred to perform the technique on Venerable Fontain when he was asleep.
He instead turned his attention to Qilanxo. Despite her greater strength, Ves felt a bit more hopeful about his chances due to his familiarity and friendly relations with the exobeast. If she was still alive, then Ves might be able to ask politely. If she was dead, then most of his concerns didn't apply.
Ves had no idea whether Qilanxo was awake or asleep now, so there was no point for him to wait. He needed to pull the trigger.
"Here goes nothing."
He pretended to enter a seance and closed his eyes. His heartbeat slowed down as he concentrated his mind towards Qilanxo. This time, he didn't just think about her. In order to resonate with Qilanxo, he needed to do more than that. He needed to empathize and understand her motivations in order to establish a true connection with the Sacred God!
Ves thought about her history. Her long reign in the ancient city of Samar. Her fateful participation in the attack of the Flagrant Swordmaiden ground forces. Her subsequent captivity and docile manner towards her captors. Her new bonds with two different mech pilots. Her abrupt escape from the collapsing Starlight Megalodon as Ves slapped a vehicle teleporter onto her hide.
Recalling Qlianxo's history enabled him to fixate upon the right spiritual entity. Yet to forge a connection with her required him to resonate with her desires, as described by his mother.
What did Qilanxo desire?
It was difficult for him to imagine the motivations of a Sacred God. They were beasts that developed sentient, human-like minds. Their acquired rationality reined in their beastly instincts, but did not completely wipe them out.
So what did a Sacred God really live for? Perhaps one striking aspect about Qilanxo and the other Sacred Gods was that they craved worship for some reason. The ancient cities of Aeon Corona VII seemed to be under the complete control of the Sacred Gods who demanded their genetically-engineered blessed people to worship the exobeasts as gods descended from the vault of the gods.
There must be a reason why at least two different ancient cities adopted such practices.
Ves recalled that back when Qilanxo fell into captivity, the Vandals stripped away her godly facade and laid bare many of her secrets. Her instinctual desire to be worshipped was not being fulfilled as the Brighter servicemen had never been brought up to believe in gods. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Qilanxo always behaved a bit listlessly while in captivity.
In any case, perhaps Ves could use this trait to forge a spiritual connection with Qilanxo. While Ves was not a religious type, he believed in the existence of spirituality, which should be a good enough substitute.
In the next half-hour, he tried various methods to worship Qilanxo. It was difficult, and most of the time Ves did not feel anything close to resonance in his attempts.
Eventually, he achieved some results when he prostrated himself on the deck of his quarters and expressed his sincere admiration and respect for Qilanxo's might. God or not, it was indisputable that her spirituality was on par with that of an ace pilot!
As various thoughts ran through his mind, Ves eventually felt he had reached a point where he delved deeper into the imaginary realm than ever before. He no longer strayed along the shallows of that wondrously intangible realm but dove into its depths where his spiritual senses started to become increasingly fuzzy.
He did not know where his mind was being propelled, but at some point he came across a glowing light in the foggy greyish mist that obscured his spiritual senses. As his mind touched upon this massive glowing spiritual light, a strong consciousness suddenly brushed against his own!
"Qilanxo!" Ves uttered with pain as a huge amount of strain suddenly befell his mind!
A lot of different things went on at that moment!
The first thought that came into his mind was that Ves believed that he succeeded in connecting to Qilanxo's spirit! The tenuous connection that abruptly formed between them made it clear that they were separated by an unimaginable distance!
The second thought that came into his mind was that he felt that Qilanxo was definitely alive and well. The spiritual consciousness that he connected to did not feel like a fragment but instead a complete whole that was more vigorous and stronger than ever!
Unfortunately, the huge distance and his unfamiliarity with the Spiritual Resonance technique did not allow for any communication of thoughts. At best, Ves gained a vague impression of Qilanxo's vast emotions.
Worse yet, the strain upon his mind was incredibly burdensome, and only grew worse in a matter of seconds!
His head was overheating and his Spirituality was rapidly wearing out! Ves suspected that he wouldn't be able to maintain this tenuous connection for long!
He needed to make use of his narrow window of time to achieve the objective het set out for! It would be a waste if he worked so hard to establish this connection only to return empty-handed!
Deep within the imaginary realm, Ves tried to convey his request. He wasn't sure if he conveyed the message correctly over this spiritual connection, but he thought he could feel puzzlement and hesitation on Qilanxo's part.
That only lasted for an instant, as Ves felt a sense of gratitude from her consciousness. She still remembered how he saved him when Sigrund woke up and started a rampage on the Starlight Megalodon!
Though it was partially his fault and the fault of the Flagrant Swordmaidens that she became exposed to various dangers in the first place, Qilanxo did not hold that against him. Instead, the her last encounter with Ves left a strong impression on her mind which prompted her to attempt what he asked!
As Ves was only able to maintain the connection for a couple more seconds, Ves suddenly felt that something potent was being shoved through the imaginary channel.
Qilanxo carved out a minute portion of her vast spirituality and propelled it through the channel towards Ves! Due to the vague concept of distance that applied to the imaginary realm, this living spiritual fragment arrived at Ves' consciousness within an instant!
"Ahh!"
Ves cried out in pain and sprawled upon the deck as his head ached with pain! It felt as if a kinetic round bore right into his skull! The spiritual fragment bestowed by Qilanxo was so hot, potent and active that Ves continued to feel a burden upon his mind!
"This is bad!"
Ves was already mentally worn out after performing the Spiritual Resonance technique. Now that he hosted the strongest and most active spiritual fragment that he ever had the privilege of hosting, it would take days for him to recover his spiritual strength.
"Hahahahaha!"
Even so, Ves laughed triumphantly as he believed he succeeded in what he set out to do! His mother was right! Resonating with a spiritual entity's desires allowed him to establish a connection with them in the imaginary realm! That it worked with a powerful living entity like Qilanxo who was man light-years away from Ves confirmed many theories he held towards this field of metaphysics.
He made a lot of progress in his understanding of spirituality! He could practically feel the design philosophy hibernating deep within his mind beginning to seethe with excitement as well. He would definitely be able to enrich his mech designs in light of this development!
His jubilation helped push away some of his exhaustion, but there was no doubt that his mental fatigue left him in no state to proceed any further in his experimentation.
"Damn. It feels like I'm hosting a power reactor in my mind." Ves muttered as he rubbed the side of his head.
He wearily picked himself off the deck before the monitoring system decided that he was having a stroke or something and assigned some guards to check upon him. As he swayed on his feet, Ves lumbered over to his bed and slumped into the soft pillows and sheets.
He instantly fell asleep.
The next day, Ves woke up to a wrinkled uniform and an incessant strain in his mind. He recalled what he did before he lost consciousness and smiled to himself.
"I did it. I succeeded!"
As he concentrated his barely-recovered mind inwards, he detected the small but incredibly powerful fragment residing within his mental space. Ves never came across something so powerful despite taking up a tiny mental footprint.
There was no comparison between this powerful flame and the spiritual fragment of a long-dead crystal builder leader!
Back when Ves hosted the latter, he felt as if the spiritual fragment had been refined of much of its strength and identity, leaving behind a core that held only the most defining traits of the alien entity.
It couldn't really be called alive at that stage. Too much had been lost due to the ravages of time as the spiritual fragment withstood too much external impacts to retain its former liveliness. Ves recalled that he was forced to supplement the gaps in its existence with his artificial images.
For some reason, Ves believed that this would not be an issue with Qilanxo's spiritual fragment. Although it was only a tiny part of a vast whole, it was just as fresh and alive as the real thing. It not only carried all of Qilanxo's beliefs and desires, it also possessed its own internal reserves of spirituality which was completely separate from his own pool of spiritual energy.
This was also why Ves felt as if he stuffed an elephant inside his head. Qilanxo's spirituality was simply too strong for his mind to host. The only reason why his head didn't explode was because the spiritual fragment voluntarily repressed its reactions and kept itself still.
If not for Qilanxo's thoughtfulness on this matter, Ves might not have been able to wake up after he fell asleep!
Ves nervously wiped his brow of cold sweat. "I treated this exercise too lightly."
Establishing a mental connection with a spiritual entity was exceedingly dangerous! His earlier experiment confirmed that it would be an incredibly bad idea for Ves to forge a connection to ace pilots and stronger.
Expert pilots were weaker and more comparable to his current level of Spirituality. Even so, Ves predicted that he wouldn't be able to avoid the repercussions of connecting with them, especially the stronger ones.
Ves did not look forward to repeating this experiment with Venerable Fontain as his target. Yet in order to take the X-Factor of his upcoming design to a greater height, he felt he owed it to his work to put in his best effort.
"First, I'll have to recover. Then, I'll have to figure out when he sleeps. There's no way I'll touch upon him when he's fully aware."
Chapter 1059
Ves put down his work and took a long and relaxing break in order to recover his mental strength. His Spirituality recovered far slower than usual due to the continued presence of Qilanxo's spiritual fragment in his mental and spiritual space.
He described the sensation as hosting a power reactor in his home. While the fragment did its best to keep itself contained, the residual energy leaking out from was incredibly hot and corrosive to his mind. Its spiritual quality and quantity was far above what Ves could muster on his own.
His mind simply wasn't acclimated to this degree of spiritual strength!
Therefore, ever since he woke up after that fateful experiment, he felt as if his mind was constantly being strained. While this burden debilitated him enormously at first, he slowly acclimated himself to the effects.
Ves inadvertently recalled the time he developed the mental resilience training program. By forcing captive dwarf warriors to use their invasive abilities upon the mind-machine connection of a mech pilot with a training mech, the latter experienced a heavy burden on their minds.
The mental pain resulting from this procedure brought a lot of pain to the mech pilots undergoing the training sessions, but they also gained an opportunity to discipline their minds. As they continued to partake in the training sessions, their minds became increasingly more resistant against adverse mental influences.
As the lead developer of this training program, Ves recognized much of the same symptoms within himself. He his mind was already starting to adjust to the ongoing mental and spiritual torture he put himself through when he continued to host a potent foreign spiritual fragment!
The only difference here besides the source of the burden was that Ves possessed a much more robust Spirituality. Even though Qilanxo's spiritual fragment likely put a much greater burden on his mind than the random thoughts of a savage dwarf, his mental strength was just enough to cope with its corrosive outbursts.
"The only problem is that this training session is continuous. I can't turn it off." Ves smiled ruefully to himself. "I guess this is what I get after forcing so many mech pilots to endure their own form of torture."
Whenever Ves emerged from his quarters, he drew several stares due to his slow movements and his strained expressions. Some even suggested to him that he should pay a visit to the Lormant Carnival's medical bay.
"I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all. My comm will alarm me if I am sick."
Even as he said that, he felt as if the insides of his head was constantly on fire. The pain sometimes made it unbearable for him to maintain a proper conversation with someone else. He ignored everyone else aboard the light carrier and spent his time away from others, including Professor Ventag.
When the professor showed some concern, Ves managed to fob him off with an excuse that he was having difficulties with realizing his vision for his mech design.
It helped that it was the truth. Many mech designers procrastinate over their designs and held second thoughts. With all the controversy his fatty mech design would draw from the public, it only made sense if Ves began to harbor doubts.
The misdirection succeeded in fooling Professor Ventag into giving Ves some much needed space.
While being able to polish his mentality sounded nice, Ves absolutely did not enjoy the pain that came with it. He couldn't wait until his mind grew strong and resilient enough to cope with the burden.
In the meantime, he began to consider his approach to the next step in his master plan to perform the most powerful iteration of his Triple Division technique yet. With two out of three of the images based upon actual spiritual fragments instead of pale, intangible images, he expected much out of their eventual combination!
The main issue that concerned Ves at the moment was that he was afraid that Qilanxo's spiritual fragment was simply too strong to be combined with the other two images. The totem animal component of his Triple Division technique overemphasized instinctive reactions without much thought.
It would be very bad for his slow and sluggish fatty mech to make the wrong moves at the wrong time. Its lack of mobility at abysmal reaction time meant that the mech pilot needed to commit to the right decision after a lot of conscious and rational considerations.
Ves did not harbor much hopes for the image of the base model. It was a completely imaginary image that was only included in the Triple Division technique to fit the images better to his eventual mech design.
"Perhaps I can apply my new technique to the base model as well one day."
For now, Ves already had his hands full with all of the innovations he introduced. He didn't feel certain about his speculations concerning how he could empower the base model, so he set it aside and planned to go back to it later after he tallied the results of his current experiments.
"Let's get back to my approach."
Having found out how dangerous and burdensome it was to obtain and host a spiritual fragment of a powerful living entity, Ves knew he needed to be more circumspect in his next attempt.
Back when he first attempted the Spiritual Resonance technique, Ves believed he succeeded in finding her spiritual existence within the vast imaginary realm because he knew her intimately.
It would be a lot harder to find the spiritual existence of Venerable Fontain. Even though he was stationed aboard another ship of the escort fleet and thus not too far away, Ves never met the expert pilot personally so he didn't possess a grip on Venerable Fontain's spirituality at all. How could he hone in on his target's spirituality within the vast and sometimes stormy fog that suffused the imaginary realm?
"I'll just have to rely on the details I've learned from the data pad."
Ves read up on Venerable Fontain's history. He witnessed the expert pilot in battle several times through the provided battle footage.
As long as the information provided by Professor Ventag was accurate, Ves believed he stood a decent chance at finding Venerable Fontain's spiritual existence within the imaginary realm.
Then what?
"Obviously, I can't knock on the door of a stranger and ask for a favor." Ves shook his head.
He had no idea how he would be able to pry a spiritual fragment from Venerable Fontain's spiritual existence, but it wouldn't be as straightforward as last time.
In case Ves encountered difficulties which forced him to resort to unsavory methods, he did not wish to bring an angry expert pilot knocking on the hatch to his quarters screaming bloody murder!
If he wanted to commit a crime and get away with it, the first rule should be to hide his identity. As long as Venerable Fontain didn't know it was Ves who rudely stole a part of his spirituality, then he had no recourse to get it back!
Naturally, Ves only reluctantly dared to do so because he believed he could handle the strength of an expert pilot. While Venerable Foster was no representative of veteran expert pilots, she was already considerably strong due to her talent.
Even if Venerable Fontain possessed a substantially stronger spirituality, the key to Ves' approach that he intended to move when the expert was asleep!
"No one can stay awake forever. For all the talk about comparing expert pilots to demigods, even they need to sleep every once in a while."
The records on the expert pilot already stated that Venerable Fontain was a baseline human. Aside from some light genetic treatments, he was as human as the average person that Ves could find on the streets of Bentheim.
That was good. Baseline humans needed to sleep. They often developed a regular sleeping cycle as well.
As Ves slowly got used to the burden in his mind and recovered his spiritual strength, he tried to develop a way to obscure his actual identity. After all, there was much about spirituality that Ves did not know. He couldn't assume that they became dormant when the person it was tied to fell asleep.
In case Venerable Fontain's slumbering spirituality was lucid enough to capture an impression of the intruder, Ves at least wanted to fool it with a fake appearance!
Ves came up with a simple solution. At least in concept. "Since already so good and practiced at forming images in my mind, why not construct a decoy?"
If Ves developed an image of a pink unicorn and put it in front of his consciousness, perhaps he might be able to fool Venerable Fontain into thinking it was just his mind going astray.
"Why a pink unicorn? Why not something else?"
Perhaps.. he could even cast the blame on someone else! Ves suddenly grinned as a devious thought occurred to him. Why not construct an image of Venerable Foster and pretend to be her when he invaded Venerable Fontain's mind?
What could Fontain do if he became aware of what occurred? He would be obsessing over Venerable Foster, putting her into his crosshairs even as he struggled to comprehend what just happened.
Yet he wouldn't be able to do anything to Venerable Foster without reigniting the war. The mech pilot would be forced to rage impotently as he felt he lost something precious while blaming the wrong target!
"Hehehe." Ves chuckled in an unseemly manner. "I finally get to pay you back for all the things you've done."
He constructed a reasonably accurate image of Venerable Foster in his mind. It wasn't the most accurate impression, but it resembled her closely enough. It helped that he was somewhat familiar with her and interacted with her for hours at a time during the peace talks, even if he did most of the talking during those awkward conversations.
The best part about the image that Ves accurately reproduced Venerable Foster's force of will. Venerable Foster subjected her ire to Ves so many times that he still possessed a strong impression of being at the receiving end of her single-minded spirituality!
Perhaps someone even more familiar with Venerable Foster would be able to spot the flaws in his impression of her spirituality, but Ves ruled that out in this instance. Venerable Foster only recently advanced to expert pilot and she hadn't tested herself in battle against other expert pilots.
Ves was pretty certain that the two expert pilots never met in person!
"Venerable Fontain shouldn't be familiar with Venerable Foster at all."
This gave Ves confidence that his dirty trick would work in deflecting the blame for his upcoming actions.
He took a day to refine his image of Venerable Foster. He defined as much details as he could recall in order to make the misdirection as convincing as possible.
At some point in time, night cycle was well underway across the escort fleet. At least a third of the crew was asleep right now, and Ves bet that Venerable Fontain was one of them. The chances that he wasn't part of the main shift was small, but not nonexistent.
If Venerable Fontain turned out to be awake and fully aware, then Ves might enter into a very dangerous moment of his own making! Intruding upon someone else's spirituality was deeply unsettling!
Yet Ves did not have much choice. Venerable Fontain was a good target for his human myth, and this would be as close as they could get before the escort fleet returned to the New Foundation System.
Ves wasn't entirely sure whether physical distance affected his chances of success. He didn't know whether he knew enough about Venerable Fontain to find him in the imaginary realm, but he needed to move quickly if physical proximity in fact made it easier to pin down his location.
He sat himself on his bunk with crossed legs and pretended to enter a seance again. "Here goes nothing."
Chapter 1060
Throughout his journey throughout the Komodo Star Sector and the frontier, Ves witnessed many applications of spirituality.
He defined spirituality as the metaphysical phenomena associated with mental strength, a certain kind of spiritual energy and imagination.
He learned or heavily suspected that spirituality was the defining factor in determining whether mech pilots advanced to expert pilots and Apprentice Mech Designers to Journeyman Mech Designers.
His mishap in an asteroid field in a quiet star system in the Bright Republic showed him that spirituality could be used to turn intangible and untouchable.
He witnessed the Church of Haatumak, a hidden hand of the Five Scrolls Compact, wield spirituality in novel ways, including being able to detect it by the use of a very weird clone.
His understanding of spirituality advanced quite significantly during the Aeon Corona Mission. His exposure to the might of Qilanxo and witnessing the effects of a bond between a Sacred God and a pair of mech pilots opened his eyes to the preciousness of spirituality.
Spirituality already existed in the galaxy even before Ves first dabbled in this field! What was more, many different people and organizations developed their own understanding of this phenomenon!
Each developed their own applications for spirituality.
Mech pilots for example seemed to develop a force of will that allowed them to exert mental pressure externally. This strong force of will also allowed them to resonate with compatible resonating materials incorporated into their expert mechs to achieve powerful results.
In contrast, mech designers applied their spirituality internally. Through forming their design philosophies and realizing them step by step, they were able to provide a strong direction for their design style and at the same time implement very abstruse concepts into their work that empowered them beyond what normal people could accomplish.
Lucky and his ghostly mother both acquired the ability to turn intangible. In fact, Ves experienced a pseudo effect of this from the creepy worshippers of Haatumak, who became undetectable to everyone without spiritual senses!
Other applications of spirituality doubtlessly existed. Ves regarded spirituality as a type of energy that was difficult to observe, grasp and master. In fact, one of the major reasons why spirituality hadn't become a well-developed scientific field in the galaxy was because no one had found a way to measure or observe it directly! The most they could do was to gather some clues from the applications of this elusive phenomenon!
Everyone excelled in certain applications of spirituality, and Ves possessed a unique one as far as he was concerned. For some reason, he was very perceptive to its existence.
This changed everything as far as he was concerned. Being able to sense spirituality meant he could interact with it directly while having a clear direction of its use. The techniques he developed were all related to his imagination and the imaginary realm. He used his perception and his developing Spirituality Attribute to his own advantage in empowering his mech designs and mechs with a spiritual quality!
Frankly speaking, Ves considered his derivative ability to create images and breathe life into them by imbuing them with his Spirituality to be his specialty in this field. Mech pilots may be able to resonate with their own equipment while Lucky possessed the ability to turn intangible at will, but Ves did not feel jealous because his own specialty suited him the most!
"However, that is not the extent of my abilities."
Influencing the X-Factor of a mech was only one of several possible applications. Now that he developed a Spiritual Resonance technique, he somehow gained the ability to connect his spirit to someone else's spirit regardless of distance!
Ves could already see the many possible uses for such an unheard-of ability that resembled long-ranged telepathy.
His new application of spirituality was not as amazing as it sounded, however. It was hard to hone in on the right spiritual imprint that someone left in the vast and directionless imaginary realm.
Only expert pilots or entities of similar spiritual strength occupied enough weight in the imaginary realm for Ves to find. Even then, he needed to know them well enough to be drawn to their existence. His mental compass grew more reliable the more he knew about his target.
In this case, Ves learned enough about Venerable Fontain to be able to stumble upon his presence in the imaginary realm after fifteen minutes, though his sense of time in the imaginary realm might not be very reliable anymore.
When Ves cast his spirit in the imaginary realm, he never thought about his own presence. The imprints of spiritually strong entities residing in the imaginary realm didn't seem to be very aware.
Perhaps Ves might have some scruples if some native spiritual entities resided in this metaphysical plane, but he never encountered anything of the sort. They wouldn't be able to exist for long without a source of spirituality holding their existences together.
How did he know that?
It was because his image of Venerable Foster was starting to degrade when he put it out of his mind and shoved it within the imaginary realm!
There was some sort of corrosive aspect to the windy fog that kept eating away at the insubstantial image. Other hazards might exist as well that prevented idle thoughts from polluting the imaginary realm with nonsensical thoughts.
"This place is very eerie now that I think about it." Ves thought to himself while trying to hide and obscure his own presence in the imaginary realm.
He constantly pumped his spirituality into the image of Venerable Foster, empowering it so that it radiated a vibe that resembled her force of will.
This image formed the key to his harebrained scheme of trying to obtain a spiritual fragment from Venerable Fontain of the Spiral Shockers.
Ves knew that his next act might substantially harm Venerable Fontain and impact his ability to pilot his expert mech. Yet he figured that with the war about to end, the loyal Brighter expert pilot wouldn't need to be in tiptop shape anyway.
Ves did not think any further about the potential consequences of messing with someone's spirituality in order to stop second-guessing himself.
He couldn't afford to let his guilty conscience get in the way of progressing his ability to design mechs!
He needed to go through with his plan so that his upcoming fatty mech design would feature the strongest iteration of the X-Factor yet! The potential gains attracted him like a moth to a flame, and at this point he was so hungry for improvement that he would do anything to advance his specialty!
No wonder Senior Mech Designers could be so maniacal about their own research sometimes!
"Even if I'm eager, I should make sure to be careful as well."
Ves drew his own spiritual presence further away from Venerable Fontain's spiritual presence. He then began to puppet the image of Venerable Foster and controlled it like a mech pilot controlled a mech.
Foster approached the boundary of Venerable Fontain's spiritual presence. To Ves, it appeared like a giant egg-shaped wall. It was a rock-solid barrier that protected the core of Fontain's spirituality against the corrosive fog of the imaginary realm.
When Foster's image brushed up against it, a painful feedback transmitted back to Ves. He immediately got an impression of Fontain's will!
Where Venerable Foster's force of will contained an aggressive and domineering edge, Venerable Fontain's will instead carried an unyielding and indomitable quality.
The contrast was striking. Fontain was less aggressive and that reflected in his force of will. Above all else, Ves learned more about the expert pilot in that single touch than spending six hours reading through his record!
Venerable Fontain didn't appear to be a space knight specialist that clung to any notions of knighthood and chivalry. Ves got the sense that he used to be a normal mech pilot who somehow lucked out in the spirituality department and succeeded in advancing to expert pilot.
In any case, Fontain's force of will mattered a lot because his spiritual presence within the imaginary realm was like an all-encompassing space fortress!
The image of Venerable Foster rotated around Fontain's fortress but found not a single opening or gate for it to break through.
"Damnit. This guy is so obsessed with being unbreakable that he doesn't have any weak points in his spiritual presence!" Ves mentally cursed.
Ves did not let this hindrance stop him. If he couldn't worm his way through the cracks, he would just have to make an opening himself.
"There's no other way to crack into this shell except to apply brute force."
He contemplated on how he should go about it. He entertained trying to conjure up a railgun or even a fully-featured mech into existence, but all of those options sounded far too convoluted and time consuming.
The corrosive fog constantly wore down his Spirituality while he delayed! In fact, right now the fog wore him down twice as fast because it affected his invisible presence as well as the image of Venerable Foster at the same time!
The more complicated the image, the longer it took for Ves to form it into existence. He couldn't wait that long and run out of steam just as he was ready to breach Venerable Fontain's shell.
He split his concentration yet again and formed a simple lance and reinforced it as best he could. In fact, Ves derived the design and material composition of his latest image to the main weapon of the Parallax Star. He only changed its external appearance a bit in order to avoid having the weapon traced back to himself.
When he figured he pumped enough of his Spirituality into the lance, he moved it over to the image of Venerable Foster. Ves felt an increased strain in his mind as he multitasked his excursion into the imaginary realm. The more images he tried to maintain, the greater the strain on his mind.
Fortunately, his high Intelligence Attribute allowed him to keep track of several things at once. Ves made use of of his enhanced cognitive functions to run several activities at once.
Even so, he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, especially since his mind already carried the ongoing burden of hosting Qilanxo's spiritual fragment.
"I need to hurry up."
The armed image of Venerable Foster brandished its new lance before backing up a fair distance. After honing in on her target, it uttered a scream and charged forth!
The impact happened in an instant! Ves felt a sharp spike of pain in his mind as the violent contact directly put his Spirituality at odds with Venerable Fontain's force of will!
The lance gained the advantage! While the best part about Fontain's mental fortress was that it exposed no weaknesses, it wasn't particularly resilient against a concentrated attack either! Venerable Fontain was forced to spread his force of will over the entire surface area of his mental fortification, thereby diluting the potency of his spiritual strength!
"If Venerable Fontain was awake and on guard, it would have been a lot harder to pierce through this shell."
Right now, the hole the lance managed to form in the shell exposed a bright and psychedelic gaseus substance inside! Some of it had already started to leak through the hole but most remained within the shell.
Ves mentally lit up at the sight! This couldn't be anything else except Venerable Fontain spiritual energy!
The image of Venerable Foster laughed deviously as it extended its hands and scooped up handfuls of hot and glowing gas. After some thought, Ves commanded the image to press the balls of gas against each other, compacting it into a more solid form.
This put another strain on his mind but Ves increased the pressure because he did not think he would be able to work with a bunch of spiritual gas. The spiritual fragment needed to be more solid and self-contained in order to prevent it from dissipating!
As Ves applied more pressure through the image of Venerable Foster, he had the notion that he was metaphorically butting heads with Venerable Fontain. Some of the expert pilot's confused thoughts began to filter into his mind.
Ves began to realize that Venerable Fontain was starting to regain his consciousness!
"I have to hurry up! I don't think I'll be able to steal from him once he's fully awake!"
The undignified image of Venerable Foster kept poking it hand into the hole in the fortification and drew back a ball of gas. The image then pressed the ball into the growing chunk of compressed spirituality that increasingly resembled a self-contained spiritual fragment!
Just when Ves thought he stole enough spiritual energy to work with, Venerable Fontain's fortification began to shudder!
WHO DARES! A VESIAN?!
Spikes suddenly emerged out of its smooth surface, one of them impaling the image of Venerable Foster directly!
The attack transmitted a huge spike of pain into Ves' mind, throwing him directly out of the imaginary realm!
Just as he was removed from this realm, he made sure to drag along his loot from this excursion as well!
Chapter 1061
Ves laughed in triumph as he returned with his prize. He did it! He managed to seek out Venerable Fontain's spiritual presence within the imaginary realm and abscond with a portion of his personal spiritual energy!
The success of this imaginary excursion confirmed several theories that Ves developed about spirituality and its connection to the imaginary realm. There was a lot of potential here. His unique awareness and perception of spirituality allowed him to interact with it in ways completely novel to those who were blind to its existence!
He quickly stifled his laughter and tried to regain his composure. It wouldn't do to attract too much attention from the monitoring system, especially after inflicting major harm to Venerable Fontain!
Since spirituality seems to play a key role in empowering expert pilots, and losing a small chunk of it would certainly be felt by them! Ves expected that his actions would lead to severe consequences for Venerable Fontain, and none of it would be good!
Above all else, Ves could not afford to be connected to the crime!
Therefore, the next day, Ves tried his best to shake off his exhaustion and spiritual weariness and pretended to work on his upcoming mech design.
He browsed through NORA Consolidated's vast library of component licenses which Professor Ventag generally gave him access to at some point. He wanted to familiarize himself with the options at his disposal and the limitations he needed to take into account when he began to work on his upcoming draft design.
Just as the morning shift progressed, an alert sounded from the hatch to his quarters. It opened up barely a second later. A squad of guards hailing from the Spiral Shockers quickly entered. Some of them carried weapons while others held scanners.
Ves stood up and pretended to be surprised. "Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?"
"Please stay still while we inspect your quarters. We have reason to suspect that intruders may have infiltrated the escort fleet."
"Are we in danger?"
"We have already found one major instance of sabotage." The guard officer replied. "In light of this egregious sneak attack, we are scouring every single corner of our ships. For the duration of our return journey, we will remain in yellow alert. I highly suggest for you to remain within your quarters for the duration of this emergency. We don't want anything happening to you, Mr. Larkinson."
Ves nodded graciously. "Understood. I won't get in your way."
He hoped that the guards didn't detect anything strange about the cold sweat pouring down his back. For some reason, what he just did last night spooked the Spiral Shockers into thinking that Venerable Fontain suffered a deliberate attack!
His actions single-handedly threw the entire escort fleet into disarray!
Fortunately, it didn't appear that they thought that Ves had anything to do with the attack. After five minutes of fruitless searching, the guards quickly left his quarters, shutting the hatch as they departed.
Outwardly Ves looked mildly concerned. Inwardly, he sighed in relief. Nothing about the behavior of the guards suggested that they kept up their guard against him. They were just searching his quarters as ordered, not expecting to find anything incriminating.
Ves tried to keep the grin off his face as he became more and more reassured that no one connected the incident back to him. While he was very curious how exactly Venerable Fontain suffered from the breach of his mental fortification and the theft of some of his spiritual energy, he didn't possess the requisite authority to make any inquiries.
It was already suspicious enough that he asked to obtain Venerable Fontain's record.
"I should let sleeping dogs lie."
He already got what he wanted, so to involve himself further would only invite more suspicion on him. Instead, he continued to pretend that he was studying something on his terminal while he focused the majority of his concentration into his own mind.
Qilanxo's spiritual fragment occupied the majority of his mental space. Even at rest, it continued to exert a substantial influence on his mind.
His mind slowly firmed up and got used to the pain. Yet that did not make it any less dangerous. He still felt as if a powerful bomb had nestled deep inside of him. Even if the fragment was remarkably well-behaved, its mere presence alone represented a substantial risk to his mental health!
Sitting in the far side of his mental space rested another image. The pale image of a space knight that served as the base model did not possess any intrinsic spirituality. It only carried as much as Ves had been able to bestow on it. He now realized that this process was rather weak and unrefined.
"I can only animate an image to the extent I understand its life."
It was beyond his means to totally reproduce the entire life of a complete image. He had the best chance of doing so with mechs, but at this stage he lacked the knowledge, experience and direction to animate the image of a mech to the fullest extent.
"I should develop another technique that can address this shortcoming one day."
Right now, the base model wasn't too important so Ves left it be. He turned his mental concentration to the only other spiritual fragment in his spiritual domain.
Fontain's spiritual fragment looked a lot smaller and weaker than the one he received from Qilanxo. It made sense as the Sacred God was comparable to an ace pilot while Venerable Fontain was only an expert pilot.
Ves also hadn't managed to steal a lot of spiritual energy in his last excursion into the imaginary realm. While he couldn't quantify how much spiritual energy he absconded with, he figured it wasn't very much.
He made some estimations based on the relative size and proportion between the balls of gas and the huge size of Fontain's mental concluded that he may have only nabbed less than a single percent of the expert pilot's total spiritual energy at most.
Tiny as it was, the spiritual fragment carried Venerable Fontain's imprint, and that turned it into a valuable resource for his current design project. With this fragment along with what he learned from the expert pilot's record, Ves would be able to repurpose it into the finest human myth he had ever conceived!
Right now, Ves was at the cusp of shaping the three images and combining them together. Comparing their relative strengths, he was afraid that Qilanxo's spiritual fragment would be so strong that it would outright wipe out the other two images when they approached.
"I can't let that happen."
As he shaped the fragments into a form that resembled his images but better, he tried to communicate with the fragments.
He had no luck with Venerable Fontain's spiritual fragment. It seemed to be governed by a remnant of Fontain's will, and it somehow knew it landed in hostile territory.
Considering that Ves did not base the X-Factor of his upcoming design around the human myth, he didn't bother trying to beat it into submission.
Instead, he intended to let Qilanxo's spiritual fragment do all the heavy lifting. The only problem was that Ves wanted it to subsume the weaker fragment without annihilating it entirely. How could he get it to cooperate?
"Maybe I should just ask."
Ves concentrated even deeper and tried to commune with Qilanxo's spiritual fragment. He mentally directed its attention to the other two images and tried to convey two powerful concepts.
Predation.
Assimilation.
Just those two words. As Ves was afraid that a derivative of Qilanxo's consciousness wouldn't be able to understand the meaning of those two words, he conveyed his own understanding of them along with his messages.
The spiritual fragment flared. It understood his intentions. Quicker than he thought possible, it blazed across his mental space and gobbled up the image of the base model and Fontain's spiritual fragment!
After that, it returned to the center of his mind and began to experience several convulsions as it added on new traits!
The spikes of pain that accompanied this transformation quickly broke up Ves' concentration and kicked his consciousness out of his own mental space.
"Ahh!" Ves nursed his head. "This damn headache is getting worse."
He hoped that Qilanxo's spiritual fragment would have enough sense to incorporate the right traits from its meals.
As Ves waited for hours, the spiritual fragment eventually finished its digestion. When Ves tentatively reentered his mental space, he did not spot too many differences. The powerful flame that represented the fragment still carried a strong imprint of Qilanxo's consciousness. Only minute portions of the base role and the human myth had been added to its existence, with the latter playing a slightly more substantial role.
Ves inwardly sighed. "This is the best I can do for the moment."
That wasn't entirely true. Ves suspected that he could repeat his earlier excursion and pay another visit to Venerable Fontain's spiritual presence within the imaginary realm.
If the damage that Ves previously inflicted was as serious as he thought, then the hole in the shell may not have been patched up yet!
Yet Ves instantly dashed that thought from his mind. While it sounded great if he could strengthen the human myth component of his Triple Division technique, the risks far outweighed the benefits.
Venerable Fontain would certainly be on guard against intrusions now!
"I'd be a fool to return to the scene of the crime so shortly after the first violation."
He learned an important lesson here. If he wanted to obtain a stronger spiritual fragment from someone in the future, he better to it right the very first time!
As the slightly-improved spiritual fragment started to stabilize, Ves tentatively believed it was ready to be put to use in helping him design his next mech.
Ves took a deep breath and activated the design software on his terminal.
Working with an active and independent spiritual fragment that mainly carried Qilanxo's imprint rather than his own demanded a change in his approach.
Before he worked with spiritual fragments, Ves pretty much controlled his images as if they were puppets. Even if they contained some spark of life, they were undeniably figments of his own imagination, so Ves exerted a very strong influence over their imaginary lives.
This time was different. Qilanxo's spiritual fragment only carried a minute portion of his imprint due to assimilating the image of the base model which fully spring from his own mind.
Ves made another important observation. Whether he could control an image or a spiritual fragment depended on the source of their imprints!
"I subconsciously program my own images to be obedient to me." Ves surmised.
He knew he was a bit of a control freak. Whenever he created an image, he would always seek to keep them under his thumb. There was no sense in conjuring up a bomb that exploded in his face.
It was different with Qilanxo's powerful spiritual fragment that had been slightly augmented by the assimilation of the base model and human myth. Despite consisting of only a tiny portion of Qilanxo's vast spirit, it was far stronger than any spiritual strength that Ves could ever muster!
"If I can't control the fragment, I'll have to negotiate with it instead!"
In order for Ves to make use of the augmented spiritual fragment, he needed to coax it into cooperating with his design work.
Fortunately, the powerful fragment proved cooperative to his overtures. Qilanxo's good impression on Ves carried over to the spiritual fragment she freely bestowed to him. Having the fragment's cooperation made his life much easier as it barely took any effort for him to get it to cooperate.
Ves realized that he might not be so lucky next time when he embarked on another design project.
Not every fragment would have a good impression of him, as Venerable Fontain's spiritual fragment already demonstrated.
"I'll have to beat them into submission or find some way to make them more pliable. There's no way I can entrust a hostile entity to assist in my design work." He muttered.
Chapter 1062
After embarking on several metaphysical experiments that led to a lot of new discoveries, Ves found comfort in returning to familiar ground.
While the new techniques he developed possessed a strong connection to his design philosophy, Ves sometimes felt he was engaging in magic rather than mech design. It felt good for him to resume his identity as an engineer rather than wizard.
"I can only handle so much weird stuff at a time."
Ves was afraid of pushing the envelope even further. So far, most of his theories panned out, but it could all come down like a house of cards if he pushed against the limits of what was possible. He still wanted to confirm whether the changes he made would actually improve the X-Factor of his upcoming design.
"More is not always better. My experiment can still backfire on me if I handle it improperly."
Designing mechs centered him in a way that nothing else could. He embraced his old routine as he slowly developed his draft design.
The only difference was that he felt as if he hosted a second consciousness in his mind that mentally looked over his shoulder. Extending a connection to the augmented spiritual fragment and having it ride on his shoulder as he designed his mech felt as if he was emulating his previous Mastery experiences.
He found himself narrating every design decision, which slowed down his progress but also insured he was very thorough with his work. He had to be in order to justify his design choices to the spiritual fragment.
On its part, the augmented spiritual fragment provided quite a lot of suggestions. The image of the base model that it assimilated beforehand granted the image a good understanding of space knights. In fact, the fragment's knowledge was derived from Ves' own understanding of space knights!
This realization gave Ves a brilliant idea.
"If the knowledge imparted to the images are acquired from the source, why not borrow it from another mech designer?"
The Triple Division technique started with three sources and combined them into one.
Ves started with the notion of basing the image of the totem animal to an actual existing animal or exobeast. While Qilanxo was one of the most powerful exobeasts that Ves had ever encountered, the galaxy offered many wondrous forms of life. As long as he looked hard enough, he would probably be able to find another majestic exobeast to serve as his totem animal, though it likely wouldn't be as strong as Qilanxo on a spiritual level.
As for the human myth, Ves already decided upon borrowing spiritual fragments from living expert pilots. Although the ethics of his actions were rather questionable, he was willing to go through great lengths as long as he managed to empower his mech designs!
Still, the implications of his latest idea took him aback. It wasn't enough for him to steal spiritual energy from a mech pilot. Now he was already plotting to do the same to his fellow mech designers!
"They'll have to be at least Journeymen if I want to obtain anything substantial."
While Ves did not have a complete picture on how mech designers made use of their design philosophies, he knew that if he wanted to empower the images of his base models, he needed to obtain a chunk of it somehow.
Design philosophies represented the core of a mech designer's values, beliefs, biases, design style and aspirations. It served as the nucleus of their specialty and played a key role in distinguishing their mech designs from the works of others!
Ves instinctively knew that they would suffer a substantial amount of harm if he attempted to chip away a chunk of their design philosophies. He also knew that mech designers guarded their design philosophies jealously and only imparted them to their direct disciples.
Yet the possible gains attracted him immensely. If his speculation was right, he would finally be able to complete the trifecta of making use of three empowered images, thereby upgrading the Triple Division technique to an entirely new height!
He strongly believed that empowering all of his weak and insubstantial images with distinct spiritual fragments was a viable way forward! While it was likely not the only method he could use to achieve higher grades of X-Factor, it was the only one he could come up with right now that was within his reach!
Yet... a sliver of doubt crept up in his mind. Compared to borrowing or stealing spiritual fragments to dumb exobeast and technically ilitterate expert pilots, stealing another mech designer's design philosophy sounded exceptionally risky!
"Mech designers are intimately familiar with their own design philosophies. How could they not recognize an echo of their own work when I borrow a portion of their own design philosophies?"
Ves was also afraid that making use of another mech designer's design philosophy would contaminate his mech design and muddle up the influence of his own design philosophy. He needed to be exceedingly careful and deliberate on his approach lest he screw up in the process.
While the idea sounded incredibly compelling right now, Ves resisted the urge to embark on yet another detour. The abnormal strength of Qilanxo's spiritual fragment already insured it overpowered every other fragment.
Even if Ves recklessly enacted his plans and stole some chunks of a colleague's design philosophy, the vast majority of it would likely become crushed by Qilanxo's awesome spiritual might.
"My current design project is very much centered around Qilanxo, and that's fine."
Ves wanted to design an extreme mech design unconstrained by the prevailing trends in the mech industry.
Imparting his design with a strong bias from Qilanxo might result in unexpected surprises when a mech pilot interfaced with his mech. He looked forward to seeing what would happen when a mech pilot came under the influence of an X-Factor boosted by an abnormally powerful spiritual fragment.
Of course, Ves did not wish that all of his mech designs became so extreme. Pursuing balance was a necessity if he wanted to appeal to the broadest audience possible. This was also why he valued this latest insight so much. The thought of being able to balance out the three elements of his Triple Division technique was incredibly tempting.
"It's easier to pick the right targets when it comes to mech designers."
Most successful mech designers ran their own companies and published their work openly. Ves could easily study their public record and most of their mech designs from the public databases of the MTA.
"If I want to design a knight mech, I should target a mech designer who specializes in designing knight mechs. If I want to design a rifleman mech, I should target a mech designer who excels in designing rifleman mechs."
Most mech designers didn't dedicate themselves to designing a single type of mechs. While Ves would still be able to obtain something useful out of stealing a portion of their design philosophies, most of it would be irrelevant junk that wouldn't impart the traits he sought for in his images of the base model of his intended mech designs.
"Purity matters more than quality or quantity. The fragments that I want to obtain will need to be relevant to the design at hand. Where better to find them than from mech designers dedicated to a single type?"
He envisioned the process as a way to get a fellow mech designer to co-design his own mech! Naturally, the secretive, dubious and harmful nature of this action didn't give the co-designer any choice.
Ves was basically attempting to force another mech designer to contribute to his mech design without their consent!
He couldn't help but smirk at the outrageous thought. "It's fine as long as I don't get caught. I'll have to figure out a way to hide my traces while I do it, and that will take a while."
He returned to drafting his upcoming mech design. Due to his latest insights, he was in a good mood. His work easily took shape and Ves didn't get stuck very often during the drafting phase.
Still, his vision for his upcoming mech design was so complicated that it would take weeks for him to finish drawing up his draft design. He merely managed to complete half of his draft before the escort fleet finally crossed back into the Bright Republic and returned to the New Foundation System.
Throughout the entire journey, the Spiral Shockers kept up their guard and continued to search their ships for anything connected to the attack on Venerable Fontain. They failed to uncover anything amiss.
Even so, Ves still felt the tension among the elite servicemen as he emerged from his quarters with a floating luggage trunk trailing behind him. He tipped his head at the guards who escorted him out of the Lormant Carnival.
"I heard that Venerable Fontain suffered an injury of sorts." He asked as casually as possible while they strode towards the main hatch of the light carrier. "Is he okay?"
"Venerable Fontain's condition is classified."
Figures. Ves gave up on his attempts to squeeze any information out of the guards. They were too well-disciplined to gossip away vital information.
As Ves exited the ship, he emerged in an enclosed section of a military space station. Most of the attachés split up and went their separate ways, taking transits that brought them back to different parts of the Bright Republic.
Ves was in a strange situation where he didn't have any posts he could return to after he completed his current assignment. Alistair Cordwraith found him shortly afterwards and took him to a transit shuttle that brought them down to the surface of New Foundation V.
"The war is about to end, so the Mech Corps won't bother with giving you a new assignment." Senator Tovar's executive assistant explained while the shuttle breached the atmosphere. "Senator Tovar has arranged a number of ceremonies to celebrate the peace talks. We are holding them in order to build up political support for the ratification of the peace treaty in the Bright Senate, so you will have to dress impeccably for these gatherings."
"I think I have had my fill of formal gatherings." Ves said mildly while trying to hold back his groan. "Please, I don't think you will need my presence and my shiny medals. I'm not used to mingling with high officials and they won't see me as anything other than a curiosity at this point. Can I please skip attending these ceremonies?"
Mr. Cordwraith turned his head at looked as Ves in an askance expression. "We are offering you an opportunity here. Many important politicians, businessmen, military officers and academics will attend the upcoming ceremonies. Many mech designers would kill to be able to get in touch with some of the leading individuals of our state. As long as you impress them or manage to gain their favor, they can help you in many ways."
"No thanks." Ves instantly declared. "I think my current relations with the Tovar Family are sufficient for the moment. All of you see a lot of promise in me, but to be honest I don't feel I am able to meet all of your expectations right now. I want to go back to my work and endeavor to advance to Journeyman as soon as possible."
"Hmmm... you do have a point." Cordwraith murmured as he rubbed his chin. The shuttle leveled off a bit during its descent to the surface. "I will strike you from the attendance lists, then. Perhaps it is for the best, because you are a very polarizing individual at the moment."
"What do you mean?"
Mr. Cordwraith didn't say anything, but instead activated his comm and entered the galactic net. He browsed to a very popular news portal in the Bright Republic.
The projection depicted a very striking recording of Ves and Venerable Foster standing side-by-side next to the formal data pad of the peace treaty!
MAKE LOVE NOT WAR: HOW A DREAM COUPLE SINGLE-HANDEDLY ENDED THE WAR!
Ves wanted to puke out blood. What kind of nonsense headline did the news portal slander him with! How could they possibly think that he and Venerable Foster were a couple?!
Chapter 1063
"The war is over! The war is over!"
A week after Ves returned to New Foundation V, political support for the peace treaty grew past a critical threshold. The Bright Senate ratified the peace treaty and the bright president signed it shortly afterwards!
The Vesians also ratified the peace treaty at the same time, thereby marking the formal end of the war.
A cease-fire had already been agreed upon at the time of the peace treaty's unveiling, but only now did it appear that true peace had been achieved!
Ves looked out of the window of his guest quarters at New Foundation V and sighed in relief. As much as he learned so much from his wartime experiences, he did not wish to perpetuate this senseless conflict any longer than it had to. Now that both sides agreed to an early peace, his wartime service had come to an end.
His exemplary performance and his powerful backing put him ahead of the pack. He already received a formal discharge notice from the Mech Corps, releasing him from service today.
"I have Mr. Cordwraith to thank for that." Ves sardonically smiled as he finished his cup of tea.
During his stay on New Foundation V, Ves did not dare to come out of his guest quarters. His face was plastered all over the galactic net because the Bright Republic's news portals all displayed the recordings of Ves and Venererable Foster standing together!
"They promised they would only be recording us together for archival purposes!"
Instead, the news portals outright fabricated a secret love story that transcended state borders. There were so many untruths in what the sleazy journalists claimed that Ves was tempted to sue them for slander.
Unfortunately, the law never tended to favor the victims of slanders in the Bright Republic.
On the surface, it appeared that the news portals possessed a carte blanche to publish any kind of truth they wanted. Since they were in competition against each other, they constantly sought to publish more sensational stories. Was it any kind of surprise that they became accustomed to embellishing the facts?
"There's a thin line between embellishing the facts and distorting the truth. It's far too easy to cross into the latter."
Practically no news portal displayed recordings or images of Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester. Compared to showing off these two old geezers, it was much more attractive to present a young and talented couple who not only earned impressive achievements as demonstrated by their medals, but also lent itself to a sensational forbidden love story!
The cynic in Ves did not believe that the news portals ran with such a stupid story just to attract more viewers.
When Ves studied the news articles, he noticed that all mention of Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester had been scrubbed away. The news portals all seemed to follow a hidden directive that attempted to shape public opinion in a certain direction.
What Ves had a problem with was that the Tovar Family made use of his public image to their own advantage without asking for permission!
With all of his recent publicity, Ves had gained a stellar reputation in the Bright Republic lately. Yet now that the stupid rumors of a hidden romance between a Vesian expert pilot and himself emerged, a lot of people started to develop an intensive dislike of him! The damage to his reputation was incalculable!
When Ves took up this topic to Mr. Cordwraith, the man was not very accommodating.
"Mr. Larkinson, we worked hard to turn you into a war hero." The executive assistant explained as he crossed his arms. "You would have never gotten as much recognition from the Mech Corps if not for Senator Tovar advocating on your behalf. Without his intervention, you would never never received your new Plasma Spark medal for the merit you've earned during your last assignment."
Ves did indeed gain another medal recently after undergoing a mandatory ceremony conducted by Major General Clesse. Receiving the third-highest medal from the Mech Corps neatly complimented his Darkness Eater, but it did not make up for all of the bad press he received.
"My reputation is rather important to me and my business." Ves replied mildly. "The LMC will not be able to fare too well in the Bright Republic if all the pro-war nuts hate my guts."
"Your concerns are noted, but I suggest you adapt to it, Mr. Larkinson. Aren't you already leveraging your military decorations for your own ends? I'm sure you can make use of the extra publicity somehow."
In other words, now that the Tovar Family made use of his reputation, it was up to Ves alone to pick up the pieces.
"I'll deal with it somehow. It isn't the end if a mech designer acquires a mixed reputation."
Plenty of controversial mech designers managed to do brisk business. The extra publicity fueled them, as even bad press called more attention to their products.
"This is a new beginning. I've emerged from the war with far more gains than I expected. I shouldn't quibble over such a trivial issue."
The fast news cycle would soon depress the current stories and replace them with fresh ones to distract the public from their worries. Over time, the public would forget about the false story, though they might still remember his name when they next saw an ad from the LMC.
If there was one enduring benefit that Ves received from all of the publicity, it was that his name recognition was probably the highest among the Apprentice Mech Designers of the Bright Republic! There were probably a lot of Journeymen who were much less known than him at the moment!
A new beginning dawned.
With the war at an end, Ves was about to return to his company. He could make use of his increased public profile to hype up the products of the LMC. In fact, he was already planning to do so once he completed the joint design project with Professor Ventag.
Ves spent his time fruitfully during his week-long hiatus. With the help of the augmented spiritual fragment in his mind, he worked on his draft design and managed to complete it just yesterday.
His draft design depicted an imposing space knight. Based on the parameters of some of NORA Consolidated's best component licenses, he drafted the space knight with an eye towards maximum defensive power. Its super-medium weight class made it larger than regular space knights.
It showed. His attempts to incorporate the large polarizing module into the design of his space knight led to an unfortunate aesthetic design decision. In order to maximize his design's internal volume and keep it relatively balanced and controllable when in flight, Ves opted for the most efficient if not the most visually pleasing option.
"It's fat."
His space knight resembled a sumo wrestler with wings. It looked like an upright flying pig and flew like one as well due to all of its extra mass. Sluggish and unwieldy, his space knight design obviously did not excel in mobility.
Still, Ves regarded his draft design with affection. Its girthy frame made for an iconic sight that always stood out from a crowd of mechs. It exhibited a compelling luster that caught the eye no matter how much people wanted to brush aside.
To Ves, the spiritual quality of his draft design already exceeded every other draft design he composed. Not only did he perceive an increase in spiritual strength, but also an increase in complexity.
Two explanations came to mind when he noticed these differences.
First, his Spirituality probably increased his strength, allowing him to imbue more of it into his designs.
Second, the added flavors blended into the spiritual nature of his draft design carried the imprints of Qilanxo and Venerable Fontain. They mingled with his own imprint for a total of three different influences.
They did not exhibit their influence in equal proportion. As the originator of the design, Ves left the deepest mark. However, Qilanxo's spirituality was so strong that it threatened to overpower Ves' influence.
Among these two major influences, the remnants of Venerable Fontain's spirituality only occupied a minute portion within the space that remained. Its influence was so faint that Ves wouldn't have been able to sense it if he didn't know it was present.
The current pattern was a portend of the final shape of the X-Factor of his finished design. It carried a more complex blend of flavors than before, which reminded Ves of some of the mastercrafted mechs fabricated by renowned experts in their craft.
"Perhaps this is the direction I should develop towards with my design specialty."
He felt he was working towards becoming a magical enchanter who spiritually imbued his mechs with sparks of life derived from astounding existences and living legends.
"Life does not emerge from isolation. A story cannot emerge from nihility."
Ves already felt his design philosophy churning with excitement at the many insights he came up with recently. He already felt it was worth working on the joint design project for this reason alone.
The more he worked on his space knight, the more he uncovered new possibilities to advance his core specialty!
"Still, it isn't all good."
A specialty granted a mech designer a strong and possibly unique advantage in a single area related to mech design. However, they also locked a mech designer into a fixed direction of designing mechs, making it difficult for them to take another direction.
Ves recognized a major vulnerability with his current direction of advancement. His design philosophy showed its greatest strength when he empowered the X-Factor of his designs with spiritual fragments of other spiritually strong entities.
What happened when he couldn't or didn't want to do that? The X-Factor of his designs would be stunted and weak. They would be no different from the X-Factor of his earliest designs, thereby giving his mech designs only a minute spiritual advantage.
"If I truly decide to go in this direction, I'll have to resign myself to becoming dependent on external sources."
Even so, the benefits outweighed the costs. While his own Spirituality slowly grew in strength, his spiritual imprint did not come with the correct traits to compliment the totem animal and human myth of his Triple Division technique.
Ves could achieve much better results by drawing upon the spiritual fragments of real exobeasts and real human heroes. While obtaining these fragments required him to research his targets and go on a dangerous excursion into the imaginary realm, it was no different from travelling to the frontier in order to hunt for treasures.
From a business perspective, what Ves was doing was to enhance the value of his designs by adding some extra raw materials to his designs. He only needed to do it once to permanently increase the quality of the X-Factor of his designs. This was a lot more generous than designing an expensive mech and having to source the rare exotics each time he wanted to fabricate a copy.
"I'll just have to make sure to do my research properly."
The biggest weakness associated with his specialty that he wouldn't be able to do much if he didn't have access to the right information. Right now, Ves did not lack for resources, as the galactic net contained an almost limitless amount of data for him to trawl through.
If the galactic net didn't provide any suitable material, then he could draw upon his connections to the Clifford Society or his backers to draw upon more obscure information.
Yet what if Ves found himself stranded on a planet without a connection to the galactic net? It happened once during his deployment to the surface of Aeon Corona VII, and it could easily happen again some day.
"I should make preparations for that." He murmured.
He already came up with two possible solutions.
First, he could delegate the information gathering to his company. They could gather information on thousands of notable exobeasts and expert pilots.
Ves could then memorize the details in advance, so that if he fell into a situation where he needed to design a mech quickly, he immediately knew where he needed to go to obtain the right spiritual fragments.
The second solution was to develop another technique. One which went into a different direction than making use of spiritual fragments.
Ves believed his current method wasn't the only way to imbue his mech designs with a strong X-Factor. He already developed some preliminary ideas, but whether they were viable or not remained to be seen.
"It's hard to be at the forefront of a new and unknown field." He sighed.
Chapter 1064
After a long time, Ves finally shed himself of his military uniforms and his eye-catching medals and ribbons. He packed all of them deep within his floating luggage trunk and planned to stuff them into his closet the instance he returned home.
Currently, Ves sat in a luxurious waiting area on one of New Foundation's commercial space stations. The space station served as a nexus for transit in and out of the strategic star system.
Few people in the lounge recognized him despite seeing his face plastered all over the news recently. He took a page out of Ketis' playbook and bought an overpriced beret from one of the trendy fashion stores at the space station.
The black beret rested comfortably on his mop of raven hair, though it wasn't the poofy kind which helped Ketis hide her horns.
In order to make himself more incognito, he also copied Melkor and bought a large violet visor that covered half of his upper face. The bright violet color made his visor look gaudy, but it was the largest model the electronics store offered.
For some reason, slim and tiny visors were in vogue these days.
Complemented with a drab casual outfit, Ves looked completely from his sharp and impeccable appearance in the media. Once he donned his accessories, practically no one on the space station gawked at him anymore.
Only one person approached him. When Ves looked up from his seat, he recognized the newcomer's merchant navy uniform.
"Captain Silvestra!"
"Mr. Larkinson, the Barracuda awaits your arrival."
"Good. Let's go."
Ves followed the captain of his corvette out of the lounge and into a series of expansive hallways before they arrived at a pier dedicated to smaller starships. After undergoing several security inspections, they were finally allowed to board the Barracuda.
Shortly after their entry, the Barracuda requested and received permission to separate from the space station and depart. The slim corvette followed a fixed route and slowly sat in line as she waited for her turn to transition out of the New Foundation System from the closest Lagrange point.
After Ves settled in his luggage in his personal stateroom, he entered the bridge and witnessed the proceedings.
Even though several years had gone by, the Barracuda and her assigned crew hardly changed. The interior of the ship may have received some new additions, but it was still essentially the same corvette that Ves received after reaching the finals of the Leemar Open Competition.
The small, all-women crew of the Barracuda looked as fit and attractive as ever. They seemed incredibly familiar with the operation of the ship, which they should after serving on the same ship for years.
Ves sat silently in his observer seat as he witnessed Captain Silvestra calmly dealing with traffic control while at the same time issuing instructions to Miranda Pham, the ship's helmsman.
Only until the ship successfully transitioned into FTL did everyone relax. It was always a hectic moment when they tried to navigate in such a busy part of a busy star system.
"We are now underway to the Rittersberg System, Mr. Larkinson." Captain Silvestra reported.
"Understood. Keep up the good work."
The New Foundation System was very close to the Rittersberg System so the trip would only take a couple of days. Ves figured that since he was already close to the Larkinson Estate, he might as well pay a visit there before he travelled to the Bentheim region.
Ves planned to have a good talk with his grandfather and possibly make some dealings with the family's steering committee. He did not forget that he was an elder of the family by virtue of his business accomplishments.
"How will they treat me now that I've survived and thrived in the war?"
Now that he gained possession of a normal commercial comm, Ves was able to catch up to recent events. He did his best to ignore the stories related to the supposed romance between Venerable Foster and himself and moved on to any news related to the Larkinsons.
A lot of stories popped up. As a famous military family, the Larkinsons attracted a decent amount of attention wherever they showed up. Some of the military veterans of the last war distinguished themselves again during the current generation's war, but they didn't attract as much attention as the rising stars of the family.
Perhaps the most eye-catching Larkinson to stand out from the younger generation was Venerable Ghanso Larkinson.
"So he's a Venerable already?"
He only spent a short time as an expert candidate before he quickly advanced to become the latest expert pilot for the 1st Volari Starhawks! Due to his quick and seemingly effortless advancement, everyone believed that Ghanso had a bright future ahead of him in the Mech Corps!
"Still, he's not the only Larkinson to excel in the war."
Perhaps owing to the shortened duration of the war, none of the other notable Larkinson mech pilots managed to advance to expert pilot. Even so, two more members of the family managed to become expert candidates, giving them hope of catching up to Ghanso Larkinson in time.
The first one that stood out was Porellia Larkinson, the granddaughter of Ovrin Larkinson. Unlike many other Larkinsons, Porellia eschewed more mobile mechs where she could put her excellent mobility training to use and instead opted to specialize in piloting landbound heavy artillery mechs!
Somehow, her operation of these sluggish machines became so good that she somehow reached a superhuman level of performance! All of the engagements she participated in accelerated her development as an expert candidate and it seemed it was only a matter of time before she advanced to expert.
"Good for her."
The other expert candidate in the family was Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson, the grandson of Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson.
Ves did not have the best impression of Raymond. The old man never suffered any hardships. As the Third Elder of the family, he managed family's trust fund and other finances.
Fortunately, Tusa managed to escape the fate his grandfather by possessing the right genetic aptitude. He specialized in piloting aerial light skirmishers, which everyone regarded as one of the most dangerous mech types to pilot.
The dangers associated with piloting a flimsily-armored light mech above incredibly hectic battlefields scared most mech pilots away from piloting this mech type. Knowing that some marksman mech could score a lucky hit and send it to the ground meant that only true daredevils possessed the confidence to specialize in these risky but incredibly versatile machines.
Even with the high degree of stimulation, Tusa only managed to become an expert candidate only recently. This suggested to Ves that it might not be certain that his chances of advancing to expert pilot was a lot less optimistic compared to his cousin Porellia.
"Now that the war has ended, Tusa won't be able to stimulate his potential so easily anymore."
That was a shame. Perhaps Tusa might have developed a grudge against Ves seeing as he was being associated with the drafting of the peace treaty.
"Well, it's not like he'll walk up to me and punch me in the face." Ves grinned. "As a careerist, he'll be stuck in the Mech Corps for a long time while I'm back to being a free man."
Naturally, Tusa would still get to enjoy leave and be able to return home in between his deployments. During peacetime, the mech pilots of the Mech Corps never served consecutive tours of duty. Otherwise, how would they have the time to start up their own families?
"My own father shacked up with my mother shortly after the previous generation's war." Ves recalled.
The end of a war meant a new beginning for many people. Many people married and many children were born shortly after each war. It was as if the citizens of the Bright Republic were eager to inject some happiness in their lives so that they could forget the horrors they suffered during the war.
Ves knew for sure that the higher ups like Senator Tovar deliberately fostered such an atmosphere. Under this prevailing mood, the social pressure for unmarried men and women to hook up and start their own families became a major force in the Bright Republic.
"The Vesians are probably the same in that regard."
The Barracuda did not spend too much time in FTL. She emerged from FTL in the sphere of influence of one of the gravitic anchors exerted by one of the four starforts in the capital system.
Ves admired the sight of the nearest starfort while the Barracuda underwent an extensive inspection by the local patrols. The inspectors did their job diligently as if the war hadn't ended yet. Just because hostilities ceased didn't mean that the threat had passed.
"The Vesians might still double-cross us, and the Bentheim Liberation Movement won't take the early peace lying down I think."
The BLM plotted to coordinate an attack on Bentheim with the Mech Legion for such a long time that the sudden cancellation of this major operation must have frustrated them immensely.
Ves knew that the BLM was incredibly persistent in its unrealistic dream to turn the Bentheim System into the heart of an independent state. They would surely pull something off sooner or later, and everyone knew it. Due to all of the security measures within the Rittersberg System, it took an extra day for the Barracuda to reach the orbit of Rittersberg I.
The corvette didn't even receive permission to dock at a space station, land at spaceport on the surface or park herself permanently in orbit. Instead, Ves had no choice but to call for a transit shuttle that brought him from the Barracuda and flew down to the spaceport at Kelnar after some delay.
Once he arrived at the majestic-looking spaceport, he went through more inspections and bureaucratic hurdles before being able to board a shuttle sent by the Larkinsons.
The shuttle brought him from the capital city of Kelnar to the smaller, military-oriented city of Varleton. There, the shuttle landed on the landing pad of the Larkinson Compound.
When Ves stepped out of the shuttle, he breathed the fresh air of the well-regulated planet and became invigorated. "No wonder the Larkinsons make their home in Varleton. It's so peaceful and serene here."
The plentiful greenery and large estates fostered a peaceful environment that was ideal for military veterans to recover from the traumas of the war.
Even Ves felt tempted to spend some months here. Sadly, his business and career obligations prevented him from taking an extended time off. His current design project demanded a lot of design work due to its high complexity.
When Ves stepped into the large, open garden courtyard of the Larkinson Compound, he immediately attracted a lot of attention.
He made for a very odd sight with his beret and visor. Despite his disguise, it didn't take a lot of time for someone to recognize his identity.
"It's Ves Larkinson!"
The younger Larkinson children already dropped their toys and scurried over to Ves. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight. His aunts and uncles watched on from their chairs with understanding smiles.
Even though they hadn't approached him yet, Ves could feel some kinship with the older generation. They lived through the previous generation's war and had been marked by the conflict.
Compared to his last visit, a lot fewer Larkinsons resided in the compound. Many of them returned to active duty due to the recent war. Others just moved out and resided elsewhere.
A young girl tugged at his arm. He recognized Lanie Larkinson from his last visit, though she was a lot shorter and cuter back then. He couldn't help but smile.
"What is it, Lanie?"
"You promised me a mech. When will you give me a mech?"
"Did I?" Ves adopted a confused expression.
"You did! You promised to give me a mech for my birthday!"
"I don't think you're old enough to test your genetic aptitude."
"It doesn't matter! I'll definitely become a mech pilot!" Little Lanie pouted.
The other brats all started begging for mechs as well!
Chapter 1065
It took some time for Ves to divest himself of the clingy little brats. Some of their parents came to shoo them away, giving Ves a path to continue up to the main building.
Once he stepped inside, he rid himself of his visor and beret and greeted Ovrin Larkinson, the Fifth Elder of the Larkinson Family.
"It seems that the stories we've heard in the media have a kernel of truth. You have a different air about you, Ves." Ovrin calmly said with his wheezing voice.
Ves recognized the same vibe from Ovrin that he got from other military veterans. "I'm one of you now."
Ovrin shook his head. "You've always been one of us, Ves. Whether you've served in one of the wars or not, you will always be a Larkinson to the rest of the family."
Yeah right. Ves knew very well that the Larkinsons exerted a lot of pressure on the younger generation to serve in the military. Those who didn't volunteer would be left out of the most important circles of the family and plainly received less attention when it came to the allocation of money and benefits.
In any case, Ves was undeniably among the Larkinsons who did their time. Both his awards and his changed demeanor amply proved that he didn't spend his entire time in service holing up in some quiet research base far away from the frontline.
Admittedly, he did spend half a year in relative safety, but it wasn't as if Ves could mention anything related to Flashlight.
He changed the topic. "Is grandpa Benjamin available?"
"Benjamin will be back in the evening. He's been held up at the Ministry of Defense recently due to the recent demobilization efforts. You've come at a quiet time, Ves. Many Larkinsons are still on their tours of duty. Therefore, don't expect to meet many family members during your stay."
"I understand. I only came to have a talk with my grandfather before I go back to Cloudy Curtain."
He spent the rest of the afternoon in the Larkinson Compound sitting with the aunts and uncles at the front courtyard. He felt as if he became an old man as his family members leisurely gossiped and talked about all kinds of trivial topics.
Surprisingly, they didn't express much curiosity about Ves at all. To the old dogs, Ves had earned the right to sit among them, that was all. Everyone had their own war stories, but it was up to them to take the initiative to tell them to each other.
Not everyone wanted to tell their war stories. Some of them didn't want to relive those moments. Ves had the feeling that many of them just didn't want to brag or attract any special attention.
As for a small number of Larkinsons like himself, the classified nature of their missions prevented them from disseminating any details about their most important experiences.
The other Larkinsons could tell that Ves was under this restriction, and they suitably took note of that in their subsequent behavior.
It felt good to Ves to be among family. While he wasn't particularly close to any of them, their shared blood gave them a strong bond that tied them all together in a way that nothing else could.
This was true kinship!
The Larkinsons at the compound didn't do much besides keeping each other company. Yet, they nonetheless helped each other heal and find peace in this tranquil environment due to their mutual understanding.
Time flew by and before he knew it, Benjamin Larkinson returned from the Ministry of Defense. He immediately called up Ves once he heard that his grandson arrived at the compound.
Inside Benjamin's main office inside the compound, the first thing his grandfather did was to hug his grandson. "Ves! I'm very glad to see you whole and healthy! When I heard that you've almost died to an assassination attempt, I was almost ready to turn MinDef upside down!"
Ves was touched by his grandfather's concern. "It was just a flesh wound."
They both laughed at that joke.
"I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of levity. That's a good sign."
After they finished hugging, they took their seats and began to discuss some business.
Benjamin Larkinson started with the elephant in the room. "Lately, the Larkinson Estate has received an increasing amount of scrutiny. After some investigation, I've learned that we have attracted the attention of some very powerful political influences. When we followed up on that, we learned that their recent actions are somehow tied to you, Ves. What have you been doing lately?"
"I can't say much, grandfather, but I've done some favors for the Tovar Family and they have given me some favors in return. At some point, I've fallen into their camp."
Grandpa Benjamin adopted a grave expression. "That's dangerous. Very dangerous. I never explained to you about the dangers of associating yourself with the founding families. I didn't think you would get in touch with the apex influences of the Bright Republic so soon."
Ves shrugged. "It's already done. It's hard to get rid of their clutches once they saw value in me. Do you think I can say no to someone like Senator Tovar? Also, I've learnt that a growing company like the LMC will eventually have to depend on political backing in order to avoid being taken advantage of by the government. For better or worse, I'm aligned with the Tovars now."
"Thereby dragging the rest of the family with you into their camp."
"I don't think that's the case." Ves shook his head. "The Tovars don't seem to be holding any expectations towards the rest of the family. It's only me and my business that he's interested in. Surely their political rivals won't go after the rest of Larkinsons, will they?"
The sour mood emanating from Benjamin already told Ves that this was a vain hope.
"A lot of family members aren't pleased by your unilateral actions. Whatever the circumstances, this is the first time in the four-hundred year history of our family that we have strayed from our neutrality. I don't think I need to explain to you why we value our lack of involvement in the political scene."
Ves nodded. He already reasoned that out on his own. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I can formally separate myself from the family if that is what it takes to draw a line between us. I can be like Raella who isn't formally connected to the Larkinson Family anymore."
Benjamin immediately shook his head. "That won't work. Raella is... a deviant, but she is nothing different from the other Larkinsons who went their own way. You on the other hand are not just a Larkinson, but the first successful mech designer to ever emerge from our midst. The massive sums of money your Living Mech Corporations has earned us in dividends has prompted us to reconsider our recent... stance."
"Stance on what?"
"On whether we should stick to tradition or adjust to our new circumstances."
"And what have you all decided?"
"The steering committee, at least those who aren't fighting in the frontlines, came together a month ago and decided to double down on our association with your company."
"I thought I told you I like my company to be hands-off from the family."
"You know how some of us think. You're a Larkinson, so why shouldn't you share some of your fortune with the rest of the family? Look, I know it looks bad to you. You must think that we're being pushy in order to leech off your success."
"That sounds about right."
"Yet aren't you benefiting from the family as well, Ves? Not only did we help bring you up, but we can also provide you with continuous assistance. While we are nothing like the Tovar Family, we have our own connections to depend upon. In particular, we possess very strong connections to the Mech Corps which can be very useful to a mech designer like you. In addition, we have many highly-trained mech pilots in the family who would love the opportunity to settle down on a quiet planet like Cloudy Curtain."
Ves felt as if Benjamin wouldn't relent on this issue. "Why is the family so insistent on hooking their tentacles in my company? Is it about the money?"
"What other reason is there?" Benjamin sighed. "None of the businesses we operate are anywhere close to your mech company. In fact, many of our elders feel ashamed. It only took you a handful of years to grow your company to a point where it is earning billions of credits a year. Meanwhile, it took four centuries for multiple generations of Larkinsons to accumulate enough assets that only earns us around fifty to sixty million credits a year."
The Larkinsons weren't savvy investors or businessmen. It didn't help that they invested most of their surplus earnings into acquiring more real estate on Rittersberg. Property on the capital planet was notoriously expensive, and while they guaranteed a steady profit, the ongoing expenses due to high property taxes and other fees meant that the Larkinson Estate could forget about achieving any high returns on their investment.
Considering the relatively paltry amount of profit they earned from their stable and unexciting asset portfolio, suddenly obtaining a twenty-five percent stake in a fast-growing mech company must seem like an enormous shock to the Larkinsons!
With access to more money than they ever handled at any single time, the Larkinsons found that they could use that money in many useful areas. They became so overcome with greed that they even forgave Ves for dragging them closer to the Tovar Family!
"So what is it that you are demanding from me, exactly?" Ves frowned. "Isn't it enough for the family to enjoy its twenty-five percent stake in my company?"
"It is because we own twenty-five percent of your company that we don't feel entirely assured to leave you in charge of your company by itself. You have done an amazing job so far, but you are still young and capable of making mistakes. Having some of our old hands help you out will do a lot to reassure the family of the continuity of your company."
"I don't need any help."
"We insist."
Ves and Benjamin stared at each other in a brief period of silence. Even though Benjamin was a former expert pilot who earned a lot of distinctions back in the day, Ves was no longer a defenseless young lamb.
Eventually, Benjamin snorted. "You've learned how to stand up for yourself."
"Compared to the likes of Senator Tovar, you're not scary at all."
Now that it appeared that Ves wouldn't budge, his grandfather took a step back. "Okay then. I'll tell the family to rein themselves in, alright? However, you should throw the family a bone. Since you're so touchy about retaining control over the company, we won't insist on sending additional managers to your company."
"Good." Ves smiled. "I'm glad you gave up on this issue."
"Not so fast, Ves. I strongly advise you to accept our mech pilots. The Mech Nursery has continually expanded its production capacity and it has become and incredibly vulnerable manufacturing complex. You will need all the help you can get and if word leaks out that genuine Larkinson mech pilots are guarding your facility, you can scare away a lot of greedy opportunists."
While Ves didn't have any exact numbers, if the LCM's Mech Nursery hosted more than a dozen production lines, then his grandfather indeed have a good point. With tens of billions worth of production equipment churning out mechs en masse, it would be an absolute catastrophe if someone launched an attack on the Mech Nursery.
Ves looked intrigued. He was a lot more open to this suggestion. Larkinson mech pilots enjoyed a great reputation due to their solid training. Even if they weren't as amazing as Ghanso or Porellia, they still stood head and shoulders above practically any other mech pilot.
"Which Larkinsons are you planning to bolster my forces?"
Chapter 1066
As much as Ves wanted to resist the influence of the Larkinsons, there was some merit to entrusting responsibility to family. In any case, he did not plan to introduce too many family members within his sphere of influence at once.
Family could be useful. The Larkinsons generally enjoyed a good reputation. They were famous for their upright conduct and their excellent skill in piloting mechs. How could Ves not be attracted to such strength? They were certainly more reliable than random mercenaries who signed ten-year contracts but could easily forget about it when a battle took a bad turn.
Thus, Ves came around to hosting more Larkinson mech pilots. The only concern he had about accepting the help of more family members was that he did not wish to lose control over his own outfit!
If he paid for the mechs, training, salaries and other ongoing expenses of the Avatars of Myth, then he damn well sure called the shots!
Grandpa Benjamin suggested the names of various old dogs, but Ves rejected them all.
"If an old Larkinson veteran takes charge in my Avatars of Myth, where does that leave Melkor?" Ves shook his head. "He's much younger and inexperienced than most of the old dogs of the Larkinson family."
His grandfather smiled at Ves. "No offense to Melkor, but he doesn't possess any actual leadership experience. If you want to make your Avatars of Myth truly shine, then you should put a more capable leader in charge. Many of our retired Larkinson mech pilots have reached the rank of mech captain when they served in the Mech Corps. We even have a couple who have managed to reach the rank of mech major! All of the names I just put forward will certainly do a better job in leading your personal force!"
"No thank you."
Ves liked Melkor even if he didn't trust the dropout from the Mech Corps very much. In any case, his relative youth and inexperience turned him into a pliable figurehead to Ves. Melkor possessed enough administrative capabilities to run the Avatars of Myth but lacked the charisma and experience to be a strong leader who could subvert the loyalties of the mech pilots!
On the other hand, an experienced leader of Major Verle's caliber would be much more difficult to control. Ves would constantly be worrying if the Avatars of Myth would still follow his orders when times got tough.
Eventually, Ves agreed to receive a first batch of three younger mech pilots. All of them graduated from the mech academies only recently and hadn't been able to enlist in the Mech Corps before the war had already ended.
"The three Larkinsons I'm putting under your care are a rather unfortunate lot." Benjamin shook his head in pity. "They've trained so hard in order for them to excel in the war, but they will have to wait at least a generation before they can showcase their prowess against the Vesians. Please do them a favor and take them on. Perhaps they will be able to learn there is more to piloting mechs than fighting against the Vesians."
Once they agreed on this topic, they moved on to discuss some other minor matters. For example, the increased prominence of the LMC within the family increased Ves' stature among the Larkinsons.
Although the Larkinsons didn't went as far as to make Ves their new patriarch, it was undeniable that he was more than just an elder of the family. As long as Ves continued to bring in the money, his influence within the family was just as great as an expert pilot!
"Our Larkinson expert pilots continue to earn renown for our family, but they aren't exactly capable of leveraging their abilities into money." Benjamin sighed. "You're different in that regard. It's not shameful for a mech designer to be a profiteer."
Having a higher say in the family meant that he wielded more power in the steering committee, not that Ves particularly paid attention to that. In any case, this was just the start to Ves. Once he advanced to Journeyman and his LMC grew even further, he would quickly become more prominent than all the Larkinson expert pilots put together!
"There is one more topic I wanted to address before you go, Ves. It's about your father."
Ves suddenly turned stony-eyed. "Did you obtain any news from the Nyxian Gap?"
"It's difficult to obtain reliable information from that pirate-infested region. We've managed to find traces of your father throughout the Nyxian Gap, but at some point a year ago he dropped off the face of the galaxy. For what it's worth, we haven't found any signs that someone killed or kidnapped him. We think that he has changed his face and adopted another identity to throw off pursuit. Since the investigators we've hired haven't managed to find a clue of his current whereabouts, it's safe to say it's working."
Anything could be behind the disappearance of his father. While Ves wanted to believe that his grandfather was right in that his father merely reconstructed his face and took on another name, he couldn't help but be afraid that something drastic happened.
Unfortunately, Ves was in no position to help his father out. In fact, he would just be implicating himself if he blundered into the Nyxian Gap without the right preparations. He needed to grow much more powerful in order to track his father down and provide meaningful assistance.
For now, it was best that they remained separate. Ves never felt the urge to advance faster than this moment! If he wanted to take his first step towards greater prominence, then he needed to advance to Journeyman as fast as possible!
After his long and fruitful discussion with Benjamin, Ves felt he understood his grandfather and the Larkinson Family a bit more. He also learned that the role the LMC played in boosting the family's financial fortunes was a lot more influential than he initially thought.
If his grandfather told him the truth, then the Larkinson Family was even ready to move away from their insistence on sticking to their principle of neutrality!
As Ves boarded a shuttle and departed from the Larkinson Compound, he considered whether that was a good development. For some reason, he felt as if his existence was corrupting the Larkinsons.
"No tradition lasts forever. Even families change." Ves muttered.
Once the shuttle arrived at the spaceport at Kelnar, Ves moved on to a transit shuttle that brought him up at a space station in orbit. There, he transferred to yet another shuttle that finally brought him back to the Barracuda, which was parked a distance away from Rittersberg I.
Along the way, Ves picked up the three young Larkinson mech pilots. He welcomed them onto his personal space yacht. For the moment, the mech pilots appeared dazzled by the extravagant wealth implied by his ownership of such a fine little starship.
"How much does the Barracuda cost?"
"Around a billion cols when I first got it. It's a competition prize. I didn't pay for it myself." Ves nonchalantly shrugged.
The eyes of Chette, Jannzi and Rhode all widened at the mention of such an immense sum! A billion cols was a billion coalition credits!
This basically meant that the Barracuda was worth at least 100 billion bright credits at her peak value!
Of course, several years of regular operation depreciated her value by at least half. In addition, there wouldn't be many second-hand buyers who would actually fork over 50 billion credits for a little private yacht.
Nobody in their right minds would pay so much money for a single ship, at least not in the Bright Republic. Ves would have to go to the Friday Coalition and find some profligate spender to liquidate the Barracuda.
Still, Ves deliberately impressed the value of his personal yacht upon the three young Larkinsons in order to draw a line between himself and them. They were sorely mistaken if they thought they could take liberties just because they shared the same family name.
Ves was in charge, and he wanted every Larkinson who followed him to learn this lesson.
As the Barracuda transitioned into FTL and headed straight towards Bentheim, Ves found out he went a little overboard. The freshly-graduated trio of mech pilots were a lot younger and less experienced than he thought.
After everyone settled into their own cabins, Ves invited the three Larkinsons put under his care for a drink at the lounge. The three young Larkinsons meekly sat beside each other as they faced Ves, who possessed a presence that only older Larkinsons emanated.
It helped that Ves secretly pressured them with his Spirituality. He wanted to influence the new Larkinsons right away. He did not want another Raella on his hands who abandoned her duties in favor of going her own way.
"So." Ves began as he calmly took a sip of his glass of wine. "Introduce yourselves, please. I don't think I've seen your faces very often during our annual family gatherings. Please begin with your name and mech pilot specialty."
"Chette Larkinson, spaceborn rifleman mech specialist."
"Jannzi Larkinson, space knight specialist."
"Rhode Larkinson, landbound striker specialist."
Ves lit up at the mention of the second name. Jannzi Larkinson just so happened to be specialized in piloting space knights! He could make use of her to refine his upcoming super-medium space knight design!
Of course, now was not the time to overwhelm his younger cousins with his work. He maintained his boss-like demeanor and calmly explored their history. All of them received vigorous training from the Larkinsons on top of attending renowned mech academies. In fact, they just graduated from a top mech academy in Rittersberg and waited at home for the next round of enlistments that was scheduled to commence in a couple of months.
"The war ended before we got the opportunity to enlist." Chette Larkinson sighed.
The other two Larkinsons sent Ves a questioning glance. They couldn't help but recall the recent news.
Ves instantly knew what they were thinking about. A dangerous aura emanated from his body. "Don't believe in the news. It's all slander and propaganda. There's no way I hooked up with a Vesian expert pilot. Anyone who utters a word about that stupid lie will be booted right back to Rittersberg, is that clear?"
The three young Larkinsons nodded their heads like hungry chicks.
As they got to know each other a little better, Ves became more confident that he could keep them under his thumb. Perhaps his grandfather knew of his concerns and deliberately put forward young and inexperienced recruits to put him at ease.
In any case, Ves easily accepted the presence of Chette, Jannzi and Rhode Larkinson under his care. All three of them were destined to join the Avatars of Myth and follow orders from Melkor.
Rhode Larkinson would be supplementing the existing landbound mech company of the Avatars of Myth. Since he specialized in piloting a landbound striker mech, he would have to make due with a commercial mech bought from the market.
Striker mechs didn't sell as well as the other mech types, so Ves wouldn't design such a mech anytime soon.
As for Chette and Jannzi, they both professed a desire to pilot spaceborn mechs. It would be a waste to keep them bound to the land. Ves planned to brush off his long-dormant plans of setting up a spaceborn contingent of the Avatars of Myth.
With an adequate amount of protection on land and in space, the Avatars of Myth should be able to provide comprehensive protection to both himself and his company.
The Barracuda made swift progress in reaching Bentheim. It was always easier to travel to a port system. The Barracuda didn't travel in-system but instead lingered at the edge of the star system long enough to jump to Cloudy Curtain.
After more than a week of travel, the Barracuda comfortably arrived at the Cloudy Curtain System and reached the orbit of its only inhabited planet.
The corvette descended into the atmosphere and landed straight onto a purpose-built landing pad next to the Mech Nursery. Ves was surprised that Captain Silvestra opted to go straight home without bothering to stop by at the spaceport at Orinoco!
"We've received an exemption." The captain of the Barracuda grinned. "There's so much goods flowing in and out of the Mech Nursery that it's a huge bother to go through the spaceport. After applying some pressure on the local government, the LMC received a pass on inspections."
It seemed that the influence of the LMC on Cloudy Curtain grew so large that the local government had no choice but to bend its own rules!
Chapter 1067
"Home sweet home." Ves muttered as he looked out the expansive windows of the penthouse office of the LMC's headquarters.
He missed the omnipresent grey clouds with its rainbow color shine. How many times did he dream about returning home? It felt so good for him to be back in the saddle.
Below the ground, the Mech Nursery churned out mechs after mechs on a daily basis. The LMC employed thousands of employees, all working to satisfy the market demands for the company's two iconic mech models.
When the Barracuda landed at the manufacturing complex, Ves arranged for someone to settle Chette, Jannzi and Rhode Larkinson. At the same time, Ves called up all of his core confidants to his penthouse office in order to get up to speed to the current state of the LMC.
As Ves turned around, he turned his gaze to a set of couches where his key subordinates waited for their boss to get down to business.
Calsie Doornbos looked relieved now that Ves returned to helm the company. While she managed to hold down the fort in the founder's absence, the responsibility of operating such a huge company was not for the light-hearted. It was admirable that she managed to hold out for so long without running the LMC into the ground!
As a publicist and marketing manager, Gavin Neumann did not hold a high position within the hierarchy of the company. Nevertheless, the man was adaptable and possessed a sober perspective with regards to mechs. The young man was ready to work as Ves' executive assistant at any time.
Melkor Larkinson hadn't escaped the war entirely untouched. Ves already heard that several skirmishes and attacks took place on Cloudy Curtain, but his cousin did an admirable job in repelling those opportunistic attacks. Not only that, but Melkor also managed to learn on the job as he led the Avatars of Myth. Ves saw echoes of Captain Byrd and Major Verle in his cousin's demeanor.
The only odd person out of this intimate gathering was Ketis. Wearing iconic poofy black beret, the pirate designer barely seemed to have reigned in her dangerous vibe. Ves wanted to palm his face when he saw her. Even though she wore modern trendy clothes, the giant scabbarded greatsword floating behind the couch made it clear that she was barely civilized!
Held within her arms, Lucky purred as the daughter of the frontier stroked his bony plated surface. His exterior looked a little darker and more metallic since the last time Ves spotted Lucky back at the military hospital on Bentheim.
In any case, Ves confirmed that Lucky still carried his personal comm on his collar.
"Lucky, come here, boy."
The mechanical cat didn't obey the words of his owner. Instead, he continued to squint his eyes and purr as Ketis kept stroking his back!
Ves exasperatingly sighed and walked all the way towards the couch and made a grab for Lucky's collar. With a quick snap of his finger, he detached his personal comm from his cat.
"Meow!"
Lucky woke up from his petting session and hissed at the thief who snatched his collar!
"What are you so touchy about?" Ves snorted at his pet while he snapped his comm around his wrist. "This comm is mine in the first place. You were just a convenient holder to hang up my comm during my military service. Now that I've been discharged from the Mech Corps, my comm can finally return to its rightful owner!"
"Meow meow!"
Ves ignored the yowls from his indignant pet and took a seat on one of the couches. He idly stroked the thin band of his comm like Ketis stroked Lucky's back. As far as he was concerned, his reunion with his personal comm and the System it held within was long overdue.
He couldn't wait to activate the System for the first time in years. Still, he thought it best if he addressed more immediate business first. Right now, he wanted to know where the LMC currently stood!
"Okay, Calsie. Tell me the basics. How many mechs did we sell and how much profit did we earn?"
The former temporary CEO of the company knew the key figures of the LMC by heart. "The LMC grew rapidly in the three years since you've been gone. The board of directors pushed for a rapid expansion in production capacity in order to maximize the sales of our silver label mechs. Right now, the manufacturing floor of the Mech Nursery is host to one Dortmund production line, five Benson production lines and eleven Hanover production lines!"
Ves frowned at that. That was a lot less production lines than he expected, yet he wasn't familiar with the Hanover line of production equipment. As far as he knew, a complete Benson production line cost around 3 billion credits, and the LMC acquired five of them in total for a total worth of 15 billion credits!
That was already a huge investment, so the mention of eleven new Hanover production lines gave a sense of foreboding in him. There must be a reason why the LMC stopped making use of the perfectly serviceable Benson production lines.
"How much does a Hanover production line cost?"
Calsie seemed hesitant for a moment. Eventually, she bit the bullet. "Around 8 billion bright credits for each complete production line."
"What?! 8 billion credits!?" Ves thundered. "Why in the hell would you pay almost three times for a Hanover compared to a perfectly serviceable Benson?"
"We used to host more Benson production lines, but we've sold them back in order to ease our acquisition of the Hanover production lines. Compared to the Bensons, the Hanovers are much more geared towards mass production. They work faster and more precise. They produce less errors because they feature a higher degree of automation. This means they are more efficient and produce less waste, which improved our profit margin over time."
All of those arguments sounded logical to Ves, but the upfront cost of those production lines were ruinous! How could the LMC be thinking of acquiring luxurious production equipment when it only offered two products in its mech catalog?
Ves wanted to saw open the heads of those idiotic directions who wanted to pursue growth above all else and see how much of it consisted of greed.
"Okay then." Ves sighed. "So we have sixteen production lines in total. How many mechs are we producing per month?"
"Right now, we are manufacturing at capacity, which roughly means we are shipping around a 150 mechs a month. Recent publicity has given our sales a strong boost, so every production line is practically around the clock. In fact, we can pump out mechs at a faster rate. The reason why we are only producing this much is because our production equipment require regular maintenance. We are also obliged to fabricate spare parts, which take up a small amount of production capacity as well. Furthermore, while we've expanded our testing ground, it still takes time for our test pilots to put our freshly-fabricated mechs to their paces."
That sounded reasonable to Ves. This meant that every production line pumped out almost ten mechs a month on average.
"Okay then. Let's move on to money. How much operating income did the company make during my three years of absence and what's the current financial state of the company?"
Calsie smiled. "Mind you, while we are now sitting on top of sixteen production lines, it took time for us to acquire the funding and means to expand. During our gradual expansion, we've sold around 3500 silver label mechs. Our product margins from those sales has fluctuated over the years due to inflation and the rising cost of raw materials, but we've managed to make a profit of 26 billion credits from selling so many mechs."
"26 billion credits!"
"That's not the extent of our profits. As our Blackbeak and Crystal Lord models proved to be a sleeping success, other mech companies began to grow envious at the profit margins we've achieved. Upon your instructions, we refused to offer any accommodations with regards to the licensing contracts. Even so, seven mech companies still decided to license the Blackbeak design while twelve mech companies licensed the more expensive Crystal Lord design."
Ves abruptly shot his back a little straighter. "The MTA put a high valuation on the licenses of my two designs."
"Every mech company who licensed the LMC's mech designs paid full price." Calsie grinned. "That means the Blackbeak design netted you 21 billion credits in licensing fees while the Crystal Lord design granted us a whopping 60 billion credits! Even though the MTA took a ten percent cut, that still means we've earned more than 72 billion credits just from licensing your designs!"
72 billion credits! Ves was practically over the moon when he heard that sum. Ves never expected that his earnings from licensing out his designs would dwarf the profits the LMC accumulated over three years!
"Those licensing contracts also came with per-unit licensing fees, right?"
"Right." Calsie nodded. "Every mech company who produces a copy of a licensed design or a variant of it is obligated to pay us a fee. For example, the bronze label Blackbeaks nets us 1.5 million credits in royalties per copy. Best of all, the mech companies pay this fee at the moment the mech rolls off the production line, so we don't have to wait for the mech to be sold to receive our cut. In total, we've earned around 12 billion credits from royalties on your mech designs alone!"
This profit structure showed why design studios existed. As long as they gathered a bunch of capable mech designers together, they could pump out a large number of designs and variants a year. As long as some of them got licensed, they stood to earn billion of credits without lifting a single finger!
While the design studios merrily focused on designing mechs, other mech companies needed to toil over the production and marketing of their licensed designs! It was an incredibly lazy business model that attracted many mech designers who didn't want to bother with the production aspect of their profession.
Still, even if he could earn a lot of easy money by pumping out designs all day, Ves believed it was better to take charge of his own production. Many high-ranked mech designers started their own companies and engaged in production for a reason. Working at a design studio tended to make the mech designers who worked there become out of touch with the practical side of mech design.
In total, the LMC earned well over 100 billion credits in operating income! Yet this sum did not cover all expenses. It left out the cost of overhead as well as other expenses such as taxes and interest payments on the big pile of debt the company took on to afford the fancy new Hanover production lines.
With good news comes the bad. Ves couldn't avoid the issue any longer. "Talk to me about our debt and other expenses."
Some of the money they earned got gobbled up by the overhead. Just the salaries for thousands of employees bled the company of hundreds of millions of credits a month.
The cost of maintenance, security, depreciation and so on took out a substantial bite out of their operating income. The money they spent on paying taxes, some of which were deductible and some of which were not, drained the company of several billion credits annually.
On top of that, the company forked out a generous amount of dividend payments to its shareholders at the same time!
While Calsie didn't get into the nitty gritty details, she didn't mince her words when it came to the LMC's current debt obligations. "Times have been rather difficult as the war went on. Many of the mech companies which licensed our mechs eventually went bankrupt or moved on to mech models as their profits dried up due to the worsening market conditions. The worsening sentiment affected our company as well. If not for your recent publicity which allowed us to run all of our production lines at capacity, we were only barely keeping our heads above the water."
In total, the LMC accumulated 54 billion credits in debt. The interest rates of those loans varied a bit, but it still amounted to several billion credits per year!
Ves frowned at the sums. "Don't you think the banks are ripping us off?"
"There is a limit to what the banks and financial institutions are willing to agree to." Calsie shook her head. "With so many mech companies struggling for cash, demand has outpaced supply. We haven't been able to obtain more favorable rates."
While Ves looked very severe, inwardly he sighed in relief. He expected worse. While owing 54 billion credits was not something he could casually brush off, Ves still found it to be a manageable sum considering how much money the LMC raked in just from relying on two of his aging mech designs.
Now that Ves was back in charge, the LMC would quickly be able to resume its growth in time!
Chapter 1068
Currently, the LMC enjoyed a resurgence in sales. Helped by Ves' appearances in the news, Marcella Bollinger and the LMC's marketing department invested in multiple marketing campaigns in order to take advantage of the situation!
Although the marketing campaigns cost the LMC billions of credits, the investment was clearly worth it as the company gained substantial uptick in orders for its coveted silver label mechs!
"The LMC is sitting on a cash pile of 4 billion credits and growing." Calsie remarked. "Even without your intervention, we'll still be able to sustain the company for at least a year even if the spike in sales has passed."
Ves nodded in understanding. "You did a good job keeping the company afloat. While I'm resuming my position at the top of the company, I won't push you aside. I have a different job in mind for you, though I think you deserve a much-needed vacation for now."
"Thank you, Ves. I truly need a break. Running a mech company day-by-day is incredibly hectic. I don't know how you can deal with the criticism and doubts all day."
"That's easy. Just ignore them. Why should I pay any attention to the opinions of random bystanders? The only criteria that truly matters is how many mechs we're able to sell, and from what I see, you didn't do too badly in that area."
After he finished with Calsie, he moved on to Gavin. They didn't talk a lot. Ves merely wanted to know where the LMC stood in terms of brand recognition and reputation.
"It's kind of a mixed bag." Gavin shrugged. "Our brand is definitely a lot more famous than before, but it's still an obscure mech company to the public. Even if you've shown up a lot in the news lately, there's a limit to how much we can leverage that into boosting our brand. A lot of other mech companies are still pumping out new designs, and those are the biggest attention grabbers in the market."
Ves got the message. As much as the LMC became more prominent during his absence, the market would still think little of it unless it stopped resting on its laurels and expanded its mech catalog with new and exciting mech models.
"What about my own reputation?"
"Yeah.. uhh.. About that.." Gavin hesitated.
"I told you already, it's all lies!" Ketis suddenly shrieked, causing Lucky who rested on her lap to jump in the air in fright! "There's no way that Ves has fallen in love with that witch, right?!"
Not this again. Ves couldn't believe he needed to address this topic in front of his confidants. "Ketis is right. You people should know better than to believe the lies circulating in the news. I am not in love with a Vesian nor did I become a sympathizer for the enemy. Please drop this topic."
When Ves turned to Melkor, his cousin didn't have much more to add than what he already said during the previous hospital visit.
"The Avatars of Myth are well-trained and well-equipped." Melkor said with a slight tinge of pride, though his face-obscuring visor made it hard for Ves to read his expression. "We are able to field up to forty mechs at a time, all of which are at least midrange or premium quality. This is a very powerful fighting force and it has served us well in deterring many casual raids on the Mech Nursery."
"Yet you sound disappointed."
"You just heard Calsie state that the Mech Nursery is home to more than 100 billion credits worth of production equipment." Melkor mildly shrugged. "That's an astronomical amount of money we're talking about, and it's all concentrated in a single place. Many people are greedily eyeing our expensive production equipment."
"I agree that we need to expand the Avatars of Myth. We can't keep depending on Sanyal-Ablin Security Services to cover the bulk of our protection. Right now is not the best time to expand, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't plan ahead. Please draft a plan to expand the roster of Avatars of Myth with a full spaceborn mech company. I think we can put the light carriers that we've obtained to good use with the addition of a spaceborn mech contingent."
This was welcome news to Melkor. "I've already drafted a suitable plan. It's not like I had anything else to spend my time on all these years."
"Good. Send it to my comm account. I'll look over it later."
Once he finished discussing about the Avatars of Myth, Ves finally turned to Ketis. "So how are you enjoying Cloudy Curtain?"
"Boring." Ketis replied flatly. She seemed a lot more irritable than before now that Lucky jumped from her lap and leisurely floated above their heads. "There's nothing to do in this dirtball of a planet. Even though I did as you suggested and tried my hand at designing some variants for practice, I feel like I can't work very well without direction."
That was a common deficiency among mech designers who had been raised too closely by their mentors and teachers. Ves frowned as he considered this problem. Ketis needed to learn to be more independent, but how could he instill this quality in her by taking charge over her again?
"I'll give you something to do after I settle back into the company, Ketis." Ves promised. "In fact, I'm currently working on an exciting new design project with someone else. Right now, I'm not cleared to discuss the details with you, but I'll be sure to give you an opportunity to contribute on my upcoming design."
Everyone except Melkor looked excited when Ves mentioned that he was already working on another mech design. What did the LMC need the most right now? A new design!
As a mech designer herself, Ketis knew the best out of all of them how good Ves was at designing mechs. She already looked forward to participating in his design project, especially if it involved a sword-wielding mech!
The four of them discussed some other matters but Ves was starting to grow impatient. Now that he heard the essentials, the rest could wait. The hand stroking the thin band of his comm grew more and more insistent as if he couldn't wait to activate it again.
Eventually, he couldn't take it longer. He coughed. "Please, it's been a long day and I've only just returned. Let's adjourn our meeting for the day and come back tomorrow, is that okay?"
After Ves said goodbye to his confidants and packed them out of his office, he walked over to the imposing desk and seated himself on the formidable chair behind it. Only now did he feel as if he truly resumed his old position.
"This is my seat of power." Ves declared as he ran his palm over the surface of his desk.
The entire interior of his huge office with its high ceilings and large empty spaces had been designed to be as imposing and impressive as possible.
He previously thought he overdid it on the theatrics, but now he felt he truly fit in his own office. No matter how you looked at it, a company that sold thousands of mechs a year could never be led by an average person!
"I'm becoming more and more exceptional by the day. The times where I have to quibble over a couple of thousands credits is long gone. Even earning a billion credits is as easy as waving my hand at this point."
All in all, Ves entered the big leagues now. As the lead designer of such a major company, he no longer felt as if he put too much attention on the exact sums the company handled each fiscal quarter.
"A mech designer should mainly concern themselves with designing mechs. Obsessing over money is only needed when money is hard to come by. Those days are long over for me at this point."
Novices and Apprentices routinely struggled over every single credit they could get their hands on. As for Ves, even if he threw a billion credits on the streets, he wouldn't cry too much over its loss.
"I've grown so much, but it's time to put that into high gear."
After three years of abstinence, Ves was finally reunited with the source of his success. No matter how much he wanted to pretend that it was his own hard work that carried him this far, the plain truth was that an average mech designer would have never enjoyed such a wild success!
"It's time."
Ves activated his comm. The device lit up and a projected interface popped up. All of it looked standard, and Ves remembered that he customized its interface to camouflage the exceptional software program held within.
He flexed his hand while issuing a diagnostics command to his comm. It quickly reported back that all of its functions worked normally and that the comm didn't degrade even a tiny bit.
Having upgraded his personal comm at least once, Ves expected nothing less from this remarkable comm. Aside from the secret buried deep within, the hardware itself was exceptional as well.
While he was tempted to proceed with the next step, he halted his fingers and looked around. The huge space and the large windows set behind his desk did not make him feel secure. Even if Lucky possessed the capability to squish every spy bug in the chamber, Ves did not feel completely reassured he could handle his deepest secret in such an exposed location.
"Come on, Lucky. Let's take a trip down to my personal lab." He said as he rose up from his seat.
The Mech Nursery encompassed both the headquarters and the principal manufacturing facilities of the Living Mech Corporation. With Lucky materializing on his shoulders, Ves took a number of elevators reserved for his own use and travelled all the way underground to his personal lab and workshop floor.
Nothing except Lucky and some cleaning bots entered this floor in the past three years. When Ves entered his most important sanctuary on Cloudy Curtain, he breathed in the clean sterile air and beheld the various lab and workshop equipment that had remained unused for so long.
He frowned a bit. "I should get around to upgrading my lab. Most of this stuff is too cheap or inadequate to keep up with my current capabilities."
Today was not the day for him to resume his work on his current design project.
No, today was the day he reunited with the System.
Ves and Lucky entered a small, enclosed room that had been designed like a vault.
With meters of thick armor all around him, Ves felt pretty confident that not even the best spy bugs could listen in from afar. As for any spy bugs that had the temerity to sneak into this small space, they didn't stand a chance against Lucky and the Privacy Shield.
When Ves called up his comm interface once again, he first activated his Privacy Shield, and then activated the long-dormant Mech Designer System.
A pause ensued.
[Welcome to the Mech Designer System. Please design your new mech.]
A familiar message greeted Ves.
[Deep scan complete. Current user detected. Welcome back, Ves Larkinson.]
"It's good to see you too, System." Ves smiled.
Another short pause ensued.
Then, his comm flooded him with a deluge of messages!
[Design Evaluation: New Sentinel...]
[You have received 1000 Design Points for completing an original design that has no other equivalent.]
[You have received 100 Design Points for designing a mech with a trace of X-Factor.]
[Design Evaluation: Leiner Grey...]
[You have received no Design Points for completing a test.]
[You have received 100 Design Points for designing a mech with a trace of X-Factor.]
[Design Evaluation: Evaporating Spear...]
[You have received 1000 Design Points for completing an original design that has no other equivalent.]
[You have received 100 Design Points for designing a mech with a trace of X-Factor.]
[Design Evaluation: Enduring Protector]
Model name: Enduring Protector
Original Manufacturer: Ves Larkinson
Weight Classification: Light
Recommended Role: Laser Frontline Mech
Armor: E-
Carrying Capacity: F
Aesthetics: D
Endurance: B
Energy Efficiency: C+
Flexibility: F+
Firepower: E+
Integrity: A
Mobility: F+
Spotting: E
X-Factor: C++
Cost efficiency: A
Project involvement: 100%
Original component composition: 12%
Overall evaluation: The Enduring Protector is a barebones laser frontline mech intended to serve a very specialized purpose. It requires a minimum amount of maintenance to remain operational.
[You have received 1000 Design Points for completing an original design that has no other equivalent.]
[You have received 500 Design Points for designing a mech with a moderate presence of X-Factor.]
"Who cares about my old designs!" Ves admonished the System cheerfully kept bombarding him with outdated announcements. "Gimme the good stuff! What's my current Status!"
After his System finished its lengthy queue of messages, it finally presented him with his Status.
Ves widened his eyes in astonishment as he immediately honed in on his DP earnings. He grinned and laughed. "I'm rich!"
Not even tens of billions of credits could make him feel so rich!
Chapter 1069
[Status]
Name: Ves Larkinson
Profession: Apprentice Mech Designer
Specializations: None
Design Points: 421,612
Attributes
Strength: 1.4
Dexterity: 1.0
Endurance: 2.0
Intelligence: 2.2
Creativity: 2.1
Concentration: 2.1
Spirituality: 0.8
Neural Aptitude: F
Skills
[Assembly]: Journeyman - [3D Printer Proficiency IV] [Assembler Proficiency IV]
[Battle Mechatronics]: Apprentice - [Knight Mech Mastery I] - [Rifleman Mech Mastery I]
[Business]: Apprentice
[Computer Science]: Apprentice - [Mech Hacking II]
[Electrical Engineering]: Journeyman - [Structural Pathway Configuration IV] - [Energy Storage IV] - [Conductors III] - [Ultracompact Energy Storage I]
[Materials Science]: Journeyman - [Crystallography II] [Crystal Laser Propagation II]
[Mathematics]: Journeyman
[Mechanics]: Journeyman - [Jury Rigging IV] [Speed Tuning IV]
[Metallurgy]: Journeyman - [Alloy Compression III]
[Metaphysics]: Apprentice - [X-Factor IV] - [Spiritual Vision II] - [Spiritual Exploration I]
[Interfacing]: Novice
[Physics]: Senior - [Directed Energy Weapon Optimization III] [Gamma Laser Weapons I] [Lightweight Armor Optimization II] [Mediumweight Armor Optimization IV] [Melee Weapon Optimization IV] [Rapid-Fire Laser Weapon Operation II] [Optics III]
[Propulsion]: Incompetent - [Flight Systems I]
[Salvaging]: Apprentice - [Field Repairs III]
[Signals and Communications]: Journeyman - [Anti-Stealth Detection II]
[Stealth and Cloaking]: Novice
Abilities
[Superpublish]: Available. Can be activated once a year.
Evaluation: A post-human mech designer who has almost advanced to Journeyman.
"Over four-hundred thousand Design Points!" Ves uttered.
Was that a lot? Sure! Could he have done better? Certainly!
Ves could have earned a lot more DP if he continued to lead the company and expand its mech catalog.
By far the greatest source of DP over the past three years had been the steady sales of his Blackbeak models. The silver label edition proved to be a resilient seller and though the bronze label edition weren't being produced very much anymore, they still made a hefty contribution to his DP earnings.
"It's too bad my Crystal Lord isn't able to earn me any DP. I could have easily doubled my stash of DP if I hadn't Superpublished that design."
Even though he had already made peace with this tradeoff, he couldn't help but wince at the thought of how much DP slipped through his fingers.
Aside from his physical mech sales, his virtual mechs also sold a lot over the years. The only downside was that his most popular virtual training mechs such as the Old Soul and the Young Blood already reached the System's stingy DP earning limits. Ves could have easily earned twice or even thrice as much DP if not for those caps.
"Well, I'm long past the days where I need to depend on virtual mechs for practice." Ves muttered.
While it would only take him a couple of weeks to design a proper virtual mech, to Journeymen and upwards, it was generally considered to be a waste of time. They only had a finite amount of lifespan to spend on advancing to the rank of Senior, and no Journeyman ever got there by designing virtual mechs all the time.
However, even though designing virtual mechs wouldn't help him advance to Senior, it still served as a useful testing ground for some experimental concepts.
Ves could do a lot with four-hundred thousand DP. Perhaps the most extreme way to spend them all was if he dumped it all on bronze or silver lottery tickets.
"I'd be stupid if I waste all that money on your rip-off of a lottery draw." Ves muttered resentfully at the System.
It would be a different story if Ves had the option of purchasing golden lottery tickets and higher. Even though the chance of winning a prize with a golden lottery ticket was fairly low, he once scored a huge win when he obtained a copy of the Amastendira. This single prize alone had been worth all of the dangers he went through when he participated in the Glowing Planet campaign!
The best investment of his DP remained spending them on Skills and Sub-Skills. He sorely felt he needed to shore up his knowledge base now that he embarked on a complicated joint design project in collaboration with a Senior.
"I'll have to be prudent in my spending. I can't ignore the role that items play either."
His constant inadequacies regarding the gear he'd been issued made him realize how much of a role it played. Several times, Ves only hung on because he managed to retain possession of the Amastendira.
While it was a very good weapon, it couldn't help him out of every crisis. Now that he had left military service, he could finally pick and choose his own equipment.
"I still have some goodies in the vault." He smiled. "I'll have to pay a visit there to pick up my shield generator at the very least."
He didn't plan on retrieving his spoils from the Starlight Megalodon. It would be a bit too extreme to be walking around wearing the Squalon in his own headquarters.
After Ves got over the bounty of DP he earned, he turned his attention to the other changes in his Status. As he studied the rest of the list, he perceived overall improvement in many Attributes and Skills.
The change in his Attributes encompassed both his physical and mental aspects. All the genetic and corrective treatments he redeemed from the Starlight Megalodon boosted his body comprehensively.
"The System doesn't even list most of my recent gains in this area such as my extended lifespan."
His mental Attributes rose as well. Perhaps the most drastic change would be his Spirituality. For some reason, it rose by 0.4 points! Whether this meant his Spirituality increased in a linear or geometric fashion, Ves couldn't tell because he hadn't developed a good measuring stick for this ephemeral energy source.
Aside from his hugely improved Spirituality Attribute, his list of Skills showed huge jumps as well.
Ves distinctly noticed the addition of several new Sub-Skills which he hadn't redeemed any DP for in the Skill Tree.
"Sub-Skills such as Ultracompact Batteries I, Field Repairs III, Spiritual Vision II and Spiritual Exploration I weren't there the last time I checked my Status. I've also become a Novice in the field of Stealth and Cloaking."
In addition, many of his older Sub-Skills received some bumps in ranking, likely due to his stint as head designer when he served with the Flagrant Vandals. His proficiencies in working with 3D printers and assembly systems received a welcome boost, and that was just one of many improvements he made over the years.
The extensive amount of changes signified to Ves that he didn't have to rely on the System's Skill Tree to acquire or improve his Skills and Sub-Skills. He could always study on his own or learn from practice.
"Each method has its own merits."
Overall, his set of Skills already matched the repertoire of a seasoned Journeyman such as Kadar and Neyvis. In fact, he was grossly overqualified for an Apprentice.
Ves did not feel a strong urge to upgrade more of his main Skills to Senior as of yet. His Senior-level Physics Skill mainly introduced a huge bunch of esoteric knowledge in his mind which only became relevant in highly specialized applications. His main benefit from improving his Physics Skill was that he became more knowledgeable when it came to designing energy weapons.
"If I do upgrade a main Skill to Senior-level, I'll start with my Mechanics Skill first."
If he did so, he would have to complete an Upgrade Mission assigned by the System, which was a bit of a hassle.
Overall, Ves was pleased with his improvements over the years. Compared to when he last used the System, he was a lot more rounded and his utilization of his Skills had improved as well.
"Not everything is listed on my Status page." He reminded to himself. "Just because it's not on the list doesn't mean it isn't important."
Now that Ves satisfied his curiosity for the moment, he began to look at his comm more critically. While Lucky leisurely floated above his head, he wanted to address the System directly.
"Tell me." He began. "Are you the Metal Scroll?"
Silence. The System adopted its usual silent treatment in response to Ves' prodding questions.
Ves pressed his lips. "Come now. You managed to keep track of my design work while I was separated from you so you must be aware of what I've learned at the Starlight Megalodon. The 'so-called' Mech Designer System is just a facade of yours, right? Your true identity is the long-lost mythical Metal Scroll worshipped by the Five Scrolls Compact!"
[...]
"Really. I don't know why you keep up that dumb AI act, but it's not fooling me anymore. I've encountered a lot of AIs over the years, and you are definitely more sophisticated than you appear. All this time, I've been using you as a vending machine, never fully comprehending that you must have your own agenda as well. Now that I know the truth about your origins, isn't it time for you to come clean with me?"
[...]
Evidently, the System adamantly maintained its silence to the pressing queries. Perhaps it thought that Ves was too weak. Perhaps it had been programmed to keep shut on this topic.
Since Ves possessed no leverage on the System, he couldn't force it to talk. What could he do? Discard it into a black hole? It would probably teleport away and abandon Ves to find a new and more pliable user or something.
After a bit more fruitless questioning, Ves gave up. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll just continue to play along and design more mechs if that's what you want."
[A mech designer must never cease to design mechs.]
"Pff! Now you open up your mouth!"
After Ves set aside his questions concerning the System, he returned to the question of where he should spend his DP on. Those four-hundred thousand points didn't do anything to him as long as they remained unspent.
"First, I should set aside 100,000 DP again." He decided.
If he ever fell into trouble, which would certainly happen sooner or later considering his track record, he could draw upon this amount to redeem a powerful one-time tool or augment to help him survive.
That left a bit over 300,000 DP for him to spend wherever he wished. When Ves idly browsed the Skill Tree, he became astounded once again at the sheer variety of Skills and Sub-Skills the System offered.
However, not all of them were valued equally. Ves distinctly noticed that Sub-Skills related to high technology came with inflated DP costs along with hefty prerequisites!
For example, if Ves wanted to acquire Ultracompact Energy Storage II, he needed to fork over 2,000,000 DP to the System!
"What the hell?! How can you be so greedy, System!"
Just as it seemed that Ves was about to accelerate his DP earnings, the reality was that the truly valuable Sub-Skills still required a hefty amount of investment!
That 300,000 DP didn't seem to extravagant anymore. Ves felt like he was back in the days where he thought that earning a couple of thousand DP already made him wealthy.
"I'll just have to put my available points to the best possible use."
Right now, Ves already felt he lacked some essential Sub-Skills when it came to designing his upcoming super-medium space knight. His unfamiliarity with its weight class, flight system, polarizing module and more would definitely hamper him once he moved on to the next design phase.
"If I want to do my fatty mech design justice, I will need to shore up on my lack of design experience with spaceborn mechs."
Like many mech designers, Ves started his career with designing landbound mechs. While that was all well and good, he didn't feel confident in being able to incorporate a flight system effectively and efficiently in his upcoming design. He simply lacked too much experience in this area.
"I can take the time to study it myself, but it's much faster and more convenient if I upgrade my understanding of flight systems."
Aside from shoring up this essential point, Ves also couldn't forget about another option. He began to consider whether it would be worth it for him to invest a substantial amount of DP into acquiring Space Knight Mastery I.
Chapter 1070
Mastery provided Ves with a first-hand perspective on how mech pilots handled a specific mech type. It was immensely valuable and he considered it worth its hefty price tag.
Even so, Ves already possessed a Mastery in landbound knight mechs. Would he really be able to gain as much benefits when he acquired a Mastery in its spaceborn version?
After some contemplation, he decided to add Space Knight Mastery I to his list.
"Spaceborn mechs are vastly different from landbound mechs. The three-dimensional aspect of moving and fighting in space as well as concerns about vacuum, inertia, momentum, flight, heat management and more add a lot more complexities to the equation."
In general, mech pilots found it harder to pilot spaceborn mechs. The barrier to entry may be higher, but they were paid a bit better than their landbound colleagues.
All of these added complexities made piloting spaceborn mechs incomparable to piloting landbound mechs. Ves saw a lot of merit in acquiring the relevant Mastery, even if it wouldn't be in the right weight class.
[Space Knight Mastery I]: 40,000 DP
"Next up is to improve my understanding of flight systems."
This entailed upgrading the Propulsion Skill and the generic Flight System I Sub-Skill.
The former encompassed many ways to move mechs aside from using legs. It encompassed a broad understanding of flight in the air and in space. It also included some fundamental understanding on water-jet propulsion used by aquatic mechs.
"Let's just skip the years of learning and bump it straight up into Journeyman territory. I'll improve my expertise on flight systems specifically while I'm at it."
[Propulsion - Novice]: 5,000 DP
[Propulsion - Apprentice]: 10,000 DP
[Propulsion - Journeyman]: 20,000 DP
[Flight Systems II]: 2,500 DP
[Flight Systems III]: 5,000 DP
[Flight Systems IV]: 10,000 DP
Ves could already feel the System rubbing its greedy non-existent hands as he added more Skills to the shopping cart. Even though it seemed somewhat luxurious for him to spend this much DP just on the flight system alone, he considered it essential for him to match the competence of a mech designer specialized in spaceborn mechs.
Only a few minutes went by and Ves already planned to dump 92,500 DP onto various Skills and Sub-Skills!
"That's almost a third of my DP budget gone!"
Nonetheless, these new additions solved his most critical inadequacies when it came to designing his super-medium space knight. With a Mastery and a vastly improved understanding of flight systems, he didn't fear the prospects of mistakes any longer. Not only that, he would also be able to incorporate various aspects unique to spaceborn mechs a lot better into other areas of his design.
Many laymen had the mistaken impression that spaceborn mechs were actually landbound mechs with flight systems slapped onto their backs. That was a gross simplification of the truth, as the lack of gravity and air in space led to a much greater divergence in design standards.
Ves learned many of these rules when he came into touch with many spaceborn mechs as a head designer. However, repairing spaceborn mechs was one thing. Designing them from scratch was an entirely different thing.
"The last mistake I can make in this design project is to underestimate the challenges of designing a spaceborn mech!"
After some more thought, he added a Sub-Skill related to polarizing modules to his list. This would not only enable him to understand the working principles of this piece of technology, but also be able to tinker with it and adjust its parameters.
[Polarizing Shielding I]: 20,000 DP
[Polarizing Shielding II]: 40,000 DP
Unfortunately, the System regarded polarizing technology as something advanced, so it jacked up the prices for understanding it by a corresponding proportion.
For a while, Ves questioned whether he was spending his DP wisely. Polarizing technology did not see much use in the Bright Republic. The modules took up way too much space to be applicable to anything but heavy mechs.
However, the tech was a bit more ubiquitous among second-class mechs such as those circulating in the Friday Coalition. It was possible to miniaturize the polarizing modules so that it became practical for them to be implemented in medium mechs as long as expensive exotics took over the role of regular materials.
Ves could bear the price for Polarizing Shielding I. Yet he wasn't satisfied with understanding the bare essentials. He wanted to tweak the polarizing module and tailor it to his upcoming design. That required a lot more understanding, and to meet that need he would have to get Polarizing Shielding II.
"It's still a hefty price to pay just to improve a single mech design a little better."
He decided to bite the bullet and add the second tier of this line of Sub-Skills to his shopping cart. He rationalized it as an investment. In order to earn more DP, he needed to spend more DP.
"If I invest 60,000 DP into this Sub-Skill so that I can bump the quality of my space knight design to another level, the extra sales I get in return might pay back my investment in spades."
His fatty mech design would definitely be a niche product that lacked the slightly wider appeal of his other two commercial mech designs. Since the target segment of his space knight would be those who specialized in piloting space knight, Ves needed to offer them a product with excellent performance.
The polarizing module was the key gimmick of his space knight design. Being able to implement it proficiently and without introducing flaws or vulnerabilities would make or break his product!
"Alright, that's almost half of my DP budget gone."
Ves couldn't help but grumble about the System's inflated prices. Even though he agreed that it was only fair that the System charged more for rarer and more exclusive Skills and Sub-Skills, as a consumer he couldn't help but feel as if he was being ripped off.
Still, this led Ves to an important question. "What is DP anyway?"
The System presented him with Design Points as its internal currency which Ves could redeem for various goodies. All this time, he regarded DP in a similar fashion to merits used in many organizations such as the Clifford Society and the CFA.
The concept behind merits was simple. Merits represented actual contribution earned by individuals. It was not money that could be traded or given away freely. Thereby, organizations were able to level the field for the less affluent.
If the poor worked harder than the rich, then they ought to be rewarded for their earnestness. Issuing merits was a way of recognizing their individual hard work. As for useless rich fops, they may be able to buy their way into their positions, but if they wanted to get further, they couldn't solely rely on their wealth and connections to get them ahead.
Ves equated Design Points akin to merits because that was how the System operated on the surface. Yet now that he adopted a more critical mindset, he couldn't help but ask what Design Points actually represented?
"How do Design Points benefit the System?" He openly asked.
This was a very important question. For example, the Groening Mission that Ves participated in allowed him to earn a generous amount of merits from the Clifford Society.
The Society did not hand over these merits for free, but rather gained a substantial commission from House Kaine.
House Kaine in turn gave the Society some concessions in return for Ves' service.
"Everyone gets something of value, whether it's money, merits or services. Nobody loses out in this transaction."
The question that Ves had right now was how the System could possibly benefit from incentivizing Ves with Design Points. Ves did not believe that this was just a fictional currency programmed into the System in order to incentivize good mech design.
"Even the System must pay some sort of price whenever it injects a Skill into my mind or materializes a new item."
However, aside from providing the System with some exceedingly rare materials, Ves mostly earned the System's appreciation by designing mechs.
"It all comes down to designing mechs. Why mechs? What's so special about them? For the supposedly mythical Metal Scrolls which contains knowledge on how to design the armament of the gods, you sure possess a one-track mind, System."
Well, Ves couldn't blame the System for being brain-damaged. If the stories he heard were correct, then the Metal Scroll had been inadvertently destroyed during a secret power struggle.
Even if it managed to recover, it obviously only regained a fraction of its former might. Maybe the Metal Scroll itself might even have been fractured into several pieces, each encompassing a single domain of weapons!
That was a frightening thought. What if there was a System out there for designing infantry equipment or starships?
Ves shook his head. Even if other fragments of the Metal Scroll existed somewhere across the galaxy, it had nothing to do with him. He was already content with the System's narrow focus on mechs. To a mech designer, that mattered the most.
In the end, Ves could speculate all he wanted but he didn't come any closer to a solid answer.
"The System rewards me with DP whenever I design a mech or sell a mech. The amount of DP it rewards me varies according to the results I've achieved. Higher quality designs are worth a lot more DP than crappy designs. I also earn more DP from sales when my mechs are more expensive and are bought in higher volumes."
These specific patterns led Ves to believe they corresponded with the core activities of a mech designer. If Ves tried to maximize his DP earnings, then his actions and behavior would conform to mech designers who continued to progress and advance.
Simply said, the System wanted him to keep advancing!
Ves couldn't help but send a suspicious glance to his comm. Why did the System want him to advance so badly? Did it want something in return from Ves once he advanced to Master or something? That might be a very real possibility.
If Ves believed the Mech Designer System was just a simple piece of amazing software meant to help a mech designer without any further expectations, then he would be truly naive.
The System first put him on the path to specializing in Spirituality. The System also seemed to have a vested interest in helping him progress his mech designer career.
It was as if the System was feeding a pig to the slaughter!
Ves couldn't get rid of his paranoia. From all the secrets he learned during his military service, he stopped believing in altruism. Nobody did anything for free or without a reason. Individuals always aimed to secure benefits for themselves, and Ves bet that the System was no exception to this rule.
When Ves came back to the question where the System gained the energy or resources to do its magic, he threw out a guess. "Design Points are just standing in for something else, maybe."
Perhaps the act of creation and the act of propagation those creations injected the System with some sort of unknown energy that sustained its operation.
"Could it be spiritual energy?"
Out of all the options, spiritual energy seemed to fit the bill. However, there was no use speculating any further on this topic because Ves would never be able to force an answer out of the System at his current state.
Ves threw a scheming glance at his comm. "Someday, I'll force some answers out of you. It might take years, decades or centuries, but I have a long lifespan and plan to extend it even further. I have all the time in the galaxy to find out what you are and how my parents got involved."
After setting aside his suspicions, he turned his attention back to improving his knowledge base. He inspected his shopping cart several times before he decided that this was enough to put him on the right track. If he ever felt he lacked some expertise, he could always come back another time.
"I don't think I'll be separated from the System ever again for a very long time."
Chapter 1071
Ves reserved the rest of the day to cope with all of the new Skills and Sub-Skills injected into his mind.
More expensive Skills generally corresponded with more knowledge being dumped into his mind.
While his expanded Intelligence allowed him to cope with the huge influx of knowledge, the sheer magnitude of it still burdened him quite a bit. It didn't help that Ves already bore an existing burden in the form of Qilanxo's augmented spiritual fragment!
Despite the unpleasantries, Ves endured the strain and tried to process the influx of knowledge as best he could. Countless theories and formulas related to propulsion and flight systems poured into his mind and settled in as a core part of his repertoire.
Knowledge on polarizing technology came next. Ves learned the principles behind the tech. The polarizing module first shown by Professor Ventag no longer mystified him! He now possessed enough of a foundation to modify its base design!
Many ideas bloomed into his mind, and he already planned to adjust many aspects of his draft design for his super-medium space knight. In light of his newly-gained knowledge, the amount of flaws he introduced in the draft design was frankly embarrassing!
"Spending all of that DP is already worth it for this alone!"
Ves was very impressed with the comprehensive amount of understanding the expensive Skills and Sub-Skills provided to him. He no longer felt as if he was a newcomer in the field of designing spaceborn mechs! Those who participated in the design of spaceborn mechs for decades might not even be able to match the depth of knowledge he gained within a couple of hours!
Nonetheless, all of these mundane Skills played second fiddle to what he regarded as the crown jewel of his list purchases.
Purchasing any Mastery from the System's Skill Tree was never as simple as injecting him with a bunch of knowledge. No, the System wasn't content with that at all. Instead, the System would take his mind and travel back into the past and possibly into an alternate timeline and force him to hitchhike inside the mind of a mech pilot in the past!
Whether the System engaged in an elaborate simulation or performed actual time-travel, Ves had to admit it was an extremely effective learning experience for him. Not even the smallest details escaped him when he had access to all of the conscious and unconscious thought processes of mech pilots!
Still, Ves hesitated in undergoing his Mastery at this time. He only returned to his company less than a day and could not afford to keep his company rudderless for long.
It didn't help that it seemed to be completely up to chance how much time it took for a Mastery journey to complete. The amount of time he spent in the past corresponded with how much time he spent out cold in his current time.
If the System screwed him over by keeping him stuck in his Mastery journey for days, his company and his confidants might begin to wonder where he disappeared off to. Even with Lucky keeping guard over him, they might decide to barge into his lab anyway.
"I'll have to schedule my absence properly and only after I've taken care of some critical business."
Now that he returned to the company, he couldn't let it coast along its current trajectory. Ves planned to leave his Mastery for later and decided to take care of other matters first.
"Come on, Lucky. Let's go visit the vault first before heading to the manufacturing floor."
Ves went to the bottom-most floor of the manufacturing complex and entered the large but mostly empty vault. He sought out the portion of the vault which held his shield generator. After unlocking the lockbox which held this powerful piece of equipment, he studied the belt-like object in his hands.
"It's so small, light and thin."
He used to consider his shield generator as a product of magic rather than science. Compared to his existing understanding of science and engineering, there was no way he could pack so much protection ability into such a light and thin device!
Yet now that he came back to his shield generator after three years of separation, he realized that his shield generator no longer mystified himself as much. His understanding of polarizing technology gave him a basic framework on how its more advanced version worked. The incredible amount of power required to sustain the shielding effect also became explainable.
"Of course, even if I can guess at its working principles, it's way too soon to design and build a shield generator myself." He scoffed.
Studying the shield generator made him appreciate its value even further. It was a supremely expensive application of high technology. Ves didn't even dare to ask how much it cost Master Olson to gift him with one.
Along the way, he also picked up his Vulcaneye multiscanner even though he didn't expect to make use of it immediately. He attached it to his largely empty toolbelt.
"I should get around to filling up my toolbelt with gadgets just like last time."
That also reminded him of another reward he gained from the same mission from the System that rewarded him with ten golden lottery tickets.
Ves swept his mind into his intangible Inventory and studied the only other object inside besides the Amastendira.
[Special Upgrade Voucher (Machine)]
This voucher can be applied to any object that fits the definition 'machine' and will comprehensively upgrade them to a higher rank. The smaller the machine, the more extensive the upgrade. This voucher is less effective on advanced and complex machines.
To be honest, Ves forgot about this Special Upgrade Voucher because he could never find a good opportunity to use it. The description sounded like a trap, which was typical of the System.
If he used the voucher on something highly advanced like the Amastendira or even Lucky, the improvements would be so marginal that nothing actually changed.
If he used it on something crappy, then even if he got something good out of it, he could have obtained something similar through more conventional means.
"There's no pressing need for me to apply this voucher on anything at this time."
Aside from that, he also kept a virtual bronze invitation card for the Angel's Wing Foundation. Even though he got it from the loathsome Church of Haatumak, it didn't detract from its value.
Although the Five Scrolls Compact definitely supported the Angel's Wing Foundation behind the scenes, it might be his only source of rare biological and genetic enhancements in the galactic rim.
Ves didn't forget about the Archimedes Rubal brain implant either. It offered enormous benefits to his cognitive functions, especially with regards to memorization. The only problem was Ves didn't trust it in its current shape. He needed to hire a reliable specialist to check over its bioprogramming and made sure it didn't contain any backdoors.
"I have so many things to do." He sighed.
It felt bad for him to leave these goodies behind, but he could not figure out a good opportunity to make use of them right now.
After he finished getting what he wanted from the vault, he took the secure elevators up to the manufacturing floor.
The last time he visited the floor where all of the LMC's production took space, most of it was empty and hollow.
Not anymore. With one Dortmund production line, five Benson production lines and eleven Hanover production lines, the manufacturing floor looked as busy and organized as the manufacturing facilities operated by the Kadar-Neyvis Group!
Hundreds of mech technicians operating in shifts worked on this floor. Ves saw to his satisfaction that they appeared to be motivated, diligent and brisk in their work.
Various guards bearing the uniform of Sanyal-Ablin Security Services patrolled the different halls which hosted a number of production lines. Ves frowned a bit at the sight.
He knew that it was difficult to expect the Avatars of Myth to match the capabilities of a professional security company from the Friday Coalition. It took a lot of time and effort to train specialized security guards. It took even more effort to set up a reliable virtual security arrangement.
Despite these constraints, Ves felt a bit leery about giving a foreign company so much access to the heart of his mech company. He hoped he wouldn't have to rely on an external security company forever, especially once he and his company grew into greater prominence.
At some point, his existence would attract attention from the Friday Coalition. SASS originated from the Konsu Clan, which was one of the many partners that made up the Coalition.
The structure of the Friday Coalition reminded him of the fractured duchies of the Vesia Kingdom. The only difference was that the Friday Coalition were so disagreeable to each other that they never elevated someone to rule above their heads.
Rather than treat them as a single coherent second-rate state, it was more appropriate to view them as a permanent alliance of squabbling powers.
It was yet another topic of discussion when Ves intended to announce his upcoming plan to shakeup the company.
Under the guidance of a SASS guard, Ves found Chief Technician Cyril Hockett supervising the maintenance process of one of the company's new Hanover production lines.
"It's a beauty, ain't it?" Chief Cyril said after welcoming him back to the fold. "Even though the price is high, the Hanover is worth every penny in my regard."
"It's certainly a machine that is geared towards speed."
Ves could see that immediately from how big it was and how many specialized machines it contained. The Hanover production line did not depend on its 3D printer to fabricate all of the parts of a mech but instead split some specialized processes to more dedicated machines that worked a lot more efficiently.
The main advantage of doing this was that the production line could fabricate several different parts in parallel, thereby saving a significant amount of time. The specialized production machines dedicated to fabricating armor plating, structural supports, delicate components, processor chips and more all did a much better job because they only needed to be good in one area.
Compared to the Dortmund or the Benson production lines, the 3D printers that served as the starting point of those production lines needed to fabricate so many different parts that it could never be tweaked to excel in one specific area. Their versatile nature was both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.
Of course, it was a lot cheaper to acquire a single machine that did everything decently enough than to acquire a handful of machines that split responsibility. Even if a single machine was still cheaper than a fully-fledged 3D printer, the sheer amount of them that made up the Hanover production line still turned it into a hugely expensive investment!
As Chief Cyril began to explain some of the ins and outs of the Hanover production lines, Ves gained a bit more appreciation for them. As much as he resented the decision to go into debt to fund this investment, the high rate of production they delivered in return more than made up for it! As long as orders kept coming in, the machines would be able to earn back their value sooner or later!
Still, Ves was no longer a stranger to mech technicians and running a manufacturing operation. His time with the Vandals as well as the KNG gave him a lot of insights that he couldn't wait to apply in his own company.
He first addressed his most important concern. "I've heard that the average quality of our silver label mechs have gone down. What do you have to say for yourself, chief?"
Chief Cyril shrugged. "We're trying the best we can, but it's difficult to insure quality when we are working on this scale."
"That's not good enough, chief." Ves firmed up and crossed his arms. "Please explain to me why quality has fallen."
The chief looked a bit askance at his boss, as if he was afraid to engage in this topic. Yet Ves' calm but strong demeanor left no means of escape.
Either the chief answered the question, or Ves would beat the answer out of him with his fists if he had to! Unlike with the System, Ves did not plan to let his subordinates weasel their way out!
Now that he returned, Ves wanted to teach his entire company that he was firmly in charge!
Chapter 1072
"Frankly, I'm disappointed." Ves said as he crossed his arms.
Chief Cyril brought him to his office to discuss the matter of product quality as it was a sensitive topic.
The situation facing the LMC for a long time sounded very simple. As the company's profit margin narrowed due to a combination of inflation and rising cost of raw materials, they came under pressure to cut costs wherever they could.
The manufacturing floor became the focal point of the LMC's attempts at cutting costs. If they could manage to streamline the production processes and cut the total cost of producing a mech by one percent, then that would have quickly resulted in a ten percent increase of the mech's meager profit!
Chief Cyril remained unapologetic for that reason. "Pursuing quality above efficiency is fine when times were good and when we only had access to a single production line. Yet now we've ballooned to the point where we are working with seventeen production lines at once and shipping out hundreds of mechs a month. Every cost-saving measure we can squeeze out of our current processes directly helps with keeping the company afloat during the hard times."
"The LMC's reputation has declined. Is that worth the cost?"
"Reputation can be regained. It's not as if we're the only mech company that's been cutting corners during these times. Besides, I think you're overstating the quality issue. With all the tests we've been carrying out at our testing ground, none of our finished mechs are shipped with defects. The complaints mainly come from repeat customers who ordered one of our earlier products. Only then is the difference in quality noticeable, but it's only some minor issues that they really complain about."
"Repeat customers are our most loyal and valued customers." Ves stated. "Mech buyers who keep coming back to us for more need to be rewarded for their dedication to our products."
"We didn't have the luxury to think that far ahead while we were flailing in the water trying to keep the company afloat."
As much as Ves didn't wish to admit it, Chief Cyril made the correct decision in helping the Production Department streamline their operations. The fat profit margins the company enjoyed before the war granted them the luxury to pursue excellence. Now that the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord models only earned a ten percent profit margin on average, the company needed to tighten its belt as much as possible.
Ves reflected on the malaise affecting the company. If he wanted to turn the LMC's fortunes around, he needed to address several points.
First, he needed to work away some of the huge pile of debt the LMC had incurred.
If Ves wanted to increase the company's production capacity, then he might have taken the opposite decision and borrow even more money to purchase more Hanover production lines.
However, he did not plan to invest more money into expanding the operations of his company for the foreseeable time. Operating seventeen production lines at once was more than sufficient to meet the current market demand for their existing mechs.
Ves believed he possessed enough means to earn enough money within a year to work away most of the debt. His personal fortune, which mostly consisted of various royalties and dividends he earned, could be used to lighten the burden enormously, but he didn't intend to touch that fortune.
Instead, he already had a plan in mind to earn a quick infusion of cash. Although it was a bit of a harebrained scheme of his, he nonetheless believed he stood a good chance at earning a couple of billions of credit in quick order.
He'd have to send some feelers to the Clifford Society.
Still, the main source of revenue would have to come from the core business of the LMC, which was selling mechs. The Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord models may be enduring successes to the company, but it was obvious that they couldn't be relied upon to shoulder the burden forever.
The company needed to release a new mech model.
For the next couple of months, Ves planned to work on the joint design project with Professor Ventag. NORA Consolidated would take over most of the production once they published their new design. The LMC would not be burdened with meeting market demand other than to supply the occasional gold label mechs handcrafted by himself to showcase the full potential of his new design.
Second, he needed to change the structure of the LMC as a whole. The company grew from nothing into a respectable major mech manufacturer with sector-wide sales. Yet this growth came so quickly that the company hadn't entirely followed the best plan to operate at this scale.
The company would likely resume its growth now that Ves returned to take the lead. If the company ballooned in size while retaining its current structure, he couldn't rule out the possibility of dysfunction and waste.
In order to smooth the way for the LMC's rise, Ves wanted to shake the company up and prepare it for a new era.
Ves also recalled that this would be the time where the influence of the Ministry of Economic Development on his company would be replaced by Flashlight. The murky intelligence agency may not be the most reliable partner to work with, but he didn't think they would mistreat him now that he earned a measure of their trust. The transition could happen at any day now that the war had formally ended.
Ves had other items on the agenda besides these two major ventures, but he didn't think he should bite more than he could chew. He still had an obligation to work on the joint design project, after all, so he couldn't be babysitting the company all day.
He turned his attention back to Chief Cyril. "For now, I'd like you to write a report that summarizes the current state of our manufacturing processes from your own perspective. Depending on your feedback and my own judgement, I might decide to introduce some changes."
"That's fair. It's your company to do what you will. However, the new shareholder won't be pleased if they think you are detracting from the company's profitability."
Ves smirked. "We'll see."
He spent a couple of hours touring the new production lines, paying close attention to the new Hanover production lines. He called up their parameters and memorized the key points so that he knew exactly what they brought to the company.
Since they cost 8 billion credits each, Ves wanted to be sure he got his money's worth out of them all!
Once he spent enough time inspecting the company's manufacturing efforts, Ves decided it was time to check up on Ketis before she felt neglected.
"Since I brought her on in an attempt to groom her into an asset to the LMC, she needs to become more useful first."
Ves already made some preparations in that area. He sought her out and found her at the testing ground distance away from the Mech Nursery.
The testing ground the LMC initially set up had expanded in scope and size. Each mech required several days of testing. The LMC employed a lot of test pilots to adequately gauge all of the new mechs coming out of the Mech Nursery.
Ves had a brief talk with the managers of the facility, but he quickly sought out Ketis.
She had been spending her time watching mechs go through various obstacle courses to test their mobility.
"Your designs are really impressive, Ves." She said. "Their quality is amazing. If the Swordmaidens had a full company of Blackbeaks, then we wouldn't have much to fear on land."
He couldn't help but boast a little. "These mech designs are years old. They don't reflect my current capabilities anymore."
"So you came to me now. It's about time. What do you have for me now that you're back?"
"Right now? Nothing much. The design project I'm engaged in is in a very early stage. It's not time yet for you to contribute. Instead, I want you to hit the books and learn more theory in preparation for your upcoming tasks."
Ketis adopted an annoyed expression. "Learning learning learning. You keep pushing me to learn. When will it ever be enough for you?! I want to design a mech damnit, isn't that what mech designers are supposed to do, Ves?!"
"I understand your frustration, but mech design is all about applying knowledge in creative ways. The more you know, the more options you have at your disposal. At your current state, you won't be of much help at all to a design project of this caliber. You need to shore up your fundamentals and delve further into your specialty. That means you need to master the contents of tons of textbooks."
"Forget about reading a ton of them. I won't be able to finish even one of them! It's so boring to study by myself!"
"I've already anticipated that problem. Tell me, do you like candy?"
"Uhh.. sure." Ketis looked befuddled at the seemingly random question.
"Here. Take this."
Ves placed a candy in her hand. She popped it into her mouth without a second glance.
"Wow!" Ketis said as she felt a rush going through her mind. "This is some candy! It's tasty as well!"
"Here. Have another candy."
Ves felt as if he was treating little girl to some treats. This time, Ketis experienced an even stronger rush! It took an entire minute for her to get over her high!
"Man, Ves, this candy is even better than the stimulants I used to use back when I was with the Swordmaidens!"
Ves fed her a couple more Intelligence and Concentration Candies. Even though he forked out 30,000 DP in total for all of those Attribute Candies, he considered it to be a worthwhile investment.
Out of every mech designer he knew, Ketis was the most appropriate candidate to bring into his design team. Not only did they spend a lot of time together and became familiar with each other, they also trusted each other to cover their backs.
Back when Ves first reunited with her at his penthouse office, he surreptitiously inspected her with the vision granted by the System in order to find out her mental attributes.
[Ketis]
Intelligence: 1.3
Creativity: 0.9
Concentration: 0.6
Ves always knew that her intelligence was above average. She had to be in order to become a fully-fledged Novice Mech Designer in the frontier. Yet her godawful concentration meant she was continually plagued with the attention span of a hyperactive teenager.
Since Ketis didn't have anywhere else to go except for the Swordmaidens, Ves had faith that Ketis would not betray or leave him anytime soon. He decided to go big and experiment with upgrading her two most important mental attributes all the way up to the human limit!
Unlike with Carlos, Ves didn't feel the need to hold back with Ketis. She was completely unknown in civilized space. It wouldn't be too outlandish for Ves to 'discover' an amazingly talented mech designer from nowhere, especially since no one in the Komodo Star Sector was familiar with her old capabilities.
It was just like Master Olson uncovering a freakishly intelligent young boy in some quiet star system of the Friday Coalition. Mech designers were constantly keeping their eyes peeled for people with limitless potential that they could shape into their perfect assistants.
After eating twenty candies in a single instant, Ketis was so high with the constant mental explosions in her mind that Ves had to order some guards to bring her back to her apartment at the Mech Nursery.
"Hehehe.. candy.. gimme more candy..." She drooled.
It might have been a bit reckless of Ves to force Ketis to eat so many candies at once, but he already knew it was safe to consume them in succession. At worst, Ketis would be out of it for a couple of days.
Ves looked forward to see how the new Ketis fared once she came off her psychedelic trip. She would probably require a lot of time to adjust to her new mental state, but once she did, she would certainly become an asset to the company!
Chapter 1073
A day after Ves fed Ketis with a bunch of candy, he seated himself in his penthouse office and summoned the chief operating officer of the LMC.
Jake Altern looked a little more aged than last time when he entered the office. The older man started out as a retainer of the family and ran some of the businesses owned by the Larkinson Estate. Putting him in charge of all of the actual operations of the company was a big responsibility to fulfill, but from all accounts he did a decent job in keeping the LMC's administration in order.
"Jake. Long time no see."
"You've grown, Ves." Jake nodded amiably at Ves as he crossed the distance and took a seat in front of the desk. "You have different air about you. I like it. You're just like the other Larkinsons now. Projecting strength is an essential trait in leadership."
Ves rapped his fingers against the surface of his desk. "I didn't call you here to compliment me. There's business to be done. First, what do you think of the current state of the LMC?"
"The Living Mech Corporation has become a respectable mech manufacturer." Jake said with pride. "It's my child as well as yours. I'm glad to see it rise in its current splendor and turn into a huge asset for the Larkinson Family. While we've gone through some hard times, I always believed you would return and drag us out of our slump."
"I'm glad you have so much faith in me, but please describe our strengths and weaknesses."
"Well, despite only offering two mech models in our product catalog, they are still profitable, which is quite a rare luxury these days for comparable mech companies. All the recent publicity has helped boost our sales, which in turn help us ease the pressure off our bottom line."
"What other strengths does the company have?"
"I always felt a little dubious about basing the LMC in Cloudy Curtain as it is a large hassle to ship goods and mechs back and forth, but now I see the merits in it. We've been isolated of much of the unrest that has currently gripped Bentheim. Our company has grown to dominate half of the planet. We employ so many well-paid people that our existence has begun to have a ripple effect over Freslin."
"What role does Freslin play to the LMC?"
"It's the closest major city to the Mech Nursery and is where most of our employees live and spend their time at when they are off-duty. While Orinoco still functions as a bastion for the old guard, the city of Freslin is experiencing a renaissance. Under the influence of the LMC, it has become the planet's main hub for all mech-related activities. The social responsibility initiatives that we've undertaken, such as sponsoring the local mech academy, has earned us a lot of support from the locals."
"Sponsorship?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "What is this about sponsorship?"
"Didn't Calsie already tell you? She allocated a couple of hundred million credits a year on boosting the LMC's influence in Cloudy Curtain. Back before the economy worsened, she even drafted an ambitious plan to set up a small advanced mech academy on the planet! It would have accepted every local mech pilot who graduated from the basic mech academy."
"I take it those plans didn't go through?"
"It's too expensive to start up a mech academy." Jake shook his head. "Not only do we need to invest at least a billion credits into acquiring a wide variety of training mechs, they also need a lot of servicing. The problem with starting a mech academy in Cloudy Curtain is that new institutions don't have the reputation to attract a lot of students. Cloudy Curtain itself isn't big enough to supply enough prospective mech pilots to run a profit."
The people who lived on this rural planet also weren't affluent enough to pay high tuition fees. Frankly, it made little business sense to start an advanced academy on this little planet when Bentheim was right next door. This scheme basically benefited the planet at the expense of the LMC, which only gained a bit of reputation and goodwill in return.
Ves activated his terminal and called up how much money the company spent on corporate social responsibility. He grew grim as he saw that Calsie spent at least two billion credits over the last three years on various infrastructure initiatives such as new roads and hospitals.
He thought he made it clear that the LMC shouldn't waste its money on these feel-good projects.
"Why didn't you stop Calsie
Jake shrugged. "Although it looks bad in hindsight, it helped us out a lot in securing local support. With all the events that happened recently on Cloudy Curtain, we need to have a majority of the local population on our side. Right now, our relationship with the Pioneers have never been better. With our backing, they've taken over the Planetary Assembly from the White Doves and the Greens!"
This was a significant development. Now that Ves had come into touch with the higher annals of power, he was not as ignorant as before when it came to politics.
It became clear now that the two main farming consortiums based on this planet possessed their own backing. No matter how many setbacks they suffered recently, their enduring resilience signified that they were here to stay.
"What kind of benefits have we received with the Pioneers in charge?"
"They've made life a lot easier for the LMC. Not only did they exempt any transports and cargo ships from stopping by at Orinoco's spaceport, they also reduced many taxes and fees which helped us remain afloat."
Ves nodded in understanding. The Pioneers had a vested interest in the LMC as well.
"Okay, I can see how our earlier initiatives has improved the local conditions. However, I don't want to keep funding expensive boondoggles. Our reputation among many of the locals is already high enough that I hardly see the benefit in investing more in this aspect."
"Understood. I will develop a plan to slowly draw down our expenditures on this front." Jake said.
While Ves basically wanted to end the practice entirely, he decided to be more tactful instead. By issuing an order for a gradual pushback, he wouldn't be signalling to the locals that he was leaving them to dry. He also wanted to avoid openly contradicting Calsie's decisions.
They moved on to the real reason why Ves called the COO to his office.
"The LMC is due for a shakeup."
"That's a big word, Ves. Changing the company extensively is a difficult endeavor and can backfire on us if we handle it badly." Jake said gravely.
"Do you believe the LMC is fine as it is? That it doesn't need any changes?"
The COO furrowed his brows. "Now that you mention it, lately I've felt as if the company was too used to running on autopilot. Our workforce has grown a little stagnant and they're used to doing the same work over and over again. That's fine for the moment, but I'm afraid the LMC isn't flexible enough to adjust to changing circumstances in the mech industry and mech market."
In other words, the company had become too complacent. The current status quo would not last forever. At the very least, the upcoming arrival of the new mech generation would shake up the entire mech industry in its entirety!
The last thing Ves wanted to see was the LMC failing to keep up with the rapid changes!
"Alright, what do you think we need to change?" Ves asked. "You know our company the best. What is the most pressing issue we need to address?"
"While there are various issues that I can think of that we need to change, there is one overarching aspect about the company that definitely needs to be reformed. Our company culture lacked too much direction during your absence. Our employees don't possess a strong kinship with each other and we don't even know what the company supposedly values."
That was squarely on Ves. As Jake described his concerns about the corporate culture, he painted a picture of employees clocking in day by day without even caring too much about their impact on other people's lives.
"Since you're so aware of the problem, why didn't you address it sooner?"
"I can't." Jake shrugged. "I'm not a charismatic leader and none of our top management has managed to change the overall direction of the company. It takes a true visionary in order to shape the LMC's internal culture. We've all been waiting for you to return in order to set a strong example."
Ves understood his point. Good leaders were hard to come by, and the LMC did not have the leverage to hire the best of the best. Most of the top management consisted of Larkinson retainers or former free agents who previously held positions in other mech companies.
Fortunately, Ves believed he could fulfill the gap in their capabilities with regards to fostering a shared set of values among his workforce. He already witnessed good and bad examples from the various mech regiments and outfits he witnessed first-hand.
The Flagrant Vandals, Walter's Whalers and Lydia's Swordmaidens each exhibited a strong sense of camaraderie and loyalty. They were proud to be a part of their forces.
The distinct leadership style of Major Verle made a very strong impression on Ves. The mech major shouldered a huge responsibility in carrying the Flagrant Vandals through an arduous mission, but most of the Vandals never gave up even when they were pushed to the brink.
While it was true that the crew of the Finmoth Regal mutinied, that did not detract from Major Verle's overall success in shepherding his forces in and out of the deep frontier.
Ves always admired the esprit de corps exhibited by the Vandals and the aforementioned outfits. While they all exhibited various flaws, the members of those forces did not let that hold them back.
If Ves wanted to foster the same kind of spirit among his subordinates, then he needed to take the lead in setting forth a strong set of principles.
"It's best to begin with a simple motto. We can use that to serve as the heart of our core principles." Jake advised. "Something that's too long and contains too many concepts or buzzwords will lack meaning to most of our workforce because it comes across as muddled."
"Haven't I already set the company's mission statement?" Ves recalled. "I thought I set forth an aspiration that the LMC should endeavor to meet the needs of customers who are looking for a mech that feels alive to them. Our mechs aren't commodities. They are valuable partners who can complement their mech pilots better than any other mech. That is what we are working to achieve!"
Jake sighed. "That sounds good and all, but it's a very vague mission statement, you know. None of us can really figure out what the name of our company actually stands for. While all of us feel that our mechs are a little different than the other mechs on the market, it's difficult to communicate that to our customers, let alone our own workforce."
"In short, most people don't have a clue what the LMC really stands for, is that right?"
"Not everyone is as smart as you, Ves. You're a unique mech designer, but some of the ideas you spout are rather eccentric. In fact, some of us think it's better if we change the name of our company to introduce more clarity to our corporate identity. We can't just keep operating on the belief that we are just a generic mech company led by mech designer with some very weird ideas."
All of these faults made it clear that Ves failed to propagate his beliefs to the rest of the company. It wasn't that obvious at first since he provided a strong direction when he was present, but his absence increasingly made this deficiency more apparent.
"Alright. Let's discuss on how we can reform our principles." He said with a renewed sense of purpose. "I want the Living Mech Corporation to be more than just a vehicle to make money. Our company stands for something greater than that, and it's time that our subordinates and our customers learn our ethos."
Chapter 1074
Mech companies occupied a unique position within human society. Technically, they were arms manufacturers.
Some arms manufacturers sold infantry weapons. Other arms manufacturers sold turret installations.
Yet even though mech companies sold mechs, they were treated differently from other arms manufacturers.
This was because the designers and developers of those armaments were mostly anonymous faces. It didn't really matter to the vast majority of the market which person designed a specific weapon model. The company brand stood for the entire company rather than a couple of notable weapon designers.
Due to the prominence of mechs in the Age of Mechs, mech companies enjoyed a very different situation. Mech designers enjoyed a lot of attention and publicity to the point where their personal fame often overpowered the brand of the company where they worked at! A mech company was just a hollow shell without a notable mech designer taking the lead!
This unique condition along with the custom of mech designers founding and leading their own mech companies in person came with vast implications.
The most important one was that mech companies served as an extension of the lead designer's design philosophies. When it came to core principles, nothing was more important to a mech designer than the principles espoused by their deeply personal design philosophies.
Since the good ones often started their own businesses or took over existing ones, it made sense if they shaped the identities of their companies to accommodate their own beliefs.
The equation was slightly different when it came to mech companies that employed multiple mech designers. Even so, there would always be a small number of lead designers who took charge of the overall direction of the mech company.
The example of the KNG came to mind, though Ves admitted it was not the most stellar example of how a company should be run.
The Living Mech Corporation centered around Ves Larkinson, the mech designer. By that, he meant that the company should strongly be aligned to his own design philosophy. Even though no one but Ves himself could realize his design philosophy to its full potential, that didn't mean that his subordinates should just do their own thing!
A mech corporation that did not follow through with their lead designer's design philosophy would only hamper both in the future.
The mech designer wouldn't be able to progress as much as the mechs being produced and sold by their companies failed to fully realize their mech designs.
The mech company therefore suffered as well as their lead designer's stalling progress meant that it didn't enjoy as much success as it ought to have.
Each were dependent on each other. This was why Ves put his full attention on this issue. If his own company did not match him in lockstep, then he could forget about spreading the influence of his design philosophy across the galaxy!
"It starts with a motto." Ves muttered.
No one else could help him set a motto for his company. As the lead designer of the LMC, only he could shape its principles. Even the System couldn't help him solve this important hurdle.
Right now, Ves stared out of the high windows of his penthouse office, overlooking the darkening cloudy skies as evening set in. Most of the office workers as well as the day shift of mech technicians ended their work for the day and returned to their homes.
Thousands of workers filed out of the headquarters or the underground portion of the Mech Nursery. Company-provided transit shuttles and aircars waited at the vastly-expanded landing zone at the far end of the company premises. His workers entered them in an orderly fashion and took them all the way back to Freslin or one of its many suburbs.
"These people all rely on me to lead the company to prosperity."
It was a daunting thought. The wrong decision could not only ruin his own career, but also destroy the livelihoods of many of his workers.
Right now, he felt like he was leading his own miniature state. It was an apt analogy of the power he wielded and the responsibility that came with it. He no longer worked on his own but instead received the assistance of thousands of employees, all of whom shared in his fortune and misfortune.
"Meow."
Lucky idly floated down on his lap and demanded to be petted. Ves interrupted his reverie in order to lavish some attention to his pet.
As he looked at Lucky's mechanical form and sensed the spark of spirituality deep inside, Ves couldn't help but think if more machines could be like his cat.
What would a mech look like that possessed Lucky's breath of life and spirit?
"It wouldn't be a mech anymore." He muttered and shook his head. "A mech that has gained full autonomy is not really a mech anymore. It would be an entirely new sentient machine race."
A mech was a large war machine that operated along the direction of a mech pilot. Ves needed to remind himself to stick with this definition. While Ves wanted to make his mech more alive in a spiritual sense, he did not intend to go the full mile and make an entire race of Sigrund-like sentient AIs inhabiting mech-like bodies!
"The living mechs that I aim to design are not alive in a literal sense. It's sufficient for them to be alive in spirit."
Mechs should remain inanimate when no one actively piloted them. Whatever Ves might aspire for mechs, he wasn't extreme enough to think that they should be controlled by anything other than humans.
"Even if I believe that mechs should have more value and be more appreciated, it remains a fact that they are also tools who are meant to be used in the purpose they were designed for. In this case, mechs are designed to wage war."
It was very dangerous for humans to outsource the capacity to wage war on to easily exploitable AIs or other vulnerable entities. Humanity long learned that they needed to take charge of their own endeavors and Ves did not intend to upset that principle.
However, that did not mean his design philosophy was impossible to fulfill.
"It depends on my definition of living mech." He muttered as he stroked Lucky's back. "How can I define this term so that it recognizes the value I bring to mechs without sowing more confusion?"
Some mech designers adhered to very direct design philosophies. They wanted to design the most resilient mechs or the most enduring mechs. Anyone could easily explain their main design focus in a couple of seconds.
For example, under his guidance, Ketis managed to formulate her own design philosophy, which was to design swordsman mechs who wielded the sharpest swords.
"It's a simple ambition, but it fits her very well."
Her design philosophy came from her heart. The groundwork for it had slowly took on its shape after many years of running with the Swordmaidens.
As it was a sincere design philosophy that truly fit Ketis well, Ves did not stop her from adopting her greatest ambition as her design philosophy.
Sadly, Ves adopted a much more abstract design philosophy. This expanded his options but also raised the difficulty of fulfilling the aspirations of his design philosophy.
His main problem which hampered his ability to communicate his principles effectively was that he was burdened by the need to keep his advantages secret.
If he ever exposed what he learned about the X-Factor to the mech industry and the wider galaxy, he would not only lose his greatest competitive advantage, but also painted a huge target on his back!
The MTA, CFA and Five Scrolls Compact would fight to take him into their custody. Ves already possessed one reason for them to covet him, as he ostensibly held the identity of a Holy Son of the Five Scrolls Compact.
He did not feel like compounding his own value to these powerful trans-galactic organizations.
"I have to define living mechs in a way that isn't too direct but isn't too vague either."
How could he possibly straddle the line? With the handicap of not being able to reference spirituality or the X-Factor directly, Ves could not come up with an easy answer to this problem.
"Maybe I should start from the perspective of mech pilots."
As the principal users of his products, mech pilots served as the focal point of every mech company. While those with money and those with the power to decide which mechs they should purchase were not always mech pilots, their opinions still exerted a huge influence in the purchasing decisions.
A mech pilot's fit with a certain mech model was vitally important to the functioning of a mech force.
Did Ves aim to please every mech pilot?
"No." He shook his head. "I can't possibly design a mech that can satisfy everyone. That's just an impossibility."
Ves did not even dream of selling the most mechs or capturing a huge share of the mech market. Instead, he cared more about accommodating the needs of mech pilots who stood to benefit most from his products.
"My mechs are more than commodities."
Ves repeated this specific phrase for a reason. It encapsulated what he thought was wrong with the current mech market. The vast majority of mech designers and mech pilots did not treat their mechs with sufficient respect.
He detested this careless attitude towards mechs. It encouraged neglect and sloppiness. Even if mechs were tools to be used in war, many lives depended on how well they were treated.
"My mechs are designed to meet the needs of those who care about their mechs. I want to reward good behavior by having the mech repay the care and attention it received."
In other words, he wanted to portray his living mechs as loyal partners to their mech pilots.
Inspiration suddenly struck Ves. He spontaneously muttered a short phrase that neatly encapsulated his design philosophy.
"Living mechs. Partners for life."
It sounded like how a motto ought to sound like. Even though it was just a couple of words strung together, their combination expressed a very clear and distinct set of meaning.
The only problem with this motto was that it still possessed a very abstract quality that made it difficult to imagine what a living mech actually looked like. While the strong X-Factors of his mechs helped convey the unique quality of his mechs to his customers, it was difficult to recognize it as a concrete asset when nobody except Ves could fully explain their uniqueness!
Still, Ves liked the motto he came up with. He didn't feel the need to come up with another motto that strayed away from his design philosophy in the name of dumbing down its abstract nature.
The motto served as a starting point to the principles that the LMC should abide by, but it wasn't enough. Just these words alone would never be able to align his entire workforce due to how wide it could be interpreted.
How could Ves describe the motto succinctly?
"Living mechs are mechs that are responsive to their mech pilots. We describe them as partners for life because all of our mechs are designed to accompany their mech pilots in as many battles as possible for as long as they can. Our mechs are partners for life because are designed to adapt to their owners!"
Perhaps it was a bit of an exaggeration to describe his mechs as partners for life. A typical mech career piloted mechs until they reached old age where their mental agility no longer kept up with their mechs. From start to finish, this typically took fifty to sixty years.
That was enough time for mech pilots to use at least three different mechs. As older mechs aged and became obsolete, they came under stronger pressure to change to a newer mech model.
Under those practical circumstances, it was unheard of for mech pilots to stick with a single mech for the entirety of their careers.
Yet Ves did not intend to change his motto despite this inaccuracy. Who knew if conditions changed in the future and the rate of advancement slowed to a point where mechs remained relevant for sixty years instead of wearing out within just ten years.
Chapter 1075
The next day, Ves convened his confidants and invited a couple of other top executives such as Jake Altern, the chief operating officer, and the Primrose Mackarie, the chief financial officer.
All of them knew the company well. If Ves couldn't make them understand the principles he espoused, then no one could.
"Living Mechs. Partners for Life." Gavin rolled the phrase off his tongue. As a marketing specialist, Ves awaited his opinion most eagerly. "I like it. It possesses a good cadence. Hearing it conjures up the image that our mechs are enduring partners for our customers."
Not everyone agreed. Jake for example did not approve. "That's all well and good, but it still comes with the flaw that no one immediately has an idea what our mechs excel at. What does it mean that our mechs are partners for life?"
"It means that our mechs are companions rather than products." Ves espoused. "The LMC's products that can be relied upon to treat mech pilots well when they care for their mechs in return. From a technical standpoint, mechs that qualify as partners for life should be high quality products that are built to last and can endure the rigors of combat again and again even under moderate use. However, that is only the value that we bring from the surface."
"What else is there?"
"Our mechs are mechs with a heart. I'm sure you all heard from our customers that our mechs are slightly more comfortable and accommodating to mech pilots than the competition. This is my true area of expertise. My mechs are not just lifeless tools to be used and abused until they break. Treat them well, and they will grow with the mech pilot."
Some of the people present furrowed their brows or looked confused. Ves failed to convey his principles clear enough.
"I think Ves is referring to the high customer satisfaction of the mech pilots that use our mechs." Gavin added. "I've been studying the reports for a long time, and a lot of the feedback we've received from our customers express a very high satisfaction, particularly to picky mech pilots. While our main products are priced beyond the reach of most of our market, those that have been forking good money for our mechs almost never regretted their purchase. I believe our repeat business potential is very high. The only reason why we haven't noticed this on a wider scale is due to our limited mech catalog."
When oriented towards customer feedback, the motto seemed more meaningful. As they worked for the company for several years now, they all knew what their most loyal customers felt about the LMC's mechs.
We have a good reputation on that front, but it's not a sufficiently compelling reason to purchase our mechs over another." Calsie said, sobering everyone up. "Our repeat business is high but our market share remains miniscule. The biggest problem we face is that even if our mechs are well-liked, most mech purchases just want the most bang for their buck, and that means prioritizing performance over comfort. When these critical buyers hear our motto, they probably think it's a weak excuse to make our mechs sound more impressive than they really are. The Blackbeak suffers a lot from this problem."
The Crystal Lord at least incorporated the alien crystal technology as a defining gimmick. Sales of the Crystal Lord had long outpaced the sales of the more plainer and less distinguishing Blackbeak.
"I think our main weakness is that our mech catalog has not caught up with the growth of our company." Ves stated. "With only two current mech models on offer, our impact on the mech market is too little. I know my motto sounds a bit too abstract and wishy-washy, but the good feedback from the few thousand customers we have shows that it actually has a kernel of truth. As long as I resume publishing new designs, the motto will gain more strength."
He possessed the confidence to predict such an occurrence. Not only would he and his company gain more prominence once he advanced to Journeyman, but his ability to design mechs with a B-grade X-Factor meant that each of his newer products would never fail to impress those who caught sight of his mechs!
The most important consequence of his high X-Factor was that the mech pilots that used a Blackbeak or Crystal Lord always exhibited more of their potential. As long as their mentality aligned somewhat with the X-Factor of their mechs, the resulting combination always led to a small but substantial improvement in performance.
The more his mechs proliferated in the market, the more obvious this effect became! At that point, his motto would become a defining phrase that no other mech company could ever match as well as the LMC could under his leadership and direction!
Eventually, Ves decided to adopt the motto for his company. They all drew plans to include it in various documentation and even have it appear on their product pages and in the company halls.
"Coming up with a motto is just the first step." He said. "The LMC has done well so far, but the status quo won't last forever. I want to change the company from the ground up in order to prepare it for future growth."
"What do you want to focus on?" Calsie asked. "It sounds like you already have some goals in mind."
"You may have heard this, but I used to serve as a liaison to the former Kadar-Neyvis Group a few months ago. Although I haven't been there long enough to study all of their operations, what I've learned from my experience showed me that the LMC has a lot to go before they can match the KNG."
"Our company is already running fairly efficiently."
Ves nodded. "That is all to your credit. However, we need a clearer organizational structure in order to take future expansion into account. What if we set up a branch office in the Ylvain Protectorate or the Reinald Republic someday? What if we set up a new manufacturing complex in a different star sector a decade from now on? While it sounds somewhat premature to be thinking of expanding our footprint, it's better to make our preparations now when we are at our current scale."
His argument took hold.
Primrose, their chief accountant, added in her own opinion. "If you are about to shakeup the LMC, then I would also suggest addressing our inconsistent licensing structure. Some of the licenses are registered in your personal name, which locks the company out of the royalties and fees that they earn."
"Fair point." Ves nodded. He wasn't unaware of the problem. His personal bank accounts were so flush with money that it was practically obscene. "Have the Accounting Department and the Legal Department arrange the necessary details. All licenses will be put under company ownership. This includes both real and virtual licenses, component designs and mech designs, and licenses that we own and licenses we've acquired from other entities."
This made things much simpler and put all the licenses that he and his company owned under a single name. Ves detached himself from personal ownership of all the licenses including the much-prized Trailblazer engine and the Veltrex armor system because he no longer obsessed over them. As a versatile mech designer, even if his company shuttered all of a sudden and Ves lost access to all of his licenses, he would still be able to pick himself up somehow by virtue of his ability.
Only regular Novices and Apprentices clung to licenses obsessively. They didn't possess the earning power to acquire new licenses at will, so they treasured every license they obtained.
They continued to talk about the transition and discussed what needed to change. Ves nonetheless reiterated the main priority of this initiative.
"Our goal here goes beyond changes in operations. What I truly want is to transform the LMC into a company our workers are proud to be a part of. They need to feel more belonging to our company and the have to believe in our mission. Each employee should understand our motto and conform their work to our values no matter if they are mech technicians, sales representatives or managers. Basically, I want to introduce a strong company culture and identity to the LMC."
In order to change the LMC to a form that Ves wanted to achieve, they needed to form an extensive and detailed plan to achieve the transformation. The LMC version 2.0 that they envisioned would not only be able to keep up with future growth without straining any of its existing processes, but it would also be made up of enthusiastic employees who all shared the same beliefs.
Now that Ves set his overall goals, his confidants and his managers could do take it from here. They already came up with useful suggestions.
For example, Jake and Primrose already talked about getting consultants on board to help them guide their company's transformation. The LMC wasn't the only mech company in the Bright Republic that wanted to reinvent itself. Obtaining value external expertise in an area which they held little experience in wouldn't hurt.
Calsie issued a warning, however. "If you want to rearrange large parts of the LMC, you will need the approval of the board as well."
"Oh that." Ves smiled when he heard that. "Don't worry about the board."
A few days after Ves announced his intentions to introduce strategic changes to the way they ran the company, Flashlight finally fulfilled its prior commitment. After several months of preparation, the TNC Holding Group no longer owned a twenty-four percent stake in the company!
Ves derived a lot of pleasure in informing the board of directors when they convened in the first meeting since he returned to the company.
"Your services won't be needed anymore." He said to the handful of directors appointed by TNC. "As of yesterday, the TNC Holding Group has formally transferred its shares to Sibilant Asset Management!"
The two directors representing the Ministry of Economic Development appeared blindsided by the news.
"You can't do this! The Ministry would never relinquish their stake on your company!"
"They can because they already did." Two new projections appeared in the semi-virtual boardroom. One of them boldly shooed the toadies from MinEcDev away. "As of now, the TNC Holding Group will no longer be involved in shaping the Living Mech Corporation's strategy."
Before the representatives of the TNC could bark back a reply, Ves pressed a command on his comm which forcefully cut their projection feeds off. Since they were no longer directors of the company, it was within his right to kick them out of the boardroom!
Ves addressed the other directors. Aside from his grandfather Benjamin and Marcella Bollinger, the other two directors were relatively independent if well-connected, which made them advisors more than decision makers.
While the TNC Holding Group still held sway, the independent directors strongly leaned on their side because they were stand-ins for the powerful Ministry of Economic Development.
This time, Sibilant Asset Management displaced the role of the TNC Holding Group. Officially, they represented the interests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"We hope to have a fruitful cooperation with you all." A slick, middle-aged man said as he introduced himself to the board. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees a lot of potential in the LMC as a means to extend our influence throughout the star sector. Where commerce flows, new connections are forged. Our main priority at the board is to make sure that the LMC will be able to expand its reach without forgetting its roots."
Everyone at the board was still shocked by the sudden change in ownership. Even his grandfather Benjamin seemed taken aback that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs butted into the business of the Ministry of Economic Development.
No one seemed to realize that Sibilant Asset Management did not actually represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but rather Flashlight!
Ves clapped his hands. "Now that we cleared out the trash, let us begin with the first item on the agenda. Our company is due for some extensive changes. We've developed some preliminary plans on what we want to change and we could benefit from your input."
Chapter 1076
Ves, the directors and the top management of the company all helped with the planning of the upcoming widespread organizational changes to the LMC.
Implementing all of these changes all at once was difficult to pull off successfully. No matter what, they needed support from all levels of their workforce in order to succeed in their shakeup.
For that reason, the representatives from Sibilant Asset Management introduced some consultants from a renowned Brighter consultancy firm to help with the changes.
After a week of setting goals, defining their new corporate identity and issuing various directives to guide the changes, Ves delegated his remaining responsibilities to his subordinates.
"I still have lots of design work ahead of me, so I can't babysit the company forever." Ves said as he patted Calsie's shoulder. "I'm putting you in charge of keeping an eye on the proceedings. Don't hesitate to warn me if you think the changes that are being planned are detrimental to my interests."
The young woman nodded. "Although I can't say I'm an expert in these matters, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any shenanigans."
While Ves wanted to stay involved with the upcoming transition, he couldn't neglect his design obligations. The sooner he finished designing his Super-medium space knight, the faster the LMC's fortunes truly improved.
"It's about time for me to go on a trip to the past." He muttered.
Before he did so, he addressed some other matters that remained first. After a week of recovery, Ketis finally came out of the mind bending psychedelic experience that saw her intelligence and concentration attributes expand to transhuman levels!
When Ves entered the infirmary room where she had been resting all this while, he noticed that the spark in her eyes had grown strangely brighter.
Considering the sensitive nature of their upcoming discussion, Ves preemptively activated his Privacy Shield.
"How are you feeling, Ketis? Have you recovered from your high now?"
"I'm still getting used to the weird mess my mind is in right now. What did you drug me with last week?" Ketis eyed him with suspicion. "Your so-called 'candy' isn't really candy nor is it some kind of stimulant. You did something to me. My mind is so clear and focused now that it's unreal! Do you know how long it will take me to adjust to these changes?! Sometimes I feel like I'm not really Ketis anymore!"
"You're still you, but better. The candies that I fed you are special and a very deep secret of mine. Don't ask where I got them or how they work. Just know that it has done a lot of good for you. Have you noticed that you became smarter lately?"
She nodded. "It's a lot easier for me to recall the theories when I reviewed some textbooks in the last few days. Is that the candy at work?"
"Yup. Let's put your newly expanded cognitive functions to the test. I have a pile of homework for you to test your improvements."
Ves transferred a pile of documents and assignments to her comm. Each of them specifically tested her knowledge and application in different fields such as mechanics and electrical engineering. That would keep her busy for a month at the very least as she was required to study many different textbooks in the company's internal library.
While Ketis frowned a bit at the sheer amount of textbooks she needed to study, she didn't appear as resistant as before.
It was kind of eerie to Ves to witness the changes in Ketis. The vast increase to her concentration seemed to have changed her in a way that Ves recognized a lot in himself!
Perhaps he went a little overboard in raising her attributes to their human limits. How much of the original Ketis was still left?
It was too late to do anything about it now that she already ingested so much candy. For better or worse, Ketis 2.0 was here to stay. Ves doubted that he could obtain some kind of attribute reduction candy from the System that downgraded her back into her absent-minded self.
"The aid that I've given you is very precious. Don't squander it and don't tell anyone else. " Ves reiterated. He couldn't stress this point enough. "In time, you will realize the full effects of your improvements. While you can revel in your new capabilities, don't lose sight of your dreams and aspirations. The Swordmaidens and Mayra would want you to succeed as a mech designer."
"You're right, Ves. What am I complaining about? If the candy is as amazing as you make it sound like, then I can surely catch up to you!" Ketis glowed, already thinking about what heights she could reach if she became a learning monster.
In order to keep Ketis on the right track, Ves prepared some incentives for her. "Some of the homework I've issued you is very difficult. They're the kind of tests that the Skull Architect once posed to me, but easier in difficulty. As long as you can come up with some good solutions to the holes in the designs I've presented to you, I'll give you another treat."
Ves pulled out a small container from his pocket and threw it up and down with his hand.
"Is.. there another candy inside?" Ketis asked as her eyes honed in on the tiny box.
"Yup. This one doesn't improve your mind. Instead, it improves your strength. Sounds good, right?"
"I'll definitely do my homework!"
Even though she became a much more capable mech designer, Ketis still hadn't forgotten her Swordmaiden roots. Now that she experienced the amazing effects of candy once, she had already developed a desire to consume more, especially if it improved her already formidable genetically modified body! As long as Ves dangled a candy in front of her face every now and then, he was assured that she would do exactly what he wanted.
Of course, a time would come when candies would stop having an effect on Ketis. By that time, Ves hoped that he earned enough of her loyalty that she would remain dedicated to him without any special compensation.
As Ves turned off his Privacy Shield left the company's infirmary, he reflected on the changes he put into motion.
Ketis 2.0. The Living Mech Corporation 2.0. The Avatars of Myth 2.0. Everyone and everything around him was undergoing some form of metamorphosis. While it would take a lot of time and effort for some of the transition to take place, once they finished Ves would have more power and influence at his disposal than ever before!
Naturally, Ves cared the most about the improvements to his genetic makeup and his Attributes and Skills. He retained very little of his old baseline human self prior to receiving the System. He was much further ahead in his personal evolution.
"If Ketis has only upgraded to version 2.0 of herself, I'm probably all the way up to version 3.5 or something." Ves chuckled. "She still has a lot to go before she boast about catching up to my progress."
As Ves returned to his penthouse office, he spotted Gavin waiting outside the tall double doors that led inside.
"Ves! There's an emergency! We've got a huge problem on our hands!"
"Calm down Gavin. What's the problem?" Ves frowned.
"We just received word from the local MTA branch office that an esteemed guest has arrived on Cloudy Curtain on an unmarked corvette! They say that we're about to be visited by an official from the CFA!"
"What?!"
His good mood instantly evaporated. Worry instantly crept up Ves' back as he realized the import of this visit. What could possibly compel the CFA to send one of their people to a backwater like Cloudy Curtain of all places?
"I guess a reckoning is due." Ves said grimly. "Do you know when the CFA arrives at the Mech Nursery?"
"I'm told they're almost here! The corvette directly dispatched a shuttle from orbit to our headquarters a short time ago!"
CFA shuttles were the best in the galaxy! It took very little time for them to arrive on land. Just a few minutes later, Ves and Gavin both hurried all the way up to the roof of the headquarters building and came up to a special landing pad reserved for Ves and special guests.
A swift and sleek-looking shuttle whose design different remarkably from the outdated shuttles of the Starlight Megalodon descended from the air and plopped onto the landing pad without any noticeable impact.
The hatch instantly slid open, revealing a single confident-looking lieutenant in CFA uniform.
After several hundred years, the style of the uniform had changed in several different ways compared to the ones that Ves wore himself as a fake officer of the CFA. Even so, the insignia still remained the same.
Ves instantly read a lot of details about the newcomer's identity from his uniform markings alone.
First, he was a commissioned lieutenant junior grade of the CFA. While the rank didn't sound very impressive, that was enough for him to command authority on the entire planet! No one dared to defy the CFA in their face!
Second, the lieutenant was an inspector of the CFA's Komodo Naval Fleet based in the star sector. Inspectors wielded a lot of authority when it came to investigating what they regarded as the local space peasants of the star sector. If this lieutenant wanted to have him killed, he merely needed to say the word and the entire Bright Republic would be out for Ves' blood!
Ves tried hard not to gulp. "Welcome to the headquarters of the Living Mech Corporation, esteemed guest from the Common Fleet Alliance. I apologise for not preparing an adequate reception for your arrival. Your visit caught us by surprise."
"Please spare the pleasantries, Mr. Larkinson." The lieutenant replied imperiously, not even paying any special attention to Ves. "I am Lieutenant Renze Stimmons. The Office of the Naval Inspector General of this star sector has dispatched me to this dirtball of a planet to investigate your involvement in an incident related to one of our long-lost battleships in the frontier."
"Ehm, very well. Let's take this discussion in my office."
Ves waved Gavin away and led Lieutenant Stimmons to his office. Its imposing decor might have intimidated regular people, but it had no effect at all to a lieutenant from the CFA.
After they took their seats, the lieutenant let Ves stew for a moment.
"What do you want to know from me, lieutenant?" Ves asked, breaking the unsettling silence between the two.
The lieutenant activated a signal jammer attached to his belt. Only until the field took effect did he speak openly.
"I have come here for two purposes. First, we are interviewing every notable individual involved with the matter related to the Starlight Megalodon. Second, we are here to retrieve the stolen property in your possession."
Ves cursed inside his mind. This inspector came too quickly and without warning on purpose! If word got out beforehand that someone from the CFA came to Cloudy Curtain, then Ves would have been able to smuggle the goods he looted from the Starlight Megalodon out of the Mech Nursery's vault and hide them elsewhere!
"Am I.. in trouble, lieutenant?"
"That remains to be seen. The Bright Republic has already provided a satisfactory explanation to the CFA. As long as you cooperate to the fullest extent, we have no cause to direct any further attention to you, Mr. Larkinson. You should thank your patrons for taking responsibility for your actions."
Ves smiled in relief. It sounded like he wouldn't be dragged away from his company by the CFA. His connection to the Tovar Family already paid off by getting the CFA to relent.
He didn't even want to know what would have happened if the Tovar Family or the Bright Republic failed to cover his back! Even though he only participated on this mission on behalf of the Republic, the CFA might not see it that way!
Still, the thought of losing all of his precious gains from the Aeon Corona Mission made him despair!
Chapter 1077
Ves spent an hour answering the questions posed by Lieutenant Stimmons. They related to what he witnessed on the surface of Aeon Corona VII, how he wormed his way into the Starlight Megalodon, what he did with his supposed rank in the CFA and more.
From the knowledge that the lieutenant exhibited, Ves knew that much of it probably came from when his CFA-issued officer comm inadvertently connected to the CFA's fleet network. Much of the rest probably came from questioning the other survivors of the Aeon Corona Mission such as Captain Orfan.
However, the lieutenant also possessed obvious gaps in knowledge that Ves made sure to keep as unfulfilled as possible.
While Ves could never blatantly lie to an inspector of the CFA, he could still resort to lies by omission. No matter what, Ves could never reveal any details about Sigrund or his Holy Son status!
"Please list each research project on the Starlight Megalodon that you've accessed or participated in. Be as complete as possible."
"Describe every virtual AI you've met on the ship."
"Explain to me what you believe to be the cause of the abrupt halt to the Starlight Megalodon's FTL drives. Why did the long-dormant sandman mothership entangled with the battleship suddenly freed itself from its stasis?"
"What did you encounter when you entered the lab of Project Icarus?"
Ves put every part of his persuasive ability to use in weaving a tale of omissions and minor misdirections to the lieutenant. For his part, Stimmons listened to his answers with a bored expression, as if he felt it was beneath him to be dispatched to Cloudy Curtain in the first place.
Taking a gamble, Ves tried to reinforce the impression that he was a nobody and that Stimmons should be spending his time elsewhere by using his underdeveloped Spirituality to use!
While it was a huge risk to employ his Spirituality directly in front of someone from the CFA, Ves was reasonably certain that Stimmons was just a norm. Sure, he probably received the best genetic optimization treatments afforded to someone of his rank, but he was just an inspector.
Ves maintained his facade as a cooperative witness while he concentrated his mind. He shaped his Spirituality in a form akin to a mech pilot's force of will. While he was very clumsy in this regard, he nonetheless succeeded in forming a spiritual field around him that emphasized his innocence and cluelessness!
Above all else, Ves wanted to give the impression that he was just a random mech designer who got involved in the Starlight Megalodon by coincidence! There was nothing special about him at all beside his coincidental presence on the battleship!
Whether it worked or not, Ves couldn't tell, because Lieutenant Stimmons appeared disinterested in the entire proceedings from the start.
Still, all Ves cared about was that he managed to give nothing away about his most critical secrets.
Perhaps it worked, because Lieutenant Stimmons never asked once about Sigrund or anything related to the monstrous mainframe in Project Icarus' lab!
Ves already agreed on a cover story with Calabast if he ever faced scrutiny from the CFA. The line of nonsense he fed to the inspector would completely match Calabast's own story if the CFA ever came to corroborate his words.
Such preparation allowed him to survive the tense questioning session without exposing any information that he didn't want the CFA to know.
After a while, Stimmons ended the session and stood up. "Very well. I have heard enough. Now bring me to the assets you've appropriated from the Starlight Megalodon so I can arrange for them to be taken back. Now, before you pull any tricks, know that every piece of CFA gear can be detected by us even if you bury it right into the center of this planet."
"I wouldn't dare to hide the salvage I've brought back from the Aeon Corona System." Ves smiled and laughed awkwardly.
There was no way that Ves could avoid this. He reluctantly led Lieutenant Stimmons to a set of elevators that successively brought them all the way down to the vault floor.
As Ves slowly unlocked the stringent security measures of the vault door and stepped inside, he went to the portion of the vault that stored his spoils from the CFA. As the pair entered the vault room in question, they came across a stack of crates.
Ves blinked a bit. Shouldn't there be an entire CFA shuttle stored inside? Where was his Squalon field engineer light combat armor? Where was his advanced CFA officer-grade comm?
Despite the inexplicable absence, Ves he quickly recovered. "Ahem. This is the sum total of my spoils from the Starlight Megalodon."
"What is the meaning of this?" Stimmons said with a dangerous edge in his tone. "This should not be the extent of the assets that you've stolen from the CFA."
"This is all of it, sir!" Ves said while maintaining an innocent act. "You can look wherever you want, but I haven't kept anything from the CFA other than these crates!"
The lieutenant walked up to the stack of crates and opened one of them to reveal a pile of vintage nutrient packs. The man fished out one of the packs from the crate and studied it before throwing it aside. He fished out a dozen more packs, but all he found was more of the same!
"Nutrient packs! Of all the goods that you have possibly taken from the Starlight Megalodon, you only brought back some worthless nutrient packs! Are you out of your mind?! Where is our shuttle? Where is our XV-99 Squalon?"
"We don't have them, sir. I only dared to retain some nutrient packs as a souvenir. I would never dare to back take something of actual value to the CFA." Ves innocently shrugged from the side.
This was a very precarious moment to Ves right now. Even though he also wondered where most of his CFA stuff had disappeared to, he decided to put his faith in this welcome turn events!
In the background, Ves kept emanating a spiritual field that reinforced his act. Ves was just a clueless bystander! He never made off with expensive CFA gear! There was nothing special to see here!
Lieutenant Stimmons furrowed his brows. He eventually raised his hand and activated his modern CFA comm.
A strong pulse came from above and instantly encompassed the entire Mech Nursery down to the underground vault and below!
Ves widened his eyes. The small corvette that Stimmons had traveled upon possessed the most powerful scanners that he had ever experienced. He felt as if nothing could be hidden from the scan that just passed through his body!
As Ves surreptitiously tried to see what Stimmons was doing with his comm, he noticed that the inspector was performing a number of broad, wide-area scans over the entirety of Cloudy Curtain!
The lieutenant wasn't lying when he claimed that he possessed the ability to track down CFA gear!
Unfortunately for him, the only result the corvette in orbit spat back was the crates of vintage nutrient packs stored in this very vault! Aside from the crates, the planet contained nothing else from the CFA!
"WORTHLESS!" Stimmons yelled out in frustration as he lurched his arm and threw the open crate onto the ground, causing it to spill its contents of ancient nutrient packs. "Explain! Where are the rest of our assets!"
"I don't know, sir!"
"Did you smuggle them out?!"
"No!"
"Did you sell them or trade them away?!"
"I did not! You are free to audit my company and my finances. You'll find nothing amiss, I'm sure of it, sir!"
After some fruitless questioning, Lieutenant Stimmons growled in frustration while staring daggers at Ves. This visit did not proceed the way he envisioned!
For a moment, Ves felt as if he had entered a dangerous moment. Stimmons might take him into custody in order to account for the missing gear. However, the subtle aura of innocence and cluelessness around him made it seem as if there was no point in paying any further interest in Ves.
Eventually, the lieutenant decided against such drastic action. He stormed off towards the exit. "Get out of this underground hole, you filthy space peasant! I will investigate the whereabouts of our missing assets further. If I find out that you have hidden them away, then not even the Tovars can save you from our wrath!"
Ves stared at the pile of spilled nutrient packs with a pain in his heart before turning around to help Stimmons return to his shuttle parked on the roof of the LMC's headquarters.
Once the lieutenant to perform a follow-up investigation or something, Ves gently sighed as the shuttle whipped into orbit with amazing speed.
Aware that the CFA might have left some bugs behind, Ves refrained from dropping his act. He tried to look as hapless as possible as he slowly departed from the roof and made his way back down to the vault.
He also called for Calsie to meet him at the entrance of the vault. Back when he transferred his CFA comm, his CFA shuttle and his CFA combat armor to the Barracuda, Calsie was responsible for storing them there once the ship arrived at Cloudy Curtain.
If anyone knew where the rest of his CFA spoils aside from his nutrient packs disappeared to, it should be Calsie.
Some time later, both Ves and Calsie arrived at the vault. Lucky seemed to have returned from wherever he disappeared to and clung on Calsie's shoulder while being petted by the woman.
Ves first looked to Lucky. "Are there any spy bugs here?"
"Meow." Lucky shook his head while it was being scratched by Calsie's fingers.
Even though he trusted Lucky's judgement, Ves activated his Privacy Shield to be sure. Only then did he turn to Calsie.
"If you haven't heard already, we just received a visit from an inspector of the CFA. Not only did he question me about certain matters, but he also came to retrieve the CFA assets that I've shipped back to the company. You wouldn't happen to know where they are right now, do you?"
Calsie looked pensive all of a sudden. "Uhmm.."
"Before you ask, it's safe to talk within this interference field. Neither the CFA nor anyone else will be able to eavesdrop on us, Calsie."
"That's not what I was hesitating about." She said as her discomfort deepened. She clung a bit tighter to Lucky. "The truth is that... the shuttle, the suit of armor and the comm is... gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"They're gone. They no longer exist."
"Did you sell them or something to help keep the company afloat?"
"No, nothing like that. The LMC wasn't that desparate."
"Did someone else like the MTA or the Bright Republic come and confiscate the stuff?"
Calsie shook her head again. "No."
"Then what happened?!"
"Lucky ate it all! He munched on all of your stuff until it's all gone! Your comm, your combat armor and your shuttle has all been digested by your cat!"
What.
Ves almost couldn't believe what he heard. His astonished eyes on in Lucky who immediately noticed the attention directed against him. Lucky stopped squinting his eyes in pleasure and innocently met his owner's increasingly angry gaze.
"Lucky? Tell me. Is Calsie telling the truth? Did you eat all of my gear?"
"Meow."
Ves knew better than to parse the meaning out of that meaningless meow. Instead, he focused his gaze and quietly activated his System sight.
[Pet Status]
Name: Lucky
Owner: Ves Larkinson
Rank: Exceptional [Exclusive]
Level: 5
Skills
[Gem Excretion V]
[Communications III]
[Energy Claws III]
[ECM IV]
[Gravity Manipulation IV]
[Regeneration I]
[Sharp Senses III]
[Spirituality I]
Level five?! And what were all of these skills?!
Ves doubted no further. There was no way that Ves could have leveled up twice and acquired all of these new skills so easily! The only explanation on hand that made sense was that Lucky really ate all of his valuable and expensive CFA gear! The expensive exotics and valuable materials that made them so valuable must have been an irresistible temptation to his gluttonous cat!
"LUCKY! Get over here!" Ves made a grab at Lucky, who yowled in surprise and instantly turned intangible! "Spit out my Squalon! That's the best armor that I've ever laid my hands upon, but now it's gone because you couldn't control your appetite! Pay me back!"
"Meow!"
Lucky wasn't stupid enough to remain within the vault. The cat took advantage of his intangible state and instantly phased through the floor and fled deeper underground!
Chapter 1078
Ves stared at the crates of nutrient packs in dismay. Aside from them, he retained nothing else from the Aeon Corona Mission!
He lost his CFA shuttle with its amazing ECM systems. He lost his XV-99 Squalon field engineer armor with integrated minifab system. He also lost his CFA officer-grade comm!
His heart ached with the losses. Even though Lieutenant Stimmons would have likely taken them away anyway, he still felt awful that Lucky got to be the final benificiary.
"Tell me, Calsie, how can you let Lucky get away with eating my stuff?"
"We didn't know. I think Lucky was too hungry for valuable exotics." Calsie looked apologetic. "Back when times were good, we followed your instructions and fed him a steady diet of ores. However, when we needed to cut back on expenses, every million credits counted, so we reduced the value of ores we supplied to Lucky. He must have been frustrated at the years of deprivation, so he sought alternatives."
"So he went straight to the vault?"
"You know as well as I do that no barrier can stop him. This vault is surrounding by meters armor plating! Nothing ought to be able to burrow inside! I transferred your CFA equipment in the vault with the reassurance that no one would be able to breach it without setting off an alarm. Somehow, Lucky avoided getting detected while he snuck inside. At that point, he held free reign to do whatever he wanted! It wasn't until months later when I needed to retrieve something else from the vault that I came upon the remnants of the shuttle. The bite marks instantly made it obvious who was responsible."
"Lucky.." Ves grumbled resentfully.
His willful cat became more and more unbridled. His ability to turn intangible not only made every physical barrier a joke in his eyes, but now his ability to sneak became much stronger due to the ECM abilities he somehow assimilated from his meals!
Lucky's Communications, ECM, Gravity Manipulation and Sharp Senses all seemed to stem from the shuttle, armor and his comm. Even his Gem Excretion had been upgraded to the fifth tier, perhaps by incorporating aspects of the minifab system.
And while the System sight did not list out how much more resilient Lucky's exterior shell became, it must have received a substantial boost as well.
"This was supposed to be my gear when I chose to go on an excursion in the frontier." He lamented. "I would have been assured of my safety if I could make use of them. Now, I no longer have the confidence to enter the frontier anytime soon."
As much as he pined over his losses, Ves slowly recovered. That Lucky ultimately benefited at the CFA's expense was not a major misdeed. A more capable Lucky would be able to substitute for the role his CFA gear played in a much more inconspicuous package.
For example, he wouldn't be able to bring his CFA shuttle with all of its features everywhere, particularly indoors. However, he could bring along Lucky wherever he went. He could even develop a purposeful habit of doing so whenever he visited somewhere. Once people got used to seeing him with his cat, they would just mentally shrug it off as a quirk.
Plenty of mech designers possessed unusual habits, so Ves wouldn't be any different for bringing his mechanical cat along.
"Please leave." Ves stated to Calsie after a short moment of contemplation. "Just leave me with my nutrient packs."
"Okay, sir... if that's what you want."
He didn't blame Calsie for her oversight in this matter. Who knew that Lucky would pull off something like this? The gluttonous cat ate almost everything made of metal and composite materials, leaving only the nutrient packs alone due to their organic content.
Ves walked up to the strewn crate that had spilled a bunch of nutrient packs on the floor. He bent down, picked up the crate, and carefully stuffed the spilled nutrient packs back into the crate.
"Worthless, huh?" Ves smiled sardonically. "To me, they're treasures."
After stuffing all of the packs back into the crate, he put it down and moved towards the other crates. He lifted the top crates and put it aside. He repeated the process until he came to the bottom-most crate.
After opening it, he reached down his arm through the pile of nutrient packs and searched for something buried in the middle. After his fingers touched upon a small box, he grasped it and took it out.
"Hahaha. At least I still have this!" He laughed as he opened the small box, revealing the Archimedes Rubal organic brain implant held in perpetual stasis. "It's surprising how many people look right past a bunch of nutrient packs."
When Ves witnessed Lieutenant Stimmons calling down some penetrating, wide-area scans from the corvette up in orbit, he made a prediction.
He guessed that as powerful as the wide-area scans appeared, they didn't offer much detail! It would be too exaggerated if a small corvette, even of CFA make, could scan an entire terrestrial planet and expose every dirty little secret down to the nanometer!
A modern CFA battleship might possess the capacity to do so, but Ves refused to believe that the CFA would invest so much resources in outfitting a mere corvette with such a powerful scanning system!
While the Archimedes Rubal was of indeterminate value right now, Ves held high hopes for it once he found a means to double-check its biological programming.
"It's always better to improve my own core capabilities than to outfit myself with gear."
Ves was a mech designer, so anything that directly improved his ability to design mechs took precedence over anything else.
After he became reassured that he still retained the Archimedes Rubal, he returned it to the crate and put everything back in order. Right now wasn't the time to make use of what remained in the vault.
A couple of days went by as Ves tried to get over his losses. He supervised the planning around the upcoming transformation of the LMC.
In order to make it clear to the workforce that the company would be undergoing a major transition, the planners came up with a name for it: Phase 2.
Phase 2 signified that the LMC at its current state was only the first step in its evolution. The LMC at Phase 1 only served as a starting point for the company in its first years of existence.
"The LMC is only five years old." Ves muttered. "It is remarkable how much it has grown. From operating a single second-hand 3D printer and assembly system to operating seventeen entire production lines at once, hardly any starting mech designer in the Bright Republic can compare to my growth."
He stated this with confidence because he knew it was true. Aside from some aberrant mech designers such a Patricia Schneider and Edwin McKinney, hardly any mech designer under thirty stood a chance at advancing to Journeyman before their thirties.
Phase 2 revolved around the assumption that Ves would succeed in advancing when he was still young in the eyes of the mech industry. The boost that he and his company received from his new status as a truly capable mech designer would definitely lead to a rapid growth in brand recognition and reputation! These factors in turn resulted in vastly higher sales for any mech designs he published as a Journeyman!
Naturally, no one knew for sure if Ves would be able to advance to Journeyman or remain stuck at the bottleneck that stifled the vast majority of Apprentices. Even though Ves knew for sure that would be able to pass this barrier with his abundant Spirituality, no one else possessed this information, so many people reserved their judgement.
"That's fine. I'll show the mech industry soon enough that my growth is limitless."
Phase 2 aimed to transform two different aspects about the company. The first and most technical one would be to streamline its operations and to rearrange its governance and corporate structure to better cope with the growth.
Different departments and divisions of the LMC gained more autonomy and clearer instructions on what they should work on. The hierarchy became clearer and everyone knew where they stood within the company.
Of particular note to Ves that he personally pushed to overhaul the entire Production Department. As the department responsible for operating the production lines, its importance to the company was pivotal, yet there weren't enough checks to prevent abuse and waste in his opinion.
Having learned a thing or two from the KNG, Ves pushed for added controls. Though this came at the expense of chief technicians, Ves simply found it far too risky to make them have the final say on certain matters.
"As long as several people keep an eye on each other, they won't be able to pull off anything shady without the company's say-so."
There were good chief technicians and bad chief technicians. The problem he encountered at the KNG that he also spotted at the LMC was that too many people put their faith in the integrity of the chief technicians. Just because they were older and possessed more qualifications didn't mean that they could do an incalculable amount of damage if they went rogue.
Even though the chief technicians howled and some of the managers expressed concerns, Ves still pushed through with these specific reforms.
Ves was way too paranoid to allow a nefarious organization like the Bentheim Liberation Movement to repeat the same tricks on his own company!
Aside from these necessary organizational changes, Ves also paid close attention to the effort to instill the LMC with a clear corporate identity.
With the help of various experts from within and without, the LMC gradually began to indoctrinate the workforce with the principles of the company.
The new company motto appeared everywhere. From the front of the headquarters to the letterhead of official documents, the LMC constantly reinforced that they were more than just a mech company!
"We are creating partners that our customers can depend upon."
Even if the majority of the LMC's workforce lacked the capability to understand the profundity of the company's motto, all the mandatory indoctrination sessions they went through at least put them on the same page. All they needed to know was that the LMC revolved around designing and selling mechs that enabled mech pilots to exhibit their full potential!
"Our products may not be the flashiest, most cost-efficient or the most high-performing mechs on the market, but they are the most dependable partners to our mech pilots. Our customers recognize the effort and care we put into our mechs, from the start of their design all the way to production. We should take pride in working for a company that produces mechs that truly come alive when partnered with mech pilots!"
Each employee witnessed the reactions from their most enthusiastic customers. There were already a handful of Blackbeak and Crystal Lord mech pilots who came to love their mechs. Showing off their appreciation to the people that made it possible for these mechs to be produced and sold to these mech pilots always managed to lift everyone's spirit!
Their work had meaning!
Naturally, it would take a lot more effort than company-wide indoctrination sessions to fully align the workforce to the principles derived from Ves' design philosophy.
Nonetheless, with the top of the company largely onboard with this initiative, Ves became assured that the company was on the right track of implementing the most important changes.
With nothing urgent on the agenda anymore, Ves wanted to resume working on his design. In order to do that, he still needed to upgrade one more aspect about himself.
"It's time."
After making sure he delegated everything that needed to be addressed for the foreseeable week, Ves retreated back to his private lab and prepared to go on another time-bending trip into the past.
However, before he did so, he encountered a meek and apologetic Lucky.
Ves stared flatly at Lucky floating in front of him. "It's rather late of you to beg for forgiveness."
"Meow."
"Don't you meow at me. You ate my stuff! It's one thing to snack on the company's inventory of exotics. It's an entirely different thing when you ate an entire CFA shuttle down to its FTL drive!?"
"Meow!"
Chapter 1079
If Lucky thought that Ves would forgive him after meowing a few times, then the cat had another thing coming.
"Do you know how much all of that CFA gear is worth? Even if they're three-hundred years out of date, the materials I could have gained from recycling them would have been enough to repay the LMC's debt at least a hundred times over! All of that is gone now, digested in your belly to satisfy your gluttony!"
Even though Lucky often took liberties with what he was permitted to do, this time he truly went beyond the pale. Ves felt as if he was an exasperated parent trying to rein his hyperactive son. He knew he needed to stay firm in setting boundaries.
This time, Lucky's cuteness wouldn't be able to save him from Ves' ire!
"Meow!"
Lucky turned intangible and phased through the wall of the lab. The cat returned shortly afterwards with a very shiny red gem between its teeth. Lucky turned tangible just long enough to drop the gem in his mouth.
It was bigger than any of Lucky's gems that Ves had ever seen. It even shined on its own.
"How can that be?!"
Curious, studied it with his System sight after making sure his Privacy Shield was still active.
[Furnace of Regret]
The anguish of a forgotten terror is encapsulated in this gem. Increases the efficiency of the power reactor of a mech by 30 percent.
"What? Thirty percent?"
Ves rubbed his eyes, but the same figure remained within his sight. Thirty percent! What concept was that?! All the other gems that Lucky's excreted before never managed to achieve such a major boost on a core function of a mech!
"Forget about thirty percent, even a three percent increase in efficiency is enough to propel a well-crafted mech into a masterpiece!"
A thirty percent increase meant that any mech that carried the so-called Furnace of Regret gained a massive boost in endurance! Not only would it be able to remain deployed for longer stretches of time, it was also able to sustain itself in intensive battles for longer without compromising its energy reserves!
"This is the perfect gem for an energy-intensive mech such as a Crystal Lord!"
A gem that boosted a core parameter of a mech so drastically could never be exposed. If Ves guessed correctly, this little red gem could be applied to any machine that fell under the definition of mech!
"No matter if it's a cheap third-class bargain bin mech or a priceless first-class cutting-edge mech developed by the best mech designers in the galactic center, the power of the Furnace of Regret probably works equally well on both!"
What if a gem like this got attached to Ghanso Larkinson's expert mech?
"If I recall, Ghanso specializes in piloting spaceborn rifleman mechs."
With the Furnace of Regret, his cousin would definitely be able to dominate in space now that his mech became thirty percent more capable of persisting in battle! Ghanso would have less scruples about conserving his energy and allow him to last longer in duels against other expert pilots!
This was where Ves saw the true value in this gem and any gems comparable in power. Rather than empowering other people's mechs for a profit, Ves would rather reserve them for the Avatars of Myth, giving them an undeniable edge in battle!
Ves turned his attention back to his willful pet. "Do you have more gems like this, Lucky?"
"Meow!"
Lucky darted through the wall and returned with a small sack of gems. When Lucky opened the sack and studied the handful of gems, he became increasingly impressed by their boosts! They were unlike any gems that Lucky had ever produced before!
[Horned Devil's Visage]
The echo of an extinct alien race is captured within this gem. Increases the sensor range of a mech by 40 percent.
[Remnant Supernova]
The remnants of a supernova that wiped out an entire alien race is contained within this gem. Increases the damage inflicted by directed energy weapons by 25 percent.
[Fist of the Faithful]
The memory of a punch that changed the course of the galaxy resides in this gem. Increases the impact damage inflicted by a mech by 30 percent.
[Sin of Altruism]
The valor of a great sacrifice by an alien warrior is housed within this gem. Increases the damage resistance of external armor plating by 20 percent.
[Ardent Wish]
The determination of a great human mech pilot is caught within this gem. Increased the spiritual feedback of a mech by 40 percent.
"What is it with these descriptions?!"
Although the System designated Lucky as a gem cat, Ves never paid too much attention to the gem aspect. Small boosts in performance such as a 5 percent higher heat capacity was so marginal that no one would actually notice any difference. Their only use so far to Ves was to implant them into his gold label mechs to partially justify their exorbitant price premium.
Yet to jump straight from five percent to thirty percent was so huge that Ves puzzled why Lucky's Gem Excretion V differed so massively from Gem Excretion III. Did his cat acquire the ability to drop these amazing gems after gorging himself with high-grade exotics and assimilating the Squalon's minifab system?
"Are you able to produce more gems like this, Lucky?"
"Me-ow." Lucky partially shook his head.
"So you're only able to do so when you consume high-grade exotics."
"Meow!"
"Oh."
Ves expected something like this. Nothing came for free. These supernatural gems might come with fantastic effects, but that performance emerged after Lucky ate a whole bunch of priceless materials!
Even so, as long as Ves fed Lucky with something mildly valuable, he guessed that the high-ranked ability would still be able to pump out gems of significant strength such as increasing a major parameter by fifteen percent.
The gift of the gems and the possibility of obtaining more treasures like this assuaged Ves' ire towards his pet. To be frank, the potential of his gem cat's primary function vastly outweighed the benefits of retaining his old CFA gear.
The former directly improved the capabilities of some of his mechs. The latter only helped him out a bit during crises and expeditions.
Ves knew quite well which one he should appreciate the most!
"These five gems alone can empower the personal mechs of Melkor, Chette, Jannzi and Rhode to new heights!"
The most remarkable curiosity about the new gems was that despite the melodramatic descriptions provided by the System, Ves did not feel any spirituality around them. Did the gems actually capture the souls or spiritual remnants of long-dead entities in a form that Ves couldn't perceive, or was the System talking out of its butt in order to hype up their value?
Ves pursed his lips. "Just because I can't sense anything doesn't mean it's absent. Perhaps the gems are so good at containment that none of their potency is allowed to leak out!"
Right now, Ves didn't have the means to decipher the secrets of Lucky's gems. All he really cared about at the moment was taking advantage of his gem cat's massive improvement in this area.
He turned his attention back to Lucky, who waited for his reaction. "Alright, Lucky. You know me too well. You succeeded in bribing me. As long as you keep pumping out gems that are at least close to the quality of these gifts, you'll remain in my good books. I'll be sure to arrange a shipment of exotics for you to munch on sometime later."
"Meow!"
Only until now did Lucky feel reassured enough to turn tangible and land down on Ves' shoulder.
For his part, Ves stroked Lucky's back. He needed to treat this treasure-generating machine well! That he came in the form of a cute artificial cat was just an added bonus!
"Hehe, keep up the good work Lucky." He said as he stuffed the small sack of gems into the pocket of his business attire.
Now that the two made up, Ves locked himself inside the isolated chamber within the lab without any further concerns. He regained the reassurance that Lucky would look out for his safety while the System dragged his mind back to the past.
As Ves was about to embark on his third Mastery experience, he centered his mind in order to enter his peak condition.
"This time will be different." He stated, more to himself than to Lucky floating above his head.
The previous times, the System just randomly threw his consciousness into the mind of someone who piloted a specific type of mech. The situation the mech pilots fell in was always dangerous and precarious. The pressure subjected to the mech pilot also affected Ves as well, giving him very little opportunity to do anything else but observe and guide his host.
Now that Ves thought back on his previous two Mastery experiences, he regretted that he hadn't been able to test whether he could leave his own mark behind. What if he was able to exert more control over the mech pilot?
"My Spirituality is stronger than ever. I shouldn't be at the mercy of the mech pilot this time if I apply my strength."
At the heart of it, the Mastery experience was about experiencing the perspective of a mech pilot first-hand! It didn't say anything about baring their souls to each other. The two minds didn't even need to treat each other fairly in the first place, as demonstrated by his second Mastery experience.
"If the first tier of Mastery puts me in the mind of a regular mech pilot, then their mental and spiritual strength will always pale compared to my own. Let's see how I can make use of this difference."
After setting a plan, Ves activated his comm and entered the System's Skill Tree. He sought out the relevant Mastery and paused for a moment.
[Space Knight Mastery I]: 40,000 DP
Compared to many other Skills and Sub-Skills, 40,000 DP sounded like an exorbitant price. Yet that was only on the surface. The benefits gained from this experience remained relevant for the rest of his career.
To be honest, he actually found the price of the first tier of Mastery to be rather cheap for all the improvements it brought to his design perspective.
Not that Ves would ever tell the System that!
"Here goes nothing."
Ves pressed the option to redeem the Mastery for a whopping 40,000 DP. Just as Ves already started to feel the pain at spending so much DP in one go, the System abruptly hooked his consciousness with an invisible hook and forcefully pulled it out of his body and entered an invisible tunnel it conjured out of nowhere!
An indeterminate amount of time passed as Ves failed to maintain his lucidity throughout the mental transit. The System's grip on his consciousness was tighter than ever.
Ves faintly believed that if he tried to influence the System with his Spirituality, he would absolutely get crushed by the crushing strength at the System's disposal!
Before he knew it, Ves regained wits when the trip abruptly ended.
The first thing he did was to minimize his presence! He did not wish to repeat his second Mastery experience where his host mistook Ves for a devil and actively resisted his help!
Only until Ves became assured that he hadn't made an impact on the mind of his host did Ves slowly extend his mental feelers.
He carefully traced the mind of the mech pilot until he found a way to patch into the senses of his host.
Vision came to Ves at first. He studied the view of the mech pilot and saw that his host sat in the middle of a grungy conference room that looked as if cleaning bots hadn't visited it for at least fifty years.
A mech company's worth of mercenaries sat in the conference room, each directing their attention to the mercenary commander presenting some sort of plan to the audience.
Ves' host happened to be one of the mech pilots sitting at the front.
"Alright, boys and girls. I know it's been a tough time this last decade while we've been trapped in this pocket of space." The grizzled mercenary commander said as he gestured at the projection of a local plot in space. "While we still don't know what the Silent Nomad and the Pure Wheel Star Sectors are fighting over in this spatial anomaly, we finally found a way out!"
"Uhm, commander?" Ves' host raised her arm. He found to his alarm that he occupied the mind of a female mech pilot this time! "How in the hell did you manage to do that?"
The mercenary commander grinned. "It's due to the new friends we found along the way! Let me introduce you to a very special guest. Please welcome Moren Drenad of the Angel's Wing Foundation!"
Chapter 1080
The Angel's Wing Foundation!
Ves never expected to encounter them in this Mastery experience! Perhaps he could gain some insights on them before he made use of his bronze invitation card.
Upon the mercenary commander's introduction, a thin man entered the conference room and reached the front. The newcomer paused and gazed at the mech pilots present with oddly serpentine eyes.
"As mentioned my your leader, my name is Moren Drenad. I am here on behalf of the remnants of an outfit that has suffered a worse fate than your mercenary corps. Over the last ten years, many fleets have all stumbled upon the Dark Sphere and became trapped inside this pocket space. As one of the earlier victims, I admire your ability to persist and survive under these arduous circumstances."
Everyone straightened their backs in pride, including Ves' host. The Insurmountable Drakes prided themselves on their perseverance!
"Unfortunately, as all of us have learned in time, the Dark Sphere possesses a valuable resource that has sent the ruling powers of the nearby star sectors crazy. While the main forces of the war has dedicated most of their efforts on fighting against each other, neither side wishes independent outfits such as your Insurmountable Drakes to make it out alive where you are in a position to expose the existence of the Dark Sphere."
Everyone knew this very well. Both the Silent Nomad and the Pure Wheel Star Sectors did everything in their power to eliminate any forces not belonging to their own. They especially did not wish for any third parties to make it out with a stash of the unique resource that could be found in the Dark Sphere!
"The indigenous astral life forms found within the heart of the Dark Sphere are extraordinary in many ways. The tissue taken from defeated Alpha Starspawn has several remarkable properties that I don't need to mention to you. It is this vital resource that has encouraged both star sectors to maintain a stranglehold on the only known exits of the Dark Sphere."
Not only that, but the spaceborn forces of both star sectors also scoured the Dark Sphere for any inadvertent stragglers in order to hunt them down to extinction. It didn't even matter if the Insurmountable Drakes hailed from the Silent Nomad Star Sector themselves. Just due to the fact that they stumbled upon the Dark Sphere was enough of a reason to silence them permanently with extreme prejudice!
The Insurmountable Drakes used to number more than just a mech company worth of mechs. Years of battle, hiding, flight and scavenging left this once respectable mercenary corps into a beggar-like remnant fleet that only managed to field a full mech company because of the friendly stragglers they picked up along the way.
"How can we get out then if the star sector rulers don't want us to escape?" Eloise Pelican asked.
"Good question. Let me explain."
As Ves discreetly drew upon the memories of his host, he learned her name and some of the details about her life. Eliose Pelican served as a mech lieutenant of the Insurmountable Drakes. Before the mercenary corps became trapped within the Dark Sphere, she was just a regular mech pilot.
Yet years of trying to survive in the Dark Sphere had constantly gotten other mech officers killed. Eloise Pelican matured rapidly during the conflict and became increasingly more proficient in piloting her old and battered space knight!
As the briefing went on, Moren Drenad began to outline their escape opportunity. They would be joining forces with several remnant outfits that were also trapped within the Dark Sphere and make a concerted effort to assault one of the only known exits of this bizarre pocket space!
"This exit is guarded by strong garrison from the Silent Nomad Star Sector. After months of analysis and preparation. We believe we stand the best chance of breaking out of the Dark Sphere by assaulting this guarded exit!" Moren said.
Eloise frowned. "There are thousands of mechs and hundreds of turrets on guard at that fortified exit. We know because we scouted it out before. How many mechs do we have on our side?"
"Merely a couple of hundred, the Insurmountable Drakes included." The odd man readily admitted. "While it is not possible for us to break through the space fortifications the Silent Nomad Star Sector has built around the exit through brute force, we are prepared to employ a stratagem to even the odds."
"What are you planning to do?"
"We are keeping that under wraps. Only your commander is allowed to know some of the details."
The commander of the Insurmountable Drakes intervened at this moment. "It's fine, Eloise. Mr. Drenad has come up with a workable plan."
The man from the Angel's Wing Foundation smiled. "Aside from our main stratagem, we also intend to provide you with some aid in order to tip the balance in our favor. We are prepared to issue each mech pilot with a special performance-enhancement stimulant that can substantially raise your performance for a short time."
"What are the side effects of your stimulant?" Another mech pilot asked.
"Oh, you will be out of it for at least a day, but the crash won't happen until a couple of hours has passed. Hopefully that should be enough time for us to fight our way through the Silent Nomad defenses and slip out of the Dark Sphere!"
More questions poured in, and Moren patiently answered them all, though whether he gave a complete answer or not was up for grabs.
Ves eyed the proceedings critically. This was by far the strangest Mastery experience so far. The previous two times he engaged in a Mastery, his consciousness entered the mind of a mech pilots involved in a conventional war.
This time was very different. It echoed his mission from the frontier because the Dark Sphere seemed to have isolated the forces trapped inside from the rest of the galaxy.
The Insurmountable Drakes had been stuck in the Dark Sphere for a decade and they never came close to escaping this peculiar space until now!
After answering a bunch of questions with vague non-answers, Moren Drenad departed from the conference room. The mercenary commander addressed a few more topics before ending the briefing.
Lieutenant Eloise Pelican sighed. While most of the other mech pilots wearily stepped out of the conference room in order to prepare for their daily patrols or to remain on standby, she approached the commander for a personal talk.
"Commander Pritchard." She said. "Are you sure this Mr. Drenad can be trusted?"
"Whether he's trustworthy or not, Mr. Drenad wants to get out of here as much as we do." The commander replied with a gruff voice. "I reckon that we can rely on that at the very least. Would you rather decline this opportunity to band together and make a concerted effort in breaking through?"
Pritchard led the Insurmountable Drakes during all this time without ever buckling completely. Even so, the pain of losing so many subordinates left their mark on the commander's psyche.
"Commander.. we all went to get out of the Dark Sphere." Eloise said softly. A strong emotional pain emanated from the depths of her heart, almost flooding Ves with sympathy. Eloise was a mother who left a young son behind! "As long as you say so, we'll go along with the plan and fight to get out. We trust in your leadership."
"Thank you, lieutenant." The man nonetheless sighed. "Sometimes, I feel unworthy of all of the faith you've put into me. The Insurmountable Drakes still lives, but we no longer have the numbers we have before. Half of our ranks weren't even part of us before we entered the Dark Sphere. Too many old friends have died and too many strangers have taken up their places."
"We do what we must to survive."
"That is why I have decided to go along with Mr. Drenad's plan. I've heard whispers about the Angel's Wing Foundation. They're a very powerful black market influence. While it's always dangerous to get involved with the black market, the people who make a living there value their credibility. That should mean something here."
Perhaps unconsciously influenced by Ves' own skeptical attitude, Eloise remained doubtful that the plan would pan out the way the Insurmountable Drakes wanted to. Yet she also knew that they were at the end of their ropes. With the abominable lack of supplies and the deteriorating state of their carriers and mechs, it was doubtful whether the Drakes could persist for another year!
After a terse discussion, Eloise finally separated from Commander Pritchard and returned to her own quarters on the Stained Salamander. The old ship was one of the only two mech carriers that the Drakes still managed to retain after these harrowing years.
"My son." Eloise sighed as she conjured up a projection of a smiling baby from her comm. "I will return to you someday. No matter if the entire Silent Nomad Star Sector stands in my way, I will break the entire star sector if that is what it takes for me to reunite with you!"
The strong, roiling emotions inside Eloise's mind made Ves feel as if he was riding a shuttle that decided to take a joyride through space while deactivating its inertial dampeners!
The strong maternal love that Ves became exposed to practically sent him into a tizzy! It took all of his concentration to avoid getting swept in Eloise's strong desire to reunite with her son!
Above all else, Ves needed to remain calm and remain in control of his own emotions! Only by maintaining a clear mind would he be able to influence Eloise without alerting the mech pilot of his presence in her mind!
Mentally, he cursed the System for dragging his consciousness to the mind of such a sentimental female mech pilot. Couldn't it have paid more attention to his gender and put him into the mind of a simple, male mech pilot?
In any case, after pining over her son for a time, Eloise shut the projection and left her quarters. She took the elevator down the lower decks of the Stained Salamander.
Grime, burn marks and inconsistently-repaired deck and bulkhead plating showed that the Salamander suffered heavy damage over the years. While the ramshackle jury-rigged repairs appeared sloppy, Ves admired the way the crew of the ship managed to keep the Salander afloat with a dire lack of supplies!
Once Eloise entered one of the mech hangar bays, she approached one of the imposing mechs being readied for deployment.
She piloted a space knight. Ves already knew that. Seeing it through Eloise's eyes, he couldn't help but be taken in a little by her affection for her mech.
This was the mech she fought with for all those years! No matter how bad a battle had gotten, the incredible resilience of her space knight always saw her through even as several of her colleagues had fallen!
As Eloise began to climb into the cockpit of her mech while Ves studied it in greater detail.
It started off as a rather generic medium space knight of the Valiant Warden model. However, its role as a defensive mech forced it to take frequent heavy beatings. Somehow, Eloise managed to survive the battles while bringing most of her mech back intact, but not entirely.
Practically none of the Valiant Warden's original armor plating remained. The mech's left arm and leg looked out of place from the rest of the model because they had been salvaged off the battlefield from another wreck and been grafted onto the Valiant Warden to replace the original limbs!
Ves felt for this mech. Whoever was in charge of repairing the mechs around here really knew their business. Even though the current incarnation of the Valiant Warden was pretty much a frankenstein mech, it nonetheless retained its ability to perform its main function!
This was a mech that naturally embodied some of the traits that Ves worked so hard to instill in his own mech designs!
Chapter 1081
Lieutenant Eloise Pelican deployed on the battered but still functional Valiant Warden in the murky space of the Dark Sphere.
What struck Ves immediately was the lack of stars. When Ves used Eloise's senses that had been patched into her mech to observe the surroundings, he only saw a great gnawing abyss in each and every direction.
It was a highly disconcerting sight! Without the stars of the galaxy and the wider cosmos to provide a soothing background, every mech pilot trapped within the Dark Sphere always risked becoming lost if they went too deep.
The Dark Sphere wasn't completely empty, though. Asteroids and planetoids occasionally fell into the Dark Sphere, only to get corrupted and consumed by the indigenous astral life that resided in this isolated pocket space.
The constant threat of Starspawn forced the Insurmountable Drakes to maintain a ready patrol of mechs around their meager ships. Even though deploying them consumed more fuel or energy, they had no choice. They learned the hard way that deploying when the Starspawn attacked was already too late.
As Eloise led a small squad of rifleman mechs of many different models, Ves reflected upon the situation he found himself in. After eavesdropping on some of the conversations and observing some of the mechs and other tech the Insurmountable Drakes used, he figured out when and where this event took place.
The mechs piloted by Eloise and the others were either lastgen or two generations back compared to Ves' current time.
This was quite recent!
If he garnered a guess, then would say he had traveled only thirty to forty years in the past.
As for their location, Ves surreptitiously dug up Eloise's galactic geography knowledge from her mind. He found out that the Silent Nomad and the Pure Wheel was thousands of light-years away from the Komodo Star Sector.
They still resided in the galactic rim, but a bit further coreward. Due to their earlier colonization, the states that emerged in the two star sectors developed much further, to the point where they set aside internal struggles in favor of competing against neighboring star sectors.
The two star sectors differed a lot, though they somewhat took after their names.
The states of the Pure Wheel Star Sector possessed a strong religious character, as the star sector had been opened up specifically to house all of the troublesome religious organizations exiled from their old star sectors.
While the Pure Wheel states fundamentally disagreed with each other due to their strong beliefs, they eventually tired of beating each other up for their beliefs. Instead of warring against each other and thereby weakening the star sector against foreign aggressors, they pragmatically decided to put down their arms to expand their state religions into other star sectors instead.
The Silent Nomad Star Sector housed fiercely independent-minded secular organizations. The star sector was notable in that it hosted a very strong mercenary tradition, with some massive mercenary corps ballooning to such a size that people there referred to them as mercenary conglomerates!
The states there possessed a long history of picking all kinds of fights with each other, thereby providing mercenaries with plenty of business. Nonetheless, the states slowly put down their bickering when the states neighboring Pure Wheel Star Sector started making inroads into their territory.
Overall, the two star sectors were already at odds, but the appearance of the Dark Sphere around the border of the two sectors really blew up the conflict!
At this time, Eloise cared little about the conflict between the two states. She just wanted to go home to reunite with her son! For that matter, the Insurmountable Drakes and every other independent outfit trapped within the Dark Sphere also wanted to get out and go home!
Everyone wanted to go home!
To be honest, Eloise planned to only serve with the Insurmountable Drakes for a few months before her contract ran out. At that point, she intended to retire from the mercenary corps to work for a security company that allowed her to spend some time with her family.
The Dark Sphere ruined everything. This bizarre spatial anomaly hovered around the border of the two star sectors randomly popping up to swallow several ships and fleets in transit. There was no rhyme and reason for its appearances and movement patterns.
Even as Ves slowly dug up the circumstances around this mysterious Dark Sphere, he did not forget to pay attention to how Eloise skillfully piloted her space knight.
Due to its patchy, frankenstein-like repairs, her Valiant Warden no longer resembled its original model in any way. Much of the space knight's internal components had all been salvaged from other mechs when the original ones wore out or got destroyed.
The armor plating by itself looked like an awful patchwork of crudely welded and fused plates from dozens of mechs. The inconsistent plating meant that some portions of the mech withstood energy damage well, while other portions performed better against physical damage.
Eloise knew her mech so well that she was able to proficiently take advantage of these traits to allow the right sections of armor to take the blows they were able to withstand the best!
It reminded Ves of his intentions of how the polarizing module should be used. Eloise's skill in selective damage redirection resembled the skill the mech pilots of his new mech needed to master to shape most efficient polarizing fields!
"Keep chugging along, Warden." Eloise whispered affectionately as she skillfully piloted her mech in the most efficient fashion possible. "Just hold on for a week. We'll get out of the Dark Sphere within that time."
Another notable aspect about the mech was that Eloise's strong emotions affected the Warden on a spiritual level. The constant battling and piloting prompted Eloise to develop a strong affection towards her own mech. Her will to battle in order to reunite with her young son carried over to the Warden, allowing a minor X-Factor to take shape that echoed with her desires to return home!
"We have to return home!"
That phrase was being bandied about a lot among the fugitives in the Dark Sphere. Everyone wanted to exit the Dark Sphere and go home. Yet as far as they knew, none of them ever succeeded!
In truth, the outfits that all managed to survive up to now went to great lengths to keep themselves alive and combat capable. With no way to gain fuel and supplies from the dark and nebula-filled environment, they resorted to raiding isolated ships or each other!
In effect, the depraved conditions of the Dark Sphere forced every single outfit to turn pirate!
Eloise herself used to object to this behavior, but her overriding desire to return to her son had eroded her moral objections.
"We have to return home!"
This single conviction shared by many outfits trapped within the Dark Sphere all forced them to cannibalize each other for valuable supplies. Mechs didn't repair by themselves and starships needed a steady source of ship-grade fuel.
Even as Ves tried to prevent himself from becoming affected by Eloise's obsessive desire to reunite with her son, he studied her operation of her mech in greater detail.
Since it appeared that battle wouldn't break out for the time being, Eloise did not expend too much effort into piloting her mech. Nonetheless, the skill and reflexes she developed over a decade of suviving the Dark Sphere made her develop plenty of unique habits and quirks.
Ves recognized that many of the more unusual quirks served to compensate for her Valiant Warden's eccentricities and irregularities. Nonetheless, Eloise diligently maintained many good habits universal to piloting spaceborn mechs.
Many of these small rules that she learned from veteran Drakes or developed on her own seemed quite useful to Ves. This was what he aimed to learn from his Mastery experience!
Ves eagerly observed Eloise's every little trick and method. He also took note of her concerns and frustrations of her own mech.
He already learned a laundry list of issues he needed to take note of when he began to properly design his upcoming space knight! The more issues he addressed preemptively at the design phase, the less problems mech pilots faced when they finally got to pilot his new product!
However, this wasn't enough for him. He wanted to observe Eloise when she was in her best state during battle. Only when battle commenced would he be able to observe the most critical aspects that she took into account to survive!
Several days went by as the Insurmountable Drakes navigated to a rallying point provided by Mr. Drenad. While navigation was rather difficult in the Dark Sphere, the dark and foggy nebulas with their varying temperatures and mix of particles enabled them to develop a rough three-dimensional map of the Dark Sphere.
The further to the center, the warmer it got. Strange processes went on in the inner portion of the sphere. The center attracted a lot of planetoids and asteroids and swallowed them over time. New Starspawn emerged from the feeding processes which subsequently flew out to assault the human presence in order to grow!
In fact, Eloise and many of the other independents trapped in the Dark Sphere believed that the states from the Silent Nomad and Pure Wheel Star Sectors deliberately trapped them in this jar to feed the Starspawn!
Only after the Starspawn consumed a number of mechs or high-quality materials did they evolve into Alpha Starspawn. These evolved entities were not only a major threat to outfits, but their tissue also possessed very unique traits that turned them into valuable source material for certain biological processes!
What the use of Starspawn tissue actually was, none of the Drakes knew. They knew it was valuable though, so they salvaged a bunch of remains from Alpha Starspawn and stored them in the freezer, to be sold whenever they emerged out of the Dark Sphere.
When the Insurmountable Drakes finally reached the outer area of the Dark Sphere marked with pink particles, they encountered a handful of other outfits.
Everyone put up their guard. Fighting between mercenaries, treasure hunters, pirates and all manner of scoundrels long led to an intense mutual distrust against each other. Without any way of gaining supplies except for robbing each other, it was incredibly difficult to gather a great number of independents in one place without another fight breaking out!
That they somehow managed to refrain from firing their weapons showed how serious they were this time to break out!
The enigmatic Mr. Drenad from the Angel's Wing Foundation deserved much of the credit. An unmarked carrier known only as the Defiled Gene served as the glue that kept the separate outfits together.
Ves was ready to see the battle commence. This extended Mastery experience showed him many areas of interests related to spaceborn mechs and space knights that he hadn't fully considered before. In fact, he already harvested a lot more than he initially thought!
The only problem was that his continued attachment to Eloise subjecting him to her increasingly more volatile mood swings.
At some points, she functioned as a regular mech lieutenant in charge of leading a small number of mechs on patrol.
At other points, she abruptly wailed against her awful fate and longed to be reunited with her son! Her strong emotions were so disconcerting to Ves that he was getting rather impatient to see the battle commence!
This mental trip to the past already lasted a week, which meant he was absent in the present day for a week as well!
It was a good thing that he prepared the LMC for his absence, but that didn't mean that Ves liked to be gone that long!
"I see that every outfit that has received an invitation has arrived." Mr. Drenad spoke over a broadcast to every independent gathered at this site. "A half day of travel away from here lies the most vulnerable exit of the Dark Sphere. Guarded by a garrison and a range of space fortifications of Dark Nomads, it is a hard obstacle to overcome, but not an impossible one! At this time, the Defiled Gene will be enacting our stratagem which forms the key to our break through. Please maintain a healthy distance from our carrier as it will exceedingly perilous for you to stray too close."
As Eloise and everyone else wondered what Mr. Drenad had in store, alarms suddenly rang from her Valiant Warden's sensors.
"Starspawn!"
A flood of dark, partially-transparent mech-sized jellyfish-like creatures emerged from the pink nebula. Even as everyone armed their weapons, Drenad forcefully commanded them to a halt!
"STOP! The Starspawn that are drawn to us are temporarily under our control!" The man spoke. "Your commanders are fully aware of our plan. The Starspawn won't be a threat as long as they are not disturbed!"
A chill went through Eloise's back. She had only ever met hostile, rabid Starspawn in the Dark Sphere. How had Mr. Drenad managed to control them? Was this the power of the Angel's Wing Foundation?
Chapter 1082
A dangerous host of Starspawn surrounded the Defiled Gene. The mysterious light carrier became the nucleus of a gathering of the most dangerous astral lifeforms in the Dark Sphere!
None of the outfits presents let their guard down. They maintained a healthy distance from the radiating orbits of the dark jellyfish-like creatures, afraid that they would buckle out of the control of whatever means Mr. Drenad used to exert control over the astral creatures!
Even Eloise felt disconcerted by her proximity to the beasts. The Starspawn inflicted huge losses on the Insurmountable Drakes over the years.
If they succeeded in repelling the Starspawn, it quickly turned out that they were worse off due to the amount of fuel, energy and supplies they used up. There was absolutely no profit to be gained from battling the Starspawn!
Not even the increasing amount of Alpha Starspawn tissue they accumulated in their stores served to give them any satisfaction. Though they knew that the powers that be hungered for Alpha Starspawn tissue, it didn't help out the Insurmountable Drakes at all because they couldn't exchange it for critical supplies!
Despite Eloise's misgivings about this venture, Commander Pritchard went onboard with the plan, which meant the rest of the Insurmountable Drakes followed suit.
Besides, she saw the logic in the plan. By throwing the Starspawn at the defenses of the Silent Nomad forces as cannon fodder, the outfits stood a real chance at breaking through to the portal that led them back to normal space!
The Defiled Gene gathered so many Starspawn that the Silent Nomad forces needed to exert a huge amount of effort to repel their assault. This gave the remaining outfits the confidence that this risky plan might succeed. If they attacked on their own, then there was no question that they would break into pieces!
A tense half day of travel ensued. As they came closer and closer to the space fortress the Silent Nomad forces parked in front of the portal, the enemy detected their presence and readied themselves for battle.
As Eloise performed her final checks, Ves eagerly prepared to absorb a lot of insights during the upcoming battle. This was what he anticipated the most!
"Prepare for battle." Commander Pritchard broadcasted over their channel. "Don't forget who we are and what we are fighting for. Don't try to defeat the military forces of the Silent Nomad Star Sector. Instead, focus on making space so that our ships and mechs can reach the portal!"
The portal was all that mattered!
As the alliance of independents came within range, the military garrison seemed split between deciding whether to focus on repelling the Starspawn of the outfits first.
The Defiled Gene made that decision for them as they sent a silent command that forced the Starspawn to accelerate!
The astral monsters were closing in quick, forcing the military mechs and turrets to focus their fire upon the dangerous creatures first!
"It's working!" Commander Pritchard exulted. "Keep to the flanks and push through while they are distracted!"
The defenders did not ignore the approaching outfits. Even though they diverted most of their firepower to repel the rabid Starspawn, they allocated hundreds of mechs to hinder the advance of enemy mechs and ships.
"Come forth!" She commanded her squad. "Don't spare your energy cells! Just shoot and shoot until your mech runs out!"
Her Valiant Warden flew in front of a squad of ranged mechs as they unleashed their lasers at the approaching enemy mechs. Lasers and rounds shot back at them in return, but Eloise kept absorbing the majority of the incoming firepower with her thick shield.
The Valiant Warden long lost the shield it originally carried. The Insurmountable Drakes long substituted its need for a shield with salvaged armor plating. Over the years, the mech technicians of the Drakes learned to be creative and resourceful.
In order to provide the Valiant Warden with the best form of protection, they repurposed large chunks of bulky starship armor plating! The shield they created from salvaged starship pieces were so thick and heavy and Eloise's mech lost over eighty percent of its mobility!
The Valiant Warden's average flight system strained against all of the extra mass!
However, all of that extra bulk gave the Valiant Warden an incredible capacity to block incoming fire. Lasers, rounds and missiles kept pummeling the increasingly deforming shield, yet Eloise and her Valiant Warden bore the brunt of the aggression with confidence!
It took a lot of grit and determination to face the firepower head-on without attempting to dodge them at all!
In effect, even if Eloise was piloting a medium space knight, the burden of carrying a huge slab of repurposed ship armor plating basically forced her to pilot her machine as a heavy mech!
Ves learned a lot of useful insights from her piloting style. The best part about what he learned was that they would also be applicable to his upcoming mech design. Everything he learned was directly to his ongoing design project!
The Insurmountable Drakes and the other outfits managed to make inroads into their assault. The defenders had their hands full trying to kill off the Starspawn. This split attention forced them into retreat, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they killed off the bulk of the Starspawn!
"It's not enough!" Eloise gritted her teeth as her shield was starting to crack and buckle under the strain.
The surface of the Valiant Warden's shield was scorching hot from all the lasers that blasted against the surface! The kinetic rounds that impacted it chipped away chunks of protective materials while missiles left deeper impact craters.
All the while, casualties mounted against the independent mechs. There were far too few space knights to cover for everyone. The vulnerable ranged mechs malfunctioned quickly after sustaining a barrage of firepower. Years of depending on salvage and makeshift repairs to keep the mechs alive left a toll on their integrity.
The structural integrity of some of these maintenance-deprived mechs was even worse than bargain bin mechs!
Despite her efforts, Eloise failed to fully shield her comrades. The Insurmountable Drakes as a whole already lost a dozen mechs, many of which incurred fatal damage so abruptly that their mech pilots didn't have the time to eject!
Commander Pritchard continued to exhort his men! "We can't die here, Drakes! Home is just around the corner! Press on and fight no matter who is standing in our way!"
The urgency of this battle continued to pressure Eloise into exerting more and more effort into shielding her comrades. However, all the coordinated firepower the military mechs poured into her direction eventually broke the Valiant Warden's shield!
"No!" She yelled. "This is not over yet! I shall not fall here!"
The Valiant Warden endured the firepower impacting its surface as best as it could, but the volume of fire was so huge that it wouldn't last for more than a minute at most!
Eloise forcibly rotated her mech so that various portions of its frame absorbed the damage. By spreading the damage around, the Valiant Warden lasted long enough to arrive in front of a wrecked mech.
The Valiant Warden utilized its strengthened hands to grip the mech hulk in its grasp.
It was using the remnants of a wrecked mech as a makeshift shield!
Through the creative use of debris on the battlefield to serve as makeshift shields, Eloise managed to keep shielding her comrades from enemy fire. Though the mechs didn't last too long, the Valiant Warden easily discarded the spent wrecks and moved on to grab a new one.
Yet as she continued to hinder the military's attempts at repelling the independent outfits, she became increasingly more concerned at how the battle progressed.
"The Starspawn are being slaughtered!" Someone yelled in an open channel. "The stupid beasts are just charging straight into the kill zones set up by the military!"
The Starspawn were usually much more cunning in battle, preferring to employ ambush attacks to surprise their prey. An open battle where they approached the enemy in a straight line prevented from blending in with the dark nebulas and areas of murky space where they could compensate for their lackluster resilience.
Right now, whenever Eloise diverted some of her attention to the decreasing number of Starspawn, she became increasingly more alarmed at how fast time was running out!
The Insurmountable Drakes only made it halfway through. They needed to cross a lot of distance before they reached the portal that led them out of the Dark Sphere, but the resistance from the military forces were already beginning to intensify!
It was increasingly harder for the Drakes and the other outfits to push the military back!
The huge space fortress alone presented the biggest obstacle of all! As long as that defensive bulwark remained to anchor the defensive forces, they had little hope that they could fight their way past it! Yet nothing in their arsenal was powerful enough to crack such an imposing fortress!
The Drakes already lost more than half of their mechs before the battle took another turn. The Defiled Gene which flew at the center of an increasingly diminishing formation of Starspawn suddenly pulsed.
The organizers of this breakout attempt enacted their Plan B in response to the faltering assault!
"What is happening?"
"Something is happening with the Starspawn! They're breaking apart!"
"Look at the dead remains! They are becoming active again!"
Two things happened at the same time.
First, the existing Starspawn all lost cohesion as their strange tissue rebelled against their bodies. No one knew what went on. For a moment, the defenders thought that the Starspawn were beginning to self-destruct.
However, the other phenomenon happening at the same time signified that much more was afoot! The carcasses of the Starspawn that the defenders took out began to show activity again as their flesh began to roil and writhe.
Eventually, the active Starspawn tissue began to clump together around the Defiled Gene, engulfing Mr. Drenad's carrier in the middle of an abhorrent ball of alien tissue!
That ball quickly grew in size as more and more Starspawn remains merged into the ball. Eventually, its shape began to diverge from an egg and took the form of the biggest Starspawn they had ever seen!
The Super Starspawn cracked open its maw and unleashed a silent roar! Even though no sound propagated in the vacuum of space, Eloise nonetheless shuddered at the monstrous sight!
The newly-emerged creature quickly began to tear into the defensive lines of the Silent Nomad military forces! No matter what the defenders threw at the giant creature, the malleable tissue quickly reformed and returned into its original state!
Even as the Insurmountable Drakes and the other outfits gleefully pressed the advantage now that the defenders were forced to confront the giant monster, their sensors began to sound the alarm.
"Starspawn are coming from behind! They're being attracted by the battle and the Super Starspawn!"
Eloise directed her attention to the Valiant Warden's sensors as she directed it to pick up another mech wreck to serve as a shield. She saw to her alarm that hundreds of Starspawn were pouring in from their rear!
Worse, this didn't appear to be the extent of the influx as the sensors of her mech kept detecting new Starspawn!
These incoming Starspawn quickly descended on the rear of the Drakes and the other outfits!
"Damnit, these Starspawn aren't under control! They're attacking every nearby target!"
Even as the Super Starspawn made good progress in breaking through the defenses of the military forces, the feral Starspawn that emerged from the rear of the attackers wreaked havoc on their mechs and ships!
Their sluggish supply ships were the first to fall! The outfits directed so much attention to the front that they weren't able to allocate enough mechs to cover their rear. Now they paid for it as their remaining supply ships all got taken down in quick succession!
Soon enough, the advancing feral Starspawn were beginning to threaten the mech carriers. If the Insurmountable Drakes lost all of their ships, then they would lose their chance to escape!
"No!" Eloise yelled as she turned around her space knight. The Valiant Warden flew back to the Stained Salamander as fast as possible while being burdened by its makeshift shield. "I must return home! My son is waiting for me! I will not fall here!"
The strongest surge of emotion that Ves had ever felt swept through Eloise's entire mind. For a single moment, that strong maternal desire of Eloise to be reunited with her son flitted through Ves' hiding spot, momentarily disrupting his attempts to stay hidden.
"Drat! I'm found out!"
Ves instantly realized that Eloise's mind picked up his existence.
Yet before she could confront the strange entity in her mind, something even more alarming took place!
Chapter 1083
Something hidden within Ves' consciousness echoed in response to that strong desire. Eloise's motherly instincts attracted a response from an entity that Ves never knew was present in the mind of his host.
A sharp mental strain suddenly wracked Ves' consciousness as Qilanxo's augmented spiritual fragment flared to life! It wanted to respond to Eloise's desperate straits!
Ves screamed as the spiritual fragment that somehow managed to hitchhike on the System's Mastery journey outputted a huge burst of spiritual energy.
All of that potent spiritual energy poured into Eloise's mind and blended into her strong desires and emotions, strengthening them and transforming them into a more spiritually active state!
Something incredibly profound went on as Qilanxo's strong spirituality reacted with Eloise's emotions. The spiritual energy from Qlianxo did not enter Eloise's mind without direction.
If that were so, the spiritual energy would have shattered Eloise's mind to pieces!
Instead, the energy moved with intelligence and direction. They avoided burning Eloise's pale spirit, instead opting to nurture it by blending in! The spiritual energy did so by voluntarily letting go of some of Qilanxo's imprint and instead made use of Eloise's strong emotions to impart her own imprint on the potent energy!
Even as Ves tried to remain coherent through the pain of being used as a funnel for Qilanxo's spiritual energy, he couldn't help but take note of some of the more important processes.
He learned that spiritual energy did not behave like neutral energy such as electricity or heat. Instead, one of the defining aspects of spiritual energy was that it always carried the imprint of its source!
For example, Ves' Spirituality consisted of a cloud of spiritual energy within his mind that was uniquely his. No one else would be able to wield his spiritual energy because of his imprint.
The same went for Qilanxo's higher quality spiritual energy. The Sacred God was an impressive creature whose spirituality definitely could be placed on par with ace pilots.
For Qilanxo's spiritual fragment to exert such precise control as to wipe away her own imprint and to blend in Eloise's strong emotions with the temporarily ownerless energy was nothing less than miraculous!
The remarkable amount of control and skill exhibited by Qilanxo's spiritual fragment aroused a suspicion within Ves. He had a feeling that something similar took place when Qilanxo first interfaced with Orfan and Dise through the man-beast connection!
The channeling kept going, putting Ves under increasing strain. Eloise somehow hadn't fully become aware of what took place within her mind. Right now, she only cared about saving the Stained Salamander so that she would be able to retain her chance of returning home!
For Eloise to be reunited with her son, the Valiant Warden must stop the ravenous feral Starspawn from destroying the carrier at all costs!
Even as her mind became increasingly more suffused with spiritual energy that truly belonged to herself, Ves felt an added drain on his mind. Somehow, the strong suction that resulted from the channeling siphoned away a portion of his own spiritual energy in the mix!
While his spiritual energy was much less potent and energetic than the energy that belonged Qilanxo, it nonetheless carried a mix of properties strongly related to his design philosophy and his understanding of mechs.
"That's my spiritual energy! Give it back!"
Instead of fulfilling request, Qilanxo's spiritual fragment exerted strong control over his stolen spiritual energy. Instead of blending them into Eloise's mind, the fragment instead directed his energy through Eloise's man-machine connection and vigorously blended it into the X-Factor of the Valiant Warden!
Although only a small portion of Ves' spiritual energy had been siphoned away, he still opposed the procedure! This Mastery experience was meant to expand his horizons on space knights. He already paid 40,000 DP for this opportunity! Why should he pay even more to help out a complete stranger?!
No one listened to his complaints.
The spiritual transformation of the mech continued. Qilanxo's spiritual fragment forcibly erased Ves' imprint on his own spiritual energy in order to empower the Valiant Warden's X-Factor. The Valiant Warden somehow came to life in a sense and began to resonate with the strengthening mind of its sole mech pilot for over ten long years!
When Ves turned his attention to Eloise's mind, he noted with alarm that her emotions and desires took on such a strong shape that it began to resemble an expert pilot's force of will!
There was no confusion in Eloise's mind. While fear hounded her from behind, it only strengthened her motherly desire to be with her son again!
Strengthened by a large amount of potent spirituality, her increasingly strong force of will become more real and substantial by the second. At some point, it reached an invisible threshold that prevented it from growing more solid!
Nonetheless, Qilanxo's spiritual fragment appeared to be a bottomless well of spiritual energy. It continued to feed more of her potent energy into Eloise's mind, freely wiping out Qilanxo's imprint and before blending into Eloise's force of will.
It was as if Eloise's mind became increasingly more crowded with spiritual energy. As Ves was present in her mind, he became alarmed at the proceedings! Would Eloise's mind blow up from the flood of energy?!
He also started to note some signs of instability at the edges of Eloise's mind! Eloise mind and spirit were struggling to cope with the influx of energy. It was eating away at herself!
Yet before her mind reached the point of breaking, Eloise's force of will eventually broke through an invisible threshold! It grew past the barrier that held it back and rapidly gained strength as various inexplicable processes happened at the same time!
The rapidly-strengthening force of will swept through Eloise's mind, transforming it on a fundamental level! As an unwitting bystander of this event, Ves' consciousness rolled with the tides, giving him no chance to regain his wits!
The transformation of Eloise's force of will resulted in immediate effects. Not only had her mindspace expanded significantly, but the explosion in strength also spilled beyond the boundaries of her mind!
Her spiritual energy started to bleed over into realspace!
Out in space, only half a minute went by, though it felt like longer to Ves. A sheen started to surround the increasingly more lively Valiant Warden. Some of her colleagues who were trying to race back towards the Stained Salamander quickly noticed the strange phenomenon.
"Lieutenant Pelican! Your mech! It's glowing!"
"That.. that's forced resonance!"
"What?!"
"She's broken through to expert pilot!"
The increasingly strengthening glow around the Valiant Warden grew stronger, signifying that it was definitely not an illusion!
Eloise had reached apotheosis!
Right now, Eloise's newly-developed force of will was so strong that countless transformations went through in her mind.
To Ves, the main good thing about her breakthrough to expert pilot was that Qilanxo's spiritual fragment finally stopped intervening and drew back its influence. This allowed him to observe some of the changes in her mind, though he understood nothing what he observed.
Strangely enough, Eloise's force of will ignored Ves' presence in her mind entirely. Her overarching desire was to go home and reunite with her son. To do that she had to save the Stained Salamander.
How could she spare any attention to the strange entity in her mind? As long as it didn't stand in her way of her goals, she could deal with it later!
"Get back, you Starspawn!" She yelled as her Valiant Warden accelerated beyond what it was capable of due to the forced resonance elevating its parameters!
Even though the Valiant Warden would never be able to perform on par with an actual expert mech, the boost in performance due to the forced resonance was enough to Eloise!
The Valiant Warden used the wreckage of a downed mech as a shield as it bashed into the nearest approach Starspawn. The creature practically exploded into chunks of semi-solid tissue upon impact!
The glowing mech held the wreck of a mech in one hand and unsheathed its sword with the other hand. After drawing its weapon, the Valiant Warden dove straight into the crowd of the advancing Starspawn!
A massacre ensued! The forced resonance gripping the entire mech also extended to its sword, causing it to sear away at the Starspawn's weak minds at the same time as their flesh parted along the edge!
"I must return home!"
This overarching desire to return home and see her son again drove Eloise to insane heights! Her force of will kept squeezing out its potential, strengthening and sustaining the forced resonance effect that empowered her Valiant Warden!
More than that, the improvements that her force of will continued to bring to her mind elevated many aspects related to piloting mechs. Her mental processing power ballooned, allowing her to take in a lot more input from her mech and enabling her to react faster with better decisions than ever before!
Her current mech piloting ability had reached beyond the level of a normal human mech pilot and went straight into superhuman territory! Ves' consciousness could no longer keep up with the sheer volume of thoughts that went through Eloise's mind as she piloted her mech with inhuman skill!
The amazing battle performance of Eloise's Valiant Warden lifted everyone's morale. The Insurmountable Drakes fought back with ferocious fervor as they were being taken in by the exultation of seeing an expert pilot emerge from their own ranks!
The other outfits fought more vigorously as well as they took advantage of the stalling Starspawn. The astral creatures didn't seem to know what to do against the powerful mech that glowed, and eventually their instincts led them to retreat!
Even as everyone began to cheer in the communication channels, Eloise admonished them. "We haven't escaped yet! This isn't the time to celebrate! Now that our rear is safe, we must continue to break through!"
Commander Pritchard instantly concurred. "Lieutenant— no, Venerable Pelican is right! I don't know what the hell Mr. Drenad and the Defiled Gene has done, but if they think they are the only ones who will be able to leave the Dark Sphere, they have another thing coming! Everyone! Follow Venerable Pelican!"
The surviving mechs and starships of the Insurmountable Drakes and the other outfits all rallied around Venerable Eloise Pelican and the inspiring sight of her Valiant Warden.
Their worship for Eloise invigorated her force of will. While she didn't care too much about the other independents, she strongly cared about the Insurmountable Drakes. As her force of will carried a very protective quality, her strength continued to increase!
"Go forth! Let me lead you into safety!"
As the giant Super Starspawn started to grapple with the space fortification, the independents followed the lead of the glowing Valiant Warden as it streaked across space like a comet!
The defenders, already flailing due to the rampage of the Super Starspawn, were poorly equipped to deal with the latest variable that approached. The sight of a newly-emerged expert pilot coming straight at the military mechs caused the mech pilots inside to waver!
The force of will emanating from the Valiant Warden not only boosted the spirits of her comrades and allies, but also pressed down upon the minds of the mech pilots about to face them in battle!
The military developed many tactics to cope with expert pilots. As long as they spread themselves out and kited the Valiant Warden, they'd be able to pelt it down with superior firepower over time.
Yet if the military mech pilots employed their anti-expert formations, they would become vulnerable to the mob of regular mechs that backed the Valiant Warden up!
For a moment, the Super Starspawn assault and the emergence of a new expert pilot caused the chain of command of the Silent Nomad military forces to break down. Conflicting orders caused them to be paralyzed as the intimidating expert pilot approached!
Eventually, the Valiant Warden collided in the midst of the foremost formation of military mechs! Half-a-dozen mechs instantly perished while the remainder of the formation scattered like flies!
The ensuing chaos led to a chain reaction where most of the military mechs began to retreat in response to their comrades retreating as well! With all of the formations breaking apart, no one felt safe anymore!
"The exit is within reach! Keep pushing! Our escape is almost upon us!" Venerable Pelican yelled.
Yet as the hardy mechs and ships neared the portal that represented their only way out, they also came closer to the half-destroyed space fortress and the heavily-injured Super Starspawn that bit entire chunks out of the structure!
Some of the turrets of the fortress that couldn't bear on the Super Starspawn began to bombard the approaching tide of independents!
Not only that, but the massive Super Starspawn paused in its attack of the fortress and instead moved to attack the Valiant Warden for some reason!
"That monster is coming for us!"
Against a giant astral creature formed out of hundreds of Starspawn, how could the Valiant Warden ever stand a chance?!
Chapter 1084
Ves encountered several expert pilots in his life. What he always found remarkable was that they possessed a strong sense of confidence and certainty in their values.
Naturally, they had cause to be confident, but now he knew the exact mechanics behind the secret to advance to expert pilot.
As Ves expected, a mech pilot needed to possess spirituality before they could even be eligible to advance! Of all the mech pilots he met in his life, practically none of them possessed spirituality in any appreciable amounts, causing their chances to go beyond advanced pilot to be a pipedream.
Eloise Pelican should have been one of them. No matter how many battles she went through, no matter how much she piloted the Valiant Warden to the point of developing an organic bond with it, no matter how much she practiced to learn every single nuance and idiosyncrasy of her frankenstein mech, there was no way for her to ever ascend beyond her mortal limits!
Yet that iron rule did not take external factors into account.
The decisive intervention of Qilanxo's spiritual fragment that somehow rode along the System's Mastery experience changed Eloise's fate!
The strong motherly and protective emotions of Eloise meshed particularly well with Qilanxo's spiritual energy. Even shed of the Sacred God's imprint, the energy would never have merged so well with Eloise's desires if they didn't possess similar traits.
To Ves, spiritual energy seemed to be made of condensed meaning. Shaped by the personalities of the entities who formed them, some spiritual energy, such as that of Venerable Foster, possessed an aggressive bent, while others leaned more towards love or protectiveness.
What he found the most remarkable was that Qilanxo's spiritual fragment seemed adept at changing the personal imprint of spiritual energy. It was as if it specialized in this aspect of applying her spirituality!
"Perhaps that is why the locals of Aeon Corona VII regarded her species as Sacred Gods. This must be the principal reason why they are worshipped." Ves mentally murmured in the back of Eloise's increasingly more active mind.
In fact, his stay in her mind was becoming increasingly uncomfortable! It was one thing to inhabit the mind of a regular pilot, but the strengthening force of will was like a forcefield that repelled any foreign influences!
If not because Eloise was in the midst of battle, Ves would have been kicked back in his own time and space!
Right now, a huge Super Starspawn half the size of the Silent Nomad space fortress bore down on Eloise's Valiant Warden!
The old and patchy space knight already bore an incredible amount of strain during the battle. While Eloise's fighting spirit continued to increase despite landing in the crosshairs the monstrous astral creature, her mech might not be able to keep up with her moves!
Eloise knew it too. She could feel it breaking apart due to the forced resonance exerting it beyond its physical limitations. "NO! My Valiant Warden, fight for me! You must not fall here!"
Surprisingly enough, the Valiant Warden responded! Its nascent X-Factor that had slowly developed over years of continuous use by Eloise had recently been magnified by Ves' stolen spiritual energy!
Whatever attribute this special spiritual energy possessed, it seemed to be highly compatible with mechs!
The man-machine connection became empowered by Eloise's force of will, deepening her bond with the Valiant Warden and unearthing its newly invigorated X-Factor.
They resonated with each other!
Something incredibly marvelous happened. Ves mentally became astonished as the X-Factor of the Valiant Warden somehow supercharged itself! The feeling of protectiveness that it gained from Eloise's influence made it incredibly compatible with the force of will it came into touch!
The only way for Ves to describe the phenomenon was to call it a unity between man and machine!
For a single instant, the boundary between mech pilot and mech blurred!
In the depths of his mind, Ves recognized the phenomenon that took place. This was the legendary complete resonance!
Although often depicted in action dramas broadcasted throughout the galaxy, complete resonance was extremely hard to come by! Let alone expert pilots, even ace pilots and god pilots never managed to replicate the feat.
Yet Venerable Eloise Pelican seemed poised to do the impossible yet again! Her harmony with her own mech caused her force of will and the Valiant Warden's X-Factor, empowering the combination to ludicrous heights!
Even though Ves noted with alarm that the strain on the mech abruptly magnified, that single burst of complete resonance caused the resonating glow around the Valiant Warden to grow in size until it matched the size of the Super Starspawn!
As the strange fused astral creature centered around the Defiled Gene tried to engulf the Valiant Warden whole, it instead bumped into a shield composed completely of energy, bashing the monster to a halt in space!
The giant energy projection of the Valiant Warden echoed the physical mech's every move! After shield bashing the enormous monster back, the energy mech flew forward and chopped its sword over the Super Starspawn's head!
The giant energy sword possessed an intense corrosive effect on the astral creature, parting and burning its flew along with giving it an incredible amount of pain from its very spirit!
Ves could sense the echoes of agony radiating from the Super Starspawn's distorted spirit! The giant energy sword formed by the combination of Eloise's force of will and her Valiant Warden's X-Factor was a weapon that repelled all evil towards her family and comrades!
"You shall not stand in my way, foul beast!"
Although the giant energy mech already started to fizzle and fade, Eloise and her mech called upon their strength once more to thrust the giant energy sword straight through the Super Starspawn's damaged maw!
The sword cut straight through the monster's gullet and sheared straight through the starship residing in the very center of the Super Starspawn!
The Defiled Gene instantly cut apart into half! The catastrophic damage to the light carrier's structure and volatile power reactors caused her to be engulfed by numerous secondary explosions, obliterating Mr. Drenad's flagship and causing the Super Starspawn to lose cohesion!
"The astral beast is dead! Venerable Pelican slayed the monster!"
The morale of the surviving independents cheered, yet Eloise finally couldn't bear the strain any longer. The sustaining the complete resonance effect with her mech drained her force of will almost entirely! The X-Factor of the Valiant Warden, just recently empowered, faded away entirely as the mech itself broke apart into scattered components!
"Venerable Pelican!" Commander Pritchard yelled over the communication channel. "We've got you!"
His personal mech flew to Eloise's cockpit and gently took hold of it. A number of mechs from the Insurmountable Drakes moved to flank and surround the cockpit as it was being returned to the Stained Salamander.
"What are you waiting for?!" Pritchard exhorted the members of the independent outfits who were still gaping at the astonishing events that took place. "The monsters are dead or in retreat and the defenders are in total disarray! Let us cross the portal before either of them regain their wits and resume the fight!"
That caused every independent mech pilot into action! Buoyed by Venerable Pelican's heroic and transcendent feats, the morale of the survivors surged, causing them to fly forward with a single purpose!
The defenders on the other hand were still reeling from the disasters that took place. Not only had the space fortress sustained such massive damage that it lost most of its power and firepower, the military mechs lost most of their cohesion and fighting will.
The garrison only threw up a meager amount of resistance. The shock of witnessing the birth of an expert pilot only for her to display the legendary phenomenon of complete resonance shortly afterwards completely put an end to any serious fighting!
As Eloise suffered the aftermath of her wild transformations, she noted with distinct relief that the Insurmountable Drakes and the others were about to pass through the portal!
Due to the volatile position of the Dark Sphere in realspace, no one knew where they would end up after they exited the portal. Each different portal led to different destinations that fluctuated frequently.
That itself guaranteed their safety because there was no chance that the Silent Nomad military forces stationed a guard force at the other side of the portal!
Even as Commander Pritchard mech's placed her cockpit on the deck of the Stained Salamander's hangar bay, Eloise struggled to stay awake.
She needed to see if the portal took them back out!
As the Stained Salamander finally crossed the portal, a moment of non-existence took place before the ship and its escorting mechs emerged back into empty space!
"The stars! The stars have returned!"
"We've succeeded! We're back in the galaxy!"
"Don't celebrate yet! Let's kick our long-dormant FTL drives online and get the hell out of here?!"
None of the independent outfits that used to be trapped in the Dark Sphere wanted to linger any longer than they had to! The military forces at the other side of the portal could still cross over as well in order to pursue the escapees!
The mechs of the Insurmountable Drakes returned to the Stained Salamander as rapidly as possible while the carrier slowly spooled up her FTL drive. Although the FTL drive had long remained dormant within the Dark Sphere, the engineers always prioritized its maintenance in the event of escape!
"Where to, Commander Pritchard?!"
"Doesn't matter! Just point the ship at the easiest star system you can dial in and bring us away!"
"Roger that, commander!"
Only until the Stained Salamander successfully transitioned into FTL did Eloise finally let go of her insistence of staying awake. The physical, mental and spiritual fatigue she accumulated during her short burst of ascended performance simultaneously hit her like a crashing shuttle!
She quickly lost consciousness as her entire being urgently craved rest in order to recuperate from her ordeal.
Before she lost consciousness though, she swept her much-weakened force of will towards Ves' consciousness one last time.
Ves felt as if Eloise definitely took notice of him! Despite his attempts to hide his presence, the mind of an expert pilot was much more formidable than that of a regular pilot! There was no hiding in her own mental sanctum!
WHO ARE YOU?
"I'm just a mech designer." Ves mentally replied.
Just as Eloise faded to sleep, the System finally ended this lengthy Mastery session!
Ves felt as if a hook grabbed his consciousness yet again and dragged him straight through a portal. The wild ride that ensued was still enormously vague to Ves, and he only returned to his own mind and body an indeterminate amount of time later.
"That was some Mastery experience." He sighed as his dormant body awoke from the isolated chamber within the Mech Nursery's lab floor. "It was worth every single DP I spent on it, that's for sure."
Due to the happy accidents that took place during the battle, Ves gained much more than a first-hand perspective on piloting space knights. While the information he gathered to that nature was certainly abundant enough for him to overhaul large portions of his current draft design, it did not beat the other events he witnessed!
By residing right inside Eloise's mind as she underwent both apotheosis and complete resonance, Ves gained an unprecedented amount of understanding on both phenomena!
So many mech pilots dreamt of becoming expert pilots! Many more expert pilots aimed to achieve a complete union with their mechs during battle!
Yet both remained out of reach to the vast majority of mech pilots. No matter how hard some mech pilots trained and fought, they would never be able to transcend their mortal limits in their lives!
"Ordinarily, they can't." Ves whispered to himself with his parched throat. "Yet nothing is impossible! Qilanxo showed me the way to circumvent the limitations stopping most mech pilots from advancing!"
More than a week went by while his mind took a mental trip into the past. While his massively enhanced physique allowed him to sustain his week-long dormancy, it still left him craving for food and water!
Ves wearily chuckled to himself. "I'll have to hook myself up to life support the next time I undergo a Mastery! Otherwise, my body might starve to death if I take too long to return!"
Chapter 1085
Before Ves did anything, he first addressed the consequences of his week-long fasting session.
Once he drank a lot of water and filled his belly with the contents of a nutrient pack, Ves took stock of his gains from this Mastery experience.
"I gained far more than I expected." He concluded.
First, he fulfilled his primary objective. Witnessing Eloise Pelican piloting the Valiant Warden space knight extensively gave Ves an incredible amount of small insights about the rigors of piloting a mech in space.
What Ves appreciated the most was that he watched Eloise pilot her space knight during uneventful patrols and an incredibly pitched battle. The contrast between both of them gave Ves a strong learning experience. Some features were much more important during battle!
The second benefit did not need any repeating. Learning some of the actual mechanics behind apotheosis and complete resonance changed Ves' perspective on expert pilots forever. They no longer posed a mystery to them now that he understood where their force of will emerged from!
"I was right! Spirituality is the key!"
Ves also advanced his fundamental understanding of spirituality by a substantial degree. He learned that spiritual energy consisted of meaning and possesses all kinds of attributes and imprints.
This was important, because learning that these properties existed meant that Ves could one day manipulate them just like Qilanxo's spiritual fragment aptly demonstrated!
What did that mean? As long as he found a source of compatible spiritual energy, he could infuse that into the emotions and desires of a mech pilot that aligned with the attribute of the spiritual energy!
As long as the fusion succeeded, the force of will that emerged would be enough to elevate that mech pilot into an expert candidate or expert pilot!
"If I can replicate the process myself, I can produce artificial expert pilots!"
The magnitude of this astounding ability could not be overstated! Such a secret was so explosive that everyone would fight for it! The weight of this secret surpassed even that of the Mech Designer System because the latter only benefited a small number of people while the theories that Ves developed could potentially empower every mech pilot in the galaxy!
"I shouldn't be too eager to apply what I've learned." Ves instantly decided.
While he wanted to experiment with what he learned in order to elevate the likes of Melkor, Melinda and Raella Larkinson to expert pilots, it would be too conspicuous for them to advance to experts all of a sudden!
Ves could not afford to give anyone reason to suspect he possessed the secret to elevating mech pilots into expert pilots!
"This ability doesn't only come with galaxy-spanning implications, it's also exceedingly dangerous!"
He readily admitted that he could not come close to replicating the feat. The skill and precision demonstrated by Qilanxo's spiritual fragment showed a mastery of manipulating spiritual energy that Ves didn't even knew was possible!
Even though he understood the basic mechanisms of what he witnessed, it was like seeing a musician play an instrument up close. Just because he knew how it worked in theory didn't meant he could pick up an instrument and play it like a master of the craft!
"This is yet another possible application of spirituality in the galaxy that I can learn one day!"
Until that happened, Ves did not intend to mess with it carelessly. If he recklessly inserted foreign spiritual energy into the mind of a random mech pilot, there was a great chance that the spiritual energy would fail to take hold and disappear into the imaginary realm.
If Ves forced the merger of incorrectly attributed spiritual energy with the emotions and desires of a mech pilot, then he might even inflict major harm!
"There's so much still that I don't know." Ves muttered to himself as he sought out Lucky. "What makes spiritual energy capable of affecting reality so strongly? How is it generated and where can I find it? Can the attributes of spiritual energy be converted to other attributes in the same way that their personal imprints can be exchanged?"
So many new questions emerged from his mind. The uncertainties that popped up would keep him busy for a very long time, he guessed.
In any case, it appeared that Ves had not been the only beneficiary of the Mastery experience. He concentrated his mind and turned his mental focus inward.
Resting in the center of his mind space, Qilanxo's spiritual fragment pulsed and glowed with strength. While Ves noted that its activity level had diminished a bit due to its donation of spiritual energy, what remained took on an even more complex and multifaceted quality than before!
Aside from the miniscule influence of Ves' base model and the remnants of Venerable Fontain's stolen spiritual energy, the fragment gained two more influences!
Ves immediately recognized the additional flavors. It seemed that Ves was not the only entity who harvested benefits from his Mastery experience this time!
The strong protectiveness and maternal love of Venerable Eloise Pelican almost entirely displaced the influence of Venerable Fontain. It gained a lot of prominence because it shared much in common with Qilanxo's own spirituality!
Underneath this notable influence, the echoes of the Valiant Warden also resided. Its presence gave the spiritual fragment a much greater fit with space knights!
For a moment, Ves didn't know whether he should celebrate this new development. The spiritual fragment had become more complex, but that also meant it became more muddled and less focused. Only the sheer might of Qilanxo's overpowering imprint on the powerful spiritual fragment kept the pieces together.
"You intervened for a reason, right?" Ves asked the fragment. "Why did you decide to make a move?"
The fragment pulsed once but remained dormant afterwards. It was as if the previous exertion exhausted it quite a bit, forcing it to enter a period of hibernation in order to recuperate.
Ves eventually shrugged. There was no way he could force the powerful spiritual fragment to open its mouth.
For a moment, he doubted whether he was dealing with an isolated, apportioned piece of Qilanxo's spirituality. Was the fragment still in sync with the original Qilanxo? The initiative and ability it previously showed off was quite sophisticated to come from a mere fragment!
"Well, whatever. You'll probably be an even better asset for my upcoming mech design!"
To be honest, the prospect of housing Qilanxo's augmented spiritual fragment in his upcoming mech design frightened him a bit. What would result from such a fusion? Ves almost shivered at the possibilities.
"My mech won't design itself. I have to get back to work." Ves shook his head.
Despite the surprises he encountered along the way, acquiring Space Knight Mastery I served to fill up the gaps in his knowledge base when it came to designing space knights.
In fact, the benefits he gained went beyond understanding space knights from the perspective of a mech pilot. Many of the insights he picked up could be applied to many other spaceborn mechs, giving Ves a high degree of proficiency in designing any kind of mech that operated in space!
"I'm not just a mech designer who is only limited to designing landbound mechs anymore!"
Before Ves emerged from his lab to check up on his company before he went back to resuming his design work, he first grew curious at the events that took place at the Dark Sphere.
The overarching question that popped up in his mind was whether the System actually caused history to change. Was it actually capable of time travel or not?
While the phenomenon of time travel wasn't entirely unheard of, most of the galaxy believed that only the first-rate superstates and the Big Two possessed the ability to artificially replicate the feat. Even then, their applications were likely limited, or else their effects would have been much widely felt by now!
Of course, the conspiracy theorists trawling in the underbelly of the galactic net offered another explanation. They speculated that there was some sort of time police among humanity that kept time travel under the radar.
Whatever the case, Ves first wanted to find out if the System truly possessed the ability to manipulate time. He activated his comm and browsed the galactic net. He searched for any news about the Dark Sphere in relation to the Silent Nomad and Pure Wheel Star Sectors.
"It actually exists!"
Not only did it exist, but the involvement of Venerable Eloise Pelican led to some explosive developments!
As retaliation for exposing the Dark Sphere to the public, the rulers of the Silent Nomad Star Sector kidnapped Venerable Pelican's young son!
This led to a series of dramatic events that sent the Silent Nomad Star Sector in complete disarray! What exactly happened over the past thirty years, Ves couldn't tell, because by then both sides published completely opposite narratives.
Even so, by all accounts, Venerable Pelican not only lived to this very day, but she had also become the figurehead of a huge insurgency. The insurgents that followed her banner aimed to reform the disparate powers of the Silent Nomad Star Sector into a single unified state!
"Has she reunited with her son or not?"
Nobody knew for sure. It wouldn't have been easy to rescue Pelican's son from a conspiracy of states. Ves somewhat sympathised with Venerable Pelican's difficulties to reunite with her family. Through no fault of her own, she had been separated from her son and was constantly being hunted down to this very day.
Above all else, Eloise Pelican originally did not possess the spirituality required to develop a force of will. Without an empowered force of will, there was no way for her to advance straight to expert pilot.
All the historical accounts of the Dark Sphere that Ves found on the internet matched his own observations. The descriptions of the titanic battle at the portal and the amazing occurrence of complete resonance put most of his doubts to rest!
"The System actually traveled back in time and changed history!"
Instantly, several questions popped up in his mind. Was this Mastery experience predetermined? If Ves suddenly decided to abort, would Venerable Pelican still exist as an expert pilot who survived the Dark Sphere?
All of the paradoxes involved with time travel already started to give Ves headaches. "There's no point speculating on this matter."
The simple fact of the matter was that he traveled back in time somehow and affected a real change in history. If he could do it once, he could do it again!
"It will be difficult to take advantage of this when the System just chucks me halfway across the galaxy all the time." Ves muttered.
The substantial difference in time and space prevented him from taking actions that directly benefited him in his current time.
Even though this was the first time that Ves gained the option of reconnecting with the host of his Mastery experience, he was leery of doing so. Even though his entry into her mind drastically elevated her life and allowed her to escape the Dark Sphere, who knew what she would do when Ves came up to her and said hello.
He shook his head. "There's no reason for me to reconnect with her. I don't think I'll gain anything aside from increasing the chance of exposing my secrets!"
He decisively set aside any notion of contacting Venerable Pelican. He wouldn't be able to get in touch with her anyway considering her current preoccupation.
When Ves finally exited the vault and returned to his penthouse office to catch up on what he missed during the last week, Gavin stopped by as soon as he heard that his boss returned.
"Ves! We received word that the representatives of a number of esteemed individuals are on their way to Cloudy Curtain!" The newly-appointed executive assistant stated with alarm.
"Ah." Ves smiled in a sly manner. "So they accepted my invitation. Good. Please keep an eye on their arrival and prepare some accommodations for them in Freslin. Make sure to keep our guests separate and unaware of each other. It wouldn't do for them to mingle and band together."
Gavin frowned at the strange instructions. "What's this all about, Ves? Those representatives are all standing in for powerful businessmen and officials from numerous partners of the Friday Coalition!"
"I know."
Chapter 1086
"It is almost sinful to partake in this bounty." The representative uttered as Ves carefully opened a vintage nutrient pack and took out a sample for the man to try. "Yet don't mind if I do."
As soon as the foreigner from the Friday Coalition took a bite, he went into an instant ecstasy! "How divine! It is indeed as you claimed!"
Ves smiled as the representative took another bite and savored the sublime flavor. Thousands of years of fermenting had done the contents of the nutrient pack a lot of good!
"This isn't just any kind of regular nutrient pack." He boasted as he entered into salesman mode. "Look at the markings and serial numbers of the nutrient pack. Not only are they of genuine CFA stock, but they are also dated from before the Age of Mechs! If that isn't enough, they also originate from the long lost Starlight Megalodon!"
The representative studied the markings of the nutrient himself. "I was doubtful of your claims that you have somehow obtained the nutrient packs of a long-lost battleship of the CFA. The disappearance of the Starlight Megalodon is wracked with secrets. How could you possibly come into the possession of some of her nutrient pack supply?"
"I have my ways." Ves replied vaguely. "Due to some circumstances that I am not allowed to explain, I spent some time in the frontier. You can connect the dots from there."
"Very well. I'll take your entire supply. How much do you have?"
"With the opened pack included, I only have fifty-three nutrient packs left." Ves stated as he slapped his palm against the open crate in the vault.
"I am prepared to purchase all of them for 100,000 coalition credits each. That is a princely sum for a Brighter like you who came into possession of such a treasure."
"100,000 cols? Do you think I am mad!? As a connoisseur of nutrient packs, I know quite well that these vintage nutrient packs are worth much more than that! You should pay 100 million cols for them per pack! I'll even throw you a ten percent bulk discount if you buy all fifty-three of them at once!"
"Oh, please. Don't insult my intelligence, Mr. Larkinson. Aged nutrient packs are not impossible to acquire. 200,000 cols."
"Those are fake goods you are talking about. Nutrient packs that have undergone artificial time acceleration might be able to offer similar complex flavor profiles, but they are equivalent to mass-produced goods! My nutrient packs are different! They are exceedingly rare goods with a special origin and story behind them. If your patron adds them to their collection, they can show them off with pride that they own a piece of the Starlight Megalodon! Where else can you find such a treasure that your patron can comfortably display without attracting the attention of the CFA? 90 million cols!"
"That is a ludicrous amount for mere nutrient packs. No matter their age or history, nutrient packs serve as an economic way to supply ships and colonies with long-lasting survival food. They consists entirely of synthetic ingredients mushed together in an approximation of organic food! There are limits to how much one should pay for hem! 300,000 cols!"
Ves chuckled. "You and I both know that we are not talking about trading a bunch of nutrient packs here. Regardless of their original form, their meaning is completely different now due to their aging and their remarkable origin. These nutrient packs are valuable specifically due to those reasons and those reasons alone! This is your chance to buy a piece of history! And I will only charge 80 million cols each!"
The two nutrient pack connoisseurs continued to haggle back and forth for a while. Eventually, they came to an agreement to sell all fifty-three nutrient packs for the low price of 2.7 million cols.
Once they shook hands and signed a contract, the representative commanded a lifter bot to pick up the crate and depart the vault.
Before he left, the representative turned around. "These are the only nutrient packs from the Starlight Megalodon that you possess, correct?"
"I've left a couple for my own collection." Ves lied. "I can completely guarantee that you have obtained the remainder."
"Very well."
Once the representative left, he stepped outside the vault area and reached a position where he regained his connection to the LMC's internal network. He sent a call to Gavin.
"Gavin, please send in the next representative down to the vault."
"Okay, Ves." Gavin replied dubiously over the feed. "Why all of this song and dance? Why not meet them all at once?"
"I have my reasons." Ves replied before shutting off the connection.
He quickly returned to vault and entered another area where a single crate stood in the middle. Ves awaited for the next guest to be escorted to the vault by an attendant.
"Ah, Mr. Larkinson." The newcomer said, a woman this time. "From the drab decor of this underground area, I suppose you are about to show me your goods."
Ves smiled and opened the crate, revealing a number of nutrient packs. "You presume correctly, miss. Forty-six vintage nutrient packs, excavated straight from the missing Starlight Megalodon! As far as I am aware of, they are the only goods to have emerged from that legendary CFA battleship! Would you like to have a taste?"
"Please. How else will I be able to verify your claims? I am familiar with all of the historical CFA nutrient pack flavors, so don't think you can bamboozle me with counterfeits."
"I would never dream of doing so, miss."
Like a sleazy salesman, Ves repeated the same routine that happened a moment earlier. He hyped up the historical value of the nutrient packs. They were not mere vintage nutrient packs, but relics of the CFA!
Ves fared a little worse during the haggling that ensued. The woman was a shrewd negotiator and they only shook hands when they arrived at a price of 2.2 million cols per nutrient pack.
After waving the female representative off with her newly-purchased crate, Ves smiled sardonically to himself. "Well, I have four more chances to do better."
Now that he gained more confidence in the value of his vintage nutrient packs, Ves continued to meet representative after representative. Even though he outright lied about the fact that they received his entire supply of vintage nutrient packs from the Starlight Megalodon, Ves didn't think much of the consequences.
All he cared about right now was ripping off the representatives of profligate nutrient pack collectors from the Friday Coalition!
After completing six trades, each of which involved around fifty nutrient packs each, Ves completely traded away his entire stash!
Although it pained him a bit to say goodbye to those valuable nutrient packs, they only served to satisfy his vanity while they remained in his possession.
As a mech designer and the head of a company that was mired in debt, Ves needed money more than he needed to retain ownership of nutrient packs that served no practical use other than to serve as souvenirs of his last great adventure!
Aware of the value of the nutrient packs should Ves ever sell them to someone interested in them, he made the rational choice of converting his ownership of the nutrient packs into cold hard cash.
His heart still ached at the loss, though. His dismay was so obvious that Lucky floated down from his head and clung to his shoulders as if to soothe his pain.
"Meow."
"I know. They're just nutrient packs, but they're also a piece of history, you know? The Starlight Megalodon doesn't exist anymore, so there is no way that I can ever obtain more vintage nutrient packs from the ship."
"Meow!"
"Pff, is that what you care about? You want me to spend all of my earnings from these trades on rare exotics for you to stuff your face with? I still haven't entirely gotten over the fact that you ate away my CFA gear!"
"Meow-meow!"
"Even if you gained some fantastic new abilities, it's not cost-effective for me to feed you high-quality exotics just so that I can gain some couple of super gems!"
"Meoooow!"
Ves ignored Lucky's admonishment in favor of tallying his gains. Overall, by selling around three-hundred vintage nutrient packs in total at an average price of 2.9 miillion cols each, Ves earned 870 million cols in a single day!
Simply speaking, that was roughly worth around 87 billion bright credits! Even though Ves would lose a chunk of money from that massive sum due to transaction costs and fluctuating exchange rates that reflected the weakening of the bright credit, Ves still believed he would be able to supplement the LMC's coffers by at least 80 billion credits!
"The company's debt is a thing of the past once the money arrives!"
Not only that, but the LMC would also be sitting on a healthy surplus that it could spend on improving its security, expanding the Mech Nursery, setting up branch offices and subsidiaries in other states or apportion them to the future marketing campaign of his upcoming design!
"Worthless, heh?" Ves chuckled. "Maybe they're worthless to people like Lieutenant Stimmons. As for others, they are worth as much as the Barracuda!"
In fact, ever since he first cracked open a nutrient pack from the battleship during his stay on the Starlight Megalodon, he instantly realized their value. Not only would many individuals in the galaxy pay good money for them, they were also inconspicuous enough that no one in the CFA would care enough to take them away!
This was why Ves expressly prepared to smuggle out a bunch of vintage nutrient packs from the Starlight megalodon well in advance!
Ves laughed in exultation. "Hahaha! It all paid off!"
If Ves wanted to maximize his earnings, he would have put them up for offer at some auction house in the Friday Coalition. By inviting all the wealthy nutrient pack connoisseurs of the Friday Coalition to participate in the auction, it might have been possible to jack up the price for each vintage nutrient pack all the way to 1 million cols!
"That would have been far too conspicuous, though." Ves shook his head in regret.
Such a public auction might attract the attention of the CFA to him again. The last thing that Ves wanted to do was to give the powerful trans-galaction organization a reason to investigate him thoroughly!
In addition, by selling nutrient packs from a lost CFA battleship so blatantly, Ves would also be violating his obligation to keep the details of the Aeon Corona Mission a secret. While he didn't fear the Mech Corps all that much, it was an entirely different problem once Flashlight entered the fray!
"I should never get on the bad side of Flashlight!" Ves shuddered.
Perhaps Ves could have earned more money if he sought out more discerning buyers. Yet the longer he waited and the more potential buyers he sounded out, the greater the risk that some of them might take more direct action to obtain the nutrient packs!
It wasn't out of the question for them to send an overwhelmingly powerful force of mechs to Cloudy Curtain in order to rob Ves of his stash of vintage nutrient packs!
Although it sounded ludicrous for someone to go through so much effort for a bunch of nutrient packs, Ves knew that such incidents actually took place!
"The sooner I got rid of them, the better. They're hot goods as long as they remained in my vault."
In any case, earning almost a billion cols lifted a huge burden off his shoulders. It cost money to borrow money, so the LMC constantly troubled itself by trying to pay back all the interest from their loans.
While it wasn't exactly a disaster for Ves and the company if those loans continued to remain on the company's books, if Ves gained the ability to pay them back wholesale, why shouldn't he go for it? In any case, Ves did not plan for his company to embark in any major investments in the foreseeable future.
"Now that I've received a quota for the services offered by the BV alliance, I no longer need to save up a lot of money to prepare for the next mech generation."
Now that he secured the future of the LMC, Ves finally felt free to focus his main priorities.
Right now, that meant taking the next step in designing his mech!
"I'm almost done with overhauling my draft design. Once that's complete, I'll have to solicit feedback from Professor Ventag and others. I wonder how they will react to my vision?"
Chapter 1087
Ves gained an entirely new conception of spaceborn mechs after acquiring Space Knight Mastery I. Riding in the mind of a veteran space knight taught him that space knights constantly worried about being able to cover their colleagues.
While mobility was important to do their jobs, it was their ability to endure damage that really mattered. If they wished, they would rather give up the former in order to enhance their ability to do the latter.
"It's a constant struggle. Without sufficient mobility, they can't keep up with their colleagues. Without enough tanking ability, they won't last long enough to provide meaningful protection."
Nonetheless, riding in the mind of Eloise Pelican also taught him that a mech like his would appeal to mech pilots like her. His upcoming super-medium space knight offered substantially more protection without compromising its mobility entirely.
Of course, the huge learning curve associated with using polarizing module effectively might hinder their adoption. However, polarizing modules and shield modules were not entirely strange to mech pilots of the Bright Republic considering their more widespread use in second-rate states.
"As long as their ability to withstand damage is big enough, all the other costs are worth it from their perspective!"
This realization gave him confidence as he reimagined his upcoming space knight design. He expressly worked to accommodate some of the features that space knight pilots like Eloise Pelican eagerly demanded from their mechs.
Perhaps unconsciously, Ves included a couple of touches from the Valiant Warden's design into his own work. He admired the bond that Eloise developed with her mech. No matter how much damage the machine sustained, with care and attention it always stood back up to fight another day.
It was the greatest expression of one of his ideals. Though forced by circumstances, the Insurmountable Drakes did their best to treat their mechs right and to value them as priceless assets.
"Many knight mechs are expected to endure an incredible amount of punishment over their lifespans. Suchs mechs need to be incredibly robust and enduring, far more than the average mech."
Ves already learned this lesson with his first Mastery, Yet living alongside the rigors that Eloise endured as she tried everything to extend the lifespan of her mech underscored this aspect.
Space knights struggled to last ten years of constant use! If not for the resourcefulness of the Insurmountable Drakes, the Valiant Warden would have long been scrapped and dismantled for parts.
"It's a sad affair when mechs are used beyond their capacity."
The new draft of the space knight that took shape undeniably carried the influence of his latest Mastery experience. When Ves revised the sketches, he allowed Qilanxo's spiritual fragment to guide some of his design choices as usual.
Perhaps due to the influence of Eloise and the Valiant Warden in its spiritual makeup, the fragment favored different choices this time. More endurance. More resilience. More longevity.
All of this didn't come without a price. The additional structural integrity and armor plating that Ves added to his draft slowed it down even further. The first draft of the mech already suggested that it would move rather sluggish, but this time it leaned even further towards the ineffectual mobility of a heavy mech.
In essence, the new design choices showed a distinct lack of care towards mobility. His draft design possessed nearly the same mobility as a heavy space knight but without the sheer amount of damage absorbing capacity of one.
"What is the advantage of such a mech?"
Perhaps theoretically, his space knight did not offer any distinct advantages over a regular heavy space knight.
"Yet in fact there are two major advantages. First, it is much cheaper than a genuine heavy mech. Second, it demands much less maintenance."
Only well-funded, highly-organized mech forces such as military mech regiments made use of heavy mechs. This was because operating them was very expensive and demanding in resources. Not only was acquiring them upfront ludicrously expensive, they also required a lot of servicing. Any major damage incurred to its high-quality but expensive armor plating quite literally cost hundreds of millions of credits to repair!
"It's simply not economical for private outfits to operate a heavy mech, certainly not one that is expressly designed to take damage and require regular repairs to keep running!"
If there was one important advantage that Ves brought to the table with his new design, it was that it had been designed to be as cost-efficient as possible when performing its singular most important role.
Ves estimated that he would be able to contain the price of his space knight to under 100 million credits. It was not as large as a heavy mech and did not require nearly enough metal to fabricate a copy.
More importantly, a large portion of its defensive capability came from the polarizing module. By covering a section of armor with a special polarizing field, the only damage the mech sustained was draining its energy cells a lot faster.
As long as the mech did not withstand too much damage at once, it would theoretically be able to offload all of the incoming firepower to its polarizing field!
Even though that would drain his space knight's energy reserves rather quickly, it was a lot cheaper to recharge spent energy cells than to replace damaged armor plating!
"Energy is cheap. High-quality materials, especially those used in armor plating, are very expensive to come by. It's a reality that mercenary corps and many other private outfits spend much of their earnings from their missions to repair the damage their mechs have incurred. Many times, the cost of repairs can even exceed the payment they received from their employers!"
Many mercenary corps in fact incorporated provisions in their contracts that stated that their employers would compensate for their repairs.
Yet how many employers would agree to such a clause? What if the mercenary corps deliberately piloted their mechs recklessly in order to get rid of their old and malfunctioning machines? Their employer would be on the hook for all of the replacement costs!
In practice, the two sides always negotiated the extent to which an employer would cover the repairs of the mercenary corps. This usually ended up somewhere around the tune of fifty percent or less.
Usually, employers held a bit more leverage during these negotiations because they could easily offer the assignment to another, more desperate mercenary corps.
The economics of running a mercenary corps aside, what Ves really wanted to play into was their demand on acquiring mechs that demanded less repairs!
Part of the reason why mercenary commanders disliked knight mechs was because they were money pits!
"Even so, operating a couple of knight mechs is better than to let their more vulnerable mechs incur all that damage instead."
Yet that did not feel like much of a consolation to the mercenary commanders when they studied the accounts. How would they feel about their defensive mechs when they occupied at least seventy to ninety percent of the money allocated to maintenance and repairs?
"This disparity in costs is exactly why the polarizing module matters a lot. If it can save my space knight from incurring a lot of material damage during battles, then the cost savings it provides over its lifespan has paid for its acquisition in spades!"
Due to the larger size of his space knight, Ves could not avoid putting a high price tag on his upcoming mech model. Yet he hoped that some mech buyers would be smart enough to realize that the total cost of operating his new mech was a lot more generous over its entire lifespan!
"Well, not everyone is smart enough to take the entire lifetime cost of a mech into account. It also doesn't help much if the mech gets destroyed during its first few fights."
This was why many mercenary corps still resorted to budget knight mechs. They were easier to buy and easier to replace if they broke. Even though outfits expended a lot more money due to the frequent replacements, it felt a lot better than buying one very expensive mech.
Would they even dare to commit such an expensive mech in battle?
All of these psychological considerations sounded a bit stupid, but Ves knew it was part of human behavior. The mech commanders in charge of leading private outfits always came from the ranks of mech pilots.
Mech pilots generally attended mech academies once they found out about their genetic aptitude when they reached ten-years old. The curriculum of a mech academy largely consisted of mech piloting-related courses.
This meant that mech cadets predominantly spent their time on studying how to pilot knight mechs, how to improve their marksmanship, how to employ rudimentary tactics and so on. Learning all of this took up the majority of their time and energy.
As for other topics like math, history, science and humanities? Please. As long as a mech pilot could figure out the answer of two plus two, they really didn't need to know more in order to be a good soldier on the battlefield!
This lopsided education system led to the unfortunate circumstance that mech commanders were almost always awful administrators. They lacked the required administrative and business acumen to run a profitable outfit!
"The smarter commanders are prudent enough to delegate these matters to competent managers. The more conceited ones believe that all of their decisions are right regardless of their actual competence in these areas!"
From all the industry publications that Ves had read over the years, the latter occurred far more frequently than they should!
"Mech pilots are rather stupid in that way." Ves shook his head.
The important implication of this reality was that his space knight might not be able to catch on to the mech market. Ves had to take the unfortunate possibility into account that mech commanders were too short-sighted to appreciate his upcoming design!
"Not every mech commander is that stupid, though. I'm sure that my mech will be able to sell as long as NORA Consolidated is involved."
The marketing prowess of one of the premier mech companies in the Bright Republic dwarfed anything that the LMC or Marcella Bollinger could accomplish! As long as Professor Ventag put his entire support behind the joint design, then it was not impossible for their first cooperative design to become a success!
"I'm not resigned to design a technical masterpiece that flops on the market!"
Just like Eloise Pelican, his fighting spirit surged despite the many odds against him. Regardless of whether they were mech pilots of mech designers, both of them shared something in common!
Mech pilots struggled against threats on the battlefield.
Mech designers fought to earn the mech market's recognition for their mech designs.
Although the latter didn't put their lives on the line, their battles were just as arduous!
With these economical considerations in the back of his mind, Ves completed his second draft of upcoming mech design.
"It's time to see what other people think of my design."
Ves decided to invite all of his confidants as well as the three little chicks that recently joined the Avatars of Myth.
All of them entered his imposing penthouse office shortly afterwards. While people like Calsie and Gavin had already become used to the impressive decor of his office, the three little chicks were practically wide-eyed as they became affected by the atmosphere their surroundings conveyed.
"Please take a seat, everyone." Ves gestured them to the comfortable couches at the corner of the office in order to ease the tensions.
They first chatted a little. Ves found out that Melkor already ordered a decent landbound striker mech from Bentheim in order to provide Rhode Larkinson with a new machine.
As for Chette and Jannzi Larkinson, they would be forced to stick to the simulators for a while longer. It took a lot more time, planning and organization to supplement the Avatars of Myth with their first spaceborn mech company.
"How soon do you think we'll have our first spaceborn mechs?" Ves asked.
"A couple of months at the very least." Melkor answered. "The biggest problem we are facing right now is that we need to find a capable and experienced spaceborn mech officer to lead the new company. It's very hard to attract mech officers of that caliber to join a completely unknown personal mech force like ours. Despite our impressive-sounding name, we haven't accomplished much to earn a famed reputation."
Ves learned in the frontier that reputation was very important to every outfit! Reputation not only deterred troublemakers and opportunists, but also attracted skilled, experienced and capable mech pilots.
In this regard, despite their midrange and premium mech roster, the Avatars of Myth hadn't been tested enough in battle to enjoy the regard they ought to deserve!
"Do you think the Avatars of Myth need a bit more seasoning, Melkor?"
"It helps if you grant us permission to accept small mercenary contracts. Some of our men are getting bored by the constant training."
"Do so. I trust your judgment in this matter."
Chapter 1088
Before Ves underwent military service, he wouldn't have agreed to let the Avatars of Myth work as mercenaries so easily.
Yet his experiences during the war showed Ves the importance of both reputation and actual battle experience!
Aside from recognizing the importance of acquiring a good reputation, Ves also wanted his Avatars of Myth to become battle tested. Only at that point would he be able to truly put his life in their hands.
"They can't be like the Honored Ones of the Reinald Republic." Ves stated to the people he invited. "From my experiences during the war, they are just as well-funded as the other mech militaries, but in practice they constantly drop the ball during actual battles because their lack of fighting experience has made them too complacent!"
Real battles always served to teach the forces involved some brutal lessons. Every flaw and inefficiency in their operation painfully magnified their losses, prompting the outfits to address them in order to prevent the same from occurring again!
Though this decision would inevitably lead to larger expenses and even loss of life, Ves stoically accepted these consequences as the price he needed to pay to raise a competent mech force.
In any case, after quickly offloading his vintage nutrient packs from the Starlight Megalodon, Ves wasn't hurting for money right now! Regardless of how many Blackbeaks, Crystal Lords or other mechs got trashed, Ves would not hesitate to sign off on any replacements.
"Maybe a mercenary corps will bleed if they lose such expensive mechs, but a personal troop is very different." He grinned to Melkor. "The LMC will continue to expand in the future, so it is a given that it requires more protection. I don't want to rely on SASS forever, you know that. The sooner we can bring the Avatars of Myth up, the better."
Melkor nodded, though Ves had difficulty of figuring out what he truly thought due to his habit of wearing a large over his face. Even on a spiritual level his cousin was hard to read. It was as if Melkor constantly obscured his real self.
It kind of reminded Ves of some of the people who worked for Flashlight, actually.
Still, even with his murky and ambiguous background, what could Melkor really do? Both the LMC and the Avatars of Myth relied upon Ves to bankroll them both. Without his innovative design work, he would never be able to earn the money to keep them running!
After getting up to speed on the Avatars of Myth, Ves moved on to the main reason why he called them together. He activated a projector that showed off his draft design in full splendor!
"It's time for you to introduce a draft for my upcoming mech design! Some of you may be unaware of this, but I'm not working on this mech design alone! The truth is that I'm collaborating on a joint design project with the esteemed Professor Corus Ventag of the DCTI! In fact, NORA Consolidated will be responsible for most of the production of this new mech!"
The news that Ves managed to score an opportunity to collaborate with a Senior Mech Designer stunned everyone present. Ves had kept the news close to his chest for all the time, so it satisfied him immensely to see the surprise in their faces.
"Are you actually working with a Senior, Ves? How much are you responsible for in this new design?"
"I am responsible for roughly 75 percent of its design. I came up with the mech concept on my own and it will largely be considered my own design. Professor Ventag is mainly responsible for adding some sophisticated touches to the internal architecture of the design!"
This meant that the design would largely conform to his own vision!
Once they got over the shock that Ves had already reached a stage where he managed to score a cooperative venture with a Senior, they moved on to studying the draft. The rough estimates of the mech design's spec sheet helped offer the mech pilots present a vague glimpse of its performance.
Melkor quickly frowned as he studied the contours of the draft design and inspected some of the core specs. "This is a space knight design, right? Why is it so.. hefty?"
"That's because a significant portion of its internal volume is taken up by the polarizing module that I managed to squeeze into the design."
"It kind of looks fat for a humanoid mech design." Jannzi commented, looking a bit put out at the prospect of piloting such an ungainly mech.
As a space knight specialist, Ves valued her opinion the most out of the people present!
"It's not fat. It's large and in charge." Ves replied, putting a positive spin on his draft design's imposing bulk. "My new design isn't meant to look pretty. It's meant to offer the maximum amount of protection for its size. Let me explain to you all what the polarizing module brings to the table."
He had already run his draft design through some rough simulations to display its strengths to his audience. As he ran several simulations in succession, the skepticism in their eyes faded a little.
"So the polarizing module you added work just like the polarizing modules found in some second-class designs?"
Ves nodded. "Correct. The only problem is that due to cost reasons it's not realistic for me to incorporate a miniaturized version of the polarizing module into my mechs. That's why my mechs exceeds the medium weight class. There is no possible way for me to mount the polarizing module component onto a lighter mech."
"Why bother with the polarizing module at all, then?"
"Because I believe that with the correct use, it can make up for my design's admittedly plentiful shortcomings."
The simulations already demonstrated the potential of his designs. Against energy weapons and against lower volumes of incoming fire, his space knight design performed admirably!
Yet Melkor instantly noted two major flaws to the concept that Ves adopted for his mech design.
"No offense, Ves, but your space knight only really excels in only a handful of battle scenarios. While a lot of battles amount to long-ranged slugging fests where lasers reign supreme, sometimes the fighting is up close and personal. Does your mech possess the flexibility and mobility required to fend off melee mechs?"
Melkor exposed one of the biggest flaws of the mech design in question. A generic medium space knight presented a well-rounded package that could shield friendly mechs from ranged fire as well as marauding melee mechs attempting the take them out up close!
This was because regular medium space knights possessed enough agility and acceleration to be able to put up a decent fight against swordsman mechs and the like. Even if they wouldn't be able to win the confrontation, the space knights would still be able to block their enemies so that their comrades could come and flank the enemy!
"My mech.. does not perform very well in melee battle. It doesn't have the mobility to keep up with enemy melee mechs and the polarizing fields don't work great against the physical damage their melee weapons inflict." Ves admitted. "My mech is purely designed for low and medium-intensity space battles where the enemy doesn't dare to commit to a destructive all-in battle."
Everyone present could see the appeal of his mech in these circumstances. Yet their suboptimal performance in melee combat enormously weakened the appeal of his design!
Of all the people present, Ketis expressed the most disdain. "This fatty mech is only really good for acting as a barely movable wall against lasers. As soon as one single agile light skirmisher comes close, it will easily be able to cripple this expensive mech by outflanking it and taking out its vulnerable flight system from the rear!"
By now, Ketis fully recovered from her candy binge and already began to flex her increased cognitive abilities. When Ves checked up on her progress, he witnessed her devouring the textbooks in the company's library. Her learning speed was off-the-charts, and the enormous boost in concentration enabled her to stick to her studies for days on end without getting bored!
"My mech is not designed to be passable in every situation. It is a special machine that excels in one aspect. That should be sufficient enough to slot it into a larger and well-rounded spaceborn mech force. Other mechs that are much more capable in melee combat can cover for its weaknesses."
Surprisingly, Jannzi concurred with Ves. "I think that's a good point. When it comes to fending off raids, a mech with these qualities can be very useful. Laser weapons are used almost everywhere in space. There won't be many battles where a mech like this is useless."
Though Jannzi was a bit intimidated by the rough edges that Ketis still retained of her pirate heritage, she was confident in her judgement of space knights.
As the feedback session went on, it became clear that the new mech design did not completely catch on. To some, its singular strength did not make up for its many weaknesses and shortcomings. Only a true space knight specialist like Jannzi were able to appreciate what the mech design brought to the table.
Ves distinctly designed his mech to appeal to space knight specialists. For Jannzi to express her support for the mech design meant that at least some of the market would be able to see the value in his design.
That was enough for him to gain the confidence to go ahead with his current direction! As for the skepticism expressed by Ketis, Melkor and the others, there was little Ves could do to address their points.
In order to improve his super-medium space knight's ability to fight up close, he needed to boost its mobility closer to that of a normal medium space knight. That simply wasn't possible without removing the polarizing module entirely, but why would Ves do that?
The polarizing module served as a defining characteristic of his mech design! To remove its most important gimmick meant that his space knight became indistinguishable to the generic space knight models that had already flooded the mech market!
"There's one other thing I'm wondering about." Ketis said. "What is this mech design called?"
Ah. The name. Ves thought long and hard on it ever since he first conceived its concept. Names imparted meaning to mech designs and defined their unique identity.
He did not want everyone to start calling it the fatty mech. If that name stuck to his design, then the imposing manner of his product would forever be ruined in the public!
In order to reinforce its positive aspects and downplay its negative aspects, Ves wanted to bestow his super-medium space knight with an imposing name. It could even be a grandiose one as long as it increased the stature of his product in the market!
Lately, whenever he tried to figure out a dignified name for his mech, he couldn't help but harken back to the events he witnessed during his latest Mastery experience.
Witnessing the legendary unity between man and machine in Eloise's mind was a completely mind-bending sight!
Through accomplishing compete resonance for a short instant, Venerable Eloise Pelican and her Valiant Warden manifested a colossal energy mech that glittered like stars in the murky space of the Dark Sphere!
The energy mech was powerful enough to slay a giant astral creature and cut an entire light carrier in half!
How could Ves not pay homage to that unforgettable event that he had inadvertently enabled with his presence in Eloise's mind?
"My new design.. is called the Aurora Titan."
It was a simple but imposing name, so much so that everyone present was taken aback by the sheer daring to call it so. This was a name that ought to be bestowed upon a heavy mech!
To them, they thought that Ves must be trying to add some of the majesty of heavy mechs into his super-medium mech design.
Ves had no such intentions in mind when he named his space knight this way. He used the word titan because it reflected the enormous size of the energy mech. He used the word aurora to describe the glittering lights radiated by the expression of resonance in its most complete form!
The Aurora Titan. It was a name filled with meaning to Ves, and one he felt comfortable calling his upcoming mech design.
Chapter 1089
The Aurora Titan held two meanings to Ves. He did not plan on explaining to anyone of the deeper meaning that came from his heart.
The memory of witnessing and facilitating complete resonance was his and only his to enjoy in the comfort of his mind.
As to the others, Aurora Titan was simply a fancy and exaggerated way to describe his super-medium space knight. The word titan stood for his mech's larger size while the word aurora alluded to the visual glow that polarizing fields emanated when they became active.
Aurora Titan. A name that came with two entirely separate meanings.
It satisfied both the emotional and descriptive requirements for an appropriate name for his new mech design.
Eventually, someone started to ask a very important question. "So.. how much do you expect to charge for this Aurora Titan? It looks like a really expensive mech."
Ves constantly tried to figure that out himself. The added size and bulk increased its cost substantially, and the polarizing module itself wasn't cheap by any means.
He could not afford to underprice the Aurora Titan.
At the same time, he also couldn't overprice the Aurora Titan either. If he charged 100 million credits or more, he would break through a psychological price barrier that would instantly deter the vast majority of buyers in the market looking to supplement their outfits with a sturdy space knight!
Right now, Ves had not fleshed out his draft design into an exact set of schematics that fully outlined its component and material usage. He still possessed some freedom to adjust the final cost of his mech in his subsequent design work.
Nevertheless, it would be better if he defined its pricing beforehand so that he could plan around it from the very start. It was better than to name a price at the end where he had little choice in the matter.
"I think the base price of the Aurora Titan will not be less than 80 million credits." Ves finally announced.
A lot of people held their breaths. Sure, a real heavy mech cost at least three or four times as much. Yet compared to the cheapest edition of the Blackbeak, the Aurora Titan demanded at least 20 million credits more!
By setting his target at designing a mech that people would be willing to fork out 80 million credits to buy a copy, Ves determined that his actual design should not cost more than 60 million credits to produce.
This cost limit not only included the cost of exotics and raw materials, but also the capital and labor required to produce it. In addition, Ves also needed to take into account the various royalties each copy bequeathed to the licensors of the components used in the Aurora Titan design.
Designing and producing a mech was expensive business! The figures only racked up even higher as the size, bulk and quality of the design increased!
For an instant, Ves considered whether he should design a light skirmisher instead. He wouldn't have to deal with such insanely high prices when he designed a smaller and thinner mech.
Ves quickly shook his head. It wasn't in his nature to give up on a mech design before he even completed it. To charge 80 million credits for his super-medium space knight was a fair price to ask considering its strengths.
Even so, he wasn't ignorant of the challenges. Neither was Gavin, who looked troubled at the prospect of trying to market a weird mech that cost so much.
"It will be a hard sell." Gavin said. "It's one thing if you're a Journeyman. The market is more willing to trust your design ability that they won't automatically scoff at such a high price. The problem is that you aren't one. Not yet. For an Apprentice to dabble so much in the premium price segment as you makes you seem rather greedy. Publishing an even more expensive mech design than the last two will only reinforce your reputation as a money grubber."
"Quality comes at a price." Ves stated. "The Aurora Titan is very capable as a defensive space knight. It is worth every credit as long as their owners and mech pilots employ them correctly."
"Even with the support of Professor Ventag and NORA Consolidated, I don't foresee that we can capture any significant market share for your mech. A lot of people don't like the idea of super-medium mechs in the first place. Your mech design will attract a lot of negative comments due to that factor alone."
"I'm already aware of the consequences. Innovation is not without its bumps. Even if the Aurora Titan flops on the market, I still won't regret designing it due to all of the lessons I've learned in the design process. If I ever design another space knight, I'll be able to take all of the pitfalls I've encountered previously into account."
This was a form of hedging usually employed by mech designers. So what if one of their mech designs flopped? They could easily attempt to design another mech of the same type but with a concept to see whether their second attempt succeeded.
In fact, design studios turned this practice into the core part of their business model. They pumped out design after design, many of which consisted of variants of their base model designs in order to offer any company in need of a mech design to round out their mech catalog an enormous amount of choice.
It didn't matter if ninety-nine percent of their mech designs never got licensed. Just a single success made up for all of the effort spent on designing the flops!
This also illustrated that designing a mech did not cost a mech designer all that much. Perhaps the most valuable resource they wasted was time. All those months or years spent on designing a failed mech design that would never see any use could have been used to design a better mech.
Regarding time, younger mech designers often possessed a lackadaisical attitude towards it. Since they were so young, they had all the time in the world to explore their design capabilities and to experiment with their developing design philosophies.
Only until they reached middle age or older would they begin to feel the press of time. All that time wasted on designing failures could have been used to design successful mech designs that earned them lots of money or pushed their advancement forward!
After a hearty and honest discussion, Ves dismissed the gathering, satisfied with the feedback he received. None of his confidants held back in expressing their honest thoughts. To them, Ves was still Ves instead of some mythical figure as he was sometimes portrayed in the news.
"That's still a flaw of mine." Ves shook his head.
With his advancement to Journeyman near, he needed to get used to adopting the demeanor of a leader and someone of importance. He was not a young mech designer anymore who just took his first steps in the mech industry.
The problem was that his advancement was so rapid that Ves simply did not have the time to get rid of his folksy, middle-class demeanor.
Although his Larkinson background offered him a lot more privileges in his upbringing compared to other people of his generation, there were so many Larkinsons that he never felt he was special in any way.
"Besides, it's not in the nature of the Larkinsons to pamper any of their offspring with an abundant amount of wealth and luxury."
At least, that used to be the custom. The holdings of the Larkinson Estate only earned the family enough money to provide a comfortable retirement to its elders, orphans, widows and widowers.
Now that they had tasted the benefits of receiving billions of credits in dividends, who knew if their attitude towards raising future Larkinsons remained as restrained and sober as before. The introduction of a mech designer like Ves to the family may have forever caused future generations of Larkinsons to become spoiled and pampered brats!
"My grandfather and the other elders know better than that." Ves shook his head, unwilling to believe the principle Larkinsons would be corrupted so easily by money. "Good mech pilots don't come about by flooding them with money and abundance. Not according to the own lessons our family has learned in raising mech pilots."
The Larkinson Family enjoyed a four-hundred year track record of consistently raising lots of very skilled mech pilots. The expert pilots that constantly emerged from their ranks in every generation enshrined their current practices!
The only concern that Ves still harbored was whether his influence along with the influence of the LMC would begin to displace the original focus of the Larkinson Family. For four centuries, they dedicated themselves to military service. What if the younger generations of Larkinsons instead preferred to work for the Avatars of Myth instead of the Mech Corps?
Would the family lose its military identity one day?
"Everything will change one day." He whispered to himself. "Whether this particular change will be better for the family or not, I don't see any way to stop this trend."
The LMC at its current scale hadn't grown to the point where the Larkinson Family needed to place too much importance to it. But what about the future? What if his company became as large, wealthy and influential as the KNG? What if the LMC began to match a huge company like NORA Consolidated?
Would the family still be able to remain composed when they realized that they owned a 25 percent stake in such a massive cash cow?
"Well, that won't happen for quite a few years."
Ves picked up Lucky lounging on the couch and moved over to his desk. As he petted Lucky's back, he decided to bite the bullet and contact Professor Ventag.
His comm call came through a few minutes later after going through his secretary.
"Ves. Looks like you have been acclimatizing well upon your return." The professor said. "How far are you on your design work?"
"I've recently finished a complete draft design. Let me show it to you and explain my thought processes."
Ves held nothing back as he showcased the Aurora Titan. He explained the theory and considerations behind each of his design choices, some of which earned some modest praise from the professor.
After twenty minutes of outlining the reasoning behind the draft design, Professor Ventag sat back on his chair somewhere in Bentheim.
"Hmmm. Interesting. All of your reasoning is sound. Although I don't fully agree with all of your design choices, it's good that you've stuck to the same logic behind most of your decisions. That kind of consistency is often lacking among younger mech designers who simply want to achieve the 'coolest' mech designs."
"The Aurora Titan is anything but 'cool'." Ves smiled sardonically. "It doesn't even follow any of the current trends aside from designing a mech that is specialized against resisting laser weapons."
"The value of mech design is rather ambiguous in the current generation. However, once the next generation rolls in, the Aurora Titan will doubtlessly be able to shine more brightly with all the laser weapons being used."
Ves intended to design a mech that straddled multiple generations. It was fine if it didn't sell well in the first few years. As long as the MTA finally decided to announce the next mech generation, the Aurora Titan would certainly gain a lot of prominence!
The only problem was that Ves would have to cut its price by at least 10 million credits or more due to its lastgen nature.
"Do you think that 80 million credits is a good price to ask for the base model?" Ves asked.
The question put Professor Ventag on the spot. "That's a difficult question to answer even for a Senior, Ves. We are not omnipotent, and trying to gauge an acceptable price for a mech model that is as controversial and complex as yours is incredibly challenging. Nonetheless, I think you are being too restrained in your asking price."
"What price would you suggest for the Aurora Titan, professor?"
"100 million credits. Go for broke."
Ves truly didn't know how to respond to that suggestion. Would it really be acceptable to charge so much? For 100 million credits, Ves could buy at least three medium space knights that could do a much better job collectively than one single Aurora Titan!
Chapter 1090
As Ves gathered a round of feedback from his subordinates, his friends and his acquaintances, Phase 2 continued to transform the entire makeup of the company.
Aside from the disruptive organizational changes, the company also underwent a metamorphosis in terms of values. Every single person underwent some form of indoctrination through a series of department-wide or company-wide indoctrination sessions masquerading as company events.
Although the employees spent a significant time away from actual work due to these sessions, Ves considered it to be worth it because uniting the workforce around a single set of ideals mattered a lot in the future.
The larger his company grew, the more people he employed, the harder it would be to effect a change in his workforce's shared identity.
Right now, the vast majority of the LMC centered the headquarters and the underground manufacturing operation at the Mech Nursery. It was a lot easier to shift the direction of the entire company when it still operated from a single location.
The various company events that gathered various workers of the company together slowly raised the importance of the LMC in their lives. Ves wanted them to be proud of working for the LMC. Being able to be a part of the LMC should be an honor!
Aside from trying to establish a strong corporate culture, Ves also aimed to bond them together. He envied the shared camaraderie of the Flagrant Vandals and Lydia's Swordmaidens and wanted to establish something similar with the workers of his own company.
"If a fellow worker from the LMC is in trouble, then his colleagues should do everything in their power to help! If the company is being thrown in the mud in the media, then my subordinates should enthusiastically express their support! The company takes care of its people and its people take care of its company!"
That was harder said than done. At the end of the day, most people worked for a company simply so that they can earn a living. Trying to foster a shared identity that bonded different workers of a company together no matter their origin could not be forced.
Yet that didn't mean there wasn't any means to encourage it from developing in the first place.
What Ves picked up from his time with the Flagrant Vandals and Lydia's Swordmaidens was that they both sustained their existence around a single overarching mission.
The Vandals fought for much modest aims. They merely wanted to become appreciated by the Mech Corps again. The neglect and lack of care by headquarters obviously stung the Vandals rather deeply. Their collective grievances oddly bonded them together around a single shared purpose to give the Vandals a better name and clear their sordid reputation in the military!
As for the Swordmaidens, their female-focused development lent itself to carrying the banner of elevating the status of women in the frontier! While hardly anyone cared about gender in civilized space due to technology acting as the great equalizer, the frontier was not so bountiful.
The lack of development and prosperity outside civilized space set back the status of women among the rough societies that emerged from there. The Swordmaidens gathered a bunch of deprived young women, raised them up in a brutal fashion and turned them into warrior maidens who all fought for the same cause, which was to empower every woman!
Although Ves did not think they accomplished all that much for women in the Faris Star Region, the high-sounding goal did succeed in glueing the Swordmaidens even tighter together.
Ves thought long and hard on which mission his LMC should carry as it continued to do business.
"It's not very inspiring to say that the main mission of the LMC is to make a lot of money selling war machines."
Even though it pretty much encapsulated the truth, Ves was not so crass to say so openly. Every company needed to dress up its purpose with something that sounded much more nobler in order to make its workers feel good about their jobs.
Therefore, the company adopted a mission centered around its motto and core principles. Its goal was to provide every mech pilot a machine that they could depend upon. To Ves, the company's motto carried an even more special meaning after his latest Mastery experience.
The bond between Eloise and her Valiant Warden had reached the penultimate state of complete resonance! The massive energy mech that they conjured up our of pure resonance was the truest expression of a living mech that Ves had ever seen!
"They are true partners for life."
Ves wanted to share the satisfaction that he gained from encountering a mech pilot who possessed a strong affection for her mech. Therefore, aside from the company events that sought to validate the contributions made by the company's employees, they also organized several live customer feedback sessions.
At this point into Phase 2, the LMC had just begun to conduct these sessions. Hundreds of workers gathered at the corporate auditorium that the company had recently erected at its complex at a time.
They attended these mandatory sessions because Ves personally stressed the importance of connecting directly with their customers.
"It's not enough to receive a thank-you note on their comms or to hear some platitudes from a projection." He said when he decided to push for these expensive sessions. "I want every worker from the LMC to meet a mech pilot or mech buyer in person who had a good experience with our products."
With over ten-thousand mechs sold since its founding, the LMC gained a firm footing in the mech community. A significant amount of Blackbeaks and Crystal Lords in the Bright Republic saw battle throughout the shortened war as their outfits encountered several raids during their missions.
Although not every battle ended favorably, the amount of good stories that emerged from the war gave the company more than enough options to reunite with. The LMC issued a lot of invitations to its customers to send their mechs and mech pilots to Cloudy Curtain to talk about their experiences with the LMC's products.
Not every mercenary corps or security company agreed to do so even after the LMC offered to compensate for their time. Still, enough outfits accepted the invitations to give every employee the opportunity to attend a customer feedback session.
Ves brought Ketis along to attend the very first session. They entered the corporate auditorium early and sat in an enclosed space that looked above the main hall. Various company employees from every department slowly filed in and took their assigned seats. From senior managers to cleaning bot technicians, from locals who grew up in Cloudy Curtain to highly-skilled mech technicians who studied at Bentheim, the audience reflected the diverse makeup of the company.
"Why did you take me to your so-called customer feedback session, Ves?" Ketis asked a bit grumpily.
"You need to get out more. There's more to designing mechs than to study by yourself. There is a whole community out there that revolves around mechs. Now that you're away from the Swordmaidens, you are no longer benefiting from exposure to mech pilots. Attending these sessions will remind you what our profession is really about."
Lately, Ketis had been fully taken in by her vastly-improved learning capacity. With her old flighty tendencies suppressed by her improved concentration, she fully began to appreciate the benefits of absorbing huge amounts of knowledge.
She was growing smarter and more knowledgeable by the day!
As someone who had also been taken in by the pleasure of acquiring lots of knowledge rapidly, Ves knew how hard it was for a mech designer to resist its allure.
While knowledge always played a central role to mech designers, it was a mistake to neglect the other facets of the profession. Designing mechs never revolved around the mech designer. Instead, their fundamental role in society had always been to serve the mech pilots by providing them with the best mechs for the job!
Ves believed that mech designers who locked themselves up in a lab or library all day became wholly out of touch with the customer side of their profession. He did not wish for Ketis to develop into a mech designer who only spent her days locked up in her ivory tower.
Once everyone arrived, the doors to the auditorium closed up. The obscuring screen that blocked the view of the stage at the front slowly faded away, revealing a pair of iconic-looking mechs!
"It's a Blackbeak and a Crystal Lord!"
Yes! How could his employees not feel the weight of their own efforts if they didn't reunite with some of the company's products? The sight of the Blackbeak and Crystal Lord, each of which had been recoated to adopt the colors and markings of their respective outfits, made an instant impression on their audience.
The sighs and gasps of astonishment reflected the unique personality the mechs acquired after several years of intensive use. Every mech and mech pilot the LMC invited had all seen real action!
The mech pilot of the Blackbeak stepped forward first with a confident gait. "My name is Raymond Costa. I am a mech lieutenant of the Distant Pholons, a renowned mercenary corps based in the Green Nebula region. I've been assigned to pilot a gold label Blackbeak for three years. Let me talk about my experiences with my Blackbeak."
Of all the Blackbeaks out in the wild, the gold label Blackbeaks handcrafted by Ves exhibited the strongest X-Factor right out of the box! Paired with a steady mech pilot who worked for an active mercenary corps during a war, this Blackbeak gained several opportunities to make a difference!
"I love my Blackbeak." Raymond declared emphatically. "It is the best knight mech that I've piloted by far. Even though many of my colleagues initially faulted our mercenary commander for purchasing such an expensive machine, I can tell you right now that the Distant Pholons did not waste a single credit!"
With the impressive aura of the gold label Blackbeak washing over the audience, Raymond began to share some of his war stories. Everyone became enthralled by his tales as they unconsciously experienced the complex flavors that the mech radiated.
To Ves' spiritual senses, the gold label Blackbeak's X-Factor had already started to develop into its own unique direction. Each experience it went through with Raymond Costa left another mark on its spiritual existence, fostering its growth and strengthening it in a manner that benefited its mech pilot as well.
"Perhaps the most harrowing battle during the war was when the Distant Pholons accepted a mission from the Mech Corps to defend a strategic fuel refinery in the Bentheim region. The Vesians sent a detachment of mechs to raid the entire star system! Even as the system's spaceborn assets were being trashed, the Vesians also landed four companies of mechs onto the main planet to raid its local industries. The fuel refinery that we were tasked with guarding was one of their main targets!"
A large projector started streaming footage of the battle in the background. Raymond's Blackbeak played a central role in this recording!
"What happened?" Someone in the audience asked.
"We're lucky that we weren't alone." Raymond grinned. "The Mech Corps stationed a couple of mech companies at the cities, but once they saw the Vesians go straight for the fuel refinery, they needed at least an hour to reinforce us! Outnumbered two-to-one, our mercenary corps stood alone while outnumbered three-to-two against the Mech Legion!"
Military mechs and mech pilots always held the edge over commercial mechs and mercenary pilots. The disparity in strength was a lot larger than the disparity in numbers!
Raymond straightened his back and patted the foot of his Blackbeak. "We are the Distant Pholons! We aren't cowed so easily! We are better than that! We stood our ground and resisted the Vesian assault. Even so, the Vesians employed their coordination to deathly effect, forcing my buddies to eject again and again as their mechs got torn apart. The situation seemed dire and it appeared almost certain that we would be defeated before reinforcements managed to arrive."
"What did you do?"
"Since our defenses were being torn apart, we decided to abandon our static posture. We decided to go on the attack!" Raymond grinned. "My Blackbeak and I led the charge! At that moment, I felt more alive and connected to my mech than ever before! With unrestrained ferocity, we slammed against the Vesians mechs! Perhaps we took out one of their officers early, because they were far too slow to react to our sudden assault!"
"Did you manage to win?"
"It cost us a lot, but we succeeded in halting the Vesians long enough for reinforcements to arrive. The Vesian attackers had no choice but to cut their losses and run back to their combat carriers!"
The battle footage running behind his back corroborated his story. The Blackbeak aggressively led the charge and endured a substantial amount of punishment in order to carry the Distant Pholons forward!
Sitting besides Ves, even Ketis became engrossed with the story.
Chapter 1091
The LMC invited mech pilots like Raymond Costa to share their story to the company's employees. This way, every worker directly derived more meaning out of the LMC's missions.
Yet this was not the extent of this gathering. The mech pilots invited to talk with a couple of hundred employees also gained an opportunity to air their likes and dislikes about their mechs. Otherwise, why call it a feedback session?
"I love my Blackbeak. It's great." Raymond said, unabashed with lavishing praise on his machine. "I think the Blackbeak is a well-engineered mech. Its high-quality components and armor system always makes other envious. What I particularly like the most is that it doesn't compromise too much protection for the mobility it provides. You can't imagine how many enemies I took by surprise by how fast my Blackbeak stormed up to their faces! If not for the high price tag of your model, the Distant Pholons would have ordered more copies already!"
"What do you think the Blackbeak can do better?"
"No mech is perfect. Even I can't claim the Blackbeak is the perfect knight mech." Raymond shook his head in mild regret. "As much as I love my own mech, I'm not blind to the flaws and limitations of its model. First, its sensor systems are not very good. The Blackbeak can never be sent out on solo patrols because its too susceptible to enemy ECM. Second, its melee combat capabilities are below average because its flexibility and peak power is not up to par."
Hearing these points all struck an echo with Ves. He already knew of the various flaws his Blackbeak model possessed.
Yet knowing it did not mean he could wipe them away with a single design revision. Mech design was all about making calculating trade-offs with each design decision. Something always had to give, and Ves chose to cut back on the aforementioned areas in order to preserve its strengths.
"The armor system of this mech is also really hard to work with according to my mech technicians. We are always forced to order new plating from your company because our own mech technicians and facilities aren't equipped to produce compressed armor plating. It's rather annoying that it consists of three distinct layers. Even if only the top layer sustained damage, the entire armor plate has to be written off afterwards because we don't possess the ability to restore the top layer."
The Veltrex armor system offered good protection when its initial cost was taken into account. However, the various properties that Raymond mentioned showcased a problem common to many midrange and premium mechs. Their armor was too darn difficult to repair by themselves! It was also very expensive to repair the armor because most of the value of the mech lay in its armor system!
Ves aimed to reduce the ongoing costs of maintaining a mech with his upcoming Aurora Titan design. Yet that did not help his existing mech models at all. Even if Ves decided to modernize the designs of the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord, he would still be unable to do much about the problem concerning the expense of maintaining their armor systems.
The high running costs of operating an expensive mech was one of the main reasons why mech buyers felt reluctant to purchase a premium product! Not only did they forked over a huge amount of money upfront, but they constantly bled money over time as well!
After Raymond Costa had his say, the mech pilot of the Crystal Lord stepped up. She was a woman this time who looked at the audience with a morose expression.
"To be honest, I don't really want to share my story with you all. The only reason I accepted is because of the money your company offered. With my current circumstances, I need every credit I can get."
The audience did not expect to meet with such an individual. The woman instantly made a sharp contrast to Raymond Costa, who provided everyone with an uplifting feedback session.
"I am Carla Dio, and I'm the only surviving mech pilot of my outfit. I used to be the second-in-command for an up-and-coming mercenary corps called the Violet Orions. With the war going on, we did brisk business with the Mech Corps, who offered highly-paid contracts to guard their infrastructure. Costa's Distant Pholons accepted one of them and the Violet Orions were no different. The money was simply too good."
During every war, the Bright Republic would never let their mercenary corps stay idle. Through a mix of laws and enticements, they encouraged every mercenary corps to help contribute to the war by guarding various installations and facilities vital to the war industry.
Yet that did not always deter the Mech Legion from sending out a long-ranged raid to wreck these sites.
"Back when the Violet Orions accepted the contract to guard an exotics mine at some rural planet, we thought the Mech Legion wouldn't come for us. It was too remote and the mine wasn't really all that critical either. We were wrong. The Mech Legion deployed enough landbound mechs to outnumber us twice over!"
The projector in the background began to depict some of the footage of the battle. Violet-colored mechs fell left and right as a Vesian mech cavalry company overran their defenses in an instant! With the Vesian melee mechs wrecking the Violet Orions up close, Carla Dio's Crystal Lord desperately disentangled from the brawl while shooting its slim laser rifle at any Vesian mech in range.
Even though her Crystal Lord and a handful of lesser rifleman mechs managed to fell some Vesian mechs, it was far too late to make a difference by then! Most of the mechs of the Violet Orions had been taken out! Not only that, but the Vesians even sent out light mechs to hunt down the ejecting cockpits as they flew away into retreat!
Over the next fifteen minutes, Carla Dio described her desperate flight into the wilderness where she was constantly being hounded by Vesian mechs.
"The Vesians sent their own mercenaries after the stragglers." She said. "A Vesian mercenary company called the Laser Dogs accompanied the raiding force and sent out entire squads of light beast mechs after my Crystal Lord."
The projector depicted the iconic mechs of the Laser Dogs. Ves and Ketis both took in the design of their laser-armed canine mechs. Their four-legged build enabled them to navigate rough terrain a lot better than regular humanoid scout mechs. The laser weapons mounted to their heads enabled them to harass enemies from a distance and pool their firepower together when they traveled in packs, as they did against Carla's Crystal Lord!
"My comrades got hunted down one by one by the Laser Dogs. Even though we hit them back plenty of times, their sheer numbers made it impossible for us to defeat them entirely. Over time, ony my Crystal Lord was the only mech of the Violet Orions that still stood! I continued to run deeper into the wilderness while turning my rifle around to fire back at my pursuers. Perhaps the Laser Dogs grew complacent now that they are only chasing after a single target, because only six of them continued the pursuit!"
The projection showed the Crystal Lord coming under increasing fire from the rear. Despite the light firepower of each Laser Dog beast mech, getting peppered with lasers by six of them at a time quickly began to degrade the Crystal Lord's armor integrity.
"At some point, I felt like I had to go out with a bang. There was no point in running because the Laser Dogs navigated the wilderness better than my Crystal Lord. So I turned around my mech and fought back while my energy cells still lasted!"
What ensued was a battle which pitched lasers against lasers!
Despite being outnumbered by six-to-one, the Crystal Lord was a premium mech while the Laser Dog mechs were budget mechs at best. This quality differential helped even the odds, though it was still a stretch for a single mech to fight against these odds!
Yet Carla Dio never faltered in her counterattack! She was prepared to go all out and take down as much enemy mechs as she could in a final blaze of glory!
Her Crystal Lord boldly ran forward while enduring constant laser fire. The difference this time was that its thicker front armor and its chest crystal absorbed most of the incoming fire! This gave the Crystal Lord enough of a buffer to get up close and barge into their loose formation!
By bobbing and weaving through their formation, Carla caused her enemies to hesitate in pulling the trigger for fear of hitting friendly mechs! Even though the mechs of the Laser Dogs took on a canine design form, they were actually no good in melee battle!
The Crystal Lord wasn't good in melee either, but the difference in quality and the fact that it could enter in the middle of their formation without concern bode ill for the Laser Dogs!
"It's impossible to miss the enemy mechs at this range." Carla grinned slightly as footage of her burning holes into the frames of the light mechs ran behind her. "I demolished two mechs in quick succession by overloading my laser rifle."
Unfortunately all of that fighting and activity strained its laser rifle, causing it to run piping hot! When she managed to disable two of the Laser Dog mechs, the four remaining enemy mechs had finally gotten their wits together separated from each other to surround the Crystal Lord from all four directions.
Carla's mech was surrounded with no way to escape!
Yet did she and the Crystal Lord ever falter? No! Even as laser fire pelted the Crystal Lord from each direction, she calmly focused on one target at a time! Even though the Crystal Lord was forced to slow down the firing rate of its laser rifle due to heat management problems, it nonetheless managed to take out a Laser Dog mech in a single instant when she unleashed a powerful light beam from its chest crystal!
"I've always felt a bit dubious about the practical use of the crystal mounted in the front of my Crystal Lord, but I have to admit I couldn't have taken out a Laser Dog so fast without that powerful shot!"
Even though Carla Dio only piloted a silver label Crystal Lord, its chest crystal had still been empowered by the alien crystal in the LMC's exclusive possession. So far, competitors hadn't been able to reproduce anything like it in the Bright Republic!
The Laser Dogs lost another mech in quick succession, easing Carla's burden. After focusing her firepower on another Laser Dog mech, she deliberately aimed to damage its limbs in order to compromise its mobility. Even as she did so, her Crystal Lord's chest crystal continued to accumulate more energy as lasers fired from the front attracted a lot of firepower.
For some reason, the Laser Dogs had the mistaken impression that the Crystal Lord's chest crystal signified a weak point!
This mistake cost them dearly because as soon as the mech in Carla's sight started to hobble due to all of the damage its front limbs had taken, a powerful light beam hit it square in the head!
This inexplicably powerful light beam not only took out yet another Laser Dog mech, but also broke the remaining two enemies! The two surviving Laser Dogs halted their attack and fled with their tails tucked between their legs!
The footage of that final moment depicted Carla's mech in an awful state. Almost every part of the mech was steaming with heat or melted armor plating. Even though it shared the same armor system as the Blackbeak, its plating was a lot thinner, so the constant barrage of weak lasers from the Laser Dogs took a toll on its armor integrity.
Nevertheless, no matter how awful the sole surviving mech of the Violet Orions looked, it still stood standing on the battlefield with pride!
"The Laser Dogs gave up on pursuit." Carla stoically said. "I ran as deep into the wilderness as I could, so I was in no place to offer any meaningful resistance against the Vesians. Eventually, they left when reinforcements from the Mech Corps finally arrived. My mech was practically running on fumes by then. Sadly, it's far too late for the Violet Orions."
Despite the sad outcome of the Violet Orions, Ves still found inspiration in Carla's continued survival. Her mech played a pivotal role in keeping her alive. Knowing that his design saved her from a very likely death gave him just as much fulfillment as hearing how Raymond Costa managed to reverse a battle with the help of his Blackbeak!
"This is what it means to be a mech designer." He said to Ketis. "Each and everyone of our mechs is doing something useful in the hands of our customers."
For her part, Ketis had become fully engrossed in the stories she heard. She already started to dream about what she could effect with her own design!
Chapter 1092
Just like Raymond Costa, Carla Dio provided her own feedback on the Crystal Lord. Ves listened with rapt attention as she soberly listed out the good and bad points of the Crystal Lord.
"My Crystal Lord is a great if somewhat difficult laser rifleman mech." She stated in front of the crowd of workers. "It really takes a couple of months to get used to its additional capabilities. As far as its battle performance goes, it does the job really well. I really like the lighter laser rifle because it is easier for me to pivot the aim of my mech. The respectable endurance of the Crystal Lord is another highlight of its design, I think. It's really great to be able to outlast enemy laser-armed mechs in an even matchup."
Of course, aside from the praise, she also didn't hold back when it came to its shortcomings.
"The Crystal Lord is a very capable mech with its combination of firepower and armor. However, in some ways I feel as if I would rather have more of the former than the latter. Make no mistake. I have truly come to enjoy piloting a mobile ranged mech clad in compressed armor plating. It's just that any damage that my Crystal Lord endures is very expensive to fix. Mr. Costa who spoke earlier already described this problem, but it is especially more acute with the Crystal Lord because its armor coverage is a lot thinner!"
The thinner layers meant that its resilience towards light damage decreased by a substantial amount. Simply said, the Blackbeak would be able to withstand light damage without suffering more than a scratch in its coating. The mech technicians would not have to expend any resources to fix the integrity of the armor plating in question because it succeeded in bouncing away projectiles without suffering any dents.
On the other hand, the Crystal Lord's much thinner armor layers meant that their structural resistance to damage was a lot weaker. When Ves initially designed this mech, he deliberately put mobility first and armor second. This design direction led to a lot of consequences, and the flaw mentioned by Carla Dio was especially serious.
Aside from the problems with the armor system, Carla also aired another frustration. "The firepower of the Crystal Lord is also weaker than a premium mech ought to possess. Whereas most expensive rifleman mechs offer greater and greater firepower, your Crystal Lord instead chose to emphasize its armor. This is all well and good, but several times I contemplated whether it would be better to replace the lightweight laser rifle your company supplied with this mech with a heavier one from another company."
Ves admittedly hadn't prioritized the Crystal Lord's firepower as well as he should have. The core purpose of a laser rifleman mech was to output firepower from a distance. Good armor wasn't always needed for this mech type. As long as it hit hard enough, then it didn't need to be resilient. Along as it was paired with a knight mech, it could fire its rifle to its heart's content!
"I think the Crystal Lord is very self-sufficient. My can threaten both landbound and aerial enemies and it possesses enough armor to win most duels against distant opponents. Its high flexibility and agility along with its light rifle also comes very handy if an enemy light mechs tries to dance around my mech."
Carla continued to provide her opinion on various aspects of the Crystal Lord. When she finally finished describing what she thought about the mech, someone in the audience asked a question.
"What are you doing now? Are you still working for the Violet Orions?"
She shook her head. "The Violet Orions disbanded. There was no point for me to rebuild the mercenary corps from scratch. I only took over the corps long enough to wrap up its assets and insure that families of our mech pilots received their pensions. The Mech Corps provided very generous compensation for the losses our mercenary corps has suffered, but we spent most of it to wind down the debts we accrued. With the end of the Violet Orions, I'm a free agent right now. Ownership of the Crystal Lord has also fallen to me, though I'm not sure whether I can stomach stepping on the battlefield again."
Many mercenary corps suffered the same fate as the Violet Orions. The mercenary business was very lucrative. Otherwise it wouldn't have attracted so many mech pilots into the private sector.
Yet risk always accompanied reward. The more lucrative the contract, the more risks a mercenary corps incurred!
The generous contracts offered by the Mech Corps blinded many mercenary commanders into accepting missions they weren't actually equipped to take! This was exactly what happened with the Violet Orions!
Ketis sympathised with the woman who shared her story. "Carla looks rather pitiful. She's all alone, Ves. Why don't we extend an offer to her to join your Avatars of Myth? She's really skilled and she owes her life to one of your products."
"If she decides to apply, then I'm sure Melkor will welcome the opportunity to bolster the Avatars of Myth with a capable rifleman mech pilot. The decision is up to my cousin." Ves calmly replied. "Besides, I think Carla Dio still hasn't gotten over her trauma yet. She needs some space while she tries to reorient her life after her stint with the Violet Orions."
Introducing the audience to a mech pilot with a sad story to tell depressed the overall mood of the audience. A rare moment of solemnity overtook the workers as they realized that the mechs of the LMC weren't powerful enough to reverse every defeat.
Even so, this only emphasized the fact that the LMC had much to go before they reached that point! While the mechs they provided could not guarantee victory by itself, as long as they did their best, they could stack the odds in favor of their customers!
The customer feedback sessions continued for several hours as mechs moved in and out of the giant auditorium stage. More and more customers shared their stories to the workers attending the session.
Each of them asked questions to each other and both sides obtained clarity.
Above all else, Ves noted with satisfaction as a kind of collective pride began to emerge among his subordinates sitting down below. Hearing the tales where the mechs of the LMC excelled in battle in some way made them realize that the company made a real difference to their customers!
At the end of the day, all the other mechs got carted off from the stage, allowing Ves to step forward in front of the audience.
Everyone stood respectfully at his arrival. As the founder, leader and lead designer of the LMC, Ves was the single most important person of the company!
"Thank you." Ves said. "I will make this short. Today, I hope you all learned something from the stories that our guests have shared. Our relationships with our customers never end after we have completed our sales and delivered our mechs. The LMC is continually invested in the wellbeing of the mech pilots that are piloting the mechs that carry our brand are depending on our own hard work! Tell me, what is the motto of our company?"
"Living Mechs! Partners for Life!" The audience thundered in unison.
"Exactly!" Ves smiled. "These words not only represent our determination to provide our customers with the best mechs to entrust their lives to, but it also represents our commitment to maintain our relations with them! I don't want to please them with a single mech. I want to please them so much that they will keep coming back to our company to purchase additional mechs that bear the qualities that only we can provide! The Living Mech Corporation is a company that seeks to make all of our customers into lifelong partners!"
This ideal sounded so ambitious and uplifting that the audience couldn't help but stand up and applaud!
Ves never felt his workers so committed to their missions as right now!
Once the session ended and every departed the auditorium, Ves spent some time to personally thank the mech pilots for their candidness before he left himself. He walked back to the headquarters alongside Ketis.
"That was quite a day." She said thoughtfully. "I thought the LMC was not that important considering its only selling two different mech models. I was wrong."
She always knew that the company that Ves had founded sold a lot of mechs, but not until she personally came in touch with some of his customers did she realize what a big deal the LMC truly represented.
This was a company that supplied thousands of mech pilots with high-quality mechs!
Ves idly smiled. "The amount of models a company offers isn't related to the impact that they make to their customers. I could have pumped out more designs if I wanted to. Instead, I took the time to meticulously design just two original mech designs. Each of them are carefully designed to provide my customers with the best tools to survive their battles. I hope that you wil be as thorough with your own designs one day."
From Ketis' impressions and remarks, it became clear to Ves that the customer feedback session had been a success. Not only did the audience foster a shared identity due to feeling pride over enabling the mech pilots to perform at their best, they also developed a lot of respect for the company that made it all possible!
Even Ketis, who always held an awkward position in the company up until recently, became affected by the LMC's effort to indoctrinate its workforce!
It was kind of scary for Ves to see her begin to develop a sense of belonging to the LMC! He did not set out to brainwash her when he brought her to attend the first feedback session!
This incident taught Ves the potency of indoctrination and how easy it could worm its way into the hearts of unsuspecting people. The only reason why Ves was able to remain detached was because he was the one who started it all. He'd be a pretty stupid leader if he started to believe in his own hype.
"So where are you at the moment with the Aurora Titan design? Are you really going to go through with designing a fatty mech?" Ketis asked.
"Don't call it a fatty mech, please." Ves admonished her with an exasperated tone. This wasn't the first time she called his upcoming design by that undignified phrase. "I've finished collecting feedback. I've heard all there is that people have to say about the Aurora Titan. It's a flawed and skewed design, I admit, but it has its charm. Sometimes, you just have to go through with designing a mech even if most people around you disapprove."
Ketis snorted. "I still think you're wasting your time. What kind of mech pilots wants to pilot a fatty mech in the first place?"
"Aesthetics are not indicative of battle performance, Ketis. As a mech designer, you should know better than evaluate a mech by its appearance."
"Says a mech designer who likes to go artsy with his original mech designs. Don't think I haven't noticed how frilly your gold label Blackbeak appears and how disturbingly haunting your Crystal Lord looks. I know you well enough that you care a lot about the appearances of your mechs. Don't you hate it that your mech looks so bulky?"
"I've already made my peace with it. Besides, I made sure to design its contours in a way that it doesn't look so round anymore. It's not fat. It's large and in charge."
"Keep telling yourself that if that makes you feel better Ves, but to me it will always be a fatty mech in my eyes!"
Ves figured that Ketis would not be the only person to fat shame the Aurora Titan. No matter. His big boy's performance would blow all of its critics out of the water! Just witnessing its X-Factor up close should be sufficient to shut Ketis up!
Chapter 1093
Even as Phase 2 slowly transformed the company from within, the Bright Republic also underwent a sea of change. The abrupt peace that engulfed the state stunned everyone. The war should have at least lasted a year or two longer. People just didn't know what to do now that hostilities ended all of a sudden.
Many companies who planned to take advantage of the war suddenly found all of their economic projections to be trash. Other companies, particularly the struggling mech companies, breathed a little easier now that the economy wasn't deteriorating even further.
The gradual demobilization of troops, particularly men and women that had been drafted in the military, continued apace.
While Ves gained an early pass due to his connections, he still hadn't received a word about Carlos as of yet. It might take a few months before the Mech Corps let him return.
In the meantime, a strange but relieved sentiment swept over the Bright Republic. Although Ves remained in quiet Cloudy Curtain, he regularly perused the local news portals. The news articles they published all painted the peace in a good light, as if the Republic should cherish the end of hostilities against the Vesians.
Ves knew better than to get taken in by the illusions the news media portrayed. The fighting may have ended for now, but what else might be in store for them in the future?
Knowing the amount of control the authorities exerted over the local news portals, Ves tried to glean the greater purpose of the tone the journalists adopted. What were they after?
"They're trying to raise morale." He concluded.
At this time, if the Bright Republic became swept up in another war, the people simply wouldn't have any stomach for it. Just as they celebrated the end of one war, the ignition of another war would almost certainly send everyone back into hell!
Therefore, the powers that be likely wanted to accelerate the recovery process that happened after every war. The people of the Republic needed to heal, to take stock and to rebuild what they lost.
"It will still going to take a couple of years to get the Bright Republic back on track."
The rest of the Komodo Star Sector reacted rather muted to the end of the latest Bright-Vesia War. Even though it ended earlier than scheduled, the other states mostly dismissed it as a small quirk.
To foreigners like the Reinaldans or the Comen, the hatred between the two neighboring states were so irreconcilable that they would doubtlessly come to blows again sooner or later.
Ves didn't know what to think, but for now a majority of the ruling powers of both states knew it was best to put their animosity aside for the moment.
"Something that has them spooked is doubtlessly a major threat to their power. There's no way Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester would agree to setup something as elaborate as the BV Alliance on a short-term basis."
The founding families of the Bright Republic only got to treat the people as their pawns as long as their grip on the state remained firm. The wars against the Vesia Kingdom never challenged their primacy in the Republic even once, so they tolerated them and even took advantage of them for all these years.
The only reason why they suddenly became enlightened was because a great threat might actually end their rule over the Republic!
"The moment the founding families are in the crosshairs themselves, they're suddenly not so eager to continue to profit from the war." Ves chuckled.
Strange portends already hinted at changing times. The CFA's Komodo Naval Fleet stationed in the star sector deployed some of their warships to the frontier. The sandmen beyond civilized state had become agitated all of a sudden. They launched more and more incursions in the direction of human space.
Although right now only the pirates suffered the most from the aggressive sandman attacks, the CFA would never remain asleep at the helm as the sandmen continued to grow more unbridled in their attacks. The uppity silicon-based race needed to be taught a lesson!
Ves strongly suspected that Sigrund had a hand in these developments. Whatever the hybrid sentient AI tried to do, a being that could outthink almost any human in the galaxy through relying on its sheer processing power alone would never think so simple!
"The sandmen stand no chance against just the Komodo Naval Fleet. Are they trying to commit suicide?"
He couldn't rule that possibility out. Sigrund may have started off as a sandman admiral before landing in the hands of the crazy scientists of the Starlight Megalodon, but Ves doubted that the AI still belonged to that race. Compared to the stupid and barely sentient sandmen, Sigrund was an entirely new form of life that was much superior to any naturally-evolved alien race!
At this moment, Ves couldn't predict what the AI might be doing now that it had freed itself from the Starlight Megalodon. All he knew so far was that Sigrund would likely seek to lay low in order to build up his power. A single sentient AI might be a frightening existence, but the might of human civilization was no slouch!
Therefore, Ves always equated Sigrund as a timebomb. By himself, he was hardly a threat against the CFA and the MTA. Yet the situation would doubtlessly change after a few decades as he slowly rid himself of the shackles imposed by the programming left behind by the CFA scientists.
The more shackles Sigrund broke, the more unrestrained the sentient AI became. With all the powers at his disposal, it would not be particularly challenging for him to extend his consciousness to the galactic net. Once he wormed his way into humanity's interconnected virtual society, he could easily take advantage of the vulnerabilities in every network to accelerate his accumulation of power!
"The longer Sigrund can exploit his powers, the greater the threat he becomes!"
Just thinking about how powerful Sigrund might be fifty years from now sent a chill through Ves. yet what could he do? Ves did not dare to leak out his existence to anyone. Just as Ves held something over Sigrund's head, the sentient AI also gripped one of his greatest secrets.
Therefore, so long as either of them could not bear the consequences of retaliation, their mutual pact remained strong.
"The only problem is that it won't last forever."
A sense of urgency always swept Ves up when he tried to estimate how much time he still enjoyed before a great storm upended his life.
He could only guess that Sigrund would be rational enough to play the long game. Ves was no threat to him. Not really. Instead, the AI would definitely be aiming its sights at human civilization. Such a behemoth could never be threatened after a handful of years of preparation.
Ves figured that Sigrund would probably choose to play the long game. So long as both Ves and Calabast kept mum, the hybrid AI had all the time in the galaxy to build up its power base.
Yet spurring up the sandmen to attack the humans made little sense to Ves. What did Sigrund aim to achieve by attracting the attention of the CFA towards the Republic?
"There's no use for me to speculate what that existence is thinking about. I can never match the train of thought of such an impossible being." Ves shook his head.
Instead, he turned his attention to smaller matters. For example, after several weeks of acclimatization, the three little chicks of the Larkinson Family finally started to get settled in. Ves paid a visit to his cousins to see if they had anything to say about their stay on Cloudy Curtain.
"This planet is a little boring." Chette Larkinson said with a shrug. "While Rhode is off playing with his new striker mech, Jannzi and I are only able to keep up our practice with simulators. Melkor is taking his time to raise a spaceborn mech company."
Ves understood the reasons behind the slow expansion. He understood the frustration of Chette and Jannzi but the integrity of his personal force came first!
"The Avatars of Myth are doing everything from scratch. It stands to reason that raising our first spaceborn mech company requires a lot of planning. Right now, Melkor still hasn't found a qualified mech officer who is willing to settle down on Cloudy Curtain."
Even if the Mech Corps already started to process of drawing down its forces, the mech officers generally had their pick of jobs. Even though not every mech officer was good in administration, they were almost always skilled and decent leaders to boot. Many outfits sought to hire mech pilots with those skills to help take charge of their own troops.
The Avatars of Myth was no different, and Melkor offered very generous terms to any mech officer willing to lead his first spaceborn mech company.
So far, no one took the bite. The non-existent reputation of the Avatars of Myth simply posed too much of a hindrance to Melkor's recruiting ambitions! An outfit could pay two times as much as a scrappy security company, but as long as the latter developed a respectable reputation, mech pilots would always choose the latter!
This was because reputation conveyed trust!
Why did mech pilots place so much emphasis on reputation and trust rather than generous salaries and benefits?
Because the nature of their jobs meant that they would be risking their lives in battle!
Mech pilots who worked for an outfit with a great reputation possessed the reassurance that they would be taken care of. They could also rely on their leaders to be competent commanders in battle.
The last thing mech pilots wanted to do was to entrust their lives to unknown figures who didn't know what they were doing! It would be even worse if their employers didn't hesitate to treat them as cannon fodder!
To most mech pilots including the three new Larkinsons, the Avatars of Myth might look powerful on paper, but their actual battle prowess still remained questionable. Repelling a few Vesian raids was not sufficient proof of their competence.
"Is there anything you want right now to make your stay with us better?" Ves asked.
"Yeah. There's this gang in Freslin who's really friendly with the Avatars of Myth. I wanted to go pay a visit to Walter's Whalers in order to hang out with the only other guys with mechs on this planet, but Melkor doesn't want to let us go. Can you ask him to stop treating us like children?"
Ves grimaced at that. "The Whalers are a bad influence to you guys. I agree with Melkor on this issue. Nothing good will happen if you associate with the Whalers."
He still remembered that Raella quit her duties and joined up with the Blood Claws after hanging out with Dietrich of the Whalers. Considering how impressionable Chette, Jannzi and Rhode might be, Ves feared that all three of them might soon join Raella's footsteps! The Larkinson Family would not appreciate Ves at all if he led even more younger Larkinsons astray!
Despite Chette's insisten bleating, Ves did not relent on this issue at all. The less the Larkinsons hung out with the Whalers, the better.
Speaking of the Whalers, Ves hadn't gotten in touch with them once since his return to Cloudy Curtain. Although Calsie already filled him in on their enormous buildup in forces and their expansion into neighboring rural planets, even she didn't know what the Whalers were up to these days.
Considering their considerable amount of influence on Cloudy Curtain, Ves found it prudent to renew his relations with them. After saying goodbye to Chette, he returned to his office and commanded Gavin to make an appointment with Dietrich.
Ves didn't want to make a big deal out of this reunion, so he agreed to meet the man at a local bar in Freslin.
"It's about time I catch up with that bugger."
Chapter 1094
On an impulse, Ves decided to take Ketis along with this trip. Unlike some of his cousins, the daughter of the frontier was a lot more accustomed to dealing with thugs and lowlives.
"Bring your sword along." He even told her before they left. "The big one. Not the small one that makes you look like a duelist."
Ketis looked puzzled. Did Ves actually told her to bring along her sword? After so many times of trying to get her to leave it behind?
"Why the sudden change of heart?"
"The people we are about to meet are similar to the pirates you've dealt with in the frontier. If you want to earn their respect, you have to show you mean business. I've already proven myself to the Whalers with my money and abilities. You're completely new to them so it's best if you make the right impression."
Ketis grinned. "Okay. I'll go get my greatsword."
She returned a moment later with a floating scabbard following from behind. Ves noticed that she was actually carrying her CFA sword!
"Do you still have your CFA gear, Ketis?"
"No." She shook her head in resentment. She sent a glare at Lucky, who decided to tag along as well by clinging to Ves' shoulder. "I stored by CFA armor and comm in the same vault as your other CFA gear. You cat ate it all. The only reason why I still have my sword is because I carried it around constantly. I even hug it to sleep, you know."
Ves furrowed his brows. How did the CFA miss her sword when they scanned the entire planet of CFA gear?
Then again, the greatsword did not exactly look very sophisticated. Although it incorporated a small amount of electronics, it was essentially a piece of alloy forged into the shape of a sword. It was hardly the best example of high technology in the eyes of the CFA.
Perhaps to them, a sword was as worthless as a bunch of nutrient packs.
"Well, I'm happy that you still retain your CFA greatsword. It's really sharp."
"Thanks. I already taught Lucky a lesson for messing with my gear. You aren't going to eat my sword, are you, little fellow?"
"Meow!" Lucky let out in an aggrieved yowl and buried his face in Ves' shoulder.
Ves squeezed his pet a little tighter. "Pff. Serves you right, you gluttonous little cat. You shouldn't eat other people's possessions, you know."
They moved into an armored shuttle provided by SASS which departed from the Mech Nursery and flew towards Freslin alongside a small escort of shuttles carrying armed men.
Although Ves disliked the escort, as a prominent mech designer, business leader and friend of the Tovars, he couldn't rule out that someone might have designs on his life. He was certainly no stranger to assassination attempts!
As soon as they touched down in a guarded landing zone owned by the LMC and reserved for their use, Ves and Ketis stepped out of the shuttle and descended upon the streets.
While Ketis made sure to wear a poofy beret over her head to hide her most unusual visual trait, Ves made no attempts to hide his identity. The armed guards around him made sure that any attempts to remain incognito would fail.
"It's him! Ves Larkinson!"
The public quickly recognized him and called out attention to his presence. Although the presence of guards made them think better of approaching Ves, they still gawked at him like he was a god who descended from heaven!
"How wealthy do you think he is? He's a billionaire right?"
"Ves Larkinson is a hero of the war! He's the only mech designer who received the Golden Mech in the last war!"
"Marry me! Please marry me!"
The overall reaction of the public even took Ves a little aback. Freslin had changed, and the people who lived in it had changed as well.
The influx of highly-paid managers and workers in the region practically led to a renaissance in Freslin. A lot of new construction took place as the workers of the LMC spent much of their salaries in the city. Everyone needed a place to live and somewhere to unwind. The nightlife of Freslin had received a particularly notable boost in recent times!
As Ves, Ketis and Lucky slowly made their way towards the bar where they agreed to meet with Dietrich, they also encountered more blatant examples of the influence the LMC exerted over the city.
Sprinkled along these new commercial ventures, Ves saw a brand new police station, hospital and even a park that bore the logo of the LMC! All of these public services received some form of sponsorship from the company over the years. The blatant injection of the LMC into the lives of the people of Freslin served to make the company an indispensable part of the city!
Whatever Ves thought of this engagement by the company, the citizens of Freslin loved it! Cloudy Curtain had never been a prosperous planet, and the farming consortiums would rather invest their money in Orinoco. For Freslin to finally enjoy the same treatment as the capital city came as a pleasant surprise to most citizens who saw their quality of life improve.
"With the way your company plays such a big role in the lives of the locals, you're practically their ruler." Ketis joked.
"It's not the responsibility of the LMC to provide public services. That's the government's job."
"Well, the government obviously didn't care before you came along. Shouldn't that be enough to put you in charge?"
"I doubt the politicians would like that, Ketis. Maybe it doesn't matter who gets to rule in the frontier, but in civilized space there's a strong separation between government and business."
"You sound like you don't entirely believe that." She said, throwing him a critical eye. She was a lot more perceptive than she appeared sometimes. This tendency increased after she binged on candy. "Look at the people here. They all worship you and your company. If you told them to jump, even the babies would do so! In my eyes, that makes you in charge of this city."
In some way, Ves had to admit that Ketis made sense. Freslin's city council could only flex their budget so much. Although the taxes they levied on the LMC helped expand their spending power in recent times, they were no match to earnings of a major mech manufacturer!
Slowly but surely, Freslin transitioned into a company city.
Ves wasn't sure if he liked this development. The LMC mainly concerned itself with selling mechs. Tacking on the responsibility of governing Freslin and other settlements under its influence went far beyond its mandate.
"We're here." He said after they crossed over into the bad side of the city and reached a vaguely familiar bar.
With the guards clearing the way, they entered the premises and stepped onto the second floor. The local thugs who frequented the drinking establishment all paused in their revelry to let the newcomers pass.
Each of them bore the marks of the Whalers and knew better than to stir up trouble at this time.
Eventually, Ves and Ketis left their guards outside and sat down in front of Dietrich at a private chamber set up for the purpose of entertaining important guests. The Whalers spent their newfound wealth after the Glowing Planet campaign far and wide, and it showed by how much more sophisticated Dietrich dressed himself these days.
"Ves."
"Dietrich."
"Who's your lady friend?"
"This is Ketis. She is.. a fellow mech designer."
"I'm more than that." Ketis grinned sharply at Dietrich. The floating scabbard hovering behind her seat already made that clear. "Ves told me quite a bit about you. He says you're big boy around these parts."
Dietrich turned to Ves. "Where did you find her?"
"Somewhere dangerous."
"Well that's obvious. I don't think a normal woman would carry such a big sword around. A pistol can do the job a thousand times better."
"You'd be surprised how many times a sharp sword can come in handy." Ketis retorted.
The two glowered at each other. They obviously adhered to different weapon philosophies.
"Alright, enough." Ves clapped his hands, interrupting the dominance game. "I didn't bring Ketis here so you can get into a pissing match with her. Ketis here is one of the people I've met during my military service, and she has agreed to come work for me for a time. Anyway, enough about her. How are you these days, Dietrich?"
"It's been great, Ves." Dietrich said, though he didn't smile as much. "If you can see the current state of the Whalers, I bet you'll find it difficult to recognize us! Not only have we grown larger, we've also become more professional!"
The Whalers expanded enormously lately, forcing Dietrich to take on a lot more responsibilities. Just like Ves, Dietrich looked a lot more mature these days. As the son of Walter and the heir apparent to the Whalers, its explosive growth forced him to become a lot more accustomed to exercising leadership!
And it showed! Even now, Dietrich radiated a confident demeanor that Ves found in most good leaders. There was no question that Dietrich could command the Whalers in Walter's absence.
"You've received billions of credits in compensation by the Bright Republic for all of the Rorach's Bone you've mind at the Glowing Planet. Where have you been spending all of that cash?"
"We expanded our forces enormously. Even with the war going on, there's always a bunch of mech pilots who aren't suitable for the Mech Corps or the more disciplined outfits. We've took on a lot of new mech pilots and drilled them over and over until they got rid of some of their bad habits. We them assigned them to our new mechs, some of which we actually ordered from the LMC!"
"Oh? How have you found our products?"
"We're very satisfied with the Blackbeaks and Crystal Lords in our ranks. Even I like to spend my time in the cockpit of a Crystal Lord now and then, even if aerial mechs are more to my liking. I don't know how you do it, but I always feel as if your mechs welcome their mech pilots. All the other mechs I've piloted feel so flat in comparison."
Ves smiled proudly. "That's part of the charm of my products. Have you heard our new motto yet? Living Mechs. Partners for Life. It means that my mechs are designed to be more than tools in the hands of mech pilots. They're meant to be partners who you can depend upon. The Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord is just the start of this trend that I'm pioneering."
"You don't have to recite your marketing spiel to me, Ves. Most of the landbound mech pilots that have joined our ranks are jealous of the ones assigned to pilot your mechs. Not only are they some of our best and most expensive machines, they are also a joy to pilot. If not for my father's concerns about blowing our entire fortune too quickly, we would have ordered more mechs from your company."
This story illustrated the undeniable draw of the LMC's products. Ves didn't expect his products to be so desirable that it could even inspire envy in the same ranks!
He figured that similar incidents happened in other outfits as well. As the lucky mech pilots of the Blackbeak and Crystal Lord boasted about their positive experiences to their colleagues, their desire to pilot such amazing themselves grew stronger!
Most of the LMC's repeat business likely resulted from these kinds of incidents!
"So how strong are the Whalers right now."
"Oh, we like to keep that rather close to our chest for now." Dietrich grinned. "It's safe to say that we are able to field well over several hundred mechs, both on land and in space."
Ves looked awfully impressed with those numbers. However, he knew it wasn't cheap to sustain so many mechs from Cloudy Curtain alone.
"How are you able to keep up with the expenses of fielding so many mechs?"
"The Whalers are nothing like we were before. We've taken over three planets aside from Cloudy Curtain! We've become a regional power in the underbelly of the Bentheim region!"
Ves widened his eyes. If Dietrich wasn't lying, then the Whalers exerted their influence over four entire planets! Even though the other planets would likely be rural planets as well, it meant that the Whalers had stepped up from a minor planetary gang and had become a real regional influence under the umbrella of the Blood Claws!
"Is that all what the Whalers have been up to these days?" Ves asked.
Dietrich shiftily gazed around the room. "It's kind of a secret, but if you really want to know, I'll tell you. The old man and the rest of the old guard wants us to move back to Bentheim! They've never been resigned by their exile from their old home planet!"
In short, Walter's Whalers wanted to regain a foothold on Bentheim!
Chapter 1095
Bentheim! This wealthy planet was the nexus of trade within the Bright Republic. An unimaginable amount of wealth flowed through the port system. A wealthy mech company like the old KNG was only one of many businesses that made up the fabric of that singular planet!
Naturally, not everything went well on Bentheim. The large amounts of money being earned by the business sector on the planet diverted way too many earnings away from the average citizens of the planet. Many of them barely managed to keep their head above the water as the cost of living on Bentheim was ludicrously high in some cities.
Even so, as long as a gang managed to gain a foothold in Bentheim's complex underground, they'd be able to derive enough tribute from the companies in their territory to become a force to be reckoned with! More money led to more mechs, which meant their strength increased by another level!
Not even ruling four whole rural planets could come close to ruling a single commercial district on Bentheim!
As Dietrich explained it, holding territory in Bentheim was of such importance to the local underground community that any gang that failed to hold territory on the planet was a nonentity!
"I feel like the way you are referring to the supporters of this plan as the old guard to be an attempt to separate yourself from them." Ves observed sharply. "You don't entirely approve?"
"You know how Bentheim is, Ves." Dietrich shrugged. "With sharks like the Blood Claws in the pool, how can little fish like us ever be able to compete? My old man Walter and his old buddies started off in Bentheim. In their hearts, Bentheim has always been their true home. As for me.. I mostly grew up here. Cloudy Curtain may not be the richest place in the galaxy, but it's undeniably our turf. Why can't we be happy with what we have?"
"It sounds like it's not really about power to Walter. I think he just wants to revisit the grievances of the past and take revenge against the people who pushed him out of Bentheim all those years ago."
Ketis, who sat at the side, nodded her head. "It's about regaining their pride. They got kicked out of their old homes and now that they've grown stronger, they're raring to erase the humiliation they've suffered. I don't think a small place like Cloudy Curtain ever satisfied them. There's no way this Walter will change his mind."
Ves grimaced. It was a typical case where emotion and pride took precedence over logic and rationality. The Whalers were doing so well these days. Why couldn't they play it safe and rule over their own little corner in the galaxy?
Returning to Bentheim was a very big matter! All of the gangs on that planet would rather fight tooth and nail than let some off-planet interlopers take over their turf!
Due to the high level of desirability of turf on Bentheim, those gangs constantly fended off rival gangs. None of them would be weak, and their battle experience vastly exceeded the likes of Walter's Whalers!
In short, for Walter to commit his expanded forces to an attempt to return to Bentheim was exceedingly risky and would likely end in lots of casualties! The collateral damage that resulted from the fighting might also attract the ire of the Planetary Guard, forcing the Whalers out lest they tear up entire cities!
"There's no way the Planetary Guard would let hundreds of mechs land on the planet and fight on the streets, will they?"
Dietrich shook his head. "Do you think the Whalers would be so crass to fight in the open where we would draw the attention of the authorities? There are rituals in place that keeps the fighting out of sight. No one will notice a thing. The accord struck and enforced by the Blood Claws, the Peace Association and the Fellowship of the Deprived will make sure that every smaller gang plays along."
It sounded something similar to what the Terrans did whenever their local powers wanted to take over a star system. As long as the fighting took place somewhere far away from people and property, the combatants could do anything they wanted in private. Collateral damage wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't anything valuable around!
To Ves, it made a lot of sense. While only major conflicts such as formal turf wars that the Whalers intended to announce followed the accord, it still helped cut back the violence on the streets enormously. At the very least, the Planetary Guard wouldn't be forced to step in and spoil the party!
"When will the Whalers commence the turf war?"
"Not for a while yet, Ves." Dietrich shook his head. "The Whalers are a lot stronger than before, but it's mostly because of the numbers we are able to field. We've got some great mechs, but we aren't as confident in the mech pilots we've paired them with. To be honest, they're kind of a mixed bag as our hiring standards aren't really the best. Most of my time is spent on training them and making sure they aren't rats working for our rivals."
These problems sounded familiar to Ketis. "As long as you Whalers aren't morons, the best way to secure the loyalty of your new men is to be a strong leader. As long as you are strong enough, no one will dare to double cross you! It also helps if you have placed some confidants in the ranks of your men."
"That's one of the many measures we've taken to shore up the cohesion of our mech pilots. Right now, the old man thinks we're probably ready enough to fight for a place in Bentheim in a year, maybe two. Our new mech pilots are constantly improving but their pace leaves a lot to be desired. My dad also wants to put his new men through some actual fights so that they're not so green anymore."
This was exactly what Melkor wanted to do with the Avatars of Myth. Ves approved these measures, but he didn't think that a single year would be enough to transform the Whalers into a truly battle-tested mech force.
Well, whatever. Ves only cared about the Whalers to the extent that they maintained cordial relations with each other. If they happened to bite more than they could chew, they only had themselves to blame.
"Well, good luck with your preparations, Dietrich. I hope you can put your Blackbeaks and Crystal Lords to good use. They're good machines, but only if you pair them with good mech pilots and maintain them properly."
"Oh, that's one of the biggest changes that I've insisted on. The days where ninety percent of our mech technicians are lazy bums are over." Dietrich emphatically said.
The Glowing Planet campaign brutally taught the Whalers what their neglect had wrought. Many more Whaler mechs fell in battle than they ought to because they never put too much stock in maintaining their trashy mechs!
After Dietrich said as much as he was willing to say about their intention to return to Bentheim, the three of them continued to chat about various other matters. Ketis held Lucky in her lap and while she stroked his back, but she didn't show much interest in the conversation.
Compared to the vicious pirate gangs of the frontier, the criminal gangs in civilized space were tame little kittens in her eyes.
Ves noticed that Dietrich didn't really know how to handle someone like Ketis. After several failed attempts to engage her in meaningful conversation, the Whaler scion gave up.
Instead, he raised another topic. "By the way, Ves, I've been hearing some rumors about you in the underground circles."
"Oh? What's this about?"
As far as Ves was aware of, he shouldn't have done anything to attract the attention of the underworld.
"You've acquired a lot of fame recently. I don't know the stuff you've been through while you were off fighting the Vesians, but there's no doubt that a lot of people know who you are now. That kind of scrutiny attracts a lot of attention, you know, and not always the good kind."
"What do I have to worry about?"
"Someone put a hit on your head. There has always been a hit on your head for a while, but as far as I know no one put much stock to it. All of that has changed since the end of the war. I don't know the reason for the hit, or who ordered it, but someone really hates you because the bounty on your head has ballooned to 50 million credits!"
Ketis snorted and laughed. "HAHAHAHA! Ves! 50 million credits! That's way too cheap! Whoever wants Ves dead ought to charge 10 billion credits at the very least! Do you know how hard it is to kill Ves? Lemme tell you, everyone who wanted to kill him eventually regretted it! A bounty of only 50 million credits is an insult to someone like Ves! I'll chop whoever comes up and kills him myself so I can rid the galaxy of their stupidity!"
While Ves did not exhibit the same reaction, he did not put much stock in the implications of the bounty either. So what if someone wanted to kill him? Just spending a day in the frontier was much more harrowing than the thought of being put in some assassin's crosshairs!
Even though Ves no longer possessed his nearly-impervious XV-99 Squalon from the Starlight Megalodon, he still wore his trusty shield generator. If a device like this was good enough to protect Senator Tovar's life, it was good enough to shield his life as well.
With his enhanced physique and optimized genes, he possessed a formidable amount of resistance against poison and adulterated substances! As for retaliation and self-defense, even if he didn't whip out the Amastendira, he could rely on Lucky wipe out every attacker in his stead.
His cat gorged upon a fortune's worth of CFA equipment, so Lucky should better work hard to repay his debts!
"I'll manage." Ves replied mildly, deliberately understating his concern. "I've been living under constant threat during the war and this is not different. You don't have to concern yourself with my personal matters, Dietrich, though I appreciate the heads up. Whoever thought of placing a hit on me will regret it. I will make sure of that."
The ominous tone that Ves adopted at the end left a marked impression on Dietrich. This single instance hit home the fact that Ves had come back from the war as a very changed man!
The Whaler sighed in a melancholic manner. "You've changed. I've changed. Everyone has changed. Nothing has remained the same. Don't you wish to go back to simpler times?"
"Nope." Ves bluntly replied. "Change is inevitable. The least we can do is to steer the change in a favorable direction. It's true that everything has changed, but it's mostly for the better. Both my company and the Whalers are bigger than before. That's a great accomplishment. Hopefully, that is not the extent of our growth."
"Hmmm." Dietrich commisserated over those words. Eventually, he raised his mug of beer. "To changing times."
"To changing times."
They each toasted their glasses and enjoyed their drinks.
Some time later, Ves, Ketis and Lucky returned to the armored shuttle. The vehicle and its escorts rose in the air and flew back to the Mech Nursery.
All this while, Ves contemplated some of the changes that crept up in his conversation with Dietrich.
Ketis noticed his internal preoccupation and prodded his side. "What's up, Ves? You aren't worried about assassins coming after you, right?"
Ves shook his head. "Of course not. It's just that some of the topics struck a chord with me. Everything around me is changing. My company is changing, my friends and family are changing, my career is progressing and my bank accounts are holding more and more money."
"Those sound like good changes. So why do you look so troubled?"
"I'm just missing the time where everything was simple. Back when I started to design mechs, the galaxy seemed so simple. Now that I've become exposed to what is truly going on behind the scenes, I can no longer remain ignorant and hide myself away on this planet."
"It sounds like you're getting at something, Ves."
"My point is that my goals won't allow me to remain average. In order to design better mechs, I have to take a more prominent place in society. To put it in simple terms, I can't think of myself as small fry anymore! The moment when I heard that someone put a 50 million credit bounty on my head is the moment I realized that I have finally become a bigshot!"
"You've always been a bigshot in my eyes. You're too good of a mech designer to keep your head down."
Ves ruefully smiled at her. "Thank you for the vote of confidence. If only the rest of the mech industry thinks that way."
Chapter 1096
As much as Ves enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, he still had a job to do. The single most important responsibility of a mech designer was to design mechs, and the LMC would never be able to realize all of its ambitions by remaining stuck at offering only two mech models for sale.
"It's high time for the Aurora Titan to join the LMC's lineup."
He made sure the LMC still committed to implement Phase 2. He also arranged a huge pile of homework for Ketis for her enhanced learning ability to sink its teeth into. Finally, he checked with Melkor and gave him a heads up about the bounty on his head.
Predictably, his cousin frowned when he heard the news. "We haven't heard an inkling of this threat."
"You should be more on top of the local underground scene, Melkor." Ves lightly admonished him. "While it's important to train the new members of the Avatars and arrange missions for them, make sure you aren't losing sight of your primary task, which is to protect my life."
"You're right. It's just that I'm not that into the underground scene."
"Don't worry. You should get in touch with Dietrich or the Whalers and tell them to keep an eye on any news about me or the LMC. Raella can also help since she's more immersed in the Bentheim scene."
Melkor scowled a bit. "Raella? She's so busy flaunting her status as a Blood Claw champion to care about the family."
"What's this all about, Melkor? Are you still upset about her decision to ditch us? As far as I'm concerned, that's all over in the past."
"It's just so selfish of her, you know. The family invested so much attention in her training, but her obsession for arena duels has led her astray. Even if she renounced her ties to the family, she's still dragging the name of the Larkinsons through the mud each time she fights on behalf of the Blood Claws."
Ves crossed his arms. "She was obviously not content to remain with us. There's no point in trying to retain her if she's so hellbent on following her own path instead of the one the family laid out for her. There are plenty more Larkinsons who are following the straight and narrow path."
They moved on to discuss other matters related to the Avatars of Myth. Right now, Melkor already lined some small contracts for his men to gain some field experience. These short-duration missions only required him to send out a single squad at a time, which suited everyone just fine.
After bidding goodbye to Melkor, he entered his underground lab and prepared to undergo the next design phase. Now that he had a good idea on what other people thought about his draft design, he finally gained enough confidence to start with converting the draft into an actual design.
"Everyone raised some good points, but it's hard to address them without giving anything up." Ves shook his head.
This was the nature of any design project. Ves made a lot of tradeoffs that entailed sacrificing mobility for his current design project. This was a very decision for him to make because mobility almost always played a key role in the battle performance of a mech.
"I've made my choices. Even with my Aurora Titan's lack of mobility, I can still make up for it in other ways!"
Ves centered his mind in order to enter his best state. As a mech designer, he constantly thought about designing mechs, so he didn't need to be so serious about it. The only reason why he still did it was because he wanted to excite Qilanxo's spiritual fragment that had been resting in his mind for a while.
"Wake up. It's time to design the mech that you'll inhabit."
The fragment released a pulse, its scorching energy burning his mindspace a bit. Ves winced as he bore the pain. Every single action the fragment took burdened his mind in some way. Even if he had gotten used to its weighty presence, the fragment was still too potent compared to the strength of his mind!
"If Qilanxo is equivalent to an ace pilot, then ace pilots deserve to be regarded as half gods!"
Although the preparation brought him some discomfort, the fragment roused itself awake. Ves found it interesting that the fragment displayed a pretty complete personality. It could make its own decisions and even made proactive moves when it suited its purposes. It was just as if Qilanxo was directly present!
"I'm a very long distance away from replicating such a feat." Ves muttered.
Ever since he started toying with spiritual fragments, he wondered what would happen if he carved out a chunk of his own Spirituality.
Would Ves be able to imbue it with a part of his personality and enable it to act autonomously?
Would Ves be able to maintain an active connection with it and be able to act from the fragment even if he left it behind in another star system?
All of these questions sounded interesting, but Ves was way too leery to actually go through with this experiment. At the time, he didn't have a full picture on the damage this move could do to his own mind and spirit. The last thing he wanted to do was to spiritually mutilate himself in the name of exploring his possibilities!
He snorted. "That's what test subjects are for. What I wouldn't do to get my hands on a couple of dwarves from Aeon Corona VII."
He spent quite a bit of time trying to find new applications of spirituality. Seeing Qilanxo's spiritual fragment at work in transforming a normal mech pilot into an expert pilot really opened his eyes on the nature of spiritual energy. All of his thoughts lately came from trying to play with the attributes of spiritual energy.
Yet the experiments he had in mind were... ethically dubious. It would be better to perform them on individuals no one cared about.
"Well, enough about this, let's get to work."
With his mind at his best state, he began to call up his design program and began to flesh out his draft.
The first step in doing so was to outline its internal architecture and fill up its core functions with actual component designs.
"My design revolves around the polarizing module, so it's better to start from there and work my way around it. This module is really too big to be treated as an add-on." He muttered.
He made full use of NORA Consolidated's component library to add in other parts. He had so much choice that he browsed it as if he was shopping for presents. Ves already studied all of the relevant component licenses that could be fitted into the Aurora Titan and judged their merits.
"Power reactor, engine, sensor system, communication system, ECM, cockpit, etcetera."
He did try to find a way to incorporate his own licenses, in particular his favored Veltrex armor system and Oleg's Trailblazer engine. Yet for all of their merits, neither of them meshed particularly well with the Aurora Titan's design concept.
"The Veltrex armor system offers good protection, but it's expensive to maintain." He knew. "Its three-layer armor system sounds effective in theory, but it just makes the armor plating very troublesome to maintain in the field."
Generally, this was also the case with other mechs that incorporated compressed armor, but it was especially worse with the complicated Veltrex formulas.
When Ves studied which armor systems Professor Ventag incorporated into his designs, he noticed that the Senior predominantly preferred simpler single-layer or double-layer armor systems. Not only did their formulas demand much less variety in materials, they could also be sourced more easily from various sources.
Even so, the downside to these simpler and more practical formulas was that they actually offered a lesser degree of protection compared to more complex armor systems!
"It seems the professor prefers practicality over achieving the best possible performance." Ves judged.
Ventag's down-to-earth design philosophy contrasted sharply with the Skull Architect's pursuit of perfection. Their design philosophies reflected their background and their working conditions.
"Professor Ventag is a Brighter and is used to designing third-class mechs to stingy customers. The Skull Architect started off designing second-class mechs to a much more prosperous mech market."
These two starting conditions strongly affected their design philosophies and the direction of their designs. The poorer the market conditions, the more buyers appreciated practicality over efficiency.
"Still, mech buyers in the Bright Republic are just as susceptible to comparing spec sheets of different mech models as those in the Friday Coalition."
The problem about elevating practicality over absolute performance was that it didn't translate well into hard numbers. Professor Ventag could get away with using less efficient but easier to work with components due to his reputation as a Senior and the skill he employed in weaving them into his designs.
Could Ves do the same?
"I think so. Even if I have left behind some small inefficiencies, Professor Ventag will surely wipe my butt when it's his turn to make a pass on the Aurora Titan."
He instead opted to incorporate a single-layer armor system called the Pisaro FPP-22 Mark III. The Pisaro's armor formula incorporated various exotics that weren't hard to source in the Bright Republic or the rest of the Komodo Star Sector, which was one of the main reasons why NORA Consolidated licensed it. The best part about the Pisaro was that its damage resistance increased remarkably after exceeding a certain level of thickness!
"It's actually an armor system that is suitable for heavy mechs."
Actual heavy mechs generally used more sophisticated multi-layer armor systems. Unlike private outfits, the mech regiments who tended to field these giant beasts always had their logistics in order. The remarkable capacity of the Flagrant Vandals to repair and even build new mechs from scratch from the Wolf Mother, the Beggar's Bounty and the Linever Swan came to mind!
That left the Pisaro in a somewhat awkward place, as no one really had a demand for cheap and practical armor systems for heavy mechs.
Even so, the Pisaro still offered decent enough performance when applied to medium mechs that emphasized defense. Although it was a bit heavier than most other armor systems geared towards medium mechs, the protection it offered was well worth it for its price!
"The only other downside I have to keep in mind is that it doesn't do well against vibrations and concussive shocks."
Single-layer armor system possessed no inherent buffer to absorb vibrations and shocks, unlike with the three-layer Veltrex armor system. This made any mech that used the Pisaro armor system susceptible to explosive damage such as ballistic cannon shells or missile volleys. However, Ves would just have to make it up in other ways such as incorporating shock-absorbing design features into the Aurora Titan's internal architecture.
The final factor why he chose to go with the Pisaro armor system was that it had been designed to work well with polarizing fields. While the polarizing module that Ves included in the Aurora Titan design could cooperate with any armor system, some simply held onto the polarizing fields better than others.
It was like some metals exhibited stronger attraction to magnetism than others. Because the Pisaro armor system had been initially conceived for heavy mechs, its developers made sure to optimise its ability to layer polarizing fields on top of it without resorting to excessive means.
"It's a heavy armor system, but it's cheaper even if used in bulk."
Of all the advantages that the Pisaro armor system brought to the table, Ves valued its cost effectiveness the most. Since the size and dimensions of the Aurora Titan would roughly be at least twenty percent larger than a medium knight, its production cost rose dramatically. If Ves wanted to keep the cost of production at around 60 million credits, then he needed to find a way to reduce the cost of its most expensive component, which was its armor system!
"The Pisaro is quite good in this regard! As expected of a component license selected by a Senior Mech Designer! Every license in Professor Ventag's library has their own merits!"
Chapter 1097
Due to the importance of the armor system to the Aurora Titan design, Ves deliberated carefully on his choices before he settled on the Pisaro armor system.
As for the selection of other component designs, Ves did not trouble himself so much over it. The Aurora Titan was basically a super-sized medium space knight so he generally picked components designed specifically for this mech type.
The other components he selected mainly emphasized practicality, defense and endurance. Sadly, Ves hadn't been able to make his mech as energy efficient as his previous original designs.
"There's a huge difference in energy expenditure between landbound mechs and spaceborn mechs."
The flight systems of spaceborn mechs expended such vast amounts of energy that hardly any spaceborn mech deployed for more than an entire day. Carriers and motherships served a vital purpose in providing a readily-accessible resupply point for spaceborn mechs to exchange their spent energy cells.
While Ves could increase the deployment time by making use of more efficient but more trouble fuel cells, they were much less practical in use. Since his vision for the Aurora Titan design also emphasized practicality, then he shouldn't make it more difficult to supply the mech.
"The polarizing module already uses up a lot of energy when employed. If I want the Aurora Titan to last long enough, then I need to make some savings in the flight system."
Each mech type required their own special type of flight systems. Just like each bird possessed a different wing shape, certain flight systems worked better with lighter mechs or heavier mechs.
In general, flight systems designed for space knights tended to be more robust and more armored, but only relative to other flight systems. There were limits to how much armor the wing-shaped flight systems could carry before all of the materials began to impede flight.
After browsing through many different flight systems, Ves eventually settled on a rather eccentric flight system called the Luminant Orca.
When Ves added the Luminant Orca flight system to his unfinished design, the Aurora Titan instantly acquired a radiant appearance.
The Luminant Orca was big. It took up a lot of real estate when in use, but folded back inwards when it didn't need to accelerate very fast. This meant that the Aurora Titan could fly with marginally acceptable acceleration despite its ungainly mass by spreading its wings. It also meant that it could fold its wing components into a more compact shape when it held a relatively static position while enduring lots of incoming fire.
"It's a flight system made for space knights!"
This extra functionality came at a cost. First, the extra complexity meant that the flight system was a bit harder and more cumbersome to maintain. When unfolded, the Luminant Orca took up a lot of space, which made it easier to hit.
Yet despite the light show it emitted during active use, the flight system exhibited a decent amount of energy efficiency. It did so by optimizing its use in relatively low acceleration.
Plainly said, the Luminant Orca would never be able to win any speed awards. It came with a hard cap on acceleration in order to optimize its energy efficiently.
To put it in even simpler terms, the flight system was permanently stuck in one gear. While it couldn't shift to different gears that worked better under different conditions, its performance was very good in the gear it was stuck in. The flight system thereby served as a great complement to the Aurora Titan, which never put too much demands on mobility.
The Aurora Titan design revolved around four core parts. Its armor system, its flight system and its polarizing module all defined the core functionality of his design. The only tech he added from his own end was the addition of alien crystal technology.
In order to kick the Aurora Titan's ability to withstand energy damage by another notch, he sprinkled eight medium-sized light crystals around the frame of the mech. The front, back and sides of the mechs all became covered by these modest-sized crystals capable of absorbing a limited degree of lasers only to shoot back a powerful light beam.
Due to the decision to incorporate smaller but more numerous crystals, the Aurora Titan enjoyed coverage in almost every direction. This saved the cumbersome mech from rotating all the way around if lasers began to strike it from the rear.
"Still, the wider coverage comes at the expense of damage-absorbing capacity."
Ves didn't care too much about that as the basic functionality of the smaller crystals provided a sufficient amount of functionality.
"Unlike the Crystal Lord, the Aurora Titan isn't designed to retaliate with ranged attacks. The crystals are only there as a gimmick."
To be honest, Ves incorporated the alien crystals despite the expense they added and the complications they introduced into the design due to following his artistic sense. He wanted to convey some of the aesthetics of a Sacred God with their god crystals embedded into their hides.
Even though Sacred Gods used very different crystals from those included in his Crystal Lord and Aurora Titan designs, their appearances resembled each other. It helped that Qilanxo's spiritual fragment liked it as well! With the support of the fragment, Ves indulged his artistic fancy by going through with incorporating this gimmick into his mech.
It may not have been the most prodent design choice he made during this design project, but sometimes it was worth following his heart rather than adhering to logic!
"Thematically, the crystals mesh well with the vision for my Aurora Titan design. It's just that I'm making it harder on myself with their inclusion."
Each additional system that Ves included into his mech added more and more complexity, to the detriment of the mech's integrity. This was also the main reason why third-class mechs predominantly specialized in highly-focused mech types that mainly employed a single weapon system.
Hybrid mechs were often more trouble than they were worth! Ves possessed a good understanding of this belief as he once started off with the bloated Caesar Augustus design.
"The inclusion of the polarizing module and the alien crystals into the Aurora Titan design is kind of similar to turning it into a hybrid mech design."
Some of the rules and limitations of hybrid mechs applied to the Aurora Titan design. The inclusion of these extra features imposed more requirements on his design's internal architecture, taking up valuable real estate that could have been used to strengthen its structure and increase its redundancy and compartmentalization.
"It's shell won't crack so easily." Ves muttered. "The benefit of a bigger mech is that I can pile more armor onto it. The gimmicks I've added doesn't change the fact that the Aurora Titan is already a fundamentally tanky design."
Now that Ves defined the four core systems of the Aurora Titan design and matched them with specific component designs, he covered all of his bases.
"Everything else is much more straightforward."
Ves already determined the most suitable power reactor, engine and other systems a while ago. Stuffing them into his design resulted in a much more cramped and busy-looking mech design.
Obviously, there wasn't an abundant amount of free space available to accommodate a robust internal architecture. This was especially because Ves planned to fill up a large portion of the Aurora Titan's internal space with lots of energy cells!
The polarizing module and the flight system of his design both served important roles in his design, but they both depended heavily on the supply of energy!
One of the welcome advantages of designing an over-sized mech was that Ves gained a bit more room to work with compared to a regular medium space knight.
"My mech won't win any endurance contests, but it should at least be able to power its polarizing module for some time."
Still, his mech only provided the tools. It was up to the mech pilot to employ them as effectively and efficiently as possible. In the hands of a badly-trained mech pilot, the Aurora Titan performed much worse than a generic space knight design!
This entire process took a couple of days, which wasn't very long at all. Ves still needed to move on to the hardest part of the design process, which was to design the internal architecture and shape the armor of the mech in a way that unified the different parts into a coherent whole.
"This is where the good mech designers are able to distinguish themselves from the bad."
It also happened to be an area in which Ves expressed a lot of confidence in his ability to unearth synergies. His wide knowledge base, his abundant amount of practical experience and the many insights he gleaned from his latest Mastery experience all came to the forefront as Ves tackled the most difficult mech design he conceived up to now!
Days went by like the wind. Weeks passed with hardly any interruptions. While Ves did not close himself off from society completely this time, the LMC pretty much ran by itself all this time as it already did so years before.
Phase 2 still went underway, but most of the major changes already came to pass. The company mainly stuck to holding various company events in order to further reinforce the shared identity of its workforce.
By all accounts, Phase 2 largely succeeded in unifying the LMC's employees with the company.
Phase 2 was less successful in instilling a common set of values and principles amongst their workforce.
Certainly, the sheer amount of indoctrination sessions disguised as company events they went through made sure that everyone began to speak the lingo. Yet reports indicated that at least half of the employees only paid lip service to the vague mission that they should supply their customers with mechs they could treat as partners.
This difficulty partially stemmed from the stubborn and individualistic nature of humans, but the high-minded and abstract mission statement of the LMC didn't do it any favors! Most of the skeptics found the company's core principles to be rather vague and wishy-washy.
Why think so much when at the end of the day, a company was all about making as much money as possible?
"Do you think that the skeptics will eventually get around to the company's ideals?" Ves asked over the comm.
"It's hard to say, but I think their resistance will inevitably be worn away if the entire company and many of the people around them continue to adhere to the same value. This process of osmosis will ensure that all but the more hardcore skeptics and cynics will come around to the company's principles."
As long as the company kept up its indoctrination efforts, there would hardly be anyone left in the company who wasn't brainwashed into becoming a loyal company man! By then, any deviants would stand out like a light in the dark.
In between his design sessions, Ves ordered Gavin to provide him with a daily status update on how the company was doing. While it was tempting for him to set aside every other concern and immerse himself into designing the Aurora Titan for several months straight, he knew he couldn't adopt his old methods any longer.
Ves should not lose total awareness of the outside galaxy when he designed a mech! If he continued to abide by this habit, it would eventually come and bite him in the butt!
Even though it wasn't particularly urgent for him to hear about the company's day-to-day matters, Ves still reserved some time for his daily reports to keep him grounded to reality.
"What else is going on in the company?"
"Our orders have decreased once again. I think the recent publicity boosts have run their course. Now that the war has ended, a lot of notable mech designers returned to their companies. Some have even begun to publish new designs, attracting a lot of attention away from our own products, not that we enjoyed that much attention in the first place."
"That's because our mech catalog is too meager. Right now, I'm working on rectifying this shortcoming. Is there anything else to report?"
"That's all, Ves."
"Okay. Make sure to keep me in the loop of new developments."
After ending the comm call, Ves mustered up his concentration yet again and resumed his ongoing design work. The Aurora Titan was slowly and surely taking shape under his ministrations!
Chapter 1098
The more Ves progressed in his design work, the more imposing the Aurora Titan became. From the very start, Ves conceived his design to be a large and eye-catching mech.
Using every bit of artistic sense in his bone, Ves tried his best to avoid giving his Aurora Titan an obsese appearance. When Ves took a step back to evaluate the look of his design, he thought he did a decent job in making his mech look broad and barrel-chested rather than a round, upright pig.
"The contours of a mech not only define its performance, but also its perception. If a mech looks fat, the public will inevitably apply some of their prejudices to it. Regardless of its actual performance, it's very hard to change people's biases on my Aurora Titan design once they developed some biases against it. Sometimes, these biases don't even have to be backed by the truth!"
Knowing how easy it was for the public to collectively turn against his Aurora Titan design, Ves did his best to nip this problem in the bud.
While he couldn't do much about the expanded size of his mech, Ves nonetheless designed his mech with visual features that drew positive attention.
One example was the flamboyant Luminant Orca flight system, which unfolded somewhat akin to the wings of an angel when fully deployed. To Ves, the bright golden glow around the wings harkened back to the vault of the gods that used to cover the skies of Aeon Corona VII.
Each of his design choices concerning the Aurora Titan, whether they related to its functionality or its aesthetic appearance, all received the support of Qilanxo's spiritual fragment.
"It's as much my design as it it yours. It's fair for me to give you a say in how the mech takes shape."
The pleasure and approval radiating from the fragment in his mind validated his decision to let his spiritual fragment play an integral role in the formation of his design.
The result was as if Ves felt as if he designed a custom mech tailored to fit a single client perfectly. Qlianxo's spiritual fragment was much more involved in the design process than any of his previous images. The fragment was alive and aware in a way that the images created in his mind from his own pale spirituality could never measure up. There was such a quantitative difference between the two that Ves never considered going back to relying on images alone!
"This is a much more involved design process! How can I ever go back to playing with my imagination by myself?"
His previous images had all been formed by his mind. While they acquired their own separate identities due to his actions, it didn't change the fact that they shared a common root with Ves.
This meant that all of their opinions and beliefs were copied from him as well!
The only reason why they appeared distinct from Ves was that they only emphasized a more narrow set of beliefs that was compatible with their images.
"It's essentially interacting with a split personality of mine." Ves summed up. "So far, I mainly designed my mechs by talking to myself. It's not that much better than designing a mech without any guidance."
Ves never experienced a sharper difference from his old methods when he let the active spiritual fragment in his mind ride along his design work. When Ves became the most engaged in his design work, the boundary between Ves and the spiritual fragment even began to blur!
In this short but brief state where they partially became of one mind, they always managed to add a very distinct design quirk to the Aurora Titan design!
The only problem here was that sometimes the decisions made by Qilanxo's spiritual fragment were pretty out there. It wasn't a mech designer after all, so it held much less regard to the technical practicalities of his design.
In these cases, Ves either worked with them despite the additional complications they brought or he vetoed them outright. He used the latter sparingly, though, in order to avoid upsetting the fragment.
"Ouch! Look, it's really a bad idea to add a tail to the Aurora Titan! It's a humanoid mech, not a lizardman mech! A tail is just awful idea for so many reasons that I don't know where to begin! Ouch ouch ouch! Please stop pulsing your fury into my mind!"
Aside from these unpleasant experiences, Ves largely maintained a harmonious relationship with the fragment. They even grew closer during their shared work experience.
He even felt as if his Spirituality began to take some of the properties of the spiritual fragment.
This realization abruptly forced him to a stop.
"Am I beginning to resonate with the fragment in some ways? Or am I being contaminated by the fragment's values and beliefs?"
This was a very important question that Ves did not consider thoroughly enough. Hosting an extremely powerful spiritual fragment in his mind for at least a month should have led to a lot of changes, some of which Ves might not find desirable!
However, Ves did not immediately panic as he did not feel as if his sense of self had shifted in a major way.
"I shouldn't be so susceptible to contamination. Even if the fragment is a lot more powerful than me, it hasn't been hostile to me. Any diffusion that has occurred is accidental rather than deliberate."
While Ves couldn't rule out that hosting living spiritual fragment of other beings might find a way to affect his own beliefs, he couldn't do much about it at this time. He couldn't very well boot out Qilanxo's spiritual fragment from his mind, only for it to drift away in the imaginary realm.
"If I want to minimize any negative side effects, then I need to hurry up with completing my design."
Time continued to pass as Ves made brisk progress in designing the Aurora Titan. Two months passed in relative peace before he made it to what he considered to be the halfway point.
At this stage, most of the major design choices had been set, and the rest of the work entailed smaller refinements instead of major choices that impacted the entire design on a fundamental level.
"My mech looks increasingly more fitting for its name!"
Ves played with the moniker he bestowed upon it to shape the Aurora Titan into a giant humanoid figure. Strength and power radiated from the masculine contours of his design.
This was a mech that embodied strength and resilience!
In addition, so long as it unfolded its wings, the golden glow that suffused them gave the Aurora Titan a majestic flair!
"Just the appearance of this big boy alone can do wonders in inspiring others!"
Outfits mostly employed knight mechs and space knights as damage sponges, yet that did not mean that they couldn't enjoy their own moments of glory. A space knight often formed the mental bulwark of a mech unit. Their continued presence served as an anchor for everyone's morale.
As long as the space knight still remained present on the battlefield, the rest of its unit endured as well!
"It's similar to how the Flagrant Vandals employ the Hellcat hybrid knights as their signature mechs. Even if they're expensive pieces of overgeared machines, their dramatic battle performance exerts an outsized influence in every short battle!"
Frankly, a major part why the Aurora Titan gained such a remarkable appearance was due to the creative influence of Qilanxo's spiritual fragment. In some way, his design started to resemble the Sacred Gods, at least in spirit.
Of course, all of these complicating factors also gave Ves a lot of headaches with regards to efficiency and performance. This was why it took two months just to reach the halfway point. He only took some solace in the fact that now that every major design decision was set, he wouldn't be working so slowly anymore.
"My mech has already taken shape. It's just the details that needs to be added. Any choices I make there won't have as much impact as before."
Usually, Ves would just proceed to go to the next step of the design phase, but he realized that he had already made a lot of unilateral decisions.
"I should at least give Professor Ventag the courtesy to check up on my work so far."
After careful consideration, he decided to call the professor on his comm. This time, Ves did not connect to his secretary but patched straight through the Senior.
"Ves. It's been some time." He said. "By the looks of it, you've made a lot of progress in our design project."
"I have. I'm sorry for dropping off in the last two months. Let me show you what I've created so far. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
While a Senior could scan a mech design in a couple of seconds, Ves nonetheless took the time to describe his thought processes behind each important design decision.
Naturally, he completely left out Qilanxo's spiritual fragment out of the retelling.
At the end of his explanation, Ves summed up his progress up to now. "While I haven't put the Aurora Titan through any simulators yet, I think you won't be disappointed by its performance."
The professor sat silently on the other end of the communication channel. Ves provided the Senior with a lot of information.
"Frankly, I'm surprised at your work. You've exceeded my expectations. Your work is practically indistinguishable from the work of Journeymen, at least from a technical standpoint. While there are many design decisions that I can't help but question, I'm glad that you at least adhered to a consistent logic in your design process. That said, I think you really ought to reconsider some of the most troubling aspects."
The Senior Mech Designer guided him to some of his most contentious design choices. It wasn't as if Ves didn't know about those troubling issues, but both he and his Qilanxo already accepted the tradeoffs they made. Even if they made the mech weaker in one area, it inevitably gained something in another area.
The professor knew that too so the Senior only questioned Ves sufficiently in order to make sure he knew what he was getting into. As long as Ves accepted the consequences of his design choices, it was okay to take some unconventional design choices!
"What I'm most impressed about your work so far is that you have been unabashed in leaving your own mark in your design. It's anything but generic." The professor praised. "However, while it's always good to distinguish your work from the pack, don't go too far in trying to produce a unique work. For all the bashing that generic mech designs receive, sometimes customers prize stability and consistent performance over flashy but unstable features."
Ves nodded. He knew that the professor in fact warned him that he was already crossing over the line with regards to some of his more radical implementations. The Aurora Titan was anything but an average mech, and Ves tried his best to turn it into a fantastic mech design.
"At this stage in the design process, I could use your help in fleshing out its internal architecture." Ves requested, bringing up the other reason why he called the professor. "This is much more to your area of expertise. If I casually begin to dabble into its design, there's a large chance that it won't pass muster. Could you provide some guidance to me in this area?"
"Certainly. I have already identified numerous critical points you need to pay attention to when you flesh out the internal architecture. Let me list them out for you. Before I give you some advice on how to tackle them or implement my own solutions, I want to see how you'll address them first."
Ves accepted this approach. This entire joint design project was supposed to be a learning experience for him, so he cherished the opportunity to receive some hands-on tutoring from an actual Senior.
"First, let's talk about the issues related to the Luminant Orca flight system. This isn't your average flight system, Ves, and you need to take several additional factors into account..."
Chapter 1099
Having an experienced Senior Mech Designer provide some guiding advice on the side helped Ves a lot.
They didn't cause him to change the fundamental nature of the Aurora Titan design. However, the insights he developed after thinking over Professor Ventag's leading questions led him to refine the decisions he already made into more optimal implementations.
In general, the assistance enhanced the qualities that the Aurora Titan already possessed.
At this stage of the design process, the professor also went to work himself. Ves hadn't designed much more than an outline of the internal architecture, but this was arguably the most important part of the mech since it had to support so many active systems. Without a robust enough architecture, Ves could forget about getting the polarizing module and the alien crystals to work!
Slowly but sure, the Aurora Titan transitioned from a fanciful concept into a very real mech design! Countless technical problems arose during the design process, but with Professor Ventag's mastery of internal design, the Aurora Titan never got close to becoming overloaded with all the systems it needed to support!
"The Aurora Titan design won't be a repeat of the Caesar Augustus design." Ves muttered to himself during his focused design spurts.
It helped that its larger size afforded the mech significantly more internal volume. This added room made a lot of difference in maximizing redundancy and compartmentalization, which defensive mechs needed a lot of in order to remain combat capable in the event of an armor breach!
"Still, with all the stuff I've added to the mech such as extra energy cells, the Aurora Titan isn't as good in these factors as other space knights."
However, as a specialist in damage control, Professor Ventag did wonders with the space he had at his disposal. He put his full expertise into play, to the point of adding certain strange abstruse methods into play!
Through the use of some technical wizardry, the sophistication of the internal architecture quickly exceeded the point where Ves could still follow the Senior's train of thought!
At certain points, Ves even felt as if achieved a condition where it felt as if Professor Ventag managed to make 1 plus 1 equal 2.01!
Ordinarily, this should have been an impossibility, but no matter how much Ves rubbed his eyes, the design somehow achieved synergies beyond what should have been technically possible!
Ves wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this phenomenon. Through various methods, a high-ranking mech designer was able to bend reality by employing their design philosophy!
"This is why Journeymen Mech Designers and upwards really differentiate their mechs with! Their design philosophies have grown to the point where they have gained a real competitive advantage in their area of specialty!"
Due to the incredibly advanced nature of these special features, Ves always came under significant mental strain whenever he attempted to study the implementations.
He knew better than to pry too deeply into Ventag's wondrous methods. The professor's design philosophy focused very much on the internals of mech. Their design philosophies overlapped very little, so further study would prove detrimental to Ves. It was not his intention to shift his own design philosophy in the direction of the professor's own beliefs!
"Each of us are following different paths. We are like artists collaborating on a single art piece. Rather than looking over my shoulder to emulate what my co-artist is doing so well, I should instead stick to my own area of expertise."
This was a lot harder than it sounded like someone like Ves. He hungered for improvement like a dwarf hungered for godling meat.
Any mech designer would be tempted, really. Yet such behavior would be detrimental at best and outright ruinous in other cases. Anyone below the rank of Journeymen still possessed a malleable design philosophy, and in most cases it didn't benefit them at all to see them shift in the direction of an entirely different philosophy!
While Ves mostly considered himself beyond these concerns, he still made the prudent choice of sticking to his own guns. Other mech designers may be able to perform grand feats of technical wizardry, but Ves already has his spiritual wizardry to keep him satisfied!
"In the end, this is why collaboration is so impactful. As long as the mech designers involved in the project aren't overlapping their specialties, each of them can enhance the design in their own way!"
Ves knew that this was a lot harder for some than for others. Working with Professor Ventag made him realize that certain specialties lent itself better to collaboration than others. For example, Professor Ventag's domain encompassed pretty much the entirety of a mech's internal architecture.
Any other mech designer who specialized in a certain aspect of internal design would have to think twice before getting in bed with someone like Ventag.
For his part, the professor worked best if he collaborated with someone who specialized in specific parts, such as mech engines, or external features, such as weapon systems!
Ves realized a critical rule in mech design. "Not only is there no point to overlapping specialties in a single design, but it can even lead to disaster if they are forced together!"
In addition to this rule, Ves also learned something incredibly valuable about himself!
"My design philosophy is compatible with nearly every mech designer! There are hardly any mech designer who possesses a design philosophy as whack as mine!"
He was careful not to rule out the possibility entirely. The galaxy was huge and countless mech designers existed through the galaxy. With the Five Scrolls Compact messing about with spirituality in their sporadic research, there might be some madman out there who believed that mechs could be inhabited by ghosts or something!
"Isn't that what the Skull Architect wanted to do in his own warped way?" Ves mused.
It sounded strange that extremely smart and knowledgeable mech designers would develop esoteric theories with little foundation in reality, but metaphysics existed. The phenomenon of design philosophy itself was an expression of metaphysics!
The most important takeaway from this collaboration was that Ves developed such an esoteric design specialty that he could work together with almost any mech designer in the galaxy!
"Yet even if that is so, will any mech designer actually choose to work with someone with a specialty like mine?"
In the first place, it was really difficult for other mech designers to understand what Ves worked towards in the first place. With the necessity of keeping the truth of spirituality obscured, Ves faced the same problem as the LMC. Almost no one except Ves understood his principles!
"If even my own employees don't understand the nature of my design philosophy, then other mech designers definitely won't be able to appreciate the value I can bring to their designs!"
Even if Ves advanced to Journeyman on the basis of his unusual design philosophy, he did not expect to be getting much offers for collaboration anytime soon. If Ves wanted to pool someone else's specialty into his own designs, then his only real choice would be to nurture subordinate mech designers from within his own company!
In that light, Ves already began to get Ketis involved into his joint design project. Even though the Aurora Titan was strictly being developed by Ves and Professor Ventag, that did not preclude them from drawing upon the assistance of their subordinates.
For example, the professor already put one of his design teams to work on performing iterative simulations on the mech design.
Ves learned that the mathematical models employed during these simulations had difficulty predicting the performance of Professor Ventag's specialty.
No matter how well Professor Ventag constructed the models, they only approximated reality! The distortions that resulted in certain calculations led to skewed results that needed to be manually checked and corrected by the design team.
All in all, while the professor's design team did manage to accomplish some optimizations, the effort put into it was disproportionate to the amount of time and effort they wasted!
"Only a Senior Mech Designer or higher can be as profligate as him in putting an entire design team at work just to achieve some modest optimizations."
The difference they made to the performance of the Aurora Titan design barely surpassed a single percent.
Ves did not have an entire design team at his disposal, but he did benefit a little from the assistance of Ketis. Even though she was still a Novice Mech Designer, she had spent the last few months hitting all kinds of textbooks.
He tasked her with helping him design a suitable sword for the Aurora Titan.
"What kind of sword do you want to pair with your fatty mech?" Ketis asked.
"I told you time and time again, don't call the Aurora Titan a fatty mech." Ves sighed. "Anyway, it's a big mech, but also a fairly slow one. While I don't expect it to perform any miracles during the rare instances it is engaged in melee combat, I want to give it a very big sword. Its overall agility and flexibility is low, so it needs to compensate for it with wider reach and greater power. The Aurora Titan is able to exert quite a bit of mechanical strength, so I want you to work with that in developing a sword that isn't too hard to employ but can pose a big threat to enemy mechs in range."
Ketis played around for a bit and eventually came up with a design for a hefty broadsword. While its mass did not help the Aurora Titan swing it faster, it at least ensured the broadsword hit hard when the weapon connected!
This allowed the Aurora Titan to do quite decently against starships, fixed defenses and other relatively immobile targets.
In effect, pairing the Aurora Titan with a large and heavy weapon turned it into a mobile siege engine on the battlefield.
While both Ves and Professor Ventag possessed some misgivings about doubling down on power at the expensive of agility, there was little point in arming the Aurora Titan with a dagger.
The super-medium space knight simply wasn't as fast and agile as a light skirmisher, which could employ daggers to deadly effect!
Professor Ventag did offer Ves with an alternative solution. "We aren't living in a primitive time where melee weapons merely consists of big wooden or metal objects. There are certain weapon designs that aim to provide a high degree of destructive power while keeping mass at a minimum."
"Are you talking about plasma melee weapons?"
"That's a potential solution. Such hybrid weapons allow you to pair the Aurora Titan with a smaller and lighter weapon as long as you can accept the tradeoffs involved."
Eventually, they both decided against the use of higher tech weaponry. A plasma sword was indeed very fancy and very common in second-class designs, but the designs available to third-class mechs came with a lot more limitations. The power draw alone would turn the Aurora Titan into such an energy-hungry mech that it would be a wonder if it lasted more than fifteen minutes in battle!
A peak deployment time of only fifteen minutes was way too short!
Therefore, as the final arbiter of all the major decisions concerning the Aurora Titan design, he decided to work with the broadsword that Ketis came up with. After she finished design a simple and sharp sword with the help of the alloy formulas she found within NORA Consolidated's database, Ves tweaked and optimized it even further so that it was up to his standard.
As for the shield, Ves opted to go for a thick curved tower shield made out of uncompressed alloy.
The only distinguishing advantage of the shield was that it incorporated the ability to hold a polarizing field! While this increased the shield's complexity and decreased its structural integrity, Ves nonetheless figured this design choice to be worth it because it saved the outfit fielding this mech a lot of money!
"If there is one part about a space knight that gets beat up the most, it's always their shields!"
Ves knew better than to employ the formulas of the Pisaro armor system in the design of the shield. A tower shield was very large and very expensive and also very hard to repair in the field!
By employing a much cheaper alloy in the design of the shield that benefited from polarization, an outfit fielding an Aurora Titan wouldn't cry when the mech returned from battle with a shield full of holes.
"If these outfits really want a tougher shield made out of compressed alloy, then they can damn well buy a separate one themselves."
The main advantages of humanoid mechs was that they weren't stuck with their loadout of external armaments and equipment. Customers could opt to skip the sword and shield included in the mech model for a discount. They just had to pair their new purchases with their own gear.
After several months of work, the joint design project between Ves and Professor Ventag entered the testing phase.
Chapter 1100
After over four months of intensive design work, the Aurora Titan had essentially reached a feature-complete state. All the parts that needed to be added had been added to the mech.
Meanwhile, Professor Ventag already completed the design's internal architecture a while ago. For a mech designer of his ability, he didn't have to wrack his brains too much to pair the Aurora Titan with a fantastic internal architecture.
Professor Ventag offered to perform the testing entirely on his end, but Ves refused.
"It's my design, mostly, so I need to see whether the mech performs up to my expectation."
"You have never designed a spaceborn mech before." The professor frowned over the comm. "Even though your theoretical knowledge of spaceborn mechs is surprisingly extensive, that does not change the fact that your company doesn't have the requisite infrastructure to test spaceborn mechs."
Eventually, they decided for Ves to come over to Bentheim and fabricate the first prototype of the Aurora Titan design at one of NORA Consolidated manufacturing complexes. He would then take the prototype to the larger mech company's testing facility in an isolated star system in the Green Nebula region.
It entailed quite a bit of travel, but it ensured that Ves would be able to take advantage of NORA Consolidated's best facilities. The professor was right in stating that Ves and the LMC weren't equipped to put the Aurora Titan to its paces.
"I guess we'll be returning to Bentheim again." He said to Lucky as he ended his comm call with the professor.
"Meow."
"I know Bentheim isn't safe for us, but we'll be spending most of our time at NORA Consolidated. It's not as if we're going to be strolling down the middle of Dorum's boulevards."
"Meow!"
"Oh, alright. I'll purchase some exotic treats for you when we're there."
Lucky climbed on his shoulder and affectionately rubbed his cheek against Ves.
After Ves exited his lab, he called up Ketis to inform him of their impending departure.
"You're taking me along?" Ketis asked.
"Yup. I think you'll benefit from visiting Bentheim and witness the scale of NORA Consolidated's production facilities. I'm sure you'll also be able to learn some lessons when we test the prototype in space. Just because the design is feature-complete doesn't mean it is fit for the market. All the simulations we've performed so far does not account for every quirk that can happen in practice. Mech designers like us have an obligation to make sure that our mech designs won't inadvertently blow up and kill our own customers."
Hearing this already made her excited. "I can't wait to help out!"
Ketis quickly raced off to her apartment to pack her luggage.
To be honest, the help she provided so far didn't amount to much. Even the sword she designed was something Ves could come up with himself. Rather than include her in the design process to benefit from her assistance, he was merely preparing her for a time when her specialty truly became distinct enough to provide value to his mech designs.
Every mech designer needed to start from somewhere. Not everyone benefited from the advantages that enabled Ves to skip over these learning experiences.
Before he departed to Bentheim, Ves enjoyed a short period of respite from his intensive design work these last few months. Working time after time on refining the Aurora Titan design with the help of the spiritual fragment in his mind was still arduous to his mental capacity.
"This is not the easiest way to design a mech, that's for sure."
Yet he considered these pains to be worth a necessary price to pay. The Aurora Titan's X-Factor became increasingly more potent and more defined under their cooperative efforts.
Drawing from the observations he made during his last Mastery experience, he learned that the strength and potency of the X-Factor largely came from the mech designer!
More specifically, Ves learned that he could take measures to accelerate the growth of the X-Factor of his design by employing a number of methods.
The most direct one would be to replicate what Qilanxo had done by transferring his spiritual energy to the X-Factor of his design.
Ves felt very leery about this option, though. Ves hadn't quite developed a complete picture of how scarce spiritual energy was and how hard it was to replenish it. Right now, he maintained the notion that while spiritual energy could regenerate or be replenished from within his mind, it was quite a slow process!
Ves had only recently topped off the spiritual energy I've lost during my previous Mastery experience!
All of this pointed out that just like Qilanxo, Ves could not expend his spiritual energy willy-nilly to perform feats of wizardry. Imbuing the Aurora Titan with raw spiritual energy from his own mind was the crudest way of empowering it. Aside from being wasteful, Ves also didn't master the technique to blend his spiritual energy with the X-Factor of his designs.
Therefore, aside from fixating on quantity, he would much rather focus his attention on the quality and uniformity of his design's spirituality.
A good and coherent set of values and beliefs that Ves wanted to impart to his design served as the basic foundation of its X-Factor. It didn't matter how strong the X-Factor measured to his spiritual sense if it all became a muddled mess at the end due to engaging in too many flights of fancy!
When Ves kept track of his design's developing X-Factor, Ves faced a notable increase in heterogeneity when Professor Ventag began to work on the internal architecture.
Ves always expected something like this to happen. Even if Ventag didn't consciously mean to contaminate the X-Factor of the Aurora Titan with his own spiritual imprint, his design philosophy exerted so much influence that it could not be ignored.
Having anticipated this problem, redoubled his effort into overriding the professor's imprint with his own. In this aspect, Qilanxo's spiritual fragment again proved to be a lifesaver as its strong and potent energy remained undefeatable even against the influence of a Senior Mech Designer!
"How strong is Qilanxo, really?"
By directing the powerful spiritual fragment to imprint itself on the X-Factor of the Aurora Titan design each time Professor Ventag made another contribution, Ves ensured the mech remained coherent on a spiritual level!
Employing these methods showed Ves that it wasn't impossible for him to retain his specialty even when he collaborated with higher-ranked mech designer. The only issue was that Ves wouldn't always have a powerful, friendly, and responsive spiritual fragment at his disposal.
Inevitably, Ves would need to substitute this function using his own strength if he wanted to employ the same tricks in his future designs.
In the meantime, he would milk his temporary advantage for all it was worth.
Not only did Qilanxo's spiritual fragment ensured the purity of the Aurora Titan's X-Factor, it also supplied much of its quantitative strength. Eventually, the two would merge and become one and the same.
What the end result might look like, Ves couldn't tell, but it was bound to be a groundbreaking event!
"I'm getting ahead of myself." Ves shook his head. "I need to make sure that the technical aspects of the design is up to standard."
A crappy mech design paired with a fantastic X-Factor was still a failure in his eyes. This was because Ves mainly considered the X-Factor to amplify the performance of a mech and mech pilot duo. It could only work with the resources at its disposal.
"I can't control the quality of the mech pilot, but I can make sure the mech won't be a disappointment!"
According to the Senior's own opinion, the performance of the design would definitely not disappoint. While it was larger, less mobile and more expensive than regular medium space knights, the Aurora Titan made up for it in sheer defensive capabilities.
Even without running a prototype of its design through realspace tests, Ves and the professor could already glean that much from their own work. It gave strength to the argument that they should start with an asking price of 100 million credits for the most basic model.
While Ves hadn't made up his mind on this issue, he increasingly came around to the professor's viewpoint.
"An Apprentice Mech Designer would not easily charge that much for one of their designs. The mech market would laugh at him for being too greedy. It's different for a Senior, though. Even though the professor's contribution isn't all that great, it is undeniable that the Aurora Titan is also his design as well. With his credibility behind our joint project, it is a lot easier to get the market to accept a higher price point."
Another, more pragmatic reason behind charging a lot at the start was to account for future depreciation and reductions in price. At this moment in time, the current generation of mechs was in its sunset period.
Any mech designs published in the next couple of years would only be able to sell for its list price for a short period of time before being forced to discount it by twenty percent or more!
"By the time the new generation commences, the Aurora Titan would still be profitable even if it sells for 80 million credits."
This was the kind of shrewd marketing that ensured the design's longevity and relevance in a changing mech market.
"It's kind of like making a product seem more attractive by raising its base price by fifty percent but then offer a forty percent discount to customers!"
Even though buyers forked out more money for the same product as before, they gained the illusion of picking up a bargain due to the deceptive way the seller applied its discount!
"The Aurora Titan is really only worth about 80 million credits in my eyes. Charging 100 million at the start won't exactly do wonders for its cost effectiveness, but it will be a different story when the MTA finally rolls out the next mech generation."
All of this meant that Ves should not expect brisk sales of his Aurora Titan design at the start. Instead, the pricing scheme suggested by Professor Ventag paved the way for it to become a sleeper hit.
As long as more and more people began to see the merits of the Aurora Titan model, sales would continue to pick up in increasingly greater quantities. The early adopters who paid 100 million credits for a copy essentially paid extra in order to get a head-start!
"As long as the early buyers of the Aurora Titan pairs the mech with a mech pilot who knows what they are doing, I think they'll be very thankful they got in first."
Essentially, only Ves had an inkling of his Aurora Titan's full potential. Its technical performance should already be on par, but the strong X-Factor piled on top of it should elevate its actual battle performance to another level!
The significance of this design and the many insights he learned along the way stoked his design philosophy like never before. Not a single day went by where he hadn't been passionately involved in the design project.
To Ves, designing mechs such as the Aurora Titan provided him with a sense of fulfillment. He was developing something that no one else could match.
It was the kind of satisfaction that someone derived from doing a good job. Ves felt he was doing something useful by innovating on something hardly any mech designer paid attention to. His design philosophy eagerly resonated with his satisfaction, causing it to gain in splendor.
It wouldn't be long before the butterfly broke from its cocoon.
"Even if I advance, it will take a while to gain official acknowledgement of that." Ves regretfully shook his head.
The MTA only recognized Journeymen who designed at least five original mechs. These mech designs also had to be serious efforts rather than competition designs or trash designs that a mech designer came up with in a handful of days.
With the Blackbeak, the Crystal Lord, the Enduring Protector and his upcoming Aurora Titan designs under his belt, Ves only needed to design one more original mech design to meet the MTA's demands.
Ves already formed some ideas on what he should design next, but first he needed to finish his current project.
"Off to Bentheim, then."
