The Mech Touch

While Gloriana still did not agree with sending Maikel to the Red Association, the deed had already been done, so her opinion was irrelevant.

After Ves endured her admonishments, they moved on and went back to work.

In the next few days, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.

The most interesting event that happened was Ves briefly meeting with Commodore Zonrad Reze in order to secure the RF's cooperation in the development of the Instrument of Doom.

"Your request is not that easy to meet, Ves." The fleeter told Ves during a brief personal meeting. "It is 10 times easier to arrange a collaboration between our weapon engineers and your Design Department if you did not set any demands regarding the selection of materials. Insisting that we use EE-343F-00334R as a core material for the luminar crystal cannon of your high-ranking ranged mech completely changes the nature of your demand."

"How so?" Ves curiously asked.

"There are only a small number of naval engineers and material scientists that possess the knowledge and security classifications to work with this experimental alloy. The work that they do for the Red Fleet is absolutely crucial. Assigning them to work on a project that bears no direct relation to our organization will cause delays in other important projects. Newer generations of warships that are armed with superior technologies will enter the battlefield later than expected, causing all of red humanity to suffer significant losses. Do you truly believe that this price is worth the gains you stand to make if we help you develop this overpowered mech cannon of yours?"

When the commodore put it this way, Ves felt a lot more reluctant than before to persist in his request.

However, Ves did not let Sigrund's attempt to guilt trip him succeed.

"What you just said is way too abstract and unrelated to my decisions, commodore. I don't believe that the schedules of your RF are so tight and inflexible that delays in one area causes a cascade of delays in other areas. That just sounds stupid and completely unbecoming of a superorganiation as great as the RF. Also, I am confident that the Instrument of Doom empowered by this super-class alloy can provide greater value on the battlefield than a dozen of your latest warships."

Friend or not, Sigrund could not allow Ves to trample on the dignity of the Red Fleet so easily!

"That is an exceedingly bold claim, Ves. Do you have any proof to back up your outrageous assertions?"

"Not per se, but think about it. You should already possess details of what EE-343F-00334R can do. When you combine its properties with one of the most powerful energy cannons that a high-tier expert mech or ace mech can wield, you get a compact weapon that might not necessarily be able to match the raw damage output of a sizable warship, but is much more effective at killing key targets. By that I mean phase lords."

"..."

"For all of your vaunted tech and warships, the Red Fleet has always struggled to kill phase lords. I have read the statistics. Out of every force out there, the RF is one of the forces that are least capable of landing the killing blow on enemy phase leaders."

"Mechs do not actually perform better." The RF flag officer quickly retorted. "Their individual success rates are actually significantly lower. They only achieve better results because there are many more mech forces than naval warfleets, and every individual mech force can easily field thousands to hundreds of thousands of mechs on a single battlefield."

Ves wanted to smack his palm on his face. "That is a deceptive comparison, and irrelevant to boot. Both mechs and warships suck at killing phase lords because they are too weak or clumsy to land effective killing blows onto phase lords. However, there is a glaring exception to these statistics, and they are ace mechs. Although it is still difficult for any ace mech to kill a phase lord, they are responsible for harvesting the lives of most native gods during the Red Tide Offensive. Their efficiency is much higher than other combat assets no matter whether you treat them individually or as a whole."

As much as Commodore Reze wanted to argue back against Ves, he could not contradict hard numbers.

"I am aware of what you are referring to." Commander Reze said. "There are still differences between ace mechs. Do you truly think that Venerable Davia Stark, who is merely a high-tier expert pilot at the moment, can use the proposed Instrument of Doom to attain the same degree of killing efficiency against phase lords as the likes of the Gamer, the Messenger of Silence and the Fleet's Heart?"

The mention of the latter caused Ves to grow amused. Both the mechers and the fleeters shared a love-hate relationship with the controversial ace pilot.

It couldn't be helped as the Fleet's Heart became infamous for being an ace mech commander who loved commanding warships in battle!

He was incredibly effective in large-scale battles that erupted frequently during the Red Tide Offensive, but neither the mechers nor fleeters dared to take pride in his accomplishments!

The very existence of the Fleet's Heart had become a taboo of sorts to the Red Association and the Red Fleet. They had learned that it was better for them to remain silent and pretend very hard that he did not exist.

If not for the fact that the Fleet's Heart was able to use the combined advantages of his ace mech's sniper rifle and the interdiction capabilities of his subordinate warships to entrap and kill his fair share of phase lords, he wouldn't have become so much more famous in the past half year!

However, this conversation did not center around this eccentric ace pilot. Ves quickly reoriented his thoughts.

"I do think that Davia Stark has the potential to kill a phase lord." Ves boldly claimed. "Granted, she probably has to advance to the rank of ace pilot first in order to gain the capability to do so on a regular basis, but you know what she is like. Davia Stark and her Amaranto have the highest single-target killing power out of all of the champions in our clan. Arming her with a luminar crystal cannon that possesses both extremely high firepower and exceptional penetration power can definitely be employed as a killer weapon against phase lords. In order to guarantee the latter, the use of EE-343F-00334R or an equivalent material is essential. An ace mech can make much better use of the quantity that I have left in my vault than any warship."

Commander Reze frowned but did not refute this argument. This was one of the greatest advantages of high-ranking mechs. They borrowed the power of true resonance to dramatically increase the properties of every material and component, allowing them to increase their performance by one or even two orders of magnitude!

That is a yield that could never be attained by conventional warships!

The only vessel that came close was the Dominion of Man, but she was a unique Carmine dreadnought that was currently lost with Bridgehead One.

"Okay, you have convinced me, Ves. I will take this up with Admiral Mieli who will likely make the final decision on whether to assign the necessary scientists and engineers to cooperate with you on the development of an EE-343F-00334R-empowered mech energy cannon. I hope that you are aware that you are granting exceedingly extravagant treatment to a single expert pilot. The amount of firepower that will eventually fall into her hands can easily be used to breach the hulls of warships and possibly annihilate other ace mechs with a single attack."

Ves only grinned after hearing that. "Good. This is exactly the kind of exaggerated firepower we need to turn the tables against those huge and massive phase lords. I have fought against them in person, so I know exactly how frustratingly difficult it is to overcome their defenses and inflict telling blows against them. The new and improved Instrument of Doom should give my clan the capital to single-handedly deter enemy phase lords from attacking a strategic location. This will ultimately benefit red humanity a lot more."

Whether that was true remained to be seen.

They ended the meeting after Commodore Reze promised to get back a definite answer within a week.

Meanwhile, Ves met with Vector again in order to catch up with a few recent developments.

"How is Maikel doing?"

"He is still in transit to Yernstall where he will formally be inducted into the Red Association." The Transhumanist replied. "He is a low-ranking mech designer of great interest to us, so I can assure you that he will receive the corresponding treatment. Those of us who are aware of his potential and inclinations have provisionally designated him as a talent that is worth developing. This effectively means that he will receive similar treatment that Jovy and I have received."

Ves looked impressed. The mechers tended to provide excellent treatment to young but talented mech designers. Maikel would definitely be able to improve quickly after receiving so many luxurious benefits!

However, the RA did not treat these talents with so much extravagance for free.

These high-potential mech designers had to work hard in order to complete demanding assignments that were especially tailored to match and slightly exceed their limitations.

Maikel would become subjected to years of demanding education and high-pressure design exercises. If he failed to endure the pressure and improve quickly enough, then his status within the Association would drop, causing him to lose much of the 'free' benefits.

The Red Association was fair in its own way. Its mech designers had an opportunity to receive the best treatment, but they had to bear greater burdens as recompense.

"Do you think that Maikel has the potential to become a Senior Mech Designer in his forties like us?" Ves asked.

"I do not think so." Vector emphatically shook his head. "Jovy and I are born within the Association and have been raised according to much higher standards than Maikel can imagine. He is only just beginning to enter our organization, so he must start from zero in multiple aspects. It will still take years for him to properly integrate within the RA. All of the delays will make it unlikely for him to become a Senior Mech Designer at the same age range as us, although… systematic cultivation may help him pass numerous important thresholds much sooner. This may especially be the case since he possesses a companion spirit as well. That is such a cheat."

Ves grinned. "Oh yeah. The two factors can indeed accelerate his progress by a considerable extent. Many of our fellow mech designers in the previous years have never been able to take advantage of cultivation and companion spirits, but the ones that emerge afterwards are different. The next generation of up-and-coming mech designers will surely be a lot younger and less experienced as a whole."

Technically speaking, Ves and to a limited extent Jovy could also be regarded as part of this 'cheating' generation of mech designers.

Ves made use of a companion spirit long before other mech designers, and Jovy was the first mecher to receive his Eye of Providence.

The fact that they were able to become Seniors in their 40's had a lot to do with the conveniences provided by their companion spirits!

Vector Loban deserved much greater respect because he was able to become a Senior Mech Designer by relying much more on his own merits.

In any case, Ves felt reassured that the Red Association saw promise in Maikel and was willing to invest a large amount of resources into his professional development. Explore hidden tales at m,v l'e-m|p| y r

"What about Saint Isobel Kotin?" Ves changed the subject. "How is she doing so far?"

"I cannot say for certain as I do not have any information on her status. By my estimation, her… body… should have either reached the Evolution Witch's side directly, or been transferred to an excellent medical facility where she can undergo pre-treatments."

"Will she truly be able to recover in 1 or 2 years?"

"The Evolution Witch will not lie about this. You can rest assured that she will fully cooperate to help your ace pilot get back on her feet in the shortest possible timespan."