The Mech Touch

A modular mech platform was the catch-all term for mechs designed to accommodate multiple roles.

Unlike the multipurpose mechs common in first-class mech designs, modular mech platforms weren't designed to fulfill multiple roles at the same time.

Instead, they consisted of a very broad and adaptable base which could be outfitted in several different ways.

Need a ranged mech? Then slap some precision arms to the torso, add some targeting systems to the internals, and equip the resulting mech with a rifle.

Need a knight mech? Rip off the gear previously added onto the platform and instead add some heavier arms as well as extra layers of armor. Add a sword and shield and voila, a knight mech!

Such versatility was very useful to outfits and forces that expected to face a variety of threats. The ability to convert a lot of mechs to a different mech type was incredibly valuable to some customers!

Some of the more famous modular mech platforms were able to turn into at least a dozen different mech types! From light skirmishers to artillery mechs, as long as the design was good enough, the choices were limitless!

Naturally, the tradeoffs were also significant.

There were many flaws associated with modular mech platforms that limited their popularity.

The most important one was that modular mech platforms couldn't match the performance of a specialized mech.

A force that fielded a company of specialized mechs would always beat an equivalent force of modular mech platforms! The gap in performance was simply too noticeable!

Unless the force that fielded the specialized mechs possessed obvious vulnerabilities, it would always be able to leverage its superior performance to overcome a more versatile adversary!

The second flaw associated with modular mech platforms was that they were incredibly difficult to design well. The greater the amount of loadouts, the more the design had to accommodate different demands.

This not only increased the workload, but also the difficulty of completing the design!

Most mech designers had no good reason to embark on such an ambitious project. They could just invest their time in designing a bunch of mechs with clear purposes.

It simply wasn't worth it for most mech designers to waste their time on modular mech platforms!

The third flaw associated with these kinds of weapon platforms was that the mech pilots didn't like them either. Since a modular mech platform had to accommodate several different roles, it wouldn't excel in any of them, meaning that the mech pilot had to exert a lot more effort to reach the same level of performance as before!

According to mech pilots, modular mech platforms tended to be clunky, making it difficult to perform advanced movements or reacting quickly enough to changing circumstances. The mechs also tended to feature very large weak points as a result of opening up the possibility to detach and replace components in the field.

Gloriana knew all of these faults. Even in second-class mech design, her colleagues rarely embarked on something so quixotic.

"Ah, I think I'll be able to succeed as long as I limit the scope of my project." Ves smiled at her in reassurance. "Modular mech platforms may have gotten a bad rap, but that is because most of their designers were too ambitious for their own good. They bit more than they could chew and suffered the consequences of their overconfidence."

"You don't sound so different from those fools right now." Gloriana poked her finger against his chest in accusation. "How can you possibly complete such a vast mech design project in three months?"

"I'm not designing this for the mech market, Gloriana. I don't have to conform to the demands of consumers. Do you know what this means? I can set any design goal I want! Ordinarily, a modular mech platform has to accommodate a lot of possible loadouts, but that just complicates the overall design. Right now, I don't think I need to design for so many roles. I'll only limit the design to three or four roles at most, which is much more manageable."

Things got complicated if Ves attempted to accommodate more than half-a-dozen roles in a single mech platform. By cutting this number in half, the platform would not be burdened too much!

"This.. can work." She said after contemplating her argument. "It's still very difficult to accommodate a ranged mech and a melee mech onto a single platform, though."

"I'm already aware of that. I've already designed a hero mech and some hybrid mechs. I'm more than familiar with the tradeoffs. This has actually given me the confidence to embark on this project. I know what I'm dealing with and I'm confident in both of our skills."

"What about the lowered performance?"

"This won't be a problem either as long as I throw enough resources and money at the problem. I've.. recently came across a source of highly valuable exotics. I also have a lot of money at my disposal. It's no problem for us to overcome this downside by relying on the superior attributes of expensive materials."

"This… you're usually not like this, Ves." His girlfriend frowned. "Usually, you always emphasize the need to be more frugal and efficient in our designs. This is a departure from your normal design direction."

Ves shrugged. "I guess I'm becoming more of a second-class mech designer. It's still a fairly bad idea to adopt this approach if I intend to design a commercial mech, but I'm not competing with anyone this time. Since I'm designing a mech for myself and my forces, I can accept a bad deal as long as I can fulfill my other goals!"

"What are they?"

He patted the book their two cats were preoccupied with. "The Golden Cat needs some exercise. As the Larkinson Clan's ancestral spirit, she needs to be able to exercise her power and responsibilities more directly than lazying around in her book all the time. Giving her the ability of a design spirit will allow her to bond deeper with the mech pilots of our clan and take on more of their traits."

This was very important to the development of the Golden Cat and the Larkinson Clan. Both of them were intertwined, and using the medium of mechs to increase their dependence to each other ensured that neither of them drifted apart!

"I see how that can be important. The Golden Cat will watch over your clan for a very long time. You don't have to resort to a modular mech platform to achieve this goal, though. You can just design a single mech type to fulfill this purpose for now and design other other mech types later on to expand the available choice."

Ves shook his head. "It's too slow. I'm only designing this mech to strengthen my clan and mech troops. It's not worth it for me to spend time on multiple designs when one broad project will do. We only have a limited amount of years left before we begin our grand expedition. By that time, I hope to convert most of our potentates into second-class mech pilots by offering them a training mech that can facilitate their training!"

She recalled the priority he mentioned earlier. "I see. Your goal is to design a training mech. The reason why you want to give a third-class mech some second-class capabilities is so you can give all of your mech pilots a taste of what it is like to pilot an actual second-class mech. This will narrow the gap and make it easier for them to gain the needed proficiency to pilot more advanced mechs."

"That's right. This is why it doesn't matter if my mech is more costly and less efficient than my other work. They still have to be effective in battle and exceed the performance of our existing mechs, of course, but my primary intention for designing a modular mech platform is to offer most of our mech pilots a bridge to second-class mech design!"

She accepted his decision after she heard his reasoning. His decision was quite logical and not as burdensome as she thought. As long as Ves limited the scope of this project and possessed enough money and resources to produce such expensive mechs, then it was actually viable!

"You care a lot about cultivating second-class pilots from your own people." She remarked. "Don't you think you're being a bit too excessive, though? The amount of time, money and resources you invest in elevating the quality your own people is out of proportion. If you want, I can hook you up with some Hexers who can be persuaded to work for us as long as we offer them enough incentives!"

Ves grimaced. "I'm not too keen on hiring Hexers, especially since your culture will clash with ours. I don't want our Larkinson Clan to depend on others to defend itself. If we follow your suggestion, we'll just be creating a lesser version of the Glory Battalion. Despite being founded in your name, you're not actually in control over it! I'm trying to remedy this problem! We can't depend on your mother or the Wodins forever!"

His stance caught her aback. She studied him carefully with remarkably clear eyes.

He was not facing Gloriana in her prime at this time. Instead, he was facing a tired but more perceptive and rational version of her. Now that she became accustomed to her spiritual exhaustion, she had become quite sharp in some ways!

"You.. never intend to go to Hegemony, are you? You're afraid. You're afraid of my culture and my people."

"I.." Ves silently cursed himself. He never wanted to clue her in on this! "Can you blame me? I'm a man. Not a boy. How do you think I would feel if I entered a state where I'm forever being marginalized and belittled?"

"We had a plan!"

"That's not good enough, Gloriana! I agree to gain your mother's approval because that is what you desire, but I have needs as well! No matter what I do, it's impossible for me to feel at ease in the Hexadric Hegemony. I feel more at ease in the Ylvaine Protectorate than your home state! Doesn't that tell you something?!"

Gloriana looked upset. "You've never been to the Hegemony. You don't know how good it is to be a Hexer."

"Hexer culture and beliefs don't mesh well with me at all! The same goes for my clan! Unlike your people, we Larkinsons highly value our men! It would be a severe dereliction of duty for me as clan patriarch if I follow your suggestion and move everyone to Hegemony!"

She almost couldn't believe it. She always assumed she would end her extended excursion to the lesser states and return to the Hegemony with her boyfriend in tow. She had dreamt up many different scenarios where she introduced Ves to her mother and the rest of the Wodin Dynasty and helped him integrate into Hegemony society.

To hear that Ves emphatically did not wish to become a Hexer or even visit her home state was a very big blow to her! If her emotions weren't so muted, she would have thrown a fit or done something worse!

As it was, Gloriana slowly separated from Ves and lowered her head. She looked incredibly desolate right now.

It was as if she found Ves in bed with another woman!

"Ves…"

"Gloriana…"

"I don't want to talk to you right now." She hissed and shoved him away. "You can go fantasize about your next mech design project on your own! I really can't believe you right now. How can you possibly hate Hexers? They're my people, Ves."

"I love you, but I don't love your people." Ves admitted. He decided to come clean. "Don't try and integrate me into your society. It won't work. I'm not a boy to be bullied around by every woman in your state. My clan won't accept such treatment either! If you can let go of your delusion of turning me into a Hexer, we can make our relationship work. If you can't, then I'm sorry!"

A crack had formed in their relationship!