The Mech Touch

After the general meeting, Ves talked with each of the expert candidates in private in order to hear their initial demands.

He started with Joshua first.

"In the decisive battle, we need to pair you with a mech that can allow you to threaten an enemy warship." Ves spoke. "Two out of four of the Bright Warrior configurations are suitable for this purpose. A lancer mech will allow you to perform a single overwhelming attack while a rifleman mech will give you substantially more reach. Which one do you prefer?"

"I'm used to piloting the lancer mech configuration, but I can brush up my marksmanship skills if you need me to. It's just.. will either be able to allow me to fight against a warship?"

"Breakthroughs will always allow you to exert more power than usual. This is especially the case when you reach Unity of Man and Machine."

"I'm not Jannzi."

"You're right. You are not like her. That doesn't mean you should underestimate your own ability. Out of all of our expert candidates, you have the greatest understanding of my mechs. While I can't say whether it will truly happen, I have high hopes for your ability to meld with the Quint."

"It would help if I can pilot it a few times." Joshua remarked.

"Don't bother making this request again. I have already told you my answer. Now let's return to our original question. Lancer mech or rifleman mech?"

This was a very impactful choice. His choice of configuration had the potential to change the entire course of the upcoming battle.

After half a minute, Joshua made his choice. "I'd like to keep the lancer mech configuration if possible. I always felt as if it is the most powerful configuration of the Quint, sir. My mech is able to penetrate much tougher obstacles than the regular Bright Warriors. This is a powerful advantage."

"You made the right choice." Ves smiled.

Of the five gems that Ves had used to build the Quint, one of them stood out due to its high amplification factor.

[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.

The sole advantage provided by this gem was not trivial. Ves eagerly wanted to leverage it even further when he improved the Quint. Whether it was enough to threaten a warship, he didn't dare to make any claims.

The few instances where expert mechs directly confronted warships often ended in tragedy.

The power of a demigod seemed uncomparably frail compared to a heavily-armored ship that was capable of outputting enough damage to crater an entire city in a matter of minutes!

Only ace pilots were able to offer meaningful resistance against sub-capital warships.

As for god pilots, no one knew what they were capable of. The rumors suggested that they were worse, equal or even superior to CFA battleships.

Joshua was not a god pilot. He wasn't even a proper expert pilot yet. Even if he broke through in the most powerful way imaginable, there was only so much he could do. That was why Ves did not bet all of his chips on this plan alone.

Still, making sure that Joshua was able to exert more power would definitely open up some opportunities in the upcoming battle.

Once the two decided to settle on a lancer mech configuration, Ves called up a wireframe model of the Quint and began to illustrate some of his suggested changes.

Many of them were rather subtle and overly technical, so Joshua quickly got lost. It wasn't until Ves marked out the miniature missile launchers that the young expert candidate paid attention again.

"I never used those missiles. I never found a need to resort to them." Joshua said.

"I know, but the opponent we'll be facing is different." Ves responded. "The biggest disadvantage of missiles is that it's not easy to stock up a mech with a lot of missiles. You have to make the most out of the limited payload the mech is able to carry. I intend to replace the standard second-class missiles supplied to the Quint with custom, handcrafted missiles."

"You're making them yourself?"

Ves grinned. "Oh, you betcha. All of the other Bright Warriors that I intend to supply to the other expert candidates will enjoy the same treatment. We have accumulated a lot of medium and high-grade exotics from Ulimo Citadel. At least some of them can produce potent explosive reactions."

"This isn't enough. Once I fire all of the missiles loaded in the Quint, I'm dry."

"That's okay. This is just a secondary weapon system. Let's move on to the core enhancements of the Quint."

Ves outlined several improvements to the acceleration and the shock-absorbing systems. He also proposed to replace the Quint's current lance with a different one that was substantially stronger.

Joshua was surprised at the last suggestion. "Do we have a material that is stronger than Breyer alloy, sir?"

"Yes, though it's not easy to work with. I might have to spend a lot of time on this subproject."

Ves intended to make the Quint's new lance out of Unending alloy. Even though he hadn't found a way to work this first-class alloy, he might be able to manage something if he cooperated with Lucky.

His cat still suffered from an awful stomach ache, but hopefully that might change in the coming weeks.

If not, Ves was prepared to cure his cat in any way he could.

"Do you have any specific requests? Do you think the Quint in this configuration is missing something?"

"I…" Joshua trailed off for a moment. "Lancer mechs are kind of one-dimensional. I could use another weapon if charges are impractical. I'm not talking about a backup knife. I want something I can use to tear something up without building up momentum."

That was not an easy request. "I can pair the Quint with another weapon, but your mech isn't geared towards brawls. A lot of capacity of the lancer mech configuration is taken up by its shock-absorbing systems. It has to carry all of these cumbersome parts because you and your mech are liable to squash yourselves flat if these components are absent."

"I don't need anything too fancy. I can rely on my skill to overcome the awkwardness of my mech."

Even though people such as Melkor might not be able to win against a Swordmaiden in a swordfight, he was still able to hold his own to some extent.

Against regular street thugs, a trained soldier like Melkor would still be able to win the fight with relative ease when both of them were wielding swords for whatever reason.

A talented mech pilot such as Joshua possessed a very broad skillset. His skills were not in question, but the frame of a lancer mech didn't really possess the agility and full range of motion that allowed real swordsman mechs to outduel their opponents.

Ves couldn't do much to address this problem without creating other problems.

After discussing some other matters, Ves finished his discussion with Joshua.

The upgrades to the Quint weren't very complicated. The lancer mech configuration still retained its essence. Ves merely planned to add some selective improvements to enhance its core functionality while possibly adding a touch of flexibility as well.

He ended his meeting with Joshua and called up Commander Orfan. He replaced the projection fo the Quint with the projection of another Bright Warrior mech.

"I intend to create your spearman mech by adapting the swordsman mech configuration of the Bright Warrior. Do you have any specific requests that you think might help?"

She pointed at the spear held by the projected mockup of her future mech. "This spear looks a bit thin."

"Don't worry. It's a lot stronger than you think. Don't think it is weaker because it's not as thick as a typical spear. It's made out of incredibly hard material. The mech will break before the spear begins to crack."

Commander Orfan looked impressed. "If that's the case, then I don't have as many complaints. I actually like thinner and lighter spears because I can launch my attacks faster. Just make sure the spears are straight and solid. I don't want to fight with those weird floppy poles that bend and tumble as if they are acrobats."

"I didn't plan on supplying you with this kind of spear. It's rarely used in the Komodo Star Sector."

"There's something else I want you to add to my mech. I want you to add a small shield to my mech."

"Uh, are you sure?"

She nodded. "It would help a lot if I have something that can absorb a lot of damage. Just make sure it isn't big enough to slow my mech down. I don't want a big fat tower shield."

"Understood. I'll pair your mech with a modest shield."

The Valkyrie Redeemer design already possessed a lightweight shield, so Ves could just copy it over while making some small adaptations.

She didn't impose any other important demands, so Ves quickly moved on to hearing Commander Dise.

"Ketis will know what I want for my mech." The Swordmaiden Commander uttered. "It will take too long to list out my exact requirements to you. I am very particular about the swordsman mechs I pilot. The Bright Warriors that are armed with swords are too balanced for my tastes. Aside from their admittedly impressive defense, they aren't weak or strong in any other aspect."

"I've studied some of the swordsman mechs in your mech roster. I take it you want something that is more focused on offense?"

She nodded. "Defense is good and all, but that is not our way. We cut through every obstacle or evade the attacks we can't afford to take."

Part of that was due to necessity. Back in their pirate days, the Swordmaiden mechs couldn't really handle too many complex repairs. High-quality armor systems were not only expensive and challenging to source, but difficult to repair when damaged. It was better for them to rely on simpler mechs that may not be the toughest but were easily to service in resource-deprived regions.

Though these constraints no longer applied to the Swordmaidens, they had already developed a strong martial tradition around these limitations.

"I will make sure to improve the mobility of your mech. I'll focus on enhancing its reaction time, agility and immediate acceleration. The armor system will largely remain similar, so its defenses should still be as good as before. As for the weapon, I might cooperate with Ketis to replace the Breyer alloy greatsword that is paired with your current mech with something better."

"I look forward to seeing the result."

She didn't put up a fuss. Of course, Ves didn't think she was charmed by his design ability. She mainly placed her trust on Ketis. As long as the Swordmaiden mech designer had a say in the project, Commander Dise had nothing to be concerned about!

This kind of unflinching trust was very touching to Ves. Dise did not express an inkling of doubt towards Ketis. Even though the two hadn't spoken about this topic, the Swordmaiden Commander already believed that Ketis would succeed!

How come other Larkinsons didn't exhibit this degree of closeness? It turned out that there was still a lot more room for improvement for his clan. Ves hoped the rest of his clan would develop this degree of implicit trust and intimacy.

After they quickly completed this discussion, Ves raised another topic to the Swordmaiden leader.

"There is something else I'd like to talk to you about."

"What is it?" She looked at him questioningly.

"I.. have another experiment. It's not tested and it's mostly theoretical, but if it succeeds.. It might be possible to empower your Swordmaidens through completely different means. Are you interested?"

"I'm not sure. Your experiments.. aren't exactly the cleanest."