The Mech Touch (Web Novel)-Chapter 6863 The Absence of First-Class Living Mechs

"I do not understand the reluctance to translate the Ferocious Piranha Mark IV, the Valkyrie Redeemer Mark IV and the Bright Warrior Mark IV into first-class mechs." Casella said with a frown. "It is my understanding that the main difference between quasi-first-class mechs and first-class mechs is how much energy they have at their disposal. Even if there are other differences, it shouldn't matter as long as you put first-class power reactors into the mechs, correct?"

Ves let out an exasperated breath. "It may seem simple to you, but it is actually not. The architectures of those mechs are designed to endure the energy output of second-class power reactors. First-class power reactors are much more powerful, but that also imposes a much higher load on the mech frame. The heat sinks won't be able to absorb and radiate so much heat in so little time. The power lines will melt because they are not built to handle so much current. Many of the parts of the mech frame will not be able to make full use of the much higher energy output, thereby causing them to underperform in comparison to proper first-class mechs. The end result amounts to flawed and crippled 'first-class' mechs."

He understood the Saint Commander's desire to ask for first-class living mechs. This was the most important absence of the Premier Fleet. How could the Larkinson Clan possibly field a new fleet without making use of their own iconic living mechs?

Compared to third-party offerings, the mech pilots or at least the experienced ones vastly preferred to pilot living mechs. It would be great if their existing Bright Warriors or other living machines could get uplifted to first-class versions of the same mech line!

Casella did not give up on this subject. "Those are all technical problems. It is the job of mech designers such as yourselves to make them go away. I do not expect miracles from your Design Department. It is already good enough if you can convert the aforementioned Mark IV's into basic first-class mechs that are stable enough to fight alongside all of those first-class multipurpose mechs. As long as you can do this, I can summon so many skilled and battle-tested veterans from the expeditionary fleet. Their existing familiarities with the quasi-first-class living mechs will massively reduce the learning curve of the first-class living mechs. This should especially be the case if their battle partners have followed them into the Premier Fleet."

The ace commander actually raised a few good points. She did not ask for first-class living mechs that could match the performance of first-class multipurpose mechs. She just wanted the new machines to be able to make contributions in their own ways.

Casella clearly grew excited at this prospect. Her Command Field which recently experienced a growth spurt due to piloting the Minerva Mark II. Her expensive domain therefore made emotions transparent.

That might work to her disadvantage one day.

In any case, Ves and Alexa were unable to meet her expectations.

"The technical problems you spoke of can be solved for the most part, but not in a short amount of time." Alexa Streon stated in a calm but assertive voice. "We are not trying to get in your way, but it is truly not possible to snap our fingers and convert those Mark IV's into proper first-class mechs in an instant. Every assumption that we have applied to those mech designs has to be rethought and retested in order to verify whether the same rules still apply in a higher level of warfare. All of that takes a great amount of time and effort to complete."

Ves nodded in agreement. "This means that developing first-class versions of those mech lines takes almost the same amount of time as designing completely original first-class mechs from scratch. These are big projects that require the full dedication of a design team over the course of half a year or longer."

The ace commander frowned deeper.

"I see. Why are you not starting right away? The sooner you get this done, the faster we will be able to field first-class living mechs that truly belong to our clan."

"We are eager to see that happen as well, but we can't rush." Ves responded while shaking his head. "First-class mechs are the best of what our race has to offer. They are designed to exacting standards as they wield far greater power than any other war machine of this size. Any flaws or mistakes will often be magnified to dangerous proportions due to how much power they wield. If we design a first-class mech, we either do a proper job, or not at all. It is very dangerous to rush a design without taking the time and effort to do it right. Perhaps other mech designers are willing to take the risk, I am not among their number."

"Even in the current climate?"

Ves shrugged. "That is why I have directed you to purchase a batch of commercial first-class multipurpose mechs first. The performance of whatever the mech market has available will always trump any mechs that I design under strained conditions. I am not pleased to resort to the work of other mech designs, but the logic is too strong in this case. We are not ready yet to field our own first-class living mechs. I have to ask you and everyone else to remain patient."

Although the Saint Commander clearly did not like what she heard, she had no other choice than to accept his verdict.

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"What are you waiting for, Ves? When will you design the first-class versions of our staple mech lines?"

"I am not sure." Ves honestly said. "I still need to put this matter under consideration. It is possible that I will not design any first-class version of familiar Larkinson mech lines aside from the Transcendent Punisher. If it turns out that we are better off using a handful of first-class multipurpose mech models that can cover the roles of dozens of different specialized mech models, then I will favor the more expedient solution. There are good reasons why the first-raters so love their multipurpose mechs."

Casella frowned in disapproval. "First-class multipurpose mechs also impose extreme demands on mech pilots. They can only be piloted by professionals with A or B-grade genetic aptitudes. You may be able to relax those requirements somewhat with the Carmine System, but the pilots still need to master an excessive amount of skills. The assistance of auxiliary qi cultivation may help second-class mech pilots close the gap, but it cannot substitute for formal attendance at a proper first-class mech academy. These machines demand far too much from their pilots."

She raised a good point. The manpower requirements for first-class multipurpose mechs were extremely harsh. It was much easier to find mech pilots that possessed the qualifications to pilot first-class specialized mechs.

Most Larkinsons valued the simplicity and affordability of mechs that only focused on doing a single job well. They were accustomed to working with specialized mechs and did not appreciate the hassle of working with much more demanding first-class multipurpose mechs.

Ves did not want to put himself in one camp or another. He wanted to be more objective than that. Since so many first-raters swore by their multipurpose mechs, he felt it was better to keep an open mind and try it out for himself to see what the fuss was all about.

He knew that committing to designing a first-class multipurpose mech would make it much harder for second-class mech pilots to promote to the Premier Fleet, but he could not allow sentiment to overrule sound logic.

"When will you design your own first-class multipurpose mech?"

"Soon, Casella. I cannot give you an exact schedule or anything. I am still juggling a lot of different projects right now. I don't have enough direction now. I need inspiration to design an unforgettable first-class multipurpose mech for our clan."

"Oh. I see."

The lack of inspiration was a big impediment to his intention to design a first-class multipurpose mech.

He just knew that if he forced himself to design such a machine, he would end up developing a bland and boring product that would be lacking in personality.

A mech design that lacked a true soul did not deserve to exist as far as he was concerned.

"We did not call you here to talk about designing first-class living mechs." Ves said. "We merely wanted to introduce the first batch of quasi-first-class and second-class living mechs designed for the Hyper Generation. Do you have any further comments about the Ferocious Piranha, Valkyrie Redeemer and Bright Warrior?"

The Saint Commander spent a bit of time in thought. "I do not have any further questions or comments. I need to see them in action before I can provide more accurate feedback. In my opinion as a mech commander who is highly familiar with the previous editions of those mechs, I think the Mark IV's won't cause any storms, but will still be able to help more clansmen survive. I believe that is the most important gain."

That sounded about right. The goal of the Mark IV's was not to dazzle the enemy and allow the mech designers to earn more accolades. They just needed to keep up with the times and adapt to the changing battlefield.

Just as the meeting was about to end, Ves brought up another topic.

"Casella."

"Yes, sir?"

"It is about time for us to procure first-class multipurpose mechs for the Premier Fleet. I have been holding off this decision because technology is constantly improving. However, now that the Tortuous Scream is less than a month away from delivery, the time for waiting is over."

"Red humanity's industries are also under increasing strain." Alexa Streon mentioned. "THe Upper Zones are holding for the time being, but what is happening in the Middle and Lower Zones has already compromised many shipping and supply contracts. Once the native aliens make inroads into our most resource-rich territories, many first-class mechs will become impossible to produce and sell."

"Then we should make sure that we place our orders sooner rather than later." Casella said. "Do you already have any first-class mech models in mind?"

"I don't have any concrete choices, but I can already tell you that we will predominantly procure first-class mechs from the Red Association. As a tier 3 galactic citizen that is in favor with all of its leaders, I do not foresee any problems with purchasing non-experimental mechs. If I have a good relationship with a particular RA mech designer, then I may be able to buy the good stuff."

Casella raised her eyebrows before looking at Alexa.

"Why choose RA mechs? Are Terran mechs that bad?"

"No." The former Terran mech designer responded. "Mechs designed by Terrans have their own strengths and characteristics. They are not necessarily worse than the mechs designed by the Red Association. It is just that they are lacking a critical feature that Ves greatly values."

"What missing feature?"

"Support link technology." Ves answered with a grin. "We are one of the few private organizations that has received an official permit to make use of shield link technology. This is a powerful if demanding piece of tech that is already integrated into most high-end RA mechs. This feature will definitely keep more of our mechs and mech pilots alive."

The Saint Commander became delighted by this news!

She understood the value of shield link technology just as well as Ves.

Casella no longer grew upset about the absence of first-class living mech models. If her subordinates in the Premier Fleet could pilot exclusive RA mechs that enjoyed the cover of shield link technology, then it became much easier for her to keep them all intact on the battlefield!

"Do you also have permission to incorporate shield link technology into your own mech designs?"

Ves nodded. "That's right. This is also a reason why a straightforward translation of the Mark IV's into first-class territory is not advised. As I mentioned earlier, shield link technology is a demanding piece of tech. It requires a much stronger mech architecture in order to accommodate its demands."