The Mech Touch

Perfect beam convergence was impossible to attain in reality.

No energy weapon could produce completely parallel beams where all of the light photons or energy rays shot forward without ever intersecting with or drifting away from each other.

The weapon in question needed to be built according to a level of precision and control that not even the best materializers could attain.

It was easy to design a perfect weapon in a virtual or imaginary environment, but reality was messy due to the influence of many variables that simulation programs could never fully replicate.

"Normally, it is impossible to produce perfectly parallel beam alignment in reality." Ves told Gloriana and Harry. "However, there have been instances where this has actually been produced. The easiest way to generate energy beams that are so parallel that they can strike at targets at cosmic distances is to rely on the reality-defying willpower of high-ranking mech pilots to smooth out any imperfections."

His wife crossed her arms. "We know that already, Ves. We have already conducted an investigation into this phenomenon. If the expert pilot or ace pilot possesses the right specialization, then it is indeed possible for this to happen. However, the concentration and effort needed to forcibly align a flawed energy weapon is considerable. I fear that Davia Stark will end up exhausting herself after firing half-a-dozen shots at extreme distances. This is not compatible with my vision for the Amaranto Mark III. The battles fought during the Red War are not only larger in scale, but also tend to drag out over time. We cannot make the marksman mech too exhausting to use, or else Venerable Stark's firepower will not be available during the moments where we need it the most."

One of the best moments for ranged mechs to strike was at the end of a battle.

As long as the native aliens withdrew their remaining forces, ranged mechs were able to chase after their prey and take potshots without encountering as much counterfire as before.

The breakdown of order and the messy disposition of rear guard forces usually created a lot of gaps in the defenses of the enemy fleets.

It was especially crucial to pursue enemy phase lords before they successfully got away.

Letting these alien powerhouses retreat with their lives intact would negate much of the work put into damaging them in the first place.

Only by harvesting their lives would red humanity be able to gain a little more breathing room!

"I am aware of what you said, Gloriana." Ves responded. "A problem that can be solved with technology shouldn't be addressed with extraordinary power. It is the job of the mech designer to arm an expert pilot such as Venerable Davia Stark with tools that can ease her burdens. Doing the opposite is counterproductive. I have been thinking about how we can solve the beam convergence problem from a technological approach."

"Did we not ascertain earlier that there is no feasible means to produce perfectly parallel beams with the current state of human technology? Not even Harry here has a clue on how to accomplish this, and he knows more about converging energy beams and focusing crystals than both of us. It is possible the Polymath or the Resonance Smith can present a technological solution that is close enough to make the Amaranto Mark III effective at striking targets that are over 1 million kilometers away, but we are far short of meeting this standard."

His wife was correct. Their technological prowess and access to materials was not good enough to solve this problem in a more conventional manner.

One possible solution that Ves could employ was to use one of the favors he saved up to request the help of a Star Designer.

He had done it once before by requesting the formula for Yondu Milk from the Xenotechnician.

It turned out that he had largely wasted this favor as Divine Lucie Miyazaki ended up importing the authentic version of Yondu Milk from the Milky Way.

Should he exchange one of the favors that he had left to request the personal intervention of a Star Designer?

Ves actually felt tempted to do so. It would turn the Amaranto into an undeniably useful asset in the Red War as well as many conflicts to come.

The ability to strike at extreme ranges with total precision and reliability was an advantage that almost no force possessed!

The Larkinson Clan could completely take advantage of Venerable Stark's unparalleled sniping capabilities to assassinate troublesome opponents when they least expected an attack.

The Amaranto Mark III would also become extremely useful in pursuits. It would take much longer for fleeing opponents to escape the effective striking distance of the deadly expert marksman mech.

He inwardly shook his head.

Ves decided not to expend a precious favor. There were many ways he could put it to better use. It sounded wasteful to expend such precious social capital on a boon that mainly favored a guest pilot as opposed to himself.

He decided to solve this problem with his own means. He considered this a test of his design philosophy as well as his own capabilities.

"A problem like this that cannot be solved with pure conventional technology can be addressed with more unconventional technology." Ves explained his thoughts. "The most direct solution is to borrow the power of Ylvaine as we have discussed before, but I am reluctant to rely too much on his power. He is not a design spirit that has a strong affinity for the Amaranto. I also think that Venerable Davia Stark is less than enthused about the prospect of praying for Ylvaine for his guidance. She is a woman that possesses a strong sense of responsibility. She would rather take action on her own than rely too much on others to fight her battles."

Gloriana thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "That is true. I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of adding Ylvaine to the Amaranto Mark III. There is logic behind this combination, but Ylvaine does not fit the marksman mech's theme. Basing a design choice solely out of logic and practicality is an inadequate measure. If you can present us with a better alternative, then please share your idea."

Ves smiled and projected the incomplete design of the Amaranto Mark III in the air. He zoomed in the image of the wireframe model and removed the mech frame so that only the Instrument of Vengeance remained.

The design of the current iteration of the rifle was not complete, but it also showcased the undeniable influence of Harry Haikkonen's work.

The rifle had always been rather long and sizable, but the vastly increased strain that the weapon was expected to withstand in the future made it necessary to increase its volume by a large extent.

The weapon had become so large and unwieldy that it was almost completely unsuitable for use at close range!

While the Amaranto Mark III could technically hold it like a spear and poke at incoming enemies with a bayonet, the rifle was ultimately not designed to function like a polearm.

In any case, Ves did not call up the design in order to criticize the excessive size of the weapon.

He zoomed in the image even further and highlighted the areas that should normally be occupied by the focusing crystal.

"Many, though not all energy weapons contain focusing crystals that are mainly responsible for controlling the beam convergence of the resulting output." Ves said. "In most cases, people are already fine with 'good enough' results. Modern industrial fabrication can already produce focusing crystals and energy weapons that can ensure that energy beams remain relatively coherent and effective at distances that range up to thousands of kilometers. With a bit more effort and controls, an energy weapon can even strike at large and relatively immobile targets on a semi-reliable basis that are tens of thousands of kilometers away. Of course, this is mostly the case when fighting in the vacuum of space."

None of this was new to Gloriana and Harry. In fact, this was downright basic information!

There was a reason why Ves felt the need to rehash this basic knowledge.

"I have decided to turn the Instrument of Vengeance's focusing crystal and the surrounding elements into an Ultimate Module."

"I could have predicted that months ago. What is important is how this Ultimate Module of yours is actually able to help Venerable Stark land a precision shot at a target that is over a million kilometers away."

Ves began to radiate more confidence at this point. "Oh, the idea behind my Ultimate Module is simple. In order to enable the Amaranto Mark III to land an accurate shot at such distances without relying on the guidance of an external party, I believe we have to make a compromise. The one I have chosen for this is losing the surprise factor by letting the Amaranto fire a calibration shot first."

"A… calibration shot?" Gloriana furrowed her brows.

"Yup. In other words, Venerable Stark will attempt to take aim at a distant target and configure the settings of the Instrument of Vengeance according to her and her battle partner's intuition, judgment and calculations. It is not necessary for them to get every parameter right. What matters is that they get close enough to unleash a good calibration shot. This attack will most likely miss. The probability of nailing the target is almost zero. What truly matters is that this shot provides enough quality calibration data for Stark and the Amaranto to quickly adjust the settings of the focusing crystal to discharge the execution shot, a fully-charged energy beam attack that should hopefully strike the target."

"..."

"..."

The two mech designers sitting opposite of Ves became speechless.

"What is the matter?"

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! IF IT WAS THAT EASY FOR VENERABLE STARK TO LAND HER SHOTS AT SUCH EXTREME DISTANCES, THEN WE WOULDN'T NEED AN ULTIMATE MODULE IN THE FIRST PLACE! BESIDES, THE SEQUENCE THAT YOU HAVE JUST DESCRIBED DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH AN ULTIMATE MODULE!"

Harry provided more constructive feedback. "We have contemplated this approach before, but deemed it unviable. The calibration data from the first shot has to be analyzed and processed in a short amount of time. The longer the delay between the first shot and the second shot, the lower the value of the calibration data as the target has probably already moved far away from its original coordinates. Other circumstances such as temperature, space debris, relative motions and so on have also begun to diverge to a significant degree. Even if we attempt to speed up the calculations and shorten the delay between shots, it still takes precious seconds to fully charge and accumulate all of the power for the execution shot. This will mean that Venerable Stark and her Amaranto Mark III cannot rely on pure calculations and must always make predictions in order to plug the correct numbers at the correct time. This is why we have decided it is better to land one successful shot right away than relying on a two-step process."

Both mech designers had good reason to express their skepticism towards Ves' approach.

He already thought about these problems as well, but he believed his work may actually be able to solve this problem.

"This is why the focusing crystal and the processors that control its beam convergence are not made of normal parts. I instead intend to turn them all into an Ultimate Module. This means that they will be governed by the subordinate spirit of the Amaranto Mark III. The Two-Step Execution Crystal will be entirely dedicated to making the sequence work, and will rely heavily on E-technology in order to get the job done."

Neither Gloriana nor Harry understood the true implications of these words.

"Why is this important, Ves?"

"Humans are able to cultivate and gain all manner of amazing and reality-defying powers. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"Companion spirits can also engage in cultivation, correct?"

"Yes."

"Living mechs are also able to cultivate. It is difficult to notice the differences, but that is because they are already so big and strong that the absorption of E energy takes longer to produce material transformations. Is this also correct?"

"Yes. I suppose you are correct."

"Since Ultimate Modules are essentially carriers of the companion spirits of the living mechs, who says that they cannot cultivate by themselves? What if the Ultimate Module practices a custom qi cultivation method that can make up for the shortcomings of Venerable Stark and the Amaranto Mark III? Do you think it is possible for my proposed Two-Step Execution Crystal to assist them in performing the right adjustments and correct their aim right after firing a calibration shot?"

"This…"

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