The Mech Touch

"The mechers eagerly want us to switch to upgraded first-class ace mechs before carting us off to the Upper Zones, but... doing so will reduce the safety margins in star systems such as Viola Magnifica by a large extent." Saint Marissa Lewandowski warned. "That means that if the native aliens do not completely act according to plan, they may send more phase lords to this strategic location. All the troops under us stand to suffer much greater losses if that happens."

"That is a possibility that we cannot dismiss." Saint Commander Casella agreed. "In this day and age, we cannot protect and save every individual soldier no matter how extensively we try. There is an argument to be made that by removing us from their orbit, many more of them will die, but that the survivors will grow multiple times faster than now. If a handful of ace pilots and a dozen expert pilots emerge from a single battle, then suffering 50 percent losses does not necessarily represent defeat."

The former legion commander of the Living Sentinels abhorred such views, but that did not mean she was unable to understand the cold-hearted perspectives of the

Higher-ups.

The Red Association has sent enough messages to make Casella understand that the mechers made the decision to relocate the ace pilots partially for this reason.

Only by reducing the strength of the defensive forces in the contested star systems would they be able to stimulate more desperate mech pilots into breaking through! Since Casella was able to figure out this much, she made another prediction about how the Red Tide Offensive might unfold in the near term.

Pulling away the champions from the middle zones might create circumstances where the invading forces may actually be able to overcome the defenders and conquer more strategic locations!

If that happened frequently enough, then the 4th defensive band would collapse sooner than most people thought!

This may mean that the RA and by extension the RF and the RC have privately decided to abandon the 4th defensive band under their own terms.

This could be regarded as a potential masterstroke, but only if the upcoming storm produced enough powerful breakthroughs!

If the tradeoff worked as intended, then this was effectively a desperate and costly measure to trade territory for crucial breakthroughs. It may end up worthwhile if enough expert pilots, ace pilots and maybe even god pilots appeared in the following months!

Casella was not in a hurry to share her opinion on the RA's latest move to others. It was a controversial gambit, and many people may not be able to accept the callousness of this brutal calculation.

Her judgment may also be wrong. There were not enough clues to increase the certainty of her guess.

"To be honest, I was waiting to commission a living ace mech from your patriarch." Saint Marissa Lewandowski said in an emotional tone. "Having fought alongside your clan for years, I have come to appreciate the value and strength of your living mechs. I especially like how the living mechs of both weak and powerful pilots have become responsive and reliable partners. I think I can fight considerably better if I had a living light skirmisher like the Dark Zephyr."

Ketis raised her eyebrow. "Why have you not attempted to pass on your request to our Design Department? Ves and Ketis would be honored to convert your Jedda Sandivar into a living ace mech."

"The circumstances won't allow it." Saint Marissa sighed with regret. "I already chatted with Director Gloriana Wodin about this. She cannot promise that she can overhaul my ace mech within 2 months, and that her schedule is already packed with ongoing projects. Your Design Department is ultimately too small to accept too much work. You really should think about expanding it. Your clan's living mechs have become so popular that more and more expert pilots and ace pilots like myself want to pilot a high-ranking living mech of our own. We are so jealous of your Everchangers, your Minervas, your Dark Zephyr and so on. You Larkinsons shouldn't keep all of the good stuff to yourselves."

The more composed Saint Kalasandra Boojay nodded in agreement. "My thoughts align with Saint Marissa. There is no excuse for the Living Mech Corporation's Design Department to maintain its small scale when the sales and licensing fees of its business ventures have delivered an astronomical amount of income to your company and clan. Your patriarch is not only close to the mechers, but also leads the Upper Council of the Red Collective. All of the impediments to further growth and expansion have disappeared."

Ketis frowned when she heard that. "I will pass on your feedback to Ves and Gloriana. I am not sure how they will take it, though. They like to maintain strong control over the Design Department. They have always resisted drastic expansion. Ves doesn't want their overall loyalty and commitment to come under question. Gloriana fears that bringing in too many new and unfamiliar mech designers will cause the quality of the Design Department's output to drop."

"There are consultants for that, Swordmaster Ketis. Saint Kalandra said. "If the two Senior Mech Designers do not know how to scale their design operations to a scale more befitting to one of the rising powers of the Red Ocean, then they should seek the assistance of the Red Association or other friendly groups that possess much greater expertise in this area. There should be solutions to expand their Design Department. while maintaining its current strengths. The Larkinson Clan must become more professional in all of its aspects if it wants to live as long as our Boojay Family," Even Ketis could not deny that the responsibilities and expectations of the Design

Department had far outgrown its current scale.

Expanding it was not that easy, though. As an insider, Ketis clearly understood that too many projects were dependent on Ves and Gloriana.

This was a testament to their strength and brilliance, but they had also turned into the bottlenecks that constrained easy expansion.

It would have been better if they managed to become Master Mech Designers.

There were considerable differences between Seniors and Masters.

The latter were not only smarter and able to get a lot more work done in the same amount of time, but their most important advantage was that they could pass on their design philosophies more easily!

They could take on as many disciples as needed to raise substitutes and helpers to take care of less important projects and work assignments that were depending on the design philosophies of their Masters.

The realization of a design philosophy also made it a lot easier for existing mech designers who already committed to their own specializations to become proficient in Ves or Gloriana's design principles!

Given their competence and learning capabilities, it shouldn't take too much time for other Seniors and Masters to learn how to design living mechs or to shape the perfect. ℞ἈNô𝐁Εs̩

Vessel like Gloriana!

This was how the design studios and design departments led by others were able to expand their scale so quickly without resulting in a serious deterioration of quality and

Reliability.

"By the way, Ketis, how close are you to breaking through in your two professions?" Saint Marissa Lewandowski asked.

Ketis sighed. "Do not expect anything drastic to happen soon. It is not easy for me to invest my time in both of my careers at the same time. Do not get me wrong. I wouldn't trade this for anything else. Being a swordmaster while possessing the insights of a Journeyman Mech Designer has allowed me to approach my swordsmanship from a more analytical perspective. This complements my excellent intuition and instincts well. At the same time, my mastery of swordsmanship easily allows me to understand how to design swordsman mechs that can complement the fighting styles of my customers much better. This is one of the reasons why my Stormblade Samurai Mark II's are already selling well despite the fact that I am just a Journeyman."

She had become one of the few Journeymen of the current generation that defied the limitations of her rank. Her unusual set of advantages effectively allowed her to design swordsman mechs that offered value propositions that surpassed that of the mechs.

Designed by her peers.

This is one of the key advantages to pursuing both a combat and production profession at the same time!

Therefore, even if Ketis simply did not have time to make quick progress in both of her careers, she was still doing relatively well for herself!

"I envy your clan for raising so many excellent mech designers who are actually worth a damn. Ves, Gloriana, you and maybe others such as Alexa Streon are shaping up to become future legends in your industry." Patriarch Reginald spoke in a judgmental tone. "Master Benedict Cortez is the only mech designer in the Cross Clan that I can respect. We have invested so much money and resources into augmenting and educating our smarter descendants, yet all we get in return are more spoiled Apprentices who may or may not be able to justify their rich treatment in a few decades. Absolutely none of them have shown any hint of the genius that characterize the best of your Larkinson Clan." "If it was that easy to produce mech designers on the level of Ves, then many more groups would have gotten them by now." Ketis crossed her arms. "You may have complaints about how Ves and Gloriana manage their Design Department, but they have always prioritized the quality of its mech designers from the beginning. By limiting the rate of recruitment to ensure they get the cream of the crop, it is easier for them to realize the potential of new talents. The smaller scale of the Design Department also makes it easier for them to supervise and guide the talents that they see promise in. You can't do that as effectively if they have ten times or a hundred times more mech designers under their command."

"If your Cross Clan isn't good at raising good mech designers from within, then why not recruit from outside?" Saint Marissa idly asked.

Patriarch Reginald scowled. "Tch. Our Cross Clan isn't as famous or attractive as the Larkinson Clan. Those snooty Journeymen, Seniors and Masters that are genuinely talented or skilled look down on us and Master Benedict. Our battlefield accomplishments have earned us lots of glory, but without a famous or highly successful

Mech designer in our ranks, all of the mech designers that we are able to recruit are the rejects that can't get into more desirable mech companies."

Talent acquisition was serious business. Genuinely good mech designers had already found good employment years before they graduated from their universities. While there was still a bit of mobility in the hiring market for mech designers, the ones

With genuine value always found a way to receive lucrative applications from superior

Employers.

It was truly too difficult for the Cross Clan and its mech company to stand out from the

Competition.

Benedict Cortez was not a bad mech designer per se, but his resume as a Master Mech Designer was still awfully thin compared to his much older and more experienced

Competitors. "Swordmaster Ketis." Patriarch Reginald suddenly adopted a serious and intense expression. "Would you like to come over and work for us? We do not demand that you leave the Larkinson Clan and defect to our Cross Clan. You can stay with us as a guest

Designer and work directly under Master Benedict. Think of it as an exchange. I think we can help each other out a lot. You can help whip our spineless mech designers into shape, and you can not only receive tutoring from a real Master Mech Designer, but also gain management experience by leading an existing design department. What do you think about this suggestion?"

Ketis blinked. She never expected Patriarch Reginald Cross to attempt to bring her over

To the Cross Clan, if only on a temporary basis!

Without the latter qualifier, she would never think about accepting this offer. However, if it was only for a few years, Ketis found this proposal sound a lot more compelling!

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