The Mech Touch

Ves spoke with General Verle and others to discuss how they could best convert their liquid assets into real benefits that could increase their chances of surviving the new frontier.

"We can spread the money around and use it to buy large amounts of goods, but it will be hard for anyone to notice the difference." General Verle told him over the comm. "It can also take weeks for us to purchase and ship all of the extra goods from many different vendors. Given the short timeframe available to us, I suggest that we should focus on investing in a single, powerful product that can massively improve a specific capability of our expeditionary fleet."

The general's argument was sound.

"I suppose you already have an idea on what we should buy, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir. Let us consider our situation. We are about to embark on the Trailblazer Expedition in earnest. This will take us far away from Davute and other bastions of civilization and bring us to lawless regions of space where piracy, rivalries, alien incursions and even pockets of hazardous anomalous regions can overtake our fleet. Most serious battles that may occur during these encounters will pit us against technologically or biologically advanced adversaries. What sort of measure can we take that can ease our pressure?"

Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "Hm. At first, I thought about giving a mech like the Amaranto a massive upgrade, but it is difficult to increase its combat effectiveness considering that its Instrument of Vengeance rifle is already powerful. If we want to increase our ability to defeat many different threats, we should probably go for a more universally applicable boost."

"Those are my thoughts as well." General Verle concurred. "This is why I have instructed my staff to inquire with the local tech companies in Davute whether they have developed any tools that can help our fleet deal with the more troublesome enemies. We have obtained information on many different experimental and prototypical products that may or may not fit our needs. Each of them promise drastic effects, but what they all have in common is that they cost an astronomical amount of money and phasewater to obtain."

That interested Ves. After cooperating with several different development companies over the past five years, he had become quite familiar with their operations and their activities.

Companies such as Melmen Advanced Systems engaged in a dozen or more R&D projects. The smaller and more practical projects usually centered around developing mature and commercial-oriented products that were relatively cheap, efficient and reliable.

Then there were the more radical and fanciful projects that were much more ambitious. The success rate of these projects rarely hovered past 20 percent, which meant that the companies could easily waste hundreds of thousands of MTA credits as well as multiple kilograms of phasewater on failed research!

Though the companies could compensate for those massive losses by using the lessons they learned on completing the few daring projects that just happened to be viable and earn a huge amount of profit as a result, there was no doubt that the barrier to entry was prohibitively high.

The biggest problem these companies faced was obtaining the massive amount of phasewater needed to sustain their ambitious research projects. No matter whether they succeeded or not, it was inevitable that they would use up a lot of phasewater.

This was why the development companies had become so welcoming to the Larkinson Clan after it had returned from the Purgatory Campaign.

Anyone who possessed a massive amount of phasewater and conveyed the willingness to trade this resource turned into their favorite customers!

Ves just recalled that his clan managed to plunder at least 37.2 kilograms of phasewater from Pima Prime.

Since his clan did not expect to receive such a massive haul, there were no special reasons why he should hold on to this stash. Aside from reserving a sufficient quantity to support the development of the Dullahan Project, he was more than willing to spend the remainder on a powerful combat asset.

"So what do you have for me, general?"

"Our scientists and engineers have filtered out the more dubious and impractical inventions from the list. They have also left out the products that are too large and complicated to manufacture in a short amount of time. That leaves us with only a handful of options, but we have thoroughly vetted each of them to ensure that they will deliver on their promises."

The general proceeded to present the inventions to Ves one by one.

A projection of a large, cube-shaped machine appeared into view.

"The first tool is the SPM, which stands for Super Phase Monitor. It is a new long range phasewater detection machine developed by RISMIN, an institution that we have never conducted business with before." General Verle introduced.

"We already have plenty of phasewater detection devices in our fleet. They're mandatory equipment to every pioneering fleet."

"That is true, sir, but the equipment we have are fairly standard products that do not give us a competitive advantage. Their effective ranges vary depending on environment, interference and many other factors, but even our best detectors will struggle to pick up phasewater past 8 kilometers and less if there is a lot of solid matter in the way."

Ves nodded in understanding. He learned enough about phasewater to know that searching for it was an ordeal in itself.

Basically, most prospectors had to perform carpet searches in areas suspected to contain phasewater deposits. This was a tedious and extremely time-consuming activity for both aliens and humans.

The only exception appeared to be the mysterious phase whales. There were rumors that their sensitivity towards phasewater was so high that they could even detect a deposit on the other side of a star system!

"I take it this SPM breaks the mold of the phasewater detectors that are generally available on the market, or else you wouldn't have bothered to bring it up to me." Ves guessed.

"That's correct, sir. What makes RISMIN special is that it is founded by several technical universities. Numerous professors and researchers form cross-disciplinary R&D teams, allowing the relatively new institute to engage in more advanced research that ordinary development companies cannot engage in for many reasons. It is through these efforts that the researchers of RISMIN succeeded in producing a breakthrough. The new SPM can detect phasewater from up to 44 kilometers away. What is better is that this is only a first generation product. If RISMIN continues to iterate on the design, there is hope that this range can be extended in the future."

Ves widened his eyes. Compared to ordinary detectors, 44 kilometers was a massive improvement!

While the SPM wasn't capable of detecting and identifying the coordinates of every phasewater deposit on an entire planet, the true value of this super detector was to make it easier to detect phasewater in underground deposits!

The only reason why Ves didn't pounce on this fantastic new invention was because he didn't really want to turn his Trailblazer Expedition into a full-time phasewater harvesting operation.

"I'm certainly interested, but the SPM can only indirectly improve our strength by allowing us to collect more phasewater." He eventually told the general.

"That is not entirely true, sir. The SPM can be useful in other situations as well. It can detect the passage of objects in warp travel at much longer distances depending on how extensively space is being warped. It can precisely evaluate how much phasewater is contained in a mech or starship. It can help us detect cloaked mechs and vehicles as long as they are carrying phasewater. It can even be used to detect and precisely identify the coordinates of the entrances of hidden phase whale enclaves or other pocket spaces, though RISMIN has warned us that this capability has never been tested."

Ves looked intrigued. "Ah. I see. Information is power. A detection device as advanced and versatile as the SPM can truly provide us with massive help in the deep frontier as long as RISMIN's boasts turn out to be true. I think it will definitely be necessary for us to procure a super detector such as the SPM sooner or later. I don't know whether it is necessary for us to obtain it now, though."

One of the concerns he possessed was that early generation products were known to provide relatively mediocre performance at insane prices.

If the Larkinson Clan was willing to be patient and wait for a decade or so, the development cycle might progress to a point where RISMIN was able to release a phasewater detector that was ten times cheaper but nonetheless offered similar performance!

"You don't need to decide now, sir. Let me bring up the remaining options so that you have the information that you need."

The projection of the SPM made way for another projection that displayed a different machine.

"This is the Gravity Net, an experimental new warp inhibitor developed by one of our more familiar partners. Morton Tech has invested big in developing devices that can disrupt or solidify the fabric of space to prevent mechs, starships and even missiles from sneaking up to their targets at speeds that make it impossible to intercept them. While many companies have already developed different warp inhibition and warp interdiction devices, the Gravity Net is special for several different reasons."

"What is the Gravity Net's effective range?" Ves curiously asked.

"That depends, but Morton Tech guarantees that it can block all undesirable warp travel activity within a radius of 30 kilometers."

Though 30 kilometers sounded a lot, it was far from impressive in the context of space battles.

The Golden Skull Alliance already possessed similar devices that were able to do their jobs at similar ranges!

"I suppose there is more to it than that." Ves said while looking expectantly.

"Right. The Gravity Net may only be able to extend so far, but Morton Tech guarantees that the inhibition effect is extremely strong. Normally, powerful warp drives that have used up a large amount of phasewater can break the blockade by relying on brute force. The Gravity Net incorporates tens of kilograms of phasewater itself depending on the exact model, so even powerful ace mechs should struggle to activate warp travel within its range."

Now that sounded a lot more interesting!

The Battle of Pima Prime had fully showcased the horror of mechs such as the Mars and the Neo Amadeus. The thought that a hostile ace mech could quickly arrive within the heart of the Larkinson Navy and demolish crucial ships such as the Spirit of Bentheim in an instant was a nightmare to Ves and many Larkinsons!

Though a strong inhibition field that was only effective within a 30 kilometer radius would not slow down an ace mech that much, even a minute or two of advance warning might be enough to save the expeditionary fleet!

"What else is special about the Gravity Net?" Ves asked as he became more interested in this cutting-edge product.

"You can exert much more control over the warp inhibition effect." General Verle replied. "Due to the special way it exerts its effect as a 'net' rather than a 'field', the Gravity Net can be used to selectively forbid warp travel for enemy mechs and ships while allowing friendly ones to take full advantage of their combat drives or warp drives. What this means is that within a 30 kilometer range of this device, our forces will enjoy an absolute mobility advantage!"

"What?!"

This was an astounding claim!

If the Larkinson Clan had access to the Gravity Net during the Battle of Pima Prime, then Ves was certain that the Skorpion Kommando would have never been able to fell the Shield of Samar.

This was because once the Skorpion Kommando got close enough, it would have never been able to catch up to the Shield of Samar and the Promethea!

The Gravity Net might not be effective against distant targets, but as long as the Larkinsons fought within their own security perimeters, they would enjoy a massive defensive edge!