The Mech Touch

Everyone had different strengths and weaknesses. Even the ace mechs that served as their trump cards all possessed drastically different capabilities depending on their mech archetypes as well as the traits of their ace pilots.

No one wanted their mech forces to be treated as cannon fodder.

At the same time, no one wanted to be squeezed out of easy opportunities to make more contributions.

Due to the profit-sharing agreement that they established, every party wanted to perform well.

The more enemies they defeated through their own efforts, the greater their share of the spoils!

Eventually, the leaders, figureheads and diplomats no longer interfered in the planning of the operation.

Instead, people such as General Verle and other military figures stepped forward in order to study the Gemini's battle plan and supplement it with their own input.

The military officials soon moved to a different compartment where they could gain access to more intelligence and better facilities.

This allowed the rest of the delegates to roam free and familiarize themselves with their temporary allies.

As one of the youngest leaders attending this gathering, Ves stood out from the rest. The majority of the people brought by the other groups were at least twice his age.

The gap in generations made it a little awkward for Ves to chat with the other dignitaries at first, but no one here was stupid. The patriarch of the Larkinson Clan was a celebrated mech designer and made a lot of accomplishments throughout his relatively short career.

No one had any reason to despise him, especially when none of them were direct competitors to each other.

The Adelaide Mercenary Group approached him first. The majority of them consisted of mech officers who had all experienced a lot of combat. There was a sense of wildness and ferocity in their demeanor that Ves found familiar.

The lead person stepped forward and clasped Ves' arm. "I have heard much about you, Patriarch Larkinson. They say you're a fighting mech designer."

"Oh, I'm not as exaggerated as they say in those stories, hehe." Ves chuckled in response. "I have ended up in sticky situations numerous times when I was younger, but I have always let my soldiers do the fighting. The best I could have done is scramble for cover and hope my mechs can beat the crap out of enemy mechs."

"Hah! That still makes you better than virtually every other mech designer in the Red Ocean!" The middle-aged man replied. "None of those wussies and lab geeks have ever seen blood being spilled before their eyes. Even fewer have picked up a gun and shot down an enemy while looking him in the eyes. You may have left those incidents behind, but I can spot a killer from the other side of a star system. You're a much finer pioneer than those suits on the other side."

The Adelaide leader clearly referred to the business executives that were part of the Santana Group's delegation.

Aside from a few exceptions, the Santana Group's leadership was dominated by people who were more comfortable with fudging the numbers on a balance sheet than piloting a mech in battle.

Ves did not underestimate the Santana Group, though.

Organizations led by civilians could be just as successful as those led by military officers. In fact, the former was probably better in most cases as civilian leaders were more comprehensive decision makers that could balance many different interests.

Well, the good ones were like that at least.

"I wouldn't put down the Santanas if I were you." Ves responded in a mild tone. "According to what I know, the Santana Xenoarcheology Division Fleet holds the greatest quantity of mechs among us. Their quality might not be the best, but it will be a lot easier for the Santanas to blockade the Palace of Shame."

General Herman Foraine snorted. "Their glorified security guards might be decent enough in scaring away would-be raiders, but they are not fit for a massive base assault. Their mech pilots are too soft and inexperienced to keep their cool during the heat of battle. At least I have no reason to doubt your alliance's battle readiness. You and your buddies have earned an enormous amount of respect for us for showing what you were made of during the Battle of Pima Prime."

Ves smiled. No one disliked being complemented. "Thank you, General Foraine. We did not intend to make a show out of it, but I am glad that our most recent battle performance has allowed us to earn your trust. I will caution you not to dismiss the battle effectiveness of the Santanas. They have gone through their fair share of battles as well and their mech pilots are well-trained. It takes a lot for them to produce an ace pilot from their ranks."

"I seriously doubt that. I have studied their past battles and they were almost always on the defensive. As for their ace pilot, they just lucked out in recruiting a highly talented mech pilot."

General Herman Foraine must have developed a strong bias against financial holding companies because he couldn't stop himself from disparaging the Santana Group.

Fortunately, the leader of the Adelaide fleet respected the other pioneering groups more.

"The Boojay Family is alright." The mercenary leader said. "The Boojays don't really excel at anything, but they have built up a respectable mech force and have been tested enough times throughout their long and storied history. Their martial traditions are all unique."

The Boojay Family wasn't actually a particularly brilliant group. There were many other families that managed to reach greater heights in the same amount of time, but there were also a lot of other families that had met their end after suffering enormous defeats.

In contrast, the Boojay Family stood out for its heavy emphasis on the long term. The Boojays were generally conservative in nature and generally did not take a lot of risks.

"It is quite odd to see the Boojay Family among us." Ves shared his own views on this pioneering organization. "The Boojays were supposed to reside in the Greenwich Middle Zone which is far away from here. Do you know why they have come all the way to our Krakatoa Middle Zone and decided to enter this turbulent border region?"

General Foraine shrugged. "I don't have a clue. However, look at their postures and look at the way they are talking with the others. They aren't entirely comfortable in their own skins. Whatever brought them all the way here is not entirely harmless. Maybe they provoked an enemy they shouldn't have."

"Hm. It isn't too important as long as they pull their own weight in the upcoming operation. Old and upright families like theirs care a lot about their reputation, so they shouldn't let us down."

Ves and General Foraine finally directed their attention to the delegates of the Lehrer Foundation.

"I don't know what to think about the Lehrers. Most of them are scientists who all look out of place outside a lab. Why are they even here in the border region?"

"Research, naturally." Ves said in an understanding tone. "While it is fine for them to stay holed up in a well-equipped research lab on a safe and boring planet, the truly passionate researchers will never wait for others to supply them with research materials. The truly ambitious scientists that depend on external input to further their work can make a lot more progress if they go out and find what they need in the field."

He respected this attitude a lot. The mentality of the Lehrers matched his own, though they worked in different fields.

General Foraine looked skeptical. "I suppose it is fine if they want to lead a research team to the surface of an exotic planet, but I wouldn't trust any of them to lead a mech force."

"I don't believe the Lehrer Foundation is stupid enough to let that happen. The Lehrers of all people should know that important tasks should best be left to the professionals. Besides, their mech force should be pretty strong. Their mechs have incorporated a lot of advanced technology."

"The focus of the Lehrer Foundation is not on mechs. Not really." The Adelaide leader shook his head. "I would rely on the mechs of your alliance over that of the Lehrer Foundation any time. Yours are not only rich in features, but also proved their worth against elite military mech units."

Ves sensed an opportunity.

"Are you a customer of ours?"

"No. I am afraid our mercenary company does not have that privilege." General Foraine regrettably said. "I am not in charge of mech procurement so I have never paid much attention to the mech market. Adelaide is based in the Magair Middle Zone, so for a long time our procurers have been buying their mechs from the mech companies that are closer to our current home. It is only recently that we have heard of your Living Mech Corporation and its fantastic range of products. While some of our leadership is impressed with your work, we have already modernized our mech units a few years ago. The models that we currently employ are competitive in their own right and we will only be throwing away a large amount of money if we replace mechs that we can still depend upon for at least a decade."

"That is an understandable approach." Ves gave his potential customer a reassuring smile. "You don't need to hurry up and replace machines that still have a lot of life left in them. I respect all mechs, even the ones sold by my competitors. I am sure that your men have selected their models carefully."

The other man's expression soured. "Not carefully enough seeing that the dummies in our procurement department completely overlooked strong and useful mech models such as the Ferocious Piranha, the Desolate Soldier and the Crystal Lord. I will definitely push our heads to take a good luck at your mechs in the next procurement round."

Ves and the man continued to chat about mechs for a time. Both of them were deep into mechs so there was an endless amount of topics they could talk about.

It didn't matter to Ves that Adelaide was nowhere ready to buy another batch of mechs. As long as General Foraine became a hardcore fan of LMC mechs, he would definitely be able to push through his demands sooner or later.

"You don't have to think about acquiring our main combat mech lines just yet, but that doesn't mean our company has nothing to offer to you." Ves said. "Our auxiliary mech models can serve as force multipliers to your existing units. For example, we have our Buzzy Bee model that offers good ECM capabilities while also featuring a special communications method that is much more reliable than what you are using at the moment."

General Foraine frowned. "I am aware of the ECM mechs that you are selling. I would love to purchase a batch of your mechs, but we are stuck in the middle of nowhere at the moment."

"That's not a problem."

"Pardon?"

Ves grinned. "Have you taken a look at our flagship? Our fleet centers around a factory ship! We can fabricate any mech in our catalog! Feel free to place an order. We can deliver the mechs you want in a matter of days."

Though the Adelaide officer looked awfully tempted, he did not possess enough authority to spend the mercenary company's money on a whim.

"I can't. Our company has strict rules and procedures."

"Your Third Fleet is about to launch an attack against a powerful alien asteroid base, right? I think it should be easy to convince whoever is in charge of this to draw out additional money to bolster the strength of your forces even further. It won't cost much but it will definitely save the lives of your mercenary troops."

"Well, If you put it like that..."