The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1827

Chapter 1827 Versatile Mech

"It's strange to be in this position." Director Clinton Larkinson gruffed as he crossed his arms. "We Larkinsons have always been told what to do, what mechs we should pilot and what tactics we should adopt. Now that we have separated ourselves from the Bright Republic, we're suddenly in control. I don't know whether that's a bad thing or a good thing."

His remark caused the Larkinson mech pilots to look at this gathering in a different light.

He was right! The Larkinsons never controlled their own means of fighting. Despite their long heritage as a military family, they never actually fielded their own mechs!

They had no reason to do so. The original Larkinson Family never participated in any of the power struggles happening in the higher levels. Its properties only amounted to an estate and a portfolio of commercial real estate on Rittersberg, the most secure planet of the Bright Republic!

To put it another way, the Larkinson Family essentially outsourced its protection to the state.

There was nothing wrong with this. As long as the Larkinsons remained loyal and upstanding citizens of the Bright Republic, the state would naturally offer protection.

Yet it was different now. The exodus of Ves and his followers and the formation of the Larkinson Clan represented a shift towards autonomy, and perhaps sovereignty.

While Ves hadn't been very concrete about it, it was clear to most Larkinsons that he wanted to develop a clan that wasn't bound by any state.

Though spaceborn clans weren't liked, it was undeniable that they had the strength to exist on their own! Their strong military might was the main reason why they were able to contend and even overpower entire states!

Ves considered the decision to design a mech exclusive to the clan and his forces to be the first step towards this potential future. Just embarking on it already made the members of his clan view their situation in a different light!

If they were still members of the old Larkinson Family, they would have never thought of developing a mech for themselves. They would have been content to pilot anything the Mech Corps thought what was best!

The privilege of choosing their own design excited the Larkinsons. Everyone from Director Clinton Larkinson to Rhode Larkinson were starting to recall their fantasies of the mechs they wanted to pilot!

However, the rapturous Larkinsons quickly bumped into a problem.

There was too much choice! Transitioning from a situation where the Larkinson mech pilots never had a say to where they could determine every detail down to the color of the coating was a huge shift! _{fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm}

The problem was compounded by the fact that while the Larkinsons were proficient in piloting mechs, they lacked the mindset of a procurer of mechs.

It was not so simple to search, evaluate and purchase a mech. Entire outfits lived and died by the choices they made when they sought and purchased their mechs!

And the opportunity that Ves gave his clan members was even more complex! He did not give them a choice of mech models, but instead gave them the opportunity to specify a complete design!

Out of all of the Larkinsons present, only the Avatar Commander and the Sentinel Commander appeared to have a grip on the situation.

That made sense, as Melkor and Magdalena were already accustomed to shopping for mechs to supplement their respective forces.

However, that did not mean they were ready to rattle off a list of requirements they wanted to see in their mechs. Neither of them were versed in the technical aspect of mechs.

Ves recognized that he needed to take a more direct hand in the discussion.

"Let's start with the decision of which mech archetypes our modular mech platform is able to express. The more choices, the more versatile we can be. However, this comes at an increasingly more severe cost as the base platform needs to accommodate more modular configurations."

"A light skirmisher is almost completely opposite to a knight mech." Hager Larkinson nodded in understanding. "Is it even possible to marry these two types in a single design?"

"It's possible, but..." Ves reluctantly said. "Let's just say the quality and performance of the platform will decrease to an extent. I'll also have to introduce more modularity to the design which will affect the integrity of the end product even further."

"So what types will we include?"

"At the very least, we need a ranged and melee option. That makes two."

"That sounds simple. Just pick a generic rifleman mech for the ranged option and add two or three different melee mech types to round it all up. We can cover up to eighty to ninety percent of our mech pilots with this selection!"

"Hey wait a minute! There is a huge diversity in ranged mechs. You can't just settle for a single ranged configuration and call it a day! At the very least, we need to make a distinction between physical damage and energy damage types! Both of them have vastly different properties and requirements. We need at least two ranged configurations to cover the needs of our ranged specialists."

"You have a point." Ves spoke. "Ballistic rifleman mechs and laser rifleman mechs are different. While it's possible to design a single mech that can wield both types of weapons, I prefer specialization over adaptability. This is what most mech pilots are used to. However…"

"Versatility is also important." Commander Magdalena mentioned. "Just like in the Sand War, sometimes we might face opponents who are immune to one damage type but vulnerable to another damage type. If we keep specializing our ranged specialists to a single damage type, then how well will they fare when their favorite method of dealing damage doesn't work?"

That caused the people who gathered in the office to fall silent.

This was a very important point. Ves was glad that Magdalena recognized one of his concerns.

While every Larkinson fell in thought, Ves placed his favorite object on his lap. Ever since he created and empowered the Larkinson Mandate, he always felt a connection to it. The more time he spent with the book, the more he understood its depth.