The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1844

Chapter 1844 What Pirate?

Discovering that Merrill Truman was right at home in a mech workshop came as a pleasant surprise to Ves. He had become incredibly disappointed at the lack of hands-on fluency in his other subordinates.

While he didn't insist that every mech designer should have the same competences at him, he still thought it was an awful idea for someone of his profession to neglect this side of the job!

How could mech designers possibly know what they were dealing with when they never put a mech together piece by piece?

How could mech designers expertly model and anticipate the performance of mechs if they never came close to a component weighing several tons?

How could mech designers possibly claim to understand mechs when they never saw the consequences of battle in person?

All of these questions and more weighed on his mind as he considered the shortcoming in the development of most of his mech designers. Even the more experienced among them such as the team leaders weren't entirely comfortable with working in a mech workshop.

"Manual work is demeaning." Miles Tovar spoke frankly to Ves. "While it is necessary for us to know the basics of what is happening in a mech workshop of a manufacturing hall, it is better to leave the heavy lifting to the mech technicians!"

Ves wanted to summon the Amastendira, press its muzzle right against his temple and pull the trigger!

He almost couldn't believe what Miles was saying! Was he such a highborn elitist snob that he completely ignored the benefits of gaining practical experience in working with mechs?!

"I'm not asking you to be as proficient in tools and speckled with grease stains as an actual mech technician." He said. "I just expect you all to know what you are doing! You don't have to be as good in the workshop as Merrill here, but at least you should be capable of putting together a mech during an emergency!"

None of the Tovars looked very enthusiastic about that idea. "We didn't learn that in school."

"NOT EVERYTHING YOU LEARN IN SCHOOL IS CORRECT!" Ves shouted. "DIFFERENT TEACHERS HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS! DIFFERENT CURRICULUMS EMPHASIZE DIFFERENT ASPECTS!"

Gloriana placed her hand on his shoulder in order to calm him down. "I think he's right. At Kelma University, one of the best mech design schools in the Hegemony, I learned how to build a mech on my own. My professors and instructors didn't insist on these classes because they believed we needed to be humbled. They wanted their students to understand on a deeper level what they were actually designing! When your only experience with mechs is working on them in a design interface, then there is a serious disconnect between your theoretical understanding and reality!"

"Well said." Ves nodded in thanks at her explanation. "You heard it. Since a second-class mech designer like Gloriana has to learn how to work in a workshop, then so should the rest of you! Don't complain! This is for your own good!"

Though some of them complained anyway, Ves would have none of it. Aside from the three who proved their chops, the other eight were too inept! None of them could operate a 3D printer worth a damn and their tools might as well be training weights in their hands!

He quickly had enough.

"STOP! It's irresponsible for me to allow you to work on Jannzi's mechs. The eight of you should go! I'll arrange some training sessions for you at one of the local mech manufacturing plants. Each of you need to shore up your fabrication and assembly skills as quickly as possible!"

It took some time to set up these improvised sessions and cart the inexperienced mech designers to another site.

People like Mayer Torto who were just starting their careers would definitely be able to catch on quickly. The benefits of acquiring and improving this set of skills would definitely boost his competence!

As for the older ones who long avoided mech manufacturing sites like the plague, they still weren't convinced of the merits of acquiring hands-on expertise and experience.

"It's a bit unfortunate that this school of thought is still going strong." He lamented to Gloriana. "I hate the claim that mech designers only belong in a design lab!"

Gloriana shrugged. "You're preaching to the choir here, Ves. I fully agree with you. I would never have never come up with my current design philosophy if mechs are just wireframe models and lists of specifications to me. That said, there is some merit to this school of thought. Mech designers are separate from mech technicians. This idea is particularly prevalent in the more prosperous parts of human space."

That didn't change his opinion. "What those first-rate mech designers do is their business. In my company and workplace, my rules are in place. And one of them is that each mech designer in my design team better know their way around a mech workshop!"

Once he settled this issue, they resumed upgrading the Shield of Samar.

Since the mech was very big, this took a lot of time. A lot of components had to be checked, repaired or replaced as years of use wore some of them down. Though it was no problem for them to continue operating for at least five years or more, Ves did not wish to leave anything to chance.

Anything that maximized Jannzi's chances of survival should be approved! Even if it was horribly wasteful to throw out components that could easily last for decades, Ves didn't care!

Perhaps every mech repair shop in existence would look at Ves in horror, but most of his mind was not on preventative maintenance.

Instead, he awaited the shipment of Breyer alloy with great anticipation. When the Battle Criers finally transferred a tightly-guarded contained filled with bars of expensive exotics, Ves practically dove into them right away!

Though Gloriana already knew that Ves intended to apply Breyer alloy to his mechs due to working on the revision, she still found the shipment to be perplexing.

"Where are you getting all of this Breyer alloy, Ves? Materials like these can't be found in the Komodo Star Sector!"

"My Battle Criers recently came into contact with a powerful black market organization during their previous excursion."

"Oh." She curled her mouth in distance. "I see. I hope they didn't overcharge you. I can't stand their ilk!"

His pre-prepared excuse succeeded in passing muster, at least for now. While it was strange to encounter a random stash of Breyer alloy in this part of space, the material mastered a lot to Ves and Jannzi. They both wanted the Shield of Samar to be the most impervious rock imaginable!

One unexpected benefit was that Gloriana really didn't like underground society. Anything related to pirates, dark mercenaries, smugglers, slave traders and other unsavory types repelled her to no end! They were disgusting degenerates in her eyes, and she wanted nothing to do with these lowlives!

Ves was different.