The Mech Touch

In the process of explaining his new vision for the Avatars, Commander Melkor started with the identities of the other mech forces of the clan.

"I believe the Penitent Sisters fulfill our original purpose much better than my Avatars." He began. "It's not your fault. They're just better than us in every measure except friendliness towards the male gender. The Hexers have many shortcomings, but training skilled and disciplined second-class mech pilots is not one of them. Even if some of their doctrines aren't tested in combat, they make up for it in unit cohesion and esprit de corps. The Penitent Sisters are strong, and they know it. Their results in the previous battle is hard proof of that."

"That's not a fair comparison." Ves shook his head. "Due to the importance of our Valkyrie Redeemers in enabling Venerable Joshua to unleash an empowered energy attack, we refrained from deploying the Penitent Sister mechs in the trenches. We had to preserve their numbers as much as possible until they could engage their battle formation."

Melkor lowered his head in response.

"That's exactly how an elite mech force is supposed to be employed. They have to be employed in the right moment and the right time in order to maximize their impact on the battlefield. In contrast, my Avatars were lumped in with a bunch of other ordinary forces and were tasked with resisting the powerful Fridayman mechs in frontal combat. Does this sound right to you, sir?"

"We were short on mechs. We needed your mechs to hold the line. Besides, the Fridaymen employed their elite units as frontline combatants as well. There is no distinction in this regard."

"That's because the Fridaymen didn't bring any regulars for this mission. The elite mech units we fought against were also shaped to take part in massive battles. They are comfortable with acting as the anvil of a greater unit. My Avatars weren't designed for this role. Not initially, at least. Yet during the Battle of Reckoning, you employed us as an anvil when we are much more comfortable with acting as the hammer."

"We didn't have enough anvils."

Melkor took a deep breath.

"I get that, sir. I don't fault you for putting our Avatars in the place where we were most needed. When you are short on anvils, you look for substitutes among the hammers that are not as good or vital in their current purpose. Obviously, my men scored worse in this aspect so we had to fight like Living Sentinels."

Obviously, Melkor was highly ambivalent about this turn of events.

From a logical standpoint, the higher ups made the most rational decision. It was objectively the best and most optimal choice to make out of the available possibilities.

Yet from an emotional standpoint, Melkor resented the circumstances, and so did many other Avatars probably. They were always told they were the pride and joy of the Larkinson Clan, but when they fought their most serious battle to date, the Avatars turned into supporting characters so that other mech forces such as the Penitent Sisters and the Swordmaidens could play the starring roles.

Even the Ylvainans found a way to stand out despite not consolidating into a separate mech force!

"The Battle of Reckoning is long over." Ves gently stated. "While the circumstances we faced back then are regrettable, in this time of rebuilding we can make it all better. Your Avatars will grow bigger, better and stronger, and your men won't be the only ones to do so. Every element of our clan will improve so that we will not be as desperate next time."

"I'm glad to hear that, sir, but the Avatars cannot go on like this. We need to specialize ourselves just like the other mech forces. We need a new and more focused purpose so that we know what we are building towards and can take pride in something that the other mech forces cannot equal."

"I suppose you've formed an idea."

"Indeed, I did." Melkor began to grin. "As it is right now, the force makeup of our clan already covers a number of roles. Yet none of them are quite as suitable to be employed as heavy cavalry as us. That is not to say that the others are bad at launching assaults, but they are much more suitable to be employed as flankers or commando units. What we can do is to perform the charges that others cannot. We shall be the spear of the Larkinson Clan!"

"You mean with lancer mechs?"

The Avatar Commander nodded. "Among other mech types. While it is too monotonous to replace all of our machines with lancer mechs, I do envision them as one of our defining mech types. I want to see entire formations of Avatar mechs charging forward and breaking open a massive hole in the ranks of our opposition! No matter how stiff the enemy is holding back our might, our Avatars must be capable of smashing through every obstacle and disrupting the carefully-laid plans of our enemies. We are your best tools when tricks and schemes aren't enough."

In other words, Melkor wanted his Avatars to become the fist of the Larkinson Clan. While it was nice to take out a difficult opponent by circling around and stabbing them in the back, that was not possible all the time, as was the case in the previous battle.

Sometimes, an enemy had to be overcome by fighting them on their terms.

The Avatars wanted to stand out from the other elite mech forces of the Larkinson Clan by excelling in creating openings.

So far, troops such as the Swordmaidens and Vandals were not that good in this aspect. Against a stiff, defensive bulwark, their attacks only bounced off the prepared formations of the enemy.

In this situation, it would be nice to have a solution that could just charge straight through the front!

"A heavy assault role is quite dangerous." Ves pointed out. "No matter how successful you are, as long as the enemy is strong enough to hold back our other mech forces, they are probably capable of exacting a significant toll on your troops. Each frontal assault is fraught with peril."

"My men can take it. As long as this is our main purpose, we will work hard to meet everyone's expectations. Of course, we also need the right mechs. We won't be able to breach through any enemy formation without mechs that are tough enough to drive a wedge into the enemy ranks."

The Avatar Commander looked expectantly at Ves. For his part, Ves was quite willing to address this need. The problem was that this wasn't the only priority on his mind.

"I'll take care of it, though my upcoming design schedule is already packed. Our expert pilots urgently require expert mechs in order to match opposing expert mechs. The Battle of Reckoning would have proceeded a lot more favorably if Venerable Joshua and so on were piloting real expert mechs instead of the knockoffs I developed in haste."

Though Commander Melkor had heard this response enough times to get used to it, his patience was wearing thin.

"I've tolerated your delays over and over again, but real lives are at stake, sir. The longer it takes for you to design quality mech designs, the more we have to wait to reach our full potential. If it takes longer than a year for you to equip us with quality assault mechs, then give me a bag of money so that I can purchase the machines we need from the mech market."

Ves leaned forward from his chair. "Let's not be hasty, Melkor. Our Bright Warrior Version B is just complete. While it isn't a dedicated assault mech, its lancer mech configuration is still potent."

"Didn't you tell us that the new Bright Warrior is supposed to be the new starter mech of our clan, sir?"

"I prefer to call it a universal mech. It's a mech that straddles the middle ground in order to maximize its compatibility with different mech pilots. Even though that means that its configurations aren't as colorful as specialized mechs, they are still fit for their respective purposes. Their performance does not fall short to comparable commercial mechs while still possessing all of the traits of living mechs that our mech pilots know and love."

Ves called up some projections and explained in clear and simple terms how good the new Bright Warrior performed compared to its closest competitors on the mech market.

In truth, the Bright Warrior incorporated a lot of compromises in its design that noticeably diminished its overall performance.

The differences were rather minor. It was easy enough for Ves to gloss over them and focus on all of the good points of his latest completed mech design.

His sales pitch partially won Melkor over.

"I guess we can give the Bright Warrior a try, if only for a couple of years." He reluctantly responded. "It's not a long-term solution though. While this mech is indeed better than a solution from the market, the defensive properties of this machine are not quite up to my expectation."

"Its mobility is above average. All of its configurations are a little faster than usual. Miss Juliet Stameros has done a great job at maximizing the mobility parameters of this design."

That was true. A heavy cavalry unit had to possessed at least a certain measure of mobility to perform their assaults. The Avatars didn't need too much of it though. If all of that speed and agility came at the cost of defense or offense, then the gains weren't worth the losses.

Ves and Melkor spent a few minutes envisioning how the new Bright Warrior would be able to facilitate the proposed transition.

"I do have to admit that most of our mech pilots probably won't be ready to pilot an advanced lancer mech straight away." Melkor conceded. "In that sense, starting off with a less-demanding mech like the new Bright Warrior is a good choice. Even if its configurations aren't as powerful as I wish, their skill floors won't be as high either. They make for fine tools to transition into better mechs down the road. What's even better is that unlike the crappy budget mechs we utilized before, this model can actually withstand the rigors of high-intensity combat."

The Bright Warrior model potentially possessed other advantages as well, though Ves didn't want to bring them up right now. What the Avatars mainly needed was a solid mech to regain their footing and transition to an assault role.

It was not a permanent solution, though. In time, the Avatars needed a more fitting solution.

"Once I've addressed the needs of our expert pilots, I'll work on the mechs you need." Ves promised to Melkor. "A new lancer mech is definitely on the cards, and I might design some additional mechs that are suitable for assaults as well. In fact, I can also squeeze in some time to work on your long-awaited custom mech during our stay in this star system. I can adapt a Bright Warrior Version B to suit your piloting style just like how I've shaped the Bright Beam Prime to compliment Venerable Stark's marksmanship."

Contrary to Ves' expectations, Melkor did not show much enthusiasm for this suggestion.

"I'm quite impressed at the Bright Beam Prime, but I would like to be able to shoot more than three times per engagement, sir. I don't want my custom mech to be based around the Bright Warrior either. I'd like to receive a mech that is adapted from a more dedicated rifleman mech."

Melkor had waited so long for his custom mech that he might as well wait a little longer. He wanted the wait to be worth it. He knew that Ves was capable of designing much more excellent ranged mechs.

"That reminds me." Ves suddenly jerked his head. "My Giant Killer design is almost ready. While it's a cannoneer mech that is exclusive to Penitent Sisters, I can modify one so that you don't need to be Hexer to pilot it. Are you open to this offer?"

Cannoneer mechs were basically slower and more hard-hitting versions of rifleman mechs. While their differences were quite significant, they also shared plenty of similarities.

Melkor thought about it for a moment but eventually shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but I think it's best for me to stick with a regular Bright Warrior for now. I need to use the same model that the rest of my men are relying on to be aware of their plight."

"That's a noble sentiment."

"I do what I must."

Melkor may not be as prominent of a leader as the likes of Commander Casella Ingvar or Commander Cinnabar, but he was dependable in his own way. Ves liked that about him. The Avatars were in good hands as far as he was concerned.