The Mech Touch

"The outcome of the Komodo War is nearly set." A distinguished woman spoke as she addressed one of her direct disciples in her newly rebuilt design lab. "Our forces are battering the Hexer defensive lines as we speak. Though the misguided women and their deluded male sheep are holding fast for the time being, there are only so many bodies they can sacrifice to stop our advance."

Tristan Wesseling stood attentively as he listened to his Master. "Too many people have already died. These Hexers deserve what we're giving to them, but… we're losing soldiers in droves as well."

"That will soon change. The Carnegie Group is in the final stages of negotiating the intervention of foreign states. The Garleners have responded eagerly to the opportunity to flex their muscles against a different opponent than themselves."

"I thought that our Friday Coalition has always rejected foreign state intervention." Tristan furrowed his brows. "Aren't there well-founded fears that once we invite foreign armies to participate in our battles, they might not leave once the war is over?"

"Those concerns are still valid, but the leaders of the Carnegie Group and other coalition partners have adjusted their strategy. The current plan is to contract foreign mercenary outfits to raid the rear and hinterland provinces of the Hexadric Hegemony."

At this moment, the Hex Army deployed their units to the frontlines en masse. That had left the Hexer state under defended in many other areas, a fact that Fridayman raiding units regularly exploited.

However, the first half of the Komodo War had severely depleted the amount of mech units that the Friday Coalition could deploy. The Fridaymen didn't have the manpower and assets to spare to properly exploit the openings of their adversaries.

In order to prevent the Hexers from obtaining any breathing room, the Coalition partners had to exert heavy and continuous pressure at the front!

Tristan understood this and figured out how much damage raiders could do at the exposed rear of the Hegemony!

"This is rather clever now that I think about it." He commented. "Even minor raids can lead to a disproportionate response from the Hexers. The pressure on them will rise further, and they will certainly struggle whether they should pull units away from the front in order to bolster their rear. The only question I have is whether these ‘mercenaries' are truly what they say they are. What if they are more than ordinary soldiers for hire?"

Master Katzenberg responded with a rueful expression as she adjusted her lab coat. "These details are irrelevant in the greater scheme. We already expect foreign military mech units to enter the Komodo Star Sector in the guise of mercenary outfits. Though we all know the truth, our helpers must still maintain the proper form. It is much harder for them to stay and form a united front when they are nominally independent and dispersed."

These considerations flew right above Tristan's head. Though he tried to become more astute in politics due to his new ambition, he still had a long way to go before he could understand these top-level decisions. He was just a mech designer, after all.

"If these foreign ‘mercenaries' come and do what they say, how much faster will this war come to an end?" Tristan asked with obvious interest.

"Not as fast as you wish. Just like us, the Hexers have prepared for this war for centuries. Though their plans do not put much priority on defense, their accumulated resources and defensive assets must still be ground down before we can truly break open the Hegemony. Perhaps you will have your wish in five years."

That didn't sound so bad. Just like every other Fridayman, Tristan wanted this tiring and destructive war to end as soon as possible. The Hegemony had to collapse entirely before the Coalition was ready to relax.

Once it was over though…

"I hope you can help me become a pioneer of one of the colonization fleets the Carnegie Group is organizing." Tristan asked frankly. "I like it here, but I think I will have better opportunities in the Red Ocean."

"You've worked hard throughout these years, but your contributions are far from sufficient." Master Katzenberg stated. "In addition, it is unlikely that you will be able to become a pioneer without bringing in at least 5 to 10 million MTA merits. With your obligations to our state, you do not have time to work on any major projects that can earn you the required merits."

The Journeyman Mech Designer lowered his head. This was indeed an insurmountable problem. As a citizen of the Friday Coalition and a disciple of Master Katzenberg, he had spent most of his time in various military-aligned research labs and research institutions in order to assist in the design of various military mech projects.

The work was fulfilling and the pressure forced him to find creative new solutions, but it left him with little room for self-expression. He could not choose to design the mechs he wanted or take part in projects that weren't directly related to the Komodo War.

Master Katzenberg shook her head and floated forward. She glided over a garden path that had recently been reconstructed.

"Leemar has almost been restored, but it will take generations for our planet to regain its old vitality." She remarked. "The Hexers have inflicted too much damage to our territories."

Tristan looked out across the expansive campus in the distance. "They took away the big juggernaut wreck."

"They did. It was one of the symbols of the Leemar Institute of Technology. They could not let it stand, particularly due to its overpowering masculine design."

The Juggernaut basically resembled a titanic male monstrosity that looked as if it came straight out of the nightmares of the men-phobic Hexers!

Katzenberg briefly smirked. "We will place a new juggernaut in the place of the old one. The LIT will rise again, and so will our symbols of pride."

"I don't think the MTA has any spare juggernauts for sale, ruined or otherwise."

"We can still design and build our own. There are arguments circulating among the top that we should make it functional so that it can act as a guardian for our institution in case of another invasion."

"That's… excessive. Will the MTA even approve of that?" Tristan asked with doubt.

"Just because juggernauts are not popular these days does not mean the Mech Trade Association has given up on them. There are many practical and legal problems with regards to their use. The debacle that took place in the Life Research Association not too long ago has strengthened the opposing voices, but there are still mech designers who support the need to field supermechs that can more easily compete against CFA battleships."

"I see."

As Katzenberg's direct student, Tristan Wesseling was a bit more aware of what went on within the MTA. Though he was far too small of a figure to participate in the debates, he at least heard scraps of news.

The Master briefly turned to face her student. "Do you see a future in juggernauts?"

This was a difficult question. As someone who was interested in the application of gems, his specialization did not have any direct connections with juggernauts. He had taken a different direction from Meredith Katzenberg, whose expertise in material sciences came very handy in projects related to their development.

Still, since juggernauts did not mean much to him, Tristan didn't need to think too carefully about his answer.

"Juggernauts are big, dumb, but effective in a foolproof way." He explained based on his own experiences and what he learned during his studies. "I agree with those mech enthusiasts that juggernauts can potentially become the mech equivalent to a battleship. Their scale can't measure up to an actual capital warship, of course, but their various characteristics make it easier for them to output the massive damage needed to threaten huge war assets."

"That is true, but the time and cost needed to develop them and sustain them are prohibitive. Did you know that the galactic mech council once had to make a choice between promoting the development of high-ranking mechs and juggernauts?"

Tristan looked surprised, but after a moment of thought, he understood the reason why the highest governing body of the MTA needed to make such a difficult decision.

"Juggernauts are much more expensive and demanding to work with than normal-sized mechs, but they are also a means for us to surpass battleships. The advantage is that they are predictable and completely within our grasp. High-ranking mechs and mech pilots can do the same, but the difficulty in promoting mech pilots is hellish and inconsistent. They're both imperfect choices."

"Indeed. As you can already see, the galactic mech council has eventually decided to continue their current strategy despite the convenience that juggernauts bring. This has surprised many people as ace pilots and god pilots are too scarce, which makes it difficult for them to compete against the vast quantity of battleships constructed by the CFA. If we opted to design and build juggernauts on a greater scale, the balance of power might have already shifted in our favor. Do you understand why the MTA chose to commit to the decision that has not yielded much success after several centuries?"

This was another challenging test. Tristan had to think about this issue for several minutes before he pieced together a logical argument.

"Juggernauts are powerful, but… they are also a dead-end in terms of surpassing the CFA." He eventually answered. "The bigger they become, the closer they resemble battleships, which is exactly the kind of war machine that we are trying to phase out. Even if juggernauts surpass battleships one day, we will only be able to accomplish that by morphing into our enemies and adopting their technological paradigms. This isn't true victory. This is just a disguised admission of defeat."

"That is a well-spoken argument." Katzenberg looked impressed. "Sadly, your analysis is still too shallow. While your point did play a role in convincing the galactic mech council to reject juggernauts, it is not the key reason why it has come to its current decision."

Obviously, Tristan had to go deeper.

"Then… is it because juggernauts are too destructive?" He suggested. "The Uranus Incident has clearly shown how much devastation it can inflict. Every battle involving these massive monsters will inflict so much collateral damage that not much will be left intact on the surface of a planet."

"That is also a valid reason, but ace mechs can inflict comparable damage if let loose, so it is not a strong argument."

Tristan frowned and continued to think further. It took three whole minutes for him to remember his earlier, more fundamental lessons.

"I… think I understand now. Juggernauts are incredibly formidable but all of their power is almost solely derived from their tech and physical parts. The mech pilot must be good enough to control all of these complicated systems, but that can always be accomplished through sufficient training. The difference between these giant juggernauts and more compact high-ranking mechs is that the latter is always paired with exceptionally strong mech pilots."

"Now you are finally thinking in the right direction. It has taken too much time for you to tie this debate to the fundamental purpose of the Mech Trade Association. The human element is always indispensable to us, Tristan. Though we can theoretically build far more juggernauts than ace mechs and god mechs, the mech pilots needed to pilot them are radically different. We will only inherit all of the weaknesses of warships if we blindly commit to building these immense but shallow war titans. We would rather bet on working hard in the hopes of unlocking the secret of nurturing god pilots so that humanity can one day deploy far more than just a hundred god mechs."

Just the mention of this ambition sounded ludicrous to Tristan Wesseling. God pilots were incredibly rare for a reason. He could not imagine how anyone could possibly make it easier for individuals to attain this rank. So much needed to happen in order to complete one of the MTA's grand ambitions!

He eventually shrugged. This was a goal that had nothing to do with a simple Journeyman like him. He just wanted to play with gems and see how he could design better mechs.

Hopefully, he could accomplish that by getting his hands on the brand new exotics available in the Red Ocean!