The Mech Touch

Ves gained a few insights as he studied the most generic mid-range spaceborn Xaxu Specter variant.

It was not without reason that it happened to be the most popular variant of its line according to the public sales figures.

Calabast provided Ves with her own understanding of this mech model. "No matter the version, the Xaxu Specters are designed to be a one-stop solution for any mech force that is looking to supplement their units with a communication mech and an ECM mech. The variant you are studying right now is an all-rounder that might not perform a specific function as well as the other variants, but can always be counted upon to do a good job in all of the expected roles."

In other words, a mech force could never go wrong with buying a Xaxu Specter. The performance of the balanced variants were not quite industry leading but came close enough that the shortcomings could be forgiven.

Any leader could plug them into any given mech company and be confident that the troops could count on the additional services.

Picky customers did not have to settle for the default choices. If they wanted a Xaxu Specter that performed better, they could opt to buy the premium or the premier variants that were targeted towards Tiamon Dynamics' more discerning customer base.

"These variants are a big reason why the Xaxu Specter line is so dominant in the market for ECM mechs." Ves figured out. "They are directly taking away market share that could have been claimed by ECM mech models that excel in different areas!"

There were plenty of mech designers who put ECM mech models in their product catalogs.

That didn't mean they sold well.

Marketing, reputation, access, pricing and many other factors determined whether they became successful.

The annoying part about the Xaxu Specter line was that it covered so many different niches that alternative mech models had to fight an uphill battle in order to get noticed!

Ves glanced up and stared into Calabast's eyes.

It wasn't a coincidence that she had brought out the Xaxu Specters as an example. She had directly introduced him to his biggest and most formidable competitor.

If he still went through with his intention to design a commercial ECM mech, then he could not get around this massive market behemoth!

Although Tiamon Dynamics market presence wasn't as strong in the other middle zones, diverting his business to those places was no good solution.

The dominant market players based in the other zones weren't complacent. Just like Master Parian Hao, they also published their own fantastic works and carved out a place in their respective regions.

No matter where the LMC sold his products, they would always have to overcome a mech similar to the Xaxu Specter!

Given this circumstance, Ves might as well measure his work against this mainstream mech model.

When he pulled up the spec sheets and examined their performance, his confidence soon deflated to an extent.

"Tiamon Dynamics is too entrenched in the local economy." Ves remarked. "The mech company's production costs are lower than many lesser market players. It has to be part of a larger alliance or interest group. Otherwise, I can hardly imagine how it is able to sell mechs that perform so well at rates that are highly affordable."

Even if Masters such as Parian Hao adhered to the industry standard of pricing their products fairly, the problem was that the current mech market was anything but normal in the Red Ocean.

The constrained supply of resources meant that many companies had to buy them at inflated prices, if they could obtain the necessary materials at all. This in turn meant that they could not earn a profit unless they priced their mechs 30 percent, 40 percent or even 100 percent higher than normal!

This meant that companies like Tiamon Dynamics that had developed good relationships with resource suppliers could earn a profit by selling superior mech models at disgustingly cheap prices!

The best part about it was that the most successful mech companies didn't break the unwritten rules of the mech industry while they were at it! They weren't selling their products at a loss so the MTA could not easily interfere with their market behavior.

"This isn't fair!"

Ves' face grew ugly as he figured out the actual strategies of the biggest players in the mech market.

"The Red Ocean's mech market has only been established for a few years. The regional mech markets in the newer zones are even younger. This means that every brand has to start from scratch and that no mech designer or mech line has achieved an unshakeable status in any of the markets as of yet. As long as these players move quickly to become as dominant as possible in the early years, they can successfully translate their early leads into near-permanent monopolies or oligopolies!"

It was a simple scheme, but Ves could see how it could ensure that mech designers such as Master Hao maintained an enduring advantage in their chosen markets!

In fact, Tiamon Dynamics was already halfway towards becoming the overlord when it came to selling the definitive ECM mechs in the Krakatoa Middle Zone.

While the sales volumes weren't that impressive at the moment, all of this would certainly change once the region became more developed and when a lot more colonies rose up. The increase in population base and industrial activity would definitely spark a lot more conflict, the demand for ECM mechs would certainly skyrocket!

Which model would these new customers proceed to buy? The chances were great that they would look at what sold best in their particular region and proceed to follow the crowd!

The majority couldn't be wrong. If the Xaxu Specter line happened to be the highest-selling ECM mech in Krakatoa, then they would definitely be good purchases!

In order to make sure that companies such as Tiamon Dynamics solidified its dominant market position, they did not hesitate to play dirty in order to grab as much market share as possible!

They did not even let off the lower end of the market where Apprentices and Journeymen ordinarily provided their services!

"Master Hao shouldn't be the only ambitious market player who is trying to build a kingdom in the mech market."

Ves looked up a few databases and confirmed that this pattern was pretty much universal in every settled zone of the Red Ocean.

The mech market was too primitive and underdeveloped, which made them vulnerable to abusive competitive behavior.

The market dynamics would probably smooth out in a decade or two. By then, the dominant players became sure in their own kingdoms and no longer needed to fight for every percentage of market share.

"I can't wait that long."

The Larkinson Clan was constantly short of money and needed to make a lot of big investments in the future in order to sustain its growth.

Upgrading the Blinding Banshee to a more ideal state cost upwards of 30,000 MTA credits.

Selling mechs in the Yeina Star Cluster could help with earning the necessary money needed to pay for this investment, but the Blinding Banshee was hardly the only capital ship that was starting to show her age!

Ves thought about all of the other upgrades he wanted to implement throughout his fleet.

"The Spirit of Bentheim needs to renew her production lines and obtain a superfab. The Gorgoneion needs better power reactors and shield generators. The Graveyard needs to replace her complete salvage operation. The Andrenidae needs better and more diverse mining mechs. The Dragon's Den needs high-end lab machines. The Vivacious Wal and the Discentibus both need stronger hull plating. The Diligent Ovenbird needs to upgrade both of her ovens."

The only ship in the Larkinson fleet that didn't urgently require upgrades was the Wild Torch!

The fleet carrier that Ves and Ketis managed to win in a past contest still performed well even if her former owners stripped a few valuable ship systems before handing her over.

That still left Ves with nine whole capital ships that all required money in order to fund their refits!

The cost of upgrading all of those hulls heavily varied depending on what Ves was willing to put on the shopping list.

However, if Ves was willing to spend 30,000 MTA credits per capital ship, then Ves had to get his hands on at least 270,000 MTA credits in order to pay for all of the overhauls!

"This sum still isn't enough to bring our fleet up to standard!"

An acceptable superfab in his eyes cost at least 40,000 MTA credits. Perhaps he might get a cheaper machine if he was willing to buy second-hand, but even then it would not be cheap!

Was Ves willing to settle for just one of them? Probably not! He would probably want to buy multiple ones to make it easier to produce a lot of high-quality mechs.

That in turn required the clan to pay for other upgrades. At the very least, the Spirit of Bentheim needed to acquire much more expensive power reactors in order to keep the superfabs running!

Those weren't cheap either!

"I can't forget about the combat carriers as well…"

While the sub-capital ships were not as important to the clan, it was still essential to make sure they did not fall behind. Perhaps the cost of upgrading a single one of them was not as much, but their numbers were bound to balloon in the future!

Calabast had been observing him for a while now and clearly noticed his distress.

"You can do it, Ves. The Xaxu Specter is a formidable ECM mech, but it is not an insurmountable obstacle."

"Do you know what you're saying?!" Ves replied in a frustrated tone. "We're talking about pushing back against over fifty different variants designed by a pair of Masters who excel in this field! Master Hao and Master Miller have gained such a crushing advantage in this market that my offering will basically become transparent."

"I am not so certain about that, Ves. Have you forgotten about the pair of communication mechs that you have designed?"

Calabast switched the active projection to a few snapshots that displayed his old Cherub and his new Signal Bearer models.

"If you want to compete against a pair of Master Mech Designers, you might as well go big. Master Hao specializes in designing excellent communication mechs. Still, even their best works cannot maintain their communication channels under the most punishing environments. In addition, they are not capable of maintaining instant communication across light-minutes or light-hours because the cost would be too prohibitive if that is the case. Compared to all of the money and effort that this esteemed Master has to make in order to ensure good communications, you can design much cheaper mechs that can offer superior long-ranged communications that are impossible to crack, intercept or jam!"

Ves widened his eyes. He initially thought that Calabast only intended to give him a bit of advice. Now it seemed that she was doing nothing less than ending the career of a vaunted Master Mech Designer!

"You're crazy, you know that? People usually accuse me of being crazy, but this suggestion of yours is something else. If we do this… we will not only piss off a couple of powerful Master Mech Designer, but also piss off the interest groups behind them! We can't fight against so many powerful organizations!"

"We can and we will." Calabast firmly said. "You're not taking advantage of the opportunities of the Red Ocean. Why bother with entering this dwarf galaxy so early if you don't grasp this chance to achieve a dominant market position? Out of all of the possible commercial products that you enjoy an overwhelming advantage, the humble communication mech is your home ground! Think of the profits you will make. Earning a million MTA credits or 10 million MTA credits a month is not a fantasy anymore. As for offending Tiamon Dynamics and its partners, that's business. If you are truly concerned about this problem, then allocate a portion of that money we are earning to expand our own network of business partners. "

Ves looked as Calabast as if she was speaking an alien language.

She had become completely obsessed with earning as much money as possible!

The reason for pushing him to compete more directly against the dominant market players was clearly evident. Perhaps she had planned out much more extensive upgrades to the Blinding Banshee. The only reason why she left them out was because she was afraid of shocking Ves with the exorbitant price tags.

The only way to pay for all of those luxurious improvements was to earn more money than the Larkinsons had ever earned before!

Upgrading the Blinding Banshee was Calabast's version of Gloriana's handbag!