The Mech Touch

Ketis already agreed to form a simple equal partnership with Miss Angelique Harcourt when working on the Jabber Project.

Both of them would be equally responsible for the design of their fencer mech. Neither of them had more say than the other and they needed to come to a consensus on every design choice.

The earnings from selling the finished products would also be split equally between the two. While Ketis' involvement would probably boost the appeal of the Jabber Project once it was released, Angelique became responsible for producing and selling the copies in the Heavensword Association.

Ves had no objections to this simple and fair arrangement. Even if there were a few issues, it was only a single commercial project. It was fine to make a few mistakes. What was more important was that Ketis learned from this collaborative experience.

"Do you plan to do anything new or special with the Jabber Project?" He asked her. "It would be too simple if your first fencer mech design doesn't do your reputation in the Heavensword Association justice."

Despite the fact that she only stayed long enough in the state to participate in a couple of tournaments, the Heavensworders definitely hadn't forgotten about her! Ketis was the first Journeyman Mech Designer who managed to break the rule that high-ranking mech designers could never become swordmasters!

Every swordmaster was a celebrated hero in a state whose population practiced swordsmanship to the point of obsession. For Ketis to be able to design swordsman mechs on top of what she could do as a swordmaster was definitely seen as a miracle in the modern home of traditional swordsmanship!

His eyes lit up when he realized how many doors this collaboration could open.

The collaboration with Angelique Harcourt was a springboard to greater and more lucrative projects. The Jabber Project served as an excellent testbed to test whether a unique mech designer such as Ketis was truly able to enrich the Heavensword Association's mech market.

Since the market for fencer mechs was relatively small and stable, it was easier to measure the changes that took place after releasing the Jabber Project.

If the collaborative work sold well enough, then Ketis could easily collaborate with many other mech designers based in the Heavensword Association!

She could work together with numerous different specialists who each specialized in different styles of swordsman mechs. The sharing of insights and the exposure to different design philosophies on the same kinds of swordsman mechs could definitely do wonders in broadening Ketis' horizons!

Not only that, but once she truly got serious and collaborated on design projects with broader appeal, it was not impossible for her works to capture a lot of market share in different product categories!

However, in order to make all of this happen, Ketis needed to do a good job with the Jabber Project.

"I plan to add several features to the fencer mech design in order to beat all of the competition." She replied. "Just like the Monster Slayer, I plan to make its fencing saber as sharp and tough as possible, though this will not be easy. I also plan to develop a basic sword style around fencing and imbue it into my upcoming mech design. This will help any mech pilot become proficient with piloting fencer mechs."

Ves grew disappointed. "I don't hear anything that counts as an innovation from you. The features that you have mentioned sound nice, but they are nothing different from what you have done with the Monster Slayer."

"I know. I'm not happy with that either, but I don't have a good idea yet on how I can make it stronger or more special. I am hoping that sharing ideas with Angelique will inspire me to develop a new and useful design solution."

That did not exactly sound reassuring, but in truth the problem was not that great. The Monster Slayer was already a successful commercial mech. There was nothing wrong with applying the same design solutions onto another mech design.

Ves just wanted Ketis to avoid becoming complacent. As long as she kept trying to innovate and find different ways to solve her problems, she would continue to progress her design philosophy. It was essential that she remained inquisitive and willing to go out of her comfort zone in order to advance!

"You should have room for one more design project, right? What else do you have in store besides the Blade Chaser Mark II Project and the Jabber Project?"

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you this time, Ves. While I have a couple of ideas in mind, I am not confident enough in them to pull them off at this time." She replied. "I plan to devote most of my time to the projects that I have already mentioned. I plan to spend much of the time I have left on studying, experimentation and preparing for my new baby. I also want to go out with Joshua in order to make up for all of the times that we have been busy in these past few years."

Family time was important, and Ketis was much more willing to forgo other projects in order to make sure she enjoyed enough personal time with her husband and her future child.

Ves did not comment on her decision. Even though he wished that she would design at least one additional commercial mech for this round, there were plenty of opportunities for her to do so in the future.

"Alright. You can do what you want as long as you do a good job with the Blade Chaser Mark II and your new fencing mech. My expectations for them will be higher since you don't have as much on your plate this time. Don't treat this design round as a vacation."

"I won't, Ves. I know what's important."

He turned to Juliet. "What about you? Have you come up with a good commercial mech design that you think is suited for your talents?"

"I am already assigned to work on the Firestarter Project and a number of other existing projects. I also have to allocate several hours a day on studying miniaturized warp drive technology. That does not leave much room for me to design other mechs." The Penitent Sister answered.

"Do you plan to lead at least one design project this time?"

"I do, sir. I have been exploring what I could do with the glows that you have recently introduced. Please take a look at my proposed mech design."

Juliet waved her hand, causing the center projection to switch to a different draft design.

This one was neater and more detailed than the previous sketch. It looked as if Juliet had invested a lot more hours in fleshing it out. This showed that this was not a flimsy idea.

At first glance, her proposed mech design was a light mech. It was almost just as thin and light as the Jabber Project. The main reason why Juliet's work was bigger was because it had to be able to move in space.

However, different from light skirmishers, the new mech looked like it was not as agile and flexible. This made it much less suitable for high-paced dogfighting.

By sacrificing agility and reaction speed, Juliet was able to strengthen the light mech's forward acceleration, which meant it was able to traverse longer distances a lot faster than other comparable machines.

Hardly any light mech could catch up to this new machine!

There was a purpose to this configuration. Ves turned his attention to the curved but relatively boxy containers mounted on the back, hips and chest of the light mech.

They were light but relatively roomy. The prominence of these containers made it clear that Juliet's proposal was all about its payload!

"Is this… a grenadier mech?" Gloriana guessed.

"Correct." Juliet replied. "The Transporter Project is a light mech that is mainly designed to reach a strong enemy position and throw its grenades against its targets. This is a highly versatile machine as it can carry a variety of grenades, from simple explosives to ones that can blind enemy sensors by releasing signal-blocking smoke."

Ves scratched his head. "I'm not too familiar with grenadier mechs. Is it worthwhile for customers to buy and field this mech? Any machine can carry a bunch of grenades as long as you equip them with a bandoleer."

"Bandoleers are dangerous. The containers added to the Transporter Project will be made out of tough and protective materials. Even if they are hit, they will also include functions that will minimize any explosive accidents. Trust me. It is much safer and more effective to depend on this mech to launch grenades than any other machine."

"I still don't understand the commercial appeal of this mech, Juliet. Missiles could achieve the same results as grenades. The difference is that the mech doesn't have to get too close."

"Missile launchers are strong and useful, but they have many flaws. Chief among them is how much volume a missile must devote to reaching its target. A typical grenade is much simpler in this regard. A mech can carry many more grenades at the cost of needing to get within throwing distance of its targets. This is why I came up with the idea of the Transporter Project. In our past few battles, we fought against large alien opponents. Ordinary light mechs cannot inflict meaningful harm on them because of the enormous disparity in scale. What I wanted to do was to develop an idea that can allow light mechs to inflict much more harm to phase whales and alien starships."

"Ah. Your Transporter Project makes more sense now. " Ves said. "It is a demolitionist. Even so, that still makes me wonder whether your grenadier mech is useful enough to attract buyers. Why field a grenadier mech when a ranged machine can do comparable damage at safer distances?"

"Ranged mechs cannot be everywhere or attack every enemy target, sir. There are tunnels, indoor regions, hostile planetary environments and more where ranged machines are constrained. Missiles also have limitations aside from the fault that I have mentioned earlier. They are easily intercepted and cannot always be guided to their targets. Sometimes, the only way for a mech force to deliver a powerful payload to its enemies is to rely on a mech to carry it over."

The Transporter Project possessed numerous advantages in that sense. While it was not as agile as light skirmishers, it was still flighty enough to weave and dodge through enemy attacks.

Once it was able to get within throwing range, the mech could throw a lot of potent grenades in quick succession.

Even though it looked as if its modest containers could not hold a lot of explosives, the deadliness of the Transporter Project depended on the quality and model of its payload.

If the machine was equipped with expensive grenades, then the damage they could inflict would definitely be amazing, especially against larger and less mobile opponents!

Ves understood that Juliet still needed to explain one more detail. "You mentioned combining it with a glow that can complement its role. What design spirit do you have in mind for this grenadier mech?"

"I was thinking about borrowing from the same glow that makes the Stingripper so difficult to hit. This not only increases the survival chances of the Transporter Project, but it can also synergize together with our existing Ferocious Piranha models to confuse enemy mech pilots!"

"This…"

Kalo's design spirit exerted a subtle effect that caused mech pilots to misjudge distances and directions to a small extent. The biggest flaw was that it was not effective at longer ranges so the Transporter Project would still be vulnerable during its approach.

Even so, Ves could see the Transporter Project occupying a niche in the market. There were plenty of weird circumstances in the new frontier where grenadier mechs could be of greater use. The small but dangerous machine proposed by Juliet had the potential to become a fearsome deliverer of bursting damage on the battlefield!