The Mech Touch

Just as Ves feared, it was hard to market the newly-completed Pacifier model.

So what if it was a cheap and affordable law enforcement mech?

So what if it was fairly fast in relation to its weight class?

So what if it came with a glow that could pacify people?

Most of the Planetary Guard units and other associated law enforcement agencies that the Larkinsons contacted did not even bother to listen to the sales pitch!

It made no difference if the LMC's Marketing Department or Ves himself approached the potential clients with an offer.

Any message they dispatched simply got lost in the abyss!

"The market for law enforcement mechs is not as fluid and prone to rapid shifts as the other mech markets that we are accustomed to." Gavin explained to Ves. "The authorities in the Red Ocean bear a huge responsibility in protecting millions if not billions of MTA credits worth of colonial assets as well as precious manpower. The law enforcement agencies cannot afford to gamble on new and untested products that come out all of the time. If they happen to bet wrong on a gimmicky mech model that has not been tested in the field for months or years, then the consequence might be the utter failure and ruination of an expensive colony. Do you understand now why our pitch has fallen on deaf ears?"

Ves reluctantly nodded. It was not that difficult to understand. If the law enforcement agencies adopted mechs and mech ecosystems that were published by famed, established brands that retained Master Mech Designers with decades or centuries worth of experience in designing non-lethal mechs, then they all knew exactly what they were getting!

Not only did these mainstream law enforcement mech models offer guaranteed high performance, but their designs were so solid and reliable that their copies could easily remain in service for at least a decade without falling apart!

That latter part was extremely important to many major clients. One of the more common faults of less established and lower-ranking mech designers was that their products tended to look flashy at first, but possessed a weak and rotten foundation under the hood.

Though Ves did not believe that the Pacifier was unreliable to the point that it would become too worn out after a few years of service, it was hard to convince others that his product was sound.

Claims alone were not enough! What the market truly paid attention to was reputation and a solid track record. Any vendors that tried to jump into this market without an advantage in either of these areas would just get the doors slammed into their faces!

Ves tiredly rubbed his face. "I thought that enough knowledgeable people would know and appreciate the effects of our glows. The one that I have paired with the Pacifier is a perfect fit! Why can't those stodgy leaders and decision makers take us seriously for once!?"

"Any organization that uses mechs gets flooded with offers from other mech companies." Gavin answered. "Many of them claim to solve a problem twice as good as the competition. Words are not enough in today's market environment."

"Then we should hold a live demonstration. Please rent a slot at a prominent exhibition hall in Kotor City. I think it might be time for us to hold another product announcement."

Gavin looked reluctant. "That can be arranged, boss, but… you won't be able to speak to the right audience if that is the case. We can attract thousands of locals and tourists to our show, but if we cannot lure in our target audience, then our outreach won't be as effective as we hoped."

Ves understood what his personal assistant was talking about. Government officials and Planetary Guard officers usually did not attend these kinds of shows, especially one held by a young and relatively obscure Journeyman Mech Designer.

When most people thought of Journeymen, they thought of up-and-coming mech designers that were adequate in designing mechs for the private market but did not possess the qualifications to compete with the big boys!

While Professor Taigen could more easily make everyone take him seriously due to his reputation, track record, age and rank, Ves had none of these advantages!

No government institution would take him seriously!

Ves scratched his head as he thought on how to overcome all of these hurdles.

"Wait a second." He suddenly jerked. "The Pacifier model may be designed with law enforcement purposes in mind, but that should not be the only case where it can play a useful role!"

"What are you talking about, boss?"

"I just had the greatest idea!" Ves grinned as he grabbed onto his assistant's shoulders. "Proceed with renting an exhibition hall and prepare to promote the event as the introduction of a revolutionary new solution to a problem that is plaguing many organizations in the Red Ocean. Since it is too difficult to market our products to the law enforcement sector at the moment, I think it is best to switch gears and aim for different and more accessible target audiences!"

Gavin began to have a bad feeling about this. "What… sort of clientele do you have in mind, boss?"

"You will see."

Under the patriarch's urging, the Larkinson Clan rapidly made the arrangements. It paid good money to rent an exhibition hall on short notice and held an expensive promotion blitz to attract the attention of as many potential buyers and users as possible!

A week later, thousands of curious people headed towards an exhibition hall located in the bustling and busy Commercial District.

Akairos Hall was one of the many exhibition halls that had popped up as of late. While it was not that large and did not exude a sense of luxury and opulence, the modern metal-and-glass structure possessed its own strong points.

Compared to many other alternatives, Akairos Hall featured some of the best environmental simulation tech in Kotor City!

The features went beyond making elaborate use of physical projections. Although a sensible person would still be able to distinguish between reality and falsehood, it was also easy for visitors to get caught up in whatever illusion the exhibition hall weaved at the time.

As the invited guests all showed their tickets and gained entry to Akairos Hall, Ves passed the time by inspecting the mechs that would be showcasing their capabilities today.

"The new AP-VEX superfab is incredible." Ves noted to Calabast. "Previously, it took multiple days or even a week for me to fabricate a mech. With the new first-class superfab that we've obtained for millions of MTA merits, it takes less than a day for me to make a Pacifier mech."

Since the completion of the Pacifier Project, Ves had spent five days fabricating five different Pacifier mechs in a row!

Part of the reason why he was able to maintain such a high pace of production was because of the incredible speed and precision of the superfab. Compared to the traditional production lines based around 3D printers, the technological edge was incomparable!

Another reason why he was able to make them quickly was because their designs were relatively simple, modest and did not incorporate any expensive or powerful materials.

As a result, five new mechs stood proudly before him at the backstage area of Akairos hall. Though none of them were masterworks, his high affinity for mechs along with his considerable amount of practical experience had elevated the quality of the Pacifiers to a high level.

"Are you sure you want to market the Pacifiers to the group of people that you have invited today?" Calabast asked. "If you do this, you will invite a considerable amount of controversy."

"Customers are customers." Ves crossed his arms. "I don't care who buys my products. Each mech aspires to be useful. If the law enforcement circle isn't willing to listen to my pitch, then I will focus my efforts on a more receptive group of people. I can guarantee you that by the time I have ended my presentation, we will receive thousands of orders for our new Pacifier model from our audience!"

Time passed until the time for Ves to make his case had finally arrived. He checked his appearance and made sure his modified suit looked both dashing and adventurous enough to convey a certain image.

"It's time, sir!"

As soon as the show commenced, Ves adopted his public speaking persona and exuded an air of confidence and excitement.

The main hall had gone pitch dark at this moment when he floated towards the center of the podium.

A spotlight gradually shone on Ves, allowing every guest in the audience to get a glimpse of the young clan patriarch and mech designer.

"Welcome, everyone. I am glad to see you attend this little product reveal event today." Ves spoke in a friendly tone. "This event will be a little different from the boring product announcements that should be familiar to you all. This is the reason why we set a few requirements in order for you to be eligible to attend this meeting. We don't want any kids or elderly people to suffer any… accidents."

That certainly caused the crowd to build up more anticipation for the product reveal.

Ves waved his hand forward, causing a soft light to illuminate the audience area.

"You see, the reason why we wanted to invite healthy people who are fit and possess a combat-related background is because we want to hold a more practical demonstration. In other words, each of you will take part in the scenarios that we have prepared so that you can experience for yourself how useful our new product can be to your security companies and mercenary outfits!"

The vast majority of guests that the Larkinsons had invited for this product reveal were those active in the security sector!

Compared to public officials and law enforcement officers, it was much easier for the Larkinsons to attract the attention of mercs and guards.

Though their pockets weren't necessarily as deep, there were a lot of them in Davute.

After issuing a few obligatory safety and risk warnings, Ves did not delay any further and moved on to the next phase of his presentation.

"I am sure you are familiar with what comes next. Our new products will show up behind me while I introduce them with my words. Well, I won't follow that routine this time. I believe the best possible way for you to understand my new mech model is to experience its strengths in person."

Ves waved his hand, causing him and the stage to completely disappear in sight.

The advanced projectors and other illusion technology of Akairos Hall completely went active at this time.

Before the guests knew it, they had been transported from a darkened exhibition hall to the center of what appeared to be a burning colony settlement!

The visitors all looked around with varying degrees of wonder as they could feel the heat of the surrounding fires and smell the scent of burning metal and composites.

As they turned their gazes towards each other, they all noted with surprise that their original 'bodies' had disappeared!

Instead, their forms had all been superimposed by projected bodies of colony residents wearing tarnished outfits. Their 'new' selves also carried various firearms.

As the attendees all tried to make sense of their new illusionary setting, the voice of Ves suddenly narrated the situation.

"This is Epteon III, a real planet in Krakatoa that had been colonized by a pioneer who was way in over his head. The group responsible for erecting this colony was not prepared to face all of the problems and setbacks that occurred. Funding gaps, equipment failures and scarcity of goods, equipment and supplies has made life increasingly more unbearable to the colonists who signed up with the pioneering organization in order to attain a better life."

Much to the astonishment of the guests, a glow suddenly began to affect them all. This glow gradually drew out their aggression and frustration.

Combined with other stimuli such as the heat of nearby fires and the smell of burning structures and flesh, the mercenaries all began to get pulled into this imaginary setting!

"When the controllers of the colony finally went too far by limiting the amount of food that you can eat, you all decided to rise up and do whatever you can to overthrow the oppressive regime! You picked up your arms and you sabotaged their facilities in the hope that you could free yourselves from tyranny or escape from the settlement that your oppressors had turned into your prison!"

The environment changed again. Hundreds of projections of thugs and guards in black appeared around the group of attendees.

The glow that caused them to feel a lot more aggressive also made them a lot more trigger-happy than usual. When the active glow upped its power and potency by another notch, many of the mercs with a clear line of fire lifted up their illusionary weapons and fired fake laser beams that struck the oppressive guards!

The fake guards in black did not allow themselves to get hit with impunity. They all brought their formidable-looking arsenal to bear and fired into the crowd!

Numerous mercenaries who got lost in the illusion shouted and fought back harder even as they felt the heat and the concussive forces of energy beams and explosions washing over their bodies!

By now, over half of the attendees had temporarily forgotten about their original identities and became deeply immersed in their new rebel personas!