The Mech Touch

Rorsh & Rorsh was the biggest local game in town.

Everyone who needed to buy a large batch of mechs and have it delivered in a short time could always count on R&R to satisfy their needs, at least on a basic level.

As Tristan lifted up his tea cup and took another sip of his exotic tea that had a fruity taste that was unique to the restaurant, he thought more about how the dominance of this large and iconically Davutan mech company pressed upon the rest of the mech industry.

"I am glad that Rorsh & Rorsh is not in the business of accepting client commissions or offering customization services." He commented as the tide of black mechs seemed unending. "I wouldn't know if other mech companies would still have room to survive if that was the case."

Over a hundred unique models had already marched down the avenue below and the column still hadn't reached its limit!

Professor Zin Galbraith chuckled in a good-natured manner.

"Master Siman Rorsh already accumulated enough power as it is. While there is an argument to be made about artificially inflating a single mech company so that it can be a dominant market force in the Krakatoa Star Sector, it is detrimental to everyone else if it has gained a monopoly. Other mech designers must have room to flourish as well. Davute wouldn't be a good trading hub if competition has been kneecapped to the point where competitors can only crawl on the floor."

"The politicians are pretty okay."

This topic touched on economics and government policies, areas in which Tristan Wesseling had no background in. He only felt irked that Rorsh & Rorsh managed to cheat its way to the top by exploiting its connections to the founders of the colony.

"Rorsh & Rorsh wouldn't be able to do nearly as well if it started to expand into other mech services." Professor Galbraith elaborated. "The company has specialized in fabricating the base models developed by its many mech designers. All of its processes and operations are optimized for this single broad pipeline. Designing mechs according to the individual specifications of single clients requires a different approach as well as entirely different skills. Why would R&R risk its great success in its own niche so that it can become a mediocre service provider in another niche?"

"So does Rorsh & Rorsh truly keep its hands off any custom works? I noticed that the company doesn't design that many expensive mechs either. It's all about mass production as far as their models are concerned."

"That focus on mass production by utilizing cheaper materials more effectively, widening the pool of shared parts and attaining enormous economies of scale is why R&R attained the best price to performance ratios on the market for many of its mech lines. The company's mechs may not be the strongest or the most special product you can buy from the market, but if you have a great demand for quantity, you know where to go. Other mech companies may be able to satisfy your needs as well, but it will cost more money and require months of additional waiting."

Tristan understood this rationale easily enough, but he became confused due to another factor.

"Won't Davute run out of mech pilots this way?"

Professor Galbraith chuckled again. "You are clearly exhibiting your unfamiliarity to the new frontier again. Your concerns are valid if we are describing the conditions in the old galaxy, but the rules are different here. Not enough time has passed for the current population of humans to birth and a new generation of mech pilots. Every potentate and every graduate from a mech academy are immigrants who have managed to make their way to the Red Ocean. Now think about how costly it is to transport passengers to another galaxy. Do you think that the starships in question will let anyone aboard?"

Tristan quickly snorted. "No. You either need to pay a large sum, have someone more important secure passage for you or possess excellent skills in order to persuade an employer to bring you along."

"That is correct, kid. All of these methods are ultimately an indicator of ability. The Red Ocean's demographics stand out for being much younger, significantly better educated and performing considerably better at their respective professions than what we consider normal. With regards to mech pilots, their share of the population is almost double in the new frontier. What is even more interesting is that it stands to rise in the future as the outbreak of mass wars will increase the demand for mech pilots even further."

There were many reasons for mech pilots in the old galaxy to move to the new one.

The gradual proliferation of phasewater jumpstarted the technological progression of mechs. Even if most mass production models had yet to include any phasewater in their designs, that may change in the future.

Already, the discovery and research on brand-new materials and adapted alien technologies already caused the mechs of the Red Ocean to run ahead of the mechs of the Milky Way!

Aside from that, space was much more turbulent in the new frontier, which meant that soldiers with the right skills  had a much greater chance of putting their training to good use. The immigrating mech pilots that chose to uproot their lives and move to the Red Ocean were braver, more combative and more willing to risk their lives for transcendence and glory than usual.

"I understand now." Tristan said as the lengthy column of dark gray mechs finally stopped introducing more models. "The greatest limitation to fielding more mechs in the Red Ocean is not a lack of mech pilots, but a limit on the supply of materials needed to mass produce the machines."

The university professor nodded. "That is almost right, Tristan, but another limitation plays just as much of a role. There is still a shortage in carrier vessels that can transport large quantities of mechs to their destinations. This constraint has produced a glut in landbound mechs assigned to defend planets from external attacks."

Tristan had already heard that Davute started to reinforce the defenses of other star systems within its new state boundaries by shipping over more and more landbound and aerial mechs.

Carriers and cargo haulers only needed to go on a single trip to ferry over the newly produced mechs to their destinations. After that, the disembarking mechs could be put to good use right away without any further naval assistance.

As the next column of mechs produced by another major company in Davute made a much better effort at putting on a festive display, Professor Galbraith made another remark.

"If you look at the mech models on display, their overall level of sophistication of the mechs is higher than what we are accustomed to in the old galaxy. Do you think there will ever be a market for low-end mechs, for example frontline mechs?"

Tristan shook his head. "No. Resources are too scarce for that. The mining industry and shipping industry cannot keep up with the demand for raw materials as it is. There is no room for additional factories to be built so that they can churn out low-end mechs in mass quantities."

"You are wrong."

"I am?"

"Despite what I have said a moment earlier, there are still uses for mech pilots who are not as gifted as their better peers." Professor Galbraith said as he put down his empty glass of wine. He already flagged a bot to refill his glass. "Let me give you a piece of insider knowledge. Rorsh & Rorsh alongside many other well-connected mech companies are working on designing a multitude of simplistic budget-oriented mechs. They are even in the middle of designing frontline mechs that are much clumsier and more inflexible than their normal counterparts but can effectively be controlled by mech pilots with D-grade genetic aptitudes. What does that tell you, Mr. Wesseling?"

The shiny white mechs marching down the avenue below did not look anything like the machines that the academic mech designer described.

The current trends in the mech market overwhelmingly centered around premium mechs. Focusing on superior quality and performance was the most accessible way to strengthen a mech force. The difficulty of obtaining more mechs made it uneconomical to put too much emphasis on quantity.

However, Tristan recalled what Galbraith said earlier about shipping lots of landbound and aerial mechs to different planets.

"I understand now." He said. "The upcoming wars between different states will be brutal by all accounts. Every side will try to do their utmost to gain an advantage and win the war. If there is a possibility of drowning out an elite invasion force with an overwhelming number of cheap cannon fodder mechs, then this is a worthwhile trade to make for a state."

Tristan could partially speak on personal experience on this matter. The Komodo War which determined the fates of two powerful states had become so intense that every eligible Fridayman and Hexer mech pilot had to play a role no matter how effectively they could fight.

Back then, the Komodo War descended into a large number of attrition battles. Fancy tactics and maneuvering could no longer produce major shifts in momentum as both sides had dug in and prepared against many different attacks.

This was why both the Fridaymen and the Hexers simply agreed to converge at the same strategic locations and grind their respective mech armies against each other until only one side remained standing at the end.

It was a horrible way to wage a war. Tristan did not want to see a repeat of all of the slaughter and bloodshed in the new state that he had chosen to settle.

Unfortunately, he had no agency to speak of. No one wanted to dial down their war plans on his account.

"Victory is all that matters." Professor Galbraith affirmed. "Although the supply of high-quality mech pilots is abundant, they are not unlimited. In addition to that, the mechs that they require are more complicated and expensive to build, field and maintain. There are many mission types where employing them is the right choice, but there are also lesser tasks that do not impose high demands. Think about essential but fairly static chores such as garrisoning a defensive stronghold or pacifying an occupied planet."

Tristan understood that much. When the Sundered Phalanx, the Fortune Legion and all of the other Fridayman mech militaries advanced into the territories of the Hex Federation, they always led the charge with their most powerful assault units first.

These mech armies received the best mech pilots, made use of the most effective and resilient military mechs and always enjoyed priority on many services. They had to be well taken care of in order to undertake the most difficult missions of breaking open the Hexer defensive lines.

However, once the hard work was done and another planet fell into the hands of the Fridaymen, it was a complete waste to have all of these crack troops stay and waste their time on chasing dissidents and guarding repair crews as they fixed all of the broken infrastructure.

As such, these high-quality forces would eventually transfer to another front where they were needed while handing over the responsibility of garrisoning the conquered territory to a second-line force.

Though Tristan understood the logic of this mode of operation, he didn't know how states like Davute could pull it off in the Red Ocean.

"Aren't there too few mech pilots and resources to field all of the cannon fodder mechs that you have described?" He asked.

"Currently, that appears to be the case, but there are ways to remedy this problem. Davute and its backers can import large quantities of mech pilots with limited prospects to the Red Ocean. Unlike more skilled soldiers who know how much they are worth, those with lower genetic aptitude grades are not too demanding and can easily be hired at much lower costs."

"And the lack of resources?"

"There are large deposits of low-quality exotics and other resources within the borders of this colonial state. The reason why the mining companies have not exploited them yet beyond the current scale is because there are still high-yield deposits that they can exploit. Once they can no longer open up new mines that contain sizable quantities of medium to high-grade exotics, they will turn their focus to mining more readily available bulk resources. This means that the supply of more affordable materials will most certainly double or triple in the coming two years."

Tristan widened his eyes.

Such a vast increase in materials shipments would not only accelerate low-end construction and production, but also satisfy one of the essential requirements for waging a major war!