The Mech Touch

5816 A Big Stick

The offer made by the Kromo Republic sounded quite attractive as it gave the Larkinson a huge fallback point.

Setting up in a star system that was located a stone's throw away from the Yernstall Central Star Node was almost as good as establishing a presence directly in one of the centers of human civilization.

Ves easily understood the overall benefits. The Kromo Republic functioned like a really high-end version of Cloudy Curtain to Yernstall which took on the role of a much wealthier version of Bentheim.

The positioning was nearly perfect. The star systems of the Kromo Republic had become prime real estate for being located in a safe territory in the rear. While it was expensive to live in the first-rate state, the cost wasn't nearly as extravagant as living in Yernstall directly!

This turned the Kromo Republic into a perfect site to set up a large number of industries to meet the voracious demand for expensive, high-margin products from Yernstall and other nearby economic engines.

The competition was high, but the huge profit potential made it worth it for the Larkinson Clan to establish a strong industrial presence in the hinterland of human space.

Ves also did not overlook the fact that setting up a lot of industrial works in the Kromo Republic could facilitate the operations of the recently acquired Starfarer Berth and vice versa. There was a natural synergy between the two that promised to strengthen the Larkinson Clan's foundation in this critically important region of space.

He smiled. Although the amount of land that the Kromo Republic was willing to bequeath to the Larkinson Clan was rather miniscule compared to the previous bid, there was no way for him to expect anything better.

The land prices in the rear of human space had skyrocketed to such an extent that Ves would not be surprised if the total value of this land concession already exceeded 1 trillion MTA credits!

The huge disparity truly put the impact of the Red War into perspective. Any territories that were close enough to frontlines became so undesirable that groups such as the Nayald Ancient Clan had to offer subsidies in order to encourage pioneers to develop their territories.

In contrast, even a small factory-sized plot in the rear of human space could already bankrupt typical pioneers many times over!

Even if Ves originally did not plan to invest in a large industrial complex in the hinterland of red humanity, he was more than willing to grasp at an easy opportunity! It would have been a lot more difficult for him and his Larkinson Clan to start a similar initiative through regular channels.

There was only one issue with the Kromo Republic's bid that he was dissatisfied with. He quickly swept his gaze across the submerged hall.

"While the representative of the Kromo Republic has made an acceptable bid, I would like to remind you all that I prefer to obtain benefits that can easily be translated into strengthening my force of arms. I have already obtained more than enough economic and industrial commitments from the previous winning bids. My concern with the current valid bid is that it is mostly an escape hatch. It provides me with a way to mitigate losses if red humanity ever suffers a major string of defeats. I am not looking for insurance. Not specifically. What I am actually looking for is a means to defeat more powerful opponents, secure greater victories and increase our survival in a dwarf galaxy that is spiraling into total war."

The expressions of a few faces grew severe after they heard that. Ves had made his demands clear, but he also reminded everyone of the value of their military assets.

It was not easy to make the decision to sacrifice their military potential in order to build up a relationship with Ves.

However, there were many ways to meet Ves' demands without sacrificing too much in return.

A female Senior Mech Designer stood up at this point.

"I am Professor Eustacia Lotte. I have been tasked with relaying an offer from the Evolution Witch of the Red Association. In exchange for shares in your mech company, she is willing to grant you an immensely large gift as well as a permanent exemption that will grant you and your clan the right to utilize it in battle under reasonable circumstances."

Everyone wondered what she was talking about. The envoy from the Transhumanist Faction did not keep everyone waiting for long and activated a projection that displayed an astonishing sight.

"That… is a juggernaut!"

Though Ves did not have frequent encounters with them, he still remembered them as if he had seen them yesterday.

Juggernauts deserved all of his attention. As slow and impractical as they may be, scaling up the size of mechs until they matched the size of sub-capital warships was a surefire way to produce a machine with an enormous amount of brute force under its command!

The one depicted in the projection seemed a little tame compared to the likes of Special Project Uranus.

The specs accompanying the awe inspiring sight of a machine that could tower over an entire city showed that the juggernaut was 'only' 350 meters tall.

Its immense mechanical construction made it clear that its designers sought to reduce a few of the well-known disadvantages of juggernauts by slimming them down.

The result was a rather skinny and less armored juggernaut that looked as if it could sprint across the ground.

Its defenses had clearly taken a backseat, which granted it a lower fault margin.

However, its superior mobility would allow it to evade significantly more attacks than usual and prevent it from becoming a sitting duck.

The lack of a flight system was a painful limitation, but that also freed up a lot of room for extra modules and weapon systems.

So long as the juggernaut fought on land, it could probably defeat larger monstrosities!

As far as tech went, the juggernaut was both powerful but also frustratingly inadequate.

Ves did not need to access any specific design files to conclude that it was an old machine.

Based on the visible tech and clear signs of wear and tear, he loosely guessed that it was constructed over 60 years ago. The Red Association definitely was not responsible because it lacked all of the exclusive high technologies that the mechers frequently utilized during that period.

However, Ves was able to determine that it was designed and built by first-raters who had too much money on their hands and not enough sense to spend it on more cost-effective solutions.

The juggernaut may be three or four mech generations out of date, but it should still be combat effective after receiving an extensive round of maintenance.

The lack of phasewater technology and hyper technology did not even bother Ves. So long as the juggernaut was combat effective, it should not be difficult to upgrade it to modern standards.

The biggest downside to this was all of the design and refit work required to turn the machine into a modern powerhouse. It would take multiple years of focused work to properly fix and upgrade a juggernaut that had likely remained in storage for over 6 decades!

"Why did the Red Association take the trouble to import an outdated juggernaut to the Red Ocean?" Ves curiously asked.

Professor Lotte twitched her lips. "I do not dare to speculate on the motives of Her Holiness. The juggernaut known as the Otalon Sprius is mainly regarded as her personal trophy and possession."

In other words, this was probably just a toy that the Evolution Witch brought to her new home in the Red Ocean along with the rest of her personal collection.

Why she decided to take possession of it and bring it over to her new galaxy was anyone's guess.

All that mattered was that the god pilot was willing to grant the Larkinson Clan an actual first-class juggernaut!

More importantly than that, the Evolution Witch was also willing to grant an exemption to the rules that prohibited private parties from fielding any war machines that vastly exceeded ordinary mechs in scale!

The former solved his short-term needs while the latter satisfied his long-term demands.

Ves could immediately ship the strangely named Otalon Sprius over to the newly acquired territorial holding in the Caesarion Upper Zone.

Once the juggernaut dropped onto the planet that the Larkinson Clan intended to colonize, the Otalon Sprius would be able to offer a huge amount of protection and deterrence while it remained stationed on the surface.

Its warship-grade cannons should easily pose a serious threat to any enemy vessels in orbit.

Not even the main cannons of the Ultimatums or the Transcendent Punishers could match the raw firepower of the juggernaut's enormous first-class weapon systems!

Once the newly established colony started to acquire enough defenses to fend off most threats on its own, Ves planned to start an extensive upgrade process that would make it multiple times deadlier than before!

Phasewater technology!

Hyper technology!

Luminar crystal technology!

E-technology!

Support link technology!

All of these technologies combined and more should turn a fairly average juggernaut for its size into a top powerhouse that should probably be able to overpower ace mechs in raw firepower!

Of course, that did not mean that the Otalon Sprius would be able to beat an actual ace mech. The latter possessed a lot of other advantages that could not be matched through mechanical means.

That was fine. Ace pilots did not grow on trees, and there were certain measures that even ace mechs were unable to match.

Size mattered.

As much as the more rational part of Ves recognized that maintaining and fielding such an enormous first-class juggernaut would impose a huge drain on the Larkinson Clan's resources, the temptation of owning a big stick in the form of a genuine juggernaut in his possession was too much for Ves to resist!

Ves instantly forgot about the Kromo Republic's offer. How could a bunch of factories in the rear of human space compete against a real juggernaut?

Even if the outdated Otalon Sprius came with a host of problems that made it difficult or impractical to pilot, there were always solutions for everything!

The mech designer in his heart strongly urged him to obtain it as soon as possible and explore it so that he could fix it up himself.

It would be an affront to his pride as a mech designer if he did not seriously work on at least one actual juggernaut in his lifetime!

His only regret was that the juggernaut was 150 meters too short to satisfy all his desires.

The Uranus had made an unforgettable impression earlier in his career. Ever since he survived its cataclysmic rampage, Ves secretly desired to design and build a superior version based on his own style!

Ves narrowed his eyes as he continually studied the projected juggernaut.

"If I accept this bid, how extensively am I allowed to modify the Otalon Sprius?" Ves inquired. "Is it possible for me to increase its length and scale?"

The Transhumanist mech designer already anticipated this question.

"The permissions extended by our Association will grant you the right to upgrade your juggernaut as you see fit. However, you are not allowed to increase its current length. You may alter its design and configuration to increase its mass and volume, but only up to 20 percent from its current parameters. Her Holiness is already stretching the rules by granting your clan an exclusive right to own and field this juggernaut in actual battle. Do not expect to receive any further allowances."

That was a clear enough answer. Ves grew a little disappointed. The Otalon Sprius was not only not that tall, but he couldn't add too much bulk. The Otalon Sprius would always remain a fairly lean machine if that was the case.

Still, having a juggernaut in his pocket was better than not having one. Ves could hardly think of better ways to persuade alien raiders to turn around and plunder another human settlement by placing a well-equipped juggernaut on defense!

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