The Mech Touch

"Becoming the highest ranking official of the Red Collective is not a done deal, boss." Gavin said. "If you can figure out the Evolution Witch's scheme, then others have deduced her plans a long time ago. She has many rivals and opponents at the top of our society, so she will not be able to get her way on everything. In fact, she is often considered to be on the more extreme end of the political spectrum. She advocates for extreme changes with reduced oversight. Ever since she became unleashed in the Red Ocean, she has become an Unbounder in all but name. That tends to ruffle many feathers. The Red Association and the Red Fleet have not shaken off the vestiges of the Age of Conquest just yet. There is still a group that advocates for restraint and moderation. They will be the main source of opposition towards any attempt to put you in the highest seat."

Ves didn't know how to feel about that. "You know, I might not actually dislike it if I am denied the highest seat. It is not as if I was asking for it in the first place. A part of me even wishes that they succeed in their obstruction."

"Are you sure you want to say that out loud?"

"Pff! It's fine. If the Evolution Witch ever hears what I have said, then she will appreciate my candor. It is always better to be truthful to a god pilot."

Gavin couldn't quite understand why Ves rejected this arrangement so much.

"Ves, I understand your concerns about occupying a position that is outside of your realm of competence, but don't you realize how much this will enhance your reputation and career? Even if you are only able to hold onto your office for a year, your name will forever be in the history books for being the founder and initial leader of the Red Collective. You will amass a following that will continue to support you in both good times and bad times. You will also become more eligible to occupy lesser but still fairly influential leadership positions in the future."

"All of that sounds interesting… if I aspired to become a politician." Ves flatly responded. "I am a mech designer. I am busy with a lot of important mech design projects. I have no interest to waste my brainpower on wheeling and dealing, something which the leader of the Red Collective must do all the time due to the highly decentralized and fractured nature of this organization."

"Your concerns are valid, but would you prefer to let a third party with unpredictable demands such as the Evolution Witch or other individual shape this powerful organization, or would you rather take full control by doing everything yourself?"

Ves rightfully possessed a lot of concerns about surrendering control over his own life to others.

He knew that if other people managed to occupy the highest seat of the Red Collective, he or she gained plenty of official authority to meddle in Ves' life and many works, including the ones that he did not want to expose to the public!

Ves furrowed his brows. His determination wavered a bit. There were arguments that were in favor and against aspiring to become the leader of the Red Collective.

"I… don't know. Let's just see how this goes. I won't try to be stupid by acting like an idiot so that no one wants to put me in charge. However, I am not going to go out of my way to schmooze with the other councilors in an attempt to earn their vote of support. I am just going to behave like I usually do. Whether I succeed or fail, people will at least be able to make an accurate judgment about myself."

His assistant looked disappointed, but he did not try to persuade Ves to change his mind.

"If that is what you wish. I do not think this is the most optimal decision you can make, but it is possible that you will be able to win people over through your sincerity."

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "Enough about this crap. Help me prepare for the next council session. The Red Tide Offensive has caused a lot of disruptions, but I haven't heard anything about the next session being postponed. This may be the first time I will have to preside over such a grand gathering. The Evolution Witch's staff are supposed to be working on the actual details, but I have yet to hear anything of the sort. Please get in touch with her people so that I know what I have to say at the right moments."

"Got it. What are the items on the agenda for the upcoming sessions?"

"I haven't heard much. I think there was talk about expanding the role of kinship networks in light of the Red Tide Offensive. It has become more important than ever for red humanity to become united and more cohesive. A stronger argument can be made that kinship networks can give red humanity an additional edge over the enemy."

"Do you agree with this stance?"

"I do, but that doesn't mean that everyone else thinks the same." Ves responded. "There are justified reasons why one would be hesitant about letting other non-human entities form a connection to your spirit. To be honest, if people don't trust the spirits who are responsible for overseeing the kinship networks, then they don't have to participate. It is better if kinship networks are only used by those who do not think they have anything to hide and those who really believe in the benefits they provide."

This was a contentious topic, so much so that the rollout of kinship networks suffered many delays. People kept bringing up potential vulnerabilities and exploits that could turn the networks into liabilities.

Gavin looked a bit more optimistic. "Starting the session with this topic is actually a great political move. By letting you preside over a discussion on a subject that you understand better than anyone else, you can keep the other councilors in check while simultaneously demonstrating how you prefer to wield your authority."

Ves helplessly shook his head. Did everything have to be political?

"I cannot claim to be unbiased on this subject, so I won't even try. That said, I won't try to fight too hard to empower our kinship networks."

They talked a bit more about the other subjects that could come up during these council sessions. They ranged from the possibility of raising in-house armed forces to add muscle to the Red Collective to fine-tuning the complex relationships it should maintain with the other major powers of red humanity.

These were all big affairs that Ves and Gavin alone could not possibly figure out and decide for themselves!

It was up to the bigshots and their extensive staff to figure out much of the elaborate details.

Once Ves and Gavin were done with their discussions, the latter left the office after promising to get in touch with the relevant parties.

Fortunately, they still had a bit of time before the next council session commenced. That should allow Ves to make sufficient preparations. He could not guarantee that he would do well, but he was already happy if he could survive the event without making a faux pas.

The next day, Ves took care of his daily affairs before turning his attention to his mech design projects again.

The Swarm Project remained his highest priority. He could not afford to use other activities as excuses to miss his obligations towards this critical endeavor.

Ves and his two collaborators had already completed a lot of preliminary work in the past few days.

It was easiest for Ves to fill in the gaps related to the third-class versions of the two machines. While he did require a refresher on the latest advancements in third-class mech design, he caught up quickly and had a good idea on how far he could push the limits.

Affordability took precedence over everything. The third-class products and more specifically the subordinate mechs had to be dirt cheap.

The frontline mechs also had to be extremely easy to pilot when put in its simplest configuration.

Ves dare not claim that complete beginners would be able to turn into a barely asset on the battlefield after just a single week of training, but he had made many special accommodations for the sole purpose of minimizing any variable that would only split the attention of the Carmine mech further.

"What are the greatest challenges that you have encountered in your attempts to put these configurations together?" Jovy inquired.

"No, that's stupid, Jovy. Command mechs need to maintain a clear overview of the battlefield at all times. It is not impossible for command mechs to lead from the front, but they are usually reserved for those who are truly committed to this path. Most mech commanders prefer to stay close to their troops but not to the point where they become consumed by all of the fighting."

"The command mech is fairly standard and easy to design." Ves responded. "It is not my intention to turn it into anything revolutionary. The only aspects that make it different from others is that it will be a living mech, with all of the cool features that are associated with my work. Aside from that, I don't want to change too much because I want professional mech pilots of any specialization to be able to pilot it with as little adaptation time as possible."

"If you want to make your command mech universally compatible with every mech pilot, then will you add melee combat capabilities to its design?"

"No, that's stupid, Jovy. Command mechs need to maintain a clear overview of the battlefield at all times. It is not impossible for command mechs to lead from the front, but they are usually reserved for those who are truly committed to this path. Most mech commanders prefer to stay close to their troops but not to the point where they become consumed by all of the fighting."

"Perhaps you are correct about this when it comes to the second-class and third-class versions of the command mech, but I highly recommend you to take this demand into account when we begin to work on the first-class version. A first-class mech pilot is accustomed to having both melee and ranged solutions at their disposal. Mech commanders are no exception to this rule."

Ves frowned. "Aren't there any C-grade genetic aptitude mech pilots that have chosen to specialize in field command as opposed to personal combat? After all, genetic aptitude is not really all that necessary to effectively coordinate troops."

"It doesn't work, Ves. Mech pilots do not respect a mech commander who is not able to fight nearly as well as them. The pilots of first-class multipurpose mechs are a breed of their own. They naturally look down on the pilots of inferior machines and will not be pleased if they are being ordered around by a field commander who they can easily beat in a virtual duel."

"I see."

Ves forgot about that. Mech pilots could be so stupid about these kinds of things.

After a bit of discussions, the three agreed to make an exception for the first-class version of the command mech. They would try to design it as a first-class multipurpose mech with command and control capabilities already baked into some of its modular slots.

Since Ves had never designed a proper first-class mech before, he allowed Jovy and Vector to take the lead in sketching up a draft design.

The three stared at the projected image in appreciation.

"It doesn't look too special for now, but I think I can differentiate it more during the design process." Ves said. "After all, if everything goes as planned, this will probably be my first proper first-class mech design."

"It is a fine mech to start with." Vector mentioned. "Most of the first-class mechs designed by us and our peers never have a chance to get used on a wider scale. Yours is completely different. Your debut into the first-class mech market is certain to become popular. This is a rare luxury in our industry."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still need to complete the damn designs and make sure they work as intended before we can think about sales."

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