The Mech Touch

Ves tried to be more purposeful when he continued his shopping spree.

He stuck to his goal of purchasing rare and expensive presents for his wife and children while also remaining on the lookout for more functional goods.

However, many of the items for sale did not appeal to him for a variety of reasons. There were lots of high-tech gadgets that could make his life more convenient, but he did not trust their manufacturers to refrain themselves from installing backdoors into their products.

Although this was not a reason to reject the use of any tech that did not originate from himself and his clan, he would rather avoid the use of unnecessary technologies if he could easily do without the extra convenience.

As Ves continued his shopping spree while accompanied by an abundance of guards, he did not forget that he was also being followed by his cousin.

"While I am here, I may as well go ahead and purchase good stuff for you as well. Is there anything you want or need, Tusa?"

The ace pilot who guarded Ves from above thought for a moment. "I don't need you to buy me any presents. I have earned so many war merits as of late that I am not short of comfort. What I truly want is for you to make my Dark Zephyr stronger. Now that I managed to kill the old Arena Lord of Ya'gwasa with the tier 3 Destroyer spear, I have gained a whole new appreciation for good equipment. I could use more weapons to diversify my arsenal, preferably lighter ones that do not slow down my machine as much."

This was an understandable request. Many ace pilots tended to branch out and try out different weapons that worked better in different situations. The tier 3 Destroyer spear may possess extremely potent offensive power, but it was also a large and unwieldy weapon in the hands of an ace light skirmisher.

Ves did not forget that the Dark Zephyr was originally optimized to wield two small bladed weapons. It would be best if he could equip the living ace mech with superior weapons of the same type.

"There are mech boutiques and mech equipment stores in Rolley Boulevard. There are probably excellent blades for sale that may be able to grant you an immediate power boost."

"No. Don't buy anything that is readily made." Tusa rejected. "I prefer the arms that you and the people in the clan create more. Unless you manage to find a weapon that is just as powerful as a tier 3 Destroyer weapon, I think it is much better if you buy a collection of high-quality materials and hand them over to Ketis to forge a pair of knives. The ones my ace mech is currently equipped with are decent, but I have no reason to use them over the Destroyer spear. I hope that you or Ketis can buy a powerful material on this planet and forge a set of knives that fit my needs much better."

That sounded like a reasonable request. Though Ves did not feel as if the Dark Zephyr urgently needed better weapons, Saint Tusa deserved a reward for all of the fighting he had done.

Besides, Ves probably wouldn't be doing any of the hard work. He could completely outsource this job to Ketis. She had forged practically every blade utilized by the high-ranking mechs of the Larkinson Clan.

"I can do that, Tusa. I was just about to stop by the materials warehouse anyway. I need to purchase a lot of stuff to enrich my vault of strategic materials. You never know when a rare material with a specific effect might come in handy."

He proceeded to do just that. Rolley Boulevard tended to attract a lot of Master Mech Designers, and if there was one thing they liked the most, it was sniffing through a lot of rare and weird materials to find whether they could synergize with their design philosophies!

Naturally, the materials warehouse that Ves stopped by boasted a large collection of rare exotics as well as unusual hypers.

The price per kilogram of any material was much higher than elsewhere, but the convenience as well as the opportunity to feel and analyze the products in question made it worth the effort. It was no wonder that a lot of high-ranking mech designers frequented this business.

Of course, there were certain rare or exclusive products available that could only be bartered for other materials specified by the seller.

Ves proceeded to go on a slightly indulgent shopping spree. He picked up a lot of interesting exotics and hypers that might be of use to him one day. He particularly looked out for materials that could help to make the next iterations of his living expert mechs more powerful.

Aside from that, he also tried to find good materials to forge the next blades for the Dark Zephyr.

Nothing available could produce a weapon as powerful as the tier 3 Destroyer spear, but Ves felt quite good about their properties. He simply decided to purchase them so long as he did not have to barter anything weird or difficult to procure and throw them onto Ketis' lap.

Aside from purchasing a lot of samples of interesting materials, Ves also opened up his horizons and became more familiar with what was available these days.

Not only was there an endless variety of exotics available to possessed weird effects, Ves also managed to find a lot of new and interesting hypers.

Ves took a particular liking for hyper materials with a bias for the five elements as well as those slanted towards negative energy.

Even though none of the hyper materials reached the potency of Black Demon Steel, it was not impossible for a material scientist who knew what he was doing to alloy several metals together to produce a more powerful compound effect.

"I definitely need a large amount of darkness-attributed hyper materials to forge my own Polymetal mech." Ves reminded himself.

The materials warehouse commonly sold samples of high-value materials, but also sold goods in bulk as long as there was enough supply in Yernstall.

Ves just had to pay an expensive premium for the materials warehouse to contact all of the vendors that possessed the required materials and ship them to a target destination.

By the time Ves exited the materials warehouse, he not only gained a lot of familiarity with thousands of new and exciting materials, but also ordered enough specialized materials to advance a number of projects, including his own Polymetal mech.

Ves looked up at the sky and saw that evening had already arrived on the local planet. It appeared that he had spent too much time in the materials warehouse.

"Is there anything important in my agenda for today?" Ves asked.

Jovy made a brief check. "You have received hundreds of invitations from notable individuals and groups. They range from attending operas to attending an evening soirée organized by a notable mech designer of the Mech Supremacist Faction. Given your habits, I believe you have no interest in attending any of these events."

"You guessed right. While I recognize the value of expanding my connections, I don't want to waste my time on building friendships with people who are of little use to me. If I can gain their cooperation through money or reputation alone, then it is redundant to win them over."

"Since that is the case, maybe it is better if you specify what you seek to gain during your visit to this central star node. You do not travel easily these days, so think about what you wish to do in the days you have left."

"I want to accomplish a lot of stuff while I am here." Ves said. "It is just that I have grown so much as of late that a few of my plans have become redundant. Wait. I would like to have a good talk with the Red Fleet. Is Commander Zonrad Reze available?"

"Let me see. He has been fighting for a promotion, and that will take up much of his time and attention while he is in this star system. Ah. He has just transmitted a message that states he is available, either in a private or official capacity. What are your intentions?"

"I want to talk to the captain as a representative of the Red Fleet." Ves stated his request. "If Captain Reze does not have enough authority to speak or negotiate on behalf of the RF, then tell him to bring a bigshot who does possess this right."

"Are you planning to make a deal with the Red Fleet?"

"Maybe. What's wrong, Jovy?"

"You have just given them a bloody nose by almost completely invalidating the RF's vaunted Starfighter Corps. Many starfighter pilots or pilots-in-training have already committed to switching over. They are only waiting to get their hands on a Yellow Jacket. This transition period is most painful for the fleeters, because they do not know how many starfighter pilots will switch over to piloting Carmine mechs when the opportunity arises."

Ves couldn't help but smirk. "If I was in their shoes, I would have drawn down the Starfighter Corps right away. Just keep enough of them around to maintain their numbers at the frontlines, but pull the obsolete starfighters back as soon as enough Carmine mechs arrive to take their place."

"That may very well be their plan. Whatever the case, you have become a controversial figure among the fleeters. It may not be the best idea to talk to them or negotiate a deal with them now that their emotions are still heated."

"I don't think the fleeters are as petty as you say." Ves retorted. "Carmine mechs have already become a reality. Their starfighters are already doomed. There is no use crying over spilt milk. The best way forward is to figure out a way to compete with the rising popularity of mechs. In the absence of anything better, I may be able to take part in their solution."

Jovy clearly did not like it for Ves to get chummy with the fleeters. The Survivalist still believed it was best for Ves to stick with the mechers and work together like always.

However, Jovy did not have the power to stop Ves from talking to the fleeters whenever he liked, so he reluctantly made the arrangements for a late night meeting.

"Since you are meeting with the fleeters on short notice, this can only be an informal gathering. This will make it more difficult to negotiate larger and more expensive deals."

"That is fine."

An hour passed by before Ves entered the hotel. He and his entourage reached the top floor.

Jovy stayed behind while Ves, Lucky and his guards moved past the security checkpoint and entered an observation chamber that provided a striking view of the cityscape of the sprawling metropolis on La Reine.

Despite the short notice of this informal gathering, Ves successfully managed to secure a meeting with Chelsea Mieli, the head of the Seventh Light Fleet!

The two shook hands.

"It is an honor to meet you in person. Please sit down and order any refreshments you like."

As the two sat down and ordered their drinks, the RF admiral reached into her pocket and carefully placed a heavy object onto the table.

"What is this, admiral?"

"You should be able to recognize the appearance of an RF Warship Token. You already own two of them, after all. Have you forgotten the bounties that we have placed on the heads on phase lords and phase whales? It has taken time for us to complete the verification, attribution and settlement process considering that multiple different parties worked together to eliminate 4 phase lords in the Mazepan System, but we can finally award you the reward that you are due."

Ves looked at the metal token that the RF awarded to him and his clan.

As far as he knew, the loot and reward distribution had already taken place shortly after the Battle of Mazepan came to a conclusion.

The PPS and the remaining 5 phasewater organs was supposed to be his reward. The value of those organs were so high that Ves would have chosen them over the right to field more warships. He never held any expectations of earning another RF Warship Token out of that effort.

Was this the Red Fleet's attempt to get into his good graces?

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