The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2603

Chapter 2603: Diligent Ovenbird

"As a mech designer, I'm sure you are aware of the saying that you get what you paid for." Vivian explained while maintaining her confidence. "This rule applies for mechs as well as starships. Do not be alarmed at the high price of the Gorgoneion. She is more than worth her initial cost. Protective hull plating doesn't come cheap, but you will be grateful for having lots of it during battle."

While Vivian Tsai was much worse off than Ves in terms of reputation, prestige, wealth and accomplishments, she believed in her work. When it came to discussing her ship designs, she was able to speak to the clan patriarch with authority!

That was exactly what Ves wanted to see in the clan's new chief ship designer. If Vivian did not have the confidence to back up her own work, then what was the point of putting her in charge?

It was just that Ves was a bit shocked at the price of the Gorgoneion. "If I recall, I specified a considerably lower maximum price for a proposal."

"I am aware of that, sir, but I think you don't want to go too cheap when it comes to one of your most important defensive assets of your expeditionary fleet. Back when you have set this limitation, the LMC was only just starting to put the Ferocious Piranha on sale. A couple of months have gone by now and it is very clear that your new product is enriching our clan. With such good conditions, there shouldn't be any problems with financing this order."

It was impossible for the Larkinson Clan to pay 3.2 trillion hex credits all at once to a shipbuilding company. The clan's growing expenditures and investments along with the need to build up a warchest reserved for other strategic purposes meant that it would take a while to accumulate that much money in the form of cash.

Nonetheless, as long as the Larkinson Clan was able to prove its earning prowess, it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain a loan. Shipbuilding companies could also be persuaded to receive payment in installments or after they finished constructing the ships in question.

"In general, most shipbuilding companies demand half or full payment up front before they are willing to accept a commission to build a ship that is not in their product catalog." Vivian explained. "Too many incidents took place in the past where the client cancelled the order or died all of sudden, leaving the shipyard with a very strange ship that can't be sold."

"Does that mean we have to have all of the financing in order before we place our order?" Ves asked.

"Not necessarily. As long as the client develops a good relationship with a shipbuilding company, they can obtain better deals. It takes decades and at least several major transactions to establish this kind of trust, though. Unless we are able to negotiate a good deal by offering other concessions, we won't have much of a chance of getting our order accepted. Don't forget that shipbuilding companies, especially those that are capable of making capital ships, are never short of clients and orders."

Even though capital ships were incredibly costly to obtain, demand still exceeded supply. The Larkinson Clan would be at a disadvantage no matter which shipbuilding company it approached. Only by showing willingness to pay a hefty premium upfront would a shipyard be willing to build a massive ship like the Gorgoneion.

Ves shrugged as he rubbed Bygul's belly. The electronic cat wasn't able to provide the tactile sensation of fur, but the sensation of touching him was still pleasantly soft.

[Mew mew.]

"We can leave the financing issue to the finance experts of our clan. I'm sure they can whip something together. You just focus on completing the ship design and making sure the Gorgoneion is viable and useful. We'll take care of the rest. Understood?"

She nodded. "I get it, sir. I am still getting accustomed to my new position."

"Alright. Now do you have any other ship designs that you are ready to present today?"

"There is one other proposal that I think you should consider at an early stage."

She waved her hand a few times, causing all of the projections related to the Gorgoneion to disappear. In their place came a new set of projections that depicted a different ship concept.

What immediately stood out to Ves was that the new vessel did not look as if she was remotely suited for combat. Her expansive shape offered a lot of targets for enemies to shoot at. What was worse was that her hull featured distressingly little armor.

This was definitely a support ship. No doubt about it. This was a vessel that was mostly useful outside of a combat situation. If she ever found herself in the middle of a crisis, then the Larkinson fleet would have to devote a lot of assets to keep her out of harm's way!

"What am I looking at, Vivian?"

"This is the Diligent Ovenbird. It's not a completely original design. In truth, I've adapted it from the Daedalus-class of fleet repair and upgrade vessels developed by the shipyard that my father is still working at. This Type-C variant is a special iteration that I have developed in order to meet the defensive requirements that you have set. While her hull armor is admittedly not very impressive, she is actually a lot more robust than the older Type-U, Type-K and Type-H variants."

Ves grimaced. "That is all relative. No matter what letter you use to describe this 'Diligent Ovenbird', there is no changing the fact that she is a burden in combat."

"You can say that about any non-combat vessel, sir. To be honest, part of the reason why I proposed the Gorgoneion first is to increase the viability of acquiring more fragile vessels such as this one. The Diligent Ovenbird provides an essential service that is of paramount importance to our growing fleet."

The chief ship designer flicked at one of the projections, causing it to highlight the fleet repair vessel's primary functional parts.

"Ah, don't get too excited." She quickly raised her palm. "Unlike the internal drydock, the external dock is only capable of performing moderate repairs on capital ships. Don't underestimate this capability. If you attempt to perform surface repairs with smaller fleet service vessels, you'll only be able to perform surface repairs at a much lower efficiency. Also, the Ovenbird cannot move under these conditions, and she will also expose some vulnerable internal parts. Still, the convenience provided by the external dock is incomparable. It is fully capable of repairing any battle damage inflicted on our capital ships as long as it doesn't go too deep. This makes the Ovenbird an excellent addition to long-duration campaigns." _{frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓}

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