The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2706

Chapter 2706: Infinity Guards

Paying 17 billion hex credits a month for protection was a very high price.

As long as Ves had enough time, he could raise a basic force that was just as strong. The best part about it was that as long as Ves paid all of the upfront costs, the monthly upkeep would be only a fraction as much.

Sure, it was expensive to pay tens of thousands of personnel. Sure, all of those mechs cost a lot of money to keep in shape. Sure, the Indefatigable along with those combat carriers and support ships also cost money to maintain.

Yet paying 17 billion hex credits to cover for protection for just a single month was a ripoff considering all the alternatives!

It was just that those other solutions required time, which was something that the Larkinson Clan and its partners were very short of. The Golden Skull Alliance wasn't the first to end up in this awkward situation.

Conflicts happened all the time in human space. A lot of outfits, fleets and other organizations incurred huge amounts of damage after they fought against serious opponents.

Even if these organizations possessed the means to rebuild their strength, their other enemies might not wait for them to recover!

Pouncing on a weakened target after enduring an enormous beating was one of the best ways to achieve a quick and profitable victory!

The galaxy wasn't fair. Without sufficient backing, there was no rule in effect that gave exhausted survivors a grace period to get back up to strength.

This was where mercenaries came in. They already built up their strength and readily lend their strength to those who could afford to pay their rates.

The client didn't have to invest any time and effort to borrow all of this protection. The mercenary corps had already done the hard work beforehand. The only contribution the customer had to make was to hand over enough money.

Considering that mercenaries didn't demand anything except for money, it was a given that this was always a hefty amount.

The costs ramped up massively as the mercenary organizations got bigger and bigger!

Their greater scale and numbers allowed them to field more powerful mechs and more professional mech pilots. They switched out their light carriers for combat carriers and also began to acquire fleet carriers to give their forces a lot of extra intimidation power.

At this level, the mercenaries were all about deterrence. While they were not shy about fighting, they generally disliked getting their hands dirty. Every battle not only entailed deaths, but also required them to repair or replace their combat assets. _{frёewebηovel.cѳm}

Even if the mercenaries were able to cover these costs by demanding extra payment from their clients, it was still an undesirable outcome.

Therefore, large-scale mercenary organizations such as the Star Striders tended to puff themselves up as much as possible to scare any possible attackers as much as possible.

That became clear as their 14th Fleet finally arrived in the border system within Majestic Teal.

When Ves studied the composition of this renowned mercenary force, he became somewhat impressed.

"What a heavy fleet!"

The high-capacity combat carriers were not only larger than the ones of the Larkinson Clan, but also boasted substantially thicker hull plating. There was no doubt that they could all take a beating and still be able to venture onwards.

"There has to be a catch." He murmured.

Mercenaries always counted the money they earned and the money they had to spend. It was highly unlikely for them to splurge on quality ships with higher upkeep costs.

Soon, Ves figured out the shortcomings of the combat carriers of the Infinity Guards.

"They're slow!"

This was no understatement. The combat carriers were truly sluggish! Their sub-light propulsion systems simply weren't powerful enough to provide a lot of acceleration to the unwieldy ships.

It took far more time for the Infinity Guards to travel somewhere inside a star system than other fleets.

Ves even guessed that this was a deliberate choice.

"With these sluggish vessels, a client has to retain the services of the Infinity Guards for a longer period of time in order to get anywhere without being waylaid."

The only reason why Ves wasn't more upset about this scam was because the combat carriers truly looked intimidating.

Hardly any pirate wanted to try and pick a fight with just one of these tough bastards!

The Indefatigable flew in the center of the fleet. The fleet carrier was much as he expected. She featured moderate armor, mobility and capacity.

Already, the mercenaries trotted out their mechs from their starships. More than a thousand mechs appeared in space, giving their customers a good show of what 17 billion hex credits a month was worth.

Ves happened to be in the design lab when he studied the newly-arrived Infinity Guards, Gloriana helpfully shared her opinion on the mercenary mechs.

"They're commercial-grade mechs, alright." She snorted. "While it's clear that the designers know what they are doing, they were under obvious cost constraints. The Star Striders or the 14th Fleet in particular doesn't want to waste an excessive amount of money on servicing their mechs."

"In order words, they cut corners." Ves remarked.

"Exactly!" Gloriana pointed at a beefed-up rifleman mech. "Look at this mech for example. It's a stationary gunner that doesn't conform to the most dominant interpretation of rifleman mechs because it has to look larger and more intimidating than it actually is. All of that extra armor slows it down, which suggests that it can withstand a lot of damage."

"Is it, actually?"

"Partially. Maybe. The armor is real, but according to our initial scanning data it's likely a bulk alloy formula. The protection is largely based on quantity rather than quality. I can already guess that the other mechs of the Infinity Guards are designed according to the same principle. It's cheap and easy to fix the damage, but I bet the mercenaries will try and charge us as if their mechs are clad with premium armor."

Ves looked skeptical. "I don't think such an obvious scam will work. That's a bit too brazen if you ask me. This is especially when there are plenty of mech designers in our alliance. Professor Cortez will never let himself get taken advantage of like that. Besides, the Star Striders can't go too far or else they will ruin their credibility."

The reputation of the Star Striders was truly good for a reason. Perhaps they might act like other mercenaries and overcharge here or there, but Ves didn't believe they would outright seek compensation for something that didn't really exist.

"You'd be surprised what companies think they can get away with." Gloriana disagreed with her husband. "Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem as long as we show that we are attentive. Shall we change and prepare for the upcoming meeting?"

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