The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4577

Ves held a fruitful discussion with Master Benedict Cortez.

Even as the DIVA shuttles covertly picked up all of the freshly fabricated probes and went on their way to deliver them to the brown dwarf star, the two mech designers continued to talk shop with each other.

They initially talked more intimately about the various challenges of the Ghost Project and the Geist Project. Both of them had a bit of time to think more about how to tackle them, though they were still short on empirical data to do much more.

They talked about their ongoing collaborations on the other Larkinson expert mech design projects before Ves turned the conversation towards the Cross Clan.

"I take it that the Conavis Mer isn't the only expert mech that your clan intends to overhaul."

Master Benedict nodded. "That is correct. The Amphis Mark II along with our other expert mechs have shown their limitations in the last two battles. I am satisfied with their ability to keep up with the expert mechs of professional military mech organizations such as the Sundered Phalanx, but they are not specially designed to fight against alien warships. I do not mind if they are unable to threaten large and imposing battleships, but they should at least be able to defeat frigates and destroyers on their own with no significant effort."

Some of the Larkinson expert mechs could reluctantly do this. The Amaranto when armed with the Instrument of Doom came to mind.

"It will be difficult to turn them into ship-killing machines." Ves remarked. "Expert space knights and expert light skirmishers excel when fighting against opponents of the same caliber or smaller. Their mech types don't really take the raw power of warships into account at all. The Age of Mechs has caused us to forget about their threat."

The opening of the Red Ocean had caused an increasingly greater portion of humanity to remember that there were more war weapons out there than mechs. The terror and the immense destructive potential of warships had led to the downfall of many unprepared pioneering fleets!

Even the Larkinson Clan was still not ready to fight against warships on an equal playing field.

This was why Ves intended to make good use of the hundreds of kilograms of phasewater that his clan recently obtained from Operation Lighthouse.

It was high time for the Larkinsons to equip more ranged mechs with transphasic armaments!

Master Benedict adjusted his expressive lab coat that hung loosely on his custom protective suit.

"What we truly need are expert heavy artillery mechs. The Thunderer Mark II has given us a solid reminder that larger caliber guns are much more efficient in overcoming the defenses of warships. Just one of them is enough to enhance our ability to fight against powerful warships. We could use one of them right now I suppose."

That was true. Ves glanced in the direction of the brown dwarf star that the Golden Skull Alliance was about to investigate. Who knew what kind of powerful supervessel might be hiding beneath the hot layers of gasses.

"Do you think it is a good idea for us to persist in our investigation?" Ves asked.

Master Benedict smirked. "I never expected to hear that from you. Aren't you always in favor of pursuing these kinds of opportunities? You have never shown that much restraint in the face of great benefits."

"That's not entirely correct! I can control myself quite well, you know. I advocated that we should kill the unclean whale that was buried within the Palace of Shame rather than attempt to keep him alive."

"That was only because we did not possess the confidence to control a creature as powerful as a phase whale."

"Can you answer my question, please?"

"Fine. You want to know what I think? I am okay with it. We have clearly evaluated the risks and rewards and concluded that the latter outweighs the former. We are not going in half-cocked but with a clear and sober understanding of the dangers involved."

Ves looked a bit surprised. "I didn't know your risk tolerance has become so high."

"I am merely realistic about the fact that we cannot progress further without doing more." The older man shrugged. "If we happen to have provoked a disaster that we cannot escape from… then so be it. At least we tried to improve our station. That is much better than many of our colleagues who have become satisfied with their routines and have stagnated in their work."

It was strange, but Ves felt a sort of kinship with Master Benedict. The man understood and embraced his viewpoint in a way that almost no one else could.

Both of them were mech designers who possessed great dreams and ambitions, so that made it easier for them to understand each other.

They recognized that they were the same kind of people. While they were separated by several generations, that did not stop them from sharing similar interests and passions.

Both of them were mech designers. There were even times where they thought that their lives and their wellbeing simply weren't as important as their work.

"I am glad to hear that I have your support in these endeavors." Ves smiled at the man who had provided a lot of help to him and the Larkinson Clan over the years. "Can I ask you what has caused you to adopt this stance?"

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