The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4718

Generally speaking, Ves did not possess much enthusiasm at the notion of collaborating with a bunch of Masters.

He had done it a few times with a number of Hexer mech designers for specific high-end variants, but at least these incredibly smart and arrogant women showed enough deference to him due to his outsized status in Hexer society.

Ves did not expect to receive the same level of respect and deference from the Masters. These older figures would no doubt feel annoyed for having to collaborate with a Journeyman on an equal level.

It would be much better if he managed to become a Senior prior to collaborating with any Masters on any projects. The gap in status and design capabilities would be a lot more tolerable if that was the case. Ves would also be able to gain a much greater voice in the direction of the commissioned projects.

Perhaps the colonial administration understood his concerns, because Reina Kernsk moved quickly to reassure the Larkinsons.

"Your patriarch has nothing to fear from us. If you decide to accept any commissions from us, we will ensure that Ves Larkinson has the final say over the design projects. His prior work for the Hexers years ago has already proven his ability to contribute strong and useful mech designs to a professional state-backed military organization. We have great confidence that his ability to do so has only improved in the years that have passed since you have completed your initial batch. This is especially the case with the release of recent Hexer mech models such as the Maiden of Adversity."

Though her words sounded reassuring, she clearly did not understand mech designers as well as Ves.

It was one thing to cooperate with a close friend and trusted mech designer such as Master Benedict Cortez.

It was another thing to usurp control over a project from a bunch of strangers who also happened to be at least four times older than him. When he factored in the awareness that the Davutan Masters were much more knowledgeable and experienced, then it would be difficult for him to implement his desired vision without encountering a lot of opposition!

"I am already involved in a large number of ongoing design projects." Ves told the Davutans. "Many of them are extremely important to our clan, and I will not set them aside in favor of working on any commissions. If you want to make use of my design expertise, then you will have to wait at least half a year before I have cleared up my schedule. I can promise you that I will work on any commissions with the best of my efforts when I can fully devote my time to them. This is my promise as a professional mech designer."

Reina Kernsk frowned for a second. "That is disappointing to hear, but we can accommodate your schedule. The anticipated war between our rivals based in Karlach is not projected to start in at least six months to several years. Both of us need time to consolidate our new government institutions, stockpile a large amount of supplies and organize our armed forces. Even if the war commences sooner than we prefer, it will still take multiple years before it reaches its culmination. We need to field the commissioned mechs before that happens."

That made a lot of sense. Wars were serious business. The Komodo War involved thousands of major battles across many different star systems. Even if one side gained an advantage, the other side could still do a lot to delay their adversary's progress and work towards reversing the trend.

The two sides talked a bit more about the conditions for the possible commissions. After settling a few minor differences, the Davutans wanted a firm answer on how many designs they could commission from the Larkinsons.

"We are reluctant to collaborate with Davute, but in light of our existing relations with your colonial administrations, we are open to accepting a limited number of commissions under the terms that we have previously discussed." Minister Shederin spoke in an officious tone. "How many we are ultimately willing to fulfill depends on the scope and complexity of the mech designs, the additional requirements you have set for them and the height of our remuneration."

The Larkinson Clan was still reluctant to get too involved in a war between two colonial states. Taking sides was generally bad for business for a player that wanted to sell its products to every market.

Nonetheless, Ves and Shederin had already spoken about this matter beforehand. They both agreed that they would generate unnecessary hostility and rejection from Davute if they refused any sort of transactions.

It was best to allow Prospective President Yenames Clive to come away with at least a few successes under his belt.

Also, by agreeing to the colonial government's smaller and more palatable requests, it became a lot easier to reject any larger and much more problematic demands!

Yenames Clive and his chief of staff exchanged glances before the latter projected a list above the conference table.

"A team composed of several chief mech designers and military advisors have formulated a list of possible mechs that should measurably increase the performance of our mech units. You do not have to design them exactly according to our descriptions. As we have stated earlier, we respect your design judgment and are willing to accept any suggestions from your end as long as we think they can strengthen our mech troops."

That was rather generous of them. It showed that Davute was seriously willing to allow the Larkinsons to take the lead in any commissioned design projects.

Ves busied himself by going over each and every suggestion on the list.

Some of them were fairly easy to fulfill, such as one that requested a full military-grade adaptation of the Ferocious Piranha.

Others required him to start from scratch. One of them concerned a proposal to design an elite transphasic heavy cannoneer mech that was not only armed with a powerful weapon, but also enjoyed enhanced defenses in the form of adaptable defensive plates similar to the Battle Skirt System.

Enhancing this mech design with the steadfastness of Qilanxo along with the phasewater manipulation of the Phase King should turn it into an offensive and defensive powerhouse!

Even Ves felt tempted to design such an imposing mech, though on second thought his clan already possessed a decent cannoneer mech in the form of the Eternal Redemption.

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