Though Ves did not sound friendly just now, Master Goldstein fully understood the younger mech designer's fears.
The MTA Master was a mech designer as well. He had found himself in similar situations in the past.
The older man waved his arm. "You do not need to be concerned. Progress is unstoppable. We will not instruct you to suspend your research in this project. We are merely concerned about your ability to maintain its confidentiality while you engage with it. The best solution that I can offer is to invite you to work aboard the Antazella de Osiris or another secure MTA facility."
Ves immediately shook his head. "That is unacceptable to me. I am not a mecher and I have no interest in separating myself from my clan. Besides that, much of the reason why I have made such rapid progress and came up with so many useful inventions is because I went on so many expeditions. I do not want to change my lifestyle just to comply with your security demands."
The key to maximizing a mech designer's productivity was to ensure he worked under the right conditions.
Every mech designer had different needs and requirements. Ves had always tried his best to present an image of a highly passionate mech designer that easily got excited after he harvested a lot of loot and insights from his expeditions.
He did not even have to pretend all that much!
Since the Mech Trade Association clearly collected a lot of information about him, the mechers should know that it was best not to disrupt the current status quo!
Master Goldstein remained silent for a minute until he finally came up with a solution that both sides could accept.
"You can stay with your clan and fleet. The conditions over there are not as ideal, but we can improve upon that by implementing additional measures. Your clan will soon welcome back an upgraded factory ship, correct? It is not that difficult for us to implement secret upgrades that can allow you to conduct your secret research with greater confidence."
The MTA Master immediately activated a projection that went up despite all of the interference in his office.
The wobbly projection showed a detailed three-dimensional schematic of the upgraded Spirit of Bentheim.
The design of the quasi-first-class factory ship began to shift. The primary workshop and design lab that Ves treated as his mancave received a lot of additions, many of which were hidden beneath the surface.
"Please limit your work to this compartment as much as possible. We will upgrade its security measures so that it almost meets our standards."
This was a massive upgrade, and an expensive one as well!
Fortunately for Ves, it did not sound as if Master Goldstein would charge him anything for these major changes.
An adjacent chamber that had recently become available due to lengthening the hull by 500 meters also received a lot of upgrades.
"This shall be your most secure internal testing chamber. If you ever have a need to test the operations of your new mechs, please use this compartment. To prevent any possible accidents or damage to your ship, it will come with an array of strong energy shields powered by their own integrated power generators."
Ves' eyes lit up after he heard this! He bet that these were first-class shield generators that were just as strong as the ones employed by the warships of the MTA!
If this was the case, then this chamber may be the most secure and impenetrate location of the Spirit of Bentheim!
Even if the rest of the ship got destroyed one day, it was highly likely that this testing chamber would be able to sustain itself for a long time!
A smaller compartment also underwent drastic changes.
"It is best to add a secret dormitory to your ship where you can comfortably house any test pilots for an extended period of time. This compartment will also be isolated so that no signals can pass through."
Ves hadn't thought about that, but it made a decent amount of sense. He just wondered who he was supposed to use as his test pilots. Would he have to draw them from his clan or would the MTA supply a batch of them like last time?
The projected schematic continued to undergo further changes, though not as drastic as before. Every section of the hull received a few minor changes here and there. Ves could not figure out what changed as he did not recognize any of the new ship components.
It took five more minutes for the Master Mech Designer to complete his revisions to Ves had no idea how long it would take to transform the Spirit of Bentheim yet again, 12:44
but he was sure it wouldn't take as long as before!
the current design.
Ves had no idea how long it would take to transform the Spirit of Bentheim yet again, but he was sure it wouldn't take as long as before!
"That should be sufficient for the time being." Master Goldstein said with satisfaction. "Please conduct your confidential research inside the designated compartments. I shall assign a trusted security officer to your ship to ensure that the security measures will remain functional and up to date."
"Okay..."
Ves did not like the sound of that, but it was clear that Master Goldstein would not take no for an answer. This was not a big deal as Ves did not intend to hide his work on the Carmine System from the Survivalist Faction.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Mech Touch