The Mech Touch

In the end, Leland did not tell Ves much beyond what Calabast already outlined.

The Bright Republicʼs unofficial stance completely matched her predictions.

”Youʼre our insurance policy.” Leland set forth. ”In the event the Hexers win a decisive victory against the Fridaymen, our ties with the latter will turn into liabilities that will weigh us down. Hexers arenʼt known to be charitable to those who oppose them, so our state will certainly be subjected to significant penalties and sanctions in a possible post-Hexer star sector.”

Ves pursed his lips. ”Iʼm just one person, though. I canʼt overturn centuries of friendships and trade relations by myself.”

”We hope you can convince Miss Gloriana to plea for leniency on our behalf.”

”I think you are overestimating my girlfriendʼs influence. Even if sheʼs a part of the Wodin Dynasty, sheʼs purely a mech designer and an engineer. She is completely uninvolved when it comes to politics.”

”Mech designers can be influential as well.” Leland smiled at Ves in an unsettling manner. ”We have very high hopes for you and Gloriana.”

”You think very highly of me.” Ves narrowed his eyes.

”Your rise has been meteoric. How can we not take closer notice of you? Flashlight has always looked upon you as a promising young mech designer, but our regard for you has always been due to your potential. We did not expect for you to realize some of your potential in such a dramatic manner recently.”

”My Desolate Soldiers seem to have made a very powerful impression on you all.”

”Yes.” Leland smiled. ”We had suspicions about your specialty, but it is only when you released your Desolate Soldier model that we have learned it is more horrible than we thought! The latest mech youʼve designed is unlike anything we have seen before!”

While Ves intended to make his Desolate Soldiers appealing to authority, it still surprised him to hear Leland praise him to heavens!

If there was one thing Ves learned about spies like Leland, it was that they never showed excessive emotions unless it furthered their agenda!

”It sounds like the government appreciates my work.”

”Very much so.” Leland readily admitted. ”Rest assured that we will protect you and shield you from any backlash directed against you. Whether itʼs your ties to the Hegemony or the controversy surrounding your mech designs, weʼll make sure you can operate your business openly and fairly. We have already stopped several initiatives intended to force suppliers and distributors to stop working with the LMC.”

”I see. Thank you for that.”

”We are Brighters. The quarrels between the second-rate states should not spill over to our territory. Itʼs unfortunate that some of our fellow Brighters havenʼt gotten the message.”

The two talked some more. Leland constantly heaped up praise while offering various reassurances that Ves only grew more and more suspicious.

Lelandʼs friendly attitude towards him reflected the Bright Republicʼs current stance towards him. They were so afraid that Ves might feel unwelcome in a hostile state and decide to emigrate to another state.

That would be a disastrous occurrence to the Bright Republic! The state wouldnʼt gain anything except to further affirm its loyalty to the Friday Coalition.

Such a gain was extremely marginal compared to the potential benefits if they kept Ves within its sphere.

His value was two-fold. While Ves already expected the state to value his ties to the Hexers, he underestimated their enthusiasm for his products.

Even though the Desolate Soldier was just a cheap spaceborn rifleman mech design, its unique aura was practically unheard of in the galaxy.

This was the power of a Class IX design philosophy!Even if most weird and unorthodox design philosophies produced worthless effects, Ves was different!

With the early adoption of the Desolate Soldier by the Bentheim Planetary Guard, millions of people became aware of its now-famous ability to inspire duty in mech pilots and bystanders!

Ves previously thought that the government would only slightly raise his appreciation of him, but now he began to sense that he underestimated his impact.

If Ves continued to mature and advance to Senior, his mechs would become even more valuable to the state! Even if he never managed to advance to Master, he definitely held the potential to become the top mech designer of the Bright Republic!

However, what was worrisome was that this valuable mech designer might not stick around! Ever since Ves started dating Gloriana, he risked getting further into the orbit of the Hexadric Hegemony, which was to the detriment of the Bright Republic!

Ves was no longer a trivial Apprentice, nor a promising Journeyman!

Even though he was still a Journeyman, his value to the state became more and more obvious!

He was a treasure!

With mechs like the Desolate Soldier, the LMC could sweep through the mech markets of every third-rate state in the star sector!

In fact, the appeal of his specialty was so great that many other star sectors would clamor for his mechs if they became aware of his products!

Such a quality in a mech designer was rare. While every Senior from the Bright Republic possessed their own strengths, none of them carried as much universal appeal.

This was the power of holding a spiritual component monopoly!

Even if the Bright Republic couldnʼt exactly figure out how Ves was able to make his mechs exert a noticeable impact on people, they recognized its rarity.

Something good that was also rare was valuable! Incredibly valuable! So much so that the government began to take a great amount of interest in Vesʼ attachment to his home state.

After all, Flashlight owned a 21 percent stake in the LMC! As long as Ves continued to leverage his unique specialty, his mech company would some day turn into a behemoth with sales that surpassed the scope of mech companies led by Seniors!

Even though he knew his own worth, Ves was surprised the state was astute enough to recognize some of it as well. Even though the Desolate Soldier was merely a taste of what was to come, the government already made overtures to him as if they were afraid that Ves would slip from their grasp if they remained aloof!

”I see. Thank you for clarifying that for me.” Ves nodded to Leland. He felt much more in control now that he knew he held more leverage in his relationship to the state. ”In the event the Hexers gain the upper hand, Iʼll be sure to vouch on our stateʼs behalf.”

”That is great to hear.” Leland smiled before changing the topic. ”Letʼs discuss something more acute. The war between the second-rate states wonʼt be resolved for years. The sandman invasion is a much greater threat to us right now. If we botch our defense, we risk getting overrun by the end of the year. I think neither of us wants to see that happen.”

Ves nodded seriously. ”My company and I are ready to do our part, within reason. If you expect me to don a uniform again…”

There was no way Ves would accept getting drafted in the Mech Corps again. Though he cherished his experiences with the Vandals, that didnʼt mean that Ves wanted to return to subject themselves to the whims of someone else.

One time was enough!

As if sensing a problem, Leland quickly raised his hand. ”We donʼt expect you to! You have already done your time. A mech designer like you can do so much more when you are running your own company as opposed to rejoining the Mech Corps. We already have a sufficient amount of mech designers to fulfill our design needs.”

”Thatʼs good to hear.” Ves relaxed.

The sandman invasion invalidated a lot of mechs, especially melee ones. Too many mech designers lost their livelihoods due to this. Joining the Mech Corps was the quickest and most convenient way to do something useful, especially since the military promised rich rewards to any volunteers!

Contributing to the state was not only the right thing to do, but would enormously further the careers of anyone who answered the call of duty!

The last thing the Bright Republic could afford to do was to sit on top of its reserves!

The examples of the border states had taught the other states in the firing line the dangers of spending too little resources!

As for the debts and obligations the Bright Republic owed to everyone after the crisis had passed, that was a problem for later! At the very least, the state would still remain standing and be in a position to profit from the aftermath of the invasion!

”We do appreciate it if you and your company fulfill some of our requests.”

Ves raised his eyebrow. ”Are you speaking on behalf of Flashlight or another branch of the government?”

”Technically, the requests come from the Ministry of Defense.” Leland waved his hand. ”Youʼll receive an official missive from MinDef very soon, Iʼm sure, but I might as well fill you in so you can get to work as soon as possible. Time is very precious right now, as you know.”

”Letʼs hear it then.”

”Weʼd like you to develop several more variants of your Desolate Soldier design. Weʼve already seen your Holy Soldier perform exceedingly well in the Ylvaine Protectorate.”

”Ah.”

Ves instantly understood. As much as his Desolate Soldier was selling exceedingly well right now, its applicability was limited.

”MinDef doesnʼt necessarily have to approach me. My Desolate Soldier design is readily available for licensing. Just pay 10 billion bright credits to the MTA, and the license is yours!”

He would not turn down an easy opportunity to earn some extra money!

However, Leland quickly shook his head and sighed. ”Donʼt you think weʼve already done that? Not only us, but several other mech designers have licensed your design in the hopes of designing variants that can fulfill different roles!”

”I take it their results donʼt match their expectations.” Ves guessed.

Leland sighed. ”Much of the charm of your mechs are lost when others begin to alter your mech design. The greater the changes, the more its advantage fades for some reason. We know that this shouldnʼt happen since your Holy Soldiers function just as well as the originals. Tell me, Ves. Is this deliberate?”

”Thereʼs nothing I can do.” Ves innocently smiled. ”The qualities I impart to my mech designs are intrinsic to my design philosophy.”

”Our partner mech designers have guessed that much. Theyʼre very cross about obtaining a mech license that turned out to be of little actual value.”

Ves continued to smile but said nothing. This pertained to his spiritual component monopoly. There was no way he was willing to share the good stuff. Even if he stood to gain a lot of money by licensing his mech designs to many different competitors, it wasnʼt as lucrative as selling mechs under his own brand!

Not only that, but variants developed by other mech designers didnʼt earn him any DP!

The Bright Republic couldnʼt coerce Ves to give up his secrets, as the MTA would surely step in. Even if Ves coughed up some of his secrets, his weird Class IX design philosophy probably required a very unique mindset to reproduce.

Since no one else except Ves could design the variants that MinDef needed, the Ministry could only issue requests rather than demands!

Ves recognized that his relationship with the Bright Republic had changed upon his return.

The state no longer held all the cards. His rapid rise, his unique design philosophy, his excellent standing in the Ylvaine Protectorate and his intimate relationship with Gloriana all served to increase his value to the point where the Republic could no longer dictate orders with impunity!

The more he realized his leverage and power over the state, the more he became satisfied with himself. He understood a fundamental truth today.

The Bright Republic needed him more than he needed the Bright Republic!

All of his advantages elevated him beyond the control of his state!