"Now, all of you might be asking, why would a single ch design warrant such a serious warning?"
Ves looked at the darkened area where the invited guests all clung to his words. From the start, he managed to capture their attention! Hardly any of them turned away from him in order to chat with each other!
"The reason for that is because it is more than a ch. Before I unveil it to you, let begin with the necessity of such a machine."
He steadily began to explain the current condition in the star sector.
"Here in the Komodo Star Sector, war and chaos is rife. The explosive conflicts that erupted in recent tis has broken the long pattern of peace that has reigned throughout our stars. The Sand War has pushed many states to the brink while annihilating dozens more. The Komodo War that is taking place between the two dominant states of our star sector is constantly threatening to spill over the lesser states. Even here, the Sentinel Kingdom's stability is threatened by the relentless Nyxian pirates!"
He montarily closed his eyes.
"That is just a portion of the conflicts taking place in a single star sector. Other star sectors such as Vicious Mountain and Majestic Teal are no doubt becoming more precarious as well. Wherever there are humans, there are fights. This has never changed throughout our long and bumpy history."
Ves smiled. "Our latest ch is designed to et the needs of today. While it is useful in many different conflicts, it is particularly geared towards repelling raiders in space."
He lifted his arm, causing the large projections to showcase battle footage of nurous random pirate raids that had happened in recent tis.
"Whenever there is conflict, there is chaos. Law and order breaks down as it becos more and more difficult to keep the peace. Pirates and criminals in space who believe they can resort to force to rob legitimate trade convoys and sow destruction for no logical reason will always erge from the darkest corners of human space!"
This was an especially pertinent remark towards the Sentinel nobles attending this event. Their faces turned ugly in the shadow as they recalled all of the death and destruction the Nyxian pirates had inflicted on their territories. The Friedmont Massacre was by far the most egregious atrocity the pirates had committed, and everyone feared a repeat!
"In my short but very eventful service in the Bright Republic's ch Corps, I have learned an important. Pirates are scum. Criminals are scum. They are hooligans with chs, relying almost entirely on the power of their equipnt to do the heavy lifting! Honor, discipline, restraint and duty are foreign concepts to this kind of ilk! On an even playing field, they are no match to proper outfits or well-trained military troops!"
A few people in the audience chuckled in agreent. Others frowned a bit.
Most pirates were weak, but so of them stood above the rest! A top pirate organization could be just as formidable as an elite large-scale outfit!
Nonetheless, they were rather rare. Most pirates barely managed to keep their chs and ships in working condition!
"Wouldn't it be great if battles were won by the quality of the ch pilot?" Ves rhetorically asked. "Wouldn't it be fair if an elite ch pilot who received a lot of investnt can always vanquish against a wastrel who hasn't even graduated from a ch academy?"
Ves lowered his head. The projections shifted towards depictions of shaful defeats. The rcenary chs depicted in the footage were all fine machines, but they were overwheld by three to ten tis the number of chs!
Most of them were grossly inferior to the machines piloted by the rcenaries.
"Sadly, the pirates never play fair. There are plenty of tis where you bring a squad of chs, only for a pirate foe to surround you with a company of chs."
The footage switched to the rare cases where a regular rcenary corps confronted a smaller number of elite pirate chs!
"The opposite may also be true! Perhaps you are able to field more chs, but the pirates are able to bring out vastly-superior machines that can run rings around your outfit!"
All of these incidents were possible. In fact, they had already happened far too many tis to count! The nobles and commoners of the Sentinel Kingdom were deeply aggrieved by the constant raiding of the Nyxian pirates! The scum never initiated a battle they could never win and only made a move when they were assured of their superiority!
Ves spread his arms. "None of this is fair. Yet this is the reality for too many people. Should we surrender against this injustice? Should we accept the inevitable and incur these losses without complaint? I say NO!"
His passion roused as he presented a portion of his vision!
"Pirates and criminals are not impervious! Just because they have the edge in numbers or quality of chs doesn't an you have to resort to economically unviable solutions to defeat them! There is a much better counter against these kinds of poorly-trained opponents, and it begins by targeting their ch pilots rather than their chs!"
Ves clapped his hand. The impact rang loud throughout the hall, amplified by the speakers embedded in the walls, floor and ceiling! "Before I proceed any further, I would like to hold a little dare."
A portion of the dark hall lit up a bit. The wide and noticeable empty space before the podium began to shine with a gentle white light, giving it the illusion that it beca a sanctuary!
"I would like to invite an invitation to all of you vetted guests. If you are confident in yourself and don't mind a challenge, I would like to dare you to stand in the illuminated zone for ten minutes starting from the mont I unveil our new ch design. Those who are able to stand straight for the entire duration will receive a handso reward! As long as you pass this simple challenge, you will each receive a free silver label copy of the ch in question, courtesy of the Living ch Company!"
A large commotion ford after he made this explosive announcent! While the people who were able to attend this highly-anticipated product reveal were no simple people, the reward was incredibly attractive to certain people!
The older and more established nobles in the audience all rested confidently in their seats. They had no intention of risking their reputation to take part in this unknown challenge. What if they failed? What if they humiliated themselves? Everyone present knew that this entire announcent was being broadcasted live through the entire Yeina Star Cluster! Anyone who perford shafully in front of such a huge audience could practically kiss their prestige goodbye!
So of the younger nobles looked intrigued, though. Unlike the older generation, they weren't rulers of planets or commanders of legions. They still had to do much to prove themselves, and taking part in this interesting challenge sounded like a good way to stand out from their peers!
Even if they failed, it was no big deal. In their circle, regardless of the outco, it was better to show bravery than cowardice!
Before the younger scions rose from their seats, a moderate group was already making their way to the front of the hall.
Many of them were uniforms of all kinds. None of them matched the clean and tight aesthetic that was most common to military uniforms, but it was very evident that they were all warriors of sorts.
This group mostly consisted of ch commanders and owners of various ard organizations.
These individuals were not as wealthy as landed nobles, but valued chs just as much! Their poorer finances and their higher sensitivity towards bargains made them much more willing to accept this mysterious challenge!
Soon enough, a large variety of people entered the lighted zone. Ves ntally kept track of the numbers through the information feed transmitted to his implant.
After fifteen minutes of discussion and shuffling, almost six-hundred attendants accepted the challenge.
ch commanders, ch captains, veteran soldiers, ambitious nobles, adventurous businessn, respected ch designers, foolhardy journalists and more all believed they had what it took or just wanted to obtain a free ch!
Even if they weren't ch pilots or didn't have a use of such a machine, they could always sell it and earn a handso amount of money in the process!
All they had to do was to keep standing inside the lightened, rectangular zone!
Ves smiled like a shark. He chuckled under his breath for what these gullible people were about to face!
"Well, I applaud your courage! Any of you who have chosen to stand in this zone will receive a consolation prize if you happen to fail. You can approach the LMC later in order to obtain the right to order the first batches of our new product!"
That was a small reward in order to mollify any sort of awful feelings that might follow. Just as Ves moved on, he suddenly paused and looked upwards.
Everyone else who watched Ves turned their heads up as well, only to discover sothing shocking!
The private box had opened up! Its floating occupant, surrounded by a couple of heavily-ard bodyguards, slowly drifted down from the air, all the while approaching the podium.
Almost everyone in attendance recognized this famous figure! Her face had been all over the local news these past few days!
Master Moira Willix had descended in person!
The eminent dignitary of the MTA maintained a neutral expression as she slowly dropped to the very front and center of the lighted zone.
The eager daredevils who used to stand on that spot quickly vacated it when they recognized that the Master was heading in their direction! A very noticeable circle of people had ford around her position!
"Master Willix.." Ves spoke up with a remarkable amount of restraint. "I do not believe a ch designer of your stature would compete over a free ch."
The Master stared at Ves in the face. "There is nothing in the rules that prohibit from taking part."
If the audience wasn't so afraid of attracting the powerful Master's ire, everyone would have shouted already!
This strange challenge had suddenly beco ten tis as interesting! If even a vaunted Master participated in it, then there must be definitely sothing special about it! A couple of hundred more people rose from their seats!
Ves patiently maintained a smile on his face as he allowed the late-cors to enter the zone. He did not expect Master Willix to accept this juvenile prank of his! Even Gloriana started to squeeze his hand in worry!
"It's okay." He covertly communicated to her through their implant. "You've already seen her standing in front of our Doom Guard without exhibiting any strain. It will be fine!"
"If you say so, Ves…"
Regardless of this unexpected occurrence, the plan was still on track!
Once the excitent died down, Ves snapped his fingers.
A large tir projected above his head. It already began to count down the ten minutes of ti the challengers needed to remain in the zone.
"Image a ch." He spoke as the podium darkened entirely, causing Ves and Gloriana to disappear in the dark. "It is a hefty ch, but with wings. It can fly in space and withstand a considerable amount of punishnt from enemy fire."
The main hall began to rumble as a ch gradually strode forward with its imnse bulk. The loud footsteps of this giant machine deliberately rippled the floor, causing the challengers to feel the vibration of the approaching ch!
A ch erged from the backstage and stepped onto the huge and spacious podium. No one except for those with high-quality ocular implants were able to see the ch in the dark!
To the rest, the unknown ch that took its ti to go forward was already making an impression without revealing its true nature!
It was then that its glow gradually erged. lkor, who piloted the ch in question, stretched out his finger and flicked a special switch.
The ch in the dark seed to co alive. A sense of oppression and discordency began to erge from the back of the podium.
The people standing within the lighted zone began to shift their weight around. They looked around with uncertainty and tried to question each other whether they weren't the only ones who felt uncomfortable!
The audience sitting in their seats further ahead weren't exempted from the glow either. Although the impact of the glow was weaker to those sitting in the back, even they couldn't escape the strange ntal influence that gradually gained strength!
THUNK.
THUNK.
THUNK.
The tal feet of the ch slowly clanked against the surface of the podium as it gradually moved forward. Each step caused the floor to vibrate louder and louder. Even as the ch ca closer, its fearso glow began to gain more weight!
Ves grinned in the shadows. "Imagine a ch.. that is a monster!"
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