As Ves and Gloriana slowly patched up their relationship, the Design Departnt almost completed the preparations for the second round of design projects.
He knew that the Braves and Erudites had to work harder than ever this ti. All of them were just third-class ch designers not too long ago. Though they had prospered greatly after gaining access to the abundant learning resources of the Larkinson Clan, they had yet to receive any significant augntations.
This ant that the assistant ch designers wouldn't be able to provide as much help as before. With their insufficient knowledge and judgent, their design choices simply couldn't be trusted.
The three lead designers who were qualified to design second-class chs had to take on a much more hands-on approach as a result. Not being able to delegate a lot of challenging work to their assistants ant they had to commit a lot of ti in order to complete the projects within the deadline.
While Ves wanted to obtain so great ch designs, he did not want to sink an excessive amount of ti in their developnt. Designing chs was not just about coming up with the best products. It was also about completing their designs in a tily manner. Every ch designer had to make compromises in order to balance these two priorities.
This ti, he prioritized haste. He was lagging behind schedule when it ca to designing second-class chs. His ch forces urgently needed so second-class LMC chs and he was very keen on completing his obligations to the Hexadric Hegemony as soon as possible.
"Attaining the greatest possible quality is not a big concern this ti." He muttered.
Lucky, who was lounging on his shoulder, issued a warning.
"ow."
"It's fine. It won't hurt as long as I don't say anything to Gloriana."
He knew his new wife would not be pleased if she found out that Ves intended to rush his projects. This was why he was determined to stay mum and pretend to design his chs as usual. Once the deadline ca close, he would keep urging her on and force her to end her work.
No matter how much she wanted to perfect her work, she always surrendered to his persuasion in the end. This was because he always held more say when it ca to designing mass-produced chs.
However, once they started to design so custom chs and expert chs, Gloriana would certainly insist on spending more ti to optimize them. This was fine to Ves as it was very important to achieve the greatest possible quality for these high-performing machines.
"That's sothing to consider for the future."
Once he completed the current round of projects, he intended to design his first expert chs. With the help of Master Willix, Ves had very high expectations for his first batch or projects.
In the anti, he tasked the LMC's Procurent Departnt to be on the lookout for exceptionally valuable materials that conford to the criteria he set. Many of the exotics Ves was looking for were regarded as strategic materials by states, so obtaining them was anything but trivial. The chances of any of them showing up on the open market or semi-open venues such as auction houses were too slim.
Still, as long as there was a chance, there was hope of obtaining enough materials in the next half-year. The Procurent Departnt hired or dispatched agents throughout the Yeina Star Cluster in order to approach various states and institutions for their strategic materials. Perhaps it was possible to make so private deals with them. The Larkinson Clan possessed a lot more clout these days.
With the establishnt and expansion of several new departnts, Ves felt assured about delegating more tasks to others. It was completely unnecessary for him to waste his precious ti on performing market research or begging for strategic materials. The LMC hired plenty of professionals who could do a much better job of performing these tasks.
Ves and his fellow ch designers just needed to design their chs, and that suited everyone fine.
Speaking of procurent, the Larkinson Clan's initial batch of purchases finally arrived. Large amounts of starships entered the Cinach System and flew to the inner system.
Many of them were massive cargo haulers. Their large, cavernous cargo hulls stored rows and rows of large-sized containers.
When the cargo haulers delivered them to a large civilian space station, Ves and his ch commanders eagerly visited one of the warehouses to inspect the new goods.
Large teams of ch technicians were already crawling over the containers. They inspected the goods and began to open so of the containers.
Soon enough, the ch technicians swiftly assembled the chs stored inside. Several different chs stood before the Larkinsons.
These were the imported products that the Larkinson Clan had ordered. The initial shipnt brought over a thousand second-chs, which significantly alleviated everyone's security concerns.
"So these are our next fighting machines." Commander lkor observed as his visor continually scanned the hastily-assembled chs. "No offense, Ves, but they look a bit more basic than I expected."
"The chs of the Cross Clan are at least four tis as impressive." Commander Cinnabar grunted.
Ves helplessly spread his hands. "These are stopgap chs. We're just using them until my Design Departnt completes so suitable second-class chs that you can use. Once you get your Bright Warrior Mark II's, we'll have to dispose of these chs in so way. Whether we resell them, recycle them or hand them down to soone else, we won't be able to recoup the cost of procuring them in the first place. It's best to go cheap under these circumstances."
The newest ch commander nodded. "I believe it is good to start with basic models. The high-end chs used by the Cross Clan, the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony are challenging to control. Most of our ch pilots won't be able to utilize more than a fraction of their potential. We might as well make use of sothing easier and get accustod to piloting second-class chs before we move up to better models."
Commander Sendra snorted. "Don't equate your Living Sentinels to the rest of us, Casella. The Swordmaidens don't need training chs. We are more than ready enough to harness real battle machines!"
The argunt continued for so ti until Ves raised his palm. "Quiet down. The choice lies with . While I am aware of your requirents, it simply isn't possible to fulfill all of them, especially since I have opted to purchase these products in bulk this ti. Be patient and wait for so ti. Once we have freed so design capacity, I will start so projects that are tailored to the needs of your troops."
That shut them down. Each ch commander knew that a ch designed in-house was the ultimate product they could get their hands on. With all of the advantages they conveyed, the Larkinson Clan would definitely soar in strength once it obtained more LMC ch models.
The newly-released Transcendent Punisher model already gave them a nice preview! The Larkinson Clan's new artillery ch might be incredibly unwieldy and difficult to fabricate, but its power and functions were undeniable!
In the initial test run of the first production copy, the ch was capable of tracking even the trickiest practice targets!
Its uncanny 'Ylvainan' targeting and aim assistance allowed it to nail distant light chs with a surprising degree of success.
If the other LMC chs possessed similar features, then the continued rise of the Larkinson Clan was assured!
Of course, all of that took ti. For now, the ch forces had to settle for what passed for budget chs in the second-class ch market.
The first model that Ves and his commanders inspected was a rather slim swordsman ch.
"This is the Princess Jecka AR-0005-PMSE." Ves presented to the others as he called up a projection of the model's spec sheet. "It's designed and produced by rrin Systems, which is based in Vicious Mountain. Its performance is moderately slanted towards offense. Its armor system isn't very impressive, but that is also the reason why it is priced at 59 million hex credits per copy."
Everyone turned to Commander Sendra. As the new leader of the Swordmaidens, she would be relying heavily on these foreign-made chs.
"They look.. usable." The tall and athletic woman stated with a hint of reluctance. A grimace ford on her tanned face. "I've seen better second-class chs. I give credit to rrin Systems. The ch designers there truly know what swordsman ch pilots want to see in their machines. It's just that these Princess Jecka chs are too damned cheap!"
Compared to the ch models of her dreams, the Princess Jecka model possessed lackluster armor, average mobility and a lack of interesting modules. Its budget was simply too small to accommodate more features.
It still had a few good upsides, though. Otherwise, Ves wouldn't have spent his money on this particular model.
Just like many of the other ch models he procured, the Princess Jecka was cheap, easy to maintain, easy to pilot and possessed surprisingly high arm strength. The offensive power of this spaceborn swordsman ch model allowed it to burst out a considerable amount of damage.
That last bit barely placated the Swordmaidens. The other ch forces would also be making use of the Princess Jecka, though to a lesser degree.
The commanders inspected another model.
At 48 million hex credits per copy, the ANX Corp Vima Sun RT-556L was even cheaper than the Princess Jecka.
The Vima Sun was a classic second-class spaceborn rifleman ch model. It boasted high firepower, above-average mobility but very poor defense.
The ranged ch excelled in wielding laser weapons. Its high-powered laser rifles boasted high alpha damage, allowing it to vaporize or lt through tougher obstacles.
The tradeoff was that the Vima Sun's energy reserves drained quickly when the rifles fired continuously at their highest setting. The rifleman ch's shape did not offer that much capacity, and its affordable energy cells weren't known for their abundant storage.
The heat managent of this model was also rather poor, especially in open space. The only mitigating factor was that the Vima Sun was fairly good at shunting its excess heat into any starship hull, asteroid or other solid object it ca into contact with. Therefore, these Vima Suns were destined to take cover behind combat carriers in most combat situations.
"These Vima Suns are completely inadequate for Avatars of Myth." lkor distastefully frowned. As a rifleman ch specialist, he had a better feel for ranged chs. "Their defense is so poor that their good mobility doesn't matter."
"They are serviceable to the Living Sentinels." Commander Casella Ingvar judged. "While I agree with the Avatar Commander, the needs of my Sentinels aren't as high. We can make due with the Vima Suns."
Ves already expected to hear such answers. "You don't have to settle for the base model. If your n have enough spare ti, you can tell them to upgrade or modify your new chs as you wish. Part of the reasons why I chose to procure the Princess Jecka and the Vima Sun models is because they're easy to modify and improve. Their relatively simple and uncomplicated designs lend themselves well to extensive upgrades."
That mollified the ch commanders a bit more. Personally, Ves felt it was a waste of ti to upgrade these stopgap chs, but he did not forbid it. The ch forces each needed to keep themselves busy sohow. Upgrading the new products also allowed the maintenance departnts of the different ch forces to accrue more practical experience.
The third important model they checked was a space knight model.
"This is another product of rrin Systems." Ves introduced. "I took a fancy to the Tamris Stellar
TR-1013-TLAZ because it features the sa clean and basic design style as the Princess Jecka. It's a generic offensive ch model that boasts relatively high defense, decent mobility for a hefty ch and poor offensive capabilities."
"Is there anything special to this space knight?" Commander Abis Firelight asked. The Flagrant Vandal Commander was not impressed by the model. "Its shield looks rather thin."
"That's why it is priced at just 67 million hex credits. That's a bargain in my eyes. There are no gimmicks to this ch worth noting. If you aren't satisfied with its shield, then you can easily replace it with sothing better."
Every ch commander knew that their troops had a lot of work on their hands. Even if they wouldn't be using these affordable chs for a very long ti, none of them felt assured by their factory specs!
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