The day of the design duel drew closer.
An air of excitent had dawned over the Prosperous Hill System.
What should have been a private design duel between two Journeyman ch Designers suddenly took on a greater aning!
For several weeks, unknown agitators fanned the flas throughout the Life Research Association.
[Whose living chs are stronger?]
[Has the LRA gone astray all this ti by designing the wrong living chs?]
[The great test has co! Let the ultimate clash between biochs and classical chs begin!]
Through a combination of word of mouth and untraceable posts on the galactic net, a lot of Lifers began to pay attention to this event.
As more and more Lifers began to pay attention, their odd behavior caused more people to pay attention as well. A positive feedback loop ford until billions of people connected to the bioch industry and beyond began to pay special attention to what appeared to be a direct challenge against the current regi!
The Larkinsons imdiately noticed the consequences of all of the eyes pointed in their direction. Ves didn’t even dare to take a step outside Gentle Lotus Base. Anyone who wanted to eliminate any risk of Dr. Navarro losing would have a lot of incentives to assassinate the challenger!
Although the chance was unlikely that so sort of sniper secretly squatted a distance away, Ves did not dare to show himself in the open at all in order to minimize the risk.
That didn’t stop attackers from bombarding the base with a ch-grade weapon, but the Larkinson Clan quickly solved that problem by shipping and setting up a couple of starship-grade shield generators.
The authorities did not prohibit guests from bringing in defensive equipnt as long as they controlled their usage. Unlike chs, shield generators and the like did not have the potential to inflict mass casualties.
Even though these shield generators were expensive to operate on a constant basis due to their high energy consumption, Ves and the other Larkinsons didn’t mind the cost.
Once several opaque bubbles ford over Gentle Lotus Base, its occupants felt much more secure. While the large shields could be overwheld by mass attacks, it could easily buy valuable ti for help to arrive.
The Larkinsons even brought in a lot of underground detection equipnt in order to guard against tunneling actions.
Naturally, they weren’t alone in this. The Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan also occupied the expansive base compound. They did not hesitate to erect their own defensive asures in order to decrease the chance they might get affected as well!
Yet this wasn’t enough.
If the occupants of the base truly wanted to deter attackers from launching an attack on them, then they had to show so teeth.
It was too difficult for the Larkinsons to truly guard their patriarch if they weren’t allowed to field their own chs. Ves had personally applied for an exemption from the local administration, but he had been rebuffed at every point.
The Infinity Guards achieved a bit more success. Through their local connections, they managed to obtain permission to dispatch two more chs to the ground, thereby increasing the amount of escort chs they could field to four machines in total!
Suffice to say, Ves was very underwheld by this concession.
Fortunately, the Planetary Guard of Prosperous Hill VI didn’t sit around. The local authorities evidently wanted to take care of security themselves.
An entire ch company of aerial biochs showed up in the vicinity of Gentle Lotus Base one day. All of them were covered biochs whose bone-like plating was coated in reassuring green colors. The ch company boasted a mix of ch types in order to be able to respond to any situation.
Since it wasn’t suitable for Ves to step out and greet the guard detachnt, General Verle walked up to the main entrance of Gentle Lotus Base while wearing his new uniform.
A ch officer exited from one of the formidable-looking lancer biochs. The officer wore so sort of biosuit that contained an organic antigrav module, allowing him to descend to the ground with ease.
"I am General Verle of the Larkinson Clan. I speak on behalf of Patriarch Larkinson."
The man standing opposite to the general did not display any additional respect. The local ch officer rely nodded.
"Captain Jin Saron. Another colleague and I have been assigned to lead the guard detachnt tasked with guarding your patriarch. We will ensure there will always be forty chs on patrol around your leader. My assistant will dispatch so doc.u.nts to you that will outline a number of important details that you must take into account."
"Forty chs to protect a ch designer who is responsible for leading a ch company that spans the entire star cl.u.s.ter sounds rather... insufficient." General Verle carefully stated. "We have thousands of trustworthy and reliable ch pilots at our disposal. It would be optimal if we can draw on our own forces to bolster our security detail."
"Unacceptable." Captain Saron imdiately shook his head. "Security is our responsibility on this planet. We do not allow any outside influence to bring in any elents that pose a substantial risk to our population."
"Then at least expand your security detachnt. With more and more eyes directed towards Patriarch Larkinson, forty chs cannot stop a determined attack."
"You may issue your request to our headquarters, but as long as we receive no new orders, we will strictly adhere to our current mission."
It beca clear that Captain Saron was quite unyielding. He remained stiff and formal throughout the conversation and did not bend at all to any request.
This was not a request. There was no way for General Verle to refuse this reasonable-sounding request.
"Very well." The newly-promoted leader of the Larkinson Clan replied through gritted teeth. "We shall take the proximity of your guard chs into consideration. However, do note that we have already employed the Infinity Guard in the sa capacity. Please do not hinder our private guards from doing their duty."
Fortunately, Captain Saron did not object to this request. "We are already aware of their presence. The Star Strider Security Group enjoys an excellent reputation in the LRA, so we permit your hired help to have a slightly greater presence on this planet. We cannot promise you anything more."
This didn’t sound very reassuring to General Verle. The greatest threat that Ves currently faced ca from the Lifers themselves. Since the conservatives didn’t want him to win, then there was a considerable chance that they might launch so sort of attack.
In fact, considering that the conservative faction was the most dominant one in the LRA, the Planetary Guard might be rife with their agents!
This was sothing that Captain Jin Saron was all too well aware of, so he took the rare initiative to provide so reassurance to the Larkinson.
"Our Planetary Guard forces are strictly neutral. They are all vetted and have vowed not to develop any ties to any individual or organization for the duration of their service. We have gone out of our way to select the most reliable and impartial ch pilots and supporting personnel as possible to guard your patriarch."
Though this was not an absolute guarantee, it was the closest that the Larkinsons would get out of the inflexible Planetary Guard.
General Verle nodded stiffly. "Thank you for the clarification, captain. We will place the safety of our patriarch in your care."
He only hoped that there were enough safeguards in place in the event that one of the Planetary Guard chs attempted to launch a surprise attack.
As long as there were enough loyal chs around, such an attack would likely be unable to get past all of the barriers!
As Verle returned to the building that housed the best ch workshop in the base, he threw an admiring glance towards the four heavyset knight chs stationed at the corners.
The 14th Fleet dispatched four identical Guard Master 12X chs to form a powerful defensive envelope around the ch workshop structure.
The Guard Master 12X was explicitly designed to protect VIPs. It possessed no armants but instead possessed a large fra as well as interlocking shield plates that could be deployed in a variety of different configurations.
By default, the ch looked as if it carried a pair of foldable shields. This allowed it to block any attacks from a single direction.
Yet what happened if the person they were tasked to protect was being attacked from multiple sides?
Aside from banding together with other defensive chs, the Guard Master was capable of shifting its configuration of shield plates in order to envelop a small group of humans.
Under ideal circ.u.mstances, a Guard Master was able to wrap Ves and anyone nearby into a sturdy, protective tal ball!
In fact, this was one of the ergency asures the Infinity Guards could employ if any attackers were on the verge of breaking past the defenses!
Before that point, a Guard Master would most likely wrap its entire fra around the tal ball. The Guard Master’s physical structure was designed in such a way that it could easily provide all-round protection to the ball in this manner!
General Verle was already reassured if just one of these Guard Master chs was present. With four of them present at the sa ti, their ability to stall for ti was amazing!
When Verle stepped deep inside the ch workshop and approached one of the sites where work was being done to a Ferocious Piranha, he dutifully reported to the clan patriarch.
Ves sighed as he turned away from the partially-disassembled arm of the ch.
"Well, we already expected the Planetary Guard to be stubborn. One of my cousins used to be a part of them so I know how difficult it is for law enforcent to restrain chs that have gone crazy. It’s already bad enough to limit the damage that a third-class ch can do. A second-class ch is at least several tis more destructive!"
Granted, a city built to second-class standards usually wasn’t fragile either. Many structures were built with superior materials. They had to in order to prevent any collateral damage from killing thousands of citizens at once!
Yet there was only so much that structures could do to prevent mass slaughter. This was why the Planetary Guard and other local security forces abhorred others from bringing in their own chs!
"The good news is that the Planetary Guard have acquiesced to the presence of the Guard Masters."
Ves smiled. "That is indeed good news. I trust chs made of tals a lot more than biochs. I admire the Guard Master. Its ch concept is extrely useful to people like . Our clan should have this kind of ch as well. Once we are done with designing our expert chs, I’ll think about designing a comparable ch."
"Isn’t that stealing?"
"ch concepts can’t be stolen." Ves replied. "They’re rely ideas. Only specific designs are protected by the MTA. If my design adheres too closely to the Guard Master, then I’ll just license it. I don’t care too much about originality. I just want a ch that can protect myself and other important people when we are out and about on foot."
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