"Do you envision this axe-wielding machine as a dium ch or a heavy ch?" Ves asked Tifi just as she started to elaborate on her proposal.
"I would love to realize it as a heavy ch, but…"
"An assault unit needs to field chs that can close in on the enemy in a tily manner."
"Correct, sir. In order to keep the ch mobile enough, it is best to stick with the dium weight class. I can still turn it into a ch that is sturdy enough to undertake the dangerous act of assaulting enemy lines while at the sa ti providing it with enough offensive power to tear up defensive formations."
"A lancer ch can break apart defensive formations much more effectively." Dulo Voiken remarked. "The greatest advantage is that their shock power is so great that they can punch open holes imdiately at first contact. These axen chs of yours need ti to launch repeat attacks."
"Axeman chs aren't as limited as lancer chs." Tifi Coslone defended her idea. "Axeman chs do not have to build up montum and they can block an enemy unit's advance with their own fras. They also fight much better in confined spaces or in areas where maneuverability is limited."
Everyone here was a Journeyman, so they already understood the pros and cons of axeman chs. What Tifi said was indeed correct, but that did not necessarily an the Avatars should rush to accept an axeman ch.
Ves said his own piece. "I think the Avatars of Myth may require a lancer ch in the future, but for now I am already considering one for the Eye of Ylvaine in a future design round. If I think about how the Avatars of Myth are utilized in previous battles, I think it is important for it to be able to stop or pin down enemy units. Lancer chs can't do that because they spend most of their ti building up montum and finding the right angles to perform their charge attacks. I think equipping the Avatars with an axeman ch fit their needs much better. The only issue is that this ch legion never has a history of utilizing these weapons. Unlike spears, axes have a higher skill floor. It takes considerably more training to beco proficient at wielding such dangerous weapons."
There was no way that Tifi missed this fact. She already thought about this issue and formulated an argunt.
"Axes are indeed more difficult and uncommon than swords and spears, but the Avatars should be able to handle this weapon type." Tifi calmly responded. "lee ch pilots who prefer to master the sword are better with the Swordmaidens. Those who are more flexible and do not possess a passion for swordsmanship should be able to master the use of an axe, especially a large and heavy one that emphasizes brute force instead of exquisite techniques."
Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "I see. You want to design a ch that isn't flexible enough to fight one-on-one duels but possesses enough chanical power to tear through shield walls, is that what you're suggesting?"
"Yes. The spear-and-shield combination that you have discussed earlier? My axeman ch is an answer to that. They can chop apart spears and hack through shields as long as they possess the initiative, which they should as shield walls are highly rigid and inflexible ch formations. Axeman chs can also be utilized to rip through starships and large facilities. They just need to be equipped with a greataxe that is large and sharp enough."
Unlike the other suggestions that Ves had heard so far, he wasn't sure whether he should support this idea.
He knew how effective axeman chs could be when he recalled one of his previous battles. The Avido Berserker ch Regint used them along with even heavier chs that were equipped with hamrs to smash through the lines of the Golden Skull Alliance.
While the hateful Vulcanites failed to crush the Larkinson and Crosser chs that resisted the Avido Berserkers, that was because other variables ca into play.
If the Larkinsons and Crosser chs had to fight against the Molten Hamr ch Division including the Avido Berserkers on equal terms, Ves would actually bet on the dwarven chs!
The main reason why he was so eager to supply so many new specialized ch designs to his ch legion was to bring their effective combat strength on par with proper military ch divisions like the Molten Hamrs.
The dwarves had taught the Larkinsons a good lesson about the power of combined arms!
Therefore, the main criteria that Ves used to determine whether a ch proposal was good was whether it helped a ch legion improve its own fighting system.
Right now, Ves used his imagination to envision how the Avatars of Myth would fight if they were equipped with Tifi Coslone's axeman ch.
The Avatars of Myth would probably fight similar to the Molten Hamrs. Offensive space knights led the charge and crashed into enemy lines first.
Following up on the space knights were axeman chs. The latter would either attack the stalled enemy lines from the flanks or just squeeze through the friendly space chs in order to attack the enemy defenses up front if there were no other alternatives!
Combined with the right glows and a powerful axe, this simple approach could achieve considerable success.
Of course, these axeman chs were not strong in everything. They were less efficient in defensive combat and were usually a bit more sluggish than swordsman chs.
Yet as long as they possessed enough striking power, these weaknesses were more than acceptable!
The only real concern that Ves had was whether the Avatars of Myth could actually stomach piloting axeman chs.
Ves wasn't sure whether the Avatars should even replace all of their swordsman chs for axeman chs or whether they should split their ch pilots evenly between the two ch types.
This was not his concern, though. These were decisions that were best left to the Avatars themselves.
"I'm mildly supportive of this proposal but I need to receive a detailed plan before I am willing to take it further." He eventually told Tifi. "You need to work together with Commander lkor to flesh out this ch concept and explain how this will strengthen the Avatars. I won't approve of a ch design project that does the opposite. Is that clear?"
Tifi Coslone nodded in understanding. "Clear, sir."
Ves didn't think that any of the four new Journeyn would fail in this task. They were all competent ch designers who clearly made a serious effort into understanding the fighting approaches of the different ch legions. They were professionals who didn't need any handholding.
He was just ntioning more than he needed to in order to make sure that everyone was on the sa page. They all ca from different organizations where ch design projects were handled differently. Ves needed to instill his own process into them so that they did not do anything weird.
He took a look at his internal notes. Aside from Janassa Pellier, the new ch designers all proposed good and interesting ch concepts that could provide a lot of value to the Larkinson Army.
This was good. The ch legions did not have to wait as long as before in order to receive their promised new ch models.
"Let's adjourn this eting for now." He said. "I need to go back and sort out all of the proposed design projects that we will be working on in the upcoming design round. I want us to be productive so we'll be starting up many different projects, but not to the point of overwhelming us. So of them are solo projects but the majority will require collaboration, so I need to sort that out as well. We cannot have eight ch designers working on the sa ch design."
The ideal amount for every ch design was five ch designers. The Design Departnt was now capable of reaching this target, but in the interest of maximizing output Ves might choose to assign less Journeyn to a project.
It all depended on many factors and it wasn't easy for a head designer like Ves to choose between power and expedience.
Once everyone left the conference room, Ves was left with Lucky who rolled his body around in the air.
"ow."
"Yeah. It's great now that we've gained additional lead designers, but it's going to take a lot more work to make sure they use their abilities as productively as possible."
Journeyn were powerful creatives that could design all kinds of chs, but not all of them were useful to certain clients. The Larkinson Army mainly needed spaceborn chs at the mont so there was not much demand for a landbound or aquatic ch.
Fortunately, the four newcors were all proficient in designing spaceborn chs, so Ves didn't have to worry about that. He loved working with competent ch designers.
Ves continued to spend ti on planning in the next few days. He regularly consulted with Gloriana and the other Journeyn to figure out which projects they were willing to get involved in and who could take charge of them. He also talked to General Verle and the legion commanders to make sure their ch pilots were actually willing to pilot the proposed ch models.
His discussions with them didn't entirely go smoothly as so of the upcoming ch designs entailed a lot of changes. The Avatars and the Sentinels both had to retrain large amounts of lee ch pilots and reinvent their tactics in order to make good use of the new ch models.
Still, the cases for the axeman ch and spearman ch were strong. The Swordmaidens were just so good at piloting swordsman chs that it seed redundant for the other ch legions to utilize them as well.
The only issue was that the Swordmaidens mainly worked with female ch pilots. The Larkinsons had to find an answer for male ch pilots who were also passionate about piloting swordsman chs.
"What a headache." Ves pressed his fingers against his forehead. "I'll deal with this issue another ti."
Even if the Avatars and Sentinels adopted their new lee chs, they could still make use of swordsman chs to a smaller degree.
By the ti he sorted out the planning, he convened all of the lead designers together.
This was the first ti that all eight Journeyn of the Design Departnt sat together in a single room. Everyone else had been busy following up on their own duties before this point.
There was clear separation between the ch designers. Ves was clearly the head. Gloriana possessed the second-highest seniority within the departnt and already managed to impress that onto the newcors.
Right now, Janassa, Tifi, Sara and Dulo had yet to truly contribute to the Larkinson Clan. Until they managed to prove themselves, they would not receive the full treatnt that they were due.
"Alright, everyone. Now that we have gathered today, let us settle on our plan so that we can truly begin our next design round with a clear idea on what we should be doing."
Ves activated a projection that listed out nurous different design projects.
"We will be working on 14 different ch design projects in total for the next 6 to 8 months. Of the 14 different projects, 1 of them centers around an expert ch, 3 of them are based around custom chs while the remaining 10 focuses on mass production chs. Not all of you will be working on the sa amount of ch design projects. This is because your workload differs per project and because I'm not certain how much work that so of you can handle. Nevertheless, I am confident that we can complete all of these projects within ti as long as we aren't disturbed by outside factors."
He had to ntion that last point because there were multiple tis where Ves had to pause his design work because the Larkinsons encountered another crisis.
In a place as dangerous as the Red Ocean, this was bound to happen again!
User Comments
0 comments from readers