Different from standard chs, custom chs were all unique. They had to be in order to better fit the piloting styles of their intended users.
As soone who specialized in this aspect, Gloriana did an extrely good job in making her two chs fit their users.
The Gold Beacon, forrly known as the Super Avatar Project, was Gloriana's attempt to create both a lesser and different version of the Minerva Project.
She took a lot of cues from the ongoing Minerva Project but also put her own personal spin on the command ch concept.
The ch imdiately stood out for its gold coating and the prominent bust of the Golden Cat featured on its chest. Gloriana deliberately designed the custom ch to resemble an avatar of the Avatar of Myth's favorite design spirit.
The basic configuration of the Gold Beacon was roughly similar to the Minerva Project. lkor's custom ch was primarily a command ch that possessed additional processors, analytic engines and other related modules that could help the Avatar Commander gain a better overview of what was happening on the battlefield.
Even if he was cut off from the command center aboard one of the capital ships of the Larkinson Clan, he could still do an adequate job of coordinating his troops and passing on orders by himself!
In order to make sure that the Gold Beacon could stay in contact with Avatar chs even during the most challenging battle circumstances, the ch also incorporated a decent amount of premium communication modules.
The most distinctive of them was a powerful transceiver that was mounted on the rear of the Gold Beacon.
Two large telescoping antennas could poke all the way up until they extended up to twice the length of the custom ch!
This was the origin of its na. When its communication functions were working at full strength, the Gold Beacon essentially turned into a powerful semi-mobile communication node!
"How well do these oversized transceivers work?" Commander lkor asked.
"They are much more reliable and able to push through jamming than any of our existing chs." Gloriana proudly explained.
Though she was exhausted due to working so many days in a row, her passion could not be denied!
Naturally, Gloriana did not need to state that the Gold Beacon was still inferior to the Minerva Project in terms of communication capabilities. An expert ch would always be able to do the job better, not just because the design budget was a lot higher, but also because it obtained the support of an expert pilot.
Aside from this command focus, the performance of the Gold Beacon did not actually stand out too much.
If lkor wanted to, he could truly pilot the Gold Beacon like a typical rifleman ch. The mobility of the command ch wasn't great due to all of its extra modules, but it was not horrible either.
The ch also boasted a superior armor system that Gloriana had specifically chosen to control the Gold Beacon's mass. While the command ch wasn't supposed to excel at defense, it could at least survive a decapitation strike if it was caught in the open.
Of course, it was always best to rely on other chs to defend the Gold Beacon. lkor's custom ch wasn't designed with an excessive amount of fault tolerance like Vincent Ricklin's new B-Man custom ch.
"How well can the Gold Beacon fight against hostile chs when it doesn't have any backup to rely upon?" Imon Ingvar asked.
"Better than a Bright Warrior, but don't expect any miracles." Gloriana answered the expert candidate. "There is only so much I can do to make it battle worthy when it also has to command the Avatars of Myth. So of the less important auxiliary modules are also relatively vulnerable due to their placents, so it is best not to duel any chs if you can help it, lkor."
The Avatar Commander nodded. "I understand, but we don't always get to choose our battles. I've been in enough battles to know that every additional fighting machine counts. If I want to command my Avatars from the rear, I would have chosen to retire from piloting chs and command my troops from the Gorgoneion. The Gold Beacon is my way of always maintaining a close connection to my subordinates."
Although there were many theorists who questioned the wisdom of having the commanders of ch units fight alongside the troops, this was still the preferred standard in the ch community.
lkor knew he wasn't a great legion commander. Compared to Casella Ingvar who continually reinvigorated the Living Sentinels, he was rely average in comparison.
Risking his life in battle and showing that he braved the sa dangers and rigors of ordinary ch pilots was one of the best ways for him to maintain the respect of his n!
Ves still harbored a few concerns for his blood-related cousin, though.
lkor was no longer young and his many responsibilities increasingly prevented him from practicing his piloting skills as much as before.
Though Casella was able to develop both of her command and combat skills without too much setbacks, that was because she had received systematic training for this due to her forr noble background.
Aside from that, advancing to expert candidate and subsequently expert pilot earlier also helped a lot. The current Sentinel Commander had already left lkor far behind.
Though lkor was still an excellent ch pilot and a good commander by the standards of the old Bright Republic, the Larkinson Clan had advanced far past that point.
Ves already knew through the intelligence reports that he received that lkor relied increasingly more on delegation to run his ch legion.
While it was normal for any leader to delegate work, it was clear that lkor was increasingly doing so not because he was short on ti, but because he could not perform his duties himself.
If he was unable to perform the job himself, how would he be able to understand all of the work being done by his subordinates? His control over the Avatars would inevitably deteriorate because of the increased distance between himself and the actual situation among the rank-and-file.
Piloting chs was therefore one of the best but also the riskiest ways to compensate for this effect.
Was it the right choice, though?
A part of Ves even thought that it might be better to pressure lkor into stepping back and letting a more talented and capable ch commander lead the Avatars of Myth.
That would probably crush lkor, though. Leading the Avatars had turned into his life's work, and he had not yet transford the ch legion into a form that was anywhere near the state he envisioned!
Ves eventually decided to withhold his concerns. lkor had made his choices and perhaps the Gold Beacon might be able to resolve his long-standing problems.
He certainly did look happy with what Gloriana made for him. Different from the New Man Project, Ves had contributed a bit of his ti to design a custom luminar crystal rifle for the custom ch.
It was nothing too fancy, but it still perford better than the more ordinary rifles utilized by other standard chs.
"The Gold Beacon is optimized for large-scale group combat. It performs best when it fights alongside a large number of friendly chs. Your ch is the opposite, Imon. Your Blade Chaser custom ch excels at duels."
The Blade Chaser used to be known as the Champion Project for a reason. Gloriana understood Imon's desire to defeat strong individual opponents and dedicated her ti and attention to design a custom swordsman ch that excelled in duels.
Though she was no Ketis, Gloriana was still confident that she could Imon a swordsman ch that did not perform worse, just differently.
While the Blade Chaser was lacking in a lot of areas where Ketis could frankly do better due to her excellent knowledge of how swordsn fought, Gloriana was much better when it ca to optimizing and refining different ch systems.
The result was a custom ch that not only possessed excellent fundantals, but also fit Imon's current piloting style in an excellent way.
Though it would have been better if both Gloriana and Ketis put an equal amount of effort into the Blade Chaser design, the schedule didn't allow for it. Ketis already had to invest most of her ti in the two swordsman ch projects she was leading.
Besides, Gloriana could be very territorial when it ca to her custom ch design projects. She only brought in Ketis to design the Blade Chaser's sharp and excellent twin one-handed swords and nothing more.
As the group of Larkinsons looked up at the blue-and-gold coated swordsman ch, they all noticed that it possessed a glow that had only recently received a minor resurgence in the Larkinson Clan.
"I still can't believe you really went for Bravo." Commander lkor comnted. "Is Vincent truly the example that you should strive for, Imon?"
Imon shrugged. "I've tried out all of the chs with those other glows and none of them particularly speak to . The B-Man's glow is the first one that I can truly get along with. I know that not everyone has a good opinion of Vincent and his ch, but there is more to it than being manly."
"Bravo also stands for victory and competitiveness." Ves agreed. "I think it is a fine pairing with your Blade Chaser ch."
As the brother to Commander Casella Ingvar, Imon not only felt left out, but also inferior to his much more accomplished sister.
Over ti, this could turn into a real problem. This was also why Gloriana agreed to prioritize the design of a custom ch for Imon. He truly needed a change in order to regain his confidence in his own abilities.
The Blade Chaser did that by giving Imon a powerful dueling-oriented swordsman ch that could fight ferociously against many powerful chs.
The ch was essentially designed to excel in one-on-one engagents. Its sharp twin swords along with its excellent mobility and maneuvering characteristics allowed a skilled expert candidate such as Imon to leverage clever movents to obtain a decisive advantage against other chs piloted by expert candidates.
It would have been better if Juliet was able to contribute to the mobility of the Blade Chaser, but again Gloriana was confident that she could do no worse.
She had taken a decent amount of inspiration from Juliet's work on other design projects and provided the Blade Chaser design with a flight system that was highly suited for high-budget, high-quality machines.
In any case, even if her work fell short in a few areas, the expensive materials and sub-components would ensure that her custom ch would not perform too awfully in terms of mobility!
"With this ch, I hope to challenge myself." Imon said as he beca increasingly more impatient to try his new custom ch. "It's not the Quint, but maybe that's for the best. The Blade Chaser is its own ch."
Once lkor and Imon fully acquainted themselves with their new custom chs, they both put their new machines to the test.
In this regard, neither chs exhibited any surprises. Both worked smoothly with much less deviations than normal. Gloriana done a thorough job in designing the two chs and eliminated as many unstable variables as possible.
Though that made the Gold Beacon and the Blade Chaser less exciting, they subsequently ranked high in stability and reliability.
If neither of their ch pilots broke through, then they would be able to rely on the current configurations of the two custom chs for many years without any significant changes.
Of course, it would still be nice to upgrade them if the Larkinson Clan got its hands on new technology or managed to improve its overall design level.
Right now, Ves judged that the Gold Beacon's command systems and the Blade Chaser's flight system still had a lot of room for improvent.
If the Design Departnt could upgrade these parts, the two custom chs could achieve a significantly higher impact on the battlefield!
"All in due ti." Ves shook his head. "Their current strengths are enough to et their needs."
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