Though the match between Team Larkinson and Team Hendrix had passed, a lot of people and comntators still discussed the thrilling battle.
It was as if they had managed to watch the finals a few rounds in advance!
[What a thrilling match. Both of the lead designers of the two opposing teams have managed to showcase their strengths through this direct comparison. Ves Larkinson is clearly more advanced in his journey as a ch designer than any other ch designer in the field, while Beatrice Hendrix is a rising star who is quickly catching up to all of us old fogies.]
[I am intrigued by the applications of modular armor systems. They may be more expensive and cannot resist as much damage, but the adaptive shape changes that the Double Up exhibited has given a new appreciation of this neglected defensive system.]
[You are looking at this tech with rose-tinted glasses. Do not forget that cost is not a factor in our tournant. The expense of utilizing modular armor systems is a major hindrance to its adoption. Not only that, but modular armor needs to be powered in order to reach their full potential, and that adds another significant burden to the ch in question. The logistics simply aren't worth the effort of fielding a large amount of chs that rely on modular armor that regularly needs to be replaced.]
[You may have a point if you are talking about the use of modular armor in the old galaxy, but have you forgotten where we are located these days? We live in the Red Ocean! As long as you are rich or well-connected enough, you will be able to incorporate phasewater into your better ch designs. Think of how much better modular armor systems will perform after they beco transphasic. Compared to the cost of phasewater, applying them in a more advanced defensive system is not that important anymore.]
[Hm, I can see the rits of applying this armor system to our expert chs and maybe our ace chs, but the dangers are not light. Remote systems like these can always be subverted by the enemy. As long as the slightest chance exists, it is not worth the risk of employing this overly complicated toy.]
[I would hardly call it a toy considering that the most famous Journeyman in this zone has almost lost to it. I can foresee many possible iterations of fights where the Double Up with the support of the Triple Spray won the field. We all happen to live in a reality where Team Larkinson managed to gain the upper hand.]
[I think this match is not centered around the Larkinson Patriarch at all. We have already seen much of what his Sensia and Furia can do during its first round match. I am much more impressed by the chs presented by Team Hendrix to be honest. The tech and design employed by Beatrice Hendrix demonstrates a deep mastery of her own design applications. The sophistication of her modular armor system and the soundness of her ch-within-a-ch design shows that she is a talent that stands above the mundane. It truly is a waste for her to roam around the stars as an independent. She can do so much more if she has access to greater resources…]
While the comntators continued to praise Beatrice Hendrix, a different discussion took place down below.
As Ves and Juliet moved to the workshop where their beaten competition chs awaited repairs, the latter chuckled.
"You certainly gave those ch designers food for thought." Juliet grinned at him. "At least half-a-dozen of those Journeyn in the room looked as if they had to force themselves to remain rooted on the spot. They would have sward you and begged to join your clan if they had less self-control."
Ves snorted. "The ones who beg the hardest are usually the most worthless ch designers in the crowd. My words are mainly directed to the ch designers who are still on the fence but who can still be attracted by the incentives that I just threw out. Whether they will bite is still a question. I find that most interested ch designers quickly turn away as soon as I ntioned that joining the Larkinson Clan is a permanent decision. The inability to back out makes it sound as if I am tempting them to sell their souls to . How stupid!"
"Is it? Once anyone joins the clan, they turn into your property. You own us like you own your ch designs. You may care for us all, but in the end we are a ans to an end."
"That is a highly inaccurate characterization! I don't treat you all like pawns. We're family. That is the core tenet of our Larkinson Clan. Sure, there is definitely a utilitarian purpose to everything that we do, but a family is no different. The best way to take care of each other is to make sure that everyone is useful in one capacity or another. All of the Journeyn that have joined our clan have progressed by leaps and bounds depending on how long they have been with us. You cannot deny this truth."
Juliet crossed her arms. "You frequently remind us all that everything has a price. Each of us who have co to join your clan have indeed received a lot of benefits from you, but is it true that you have taken even more from us? You are the ultimate beneficiary of this trade. Do not deny it. We are not that stupid."
"I never assud you were. Just rember that only our clan has been able to provide you with benefits and opportunities that are far in excess to the alternatives. Barring the slim chance that you would have been able to build all of this yourself, there is no way you could have made it this far without the support of the clan that I have built. We are on track to attain greatness, and that is a dream that many other ch designers are missing out on. I really hope that Beatrice Hendrix accepts my offer."
"She is definitely intrigued." Juliet shared her views. "She is resistant to giving up her independence, but the benefits you have ntioned make for compelling argunts."
Ves smirked at her description. "I applied a lesson I learned from President Yenas Clive. That guy may be an insufferable smug bastard that has a penchant for constricting his prey, but he knows how to turn skeptics and doubters into solid collaborators. I have learned that as long as you overwhelm anyone with a sufficiently large bribe, you can buy anyone's cooperation!"
Almost anyone's loyalties could be bought. Even Ves had a price he supposed. Principles and resentnt all lted away in the face of greed and naked self-interest.
The only humans who were truly incorruptible were high-ranking ch pilots and swordmasters, but these nutcases introduced their own fair share of problems.
Ves sighed as he and his partner reached the damaged chs that awaited repairs.
"Let's focus on preparing for the next round. We will need to fix up our chs as best as we can, especially if we have another tough fight on the horizon."
While he thought that it was unlikely that they would bump into another top seed during their third round match, he could never know for certain. He could do little else than hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
This was exactly what they did. Ves and Juliet hastily stripped off the ruined armor plating and pulled out the internals that had sustained too much damage.
The ch designers rapidly fabricated the necessary replacent parts and slotted them right back in the gaps of the chs.
The Furia was clearly in a better shape as it possessed more buffers. The hybrid ch did not actually need that much work to get back in shape.
The Sensia needed a little more work as its rear side took a beating from the Triple Spray.
The torrent of bullets that shredded its thin armor and cut into the small of its back all left behind a field of devastation.
The ruined landscape could be healed. All Ves had to do was to bring the right resources and make use of them with purpose in order to restore most of the combat effectiveness of the light skirmisher.
"I wish we had more ti to conduct repairs." Juliet lanted in a rare display of frustration for her. "The ti allotted for our repairs will continue to shrink in the subsequent rounds."
"I know, Juliet. We should do what we must. The upside is that our competitors are working under the sa circumstances. Our skills and design choices will make the difference."
Since all of the matches needed to be held on a single day, the ti it took for a team to go up again constantly dropped. After all, every round progression cut the amount of competing teams by half.
The tournant partially compensated for this by lengthening the lead-up ti between matches. The announcers and the panel of experts took more ti to comnt on the performance of the surviving competition chs, allowing every spectator to gain a clearer understanding of what made the different chs stronger and more successful than others.
There was only so much they could do to stall for ti, so ch designers such as Ves and Juliet had to work hard to get everything done by the next match!
Ves understood that this was partially a test of how well they designed their chs and how well they could restore the combat performance of damaged machines.
The better a team designed their chs, the less battle damage they would have once they won their matches.
The further into a round, the greater the concentration of good designers.
The more hands-on experience and proficiency with chs a team possessed, the more repairs they could complete in a limited window of ti.
There were plenty of elitist ch designers who never fabricated a single ch in their lives after they had graduated from their universities, but they usually did not make it far in their careers.
The truly passionate and skilled ch designers did not object to fabricating their chs in person, even if it was only a prototype made for testing purposes.
The most common limitation that prevented them from doing so was if they worked for a large ch company that did not allow their design teams to ss around in the workshops and factory floors.
Ves smirked as he rapidly observed the damaged fras of his Sensia and Furia. He did not think he was weak in either of these areas. He particularly felt that he possessed a great advantage in hands-on work considering that he had 7 masterwork certificates under his belt.
His affinity with chs was so strong that the Twin Souls already resonated with him in a way that he couldn't describe. The Sensia and the Furia bared their spirits to him and whispered their faults, their demands and their suggestions. The two living chs held no secrets towards their creator!
Ves and Juliet comfortably fell into a rhythm again as they drafted up an efficient repair plan and executed it. The superfab provided by the Davute University of Technology churned out replacent parts like a machine gun.
It actually took more ti to strip down the chs and put the new parts into place than to fabricate them all! As long as the ch designers were skilled in repair and assembly, they could complete a lot of work in very little ti.
Of course, there were also many points where Ves and Juliet had to cut corners and work a little sloppier than they would have liked. The two made judgnt calls to determine whether they should skip a repair procedure because it was not worth it for them to put in the ti it took to get it right.
All of this required a lot of skill and judgnt. The difference that this could make would definitely beco clear as the combat phase of the tournant progressed.
User Comments
0 comments from readers