The expansion of the Golden Skull Alliance was a major development in certain circles. The colonial government expressed a lot of concern about the large amount of combat power at the alliance's disposal. It was rather unbearable for Davute to look at over 30,000 mechs and 2 impressive ace mechs up close only to say goodbye to all of it a few months later! Minister Shederin and several other people regularly told Ves that they had received persistent solicitations from the state to fight under its banner. Davute did not hesitate to offer a lot of lucrative concessions, such as greater political power, a much greater share of territories and a luxurious lineup of fleet carriers! Ves did not even know where the colonial government could pull out so many fleet carriers at once. Even after all of this time, starships still functioned as a form of hard currency in the new frontier. With all of the shipyards working at full capacity, it was impossible for the Davutans to quickly increase the production of starships and especially capital ships any further. "Davute is willing to pay a high price to import capital ships from other states." His assistant Gavin clarified to Ves. "The government is already paying at least five times above market price to get its hands on more second-hand fleet carriers, and the price of these strategic assets are already inflated as it is. What is even worse is that Davute can't buy fleet carriers with money alone. It also needs to make other concessions such as favorable trade terms, technology transfer and exchange of rare materials." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 The Davutans were getting a lot more serious about preparing for the war. There was no point in accumulating cash and hoarding lots of goods. All of the wealth that the colonial state had earned in the past few years had to be converted into useful combat assets as soon as possible! Ves snorted at the thought of fighting for Davute. "President Yenames Clive can try, but I will never fight someone else's war again." "Are you sure about that? The offer from the colonial administration is becoming increasingly more attractive. The Davutans even promised to us that we can form a special mech corps that enjoys complete autonomy. You can pick and choose your own targets and don't have to be forced into battles that you don't want to fight. This is exceptionally rare treatment as the Davutan high command generally does not want to deal with any loose cannons." "My answer remains the same, Benny. You can tell the representatives of the government that they can stop their useless attempts to sway my mind. I am leaving Krakatoa, possibly permanently. Torald is a much more exciting zone nowadays." The frequency of alien encounters in the Krakatoa Middle Zone had dropped so much that it would take too much effort to find hidden alien hideouts. While Ves had no doubt that he could leverage Ylvaine's predictive powers to lead him to abandoned pocket spaces or camouflaged alien fortresses, he did not think highly of these opportunities. Sure, he may be able to stumble upon another Purgatory or a Palace of Shame, but most obscure alien hiding places tended to be filled with penniless alien refugees that barely managed to sustain their lives after evacuating from their home planets. The closer he traveled to the center of the dwarf galaxy, the greater the likelihood of finding powerful alien relics or huge deposits of phasewater! Of course, the risk of bumping into formidable alien warfleets was also a lot higher, but that was why the Golden Skull Alliance welcomed the Adelaides and the Boojays into the fold. That reminded Ves that he had an appointment to bestow the two groups with their own exclusive kinship networks. This was not the only appointment on his agenda. "By the way, the colonial government also wants you to meet with one of its Master Mech Designers to discuss potential collaboration ideas for the first major mech design commission that you have accepted." Gavin told his superior. "The Davutans are quite insistent that you try and get along with one of their Masters so that the two of you can come up with a strong machine that can make a huge difference in the upcoming war." Ves looked surprised. "Huh? Why didn't I hear about this before?" "That is because the government only conveyed their demands to us yesterday." "Didn't I tell Davute that I would seriously work on the commissions after I have completed my current batch of mech design projects? The Dullahan Project and the Ghost Project already consume all of my time when I am at work." "The government is aware of that, boss. The representative I spoke to has told me that you don't need to start a new design project right away. It is more important for you to meet with the Master and explore a few ideas. The two of you can spend the following months on doing your research, inquiring about the demands of the Federal Military and considering alternative proposals. The Davutans are really keen on making sure that your first collaboration with one of their endorsed Masters goes well." Though Ves didn't really want to add more distractions at this point of time, the Davutans had made a reasonable request. "Very well. Just tell me when and where I need to go to meet with this Davutan Master." It turned out that a meeting had been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. That barely left Ves with enough time to look up the record and the past mech designs of the Master in question. When Ves initially learned who he might be working with in the future, he reacted with a considerable amount of surprise. "What kind of mech design does Davute expect me to supply to them?! Why don't they start with a nice and friendly knight mech instead?!" All sorts of ideas swelled in his mind as Ves boarded his armored shuttle and moved to the Academic District under escort. It took only a relatively short time for the shuttle to reach the campus of one of the many technical institutions situated in the Academic District. "So this is ZUTA University." Ves remarked as soon as he surveyed the campus. ZUTA University did not own as much ground as the Davute University of Technology, but that made the former cozier and livelier. The density of students was higher and many of them chatted with each other as if they were on a holiday. Ves liked the atmosphere even though he did not really feel that most of the students were all that dedicated towards their studies. He did not encounter many people who looked like they were seriously dedicated towards the art and science of mech design. Then again, the truly talented and dedicated mech design students either attended better schools or spent their time in the classroom or library. A bot guided Ves into one of several large buildings. An elevator had brought him to the seventeenth floor where the bot directed him to an office room where the Master Mech Designer awaited his arrival. Entering it reminded Ves of the times where he entered the offices of his professors back when he studied mech design at the Rittersberg University of Technology. The space was not all that large, but there were multiple bookcases against the walls that were filled with traditional printed tomes. Several mech figures decorated the cozy office. Ves could immediately tell that each of them had been made with lots of love and attention, though he did not recognize the designs from his prior investigations. They were all concept works that apparently embodied different extreme configurations. It granted Ves a better understanding of the individual that he was supposed to talk shop with today. "Patriarch Ves Larkinson." The Master who was standing in front of his office windows spoke. "It is a pleasure to meet with you. I assume you have been briefed by the government?" Ves slowly nodded as he moved forward until he reached the older man's desk. "I understand the gist of it. To be honest, I didn't expect the government to pair us together, especially right away." "I believe Davute is hopeful that I can work with a Journeyman Mech Designer without letting my ego get in the way. In that regard, they are correct. Ah, let me introduce myself. I am Master Decimus Horst. I teach at ZUTA University and specialize in designing heavy artillery mechs. Since Davute has seen fit to bring us together, I believe it is best to explore ideas relating to my specialization. There is no strong rationale to design mechs other than ranged artillery machines." "That is a given." Ves said. "So where should we start?" "Hm, normally I would introduce the subject of heavy artillery mechs to you, but that is redundant as you are one of the rare young mech designers that has already designed one of them. I think it is better if we start by exploring your existing work. Are you willing to discuss the design choices that you have made that have led you to complete the Transcendent Punisher?" Ves already expected that Master Decimus Horst might wish to talk about the Transcendent Punisher. It was one of the most effective and iconic mech models of the Larkinson Clan, after all. "I am open to this suggestion, but please take into account that I am reluctant to share any sensitive details about the design to you. It is a mainstay of our clan." "This discussion is to your benefit for the most part." Master Horst said in a friendly and disarming tone. "Please share as much or as little as you are comfortable with. Let us test your foundation and insight into heavy artillery mechs." The two mech designers began to talk about the Transcendent Punisher design in broad and sometimes philosophical terms. Ves wasn't stupid enough to project the full and unredacted design of his heavy artillery mech to Master Horst, but they made do by examining snapshots of the large machine. It was quite frightening to see how many clues Master Horst was able to derive from the appearance of the heavy artillery mech alone! "This is an effective heavy artillery mech, but it is not necessarily a good design." The Master spoke with mild disapproval. "Your Transcendent Punisher design is an adequate work given your circumstances at the time, but even then you have overlooked many important details that could have improved its performance in many areas. For example, its secondary pulse cannons are almost entirely redundant. They take up valuable capacity but are rarely utilized in any useful capacity. There are many more effective alternatives that you can choose from to gain access to effective missile interception capabilities. I personally prefer to design a dedicated bunker mech that is mounted with at least twenty light cannons. This allows a single mech pilot to concentrate fully on intercepting incoming mechs and projectiles at closer ranges." That was an interesting idea. It put Ves to thought and made him seriously consider the merits of designing such a mech. Master Horst also pointed out another shortcoming of the Transcendent Punisher. "You have grown lazy over the course of designing this heavy artillery mech of yours. You put so much stock on its admittedly effective metaphysical target acquisition feature. Without this useful feature, your Transcendent Punisher is nothing. It does not have the firepower, defenses, mobility, sensors, heat capacity, ammunition capacity, energy reserves and other properties to outperform other heavy artillery mechs in the same tier." Ves looked helpless when he heard this accurate assessment. "My wife and I were doing the best we could by ourselves. Our clan wasn't as big back then and we did not have anyone else to turn to in order to increase one or more of those properties that you have mentioned." "It is good that you understand this truth." Master Horst smiled at the younger mech designer. "If we are to work together, then you must forget about your Transcendent Punisher. Do not start with a proposal that has any relation to this crude heavy artillery mech of yours. We must start with a blank slate and work from there. Do you understand?" "I… understand." Though Ves felt as if he had gone back to school for whatever reason, he did not necessarily dislike it. He had long wanted to learn more about designing heavy artillery mechs!