Chapter 6864 1000 First-Class Mechs Procuring first-class mechs for the Larkinson Clan was the final major step to turning the Premier Fleet into a real fighting force. Without the mechs, the Premier Fleet mostly consisted of useless combat carriers. The only vessels that could fight without needing to rely on strike craft were two captured and converted alien hulls. The first was the converted archeship, which recently came into operation as the Morpheus. The second was the converted orven battleship, which was still officially known as the Torturous Scream of a Human Dying in Agony over a Span of 46.7 Hours. Both warships were slated to play indispensable roles in the Premier Fleet. Yet despite their power and capabilities, Ves and the other Larkinsons still considered mechs to be their primary means of waging war. A single stealth vessel had good scouting and infiltration capabilities, but the Morpheus could easily get shot to pieces if she ever became exposed. The Tortuous Scream possessed much more formidable combat capabilities, but her fate was doomed as long as she came under fire by dozens of enemy warships. Neither vessel could afford to take great risks. The Morpheus would probably be assigned to low-risk remote scouting assignments. Perhaps the Larkinson Clan might use the archeship to transport stealth units such as the Phobos to an enemy position, but this should be done as little as possible to minimize risks. The Tortuous Scream would serve as the anchor of the Premier Fleet. So long as she was positioned in the rear and outside of the effective range of enemy warship cannons, she would likely remain intact. Given the limited roles of these two vessels, the mechs of the Premier Fleet pretty much had to do everything. When Ves decided to go shopping for first-class mechs, he decided to call everyone that was relevant to the discussion. He scheduled a meeting in the conference room and invited Gloriana, Casella, Alexa Streon, Kelsey Ampatoch, Klaus Robar-Fulton, Kalister Devos, Tarsa Merovik. He also brought in Jovy Armalon and Vector Loban to serve as the sales representatives of the different groups and factions of the Red Association. The conference room therefore became divided into different cliques. Gloriana stuck close to Ves, naturally. Casella sat by herself. Alexa and Kelsey had both taken charge of guiding and mentoring the three new former Terran Apprentice Mech Designers. So far, Klaus, Kalister and Tarsa had already showed their value by assisting the Minerva Mark II Project and the Final Glory Project in their own ways. Their understanding of archetech and unique Larkinson methods may still be insufficient, but their grasp on the fundamentals was stronger than that of their second-class counterparts. Due to their common origins, the three Eden Institute graduates had already formed a club of their own. They were unable to integrate into the existing cliques within the Design Department as many other assistants as well as lead designers saw them as rivals. Everyone chatted by themselves at first before Ves tapped his knuckles against the surface of the conference table. They fell silent and took their seats. Ves naturally sat at the head of the table with Gloriana sitting to his right. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖 "Good morning everyone." Ves greeted everyone in a serious tone. "You all know why you are here. The Premier Branch needs to order a batch of first-class mechs. Due to the fact that we have permission to make use of shield link technology under the supervision of the Red Association and the Red Fleet, we are mainly considering the acquisition of first-class mechs that have integrated this indispensable form of high technology. While I am not necessarily opposed to buying mechs designed by Terrans, Rubarthans or other groups, their value proposition must exceed that of an RA mech equipped with shield link technology in order to have a chance of getting selected." Gloriana spoke next. "Before we begin the selection process, do you have any questions?" Kelsey Ampatoch raised his hand. "Can't we solve multiple problems at once by designing variants of first-class mechs? We can easily licence a mech designed outside of the RA that meets almost all of our requirements. We can then proceed to design a variant that not only includes shield link technology, but is also alive. The variant does not have to deviate any further from the base model if we want to save time." The former Rubarthan mech designer made a good suggestion. Variants existed for a reason. Just because the Larkinson Clan had yet to design its own first-class mechs did not mean it was prohibited from designing variants. "Designing first-class variants is admittedly less demanding than designing original mechs, but it is still a two to three-month commitment." Gloriana replied. "Our manpower is still relatively tight and we are still working on many mech design projects. The time and resources spent on developing living mech variants can be skipped entirely if we purchase ready-made mechs from the Red Association." "Do we have to purchase the mechs from the Red Association wholesale?" Alexa Streon asked. "The mechers can secretly tamper with the mechs sold to the Premier Branch. They also prefer to produce their mechs through materialization rather than with more traditional and less efficient superfabs. Such mechs are often clinical and less likely to demonstrate living tendencies." Ves nodded in acknowledgement. "You are right about that last part, Alexa, but it doesn't matter if we are not making use of actual living mechs. Even if they are alive, I don't really care too much about investing in them. They are a stopgap solution as far as I am concerned. The same goes for the Tortuous Scream. We are using them because we need strong hardware that we cannot supply ourselves for the time being. The first-class mechs don't have to be amazing. They just have to be solid enough to satisfy our needs for a few years. I am confident that we will slowly be able to phase them out when we finally introduce our own first-class living mechs to our mech roster. Does that clarify matters?" Alexa wordlessly nodded. Kelsey looked disappointed. He was hoping for an opportunity to participate in the development of living mech variants, as did several other mech designers. "I think it is important to mention that our first-class production capacity is limited." Gloriana said. "The Premier Fleet does not include a factory ship. While some of the decks of the Tortuous Scream have been converted into workshops and production halls, you should not hold high expectations. The production facilities are barely enough to replenish the mechs that we have lost after a strenuous battle, and even then they may be overwhelmed. Other ships only have workshops, and very few Larkinsons are currently trained and certified to produce first-class mechs. It is not as simple as pressing a button and letting a materializer do all of the work." Nothing was ever simple when working with powerful but volatile or unstable materials. The limited production capacity of the Premier Fleet meant that the Larkinsons would have to transfer mechs from outside sources if they needed a large number of machines. "Can we borrow the assistance of the Bluejay Fleet?" "No, Mr. Devos." Jovy Armalon responded this time. "Our escort fleet is almost entirely comprised of warships. We lack the support ships that can significantly increase our production of mechs. Our warships themselves also lack spare capacity to devote too much internal space for production." "Can't we expand Diandi Base?" Tarsa Merovik asked. Ves shook his head. "One of the reasons why we want to move to the Premier Fleet is to reduce our dependence on fixed locations. We don't want to invest billions of MTA credits into a first-class mech production complex, only for the native aliens to swoop in and bombard it into pieces." "There are several ways to mitigate or prevent that from happening, sir." The former Terran female Apprentice was not afraid of speaking up. "You can build a secret production complex that is deep underground or located in the middle of an asteroid belt. Another popular method is to build an underwater complex that can float and relocate at the depths of a planet's ocean. They have proven particularly resistant against orbital bombardment." Gloriana shook her head in disapproval. "The phase whales and the juregs are but two of many native alien races that are aquatic in origin. There are other races that are good at burrowing underground. They all have their own racial tech that is good at hunting down hidden bases. The only reason why many of these hidden bases have yet to be destroyed is because the native aliens are more invested in snatching our territories than completely pacifying the ones they have already conquered. Besides, even if those bases with production facilities remain intact, it is impossible for them to ship their finished goods across occupied territory." On this point, she agreed with her husband. The increasingly more dire alien invasion vindicated his aversion to investing in colonial holdings and real estate. "Any other questions?" Kalister Devos raised his hand this time. "What is the quantity of first-class mechs that you are hoping to acquire for the Premier Fleet?" "I can answer that." Ves responded. "The composition of our Premier Fleet is still in flux due to multiple reasons. We currently have about 15 first-class combat carriers in our possession. Each of them can carry 30 first-class mechs, which amounts to a total of 450 mechs. We are also expecting the transfer of a modern first-class fleet carrier from the Eternal Vulcan Empire. This baby alone can fully carry and support 320 first-class mechs. The sum of mechs we can carry as a baseline is therefore 770 mechs. I have not included the first-class mechs that the Tortuous Scream is able to carry as bunker mechs or in her spare cargo bays." "Our current target is 1000 mechs." Gloriana directly stated. "We aim to purchase mechs derived from half a dozen or so RA mech models. For every model, we will make sure to acquire enough spare machines that can be used to replace any losses that we incur in battle." That was quite clever, though they needed to free up enough cargo space to store all of the spare mechs. 1000 first-class mechs represented a lot of wealth. It was not cheap to produce so many machines. It may also be problematic for the RA to produce first-class mechs that relied on rare materials that could only be sourced from the conquered territories. Nonetheless, Ves believed that the RA should still be able to supply most of the mechs in its catalog. When everyone was done with asking questions, Ves moved to the next phase of this meeting. "Before we are ready to browse the RA mech catalog, we first need to determine a direction for our acquisitions. We can't blindly select mech models that look cool or boast the highest numbers. Our choices should be guided by the mech doctrines and strategies that we intend to employ in the Premier Fleet. Saint Commander, you have spent a lot of time puzzling out this stuff. Please share with us your wisdom on this subject." The Saint Commander smiled sardonically. "While I am an ace commander and participated in many second-class battles, I must state that I have never participated in a proper first-class battle. I have studied numerous textbooks and treatises. I have spoken with Tusa and Stark. I have consulted many other first-class officers and soldiers. I have also explored my ideas in simulation battles. That has increased my theoretical understanding of how warfare is being waged in the Upper Zones, but I do not consider myself to be an authority in this field." Gloriana nodded her head at Casella. "We all understand your plight. We still value your opinion as you are the designated commander of the Premier Fleet. The first-class mechs that you select must not only conform to the needs of the Larkinson Clan, but must also synergize well with your Command Field. Your voice holds great weight in this discussion." Casella looked pleased. "Well, if you trust me that much, then I shall share my opinion on what we should acquire first."