Chapter 6869 800-RTR E-MULE The gathering adopted the FFEE1100 Omega Thresher as their primary means of defeating enemy starships at a distance. Its addition to the Premier Fleet's mech roster meant that the Larkinsons would heavily be slanted towards the use of energy weapons in the future. This introduced both advantages and disadvantages. If the enemy made enough preparations, they could specifically field units that were considerably more resistant against energy weapons than normal. However, the Omega Threshers should still possess an overwhelming advantage against most general enemies. The fact that the Omega Thresher was especially designed with the exploitation of energy link technology in mind made this mech model all the more attractive to the Larkinson Fleet. Ves had mixed feelings about this decision. He felt he should have made a stronger case for the Totori MAXXX. Although he felt a little embarrassed about its naming scheme, he also fell in love with the colorful character of the multipurpose mech. Its designer had no shame when it designed a ranged superiority platform that could strike at distant enemies like a hammer. Alas, the consensus around the Omega Thresher had become too strong for Ves to invalidate this choice. Even if he was the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan, it was not wise for him to openly contradict public opinion. "The Dracoloid model synergizes well with the Omega Thresher model." Gloriana mused as she studied the initial simulations where both mechs worked alongside each other to complete more and more simulations. "One excels at close-ranged brawling. The other excels at mid-to-long range fire support. They can produce fantastic results as long as they are fighting under their ideal circumstances. The two mech models will perform much worse if this is not the case." That was a big weakness with choosing this particular combination. More general first-class multipurpose mechs did not possess such a strong bias and could fight decently well at all ranges. The Dracoloid and the Omega Thresher traded away a bit of versatility in order to gain significantly more power under specific circumstances. Ves and many other mech designers considered it to be a fair tradeoff. Saint Commander Casella Ingvar finally moved on to the "Now that we have chosen our two main sources of damage for our first-class mech force, we should round out our basic selection by selecting a support mech. First-class mech combat more heavily involves support mechs as a core element. The first-raters almond us already taken this for granted, but it is still a relatively new concept for those of us who were previously second-raters." "Support mechs sound useful enough." Gloriana mentioned. "In third-class or second-class battles, there are frequent arguments about whether it is useful to take away one combat mech and replace it with a support mech that is not dedicated to causing harm. Such discussions occur much less among first-raters because your support mechs possess serious functionality that more than justifies their place on the battlefield." "More practically, a mech force that makes good use of its support mechs tend to be able to preserve its mechs much better than those that are not able to do so." Ves spoke. It was a good idea to add a support mech to the mech. They were powerful force multipliers that could easily exert their full value when used under the leadership of the Saint Commander. Klaus Robar-Fulton raised his hand. "There are many kinds of support mechs available. Which subclassification does the Larkinson Clan need the most?" There were support mechs that excelled in performing field repairs, resupply, ECM, ECCM, sensors, communications, crowd control, cargo transport, construction, mine laying, breaching and much more. Most support mechs tended to be flexible enough to fulfill multiple functions at the same time. Some support mechs possessed basic combat capabilities while many of them got rid of weapons entirely. "My Command Field makes multiple functions redundant." Casella stated. "For the most basic selection of mechs, there is no need to consider combat scenarios where my leadership is absent. That is a matter to consider for the future. For now, there is no need to select support mechs that are excellent at scouting and communications. My Command Field encompasses hundreds of kilometers and can detect nearly everything that has entered my domain. It is also easy to communicate with everyone within this broad range… provided that they are friendly." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 That was all true. There was little value to adding support mechs to the mech roster that covered such functions. They would only be useful if they deployed far enough away from the Minerva Mark II, but the Premier Fleet should not be launching such operations in the short term. Alexa voiced her own opinion. "I believe the support mech should be designed to serve as strong nodes for support link technology. This is powerful tech, but there is a large difference between mechs that are linked to starships. Since we are thinking about keeping our own starships out of harm's way as much as possible, it may not be possible to maintain active links across large distances. It is a good decision to field support mechs that can partially take over the role of starships and serve as strong nodes in any support link network." "I agree with Alexa." Ves said. "The support mech should have large energy reserves in order to support the additional consumption of other mechs, particularly the Omega Threshers. The mech model may even forgo all other functions so long as it can fulfill this responsibility well." These comments all guided the Larkinsons towards selecting the right support mech for their needs. Ves inwardly sighed in regret. The current selection criteria almost certainly ruled out any consideration to select mechs designed by Master Vayro Goldstein. The Survivalist cadre was one of the foremost authorities on support mechs in the Red Ocean, but he preferred to design machines that were able to provide support at greater distances. That sounded great for most mech forces, but it sounded rather tasteless for the Premier Fleet that already enjoyed a supercharged version of it in the form of Casella's Command FIeld. The support mechs designed by Master Goldstein were also often used to save units from their own mistakes and poor judgment. The more competent the leadership and direction of a mech unit, the less it needed to rely on a support mech as a loss mitigation tool. "The most direct support mech model that fulfills our criteria is the 800-RTR E-MULE." Gloriana said as the central projector displayed the mech in question. "Despite its plain-sounding name and utilitarian aesthetics, the E-MULE is a mech that completely specializes in carrying a large energy reserve and acting as a powerful relay of shield links, energy links and also data links." As everyone studied the details of the E-MULE model, they easily gained a thorough understanding of its features and positioning. "The E-MULE lacks the remote shielding capabilities of similar support mechs." Alexa spoke in a disappointed tone. "That is a function that it can perform well with its extensive energy reserves. While it can rely on its shield link array to offer a measure of protection, it becomes useless if the shield link transceiver of a target mech is damaged. Remote shielding can also offer protection outside of our own mechs." Ves smiled. "That is okay. We can consider the acquisition of mechs that can provide remote shielding or emergency field repairs at a later date when we expand the Premier Fleet to a large-scale fighting organization. For now, we can only work with 1000 mechs and mech pilots that lack experience fighting alongside each other. We will need to forge them into a strong nucleus first before we can think about expanding their capabilities." The Saint Commander nodded in agreement. "I agree with the patriarch. We are mostly making decisions based on theory and not on reality. We need to start off with a strong but flexible foundation. Over the course of multiple battles, we can learn what our mechs have done well and what they have missed. We can augment our capabilities by strategically expanding our mech rosters with mech models that address specific demands. This is better than introducing a dozen powerful mech models all at once before expecting our mech pilots to sort out their places in a short amount of time." "So are we locking in the E-MULE or are we considering other alternatives?" The E-MULE faced little opposition. This was because it fulfilled its few functions better than any other mech designed by the RA. Even though its capabilities sounded boring, Ves and the others did not underestimate it due to its large mech frame that was largely filled with energy cells and other forms of storage. Mechs that provided remote shielding capabilities had to accommodate multiple powerful modules and supportive elements that possessed much lower energy reserves. There were larger and heavier products that stored a lot more energy, but they were too slow to keep up with most maneuvers involving the Omega Thresher. The E-MULE's plain and unassuming mech shape actually made it good for keeping up with faster and more vigorous units. It could beat every other first-class mech in the Premier Fleet based on endurance. "The E-MULE is not as… flashy and glamorous as the Dracoloid or the Omega Thresher, but it is a sound support mech." The Saint Commander concluded the selection of a support mech model. "Its importance will still be just as great. While we cannot field the E-MULE in large numbers, every honest-looking machine will help." With this decision, the Premier Fleet's mech roster had taken on its initial shape. The Dracoloid, the Omega Thresher and the E-MULE would serve as the initial blueprint of the Larkinson Clan's high-end fighting force. The mech roster would definitely expand over time. Newer mechs might get added to meet demands that the current selection could not adequately address. The Design Department may also design first-class living mechs that effectively replaced the third-party products that the Larkinsons initially used as stopgap solutions. However, that was a consideration for the future. Ves and the others cared a lot more about getting real first-class multipurpose mechs in their grasp. "I have a pretty good idea of the overall strengths of our mech roster." Ves spoke up. "However, what are its weaknesses, exactly? What sort of enemies is it weak against? It is better to figure this out sooner rather than later." Everyone paused for a moment before Kalister Devos attempted to answer the question. "The multipurpose mechs that you have chosen are rather… simple. The Dracoloid is good at attacking enemies at closer ranges while the Omega Thresher prefers to attack at a distance. Their scouting capabilities are weak, and their pushing abilities are also not that good. Their shield link tech functions as a crutch." "Fair enough." Casella said. Ves raised his own complaint. "There is no direct equivalent to a heavy artillery mech. The Omega Thresher can serve as a discount version of one, but it is really not optimized for this kind of job. The Totori MAXXX could have fulfilled this function far better, but oh well. With mechs this good and with the Saint Commander's extraordinary capabilities, we can make do without the firepower of heavy artillery mechs for a time." He still preferred to have them at his disposal sooner rather than later. They could serve as excellent bunker mechs and may be the final line of protection of many first-class starships. Perhaps he should go ahead and design a first-class version of the Transcendent Punisher first. As Ves thought about taking this step, the meeting gradually wrapped up. Everyone had a much better idea of what was in store for them all. The stopgap mechs may be temporary, but their strong features and distinctive design characteristics would no doubt influence the growth and evolution of the Larkinson Clan. Ves even thought about whether it was possible to design a tiger mech that could occupy a similar niche to the Dracoloid!