The Mech Touch

Ves had no clue what his girlfriend was plotting behind his back.

He mainly concerned himself with finalizing the Militant Soldier and Peaceful Soldier designs.

However, the release of the Breaker product line resulted in an enormous shock in the mech market. Ves had to divert some time to address the changes taking place in his organizations.

”Why do you want us to spend fifteen billion credits on advertising and public relations?” Ves frowned as he read through a data pad at his office. ”Even if this sum is inflated, this is still a ludicrous sum of money!”

”Our Marketing Department has submitted a plan to hinder the rise of the Dawnbreaker and Duskbreaker.” Gavin reported. ”Due to Anselʼs extensive influence, we wonʼt achieve much results if we publish a couple of critical ads on those mech models. We have to resort to a full-fledged media offensive to shift public opinion.”

”I personally tasked the Marketing Department to flesh out a strategy to hinder our rivals.” Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson added. ”The Dawnbreaker is already guaranteed to sell by virtue of its quality, so we canʼt affect its growth too much. Itʼs the Duskbreaker that is our true concern. While itʼs only around ten percent more expensive than our Desolate Soldier, the two mechs are occupying the same position in the market. We canʼt allow the Duskbreaker to ”

Ves did not look pleased. ”Itʼs a waste of money. I would much prefer to spend this money on something useful, like building more production facilities or expanding the Living Sentinels.”

”We canʼt let Ansel popularize their new mechs without hitting back, boss. Donʼt you remember how those Ansel guys tried to badmouth our Desolate Soldiers when it initially came out? Even before that, they constantly tarnished the LMC by painting our mechs as brainwashing machines. If not for securing early support from the Planetary Guard, we wouldnʼt have been able to overcome the opposition against our mechs!”

All of them recalled how extensively the backlash against the LMC used to be during the time when Ves toured the star sector. His absence at home gave his critics the opportunity to fund a protest movement against his mechs.

More and more people started to believe that the Blackbeak, Crystal Lord and Aurora Titan brainwashed their mech pilots into becoming loyal fans of the LMC.

Fortunately, the widespread adoption of the Desolate Soldier by many powerful organizations and outfits negated this trend.

Just as Ves predicted, as long as the Desolate Soldier became indispensable, the ruling powers would not allow anyone to stigmatize his products!

However, the Desolate Soldier was old news now. While people accepted its existence, they no longer paid too much attention to it unless they directly came under the influence of its glow.

The Dawnbreaker, Duskbreaker and Novabreaker were all novel creations, and the hungry news portals instantly pounced on them to provide new content to their subscribers!

Hearing the resentment from Gavin and Raymond, Ves frowned at them both. ”Are you out of your mind?”

”You.. donʼt agree, boss?”

”Think about what weʼre doing. Instead of investing resources into developing our company and increasing our security, you want us to waste money on smacking the competition.”

”Whatʼs wrong with that? Didnʼt Ansel already do that to us? We could at least return the favor!”

Ves wanted to palm his face. ”We survived their attacks and grew stronger from it. My products were always vulnerable to the points theyʼve raised. This was a problem that we had to address sooner than later, so Iʼm glad we already got it over with. The acceptance weʼve obtained from the public and the rulers at the top will serve as our shield in any future endeavors.”

”Youʼre still letting off Ansel lightly for what theyʼve done.” Gavin grumbled.

Raymond sided with him as well. ”I donʼt see the point in sticking to your high-minded ideals, Ves. I know enough about doing business that itʼs vital for the LMC to portray strength. By doing nothing or appearing to do nothing, we will appear weak. Our companyʼs standing in the mech industry will suffer a hit as a result. Less third-party manufacturers will agree to fabricate mechs for us. Some companies might cease to ship our products or offer favorable terms.”

”I donʼt care about these petty losses.” Ves stated. ”Our brand will remain strong regardless if we play this game or not. Anselʼs position in the mech market is so strong that I donʼt think that a couple of billion credits will affect the sales of their latest products. Besides, there is one more reason why Iʼm disinclined to engage in this pointless venture.”

”Do tell, Ves.”

”I want the Dawnbreaker and its variants to succeed.”

That took Raymond and Gavin aback. Even Nitaa, who stood quietly on guard, reacted with some shock!

���Are you still the boss we know, or did someone replace you with a clone?”

Ves smiled at them. ”Iʼm not joking. I mean what I say. The Dawnbreaker is a genuinely good midrange rifleman mech. Iʼve studied the public documents about the new design extensively and I fully believe in its value. Its ability to guarantee the life of a mech pilot in event of getting hit by a heavy laser strike is something that no mech at its price range can match!”

Both Raymond and Gavin shared an uncertain look. Had Ves gone mad? Why was he praising the competition all of a sudden?

Of course, this obvious gesture didnʼt escape Ves. Seeing as his two subordinates didnʼt get it, he growled in frustration.

”Youʼre treating this like some zero-sum game. Itʼs not! Think of our circumstances right now. If we were at peacetime, then I would have considered your suggestion more, but this time itʼs different! While I donʼt like those stuck-up Ansel mech designers, they are not our opponents! Our real enemy is the sandman race! Whenever we make an important decision, we should consider whether it benefits the LMC and helps the war effort! In my eyes, casting shade on the Dawnbreaker accomplishes neither!”

Ves raised a finger.

”Our weaker media presence means that weʼll just waste a lot of money while gaining little in return. This does not benefit our company.”

He raised another finger.

”The current situation at the front demands a mech that is more resilient and more powerful than the Desolate Soldier. The Dawnbreaker perfectly meets this demand and has an added bonus of preserving the lives of skilled mech pilots. Hindering the adoption of such a good mech does not help the war effort!”

A realization swept through the minds of Raymond and Gavin. The former looked especially hard-hit.

”This is my mistake.” Raymond admitted. ”I was too caught up in thinking what is best for the LMC that I have forgotten to take the greater picture into account.”

Such a mistake was understandable. Raymond had only recently become the COO of the LMC. Even if he made a lot of preparations, he still had to immerse himself in his new responsibilities.

”The Desolate Soldier, Dawnbreaker and their variants are all competing mech models. That does not mean that the gains of one side is a loss to the other side.” Ves explained. ”In truth, we are all on the same side. A little bit of tension due to rivalry and factionalism is inevitable, but donʼt let it go too far. Right now, I think the Dawnbreaker is a necessary mech to strengthen the Bright Republic.”

”That only counts for the Dawnbreaker, right?” Gavin interjected. ”The Duskbreaker is the knockoff version of the Dawnbreaker. It doesnʼt have the compressed armor system of the base model. As a budget mech model, the Duskbreaker competes directly against our Desolate Soldiers and therefore poses a direct threat to our bottom line. Shouldnʼt we at least do something to prevent this variant from taking away our lunch?”

Ves smiled. ”Thatʼs a much more reasonable argument. If you came up to me with this in the start, then I wouldnʼt have to remind you two to take the overall war situation into account.”

”So.. will you agree to a plan to suppress the Duskbreaker?”

”Nope.” Ves replied. ”Let Ansel sell as many Duskbreakers as they want. I have no intentions to put any obstacles in their way. Let the market and the customers decide which one they prefer. Both of them have different strengths. Itʼs better if outfits have more choice.”

”Thatʼs..”

”Let me be clear. Iʼm not necessarily being generous or charitable towards Ansel. Iʼm just confident in my Desolate Soldiers. While itʼs true that the Duskbreaker offers superior performance in almost every aspect, itʼs a mech without a heart. I think that many mech pilots who have tried both mechs will prefer my product in the end.”

Neither Raymond nor Gavin believed in that assertion. However, Ves was the boss, so they had no choice but to accept his will.

Under his instruction, the LMC did not allocate any money towards hindering the marketʼs enthusiastic adoption of the Dawnbreaker and Duskbreaker. Sales of both commercial models went through the roof!

In the meantime, some mech regiments already decided to procure or produce the first Novabreakers.

The mech regiments stationed in the most hard-pressed fortified star systems became the first converts to this promising new military mech model. Due to frequent combat, these units suffered continuous casualties and lost a decent amount of very expensive mechs.

The Novabreaker offered solutions to both problems. It was priced as a premium mech which was very affordable in the eyes of the military and also excelled in protecting mech pilots.

In addition, the Novabreakerʼs custom neural interface which heightened the responsiveness of the mech showed its full potential in the hands of well-trained military mech pilots.

All of these qualities were highly prized by the hard-hit mech regiments!

The Novabreaker turned out to be such a hit that when the LMC finally published the Militant Soldier, it hardly caused a ripple in the Mech Corps.

”Well, Iʼm sure that the military will remember my work.” Ves muttered as he observed the lukewarm reaction from the military.

Fortunately, Ves and the LMC could at least console themselves with the much more successful launch of the Peaceful Soldier.

Ves, Gloriana and the design team worked hard to design a viable landbound iteration of the Desolate Soldier. While it was a shame that the Peaceful Soldier was exclusive to the Planetary Guard, the mech at least turned out to be a smashing hit in those organizations!

A lot of orders had already poured in, which conveniently compensated for the moderate drop in sales of the Desolate Soldier. The LMC quickly recovered from the setback induced by the competition.

”There is no way that Ansel can design any mech that can compete against my Peaceful Soldier.” Ves confidently stated to Gavin. ”The main quality the Planetary Guard is after is its glow. By now, law enforcement is very clear about its effects and how to make the most of it. No mech designed by others can top the Peaceful Soldierʼs value proposition.”

Unfortunately, one more incident took place that tested his principles.

Commander Magdalena Larkinson visited his office one day to submit a proposal.

”After an extensive cost-benefit analysis, we think itʼs best for my Living Sentinels to field the Dawnbreakers. I think you are probably clear of the advantages of this mech model, so I wonʼt bother explaining the reasons why we should adopt it. I just want to know whether you are okay with it. From what Iʼve heard, you donʼt exactly enjoy the best relationship with its designers.”

Ves did not expect Magdalena to propose such a difficult question to him. It was one thing to tolerate the Dawnbreaker as worthy competition, it was another thing to allow his own forces to adopt it as their mainstay mechs!

How could Ves feel proud about himself if his subordinates openly piloted the mechs designed by his rivals?

For a moment, Ves glowered at Magdalena. He resented her for putting him on the spot today. Couldnʼt she have opted for a different choice?