The Mech Touch novel Chapter 109

The Barracuda quietly traversed the stars. By visiting out-of-the-way star systems, the Barracuda avoided most of the bustle. This led to a quiet series of hops as the Barracuda kept engaging her FTL drive with just a few hours of downtime.

While Dietrich was steadily sampling the ship’s alcohol, Ves consolidated his gains from Leemar. The pressure and the lack of time during the competition caused him to unleash his potential. In his inspired state, he made several risky design choices that gave him a new perspective on design and implementation.

"Even if the System stuffs an entire library of knowledge in my brain, I still have much to learn. I thought I thoroughly mastered journeyman mechanics once I upgraded it through the System, but now I’ve found out it’s just the start."

Books remained useful to him even if he still relied on the System. Different sources of knowledge provided contrasting perspectives. Some shined a light on issues that others neglected. Ves could never read too many books, though in practice he still needed to work for a living.

He sighed when he thought what he might face when he returned home. While the industry insiders from the Coalition only raised an eyebrow to his status, the hicks from the Republic might start treating him like the Vesian king.

No matter what, Ves was certain he could milk his status into increasing his sales. Brand and reputation mattered the most in the mech industry. They also hung on his neck like shackles. Any designs he sold had to meet a minimum standard of excellence. Anything he released that turned out to be lacking would affect not only him but also his master.

He didn’t want to wait until the Barracuda arrived at her destination. Ves raised his comm and summoned up his list of contacts.

His finger hovered over Carlos Shaw’s name. Compared to the Squires of the Clifford Society who were begging to be hired, Carlos fell awfully short. After a few minutes of consideration, Ves decided he’d rather have someone he trusted over someone who’s only in it for the merits.

"My first employee should be someone I can treat as a partner. I’ll be far too busy coming up with new designs to bother with managing my future subordinates. With Carlos on hand, he could act as my Horatio by keeping an eye on his expanding business."

Ves had been ambivalent about expanding the scale of his business. Not to mention the cost of equipment, he simply couldn’t afford to split his focus.

After his ordeal in Leemar, he gained a different perspective. Every great mech designer needed a mountain of resources in order to advance. Designing and fabricating one mech at a time took too much time and earned only a limited amount of revenue.

If Ves wanted to accelerate his timetable, then he had to let go of his need for absolute control and delegate responsibilities. Though he hadn’t started to expand his workshop yet, he wanted to bring in Carlos early.

His finger pressed the name, causing his comm to connect to the galactic net and route his call across the star sector. The Barracuda’s quantum entanglement node allowed him to connect successfully to the galactic net without any shenanigans happening due to the ship travelling in FTL mode.

"Ves!" His eyes brightened with hope. "It’s good to see you again! I’ve watched your performance at home. Patricia and you have really made our little Republic famous. The two of you are heroes now!"

"That’s great news, but I didn’t call you to rest on my laurels."

He briefly explained his future expansion plans to Carlos. Though he warned his friend that it might take a year or two to get the ball rolling, Carlos wouldn’t be sitting idle in between.

"That’s a great offer!" Carlos replied with emotion. "I can finally say goodbye to my stupid quality control job."

"I’m not hiring you to be a full-time mech designer, so don’t get your hopes up yet. For now, I’d like you to polish your assembly and fabrication capabilities. You’ll be taking over my machines whenever I receive a routine order."

"Don’t worry Ves. After working in quality control, I’ve learned all the ways the fabrication process could go wrong. I can guarantee you that I won’t be sloppy!"

After finishing his talk with Carlos, Ves hung up and called his cousin Melinda.

"Hi Melinda, did I call at a bad time?"

"I’m still on duty, but my boss doesn’t mind a short break." Melinda said as she was fiddling with her Planetary Guard uniform. "You’re a big deal now back at home."

"I’ve heard. I called you up because I want to ask you if I’m still under investigation."

One of his mechs had been used to commit atrocities in Bentheim. Last he heard, the Republic’s investigators wanted to bring in Ves for a very firm talk.

"All inquiries involving you have stopped." Melinda responded with a smile. "Your impressive achievement gave the investigators a scare. They changed their stance overnight and quietly pulled back their feelers."

The influence of a Master Mech Designer was so dreadful that people proactively bowed out of his way. He didn’t even have to say anything for others to accommodate his needs.

"What does the family think?"

"Grandpa is proud of you, as ever. As for the rest, well, we know the importance of mechs, but they think you’re still too young to exert any meaningful influence on behalf of the Larkinsons."

Melinda’s assessment rang true. Just because he became an apprentice did not mean he wielded a lot of personal influence. Master Olson had her own dignity. She wouldn’t direct her attention to the small and weak Republic and start to meddle in their affairs.

After exchanging some small talk, Ves ended the call so Melinda could return to her duties. He made a final call to his broker.

Marcella Bollinger’s stocky face stared at Ves with an intriguing expression. "You’ve made quite a leap. I didn’t think you were capable of stealing the show at Leemar."

As a dealer of mechs, Marcella knew far more about mechs than the typical mech pilot. The Ves who designed the Marc Antony could never match up to the geniuses from Leemar. The sudden leap in strength was perplexing.

"I’ve recently come across a chance. I considerably improved my skills." Ves stated simply, deciding to leave Marcella guessing. "How is the demand for my designs?"

She adopted a greedy grin. "They’ve been barging at my door for days. While I suspect that much of the enthusiasm will die down over the week, you won’t be lacking customers anymore. Your name recognition alone has broken through the roof."

Marcella sent Ves a marketing report that detailed his increased brand value. Even if he only fabricated two physical mechs, the value of his brand far surpassed the small-time mech manufacturers from Bentheim.