The Mech Touch novel Chapter 517

Chapter 517: Dynamic Mech Roster

He finished it . While it took some time, he completed an entire plan for the task force's mech roster that took every major factor into account .

He took into account the skills and capabilities of every mech company, the inclinations of their commanding officers, the available resources that logistics agreed to release for repair work, the likely opposition they faced at various points of time and a projection of what kind of resources they would be able to obtain .

The latter two variables introduced an incredible amount of complexity to his work . Ves had been forced to make assumptions and use his own judgement to fill in the gaps . His increasingly more intricate plan became more flexible as Ves added options in case his assumptions turned out to be wrong .

The dynamic planning took up a lot of time to read and understand, but the basic point of it was to deploy the best possible Vandals mechs at any time within their limitations . Ves minimized as much intervals as possible where they could be caught with their pants down, for example by transitioning hundreds of mechs from one configuration to another . Most of the mass overhauls could take place within the safety of FTL travel .

Ves smiled as he deactivated the privacy screen around his desk and leaned back on his chair . The work was demanding, and he frequently felt as if his brain overheated, but once he finished his work, he experienced a rare moment of fulfillment .

"Did you finish it, boss?"

"I did! It's too bad I'm not allowed to show it off to you . It would be fatal for us if this plan gets leaked out . "

He meticulously cleaned up his terminal of any traces of his work . Fortunately, the Vandals like every mech regiment of the Mech Corps utilized highly-developed routines that did most of the heavy lifting .

Once he ported his data over to a secure data chip, he stood up and left his office, and navigated the Shield of Hispania until he reached Major Verle's door .

After a brief security check and wait, the major commanded him to enter his stateroom . Ves took a seat behind the desk and passed over the data chip .

"Took you long enough, Mr . Larkinson . " The Major grunted as he immediately inserted the chip into his terminal .

"I had to do all of the planning alone . I don't quite trust my subordinates to keep their mouths shut . "

"That's not a good sign . Even if you're the head designer and the best of the bunch, you need to get a grip on your direct subordinates . The point of a hierarchy is to distribute the workload . You can't do that if you don't trust your own underlings . "

Ves shrugged at that . It wasn't as if he could tell Verle that he wouldn't be able to command Mercator and Trozin's loyalty unless he became a Journeyman . Mech designers of their level acquired an innate arrogance that became hard to tame unless they faced a higher-ranking mech designers .

Even if Ves displayed more ability than them, he couldn't suppress them by virtue of that alone . While most Apprentice Mech Designers could never match his extensive knowledge and skills, they still subconsciously thought they were on the same level .

He waited quietly while Major Verle perused the expansive plan . While Ves provided summaries, it took at least half an hour of reading to get the gist of his decisions .

"I see you've provided three different options for me . " Verle said and looked up from his terminal . "What are the differences?"

"They differ mainly depending on which kind of mechs you want to retain when we reach the Hafner Duchy . I anticipate we'll need to be at our strongest at that point, sir . "

Verle nodded in agreement . "Venidse and Hafner will be our toughest opponents . The former because it will be difficult to disentangle ourselves from their forces and the latter because they're good at sniffing us out . "

The older man palmed his stubby chin after mentioning those two powers . The Vandal commander did not relish facing both of them in battle, but their current circumstances compelled them into a possible collision course .

Ves proceeded to spend the next hour guiding Major Verle through a broad outline of his plan .

"Right now, we're on our way out of Imodris and still have to carry out essential repairs..."

"When we reach Venidse, I've heard there will be a possible raid on the horizon . My men will direct the mech technicians to make some essential repairs on these landbound mechs..."

"I don't project we'll face a lot of challenges in the Klein Duchy, but their long-ranged firepower focus can be devastating if they wish to harass us . We're going to have to lean on the Inheritor mechs to teach them a lesson..."

"I don't think we can avoid a pitched battle against Hafner . They'll track us down and force us into battle eventually, so I've planned for the worst . We'll to bring up the heavy stuff and modify our spaceborn mechs to withstand their initial charge..."

Ves justified each of his decisions with evidence, and if he lacked enough backing from that, he supplemented it with reasonable assumptions . The plan also possessed a lot of branches that provided alternatives to Major Verle . The three major options that Major Verle took note of could be described as three different flavors that put more emphasis on a particular strategy .

Personally, Ves favored the option that elevated the Inheritor light skirmishers into their mainstay mechs . He always felt a bias for this poor underdog of a mech model and wished that the Vandals took them seriously for once . Out of all of their spaceborn mechs, the Inheritor was one of their most prevalent model . It was well worth investing them in his eyes .

Sadly, Major Verle had other ideas . "I like this option . The Hellcat hybrid knights provides me with the most tactical flexibility . They're excellent whether they are spread out among the mech companies or gathered into specialized squads . "

Ves was satisfied that Major Verle largely accepted his plan . His hard work hadn't gone to waste, and the mech officer didn't fault too many of his assumptions . Ves felt as if he made a genuine contribution to the survival of the task force . _{freёweɓnovel.com}