The Mech Touch novel Chapter 653

The best gadgets came about through a combination of resources and tech. Sometimes, both could be acquired by money.

"Yet not everything can be obtained by money."

He also couldn’t go too far in pursuing his private pursuits. He knew that the Vandals put a lot of surveillance on him. The mech regiment’s all-encompassing internal sensors caught everything that happened within their ships. Even if Ves stepped outside the Shield of Hispania and did some private business on Mancroft’s space station, his actions would still be noted by a hidden bug or a security officer following him from a distance.

"Even if I do some shady dealings, I can’t do anything that compromises the Vandals or our upcoming mission."

That limited his options a lot. Ves figured he could still get by with obtaining materials at Mancroft, but obtaining the tech that transformed the exotic materials into powerful but stable batteries was another matter.

Ves turned around his desk and activated his terminal. He logged into the central database to see whether the central database contained a blueprint or a textbook of sorts.

The library didn’t contain anything useful. The books Ves had access to only dealt with mech-sized energy cells and battery packs. Miniaturizing them into the size of his palm never fell within the scope of those books.

It was a different case for certain specialist blueprints. Ultracompact batteries showed up several times, as certain gadgets and devices required use of such a powerful component.

Nonetheless, Ves only received permission to read a short description of the blueprints. Accessing the entire schematics and specifications went far beyond his current authorization.

"Damn, what’s the point of making me aware of this tech in the first place?!" He cursed. "It’s like dangling a carrot before the horse, but never letting the poor creature take a bite!"

He could look at the summary all he wanted, but it contained none of the instructions that enabled Ves to reproduce an ultracompact battery.

Restricted from contacting his other channels, Ves only figured out three possible alternatives.

"First, I can scrounge up some money from the bank branch and hope I can find the technical specs in the black market."

He didn’t have much hopes for this option, as tech like ultracompact batteries went beyond most other tech he came into contact with in the Komodo Star Sector. Pirated or bootleg copies of ultracompact battery schematics shouldn’t be casually for sale in some dingy booth deep within the bowels of a grungy trade station.

The second option was to beg the Vandals or the Mech Corps to grant him access to the schematics in the central database.

He snorted. "Fat chance any of that will happen. I can’t come up with a decent excuse why I need access to this tech."

A bigger issue involved with this route was that Ves needed to gain direct permission from Colonel Lowenfield herself. Due to her possibly complex history with his uncle Ark back when she served at Citadel Havensworth, Ves grew very leery at the thought of conversing with her directly. From everything she had heard about the highly regarded colonel from the Vandals, the woman was as shrewd as a snake.

No way Ves would voluntarily serve himself up to her on a plate. "She probably doesn’t have enough clout to grant me the necessary authorization anyway."

What else could he do? His final option involved asking for a favor from someone far more dangerous than Colonel Lowenfield.

"Am I really considering the option of asking for another favor from the Skull Architect?"

The Vandals tacitly approved of his attempt to ingratiate himself with the Skull Architect because the fugitive mech designer wielded a vast amount of influence in the Faris Star Region. Tacitly did not mean full-throated support. The man’s notoriety with the MTA made Major Verle apprehensive about establishing formal ties. It wouldn’t reflect well on their record.

And this venture depended entirely on whether the Skull Architect possessed the requisite knowledge in the first place. Did Senior Mech Designers from the Friday Coalition had the right to access this tech? Ves leaned towards no because their star sector simply wasn’t developed enough.

"I’ll have to ask the man when I’m finally granted an audience with him. He’s sure taking his time to address his mail."

None of the options so far sounded good. Ves tried to wrack his brains for alternatives. He ruled out contacting his Master, but he gave the Clifford Society a shot. He quickly logged into their virtual portal’s marketplace but found no trace of any supremely advanced human-scale tech. The only products available consisted of finished products, and they required an obscene amount of merits as well as a higher rank within the organization to obtain.

"Obviously, this isn’t tech that Apprentice Mech Designers are supposed to get into contact with." He concluded after reading the unspoken message behind these restrictions.

His best bet appeared to be making a possible deal with the Skull Architect. If Ves guessed right that Reno Jimenez possessed the specifications or at least the theory on how to build an ultracompact battery, then he had the opportunity to trade for these goodies.

"The biggest issue here is that I have to offer something worthwhile to convince him to trade for those tech specifications."

Ves grew weary at the thought of entering into a bargain with a man that once ordered the death of an expert pilot. Someone who possessed so few scruples that he even dared to have designs on a demigod would surely not be satisfied with mere trifles.

"Even so, it’s impossible for me to give what he really wants."

"If the Skull Architect doesn’t trust any quantum entanglement node, then how can I get into touch with him in the first place?" _{frёewebηovel.cѳm}