Chapter 635
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The Flagrant Vandals and Lydia's Swordmaidens divided the spoils among themselves, with the former claiming the biggest share . This was what they deserved, as they fought harder and accomplished more .
The cost had been significant as well . The Vandals tallied the damage, and it became clear that while they hadn't lost a lot of men or mechs, some of their assets gained a lot of deep scars .
"It's frigging awful . " Chief Engineer Avanaeon spat as Ves paid a visit to him down at the engineering bay . The chief read through scores of damage reports . The Shield of Hispania alone looked as if a gigantic tiger had ripped its molten claws throughout her entire hull . "We just fixed up the Shield's armor belt at Harkensen III . Now we're halfway back to square one . Damn the major, a combat carrier isn't a tower shield to be flaunted around whenever someone shoots at us!"
The other engineers and nodded in agreement . While the mech pilots and mech technicians celebrated the clean victory, the ship crewmembers all seemed disgruntled at the decision to put the combat carriers at risk . Just because they had been designed to take a beating didn't mean they needed to be deployed as supersized knight mechs .
A carrier was a mothership . A hive for mechs to come home to roost . Conventional doctrine called for carriers to stay as far away from the fighting as possible . Heavily-armored combat carriers provided some exceptions to the rule, but they only applied in special situations .
"Well, it's better to lose some armor plating than some lives . " Ves replied . Though he sympathised with the enormous workload the ship caretakers had to go through, he was on the side of Major Verle for once . "Lives are much more precious than inanimate objects . The combat carriers will live . "
"I don't disagree with you . " Avanaeon waved his hands in emphasis . "It's just that fixing this battle damage is going to take another stint in a drydock . Will the higher ups agree to that?"
"According to what I know, that's extremely unlikely . We are bound for the frontier and we won't let anything hinder us . You'll have to fix up the Shield while we're on the move, most likely . "
The only times they could go out and fix the armor plating was to go out in space while the fleet transitioned out of FTL and entered a cooldown cycle . Perhaps their ships would linger in the material dimensions for a while longer in order to mine some asteroids, but other than that they needed to hurry through the frontier as fast as possible .
Ves understood their pain, because he had to live with the same logistical constraints . There would be no respite after they departed the Harkensen System . They would navigate towards the frontier and cross the invisible dividing line that marked the end of civilized space .
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They would find no succor in the untamed stars that lay beyond . Pirates, sandmen and other threats made their home there . What space stations existed there were ramshackle constructions that provided inferior services to the worst examples of mankind . The Swordmaidens may be welcome in such pirate ports, but the Vandals would be greeted as enemies .
No matter how many people referred to them as pirates, the truth was that they were firmly fighting on behalf of a state . They did so openly and took up the mantle of responsibility, however threadbare it appeared .
This mantle was an anathema to pirates and every other kind of scum in the frontier . No matter where they traveled, every frontiersmen would regard them at interlopers as best, and mortal enemies as worst .
This was also why the alliance with Lydia's Swordmaidens was so crucial to the Vandals . They were intrinsically part of the frontier and knew all of the major players . Their connections with the pirates and other organizations that made themselves home at this chaotic region of space would save them a lot of grief .
"They say that a delegation of Lydia's Swordmaidens are on their way to our ship soon . " Avanaeon remarked . "Half of my men are drooling at the sight . The recordings some of us managed to obtain from the galactic net sure makes them out as . . Exotic . "
Ves had glanced at the same images . "They look tribal . As if humanity has regressed by a dozen ages . They sure like to show off their martial prowess . "
Their clothing revealed much about their culture . It was undeniably based around personal strength . Commander Lydia stood at the top, while the ranks further down were based on which Swordmaiden had the biggest fist .
Such a crude method of determining their hierarchy worked up to a point . If the Swordmaidens consisted more than several thousand women, then the limitations of this method became increasingly apparent .
Not that it mattered . The Swordmaidens seem content at their current numbers .
"By the way, Larkinson, I appreciate the social call, but you didn't drop by just to chat, right? I know you . If you aren't working, you're doing something that's related to your work . You have to learn to ease up, man . "
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Ves chuckled a bit . This wasn't the first time someone accused him of being a workaholic . "I'm hardly the mech designer you are making me out for . Don't I join your little game sessions every once in a while?"
"That doesn't count . We all know you're only present because you can squeeze some secrets out of us . We don't mind, of course . We do the same to you . "
"Hey, it's not all about that . I'm having fun as well with the game . Pirate Empires has taught me a lot . "
Even though it was just a silly game, it had given him a taste of what every kind of outfit had to struggle with .
Pirate groups needed to keep themselves afloat at the edge of civilization .
Treasure hunters dug up at least nine duds before they came across something good enough to pay off their debts .
Mercenary corps had to deal with the fickleness of the battlefield, sometimes choosing to abandon the mission despite receiving a black mark on their record .
Rebel movements only grew when a state was in discord . If the government was too competent in ruling over their territory, then the rebels had no choice but to inflict their own brand of terror .
"A game is just a game . It's not an accurate reflection of reality . " Avanaeon stated . "Look at Lydia's Swordmaidens for example . Even though they look like a bunch of pirates gone native, it takes a lot of talent to grow them to their current heights . Commander Lydia is not a simple person . "
Ves nodded in agreement . Someone who survived and thrived in the frontier for decades had to be exceptionally savvy . "That reminds me, I need your assistance in a number of side projects of mine . Have you heard about the upgraded sensor arrays I've installed in some of the Inheritor mechs?"
"Yup . Impressive work, from what I heard . It's amazing that you managed to design this module that's completely compatible with the Inheritor model . Others need at least a week to come up with a viable prototype . "
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"I'm used to working in a hurry, and the sensor arrays aren't exactly my best work . I'll have to tweak their design and optimize them so they'll be able to last longer than a couple of weeks . However, that's something I'll take care of myself . What I want you to do is to install similar sensor arrays across the hull of our ships . The more, the better . "
"That isn't something I can decide on my own . " Avanaeon frowned . "I heard they're fragile and cost a lot . They only work against some categories of stealth technology and they're practically sending out a beacon in space when they are active . "
Ves dismissively waved his hand . "Those drawbacks are trivial compared to what we get in return . Sure, the sensor arrays can't counteract every application of stealth, but we are at the furthest reaches of the galactic rim . We're one step away from the frontier . I doubt we'll encounter anything beyond the rudimentary level . "
"Even so, installing even one of them on the hulls of our combat carriers will require Captain Rakeshir's agreement . The issue can't be brought up likely . "
"Well, just remember the time we got screwed by the Frosty Meteors, and think of what the Masters of Combat might have pulled off as well . Stealth technology is much more ubiquitous than we think, and I can't rest easily unless our ships gain some new eyes . "
"I'll do my best on this matter, but Captain Rakeshir and Major Verle have the final word . "
"I understand . "
The reason why Ves was adamant about this issue was because he ran through the logs of the sensor arrays after the battle was over . While they managed to pick up the stealth shuttles from a couple of hundred kilometers away, the sensor arrays also picked up another, fainter presence .
This one was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away . While this distance was far enough to pose no threat to him, the fact that something else was hiding near the battlefield deeply unsettled him . Was it something from the Masters of Combat? A scouting craft dispatched by the Reinaldans? Or maybe something connected to Calabast?
Whatever the case, the presence had only been there for a moment before it started to move out of range of active sensors . Ves had the feeling they might be stalked by this hidden craft even now .
"What other projects do you want to collaborate with?" Avanaeon pressed when he noticed Ves trailing off .
"Ah, this one's more difficult . I heard the salvage teams managed to recover reasonably intact fragments of the remains of the stealth shuttles . "
"That's true . We've dumped them into a pile down in the cargo hold for now . Slagged or not, there are some people who will pay a lot of money for scrap like those . You can use them to calibrate your stealth detection systems . Do you need some?"
"I need more than a couple of scraps . I've been down there and I think we've collected enough fragments to reconstruct a functional stealth shuttle . "
"What?!" The engineer became surprised . "You want to cobble together a working stealth shuttle? Are you out of your mind?! Do you understand the technical challenges of doing so? It's one thing to assemble a shuttle out of a stack of pristine parts . It's another matter entirely when you think we only managed to recover a pile of broken parts, many of which are only good for recycling . "
"Come on . Think about what we can do with a working stealth shuttle . The frontier is a dangerous place . The option to sneak past a well-guarded perimeter instead of attacking it head-on should be a boon that can save a lot of lives . While I have confidence in my skills, I'm not a specialist in shuttle designs . I need someone who knows their way around this craft . "
"It's a pipe dream, Larkinson . The fragments are too sporadic . Even if our boys managed to crumple seven shuttles at once, there's really too few pieces left . "
"We don't need to reconstruct the original shuttle . The internal structure can be whatever we want . The key is to figure out the principles behind its stealth system and to replicate a passable imitation of its stealth plating . In other words, I'm not aiming to rebuild a stealth shuttle, but rather create a new one entirely . "
The project intrigued the chief engineer . He started to get around to the idea . "I don't have the time to help you out . I'm already swamped with overseeing the repairs to the armor belt of the Shield . Still, I'll drop by when my shift is over . "
"That's good enough . I hope we can complete our shuttle in time . "
Ves left the engineering bay with a smile . With the chief engineer in his pocket, he had no doubt this project would succeed . While it was true that he wanted to create a stealth shuttle in order to strengthen the Vandals, the true reason for this sudden drive was to develop his own understanding of modern stealth technology .
"If the central database won't let me study stealth technology, then I'll just have to perform my own research . "