THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 6892  Incomplete Tech Applications

The sparring session between the First Sword Mark III and the Black Lord satisfied most if not all of the human observers.

They all gained excellent insights into the performance of full high-grade superdimensional ace mech.

While the Fist of Defiance had shown what a god mech could do after undergoing a full superdimensional conversion, nobody could extrapolate the performance of the Invictus to ace mechs.

People couldn't predict how strong a superdimensional ace mech could become.

While the First Sword Mark III failed to live up to her full potential due to how recently Saint Dise was able to pilot a real ace mech, many knowledgeable experts were still able to take these factors into account.

Every mech designer was able to interpret the data and gain a much more accurate impression of how much of an advantage a full superdimensional ace mech gained over a conventional ace mech.

Superdimensional technology had yet to develop any applications that strengthened the mobility of a mech, but it was undeniable that melee weapons and armor systems gained an enormous boost in performance.

The Black Lord should have been able to crush a junior ace mech in terms of offense and defense, but the enormous difference in performance in these aspects allowed the First Sword Mark III to become a lot more competitive than normal.

Nobody missed the implications. They thoroughly became convinced of the value of superdimensional matter.

An hour after the sparring session came to an end, the Bluejay Fleet and the elements of the Premier Fleet had turned around so that they could journey back to the orbit of New Constantinople VIII.

Ves did not wait too long to organize another meeting in order to discuss the findings. He and a number of trusted and knowledgeable mech designers gathered in the conference room along with the two resident ace pilots.

Saint Dise still looked a little glum due to her poor showing. She clearly did not feel good about putting up a remarkably good fight against a much more powerful ace pilot.

Even if she intellectually knew that she was never supposed to win this lopsided matchup, Dise still found plenty of areas where she could have done better.

"Alright everyone." Ves opened the meeting. "Each of you should have generated plenty of insights about the performance of a superdimensional ace mech. Please share your notable findings with us so that we can have a better idea of what we are working with. The First Sword Mark III is our first full superdimensional mech, but she will certainly not be our last one. Even now, we are in the process of applying superdimensional tech to the Riot Mark III Project. Any lessons we can learn from our first should provide considerable assistance to our second."

Superdimensional mechs were still a new phenomena. Ves knew too little about them. This was why he was eager to collect feedback from others.

Given that Saint Dise did not appear to be in a good mood, he decided to address another individual first.

"Casella, please share with us your thoughts about the First Sword Mark III."

The Saint Commander calmly spoke up. "The performance of the superdimensional ace mech largely matched our expectations. The sharpness of the Decapitator is unparalleled, especially if Saint Dise is resonating with the SuperSunder Metal. This is by far the greatest advantage of the First Sword. Her armor system has also proven to be remarkably resistant against the attacks of the Black Lord. Defense should not be a concern unless the ace mech is fighting against adversaries armed with superdimensional weapons."

"What do you think about the First Sword's mobility?"

"It is… unbalanced, sir. The electro-reactant flight system is a marvel of high technology, but its energy draw is excessive to state the obvious. It is a mismatch with the First Sword Mark III as it rapidly drains the ace mech's energy reserves while active. However… this weakness can be mitigated to a large extent as long as the ace mech is equipped with an energy link array. Is it possible to mount this module onto the design?"

Everyone gazed towards the two mechers in the conference room.

"From what I have examined from the design, the First Sword Mark III is not natively designed with energy link technology in mind." Jovy Armalon responded with a hint of doubt in his voice. "I believe that the energy transmission systems are still robust enough to accommodate this additional module, but it is strange that the Mech Supremacist Faction has not chosen to add an energy link transceiver in the design when it is clear that endurance is a major limitation."

Saint Commander Casella supplied a possible answer. "The design team may have been forced to reject this option due to Dise's personal preference. She is a self-reliant warrior that prefers to vanquish her opponents by virtue of her own strength and skill. Energy link technology is a step too far. Just as how mechs in a dueling arena cannot tap external sources of energy, the First Sword Mark III must remain as self-contained as possible in order to satisfy Dise's honor and conviction."

The ace pilot in question nodded in confirmation.

"I understand the usefulness of energy link technology, but I do not want to become too reliant on it." Dise explained. "I do not want to lose much of my effective combat power once my machine is cut off from an energy link. If I cannot defeat a powerful opponent by relying on my strength and the strength of my ace mech, then I will need to train harder until I can make it happen. Simple as that."

"Thank you… for your clarification, Dise."

It was difficult to go against the principles of a high-ranking mech pilot.

While it was not outright impossible to persuade a stubborn pilot to change her mind, it took way too much effort to make it happen.

This was why most mech designers shrugged and agreed to the strange and illogical requests of powerful mech pilots most of the time.

This was why the First Sword Mark III was still not armed with a single ranged weapon and why she could not form an energy link with friendly units.

Nobody mentioned that Saint Dise may have been able to defeat the Wind of Destruction if her ace mech possessed both features.

Ves instead focused on other possible remedies.

"The absence of an energy link transceiver may not necessarily be a big deal. I believe that it is possible to use superdimensional matter to drastically expand the capacity of an energy cell. As soon as the Red Association has developed the first mature version of this product, I am fully in support of installing them into each of our ace mechs. Each of them can make good use of the massive boost in endurance. How long will it take for the RA to deliver?"

"Superdimensional energy cells are rather tricky to develop." Vector Loban said. "It requires us to develop a means to alter the structure and material composition of a block of superdimensional matter in dimensions outside of the material ones. It is like trying to fabricate a mech when you are standing outside of a completely isolated mech workshop. You cannot enter the workplace, but you can still try to create a channel to operate the production machines from a distance. That is what our scientists and engineers are trying to invent. This will likely take several months or half a year at most."

That did not sound easy. Ves did not think that the Larkinson Clan's own R&D institutions could complete such a project anytime soon. It was better to leave this job to the much more knowledgeable experts of the Red Association.

"Thank you for your input, Vector. I wish we can get our hands on superdimensional energy cells sooner, but for now, Dise will have to pay attention to how much energy her ace mech is burning during a deployment."

"I will not overlook something as obvious as this." Dise promised.

With that subject taken care of, Ves focused on the next issue.

"Is there a solution to the mobility problem?"

"That depends on whether there is a problem in the first place." Gloriana spoke up. "From my perspective, the First Sword Mark III already moves fast enough for an ace mech of her tonnage. The Dark Zephyr Mark III is somewhat faster, but he should be considering that his mech frame is shorter and lighter. It is quite respectable that the First Sword's electro-reactant flight system can improve her mobility to such an extent. The dramatic energy consumption that comes with full activation is an acceptable tradeoff in my opinion. It should not be necessary for the First Sword to keep her flight system active at full power during general engagements."

That was true. It was not necessary for the First Sword to activate her electric wings and blaze across the battlefield when there was no formidable enemy champion in the field.

Even then, most phase leaders weren't all that fast in the first place.

So long as they could enter into warp travel, a fast and agile mech would always have a mobility advantage!

"Can the electro-reactant wings be disrupted?" Alexa Streon asked.

"Probably." Ves said. "Those big electric wings are not entirely for show. They serve a functional purpose, though I do not understand the science myself. It is difficult to target the electric wings from the front, or else the Wind of Destruction would have taken advantage of this potential vulnerability. In any case, Dise should take care not to get ambushed from the rear. It will become much harder to escape a trap when the mobility of the First Sword is impaired."

This was a potential vulnerability, but not a big one.

"The bigger question is whether superdimensional technology can improve the performance of a flight system." Gloriana stated. "Transphasic flight systems are able to increase the traversal speeds of mechs by a factor of 50 or more as long as there are no warp interdictors of space suppressors active in the vicinity. It is not inconceivable for superdimensional flight systems to attain warp factors that can reach as high as 100, 150 or 200."

A high warp factor made it easier for mechs to close the distance to their targets. The First Sword Mark III could clearly make good use of more powerful warp travel capabilities.

Jovy Armalon supplied what little information he knew about this subject. "The science behind that is also difficult to apply. The development of superdimensional flight systems will take longer due to the larger amount of interconnected parts and systems compared to much simpler energy cells. I can only advise you to remain patient. Proper superdimensional flight systems will likely mature in a year or two. Experimental versions may appear sooner than that, but they are liable to explode."

Though Ves liked to take a gamble now and then, he was not in a hurry to adopt every form of experimental tech.

The prefix was not meaningless. Experimental often translated into flawed and prone to triggering catastrophic outcomes.

Ves could not afford to impart so many risks onto the most important mechs of the Larkinson Clan.

"I guess we will all have to be patient. Like it or not, the immediate applications of superdimensional technology are mainly centered around melee weapons and physical defenses. We still have to wait for this new tech base to develop enhanced versions of ranged weapons, flight systems, teleportation systems and so on. I think that superdimensional matter has broad applications, but it will take a lot of time and research to realize them all. The First Sword Mark III is only a rudimentary version of a superdimensional mech. She can become much stronger once Ketis and her collaborators are able to plug her shortcomings with updated tech."

That excited Ves and the rest. As long as Saint Dise and the First Sword Mark III remained alive and active, they would definitely benefit from major advancements in the following years!

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