The Mech Touch

find out a solution that made everyone happy.
With the LMC ’s financial growth prospects, taking out another loan shouldn ’t be difficult, but the sticking point was the amount of investment they wanted to make.

A conservative expansion entailed acquiring two second-hand production lines on the cheap, while more ambitious plans called for diving deep into debt into order to finance a whopping amount of six new production lines.

Though Ves did not look forward to saddling the LMC with debt, in the long run it paid off.
The only worry was that something drastic happened in the meantime that might disrupt the company ’s future profit streams.

In these uncertain times, it became increasingly harder for mech manufacturers to obtain loans at favorable rates.
One of the most awful consequences of the earlier mass raids by the Vesians was that banks suddenly hiked all of their interest rates overnight.
It was a lot more expensive to owe money to them after that point.

This was why the question of financing a further expansion required a lot of consideration.
Even after they made a decision, they might spend a month or two on negotiating the best possible terms with the banks they wanted to go in bed with.
Once they finally managed to acquire the production lines and get them up and running with an expanded crew of mech technicians, at least half a year might have gone by.

All the while, demand for the Crystal Lord piled up.

To placate the urgent demand, the LMC pretty much had to resort to relying on third-party manufacturers yet again.
This was something else that Ves had delegated to Calsie and the rest.

”What kind of third-party manufacturers are expressing interest in producing the bronze label Crystal Lords? ”

”Well, first off, you ’ve got Vaun Industrial. ” Gavin began.
”They are remarkably open in their intentions, despite not earning as much from their Blackbeaks as they hoped.
Bronze label Blackbeaks only make up a tiny portion of their total earnings, so it ’s rather unusual for them to be so forward about licensing the Crystal Lord.
I get the idea that if not for the steep 5 billion credit price tag for the standard contract, they might have already signed it instead of coming up to us. ”

Ves nodded.
”Vaun Industrial is a big player, and they excel in volume and precision.
I don ’t really like to go into business with them though, but it ’s hard to refuse a partner once they have a foot in the door. ”

Unspoken was the fact that despite the lack of passion in their production methods, they did a really good job in fabricating his mechs.
They matched the design schematics to an almost obsessive level of precision, and no one ever reported any major defects from the mechs that rolled off their sophisticated production lines.

”I don ’t know why you ’re so hung up about Vaun.
They ’re our best partner by far with regards to the Blackbeaks.
They ’re a lot better than Neverland ’s EME, which still needs constant monitoring from us in order to avoid any slip-ups. ”

”It ’s difficult to explain.
It ’s enough for you to know that I would rather work with companies like EME with all of its troubles than Vaun.
The latter see mechs as commodities while the former knows there is more to quality than mechanical perfection. ”

Someone like Gavin wouldn ’t understand, so they quickly moved on from this point.
They discussed some other matters, such as the company ’s liquidity and how much they needed to spend on promoting their new design.

”We should keep the hype alive by running occasional ads. ” Gavin suggested.
”Once the hype dies down completely, it ’s hard to bring it back to life.
We should spend at least 100 million credits a month on this, and that ’s the bare minimum.
Once Vaun Industrial and other partners crank up their production lines and produce the Crystal Lord by the hundreds, we can really ramp up our promotion by then. ”

”Even if we ’re in the process of acquiring more debt, don ’t skimp on the promotion.
The first month after publishing a new design is the most crucial period of all.
We can ’t afford to neglect the importance of shaping everyone ’s first impressions of our new mech.

Gavin dutifully noted all of his words and would send them off to Calsie later.
In the meantime, Ves finished his breakfast and allowed some attendants to brush up his clothes and appearance.
He adopted a couple of smiles until he settled on one that seemed modestly polite.

”How do I look? ” Ves asked.

”Confident, but not arrogant.
It ’s the right look for a mech designer who ’s talented and is aware of it.
You don ’t want to widen that smile, or else you might come across as unhinged. ”

The reason why they went through the trouble of brushing up his appearance was because they scheduled a whole host of interviews for today.
While they hadn ’t gotten any major publications to come and talk to Ves, they did garner the interest of many smaller local news portals.

Though they didn ’t reach a very wide audience, they formed an influential voice in certain communities.
A mosquito ’s leg still contained meat, so Ves filled up his plate with as much of them as possible in order to substitute for a single chicken drum.

It was grueling work, though.
Ves needed to maintain a constant veneer of poise in front of the recorders.

”Boss, don ’t think about how much the interviews will tire you out.
Instead, think about what you get out of this.
You only have to endure a single day of suffering. ”

”I don ’t know.
I feel kind of desperate accepting all of these interviews from hack publications.
For example, I don ’t even know why you invited The Mech Conspiracy.
They ’re a bunch of crazies! ”

Gavin laughed.
”Crazy as they are, they are actually some of the most loyal customers you can have as long as you make them like you.
Just study their latest conspiracy theories and find a way to portray the LMC in a good light. ”

”That ’s impossible.
These people believe that half of the MTA has been taken over by bots, and that every mech is secretly brainwashing their mech pilots into worshipping some unknown lizard-like race. ”

”It ’s a good thing you don ’t look like a lizard. ”

”Haha. ”