[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 109: Making Plans

The Barracuda quietly traversed the stars. By visiting out-of-the-way star systems, the Barracuda avoided most of the bustle. This led to a quiet series of hops as the Barracuda kept engaging her FTL drive with just a few hours of downtime.

While Dietrich was steadily sampling the ship's alcohol, Ves consolidated his gains from Leemar. The pressure and the lack of time during the competition caused him to unleash his potential. In his inspired state, he made several risky design choices that gave him a new perspective on design and implementation.

"Even if the System stuffs an entire library of knowledge in my brain, I still have much to learn. I thought I thoroughly mastered journeyman mechanics once I upgraded it through the System, but now I've found out it's just the start."

Books remained useful to him even if he still relied on the System. Different sources of knowledge provided contrasting perspectives. Some shined a light on issues that others neglected. Ves could never read too many books, though in practice he still needed to work for a living.

He sighed when he thought what he might face when he returned home. While the industry insiders from the Coalition only raised an eyebrow to his status, the hicks from the Republic might start treating him like the Vesian king.

No matter what, Ves was certain he could milk his status into increasing his sales. Brand and reputation mattered the most in the mech industry. They also hung on his neck like shackles. Any designs he sold had to meet a minimum standard of excellence. Anything he released that turned out to be lacking would affect not only him but also his master.

He didn't want to wait until the Barracuda arrived at her destination. Ves raised his comm and summoned up his list of contacts.

His finger hovered over Carlos Shaw's name. Compared to the Squires of the Clifford Society who were begging to be hired, Carlos fell awfully short. After a few minutes of consideration, Ves decided he'd rather have someone he trusted over someone who's only in it for the merits.

"My first employee should be someone I can treat as a partner. I'll be far too busy coming up with new designs to bother with managing my future subordinates. With Carlos on hand, he could act as my Horatio by keeping an eye on his expanding business."

Ves had been ambivalent about expanding the scale of his business. Not to mention the cost of equipment, he simply couldn't afford to split his focus.

After his ordeal in Leemar, he gained a different perspective. Every great mech designer needed a mountain of resources in order to advance. Designing and fabricating one mech at a time took too much time and earned only a limited amount of revenue.

If Ves wanted to accelerate his timetable, then he had to let go of his need for absolute control and delegate responsibilities. Though he hadn't started to expand his workshop yet, he wanted to bring in Carlos early.

His finger pressed the name, causing his comm to connect to the galactic net and route his call across the star sector. The Barracuda's quantum entanglement node allowed him to connect successfully to the galactic net without any shenanigans happening due to the ship travelling in FTL mode.

"Ves!" His eyes brightened with hope. "It's good to see you again! I've watched your performance at home. Patricia and you have really made our little Republic famous. The two of you are heroes now!"

"That's great news, but I didn't call you to rest on my laurels."

He briefly explained his future expansion plans to Carlos. Though he warned his friend that it might take a year or two to get the ball rolling, Carlos wouldn't be sitting idle in between.

"That's a great offer!" Carlos replied with emotion. "I can finally say goodbye to my stupid quality control job."

"I'm not hiring you to be a full-time mech designer, so don't get your hopes up yet. For now, I'd like you to polish your assembly and fabrication capabilities. You'll be taking over my machines whenever I receive a routine order."