Adam witnessed everything that is currently happening in all of the nearby 3rd rate states. it was full devastation, even if they were not devastated these 3rd raters are only barely hanging on by a thread.
the 3rd rate fleet that he's been building up was also sent to the frontline with mixed result. in range combat they performed phenomenally however the moment the Sandmen came close their lines buckled.
there has been catastrophic losses, good thing they didn't really blame Adam for it because they are fighting for their home state, with Adam providing them employment, training and equipment they could count themselves lucky compared to the other Brighters who got sent to the frontlines with only less than a month training.
a flaw coming from the combination of using low level 3rd rate technology, and their mech pilots are mostly F and D class that did not perform that good in a direct fight.
what even pleased Adam is that now, his investment in Ves Larkinson is finally blooming. although it might still take a while for him to be commissioned for mech design at the very least that day is not that far off.
The battles being waged in the larger, more prosperous star systems took a toll on the Bright Republic.
The Mech Corps only managed to control its rate of attrition through the protection of the Starfighter Corps.
Hundreds, if not thousands of starfighter pilots died in a battle against large, abnormal sandman fleets.
There was no time to mourn the dead. Every effort had to be put into reinforcing the front, salvaging the wreckage floating in the battle site and preparing for the next battle that might come in less than half of a day!
The high frequency of sandman incursions forced the defending forces to implement a rotation.
For example, the arduous battle that the 1st Havensworth Division just won against the three sandman monoliths depleted the strength of their accompanying outfits and starfighter regiments severely.
If the mech forces under Ark Larkinson's command had to fight again, they would certainly suffer severe losses. The lack of sufficient cannon fodder meant that the sandmen might inflict heavy losses against the military mechs and mech pilots of the 1st Havensworth Division!
Such an outcome had to be prevented at all cost!
The Mech Corps formed the core of the Bright Republic's defensive strategy. Having seen what happened to other states, the Bright Republic clearly saw how the collapse of the military led to a collapse of the state.
This was because no one else possessed the courage, discipline and sacrifice to stand strong against a relentless foe like the sandmen!
The more losses suffered by the professional military, the more the defense of a state rested in the hands of mercenaries and conscripts.
No matter how much of the latter two a state could muster up, there was simply no substitute to genuine soldiers!
"Mercenaries value their life above duty. Conscripts don't even know what duty means."
For these reasons and more, each mech pilot of the Mech Corps had to be treasured like high-grade exotics. The better the Bright Republic preserved their lives, the greater the chance of lasting through this crisis!
All the surviving states had to do was outlast the sandman offensive. As long as they endured the worst, they could launch a devastating counterattack against the depleted alien forces and take over the territories that had been overrun!
Such a rich reward would do wonders in transforming the trajectory of the Bright Republic and other forces!
Secret negotiations and tacit deals were already being made behind the scenes. None of the states wanted their victory to be cheapened if they managed to survive the sandman onslaught.
Of course, all of that was not very relevant at the moment. Right now, every star system along the Bright Republic's borders had to endure frequent sandman attacks.
The fortified star systems only accounted for a small proportion of border systems under assault. Their richer energy and resource endowments made them much more attractive to the invading sandmen, but that did not mean that the aliens let off the smaller and less developed star systems.
The sandmen generally ignored systems that contained brown or red dwarf stars. These weak, low energy stars were the equivalent of nutrient packs to the sandmen. If there wasn't any choice, the sandman fleets would never choose to invade these star systems!
That still left a lot of other star systems with higher energy levels, such as those with giants or binary star pairings.
Knowing that the sandman fleets generally favored these star systems over others, the Ministry of Defense conducted an extensive study and modelled the likely distribution pattern of the invasion force.
They then used the results to decide how many mechs and other forces needed to be stationed at a star system to resist most intrusion.
So far, the model earned a lot of acclaim. Though a couple of accidents had occurred, most of the time the defending forces proved sufficient to deal with the sandman fleets wandering into the border systems.
However, MinDef's model only made projections based on past and present circumstances.
It could not predict the various ways the sandman admirals evolved based on their prior experiences.
In one small star system, around two-hundred mechs and double the number of starfighters deployed from their carriers.
The small craft flew out into deep space and formed up in a formation centered around a company of mechs from the 4th Luminant Angels of the 5th Havensworth Division.
The Luminant Angels were famed for their specialization in energy weapons and focus on mobility. Their spaceborn laser rifleman mechs excelled in medium-ranged harassment and mobility warfare, though their endurance left much to be desired.
Due to the eruption of the Sand War, the Luminant Angels had been forced to put down their elegant laser rifles. Their mech designers and mech technicians worked around the clock to convert their mechs around handling kinetic rifles.
While the modifications weren't necessary, the mechs of the Luminent Angels came with an excess of energy reserves and a lack of ammo carrying capacity. Overhauling their designs was a necessity in order to give the mechs a lot of punch against the sandmen.
Now that their mechs had undergone this transformation, they became bulkier, heavier and much less refined.
This did not fit with the tradition of the Luminant Angels, but they couldn't afford to procure new, purpose-built mechs designed from the ground up to handle kinetic weapons.
Everyone had to make do with less. Even the mech regiments of the Mech Corps.
Once the defensive force entered into combat range, the Captain issued his final orders before giving the fateful command!
"Reverse course and fire!"
The mechs and starfighters no longer flew forward, but reversed their flight direction while firing their weapons! They also scattered and spread out, making it more difficult for massed laser fire to land a hit.
"Careful! The sandmen are about to unleash hell!"
Every mech and starfighter evaded as best their flight systems allowed. While the sandmen were very accurate when it came to their targeting, their predictions could still be fooled to an extent.
If the defenders only faced a standard sandman fleet, then this was sufficient to minimize casualties.
Unfortunately, the sandman fleets that arrived in this star system combined into a very large and hollow lattice pattern!
Appearing as a humongous wireframe cube with plenty of internal lattices, it was incredibly difficult to destroy in a short amount of time!
The lattice configuration combined the advantages of both the swarm and monolith configuration. Not only did it benefit from its size, but the small and skinny lattices made it very hard to land a solid blow.
Sixty percent of the shots fired by the mechs and starfighters went through the lattice configuration without hitting anything solid!
The counter-attack of the lattice configuration came quickly. After a brief charging period, each lattice began to fire laser beams at the defenders!
Most of the starfighters which had been positioned in the front of the formation sustained severe hits!
The weak starfighters didn't possess enough mobility to reliably foil the targeting capabilities of the sandmen.
for 3rd raters the Sand war is not getting better, reports of billions of deaths and billions more worth of refugees are flooding the surviving 3rd rate states, putting a strain on their resources.
The horror that had beset the Komodo Star Sector shocked every Brighter. Border states with hundreds of years of history fell within a matter of weeks or months. The endless onslaught of sandman fleets overwhelming defenses sparked one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies in the star sector in hundreds of years!
The citizens of the Bright Republic became frightened when they heard about the collapse of so many states and the deaths of trillions of humans.
A war was coming, one that was greater and more terrible than the ones they fought before.
Defending humanity against alien aggression was one of the most noble callings imaginable!
Since the Age of Mechs, most conflicts between humans and aliens had subsided. Many races were self-aware enough to avoid poking the strongest civilization in the galaxy.
As for humanity, the Big Two did not consider the risks of further expansion to be worthwhile. To fight any further would risk depleting an already-exhausted civilization. With so many lives at stake, the CFA and MTA could not afford to overextend their forces!
For this reason, clashes between civilizations became rare. So much so that many Brighters never imagined fighting against an alien race in their lifetimes.
To an average person, the sandman crisis actually came as an opportunity.
Once the Bright Republic unveiled the Starfighter Corps,
"I have to volunteer!"
individuals jumped at the opportunity to became an officer candidate of the Starfighter Corps.
While their piloting skills were just as average as any hastily-trained starfighter pilot, his discipline, wartime experience and dedication soon elevated them slightly above the others.
It took less than a month for an individual to become a Starfighter Captain and deploy to the front.
The brass randomly allocated them to lead a starfighter wing of the 243th Greedy Luxers.
Like every other starfighter regiment, the 243th only existed for a very short time.
Compared to their old mech regiment, the Greedy Luxers did not benefit from a long and storied history. The lack of martial tradition and camaraderie became very evident as everyone tried to forge their starfighter wing from a random collection of volunteers into a band of brothers.
"Captain" The comm in his starfighter crackled as Moses tried to dance away from the barrage of lasers fired by the distant sandman swarm! "Cover the mercenaries as best you can as we advance!"
Moses gritted his teeth as his starfighter endured a number of hits. He hit back as best as possible by firing the ballistic weapon mounted on his spacecraft, but he had little hopes of hitting one of the sandman drones at this range.
"Acknowledged, sir." He replied to his superior. "My men will keep up, though they will pay for it with their lives."
The price of closing distance to the sandmen was too costly to bear. Moses barely made it out alive in previous actions. Would he be lucky enough to be spared from the sandmen this time?
He shook his head and tried his best to immerse his mood in the distant glow of a Desolate Soldier hovering in the vicinity of his starfighter regiment.
Moses firmed up and commanded his starfighter pilots to advance.
His subordinates responded shakily. The torrent of laser beams had never relented. It took a lot of courage to advance into the storm!
As his wing formation grew more and more ragged, Moses continually exhorted his men to push forward!
"Are you pigs or starfighter pilots?! Remember your training!"
"Endure! The lives of 700 million citizens are at stake!"
"The swarm is already beginning to shrink!"
None of his subordinates were anything alike his former comrades in the Mech Corps.
Most of the 'volunteers' had been lured into serving in the Starfighter Corps through deceptive means. Once they realized the dangers, it was too late for them to withdraw!
"The only way to survive is to fight!"
"Heroes never falter!"
"Your brothers and sisters are counting on you!"
His job as a starfighter captain mostly amounted to managing rookies. The naive and gullible starfighter pilots had to be treated carefully and with constant encouragement in order to keep them in formation.
If not for the Desolate Soldier accompanying their wing, Moses was sure that at least half of his subordinates would have fled by now!
"We're getting close! Focus on evasive maneuvers! Let the mechs whittle down the swarm!"
The starfighters under his command vigorously flew side to side, though its thrusters weren't powerful enough to fool sandman targeting systems.
Moses merely wanted to give his starfighter pilots the illusion that their sluggish maneuvers could make a difference in preserving their lives.
Giving his subordinates the illusion that they had control over their own fate was just one of the many lies he had been instructed to tell.
Once his wing arrived in position, their formation remained in place as the mechs using the starfighters as cover began to target the sandman drones with greater accuracy.
The initial results were better than Moses expected of mercenaries.
Hundreds of mechs and starfighters joined the fray. Moses even spotted a handful of the newfangled Dawnbreakers shooting down the sandman drones with abandon!
Though numerous starfighters exploded all around him, the sandman swarm dearly paid for these small successes.
"The swarm is disintegrating!"
"We took out one of their sandman admirals early!"
Roars of victory flooded the communication channels! Everyone expressed their raw relief at this hard-fought victory!
Though a number of sandman admirals still persisted, their advantage in numbers continually grew smaller and smaller until they didn't have any drones left to threaten the human defenders.
The battle was won!
Unfortunately, as Moses and his ragged subordinates flew back to their carrier, he had no choice but to tally their losses.
Less than twenty starfighter pilots gathered together at one of the hangar bays. Each of them looked glum as over half of their wing failed to make it back in time.
Perhaps at least half of them managed to eject in time, but the sandmen never let off the slow-moving escape pods. It only took one weak laser beam to pierce their flimsy shells and kill the starfighter pilot trying to flee.
Such an outcome became increasingly more prevalent as the sandman admirals started to ditch their heavy laser strikes for rapid-fire laser salvos.
"May our comrades who perished in battle rest in peace." Moses stated.
"Their light will forever burn in our hearts."
Scenes like this occurred everywhere. Moses had seen so many of his subordinates fall that he stopped memorizing their names. They died so frequently that Moses had grown numb to the losses.
"When will it be my turn?" He quietly whispered under his breath.
His starfighter was no different from the others. Skill made little difference due to the limitations of their spacecraft.
In the end, Moses lasted for three more battles. After beating off some basic sandman fleets, another swarm configuration descended upon the star system.
The Greedy Luxers reluctantly answered the call.
Moses died as one of many starfighter pilots that perished that day.
He died doing his duty under the glow of a Desolate Soldier.
He died with a smile.
in the midst of all this tragedy the MTA had made a scheduled announcement, despite being busy in their fight for survival against the Sandman no one can ignore the MTA.
Everyone patiently waited for the announcement to start.
Every time the Mech Trade Association introduced a new mech generation, the spokesperson often showcased vivid examples and schematics!
All of these new advancements drove every mech designer in the galaxy wild!
Of course, the MTA only devoted time to introduce the most important innovations. The tech showcase also covered both low technology and high technology. Much of the latter wouldn't be very relevant to Ves unless he became a first-class mech designer.
At the moment, the projector depicted the stunning logo of the MTA.
A heroic-looking knight mech surrounded by orange flames burst out of a meteorite! Twelve planets orbited this stylized depiction.
There was a lot of symbolism and meaning behind this logo. The MTA considered themselves to be the protectors and standard bearers of humanity.
"The announcement is starting!" Adam almost shouted
'is this it!? has it finally begun?' he could barely contain his excitement
Everyone turned their attention to the projection. The logo of the MTA began to rotate once before fading away to reveal a vast and impressive expanse of stars!
Though starscapes were common sights, this was not a regular sight! The density of stars was unimaginable to those who lived in the galactic rim!
'This is the splendor of the galactic center, Just look at all of the stars and interstellar gasses floating in between! The rudimentary FTL drives that we are used to are completely unable to function in this dense stellar environment'
Adam reminisced, 'hmp! in the Red Ocean galaxy i will definitely make my mark there!'
All of those stars and nebulas represented an unimaginable amount of wealth.
Higher stellar activity directly correlated to more exotics! The high-energy reactions that took place in this perilous space also produced much higher grades of exotics!
A person materialized into view in the middle of deep space, The representative of the MTA literally teleported into the void without wearing any thick, protective suits!
Instead, the old and dignified-looking woman appeared to float in space garbed in nothing but a resplendent, hooded robe!
Once the woman drew back her hood, almost everyone knew her identity.
"That's Galactic Mech Councilor Dorothea Veyron!"
Councilor Veyron was one of the hundred members of the Galactic Mech Council. The GMC pretty much served as the highest decision-making organ in the MTA, akin to a senate or a legislative assembly of a state!
Veyron used to be a citizen of the Triad Empire, a first-rate state in the galactic center. While she was well-versed in mechs, she wasn't a mech designer.
Instead, she joined the MTA more than 300 years ago as a bureaucrat!
By working her way up the ranks and earning the appreciation of her superiors, she continually promoted up the ranks.
The MTA became more and more impressed by her administrative ability, which was exceptional even when compared to the best in the galaxy!
For Dorothea Veyron to become an august member of the Galactic Mech Council by virtue of her competence in administration was an amazing feat!
Now, this old woman seemingly floated in space without relying on technology to sustain her body in this dangerous vacuum environment.
Whether she managed to survive in space due to advanced technology or extreme modifications to her body, nobody was sure.
Most people probably thought the former was the case. Perhaps they even speculated that this was nothing but an elaborate virtual illusion.
In contrast, most members of upper society suspected that Councilor Veyron was truly floating in space right now!
Continuous advancements in genetic modification and human augmentation enabled many options previously unavailable to humanity!
The woman opened her mouth. Though sound didn't transmit through vacuum, there were countless ways to broadcast her words.
"Sons and daughters of humanity." Her dignified voice rang in everyone's ears. "Our civilization is about to advance once again."
Councilor Veyron's voice possessed an indescribable quality that commanded everyone's attention. Adam did not even think about what he was doing as he sat up straight and listened attentively to what she had to say to the galaxy.
This was the spokesperson that the MTA selected to convey their message to human space! She was anything but an average speaker!
"Over four-hundred years have passed since the start of the Age of Mechs. The current generation of mechs have existed for nearly thirty years. It is time for us to close this period and welcome a new era for mechs."
"Our civilization has grown larger, more powerful and more prosperous than ever before! We live in a golden age of mechs where we have continually pushed the boundaries of our most versatile weapon platform!"
"The Age of Mechs has pulled humanity from the brink of destruction and allowed us to become more refined in the art of war! After centuries of continuous progress, our race has become more efficient in the application of force! The age where our kind used to hammer all of our perceived enemies from existence with the most destructive weapons we have on hand is long past!"
"I am proud to live in this great era! Not only have we pushed mechs to a height that we could scarcely imagine at the beginning of the Age of Mechs, but we have also solidified our dominance throughout the galaxy!"
"Though we are divided by states, our civilization stands as one! We are humans, who emerged from an insignificant planet in the Orion arm of the galaxy to become the most dominant race among countless alien races!"
"Our race has overcome many odds in our rise. We have even confronted our inner demons and come out stronger and more united in the end! For over four-hundred years, the MTA has ensured that war will never be able to threaten the survival of our race again!"
"Our galactic mech industry has never stood still. The brightest minds of our race are constantly pushing the boundaries of science, allowing us to integrate newer and better technologies into our mechs. The latest mech generation that we will commence this day will alter the landscape of battle! Let me introduce you to the most far-reaching advancements that we have pushed in the latest mech generation!"
Two mechs flew into view, stopping just behind the councilor!
As a human, Councilor Veyron appeared very small in comparison to the huge mechs!
Despite that, the gravitas she conveyed through the projection made it difficult for every mech designer to direct their attention towards the mechs!
It didn't take any explanation for anyone to realize that the mechs belonged to different generations!
The mechs appeared to be a pair of very advanced second-class rifleman mechs. The laser rifles they wielded looked incredibly stunning in the arms of these exquisite mechs!"
"Those are masterwork mechs!" noticed by senior mech designers
Every aspect about their construction appeared flawless in their eyes!
Before they can spend time on admiring the mechs, Councilor Veyron immediately pointed out the critical differences between the two mechs.
"In much of human space, laser weapons are ubiquitous." She explained. "They are efficient, accurate, versatile and convenient. Our Association has expended a considerable amount of effort to introduce innovative new technologies related to laser weapons. Let us demonstrate the results right now!"
A few mechs flew in range. Without much delay, the two rifle-armed mechs fired at the targets which attempted to resist incoming fire with their armor or leverage their mobility to dodge the aim of the pilots!
The Mech Trade Association was one of the most powerful organizations in the galaxy!
Not only did it possess the raw military might to dictate its rules throughout human space, it also monopolized the right to govern everything related to mechs!
The transition to a new mech generation served as a means to regulate and standardize the progression of mech design. The enormous prestige and might of the MTA ensured that each and every mech designer abided by their arrangements.
In this way, mech development throughout human space adopted newer tech, application and standards swiftly and without any lag.
Even the star sectors at the periphery of human space such as the Komodo Star Sector could keep up with the latest developments!
Adam recognized that the MTA did not reveal all of these fancy new tech to the entire galaxy from the goodness of their hearts.
The MTA simply wanted to foster as much innovation as possible!
If an organization like the MTA did not propagate new standards, then the progress of mech design would splinter and diverge in every star sector! Cutting-edge researchers whose time and energy were limited might inadvertently waste their time in researching tech that had already been invented elsewhere!
The mighty councilor started off the showcase with showcasing the pivotal leaps in directed energy weapon technology for a reason.
Though lasers were considered low tech weapons, they were used throughout much of the galaxy. Their versatility, ease of use and scalability made them ubiquitous throughout the galactic rim and galactic heartland.
Laser weapons even saw widespread use in the galactic center due to their light speed properties, though most mech owners could afford something better.
In short, the advancement of laser weapon technology elevated the strength level of all of human space, with the less developed star sectors benefiting more than most!
"Directed energy weapons serve as an essential element in the arsenal of any force of mechs." Councilor Veyron smiled as she floated in deep space garbed in nothing but ceremonial robes. "With the introduction of these new technologies, the firepower, energy efficiency, capacity of laser weapons have become more potent than ever!"
Of course, Councilor Veyron couldn't spend all of her time on highlighting laser weapons. She had a whole laundry list of showcases to go through and even then she only scratched the surface of all of the new innovations the MTA released!
The laser-armed mechs made way for mechs wielding more advanced directed energy weapons.
This time, the mechs fired bright, energetic beams that Adam instantly recognized as positron beams!
"Many of the advancement in laser weapons have also benefited other related weapon technologies..."
"Plasma weapons..."
"Missile payloads..."
The councilor steadily introduced all kinds of updates of popular weapon systems. While she hadn't announced anything groundbreaking, the modest upgrades to existing tech still made enough of a difference to elevate the strengths of mechs to another level!
Though the MTA likely introduced updates to thousands of weapon systems, Veyron only mentioned a dozen of them before moving on to improvements in other aspects.
Councilor Veyron's eyes lit up as she gazed at the mech. "The next innovation I'm about to introduce is the tech that will truly define this generation. This signature technology, which we have researched for centuries, has finally reached a level of maturity that we feel is ready to be shared to humanity!"
Everyone leaned forward, including Adam. Councilor Veyron was not a person who spoke nonsense!
"Since the beginning of this age, mechs have always been considered as a weapon platform with many limitations. Mechs are smaller and weaker than even the smallest warships. However, through centuries of research and development, our scientists and mech designers have slowly narrowed the gap between mechs and warships."
"Humanity has wielded warships for millenia." Councilor Veyron continued. "They are our greatest and most terrible weapons. Yet they are huge, resource-intensive and cumbersome. While warships will always play an essential role in safeguarding our civilization, the MTA believes the future of humanity rests with mechs!"
Councilor Veyron was building up to something. Each time the MTA announced a new mech generation, their spokespersons always hyped up a pivotal new technology that defined the period!
However, different from previous times, the councilor spoke much more bombastically about mechs than usual. She even despised warships, as if the signature technology she was about to introduce would really do what she said and narrow the gap!
"In four centuries, humanity has seen mechs grow from modest curiosities into increasingly more versatile and powerful war machines! The advent of expert pilots and even more impressive mech pilots has fully unlocked our hidden potential! Now, I have the pleasure to introduce a change that will change the landscape of mechs forever! Gaze upon this mech and welcome the start of the era of the independent mech!"
Upon those words, the first-class mech floating behind her flew forward while slowly fading from existence.
Seconds later, the mech disappeared from view.
Almost everyone who watched the galaxy-wide broadcast trembled at the sight.
This was because everyone who traveled on a starship or watched one exit a star system recognized this visual phenomenon!
The projected view soon switched to another site to reveal the same mech that disappeared earlier! It had reappeared next to a beacon anchored in space!
The most critical difference about this new site was that the starscape in the background shifted substantially!
Moving just a few light-seconds forward wouldn't have induced such a considerable change in perspective!
The mech apparently traversed an unimaginably huge distance within a matter of seconds!
Not even the fastest conventional flight system could allow a mech to traverse such a huge distance so quickly!
"That mech transitioned into FTL!"
"It's a mech capable of traveling faster than light!"
"Not only that, but the FTL drive has been miniaturized to the point where the mech doesn't have to sacrifice too much capacity to accommodate this system!"
the people from all over the galaxy became animated with discussion on what they just witnessed.
Now, the addition of a miniaturized FTL drive propelled its mobility to an astronomical height!
Just the implication of a mech company that could travel to other star systems without relying on a carrier was immense!
With the public introduction of this signature technology into the galactic mech community, mechs with this module no longer needed to rely on motherships to convey them across the stars!
They could travel to their destinations by themselves!
Councilor Veyron did not exaggerate. This was the first independent mech that many people in the galaxy witnessed!
In fact, some people believed that certain organizations had already succeeded in miniaturizing FTL drives to the point where they could be mounted on mechs. The only reason why they hadn't spread this tech was because it was too expensive and impractical to implement on a wider scale!
Yet now, the tech had evidently progressed to the point where the tech became feasible enough to be adopted by other powers!
Councilor Veyron appeared into view moments later as if she teleported next to the mech. This powerful woman gazed up at the mech as if it was an epoch-shaking treasure!
"This mech has just demonstrated the capability of traveling faster than light. The Mech Trade Association is proud to share the gains we have made in miniaturizing and optimizing one of the smallest FTL drive we have developed to date!"
The projection began to depict some technical schematics that highlighted some of the key portions of the FTL drive incorporated in the mech.
Of course, anyone who wasn't versed in standard FTL technology could forget about comprehending the schematic in detail.
Fortunately, the MTA knew that most people wouldn't understand a thing either. After babbling some technical specs, Councilor Veyron dumbed down her explanation.
"The miniaturized FTL drive or minidrive incorporated in this mech differs from standard, full-sized FTL drives in many ways. While there are many differences, the key material that has made the minidrive more practical is a high-grade liquid exotic that is known as phasewater."
A small infographic appeared that listed out the key properties of phasewater.
"As you can see, the minidrive we have developed is highly dependent on phasewater. For now, a functioning minidrive that is capable of granting FTL capability to mechs must incorporate at least 50 grams of phasewater."
"Fifty grams!"
While this didn't sound like much, according to a quick search on the galactic net, a single microgram already cost more than an entire first-class mech corps!
"Even the Terrans and the Rubarthans will bleed at such an excessive price!" while this is true for most people, the same could not be said for Adam due to his ability to create clones.
"Despite its size, the addition of phasewater allows the minidrive to exhibit wondrous capabilities. As long as the mech possesses enough energy reserves, it is not impossible for a mech to travel across an entire star sector by its own capabilities!"
Such a bold statement belied the fact that hardly anyone could afford the fifty grams of phasewater needed to construct a minidrive module!
How could the MTA be bold enough to announce a so-called 'era of the independent mech' when there was only enough phasewater in the galaxy to build a couple of hundred FTL-capable mech with this tech?
As long as the minidrive depended on an obscene quantity of phasewater, most mech designers could forget about designing FTL-capable mechs in this generation!
"The MTA isn't this ambitious when it comes to unveiling their signature technologies. While the minidrive is an impressive invention, it will take hundreds of years for it to become practical!"
Whenever a significant new invention emerged, the earliest iterations were usually crude, inefficient and prohibitively expensive.
Only a small number of scientists developed the technology. Even if they were some of the most brilliant specialists in their fields, their manpower and energy were ultimately limited.
Once they published their results, everyone capable would be able to access the new technology. A lot of new research projects would probably commence throughout the entirety of human space!
With so many more researchers delving into the technology the MTA unveiled, various refinements and improvements would quickly follow!
Even if only one out of a million scientists achieved some results due to a fluke, that still represented actual progress!
A single success might not be so significant, but with the sheer amount of researchers studying the same subject, the rate of improvement could be quite substantial!
However, some technologies were easier to advance than others!
With the minidrive tech, many scientists were probably feeling a lot of pain by their inability to procure 50 grams of phasewater needed to perform actual tests!
This would slow down the advancement of minidrive technology tremendously.
At some point, some ingenious researcher would find a way to reduce the amount off phasewater needed to make a minidrive functional.
From 49 grams, 45 grams, 40 grams and so on, the minidrive would become more efficient in terms of cost and material requirements.
In addition, now that humanity discovered such a wonderful use of phasewater, many people would be scouring the galaxy for this extremely rare exotic! Each of them wanted to take advantage of the sky-rocketing prices that ensued after this announcement!
Once so many prospectors and treasure hunters began to search for phasewater, supply would inevitably increase, thereby decreasing the scarcity of this material over time.
Furthermore, many researchers unsatisfied with the lack of access to phasewater would constantly be searching for substitute materials.
Many exotics shared similar properties and effects. This allowed clever material scientists to find a way to substitute the role of an expensive exotic with something cheaper.
In fact, many inventions introduced in earlier generations became more practical and widespread in the poorer parts of the galaxy after material scientists figured out a way to achieve the same effect by blending several cheap exotics together.
It was a much better deal to use large quantities of widely-available low-grade exotics than a smaller quantity of high-grade exotics!
Combining sulomnium, beta-otricine and Flesha's Tears was nothing more than a way to create a knockoff of a high-grade exotic!
Some material scientists even believe that many high-grade exotics were compound substances of lower grade materials!
With how amazing the minidrive technology appeared to be, some people definitely believed that someone would eventually make a breakthrough that removed its dependency on phasewater.
The question was how long it would take. Phasewater seemed to be an incredibly high-grade exotic with strong dimensional properties. Such a strange and powerful effect couldn't be replicated easily.
Nonetheless, Councilor Veyron cheerfully fawned over the minidrive technology as if it would soon spread throughout human space!
"Minidrives have many applications! It is not only useful for mechs, but also for other craft such as shuttles, escape pods and more! With a minidrive in your possession, you can effortlessly travel to any star system within range without relying on a lumbering ship!"
"Who has enough phasewater to waste on other applications?"
Fortunately, Councilor Veyron soon finished elaborating on the minidrive.
"That sums up the highlights of our new minidrive technology. You can obtain more detailed explanations at our virtual portal. Now, let us move on to the next innovations..."
Various mechs flew in and out of view to demonstrate various new capabilities. The innovations that the MTA chose to highlight during this important announcement represented significant advances in mech technology despite their lack of flair compared to the introduction of the minidrive.
Each of these performance improvements came about through several means. In the case of neural interfaces, they performed better mostly due to improvements in design and technical application.
In the case of power reactors, the MTA listed out a variety of newly-discovered exotics that could substitute the role of currently-used exotics. In other words, the improvement purely came about due to the usage of improved materials.
Still, no matter how the improvements came about, the mechs designed according to the new methods became significantly more powerful!
Councilor Veyron swiftly introduced many different improvements. All of them were enough to inspire everyone from 3rd rate states to 1st raters.
After two hours of showcasing a dazzling number of improvements, Councilor Veyron finally wrapped up her announcement.
"There are many new advancements that our Association made available to you. I am proud of what the mech community has accomplished over the last decades. Not only have we unveiled a viable means of adding FTL capability to mechs, we have also introduced a comprehensive wave of enhancements that collectively increases the potency of humanity's mechs to a new height!"
Her arm stretched to the impressive star scape in the background. "Normally, our message ends here, but we have another announcement to make."
The logos of two different organizations appeared by her side.
To the left was the familiar logo of the MTA.
To the right was the logo of the CFA!
Most people who began to grow sleepy or numb to all of the technological advancements introduced by Veyron began to wake themselves up at the new sight.
Anything that was important enough to unite the Big Two must be something enormous!
"The Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance have safeguarded human civilization for over 400 years." She stated seriously. "For four centuries, our race has rested and recovered from the devastation of the preceding stage. Our initial mission after the formation of our organization was to protect our race from further decline! Now, we declare that we have succeeded in this objective!"
A new image appeared behind the powerful councilor. A three-dimensional plot of the galaxy emerged into view. Various lines and colors delineated this map, highlighting the space occupied by humanity and other alien civilizations.
Everyone was familiar with this map. Even if they couldn't draw it very precisely from memory, most people could still sketch the relative locations and proportions of the territories occupied by the major races in the galaxy.
Obviously, humanity occupied the largest territory!
Anticipation built up in everyone as they began to form their own ideas about the nature of this announcement.
Councilor Veyron smiled. "Do not fear. The MTA and CFA are both here to stay. We will continue to protect and regulate human space as we have always done. The only difference from now is that we believe that humanity has recovered to a point where we can reignite our passion for conquest!"
She held out her hand and clenched it into a fist!
"Make no mistake! We humans must always fight! We can never settle for peace, because there are always enemies waiting to pounce on us when we have become weak!"
Though her words were aggressive, most people felt proud of their words!
Each human took pride in their racial heritage! Even though the human race was anything but exceptional, every alien race that clashed against them had faltered despite their many advantages!
The belief that the human race was the best race in the galaxy was deeply rooted in everyone's bones. Since humanity was capable of conquering the entire galaxy, not a lot of people advocated for peace and tolerance.
This was because the alien empires that used to dominate the galaxy were really horrible! Every race looked out for themselves, and cooperation was very few and far in between.
"Now that we have repaired and sharpened our weapons for over four-hundred years, it is finally time to reveal our strength to the aliens that think that we have grown weak!"
The map of the galaxy shifted at this point. Instead of showing some symbols that signified an invasion into known alien space, something else happened!
A much-smaller cluster of stars that hung a small distance away from the galaxy appeared into view!
A bold red arrow pointed from the center of the galaxy to the edge of this new and smaller galaxy!
"Starting from this day, the Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance will pioneer an invasion into the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy!"
"THERE IT IS!" exclaimed Adam
In fact, every single human except for those in the know reacted with surprise!
No one had ever imagined that the Big Two would ignore the other alien empires bordering human civilization in favor of invading a random dwarf galaxy!
After a lengthy pause to give everyone time to process this shocking revelation, Councilor Veyron quickly stated the main reason why the Big Two targeted this distant cluster of stars!
"Our decision to invade the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy that orbits our Milky Way Galaxy is highly related to our earlier announcement. Perhaps many of you think that the minidrive is too impractical to be popularized because of the scarcity of its key material. This problem has weighed on us as well until we have discovered an important finding!"
Everyone who watched the broadcast hung onto her words.
"Phasewater is very prevalent in Red Ocean! This critical exotic is at least a million times more prevalent compared to our native galaxy!"
Another shock swept throughout human space! This revelation changed everyone's thoughts on minidrive technology!
If phasewater was much easier to obtain in Red Ocean, then that was enough to make the Big Two excited!
