Having finished with the programming for the new McCain Reaper roles, Mark decided to start on his next mech, the Gunslinger Delta. To him, this was more a labor of love than anything else. The mech was not as popular as the McCain. In fact, very few people were able to use the mech properly.
Since Mark was one of the few who could successfully pilot the machine, it made him feel a sense of specialness. At the time, he was suffering from bullying and rejection in school because of his underweight body. Piloting a mech that most people could not manage to operate gave him a lot of confidence.
Mark decided to use the same process from before when he first worked on the McCain mech model. He examines the structure of the Gunslinger Delta. The mech was a mess. Like a lot of mechs from the period, these machines were designed in haste. Due to the war at that time, companies would hastily come up with mechs that were designed without thorough planning and testing.
The young man started by looking at the wiring of the machine. Like the McCain before it, it was an electrical mess. In the Gunslinger Delta, however, the machine produced too much energy. Light mechs required less power to move. But instead of changing the generator, the mech engineers opted for a software patch to cap the energy produced.
Perhaps they had budget constraints. Or they did not have access to another generator design. However, there were several alternative approaches to addressing these issues. Ultimately, they employed half measures. It was a sloppy job.
Mark endeavoured to create an entirely new electrical layout. Instead of capping the energy generation, the young man was planning another solution. But first, he had to make sure that the power distribution was efficient.
With his skills, Mark got the electrical wiring sorted out quickly. Since the machine he was working on was a light mech, it had a lower level of complexity. However, this time, his enemy was space. A smaller chasis ment less space. Even so, with the new layout, the young man freed up a lot of space.
Next, he took a better look at the generator. Mark had a few choices. First, he could replace the entire component with a new one from the same period. Second, the young man could tweak the power output of the generator instead of using a half-baked software program. His third choice was to increase the performance of the engine and the actuators of the mech to meet the energy surplus. Mark liked this option the best.
Using the previous experience Mark had gained while designing the Reaper, he chose to increase performance. The young man then decided to take a look at the main engine. To his surprise, there were nearly no problems with it. He decided to change the settings, giving the mech more motive power. The new engine tweaks increased the performance by 33%. This was only possible after the young man implemented the new electrical layout.
His next step was to check the actuators. It was worse than he expected. Looking at the actuators for the hand, Mark wondered how the machine was able to hold a gun in its hand. Grip strength and fine movements were marginal at best. The other actuators were not as bad, but he opted to replace them all.
Since the Gunslinger Delta was different from the McCain, Mark could not use the same actuators; he had to design new ones. With his previous experience, the young man was confident he could finish quicker.
The cat butler used his actuator package as refrence. He had a new set within ten hours. Paired with the tweaked engine performance, the replacement actuators will have better parameters. Nevertheless, Mark ran a few simulations. He was satisfied with the results.
With the new actuators and the better engine settings, Mark was able to mostly solve the energy output problem. However, there was still an overproduction of energy. The young man then decided to install energy storage in the freed space. Directing the surplus of energy to the recently installed batteries, the cat butler implemented a creative solution. These batteries will provide more energy to the mech's weapons.
He then proceeded to analyze the armor and chassis of the mech. Since NC1200 was too heavy for this mech, Mark decided to create another alloy formula. Using the upgraded equipment in the design space will aid him in this. With the computational power of the intermediate design space, running a molecular structure simulation came easily.
Again, he did not start from zero. Like with the McCain Reaper, he analyzed the material components of the base design. Using the available technology of the mechs period, he came up with a treatment to enhance the alloy solution.
The original alloy used in the mech design was known as Chromium-Metalite. Once again, this alloy was chosen because of production costs and not its durability. This was a common practice when designing economical mechs. Attrition generated by wars always caused these patterns. While the original alloy solution was fairly strong. Mark saw no reason to keep it as is. Using the same concept, the young man devises a treatment to improve the alloy's resilience.
Mark came up with a name for the treated alloy, Chromium-Metalite Delta. He used this name to pay respect to the original design. Like the previous time, the treatment greatly increased the durability and flexibility of the alloy solution. The young man wondered why no one had developed this sort of alloy treatment before.
Alloy treatment was not a new concept. In fact, humanity had been practicing alloy treatment even before the invention of firearms. Things like Damascus steel and Toledo steel were products of these practices.
The only difference between traditional alloy treatment and the alloy treatment that Mark uses is the introduction of exotic materials. Once humanity acquired the ability to traverse the stars, the explorers found new, unknown elements that transformed human technology forever.
Mark shook his head. He could not spare the time to fantasize about other things. Besides designing his second project, he had to get ready for tonight's infiltration. Dealing with the Vultures was necessary. Also, he wanted to see if he could rescue the mech engineer who was kept prisoner on the vulture's nest. Time was running out for his design run.
Concentrating once again on his current project, he decided to deal with the software components of the mech. Diferent to the McCain Reaper, Mark had experience piloting this mech. He remembered the weird glitches and quirks his mech had. Using the tools of the design space, he spent little time correcting the errors.
After tackling the software issues, Mark put the mech together and ran a simulation. He found a serious problem with the mech design. While running with the new system's configuration, the machine fell to the ground. Mark ran the simulation three more times with the same result. After achieving 152 kph, the machine was flung backwards every time. The young man had trouble finding the cause.
Running a few more simulations, he found the problem. It was wind resistance. The original design had less motive power. Thus, the problem never surfaced. In his mind, Mark saw only one solution. The mech needed a new armor layout to help mitigate the problem and give the mech more stability and wind resistance. However, he was getting dangerously close to the time limit he had set for himself, 42 hours. The young man decided to exit the design space and continue in the design lab.
Finding himself back in the hangar of his workshop, he resumed his walking motion. No time had passed at all; things were in the same state as when he entered the design space.
Overall, it was a very successful design run. The young man moved up the stairs and into the corridor. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he saw a player standing in the door to the design lab.
The design lab had no public access; even if he wanted to, the player was not able to enter. Still, Mark felt it was a bit odd that the player was there. He took note of the Game ID. It read GATC. The avatar of the player had a custom skin. He had a dark suit, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses.
The moment Mark walked over, the player turned to facehim. Getting even closer to the young man, GATC greeted him. "Hello, guardian, it's nice to meet you." He extends a hand to greet the cat butler. "I have been waiting for you."
Mark returned his greeting, shaking his hand. "I don't seem to recall ever meeting you. How can I help you?"
GATC lost no time in answering. Well, you see, I was interested in producing your mech in my workshop. Perhaps we can reach an agreement for a production contract. I can make it worth your while.
Mark thought for a moment. Something about this person was off, but he could not tell what. "I already have a good amount of production lines under contract. For the moment, I'm not seeking more. But the moment I do, I will let you know. Give me your contact info so that I can call you first." The young man had no intention of calling him at all.
GATC smiled. "I can give you some perks the others can not give you."
Mark was intrigued by his words. Even though his gut told him not to trust this player, his greed for TP gnawed at his caution. He had to ask. "What are you offering?"
With a calm demeanor, GATC began his sales pitch. "At the moment, you have a lot of success in the local A.M.S. servers. But you have no presence in the servers beyond the Rapal System. I can help you crack the inter-System markets within the Lishean Commonwealth."
Mark saw a problem with GATC's sales pitch. "You are bluffing. To do this, I would have to upgrade the factory of my workshop to a level 3 factory."
GATC smiles again. "A way to get around this is to get a production contract with someone who owns a workshop with a level 3 factory."
The offer intrigued Mark. He could not deny that, but still, something was off. "Offers like this often come with catches. What's your angle?"
GATC started fiddling with his VR menu. "I have no angle; the product you have is just that good. Selling it outside the Rapal system will bring me tons of revenue."
The man projected a screen showing his level 3 Factory floor. Around 60 pristine production lines were ready to start producing at any moment. The quality of the machines was even better than the ones Mark had recently purchased.
The moment he saw the factory floor of GATC's workshop, Mark knew something was wrong. This man came prepared to this meeting. Furthermore, he showed his factory floor the same way his production partners did during their meeting at Bullets cafe.
Mark decided to make an excuse to throw off the man. "While your offer sounds tempting, I have to consult my partners on The Grease Monkey Workshop. I can not take these decisions on my own."
GATC addressed Mark with a patient tone. "Not to worry, Guardian. I have the time to spare. Go consult with your partners. Call me when you have decided." The man then flashes out.
Mark deduced that the person was already expecting this response. The young man had little patience for this cat-and-mouse game. He entered the design lab and continued his design of the Gunslinger Outlaw.
After working in the intermediate design space, the A.M.S. design lab felt like torture. The machines were very slow, and the computational power was abysmally low. The young man longs for more time in his design space.
Nearly an hour passes in the blink of an eye. Melly sent him a message to meet in the hangar. She wanted to introduce him to her new friends. Mark welcomed the distraction. He left the machine, calculating the new armor parameters in the simulation, and moved down.
Mark went down to the hangar. As he came down the steps, Melly came flying using her fairy wings. She landed next to Mark. "Big brother, come meet my friends. They helped me complete my first operation. It was in a jungle, and I got to play with a big tiger."
Mark tapped the head of his excited little sister. "Take it easy, Melly, you are talking too fast. I can barely understand you."
A group of four players walked in behind her. They all looked to be in the first pilot level. They had a mismatch of avatars composing the group. Mark made his signature move when meeting new people. He took off his top hat and bowed, showing the tabby cat ears of his avatar.
The four teens were surprised by his gesture. Nina's avatar even blushed a little, finding the cat butler to be very cute. Being true to his outgoing nature, Sugar was the first to talk.
With his avatar, the bodybuilder mascot, Sugar took a step forward. "Mr Guardian, thank you for making the McCain Reaper. Your mech has made me a better pilot."
Beater was next. "I was your first customer. I love your mech."
Mark got an Idea looking at the teens. He decided to generate word of mouth. After all, Word of mouth gave the McCain Reaper its current success. "Thank you for your support. I appreciate your patronage. As a reward, I will tell you all a little secret. In the next few days, we will finish the design of our second mech."
He looked around the Hangar. The workshop patrons had stopped looking at the repairs and were eavesdropping on the conversation with the teens. This was his intention. "We will also be releasing a new surprise for our customers." The four pilots expressed excitement about the news.
Melly talks next. "Mark, Beater's mech got wrecked because of me. Do you think it's possible to fix his mech here?"
Mark smiles at his little sister. "That is not a problem. I will talk to Steve about it. In the meantime, you can all go to The Waiting Room. I will call you once we finish repairing your mechs."
A few hours later, the alarm at eight o'clock alerted everyone. It was time for the teens to go home. Steve Livia and Alex left the droid boutique. Melly decided to go upstairs. After eating something, she wanted to use her VR headset to keep playing with her new friends.
Mark went back to his room. He had avoided thinking about his plans for tonight. Having Melly around, the young man was forced to walk on eggshells. Now in his room, and with Melly playing with her newfound friends, he was ready to begin. The first step was to see what new toys he could play with.
At the other side of the city, the Blazing Hand gang was getting ready to attack the vultures. Gin and his cadre were making the last preparations for his equipment. Suddenly, the Boss enters the room. After bowing at the new arrival, they all stood at attention.
With patient steps, the Boss walks up to Gin. "How are the preparations?"
Gin answers without hesitation. "Our preparations are done, and we are ready to depart at any moment. We also managed to secure the cooperation of the Vipers and a few other lesser gangs. Moreover, we managed to secure two mechs for the fight."
The Boss looks around the room. There were a bit over 20 men armed and ready around the place. These were his most experienced gang members. "There are a few last-minute changes to our plan. You will send the lesser members of our organization along with the other gangs. There is no need to send our strongest forces yet."
Gin was confused by this sudden change. If they wanted to take down the Vultures quickly, this group was their best choice. He had personally trained these people. Yet, he did not voice any complaints. The man bows to the Boss. "I will make the preparations immediately."
While the Boss left the room. Gin used his commpad to make a few phonecalls and reorganize the Blazing Hand forces. While this would delay the attack a bit, he made the changes quickly.