The first half of the tournament showcased the young specialists' adaptability and innovativeness, able to customize the mech with limited choice of components, but that did not meant that they could not implement their own novel initiatives.
There were even signs of pettiness due to their young competitive nature, such as expelling a member of their team because another team did it. They also copied what others did better.
'Flexible..'
It all still came down to the pilots to steer the mechs no matter how superior the customizations.
The pilots themselves were just as young and flamboyant, starting the match with a bang. Some duked it out, some just jumped into the fray, while the rest played it safe because their mechs were inferior.
As expected, the best mech specialist and pilot took the first place in the first half. All in all, the people were given a good show.
The final round.. well, it was unexpected. The re-emergence of a handsome man completely tipped the scales, and hammered the last nail in the coffin for the other contestants.
Campbell gently placed the tablet on her lap, pondering for a moment. Before long, her face slowly contorted into a frown.
'Huh? What the hell did I just watch?'
Come to think of it, there were augmented technicians who could print just as neat and efficient. The designs themselves, however, a person can't just think of something and practically apply it. There was no doubt that guilds must have flocked to the legal papers of those designs. They were far superior to be installed on a 3rd Gen.
Campbell furtively glanced at Tiff's direction. Ever since the blonde learned that she was not from the Union, the owner of the gaming center suddenly became distant, wary and distrustful.
It seemed like she was going to have to find a lodging for the night and continue her search tomorrow. She suspected that Tiff knew some of the Specialists, even perhaps had the knowledge regarding the location of Logria's Mechanic. But it was futile now. She won't be able to make her give that information up.
---
Dusk.
The purple star turned blue, perching in the horizon - at its utmost height, the sky was bright red, but was now replaced by a listless curtain of crimson.
Sy went down to the first floor. After a week of socializing with the specialists and technicians, he learned that someone installed to the groups was an overachiever.
Emma's little brother, Eran.
The man graduated from law school at a young age and then joined the military - he even steered a mech as an auxiliary unit in the front lines before his father pulled him out using their vast connections. What he did after that.. well, he attained the highest degree in mech engineering: a specialist.
They were both of the same age and Sy was impressed. Although, the Pioneer felt annoyed with how the Losac was addressing him nowadays.
"Brother-in-law!" Eran greeted on the first floor, matching Sy's pace as they walked across the hallway.
With the mercenaries gone, Flint and his men returned to the ship while some of the enthusiastic specialists nestled in the hover bus. Andreas, Dylan, Theon and Eran temporarily made an unoccupied apartment on the first floor as their base of operation.
"Uh.. I think you're mistaking me for someone else, Eran." Sy gave the other man a strange look.
The Losac smiled mischievously. He shrugged, "Oh! I'm not mistaken. I can see the future."
"Bah!" Sy scoffed, a reaction which made the yellow haired man on his side to laugh heartily.
Reaching the third room on the floor, the two halted for a moment.
"So, Sy.." Eran paused for a second, "You wanted me to accompany you in Steel Arena? To be honest, I'm more proficient in mech's engineering than steering them. I'm just a novice pilot."
"Well, yes. We'll match up together." This time, it was Sy's turn to be mischievous. He had a grand plot for Eran. Since they were both not that experienced in mecha piloting, it was better to share the burden of embarrassment than to shoulder it alone. That was the sole purpose of friends, right? To accompany you in ruination? As such, he considered the Losac as a friend in that regard.
"Why?" Eran had a confused look on his face, "It would be more meaningful to design a mech than play around in combat simulations."
Sy tapped the other man's shoulder, and said in a somber tone, "I'm going to the void. I might at least learn how to make the limb of a mech move in a direction I want."
The Losac was frozen as Sy entered the third apartment. After a while, he stuttered, "I--I'm in then."
Inside, schematics boards hung on the walls. Andreas and the others were comparing notes at the center of the room.
Dylan hurriedly approached the newcomers, "Sy. You told me you needed funds. I have a copy of the energy turret design from the Centurion - Imperator III. I believe some companies might buy the license for mass production. Even small weapons industries would be willing to buy a partial permit. We should license it."
Sy scratched his head. "I have no legal certification to design weapons at the moment. I heard that you recently acquired your licensure. Why don't you patent it in your name? You can have 20% for every yield."
"10%!" Theon greedily chimed in. "I will receive 10% if I patent it in my name."
Being a young specialist, the design would bring them an influx of prestige, elevating their status.
The two specialists glared at each other.
"Actually," Sy broke their staring contest, "you guys can patent any of the design I made with the Imperator, so long as I receive 80% share."
With that, the conversation ended as Sy sat behind Andreas. After studying what the specialist was designing, he scratched his cheek. It was a Furnace Reactor, and an ambitious one.
In fact, Matter Furnace was the culprit as to why almost entire star systems were cleansed in the Dominion due to their gluttonous source of energy. Its core was able to reduce matter into subatomic particles of plasma. So, any available fuel could be used to satiate the ravenous furnace.
With a sigh, Sy left Andreas alone. He might be able to assist the specialist in the design once he upgraded the Energy-tech. The force field can direct the dangerous heat that the furnace produce to any conventional generators.
After making a few rounds to check the progress of the specialists, Sy went up to his apartment. He was alone since the three girls would be sleeping in Laira's apartment.
He plopped on the couched. A full week with nothing to do but socialize and plan. He also had plenty of sleep...
...but why did he feel restless?
He closed his eyes and plunged to a dreamless slumber.
Just like that, another day had went by. He woke up after sensing the subtle vibrations coming from underground. Flint and his men resumed their work in upgrading the mech facility. They had been delayed by a week, and most of them were now being missed back from their homes.
Sy did a few stretches before strolling outside. The sun had yet to rise up in the horizon and perform its daily routine of punishing the inhabitants below with its incessant heat. Wasn't it a benevolent celestial body?
He glanced at the direction of the Starport.
The mercenaries were gone. The silhouette of the huge starship nowhere to be seen.
He would have to execute his plans now.
The sound of a beep caused him to look down to the gauntlet. He opened the new messages and grinned.
[47,500 U-credits has been transferred to your Union account]
[47,500 U-credits has been transferred to your Union account]
[47,500 U-credits has been transferred to your Union account]
[47,500 U-credits has been transferred to your Union account]
The SSS Rank Pistoleer was being bought with real money. But this was not the cream of the crop.
[23,750,000 U-Credits has been transferred to your Union account]
The Straggler S1-2 was finally bought from the market, and with real money at that.
Within his myriad of messages, one grabbed his attention. It was from Mina. She might have taken his contact from Niel.
Without wasting anymore time, he opened her message.
[Mina here. Oh my goodness, Sy! You designed the Straggler S1-2?
I need you to do something for me. You need to design a void cockpit for the Straggler, and also make it capable for Orbital entry and exit by designing a compatible flight module.
We will be in Logria after two days. I hope you have the design when we're in orbit.]
'Huh?' Sy pondered for a second. Her request itself was something he was not incapable of.. but how did they knew about the Straggler?
With a bit of uncertainty, he composed a reply.
[I can do that. But why do you need it to be space worthy?]
'So many questions, so little time.'
He went downstairs to check on Eran. They will be going to the Starport for some combat simulations.