Chapter 470. Software (1/2)
Only half a dozen mech technicians lounged in the mech stables. All of them appeared to be seasoned men and women, so at least Ves wouldn't be dealing with inexperienced rookies.
He still wore his light combat armor, which would be suitable to wear among soldiers, but not among techs. So Ves removed his helmet before addressing the techs.
”My name is Ves Larkinson, and I'll be taking charge from here on out.” He stated simply, trying to channel his inner chief technician.
Having observed several chiefs in his brief career, Ves learned that they didn't throw their weight around too much. They just seemed to radiate confidence that their word was law and that obedience was a given. The assumption of authority often times turned into actual authority.
In other words, as long as Ves pretended to be the boss, other people would see him as the boss.
”Who are you?” A burly woman asked with narrowed eyes. ”We ain't listening to brats like you. Scram!”
”I'm a mech designer.”
That caused a couple of the mech technicians to laugh. ”That's all the more reason for you to get out! You useless nerds are all the same, thinking you can boss us simple-minded grease monkeys around. Well we grease monkeys know far more about putting mechs back together than you ever will!”
Ves understood what went on. They probably mistook Ves for a low-ranked mech designer that would often be assigned to supervise the mech technicians in the workshops and machine shops. Ves felt for some sympathy for the techs if they had been ordered to follow instructions from a sad sack of meat like Filkis.
However, Ves was not Filkis.
If the assumption of authority failed to go through their thick skulls, then maybe a more direct application of power would work. Ves walked closer and closer until he almost pressed his face against the chest of the tallest and presumably strongest mech technician.
”Will you listen to my orders, I do I have to teach you a lesson?”
Everyone grinned, and the tall guy crossed his meaty arms as if he faced an angry kitten. ”You? Teach me a lesson? Are you even qualified?”
Though his combat armor gave him a bit of height, Ves couldn't match the bulk of the tech in front of him. Nevertheless, Ves reared his armored fist back before punching forward. He deliberately telegraphed the move because he wanted to make a point.
All the techs including his target looked on with amusement. Light combat armor didn't add any strength enhancements to the wearer like an exo-skeleton suit. Thus, they all expected this young and delicate-looking nerd to hurt his own knuckles.
What actually happened was the giant tech getting punched off his feet. His body slid backwards and landed in a painful heap. To his credit, the man didn't scream out in pain, but his squirming made it clear that the punch had dealt a significant amount of damage.
”What are you?! You're no mech designer!”
”You cheated! There must be some engine buried beneath his combat armor!”
”SILENCE!” Ves yelled. Though his voice sounded a little shrill, the apprehension he evoked among the techs with his punch caused them to take him seriously for once. ”Fall in and report!”
After helping the tall guy up his feet, the techs all formed a line.
”We're at your disposal, sir!”
They proceeded to get down to business. Ves toured the mech stables and workshop areas that the Vandals appropriated from Javier's Dastardly Handsome Bastards. The techs pointed out a couple of details of each mech along the way, half of which consisted of light and medium bestial mechs.
All of the mechs hung silently in their berths, unable to be roused from their slumber without the right access credentials.
”Is anyone from Javier's Dastardly Handsome Bastards left alive? We might have a chance of unlocking them with the help of a prisoner.”
They all shook their heads. ”We all thought of that before, but the Bastards ran away through an emergency escape tunnel when they realized they wouldn't be able to hold the base. Every survivor got away clean.”
”Damn.” Ves sighed and looked at the fairly cheap but serviceable mechs.
The Flagrant Vandals needed these machines in working condition. Without mechs, the Vandals under Captain Orfan were only Vandals in name. Their ability to project power onto Neron City would be limited to just a few blocks from this former mercenary base.
”Have you managed to activate any mech through your own efforts?”
”No, sir.” One of the technicians answered glumly. ”We've tinkered with the hardware and software locks, and only managed to fudge the former a bit. We're clueless when it comes to getting around the restrictions set by the operating system.”
”Let me take a look.”
Ves climbed up to the cockpit of a bestial mech and analyzed the interior. He borrowed a feel tools from the mech technicians that climbed with him and withdrew some panels to look at the electronic guts underneath.
”Well, the good news is that this is a fairly cheap and old mech model. Their security systems are relatively basic and I think it's possible for me to fudge these components.”
”Will we able to bring these mechs back online, sir?” The mech technicians glowed with hope. They finally started to acknowledge Ves as a competent mech designer.
”Not yet. These hardware locks are so basic that they're only here to prevent some whiz monkey from hacking this mech from a distance. The true challenge for me is to overcome the security restrictions in the software.”
A modern mech was not a giant mechanical clockwork that operated through hydraulics, steam pressure or ropes. Mechs were far too complex to rely on such simple and antiquated control methods.
Instead, a mech was more akin to a control center surrounded by thousands of different systems and subsystems.
To control such a gargantuan collection of mechanisms through simple commands was so ludicrous that any mech designer who proposed such a thing would be stripped of his accreditation and be booted from the mech industry!
Having worked under Alloc for a couple of times, Ves gained a new appreciation of the importance of good programming. The material components formed the body, while the programming acted as the mind that allowed the components to work in unison.
Therefore, the complete lock imposed by the operating systems by the mechs simply couldn't be bypassed through any simple methods, such as wiping them out an installing new programming.