Distinguished Gathering

A simple inspection was not enough to determine whether the dueling mechs were truly proper.

What if someone better than Ves fabricated these mechs?

What if an unknown Senior or Master secretly 'assisted' in the preparation of Ves' machines?

This was one of the many ways in which mech designers could cheat.

That was what the Seniors were for. Their connection with mechs and their sensitivity towards them granted them a good sense of judgement of whether others were involved.

While the mechs that Ves presented were all based on collaborative mech designs, this was nothing unusual. Many mechs were designed in collaboration.

The point was that the mechs had to be representative of Ves. The mech designs had to conform to his design philosophy and no one stronger should have covertly or overtly improved any aspect.