After Ves concluded his meeting with Master Willix, he decided to meet with Patriarch Reginald of the Cross Clan at the seat of his power.
Though discussing with someone at their home ground would put him at a disadvantage, Ves did not think too highly of the Crossers. They were brutes who mainly ruled with their fists. Even if they were helped by a comprehensive staff of professionals, as long as the head was a muscle-headed gloryhound, the governance of the clan would always be dysfunctional.
Ves just wanted to visit the flagship of the Cross Clan in person, nothing more.
Though the Larkinson Clan still awaited the delivery of its first capital ship, Ves intended to obtain much more. With the amount of merits he possessed, a substantial proportion of the 20-ship quota that came with passage through the Red Ocean would fall into his hands.
That was 7 to 8 ships if Ves succeeded in negotiating his fair share.
He did not want to waste this quota. While he knew that a blooming shipbuilding industry had set up in the Red Ocean, right now demand far exceeded supply.
Most industries in the Red Ocean were still in their infancy. What development humanity had set up on the other side of the inter-galactic beyonder gate mostly belonged to the Big Two. As the MTA and CFA still had to complete the conquest of the dwarf galaxy, the output of those established industries all went towards supporting the frontline mech armies and war fleets.
This meant that the pioneers essentially had to start from scratch in order to satisfy their own needs.
It was quite hard to get the ball rolling. Without a lot of existing infrastructure, many settlements had to be built, and that took a lot of financial and material investment.
The few organizations who managed to get their shipyards up and running were flooded with orders from eager and wealthy pioneers. Combined with the fact that the supply of high-quality materials necessary to build starships was still in very short supply, a factory ship like the one ordered by his clan might cost twenty times or even fifty times of what he ought to pay!
This reality showed him that he would undoubtedly get ripped off if he wanted to acquire more capital ships once he reached the new dwarf galaxy. It would take at least another decade for prices to drop to reasonable levels.
“Fortunately, the pricing of subcapital ships shouldn’t be so extreme.”
Capital ships were much harder and more cumbersome to build than smaller vessels. It was relatively easy for a shipbuilding company to set up a small or medium-sized orbital shipyard. The only reason why the prices of most smaller ships were inflated as well was because of the shortage of materials.
This was not a critical problem to Ves. He would deal with the problem of acquiring combat carriers and logistical ships when he reached the new frontier.
For now, his priorities mainly concerned the expert mechs and the capital ships of his clan. Their acquisition increased the actual strength of his expeditionary fleet.
Ves was not blinded by the reputation and prestige he had accumulated in recent years. He also did not intend to put too much stock in Master Willix’s overt support.
Perhaps the yokels of the local star sector might respect the Larkinsons, but it would be a very different story once he crossed over! By nature, the pioneers who were able to afford a beyonder ticket were all exceptional in their own right. There were too many whose strength and accomplishments completely crushed his little clan.
With the mixing of so many crouching tigers and hidden dragons, an adorable cat like the Larkinson Clan wouldn’t scare anyone.
“The only way to earn their respect is for the cat to bare her claws.”
After all, even if a cat was not a threatening animal, she could inflict a lot of pain with her claws!
“Isn’t that right, Goldie?”
The spiritual cat didn’t manifest, but Ves stroked the emblem affixed on the cover of the Larkinson Mandate regardless.
The book had grown more vigorous and exceptional in recent times. The explosive growth of the Golden Cat also initiated some unknown transformations in the ancestral heirloom.
To be honest, Ves actually didn’t expect such a process to take place. While the book still remained the same from a physical standpoint, in his spiritual vision he observed the intrinsic spiritual foundation growing and transforming into something different.
The book had to grow in order to accommodate the expanding strength of the Golden Cat. The two of them were tied to each other. While this breed a dangerous degree of interdependence, it also offered opportunities as well.
“It’s kind of like the synergy between mechs and mech pilots.”
He suddenly realized that he could apply presumed specialization in a broader context than just mech and mech pilot.
If he broadened the scope of his specialty, wasn’t it just an instance of establishing symbiosis between an object and a living entity?
This idea had potential. He was already capable of producing totems, which were simply objects that possessed a bit of life. While Ves wasn’t able to impart as much spirituality into objects that weren’t mechs, it was not impossible for him to achieve some results if he put in some effort.
Could he expand this relation? Was it possible to strengthen this clan by widening the application of his design philosophy?
He began to formulate several interesting possibilities.
What if he turned the Larkinson Regalia into his exclusive totem?
What if he paired a Larkinson ship captain with his factory ship?
What if he bound Venerable Joshua to a life-oriented totem?
“It can’t be that simple!”
He shook his head. Though these ideas all held promise, he did not forget about the inherent danger of performing spiritual manipulation on living people. If anything went wrong, death was a very real possibility!
If Ves somehow caused Venerable Joshua to blow up his own head, then his loss was incalculable!
At the very least, Ves had to perform his experiments on more expendable test subjects.
“Should I import some captured pirates?”
Ever since he figured out that human civilization did not extend rights to pirates, he discovered that there was quite an active underground market for them. While it was a lurid and unsavory means of earning a living, there were still plenty of Peacekeeper outfits and other organizations that eagerly wanted to supplement their income by extracting the most value out of their pirate captives.
The only problem was that the documentation surrounding the merchandise could easily be forged or falsified.
Sometimes, innocent spacers forced to crew the ships of their captors were lumped into the same groups as murderous pirates.
Other times, the Peacekeepers even snatched random civilians from nowhere and slapped the label of pirates on their heads!
Therefore, this unregulated market was very murky. A proper, upright warrior clan such as the Larkinsons would never engage with such filth.
“Forget it.” He shook his head. “I’ll solve this problem some other way. There’s no hurry, anyway. I have too much work on my plate to devote much time on this side project.”
That said, he did not intend to ignore the potential of this idea. He actually felt quite motivated to explore what he could do even if it wasn’t directly related to mechs.
“It’s as if I’m a Star Designer!”
Naturally, this was just a delusion. Compared to the real deal, Ves was just a baby trying out a new trick.
Soon enough, his shuttle approached the fleet of the Cross Clan. Ves studied the main fleet and the ship composition.
The Crossers had done a fair amount of work in patching up the holes and fixing some of the damage to their battle-scarred vessels. However, more work had to be done to restore the vessels to their prime.
Despite the shabby appearance of the fleet, its strength was still undeniable. With around 70 combat carriers and 200 support ships, the Cross Clan could easily defeat a typical Fridaymen mech regiment.
The two fleet carriers were even more impressive. The Antonio Cross was only 1.8 km long, but she was quite a mobile capital ship that was perfectly suited for exploration.
The Hemmington Cross was a lot more unwieldy at 3 km long. Not only that, but she possessed a considerably broader shape, making her look like an alligator.
The internal volume of such a vessel was immense. At first, the Larkinsons thought the Hemmington Cross held around 500 mechs.
In actuality, she carried at least 1000 mechs!
Of course, packing so many mechs on a single ship, even a big one, came with a lot of tradeoffs. The Hemmington Cross didn’t possess a lot of cargo capacity. She also lacked a sufficient number of mech workshops to service the vessels and her mobility and defensive attributes were abysmal as well.
To Ves, the Hemmington Cross was nothing more than a giant transport for mechs. She served her basic function well, but her many shortcomings turned her in a liability in a frontier environment.
If the Crossers had any sense, they would sell off this white elephant as soon as possible and invest the proceeds into acquiring some more sensible capital ships. Obtaining another fleet carrier similar to the Antonio Cross was ideal for a martial clan like the Crossers.
Of course, the chance of someone as proud as Patriarch Reginald following his advice was minimal. Even if the Larkinsons partnered up with the Crossers, the influence they could exert on each other was not great. Both clans had their own ideas on how to run their affairs.
Besides, the larger fleet carrier was named after the Cross Clan’s only ace pilot. The Vicious Mountainers would rather die than letting anything happen to this precious ship!
It didn’t take long before the shuttle approached one of the hangar bays of the flagship. As the immense bulk of the Hemmington Cross loomed larger, Ves had to admit that despite her many weaknesses, she still looked impressive on a primal level.
Once the shuttle landed on a designated landing spot, Ves emerged along with Lucky and Nitaa.
He briefly swept his gaze and spotted a lot of activity. The Cross Clan may have lost most of its assets during its flight, but there was no way the Cross clansmen neglected the need for mechs!
Each of the mech models employed by the Crossers were excellent products designed by competent Seniors and Masters.
It was too bad that the clan failed to retain these precious mech designers. The mechs the Crossers currently utilized had no chance of being updated or upgraded in the future. They would have to be replaced entirely if the Crossers wanted to keep up with the times.
“Patriarch Larkinson. Welcome aboard our flagship!”
A small but respectful greeting party stood in front of the arriving shuttle. Ves calmly stepped forward and nodded. “Thank you. Your fleet carrier is an impressive vessel. Is it possible for me to tour your fine flagship?”
The Cross officer beamed with pride. “The Hemmington Cross is our greatest home! However, I’m afraid I have to refuse your request. We cannot allow too many people to decipher the secrets of our flagship. I hope you understand.”
“Understood.”
“Please follow me, sir. Patriarch Reginald is already expecting you at one of our conference rooms.”
They traversed a substantial distance. They took some elevators that took them to the upper decks before boarding a small floater platform that rapidly zipped through the hallways.
Once they arrived at an ornate hatch, Ves had to leave Lucky and Nitaa behind while entering the opulent conference room by himself.
Two people stood up at his arrival.
Patriarch Reginald Cross looked exceptionally pleased at the moment.
“Patriarch Larkinson! You’re just in time! I have just concluded an agreement with this fine gentleman. Please welcome the latest addition to our clan. I’m told he is quite a formidable Senior Mech Designer. Now that we have regained some mech design capabilities of our own, I hope you will revise your expectations of us. Our new guest designer shall be in charge of designing my new expert mech!”
This was new! Ves hadn’t expected the Cross Clan to make such a big move, but in hindsight, it made a lot of sense.
Perhaps the Cross Clan observed how well the Larkinsons were doing and wanted to join in on the action.
As Ves shifted his gaze to the man standing next to the Cross Patriarch, he frowned a bit. The middle-aged man looked a bit familiar.
“Mr. Larkinson! It has been some time.” The Senior strode forward with a strong and vigorous stride. “Don’t you remember me? We used to have business dealings.”
Ves quickly accessed the databanks of his Archimedes Rubal implant and executed a face-matching program.
His heart sank as soon as he saw the results.
“You..” He uttered with shock. “Why are you here?”
“Why can’t I be here? The Sand War ruined all of my industry. I might as well hitch a ride to the Red Ocean rather than wasting my time in this worthless region. The Cross Clan has been generous enough to accept my terms. We might even become collaborators again. Isn’t that good news?”
“Yes… good news..”
Benedict Cortez smirked in satisfaction. “I can already imagine what stellar mechs we can design now that you have grown so much.”
While Lord Reginald Cross looked happy that he managed to employ a Senior, Ves knew that this matter was not so simple.
This was because Ves was one of the few people who knew the actual identity of Benedict Cortez.
In truth, the new guest designer of the Cross Clan was actually Professor Reno Jimenez, who was more infamously known as the Skull Architect!
Ves was standing in front of a bigger war criminal than himself!
