The Mech Touch

Raella's proposal completely derailed the meeting, but this was not a bad change.

Ves and many other Larkinsons recognized that they could solve their biggest problem by engaging in unconventional solutions.

Though trying to win all of these tournaments was an extremely risky and unreliable method of obtaining additional carrier vessels, it wasn't as if the clan had any better options at the moment!

However, before the Larkinsons could look up the list of upcoming tournaments and sign up on the ones they thought they could win, they needed to take a few more factors into consideration.

"You know, from what I have heard about our problems so far, a lot of it has to do with our lack of reputation." Raella cleverly observed as she swept her gaze across the virtual meeting room. "In my experience, building up fame and reputation makes everything easier. People who used to ignore or dismiss you will take you a lot more seriously if your name is on people's lips. There are many ways to build up our rep, but winning tournaments is one of the fastest ways to do so. Even if we don't win any of them, we will still be able to impress a lot of different observers. Some of them might want to approach us in order to work together or something."

That was great news. Ves directed his gaze towards Minister Shederin, who agreed with the young woman.

"Director Raella Larkinson indeed makes a good point, but there is another side to this coin. As long as we perform well enough, people will look at us with more respect. However, if we perform poorly in public, we will be branded as losers or laughingstocks. We need to be careful not to participate in any competitions that are too difficult for us. Even if we forgo the most attractive prize pools, it is not worth embarrassing ourselves in front of every pioneer and facilitator in the Red Ocean."

"That's true, minister." Ves said as he rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "Back in the galactic rim, we were able to accomplish a lot more than other organizations due to all of the fame, prestige and notoriety we accrued. We've lost much of the advantages we used to enjoy because it is too hard to transfer all of that stuff to the Red Ocean. There are pioneering organizations with much more impressive backgrounds in this place. Perhaps we might be able to get individual people and organizations to give us a second look if they know about our record and accomplishments, but that is not as good as building our reputation right here in front of everyone."

The prior discussions already made it clear that people in the Red Ocean did not operate based on open transactions, but rather leaned on private connections.

Making friends, impressing business partners and establishing long-term cooperative agreements with individual organizations was the only way to cut through the extremely long lines.

Perhaps this might change fifty or a hundred years from now. By that time, trade and industry would have developed to a point where they were able to support properly functioning markets for many different goods.

Yet Ves and the Larkinson Clan couldn't afford to stand still and do nothing for five whole decades. The entire point of entering the Red Ocean early was to take advantage of the rising tide at its onset!

In any case, as long as the Larkinsons performed well enough, they not only had a chance of winning extremely precious carrier ships, but also made a name for themselves in the local community. This made it even more compelling for the clan to take part in these activities!

The lengthy meeting soon moved on to other topics, but after discussing a few more boring matters, it finally came to an end.

Everyone knew what they had to do for the next few days and weeks. Aside from recruiting personnel, procuring essential goods and taking care of a few other essential matters, the Larkinsons also prepared to participate in many different tournaments!

Raella took it upon herself to coordinate this matter. Her competitive background and familiarity with mech duels and tournaments would be extremely helpful in determining which competitions the Larkinsons actually had a shot at winning.

"By the way, Raella, are there any tournaments where our expert pilots can take part in?" Ves asked as many other Larkinsons started to leave the virtual conference room.

She shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. The MTA has always maintained the stance that expert pilots should never devolve into gladiators. It would only cheapen, corrupt and devolve these noble warriors. Besides, it is way too difficult to ensure the safety of the expert pilots and the audience during these intensive duels. Expert mechs are not only powerful, their ability to leverage true resonance allows them to break many limitations, such as the protective barriers that shield people from damage…"

"Damn." Ves spoke, though he didn't have much hope in the first place. He was already familiar with these arguments. "I'm not sure whether our regular mech troops are competitive enough here in Vulit, but I'm pretty sure that our expert mechs can vanquish over other ones as long as they aren't high-tier machines."

Raella looked wistful for a moment. "It would have been nice to show off all of our masterwork expert mechs in a full arena."

The Amaranto, the Shield of Samar and the Everchanger were all spectacular machines!

The latter was exceptionally suited to perform in mech duels due to its fantastic versatility and adaptability. As long as Ves learned about Venerable Joshua's next opponent in advance, he could quickly change the configuration of the Everchanger to counter the enemy machine!

It was too bad the MTA were being so high-minded about this issue. Everything that happened in the Vulit Central Star Node had to conform with the rules.

Raella smirked. "The MTA isn't as strong and oppressive in every part of the Red Ocean, Ves. I haven't heard any rumors or anything, but I'm guessing that there are definitely locations in the Red Ocean where people have a… different idea about allowing expert pilots to compete."

Ves coughed. "You're probably right, but we will CERTAINLY not venture anywhere close to these shady places just so that we can compete in these shady tournaments. Isn't that correct, director?"

He did not forget that everything was being monitored by the MTA. Talking about anything that went against the MTA's policies was a great way to attract unwanted attention!

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Ves. In any case, I have an appointment with General Verle. I've already scouted a number of tournaments where I think it would be great if a couple of our mech pilots and mech legions take part."

"Okay. Ah, one more question. Can expert candidates enter these competitions as well?"

"They can." Raella confirmed. "Of course, each tournament sets their own rules about this. If we are able to field expert candidates, then so can the enemy, so take that into account."

"And the MTA is okay with that?"

"Sure. Unlike expert pilots, expert candidates are much easier to contain in battle. The only exception is when they manage to achieve a breakthrough, but this is a happy and a spectacular occasion. In fact, any mech tournament where an expert candidate can participate is basically a convenient opportunity for them to find their breakthrough opportunity. I highly suggest we put all of our expert candidates to use. They can take part in both individual duels and large group matches alongside regular mech pilots."

"Okay, you can work it out with General Verle." Ves said. "Although I'm not in the mood to start another expert mech design project, the clan urgently needs more individually-powerful machines, so we will develop other ones if we gain additional expert pilots."

Once Ves parted ways with Raella, he spent the next hour meeting with individual leaders.

An important matter was the question of how the LMC should conduct business in the Red Ocean. Ves preferred to return to a boutique approach where he designed and sold smaller batches of high-quality products, but Chief Minister Raymond thought that this was too limited.

"There are limits to how much you can charge customers by adopting this business strategy." The older Larkinson told Ves. "Although the conditions aren't good yet, as long as we are able to befriend parties that hold actual territory in the new frontier, I would like to explore the option of building a large manufacturing complex on a planet. This way, we can not only ramp up our local production, but also serve a fixed market."

This was a severe deviation of Ves' original intentions for his clan. His goal was to avoid any possible reason to get anchored to a specific state or planet.

However, the reality was not as good as he wished. Considering all of their difficulties, it might be better for Ves to soften his stance.

"I'm not opposed to the idea, but only if it is affordable for us to abandon this ground installation and cut our losses if we are under threat." He told Raymond. "The production facility shouldn't be too costly and I don't want any of our clansmen to get stuck in such a place."

"These are… difficult demands to meet."

"Well, too bad, because I don't want to enter a situation where I have to bring my entire fleet straight into a trap because our enemies have threatened to raze our ground installation if we don't show up." Ves snorted.

Given his past history, it was quite likely that his enemies would resort to such an act!

Though Raymond hoped that Ves would make a greater commitment, he was willing to work with what he got. He didn't expect to make much progress on this front, though.

"What Raella said is correct, sadly. Our reputation is nearly non-existent in the Red Ocean. As long as that is the case, it is improbable that our clan will be able to lease territory on a newly-colonized planet so that we can build a manufacturing complex. This might change if we win a couple of tournaments, though."

"Wait for the good news."

Once Ves concluded all of the private meetings, he withdrew from the virtual space and fully returned to his hotel.

Lucky had already left the window and had joined Clixie in watching over a sleeping Aurelia.

"Meow~"

"Miaow~"

Gloriana had been spending her time on other activities. She got in touch with other Hexers in the Red Ocean and watched the local news feeds while also tending to her baby.

When Ves sat next to her on the couch, he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. This also gave him a good opportunity to enjoy her fresh scent.

It was different from her other ones. Perhaps it was one of the many new perfumes she bought from the mall they recently visited.

"How did the meeting go?" She asked.

"We talked about a lot of stuff. There's one matter that is quite interesting to us, though."

He quickly explained all of the competitions and tournaments that took place in Vulit.

Unlike Ves, Gloriana wasn't as enthused about the prospect of competing in public.

"Don't you remember that I abhor design competitions?" She frowned. "There's always too little time for us to complete a sound mech. Each and every competition mech we design and make are horrible rush jobs that are riddled with flaws. They're so grating on me that I simply can't stand them. If you or Ketis or any other mech designer in the clan want to go off designing horrible, poorly-made mechs that are only designed to last a couple of fights at best, then be my guest, but I will not profane my eyes by developing a shoddy product!"

"…Okay. Suit yourself then, honey.. I think you're missing out, though."