The Mech Touch

Ves became delighted with the new batch of mech designers. Alexa Streon had proven her competence and usefulness in an excellent manner by making an incredibly thoughtful selection that closely matched his own intentions.

Each of the new recruits easily satisfied his minimum expectations. Many of them brought

additional extras to the table, such as the ability to independently develop custom mech systems.

With all of the range of specializations that this large group of Journeymen introduced to the Design Department, it became theoretically possible to design a mech completely in-house without relying on any third-party licenses!

Of course, it was far too slow and inefficient for the Larkinsons to invent the wheel themselves all of the time when there were perfectly serviceable licenses available on the open market.

It was still better to have those specialists around than not. Ves knew it would make a massive difference in all of his mech design projects going forward if he was able to consult the expert opinions on essential parts and systems such as sensors arrays, gauss weapons, power reactors, light mechs and etcetera.

He already had a good taste of that when he collaborated with Master Decimus Horst on the Supremo Project. Not only was the academic Master a font of wisdom in the field of heavy artillery mechs, but he was also able to utilize his extensive network of contacts among his peers in Davute to obtain high-level technical support, but he could also gain a lot of direction just by exchanging ideas with a diverse range of experts.

In short, the addition of so many confident and motivated Journeymen was bound to enrich the Design Department and significantly raise the quality of all of the output going forward!

The only headache that Ves had to deal with was the need to manage all of the strong personalities that had joined the clan all of a sudden.

Due to special reasons, high-ranking mech designers enjoyed an eminent status within the Larkinson Clan.

Sure, expert pilots such as Commander Casella Ingvar and more recently Venerable Benjamin Larkinson received a lot of respect from the rank-and-file.

Ilowever, the Larkinson Clan had been set up from the ground up as an organization where its military branches strictly answered to its civilian administration and not the other way around. Nobody knew whether this structure could be maintained in the long run, but for now the strong leadership exercised by Ves, Gloriana and Ketis had already set the pattern that the leading mech designers possessed the strongest voice in the clan.

That needed to change.

While Ves was more than willing to entrust the likes of Juliet Stameros and Sara Voiken with greater responsibility, the latest batch of Journeymen had yet to prove themselves in any way. It would be too unreasonable to give them actual control over an important arm of the clan.

Ves continued to struggle over how he should reorganize the Design Department as he prepared to depart from the Bortele System.

There was no need for him to do any further publicity or relations management. Much of the LMC's product catalog was still outdated and badly needed to get refreshed, but its sales was doing better than ever due to all of the Fey Fiannas getting sold!

It went without saying that the modest amount of inventory that the LMC's manufacturing complexes managed to produce in the past few weeks had already been wiped out in an instant! What was even more ridiculous was that the fixed customers of the IMC who managed to gain priority over their orders immediately proceeded to resell their new mechs on the second-hand market again.

The brand-new Fey Fiannas hadn't even been pulled out from their large shipping containers before they got sold to rich customers who readily paid 5 to 10 times the market price just so that they did not have to wait for many months to finally receive their new hyper drone mechs! What these people did not know was that the Living Mech Corporation had finally solved its persistent lack of production capacity.

Hours before Ves was scheduled to teleport back to the Blucjay Fleet, he and his staff paid a visit to the local branch headquarters of Isthmus Manufacturing.

As a large mech producer that was highly active in both the first-class and second-class mech market, the big company also possessed a substantial footprint on Bortele III.

It was here that Ves and his entourage received a warm welcome!

Banners of both the Larkinson Clan, the Living Mech Corporation and many other Rubathan symbols hung from the high ceiling of an elaborately decorated ceremonial hall.

Many executives, managers and VIP customers of Isthmus Manufacturing attended the important occasion while dressed in their best formal wear.

Everyone briefly fell silent and waited with baited breath as Ves took an autopen and 'signed' a materialized version of the extensive contract that had just been finalized in the carly morning!

The physical projection of the Impresario Prince appeared in the ceremonial hall as well. He had no need to make use of an autopen and simply used his exquisite calligraphy skill to produce a dazzling signature!

Ves minutely widened his eyes as he saw Prince Casevir deliver a small performance in public. Compared to the depressed and despondent artist that Ves met the first time, the Impresario Prince of today exuded a much more optimistic demeanor!

While the Rubarthan prince certainly knew how to present himself in public, Ves was pretty sure he could still discern whether a person was faking it or not. There were plenty of signs that the Impresario Prince had genuinely managed to turn his life around.

This happened way too quickly!

Ves expected that a tortured soul like the Impresario Prince would take many months to get over his lifelong obsession over his father and start living for himself for a change.

Yet barely a few days had gone by, and he already started to present himself as a man who had successfully managed to reinvent himself!

Even though this was just the start of his turning point, the fact that he had managed to make the first and most crucial step of all was incredibly significant!

As long as he persisted in this new course, Prince Casevir was bound to utilize his impressive skills and his accumulated experience into producing a new wave of art that truly reflected his

passion!

After he had signed the contract with an impressive flourish, the Rubarthan prince directed a sincere smile at Ves.

Many people who witnessed this important occasion wondered how Ves managed to develop such a tight relationship with the 5733rd Prince.

The two did not share any direct relations with each other before this week. Yet now that they came together, Ves and Casevir readily conveyed the impression that they had already become good friends and allies!

Now that the Larkinson Clan had obtained a heavy chunk of Isthmus Manufacturing, Ves had officially made an entry into Rubarthan high society!

It didn't matter that he had yet to step foot inside the Rubarthan Pact. His prior relationship with the Destroyer of Worlds and his recently instituted partnership with Isthmus Manufacturing caused his voice to gain real weight among the Rubarthans!

Isthmus Manufacturing had not even introduced the Supremo Project yet. After it had managed to gain ownership over this commissioned mech design, the company's entire top management team began to work day and night to formulate the biggest marketing campaign to date!

A heavy artillery mech that actually possessed the ability to channel a fraction of the power of a Rubarthan god pilot deserved no less!

Though the potential sales potential of the Supremo Project was even greater than the Fey Fianna line, it took a lot of set up in order to roll it out properly.

Not only were heavy mechs a lot more troublesome to fabricate in most standard mech factories, their typical clientele also expected to receive much more extensive service for these

specialty products.

In short, it would probably take at least a month for Isthmus Manufacturing to be able to introduce the Supremo Product to the public in a hurry.

Word about the Supremo Project had not yet spread to this level, so much of the discussion that took place after the signing ceremony centered around how the Larkinsons intended to make use of their new 20 percent stake in their massive company.

The physical projection of the Impresario Prince did not disappear right away. The prince instead chose to linger a bit longer so that he could speak directly to Ves. "Congratulations, Professor Larkinson. The net worth of your clan has increased by over a trillion MTA credits. If you are ever short on cash, selling just a fraction of your shares should readily solve your liquidity problems."

Ves chuckled as he held a thin glass of an imported blue wine made from hybrid alien grapes. "We will never sell those shares if we can help it. Besides, this really isn't about the money" "Oh? Are you that dismissive about the windfall that you have managed to secure for your clan?" "Money is just a number to me these days. The true currency in the new frontier is control over resources and hard assets. I do not believe that you are blind to this fundamental truth, Your

Highness."

Prince Casevir responded with a knowing smile. "You already know how to play the game. The stake that you have just obtained will serve as your foothold in the Rubarthan Pact. Don't forget that the headquarters of Isthmus Manufacturing is located in my principality. If you and your clan are finally ready to enter the Rubarthan Pact, I am more than willing to host your presence."

"I shall take your offer into account, Your Highness."

This was a clear invitation from the Impresario Prince to deepen their relationship even further. Ves was not entirely comfortable with that idea. He did not want to become overly reliant on a single prince in order to maintain his standing within the Rubarthan Pact.

There were still numerous opportunities for Ves to forge connections with Casevir's other siblings such as the renowned Inferno Spear Prince.

partner turned his back on the

It was always better to secure more redundancies in case Larkinsons all of a sudden! This was why Ves did not feel enthused about setting up shop in the Impresario Principality.

Perhaps Casevir managed to read Ves' true intentions, because he quickly switched the topic.

"What are your immediate plans?"

"I intend to return to the Terran Alliance and continue to teach my classes and design new mechs. At the same time, I am working to promote to a first-class mech designer at a speedy

pace."

"I hope you will be able to design first-class mechs as quickly as possible. Prince Casevir sincerely spoke. "I have studied all of your works, professor. Your expert mechs are clearly a step above your standard mech models. It is clear your art and your vision are increasingly being constrained by the practical limitations of second-class mechs. I believe that the freedom of choice of first-class mechs will allow you to truly unleash your creative vision upon our society!" "I'm not sure whether I will roll out a first-class mech design of my own that quickly." Ves skeptically replied. "I have received a lot of advice on how it is better to dip my toes in the first-class mech market by collaborating with mech designers that have already established themselves in this sector. I intend to follow this suggestion and spend a number of years working and learning alongside my peers."

"That is a prudent decision. I can refer you to a dozen Rubarthan Masters who you can approach for cooperation. They may even be interested in collaborating with you on designing more immediate second-class mechs. Isthmus Manufacturing is quite impressed with your most recent collaborative work. It shows that you can deliver excellent results whenever you collaborate with a knowledgeable and experienced partner."

In other words, Isthmus already had thoughts about how Ves should fulfill the next commission.