The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1870

Chapter 1870 Acquired Loyalty

Though it sounded paradoxical, Ves believed the best course of action after completing the first iteration was to take a break.

Ves had always been aware that he had become consumed in his work. The Larkinson mech was so important to his future and the future of the Larkinson Clan that he never allowed himself a break during the core phases of the project!

Yet now that project moved on to testing the earliest incarnation of the modular mech platform, Ves and Gloriana deliberately withdrew from the stage.

Instead, they tasked the two design teams to fabricate and test the prototype in all four configurations in the next week.

"That's not enough time!" Miles Tovar protested. "We won't be able to test every significant aspect of the prototype in a couple of days. Don't forget that we have to test the prototype three more times in order to measure the performance of the other three configurations."

"Then fabricate four prototypes, then." Gloriana suggested. "We have the production capacity and we should have enough test pilots to put the four prototypes through their paces at the same time. The only question is whether our material stockpile is adequate enough to fabricate so many expensive mechs."

Ves grinned. "I already prepared the materials in advance. I've already imported a considerable amount of auxiliary materials and lesser exotics. It's a bit more difficult to secure a lot of Breyer alloy at once, but my Battle Criers have continued to procure enough of this vital material to fabricate enough mechs. Be sure to recycle the materials once we are done with the prototype!"

Several months had gone by since he started this design project. This was enough time for the production loop aboard the Scarlet Rose to yield a huge pile of Breyer alloy!

In fact, the only outside factor he cared about when he was in his most driven mood was the supply of Breyer alloy. His Larkinson mech practically hinged the availability of this strong and valuable material. Whether he wanted to make use of its default formula or the one geared towards shock absorption, it was incredibly difficult to fabricate his mech without the essential contribution from 'Cassandra Breyer'!

Ves felt very thankful that his captive spiritual sorceress continued to supply him with 'free' materials. Though the witch had harassed him from time to time, Ves figured that as long as he kept burning her body and escape pod at a rapid pace, she wouldn't have that much energy left to haunt him at inconvenient times.

"So far, she hasn't been bothering me. Am I supposed to feel relieved or apprehensive?"

Her lack of intervention might be a signal that she expended her available reserve of energy. On the other hand, it might also be a sign that she was saving up her spiritual energy for a big move!

Whatever the case, Ves couldn't do anything about it. Cassandra Breyer's mummified body was encased in a runic shell of spiritual energy that seemed impervious to all of his investigations.

Without deepening his understanding of spiritual engineering, Ves had no hope of cracking her existence anytime soon!

"Well, it's not as if I'm curious in the first place." He shrugged. "I'm better off staying as far away from her origin as possible!"

So far, the Battle Criers hadn't reported anything unusual taking place in Compartment G-13, so Ves did not worry about Cassandra any further.

Right now, Ves should take full advantage of his temporary break. As his subordinate mech designers proceeded to band together with a number of mech technicians in order to form four separate fabrication teams, he left the design labs in order to catch up with what he missed.

So far, nothing important enough to disturb him from his work had taken place. Neither Gavin nor Raymond informed him of any major developments.

While the LMC and the other organizations experienced many changes lately, none of it was too far outside their expectations. Most importantly, his fleets continued to grow in size as more and more Ylvainan light carriers continued to be delivered to their doorsteps.

Of course, more ships meant more crew. Practically all of them consisted of Ylvainans, which continued to weigh heavily on Ves. Right now, he had significantly more Ylvainans than Brighters in his employ!

Such a vast shift resulted in shifts in how his enterprise was being run. Aside from the Larkinson Clan which had nothing to do with the Ylvainans, his other organizations were starting to take on a different character!

"The change in culture and mood is a lot more noticeable at the bottom than at the top." Gavin reported. "The top positions still haven't changed, but a lot of Ylvainans have been added to the middle and lower layers of our hierarchy."

"Do the Ylvainans expect representation at the top?" Ves frowned.

"No. Not yet at least. I'm never really sure what the Ylvainans want. They're.. they're so fanatical about working for you that it sometimes sounds as if they're willing to become your slaves!"

Ves scoffed. "That's religion for you. The more people believe in something, the more they lose their common sense! Fanatics are some of the worst people in the galaxy?"

"Well, compared to other Ylvainans, the ones we recruit turn out to be a lot more pious than the average in the Protectorate. They're all well-meaning, though. Most of them are nice and they have received strict orders not to push their beliefs in our faces. It's just..."

"It's difficult to avoid their influence when they're so ubiquitous. I'm aware of the consequences, Benny, but we don't have a choice. Our ships won't run well without competent crews. It would be a severe dereliction of duty if I throw them into battle while they're being run by amateurs!"

The original Larkinson Family had never been geared towards independence. The old family mainly concerned itself with training mech pilots.

"I can do so by forming my own culture!"

This was a very huge endeavor and couldn't be done in a single day. He had already taken the first steps with the establishment of the Larkinson Clan and the empowerment of the Larkinson Mandate.

With the Golden Cat as the spiritual heart, Ves hoped that the norms and values of the Larkinson Clan would slowly propagate to the LMC and his other organizations.

Ves was not deluded to think he could supplant the Ylvainan Faith in its entirety within his enterprise. He just wanted to decrease its prominence until it became a background entity.

As Ves shared some of his ideas with Gavin and Raymond, the two mostly agreed with his sentiment.

"The Ylvainans aren't problems per se, but they will definitely take over your organizations if we don't restrict their behavior." Raymond said. "Most of our clansmen don't really know what to make of the Ylvainans. They're so obviously superstitious, but they're also some of the friendliest foreigners we have met. It's very difficult to hate your fans."

"I think we need to adopt more drastic measures to integrate them into our way of life, boss. We should make it clear that the Ylvainans are supposed to adapt to us instead of the opposite."

"How do you suggest we do that, Benny?"

"You already told us how. The Larkinson Clan should become the model that everyone aspires to become. Don't you have a retainer structure in place? And didn't your clan open up a road for adoption for retainers?"

Ves and Raymond both looked at Gavin in shock!

"You're suggesting that we give the Ylvainans a chance to become like us!" Raymond exploded. "Do you know how controversial that sounds? Their foreign beliefs will weaken our clan and dilute our core values. What do you think, Ves?"

Once he got over his shock, Ves seriously considered the possibility.

"I'm not sure it will work out the way you think, Benny." He eventually spoke. "I'm leaning towards Raymond's opinion. I don't think the Ylvainans want to turn into Larkinsons. They're still committed to their own identities. There is nothing we can offer to them that can lure them away from their faith. In my opinion, it's pointless to try. That's why I emphasize the need to integrate them while respecting their beliefs."

In other words, Ves was stuck with the Ylvainan Faith as long as he continued to employ its believers. As long as they had no reason to abandon him, they would probably be a part of his enterprise for generations to come!