The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3063

Chapter 3063: Boarding a Pirate Ship

After Ves issued his brief announcement, he didn't give the Purnessers a lot of opportunities to ask any questions. Other Larkinsons stepped forward in order to organize and sort the rescued people into different groups.

None of the clansmen cared about the complaints of the Purnessers or their exact identities.

Who cared whether someone claimed to have been a former planetary minister of Trieden II?

He was just an old man now that he had fallen into the grasp of the Larkinson Clan! _{fɾēewebnσveℓ.com}

It didn't even matter if some of the Purnessers or their retainers were mech pilots. None of them received any special treatment.

Of course, the Larkinsons might be tough, but they weren't cruel. They did not set out to bully the Purnessers or inflict any harm on them. They just performed their jobs without any extraneous thoughts.

A group of Larkinson school teachers began to receive the children of the Purnesse Family… Some of the latter cried for various reasons, but the teachers efficiently injected a small drug in their bodies to calm them down.

Some old fogeys and veterans of the Larkinson Clan took away the elderly, disabled and retired members of the Purnesse Family. Pregnant women and other vulnerable people also joined this group.

Even though these people did not add much value to the Larkinson Clan, their presence and views were still important in many ways.

The clan would never kick them off the fleet!

The Larkinson Clan was supposed to be one big family, and caring for the older generation was an important facet of this ideal.

In short, Ves did not impose any excessive demands on the weak and less capable members of the Purnesse Family.

His focus remained on the healthy, able, competent and clever members of the Purnesse Family. As long as these able-bodied Loxians recovered from their traumas, they should immediately be ready to slot into their new jobs in the Larkinson Clan.

Ves did not intend to make their transition too easy, though. He was afraid that the Purnessers were too spoiled and entitled to appreciate the new chance they received.

In order to rectify these possible traits and ensure the Purnessers didn't make any undesirable waves in the Larkinson Clan, they had to go through a mandatory training program.

The point wasn't to turn them into soldiers. That was a huge waste of time considering that they had already chosen their paths in life.

Ves merely planned out a series of… introductions and experiential activities in order to encourage them to forget about their old ways.

Once these able-bodied Purnessers were sorted into several subgroups, a series of passenger craft arrived to take them to their first 'training site'.

"They're on their way to the Swordmaiden contingent of our fleet, right?"

Calabast hesitantly nodded. "They are, but… a lot of us are questioning whether it is wise to subject them to the tender mercies of the Swordmaidens. You know how demanding those women can get. Their backgrounds as pirates also ensures that they will not develop any good impressions of the blue-blooded Purnessers."

What Ves had done was little different from throwing a well-dressed noble into a pack of beggars!

There was no way that both sides would be able to achieve harmony!

The grin on his face did not abate, however.

"That's exactly why I think the Swordmaidens are the best people to receive the Purnessers first." He enthusiastically replied. "I can trust those women not to get too enamoured by the former identities of our upcoming members. I also trust that they are professional enough not to break their charges."

"What if you are wrong?"

Ves shrugged. "Oh well. It's not a big deal if a large shipment of goods contains a few defective products. We have already received more than enough Purnessers to last us a while. How many did we gain, exactly?"

"According to our current count, we registered 1879 trueblood members of the Purnesse Family and 16,754 employees and retainers."

The latter were not technically Purnessers, but they were raised and sheltered by them, so they possessed similar mindsets. This was why Ves did not intend to treat them differently from their former employers.

As Ves and Calabast continued to oversee the transfers of the different groups of Purnessors, a pair of guards brought forth an old but stately-looking Loxian.

The older man regarded the two leaders with a humble posture. The man's inherent dignity could not be hidden, but the way in which the Purnesser leader conveyed humility was highly convincing.

If Ves didn't know that he was dealing with a professional liar, he would have been sold by the performance!

Of course, the niceties still had to be followed, so he replaced his devious smirk with a friendly smile.

"Ambassador Shederin Purnesse, welcome to the Larkinson fleet. Again, I apologize for not being able to induct you and your family members into the fold straight away, but unlike the rest of our recruits, your people have not yet proven to be worthy to become a Larkinson. I hope you understand."

It didn't take long for him to resolve his dilemma.

"Meow."

Lucky quickly zipped towards Calabast!

Fortunately for the cat, Ves did not notice Lucky's absence. Instead, he had become fully engaged in providing Shederin with a brief overview of his clan and its various relations.

Though Shederin Purnesse only possessed a shallow understanding the Larkinson Clan, he had already formed a number of preliminary conclusions.

"The Golden Skull Alliance has great promise in my eyes." He slowly said. "It is just that your clan is not tapping its full potential out of an abundance of caution."

Ves looked puzzled. "Why would you say that, Mr. Shederin."

Now that the conversation turned to more familiar territory to the former ambassador, Shederin finally raised his head a little.

"There are many reasons why I think this way. First, your clan cannot do everything. You have already established this yourself. It is best if you can combine forces with other organizations that possess different competences. This way, you can each benefit from the strengths of your partners without investing a disproportionate amount of effort into expanding your own capabilities. If you just want to grow your clan quietly and over a span of a few centuries, then you might consider this approach, but you are looking to achieve a good start in the Red Ocean. The pace of development and competition in the dwarf galaxy is so high that you cannot bank on long-term plans to achieve success."

"The early bird gets the worm." Ves succinctly said.

"Just so, patriarch." Shederin sagely nodded. "I have studied the conditions of the Red Ocean extensively even if I never held any intentions to enter it. When I compare the current trends with what has happened in past colonization waves, I have found that collective action has a much higher chance of success than trying to achieve everything by yourself."

"You don't have much hope that we'll be able manage in our current conditions."

"Oh, heavens, no. According to my preliminary estimates and calculations, the chance that your clan will be able to survive ten years after entering the Red Ocean is 8.7 percent!"

Ves almost had a heart attack when he heard this figure. "8.7 percent? Isn't that too low?!"

The old man shook his head. "In fact, this is a rather optimistic estimate based on rosy projections of your future growth and development. In my more pessimistic scenarios, the chance of survival can dip as low as 0.3 percent."

0.3 percent!