The Mech Touch

Every new major star system offered a wealth of options to visitors like Ves. While he felt irked by the sheer amount of 'house rules' set by the local authorities, the Prosperous Hill System was nonetheless a paradise to anyone looking to purchase a lot of goods and services.

While the expeditional fleet slowly settled into its assigned parking grid in the outer system, the crews of every starship became busy.

The vessels had to be cleaned up and checked for anything that the authorities might take fault with. Radioactive materials, explosive payloads, unstable power reactors and any other risky element had to be properly secured and stowed away. The ship's manifests had to be in order. The new arrivals also had to submit a summary of the goods and services they expected to buy or sell.

All in all, traffic control and many other official institutions demanded a lot of paperwork in order to make sure that every visitor had honest intentions in mind.

"Some of the information we've submitted are shrouded in uncertainty." Ves skeptically remarked to Gavin during a status report. "For example, there is no guarantee that we'll actually be able to recruit at least 5,000 mech pilots and 50 Apprentice Mech Designers in Prosperous Hill."

"The authorities won't quibble over that, boss. What they truly care about is our intentions. As long as we go through the motions by setting up a recruitment center and interview a lot of applicants, the Planetary Guard won't look nervously at us. If we don't do what we've stated and instead decide to visit some of the seeder places of Prosperous Hill VI, then their inspectors will soon knock on our doors."

"I see. Is it hard to maintain order in this star system?"

His assistant shook his head. "It's not that bad according to our sources. The potential for problems is always great when a star system becomes host to millions of visitors who come from all kinds of places. Many of them are average people but there are also those who are used to making their own rules rather than obeying them. Local security has to show a forceful stance in order to curb any excess behavior."

It was not easy to maintain law and order in such an open star system. The rulers of Prosperous Hill wanted to attract a lot of trade and commerce, but did not want the living environment to sink to a low point. They had to balance the demands of both locals and visitors in order to maintain an acceptable equilibrium.

"All I'm hearing is a lot of nuance." Ves frowned. "That makes it difficult for me to determine the actual circumstances. Just give me a verdict. Is this place safer than Bentheim in its prime?"

"...I would say it is safer." Gavin reluctantly answered. "Don't take my word for it though, boss. My information is based on secondary and tertiary sources. If you want to know the real score, you need to ask someone who is rooted in this star system. Still, the amount of incidents that have actually taken place is low unless you venture off the beaten path. Trouble is bad for business and Prosperous Hill doesn't have a history of open gang warfare like what Bentheimers took for granted."

"Yet there are still gangs in Prosperous Hill VI, right?"

He had seen too much of the galaxy. There were always groups of malcontents in every large concentration of humans.

"There are, but they're not as crude or ugly as those who can be found in third-rate states."

"What do you mean by that, Benny?"

"Well, they're smarter. They don't style themselves as gangs and even their lowest-ranking members don't dress up like literal street thugs. They wear discrete suits or uniforms and they act as if they are part of a gentleman's club or an employee union or something. They mostly earn their living from honest business with a bit of grey market activities on the side. There is always a veneer of legality to these disguised gangs, but deep down they aren't above pulling off bombings or assassinations to expand their turf."

That sounded just like his former as far as Ves was concerned.

"What about the black market?"

"That… is more complicated." Gavin looked doubtful. "There is very scant word about the shadier side of business in this star system. All I can tell you is that it definitely exists, but it is kept well under wraps. That's unusual considering the sheer amount of control and surveillance that takes place. While the black market organizations may just be that good, I think there's another explanation at hand."

"The official institutions are colluding with the black market organizations." Ves guessed.

"That's my guess as well, though I won't go as far to say that the highest officials are in on it. You have to know that the greater the control, the greater the need for release. As long as a small group of key officials are swayed, an entire portion of the security structure becomes compromised."

That was true. When it came to these kinds of structures, a chain was only as strong as its weakest link. No matter how much a security structure tried to control everything, the people in charge of specific responsibilities could easily tamper with important system."

"Well, this has nothing to do with us." Ves frowned. "I don't even know why we're delving into this matter. There is absolutely no need for us to engage with the murkier side of Prosperous Hill. We only have honest business in mind."

"You're correct, boss, but you shouldn't dismiss the black market so easily. While I don't have any indicators that describe the local situation, from what I have learned, busy port systems like these actually offer a lot of exclusive goods. It's just that the buyers and sellers of these goods have to be competent enough to seek out contacts, forge connections, gain approval and conduct business while remaining completely innocent on the surface. Those who get caught don't deserve to enter a black market in the first place."

"So it's that kind of arrangement."

This reminded Ves of something. He pulled back one of the drawers of his office desk and pulled out a secure comm that he normally didn't use. He activated it and navigated its file structure until he projected the item he sought.

A virtual bronze member card spun into view. The prominent logo of a white wing adorned its front.

"What is that, boss?" Gavin curiously asked.

"This.. is an invitation card that I've received a long time ago." Ves smiled. "I have a feeling that Prosperous Hill is exactly the kind of place where a huge black market organization that spans the entire galactic may be present."

"Does the card convey any directions or coordinates where you can find one of their branches?"

Ves looked closely at the virtual card. "I'm not sure. I think I need to activate it or something. I haven't really explored it before. We'll have to be careful on how we utilize it lest we attract the wrong kind of attention."

"Earlier, you said you just wanted to conduct honest business. Have you changed your mind all of a sudden?"

"It's not what you think. I'm merely keeping my options open." Ves quickly defended himself.

After all, what was a resource for if it wasn't being used? He hated letting potentially-valuable assets go to waste.

Of course, that didn't mean he would just head to the nearest branch of the Angel's Wing Foundation straight away. The providence and background of the member card was highly problematic.

He recalled that a cultist awarded him with the virtual card after doing his best in some kind of contest back in the frontier. The Church of Haatumak turned out to be a lot more dangerous than he thought. The crazed cultists were not only affiliated with the Five Scrolls Compact, but also tried to ambush the Flagrant Swordmaidens!

It stood to reason that the Angel's Wing Foundation was also suspect. Ves guessed with great confidence that this black market organization was also operated by the Five Scrolls Compact in secret!

Yet the more dangerous it sounded, the more Ves felt intrigued by the products it offered. The organization was famed for selling rare and prohibited biological goods. Illegal bioimplants, experimental gene mod templates, loyalty organs and many other items that he couldn't even begin to imagine were on sale.

Since these goods had to be worthwhile enough for customers to go through all of the trouble to buy, they had to be extremely interesting to people like Ves!

It was too bad that it was far too irresponsible for Ves to visit any location connected to the foundation in person. He shut down the comm and put it back into his drawer. He intended to explore this option later. He may decide to pass it on to the Black Cats and let them visit the foundation as his surrogate. That was the most prudent course of action.

"Let's talk about something else." Ves changed the topic. "Has there been any progress with regards to exchanging our Auralis for another capital ship?"

Gavin brightened up. "Interest in the Auralis is higher than expected!"

"Oh? Others want to get their hands on our golden prize that bad?"

"Yes! While it may seem normal to us, not everyone has access to ships built according to military standards. The Hexers treated you quite well when they filled up the Spirit of Bentheim with military-grade systems and components. Not every power player is as chummy with the government of a powerful second-rate state like you. While anyone who obtains the Auralis must doubtlessly invest a lot of time and money in removing as many hidden dangers as possible, this is still a worthwhile tradeoff considering they can get powerful features that can't be bought on the open market."

His personal assistant's meaning was very clear. The Auralis was a very scarce commodity that was normally in the hands of military organizations. Now that one of them suddenly became available to purchase, dozens of interested buyers had already approached the Larkinson Clan with an offer.

Ves smirked. He enjoyed this situation. As long as he managed the bidding process well, he could milk a lot of benefits out of this exchange.

"Are there any concerns or issues?"

Gavin nodded. "There's one important matter that needs your input. You need to tell our engineers whether they should leave the most valuable systems in place or if we should rip them out and take them for ourselves."

"Wouldn't that diminish the Auralis' value?"

"You're right. It will. Still, our engineers are already drooling over the long-range FTL drives and the AI core of the Fridayman capital ship. If you are confident that we'll be able to strip them down, inspect all of the parts, and assemble them back together, it may be worthwhile to use them ourselves."

Ves could already imagine expanding the FTL range of the Spirit of Bentheim. It would become a lot more difficult to catch up to her with upgraded drives!

Yet.. could he really trust Fridayman hardware? No matter how thoroughly the engineers combed over every single part, there was no guarantee that they would be able to catch every single anomaly. Ves could think of at least a hundred subtle ways to sabotage the operation of any machine without leaving any obvious traces behind!

He became plagued with doubt. Without enough confidence, he would never dare to implement the valuable long-range FTL drives in any of his capital ships.

"Let's keep this question open for now." He eventually decided. "Try and find out how much the bidders are willing to pay for an Auralis with or without her powerful FTL drives."

"Will do, sir, but the total valuation of our prize will drop by at least a third I think."

That sounded harsh but fair. A deep strike fleet carrier couldn't really be called that way anymore without the drives that enabled her distinct role.