The Mech Touch

Ves originally wanted to save the Superpublish function for the Chimera Project.

He wanted to make sure that Venerable Joshua's expert mech would become the best out of the current batch of expert mechs that he designed and made. Directly improving the quality of the Chimera Project's complicated design would definitely yield a lot of results.

Yet… this was not exactly an efficient decision. Much of the gains that he could derive from Superpublishing a mech design was not the immediate improvement in a single work, but all of the methods and solutions that a different source had implemented onto the original work.

The latter meant that it was much more beneficial if he employed the Superpublish function earlier rather than later!

Though the Dark Zephyr preceded the Sentry Project, Ves thought it was a bad idea to Superpublish the expert light skirmisher.

The first time was the most special. Ves did not want to spoil the first expert mech that he had a significant part in designing and making. He did not regret this decision as he was more than happy with the Dark Zephyr's performance.

Could it have been better? Certainly. Was it desirable? Not if it came at the expense of more worthy choices.

The plain reality was that light mechs were simply less valuable and impactful than more substantial machines. They were smaller, cheaper, less demanding and less burdensome to design and craft. That made it an excellent starting point for Ves to dip his toes into expert mech.

Designing the Dark Zephyr was more of a trial than anything else. All of the problems and complications that Ves and the other Journeyman encountered during the fabrication run proved that it had been necessary for them to undergo this ordeal by themselves.

Now that Ves had experienced what it was like to complete an expert mech design project, he no longer needed to stick to this original approach.

It was fine to ask for help every once in a while. Though Ves did not like the fact that his ownership of a Superpublished design would definitely drop, this was a relatively small price to pay for all of the benefits that he and his fellow mech designers stood to gain.

"Besides, as much as I care about the Sentry Project, it's not dedicated to an actual Larkinson expert pilot.

Venerable Davia Stark may have pledged to fight on behalf of the Larkinson Clan, but her true loyalties remained uncertain. Ves did not expect her to stick with the clan permanently considering her motivations.

"Even if she sticks with us for a hundred years, she probably won't feel any reluctance to part ways with us once she has fulfilled her promise."

He knew better than most that expert pilots were incredibly stubborn about their choices. Their iron-clad wills essentially made it impossible for others to indoctrinate them! The survivor of a fallen and forgotten third-rate state definitely had greater objectives in mind, ones that would inevitably cause her to split ways with the Larkinson Clan!

Since this was the case, Ves felt a lot better about losing some ownership in the Sentry Project in exchange for receiving a lot of useful gains.

Once he announced his choice, his wife enthusiastically endorsed his decision. She was incredibly hungry for more guidance and practically shooed him away so that he could 'contact' Mr. S. and request the mysterious mech designer to make a pass on the latest iteration of the Sentry Project.

"I can't wait to receive the guidance of a supreme mech designer!" Gloriana exclaimed, completely ignoring the fact that the presumed Master or Star Designer was most probably a man rather than a woman. "Don't come back until you can deliver an improved mech design!"

Ves pretended to go somewhere private in order to make contact with his secret patron. In truth, he simply summoned his System comm, activated the Superpublish function and applied it to the Sentry Project.

After that, he suppressed his desire to study the transformed design and acted as if Mr. S. hadn't gotten back to him yet. He spent the remainder of the day attending his other duties.

One of the more important ones was checking up on what the newly-instated chief ministers were up to. He decided to head over to his main office and summoned them all in order to have a good talk.

The chief ministers currently resided on the Spirit of Bentheim, but there was talk that this might change in the near future.

This was because the concentration of leaders was too high. If the factory ship ever blew up or fell out of contact, then the rest of the Larkinson fleet would momentarily fall in confusion!

In order to prevent a single decapitation strike from completely upending the clan, it was prudent to spread all of the chief ministers out. They just needed to work all of the details, but that was not something that Ves needed to be concerned about.

"Minister Magdalena. Minister Raymond, Minister Novilon." He nodded to each of the older clansmen who took their seats across his desk. "I've been hearing good things about the changes that are taking place. There are also rumblings of uncertainty as people aren't quite sure whether all of the changes will remain good. A lot of people's lives are affected by the decisions you make and the plans you are implementing. This is why I would like to hear from you what you are preoccupied with. What are your current priorities and what issues are you trying to resolve?"

The three ministers looked at each other before Novilon decided to speak up first. "We are still finding ways to approach our new positions. It is unusual for an organization like our clan to be governed by three equal decision-makers. Right now, we are attempting to test an approach that will compel us to vote on major decisions but leave the implementation to the most suitable chief minister."

This was the most common sense approach that allowed all three chief ministers to speak on behalf of their constituents but not waste too much of their time on redundant work.

"As long as you guys keep checking up on each other's work, I'm fine with that." Ves dismissively waved his hand. "I'm more interested in hearing what kind of major changes you have in store. What new initiatives have you come up with or are planning to propose?"

Novilon decided to speak up first. "Since we are transitioning to a state, but lack actual territory to rule over, I believe it might be wise to organize our various ships like towns and cities. The sub-capital ships are small enough that these changes won't have a significant impact on people's daily lives, but it will likely assist with meeting the needs of all of the people who live aboard our capital ships. This is especially important once we discard all of our sub-capital ships in order to enter the Red Ocean.

The Larkinson Clan was slowly nearing 200,000 members and that was not even the limit. While the population density of Larkinson fleet was fairly low since everyone was spread out across hundreds of ships, once the fleet condensed into just ten or eleven capital ships, the amount of people stuffed aboard those ships would definitely lead to a very different atmosphere!

Even if the Larkinsons slowly acquired additional ships later on, the capital ships would still remain as dense population centers for a long time.

Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven cheek. "I'm okay with this as long as the authority of these local governing institutions are limited and clearly defined. We can't have mayors or councilors demanding that the Spirit of Bentheim reduce the power output to the shield generators or the production halls just so that they can start producing candy or something. The essential functions along with the defenses of our ships must never be compromised."

"Chief Minister Novilon has already consulted me from the start." Magdalena Larkinson spoke up. "I have been advising him on how to ensure that the new positions will not encroach on restricted territory."

Ves smiled. "That's good to hear."

Novilon proceeded to outline some additional plans, but none of them sounded exciting to Ves. As the highest leader of the Larkinson Clan, he lived above every other clansmen. He didn't share their toils and struggles, so it was hard for him to appreciate the initiatives meant to give them more conveniences.

Fortunately, Raymond soon took over.

"I have been looking at the finances of the clan." He said. "The LMC earns a lot of money, but most of it is channeled towards strategic acquisitions and heavy military expenditures. Only a fraction of it is left to improve the rest of the clan. Don't get me wrong. I am not proposing to reduce our military spending. What I am actually working on is finding ways to increase our sources of revenue, find better ways to spend our money and cut costs in areas that already receive plenty of funding."

"That sounds like a big task." Ves remarked.

Raymond sighed. "It is, and I am far from finished. So far, I can only share a number of tentative plans with you. One of the most impactful is to start our own central bank."

Ves blinked his eyes. "Pardon?"

"It's something that needs to be done sooner or later. Let me make an assumption. Up until now, you have always been thinking about prices and costs in terms of hex credits, correct?"

"I.. yes." He admitted.

He hadn't even realized how ingrained it had become for him to measure everything of value by the currency of a state that was already many light-years away!

It made less and less sense to price everything in hex credits now that they were no longer purchasing goods from the Hexadric Hegemony.

"With the way the Komodo War is progressing, the hex credit might no longer exist as legal tender." Chief Minister Novilon added his own piece. "We don't have to worry about losing money since our cash reserves consists of many different local currencies, but our continued use of the hex credit as our de facto currency prevents us from developing our identity as a sovereign clan."

Raymond proceeded to give a brief presentation that was rather heavy on economics. Knowing that Ves wasn't interested in learning about the technicalities of setting up a central bank and issuing a new currency, he quickly came to the point.

"If we want our clansmen to develop a greater sense of independence from other states and organizations, they need to adopt and develop confidence in our own currency. No matter what we call our own coin, spending it will increase the prosperity of our clan and make everyone feel that we can stand on our own while we continue to journey the stars."

In other words, implementing a currency that was exclusive to the Larkinson Clan was not just about economics. It was also about shaping and strengthening the distinct cultural pride and identity of the people.

A state that failed a population to spend its own currency was a state that could never truly serve its own people!

It was like living in a house without electricity. The basic shape of the home and the essential function of providing shelter was still there, but there was still something missing that would always make its residents feel as if they were missing out on something that other people took for granted.

"I think this is a good idea." Ves eventually nodded. "However, something as complex and impactful as introducing a new currency for our clan is doubtlessly a huge and disruptive shift. Take it slow and don't rush it. There is not much harm in continuing to use hex credits as our default currency for the moment."

"I plan to establish our central bank and have it ready to issue its own currency before we enter the Red Ocean." Raymond promised.