The Mech Touch

After instructing Ranya to set up a new secret research department, Ves bid her goodbye and returned to his shuttle.

As his vehicle left the hangar bay of the Dragon's Den and began to move towards the Cross fleet under escort, he settled down and began to think about the implications of what he had started.

A new research department centered around studying spirituality from a biotech perspective would likely yield interesting results, especially if Ves dropped by every now and then to provide assistance. There was no way the research department would be able to get anywhere without him supplying his spiritual energy or donating his biological tissue.

As long as everything went well, Ves would have an explanation of what his daughter was going through and whether he could acquire the same benefits. Though he was certainly a lot more powerful than his unborn baby at the moment, if he extrapolated her growth trajectory, she could easily surpass him once she was well into her teenage years.

The thought of trying to deal with a rebellious teenage daughter whose spiritual prowess exceeded his own already gave him a headache.

"Is this what every first-generation parent of a designer baby feels like?" He wondered as he held Lucky in his lap and petted the pet's head.

"Meow."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Goldie is sort of your daughter, right?"

"Meow!" Lucky proudly raised his head.

"So how do you keep her in line?"

"Meow…?"

"You mean, you don't?"

Lucky responded with a helpless expression. "Meow."

So his cat basically failed and turned into a loser dad. How swell. At least Goldie turned out okay with the help of other design spirits like Qilanxo.

After chatting senselessly with his cat, his shuttle finally reached one of the hangar bays of the massive Hemmington Cross.

He hadn't visited the fleet carrier in a while. Each time he exited his shuttle and beheld the Crossers and the overall atmosphere on their flagship, he could easily differentiate the evolution of the Cross Clan over time.

There were a lot more personnel aboard this ship than before. The Cross Clan hadn't expanded their fleet, but they readily took advantage of their new kinship network to recruit tens of thousands of military-minded people who became attracted to the promises and ideals of the Patriarch Reginald and his clan.

It was fairly easy for Ves to distinguish the newer faces from the other ones. The authentic trueblood Crossers carried themselves with a strong and unique demeanor that originated from many years of living in the Garlen Empire. The foreigners who grew up in more peaceful and placid states still showed their relative freshness and inexperience.

A good battle or two would quickly sort them out and complete their integration into the Cross Clan. Ves was quite certain about this as his own clan faced a similar situation. A kinship network could only do so much in tying vastly different people together.

An attendant from the clan welcomed the honored visitor to the flagship of the Cross Clan before leading the way to an observation deck at the upper levels of the fleet carrier.

Though Ves wasn't able to see as much of the vessel as he wanted, he could already tell that the clan had taken several powerful steps forward. They were far from the shabby band of military refugees that Ves initially met in the Cinach System.

What was new since his last visit was that the Hemmington Cross' interior featured extensive upgrades. Older, worn modules had been replaced by newer ones. Several sections that previously looked fragile now looked a lot more sturdy after the Crossers applied a lot of structural reinforcements.

All in all, the Hemmington Cross was able to take a greater beating than before. This was good news as the capital ship used to be a prestige project whose size was meant to impress and intimidate rivals outside of combat. As an actual combat vessel, her ability to resist and contain damage was not as good as other fleet carriers like the smaller but much more practical Antonio Cross.

"Where are they getting the money, though?" He wondered.

The Cross Clan on its own didn't possess any native industries when it initially fled from the Vicious Mountain Star Sector. The only variable that presented the Crossers with a new option was its new Senior Mech Designer.

"What has the professor been up to lately?"

Ves had not kept up with any news concerning the former pirate designer. After all, his expert mech design projects along with issues related to his own clan already took up all of his time.

"Well, I guess I will find out soon enough."

After being led into a massive observation room, Ves slowly approached the center where Patriarch Reginald Cross and Professor Benedict Cortez were sitting in front of one of the windows. The pair of senior leaders were enjoying an expansive view of the hundreds of starships that made up the allied fleet.

From this distance, the numerous sub-capital ships all resembled tiny fish that were difficult to distinguish from each other. Only the capital ships possessed enough definition for humans to be able to identify them with the naked eye.

The majority of capital ships belonged to the Larkinson Clan. This was a great source of pride to Ves and he couldn't help but needle the Crosser leader about their own stock of capital ships.

"Hello." He greeted as he plopped onto the only available chair. "Nice view. I can't help but observe that your own fleet is rather skinny compared to mine. We're getting closer and closer to Tarnished Crown. The time to acquire capital ships is running out. Will you be able to bring enough powerful assets into the Red Ocean?"

Patriarch Reginald narrowed his eyes but Professor Benedict maintained his cool.

"If we required assistance in this area, we would have contacted your clan beforehand." The latter replied. "We have already made some arrangements and we are already in the process of acquiring additional ships and merits. It might take some time, but you will not find us wanting by the time we reach the beyonder gate."

Well, that was one less problem to worry about. When a Senior Mech Designer told him that he would get something done, then Ves had no reason to question the claim.

A few moments passed by as Ves calmly enjoyed the view. He found it rather novel to look at the distant red hull and iconic giant cat-shaped prow of his flagship from this perspective. It was by far the most impressive and flamboyant capital ship in the fleet.

"We've started a couple of new industries in recent months." Professor Benedict spoke up again as he turned towards Ves.

He studiously analyzed Lucky who was currently staring right back with a challenging stare.

"Meow."

Ves pressed his hand on Lucky's head in order to restrain his pet. It wouldn't do for his cat to piss off the Skull Architect!

"I've been wondering where all of the money is coming from. What markets did you decide to enter?"

"We are currently working on entering two related industries. The Cross Mech Corporation is our principal mech company that is responsible for selling both mechs and mech designs. We are only engaged in the latter at the moment, but we hope to set up manufacturing in the Red Ocean that will service the regional markets."

"I see." Ves pursed his lips. "If you don't mind me asking, how will the products of your mech company stand out from the competition?"

Professor Benedict responded with a sly smile. "While I might not have your ability to grant mechs with a unique factor, I am more than capable of designing mechs that directly meets the needs of most customers in the Red Ocean. According to my market analysis, the dearth of industries, the bottleneck in transportation and the lack of availability of many materials and exotics that are common in the Milky Way means that there is a great demand for mech models that are adapted to the local circumstances. Every mech company and mech designer must either adapt their current designs or start from scratch."

This presented an advantage to less established mech designers and mech companies. While the bigger mech corporations would also be doing their best to capture the emerging mech market of the Red Ocean, they had to begin anew as well as it was incredibly uneconomical for them to export their products from the Milky Way to the Red Ocean.

"From what it sounds like, this isn't the only company that your clan has started." Ves remarked.

"That's correct." The professor said. "We are also aiming to branch out into the research and development of mech systems and components. We decided to erect the Cross Development Center to develop efficient, rugged and reliable mech parts that we can use for ourselves and license out to others including your clan. I'm aware that you have gained access to two different expansive component libraries, but they will eventually become obsolete without active development. The CDC is meant to build upon the Cross Clan's existing tech library and adapt all of the components and devices we need to the circumstances of the Red Ocean."

Ves became a little shocked at what he heard. He hadn't put much thought about acquiring components and component designs that were modern and cost-effective over time. He thought he would just continue to license the appropriate gear from outside companies, but who knew whether that was sustainable in the future.

The Larkinson Clan's business ventures were currently centered around both mechs and biotechnology products, though the latter was still getting up to speed.

Those were two huge industries that required a lot of attention, investment and commitment. Though Ves could order his clan to set up a new company that tried to perform the same activities as the Cross Development Center, it wouldn't be the same.

First, the Crossers enjoyed a head start in this sector. Second, Professor Cortez was much more capable of developing quality components than anyone in the Larkinson Clan.

Though Ves wanted his clan to develop its own homegrown mech parts eventually, now was not the time. Rather than relying on external offerings, it was a lot cheaper and more convenient to rely on the products offered by the CDC, at least for the foreseeable time.

Ves threw Professor Benedict a look that conveyed that he knew what the Crossers were doing.

The Cross Clan wanted to show its usefulness to the Golden Skull Alliance. At the same time, it hoped that the Larkinsons would become dependent on its excellent mech parts. Another consideration was that it also aimed to generate and maintain a competitive advantage in this industry.

As long as the Golden Skull Alliance remained intact, its partners would always have to turn to the Crossers in order to license and gain permission to use its powerful and efficient tech!

Ves didn't mind too much. He was willing to grant the Cross Clan a victory in this arena because he knew the Crossers would have to knock on the doors of the Larkinson Clan if they required any human augmentation services. Already the Larkinson Biotech Institute had begun to offer its simpler augmentation services to both the Glory Seekers and the Crossers.

"Good luck with that." He replied in a good-natured manner. "I'm sure a Senior like you will be able to come up with a large and expansive catalog of parts that we can all use to put together our next mechs. I'm not inclined to stick with one source, though. It's a big market out there and I'm sure that other entrepreneurs in the Red Ocean have the same idea as yours."

Professor Benedict responded with a grin. "Oh, I have no doubt about that. I'm sure their own offerings will be highly competitive, but unless you develop a close relationship with them, I doubt that they will be able to offer what you really need."

"And that is…?"

"Custom mech parts that are completely tailored to your needs. These are essential to your expert mechs."