The Mech Touch

In the later weeks of the expeditionary fleet's stay in the Vulit Central Star Node, the Larkinsons mainly became preoccupied with two different priorities.

The first priority was the abrupt expansion of the Larkinson fleet.

From the moment it entered the Red Ocean, the Larkinsons had just gotten rid of all of their sub-capital ships. That downsized their previously abundant ship roster down to just 9 capital ships!

This was completely insufficient for the clan to safely roam the Red Ocean. The Larkinsons were desperate to expand their mech capacity and offload all of the packed mechs that were sitting uselessly inside vessels that didn't have space to accommodate them properly!

The frequent tournaments held in Chance Bay were a godsent to the clansmen. Though the clan had to expose way more details and trump cards to the public than it wished, those secrets were useless if the Larkinson fleet wasn't able to field a lot of mechs into battle!

If Ves had to choose between keeping his secrets or fielding more mechs, then his choice was pretty clear!

The trickle of carriers entering into service provided a massive amount of relief to the Larkinson Army. It was quite painful for the mech legions to retire all of their combat carriers and much of their mechs.

Now that a lot of mech pilots finally regained the opportunity to pilot actual mechs, much of the pressure among the soldiers had been relieved.

Though there were still a lot of mech pilots that were also waiting to get back in the saddle, the clan could only do so much.

Not a lot of mech designers and mech pilots among the Larkinsons were good enough to rank high in the tournaments. People like Ves were the exception rather than the rule in the clan.

Still, everyone was happy with the amount of progress they had made in the past month. An opportunity to obtain so many ships without paying a huge amount of money was extremely rare.

"It's a pity we can't stay any longer." Ves sighed as he looked out across the hotel window.

Chance Bay was truly a place where the powerful, capable and lucky got their chances. The Larkinson Clan's position in the Red Ocean used to be a lot worse before it started to win a steady amount of carrier vessels.

The Larkinson Clan managed to obtain so much additional mech capacity that it actually suffered a shortage of mechs to fill up all of those empty berths!

Part of the reason for that was because all of the mechs got lost due to attrition. Big events such as the Larkinson Battalion's participation in the G-Aena League had effectively wiped out hundreds of living mechs alone!

Still, lacking enough mechs was a much more manageable problem than lacking enough carrier ships. It was a lot easier for the Larkinson Clan to make up for the shortfall of mechs than to acquire additional starships going forward!

Ves met up with Chief Shipwright Vivian Tsai and Fleet Coordinator Ophelia Kronon in order to discuss the new additions to the Larkinson fleet.

"How many ships have we gained so far?" He asked.

"At this moment, we have gained possession of 36 combat carriers and 1 fleet carrier." Vivian replied.

"What is your evaluation of the new combat carriers?"

"They are quite good." Vivian smiled. "The combat carriers all come in several different ship classes, each of which differ in configuration, performance and appearance. They all have a standard mech capacity of 60 mechs, so you don't have to worry about that. Each of them are brand-new and built in shipyards across the region. The tech and materials used in their construction roughly correspond to the level of the galactic heartland. They're not top-of-the-line, but they are considerably better than the Hexer combat carriers that we used to possess."

That was good news to Ves. Heartland-level starships were currently the mainstream in the Red Ocean, so the Larkinsons did not have to worry about getting outclassed when fighting against other second-class opponents.

The people of the Red Ocean had become accustomed to grading the overall tech and degree of sophistication of any technological asset.

For example, the Spirit of Bentheim was considered a rim-level factory ship. There were a lot of other factory ships in the Red Ocean that possessed considerably better tech and were also made out of stronger alloys.

Though Ves felt a bit envious of all of the pioneers who owned superior factory ships, that didn't mean he was ready to get rid of the Spirit of Bentheim.

There was nothing wrong with his flagship's performance. The production halls were more than capable of producing large amounts of mechs as long as they were fed with sufficient raw materials. They were just a bit slower at it than their equivalents aboard other factory ships.

Besides, it shouldn't be too difficult to upgrade the production lines in the future.

More thorough upgrades required the cooperation of a shipyard, though, and that was a lot more difficult to secure.

"What of the new fleet carrier that we've acquired from the Wild Fighter Association?" Ves asked.

"Ah. She's certainly an impressive fleet carrier." Vivian responded with a lot more enthusiasm than before. "With a length of 2.9 kilometers, she is only marginally smaller than the Gorgoneion. Her specs are relatively balanced and she does not possess any glaring weaknesses. One of the advantages that she brings to our fleet is her excellent support facilities. As a heartland-level fleet carrier, she possesses much more modern repair and servicing facilities."

"Does it come with any superfabs?"

"Ah, unfortunately not. We have found signs that the ship used to carry one in her main workshop, but her former owners evidently removed it before handing the vessel over to our clan."

"Figures."

To be fair, superfabs were too valuable to be given away as freebies. The Larkinsons should already be glad that the Wild Fighters didn't strip the fleet carrier of her other valuable systems.

Vivian continued to explain the new fleet carrier's capabilities.

"Our new capital ship is more advanced than the Gorgoneion in many aspects. She comes with potent power generators that can supply an abundant amount of energy to a hungry superfab or set of demanding shield generators."

"She comes with shield generators as well?" Ves reacted with surprise.

"Yes, but don't expect too much from them. They are copies of a relatively basic, wide-area model that is primarily used to block space junk from scratching the hull but can block moderate damage in a pinch. They are not designed to defend a capital ship during heavy combat."

"Oh. Oh well. That's another system that we should upgrade in the future."

The Larkinson Clan already formulated an enormous list of pending upgrades. There were so many items on this wish list that it would probably take decades to address them all! By then, the Larkinsons would have undoubtedly added a lot of other items on the list.

Once Vivian finished explaining all of the essential details about the new fleet carrier, Ves asked an important question.

"What about her name?"

"The Wild Fighter Association has taken the liberty to strip her former name. She has officially reverted to her serial number at the moment, but that is no proper name. We can christen her with a new name at any time."

"Then let's wait until we've wrapped up all of our business in Vulit before we hold the ceremony. It's a good way to start our upcoming journey."

Once Ves finished quizzing Vivian about the new starships, he turned his attention to Ophelia Kronon.

"I hear that you and General Verle have come up with a new proposal related to our fleet."

"We did." The Ylvainan official nodded. "We believe we must implement a more unified command structure in our fleet. Right now, the chain of command is not entirely clear because authority in the clan is split up between several different leaders and sub-organizations within our clan. Now that we are starting anew upon entry into the Red Ocean, I believe it is time to professionalize our fleet and bring them under a more unified command structure."

Ves could already guess what Ophelia wanted to propose. "You're saying…"

"We are proposing the formation of a navy, one that is led by an admiral, sir." The woman said.

Ophelia Kronon just mentioned two words that were quite controversial in human society. Ever since the Age of Conquest had passed, a lot of humans went out of their way to avoid the words 'navy' and 'admiral' at all costs!

Aside from the CFA and sometimes the MTA, hardly any other organization was eager to parade these loaded terms.

Ves did not think it was a coincidence that the fleet coordinator used these two words to describe the formation of a new armada.

"Explain." He spoke.

"First, think of where we are right now, sir. We have arrived in a new galaxy, a small one, but one that is filled with powerful alien civilizations. Do you think the nunsers, puelmers and so on have agreed to abolish all of their warships?"

"No." Ves shook his head. "I don't see why that is relevant, though. The Big Two still enforces the same taboos in the Red Ocean. I have heard nothing about any exemptions."

"That is true, but I've spoken to a number of people including General Verle, Minister Shederin Purnesse and high-ranking personnel from other organizations. The general consensus among them is that the Big Two will eventually relax these rules sooner or later."

That was an enormous subject that Ves had no interest in discussing today.

"What if all of those people are wrong?"

"Even if the MTA and CFA decide against this course of action, it is still useful for our clan to adopt a more formal fleet structure, sir. We need to become cognizant that we are constantly treading into dangerous territory when we roam across the Red Ocean. We cannot allow confusion to reign, which could easily happen if multiple leaders issue conflicting orders."

"I think it is pretty clear that General Verle is the ultimate authority when it comes to the disposition of our fleet in battle."

Ophelia grimaced. "With all due respect, General Verle is a mech officer, not a naval officer. While he knows the basics and is qualified enough to formulate our objectives, the real decisions should be made by leaders who have served on starships for their entire careers."

"Someone like… you, perhaps?" Ves raised his eyebrow.

"Absolutely not." Ophelia shook her head. "This responsibility is too heavy for me, sir. I cannot in good conscience become the admiral of our new navy. This is why I recommend you seek a much more qualified candidate among the people in Vulit or elsewhere in the Red Ocean. While I can manage this new office in the interim, We must do our best to place a much more capable individual in this seat."

"Is there anyone in our clan that can fulfill this function?"

"No. Otherwise I wouldn't have made this suggestion to you. The closest naval officer that I can think of is Commodore Abigail Evern of the Penitent Sisters, but she still lacks the experience and knowledge to command an entire fleet."

In the end, Ophelia Kronon convinced Ves of the necessity to form a proper naval organization.

The main purpose of doing so was to improve the coordination and maneuvering of all of the capital ships and sub-capitals in battle.

As for the eventual notion that pioneering organizations like the Larkinson Clan be allowed to field warships, Ves completely ignored this possibility. There was no way the MTA would ever allow this to happen. Such a radical policy reversal directly damaged the Association's interests!

"Alright, please work with General Verle and other relevant people in the clan to make this happen. Also try and find a suitable candidate for this admiral position."

"We have already begun our search."