The Mech Touch

"From what I have been able to gather about the Voiken Family, it has never meddled too much in politics." Calabast told Ves. "While Master Barnard Voiken is definitely a friend of powerful people back in his home state and star sector, by our knowledge his main preoccupations mostly around his mechs and his research."

"That sounds like any other Master Mech Designer."

"Right. In addition to that, only a fraction of the Voikens will ever be able to get in touch with the Preserving Order Faction. If they are not powerful or capable enough to be of use, then they are probably left out. It is likely that Sara Voiken and Dulo Voiken fall within this group. While they are capable Journeymen at their age, so are many others. Their design philosophies do not stand out and they cannot provide any value to the mechers at their stages."

Ves repeatedly nodded. That confirmed his read on the situation as well. What happened to him was the exception rather than the rule.

"What about the other Voikens?"

"We can't determine their allegiances." Calabast said. "The Voikens do not publicize such matters, so it is hard to find any source that talks about this issue. From all of the information that I've perused, I guess that it is mostly a generational divide. Master Barnard Voiken most prominent older offspring and descendants may have become fellow associates as well. It is well-known that the Master keeps an inner circle that consists of older Seniors."

"What about the younger generations?"

"None of them are a part of the upper echelon. The Voiken Family is highly traditional, hierarchical and conservative. It is not a group that is known for taking risks and making radical changes to its policies. One example of its lack of willingness to embrace change is its complete refusal to do anything related to the Red Ocean."

"The Preservers probably think that expanding humany to an entirely new dwarf galaxy is a nightmare." Ves chuckled.

Calabast smirked. "Just so. This is the problem with organizations that are led by the same person for hundreds of years. The Voiken Family may be large, powerful and wealthy, but it is also stagnant and solidified. Promotion through the ranks is not only based on competence, but also seniority. This means that all of Master Barnard Voiken's deputies are 200 years old more or less. The leaders and main decision makers of the Voiken Family are all fossils who live in a past era that exists no more."

"I see. Sara and Dulo Voiken grew up in this kind of environment."

Ves saw a lot of parallels with the Larkinson Family again. Back in his own family, the Larkinsons served the Bright Republic since the founding of the state and always made a lot of sacrifices without earning any of the rewards that they were due.

If the Larkinsons hadn't become so indoctrinated about serving the Republic, they would have been able to recognize that the state continually treated them like slaves!

Though the Voiken Family was a completely different group that was based in the galactic heartland, Ves imagined that Sara and Dulo grew frustrated with their family for similar reasons.

"Do you think that Sara and Dulo Voiken have rebelled against their family because of the excessive conservatism of its leadership?"

Calabast shrugged. "I cannot say anything with certainty about that, Ves. As I've said, the Voikens are quite good at keeping their internal problems to themselves. What I can say is that the overwhelming majority of Voikens who become successful mech designers tend to remain with the family. It is unusual for Sara Voiken and Dulo Voiken to distance themselves from the Voiken and leave the Uplifting Note Star Sector where the Voikens are based."

The Voiken Family, for all of their problems, was still a paradise for many mech designers. The fact that Master Barnard Voiken managed to build up a large dynasty that encompassed hundreds of Journeymen and Seniors indicated that he and his fellow Voikens were extremely good at raising successful mech designers!

It did not matter that none of Barnard's descendants managed to advance to Master yet. Sooner or later, one of them would get lucky or achieve a moment of brilliance that allowed them to realize their design philosophy.

Just like how the Larkinson Family was consistently able to raise new expert pilots among its generations, the Voiken Family must have developed a complete and mature system that substantially raised the probability that the mech designers among them would be able to advance to Journeyman!

Just thinking about all of the privileges that Sara and Dula enjoyed during their upbringing made Ves feel envious of their fortune. They enjoyed all of the support they needed to become successful mech designers!

As for Ves, once he found out he lacked the right genetic aptitude, he threw himself into mech design all by himself. His stupid family didn't understand a thing about the technical side of mechs and constantly focused their attention to raising the next expert pilots of the Larkinson Family!

At least Ves was able to do better this time. He wanted to make sure the Larkinson Clan did not unnecessarily stifle any talent in any profession. There were both mech pilots and designers among the Larkinsons so support was not lacking.

"Okay, you've explained enough about Voiken Family. What exactly have you figured out about Sara and Dulo that is useful for me to know?"

"Hmmm…" Calabast tapped her finger against her chin. "The two did not exactly run away from their family. They shouldn't be like Janassa and Tifi. Right now, they are still members of the Voiken Family in good standing. Even if they have decided to become Larkinsons, I doubt their relations with the Voikens back in the old galaxy will remain bad."

"Aren't they going against the will of their patriarch?"

"That's not necessarily a cause for a complete break in relations." She told him. "Master Barnard Voiken may be an arch-conservative, but even he should know that he cannot control everyone. If a few stray chicks leave his little forest, then he shouldn't mind that much. There are more than enough birds to keep him company."

Ves nodded in understanding. "Letting a few of his descendants depart for the Red Ocean is good insurance policy. If the Voiken Family back in the galactic heartland falls one day, Sara and Dulo can still take over the torch… in a way."

Technically, Sara and Dula would soon become Larkinsons, but there was no way that they would ever be able to erase all of their affection for the people who raised them and treated them as family.

This was something that Ves had seen quite a lot in the Larkinson Clan. The adopted Larkinsons who originated from different states occasionally maintained contact with the friends and family they had left behind.

Though time was often enough to cool these old relationships, Ves wasn't sure it would be as effective to Sara and Dulo. Both of them were Journeymen and that meant that they were a lot more mentally resilient than ordinary people. The Larkinson Network wouldn't be able to influence them much either.

"I'm fairly confident that Janassa Pellier and Tifi Coslone will commit to the Larkinson Clan without much reserve." Calabast stated. "The pair have nowhere else to go and can't ask for help from their former Master."

"What about the two Voikens?"

She smiled. "Let's just say that I will be allocating more resources to monitor their actions and behavior. Don't take this as a sign that I consider them a potential threat. I just don't like unknowns. It is less clear what is behind Sara and Dulo's decision to not only leave the Voiken Family, but also travel all the way to the Red Ocean. There must be a greater story behind this, but it doesn't necessarily have to be great. Perhaps the two young Voikens just fell in love with the romance of exploring a completely new dwarf galaxy."

In other words, it was just a precaution. Calabast didn't think she would find anything alarming, but she went through with it anyway because that was her job.

After discussing a bit more about the Journeymen who would soon be joining the Larkinson Clan, Ves and Calabast finally concluded this important topic.

Calabast turned to other matters. "I've been keeping an eye on our two allied partners as well. Our clan isn't the only member of the Golden Skull Alliance that has been making a lot of progress. You've heard about the Cross Clan?"

"Yeah. Professor Benedict recruited a bunch of Journeymen."

"Five of them, to be exact. None of them are as brilliant or special as you, but that was why the professor was able to recruit them with such ease. They're all settling in nicely in the Cross Clan and will soon be put to work. I can't say how much say they have in what they can do, but in my estimation Professor Benedict will likely run a tight ship."

"That's understandable. Those Journeymen who signed up for the Cross Clan must have known what they were getting into. They're probably not the sort of mech designers that I have been looking to add to my own clan."

"Aside from that, the Cross Clan also expanded its fleet. Like us, the Crossers took part and won a number of tournaments. They don't have as many advantages as us, so they haven't been able to acquire as many ships in this manner."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "Your wording tells me that the Crossers may have obtained ships through another channel."

"They have." Calabast nodded. "There are more combat carriers in their fleet than what they have won in various tournaments. They still have the same 4 capital ships but they somehow managed to amass 70 combat carriers."

"What?! 70 combat carriers!?"

That was a massive number!

The Larkinson Clan only managed to amass 36 combat carriers. Ves and many of his fellow Larkinsons had to work hard and achieve success in various public events in order to win all of these precious ships.

As far as Ves was aware of, the Cross Clan was made up of a lot of strong and highly-experienced mech pilots, but it wasn't filled with many genuine talents! How could the Crossers make up for this shortfall and obtain double the amount of combat carriers as the Larkinson Clan?

"Tell me what you think." Ves instructed.

"I think… Professor Benedict has been carrying a lot of weight. Again. The Crossers are all strong and Patriarch Reginald Cross is an impressive expert pilot, but none of them have any connections in the Red Ocean. They aren't even good at building relations. The only leadership figure that is different is their only Senior Mech Designer. He is a completely different animal."

The former Skull Architect was an extremely shrewd figure! If he was able to integrate himself in the pirate community of the old Faris Star Region, then he would definitely be able to find a way to make new friends in the Red Ocean!

While he wasn't a Master Mech Designer who everyone took note of, Professor Benedict was still a highly competent Senior. His starting point was much higher than that of Ves who was 'just' a Journeyman at the moment.

"Do you know what kind of folk the Crossers have been hanging out with lately?" Ves asked. "Although we have never forbidden our allies to associate themselves with other organizations, it will be troublesome if the Cross Clan has made friends with the wrong crowd. I don't want us all to get sucked into a conflict that isn't our business."

Calabast's gaze turned serious. "That's the thing, Ves. Professor Benedict is quite a discrete figure and is good at keeping secrets. Even though I have assigned entire teams of agents to track and follow all of his movements, we all failed at determining who he has made a deal with in order to obtain those additional combat carriers. The only way we can know for sure is if we just walk up to him and ask him directly."

Ves did not look happy when he heard that. Professor Benedict was definitely up to something… The question was whether it was good or bad for the Larkinson Clan.