The Mech Touch

　　"I can do anything I want in my own sovereign territory!"

　　That wasn't quite true. Spacefaring laws were complex at best, but there were a few general rules that everyone understood.

　　The Larkinson fleet wasn't actually allowed to act unscrupulously while it was parked in space claimed by other powers.

　　After all, if the Larkinson Clan tried to conduct a live practice session where mechs employed true ranged weapons, their shots might actually hit a nearby trade ship or actually penetrate all the way through the atmosphere of Davute VII and strike a populated structure!

　　Nonetheless, it was no problem at all for the Larkinsons to hold a public event in one of its own starships.

　　Was it illegal to throw a party on one's own ship?

　　No! In fact, party boats were incredibly popular in every star system. Dozens of them attracted lots of visitors every day. Though they were mostly frequented by passersby who couldn't be bothered to make landfall, locals from the surface occasionally ventured upwards as well.

　　Given that hosting visitors on starships was not only legal, but also common, Ves immediately developed a brilliant new scheme.

　　He called his personal assistant to his office right away.

　　"What do you require, boss?" Gavin asked as he adopted a guarded look.

　　Having worked for Ves for numerous years, he could tell when his superior was up to something crazy or radical again.

　　This was not what he wanted to deal with. The Larkinson Clan had only recently dealt with the aftermath of the patriarch's latest stunt, and now this madman wanted to pull off another scheme!

　　At least Ves should have given his clan the courtesy of waiting a few weeks before he got up to mischief again.

　　"I know what you're thinking, Benny boy." Ves calmly said as he steepled his fingers like a stereotypical evil mastermind. "We've landed ourselves in hot water so you think we should lay low."

　　"That is… correct, boss. It would reflect poorly on us if we engage in another controversy so soon. We not only risk expulsion from the Davute System, but also make it seem as if we are too unstable to serve as good business partners. That will not only ruin our chances of attracting Murphy & Sons, but also scare away other potential parties that have already expressed an interest in joining our trade consortium!"

　　Gavin made an excellent point. Though the Larkinson Clan already developed an abnormal image, every organization exhibited a degree of weirdness. People in the Red Ocean were accustomed to encountering people who grew up in vastly different parts of the galaxy with their own unique cultures and subcultures.

　　However, while a bit of eccentricity was harmless, reckless and stupid behavior was not! No one wanted to be friends with someone who exhibited poor judgment.

　　This was especially the case in the Red Ocean where mistakes could not only lead to bankruptcy, but also death and annihilation!

　　Ves casually waved his hand. "Relax. I haven't lost my mind. I know what is at stake. While I can understand the desire to lay low, we can't afford to do nothing at this stage. Calabast has informed me that the Murphy Family is currently split on the issue of whether their shipbuilding company should become a part of our trade consortium. I'm afraid that Gelly Murphy and her collection of hardliners are too entrenched in their hierarchy to let the dissidents have their way. We need to give the faction led by Karina Murphy and Melaia Murphy a helping hand."

　　"And how do you plan to do that, boss?" Gavin skeptically asked. "Our clan's freedom of movement on Davute VII has drastically shrunk. We can't do anything over there anymore!"

　　Ves grinned and leaned back against his chair. "Ah, but that's the thing, Benny. We're not doing something on the surface this time. Instead, I plan to hold a public event aboard one of our ships! We'll open our doors and invite outsiders to attend a special occasion!"

　　His assistant looked shocked. He never expected that Ves would push for such a move!

　　However, the more Gavin thought about it, the more it made sense in his mind. It was indeed a good method to be proactive without testing the tolerance of the Davute authorities any further.

　　As long as the Larkinsons did not do anything outrageous such as hosting death matches or performing lethal experiments on test subjects, the controversy shouldn't be significant!

　　The question now was what the patriarch actually wanted to do. This was where Gavin began to feel dread again.

　　"Uhm, what sort of event do you have in mind?"

　　"It's nothing too fancy. The key is to organize this on short notice. While I have multiple goals in mind, the key purpose that we're trying to achieve is to give the dissidents in the Murphy Family a good push so that they can finally achieve a breakthrough. We need to make this happen before it is too late. At most, we have two days to start this entire event. Any longer and the Murphies may have settled their internal turmoil."

　　"Two days?! That's too short! Depending on the scale of this public event, we may need weeks to market the occasion. We also need to handle the logistics of transporting visitors to and from our fleet. Then we need to prepare for the event itself. Since we are inviting outsiders to our fleet for the first time, we have to make sure we present ourselves in the best possible light."

　　Ves sighed. "I know that, but we don't have another choice. Ideally, we should be able to start today or tomorrow, but that gives the public too little time to book their tickets and shuttle over to our fleet. Two days is just enough for the most interested people to arrange passage. Besides, you don't have to worry too much about the marketing aspect. The people from the Commercial District of Kotor City are all abuzz about what they just experienced. The local news portals are still talking about the Everchanger's glow, so interest in our clan has reached a peak! As long as we publish a statement where our guests can receive the opportunity to experience it again, I'm sure we'll be able to attract enough visitors!"

　　This scheme might actually work. The foundation was there. The Larkinson Clan just needed to work overtime to set the stage!

　　Gavin grew serious. He pulled out a data pad and made a short list.

　　"I can get our people to organize one right away, but before they can do so, they need to have a better idea of what sort of an event you intend to hold."

　　"It should be an event that centers around craftsmanship in some way." Ves said. "After all, that is what I am relying on to win over the more proactive elements within the Murphy Family. I need to give them more ammunition, and the best way to do that is to teach or demonstrate the value of good craftsmanship. I'll probably need to hold a speech in order to get this across."

　　"So you want to hold a trade fair?"

　　"No." Ves shook his head. "Trade fair is the wrong descriptor. We'll have to invite a lot of other companies and craftsmen to exhibit their works, and that is impossible to accomplish on short notice. It will just be about our work and my creative approach."

　　"Then… an exhibition?"

　　"That's close, but not enough. I don't intend to sell a new product at this time. Even if we can show off our upcoming Monster Slayer or our newly-released Ferocious Piranha Mark I Version B Mod I, we don't have any copies on hand to sell them in Davute. I suppose we can show them off regardless in order to generate market interest in them, but they will not be the main focus. What is truly important is the message that I will be attempting to convey."

　　"A press conference?"

　　"No. I'll be holding a lecture of sorts. I want the people who visit our fleet in person and those who tune in to the remote broadcast to know that they will be receiving a profound philosophical discussion on craftsmanship."

　　"A symposium, then."

　　"Close enough." Ves said. "Let's go with that, then."

　　"We need to offer more to the public if we want to make it worthwhile for them to pay a visit to our fleet." Gavin warned. "I'm sure that there are a lot of people who want to come here just to experience the Everchanger's glow, but there will be many more who don't think it is worth the effort."

　　Ves paused and thought for a moment.

　　"That's a simple enough problem to solve. We'll just have to present more attractions. How about… exhibiting our masterwork expert mechs? The Quint, the Amaranto, the Shield of Samar and the Everchanger are all impressive machines. I seriously doubt there are more than a couple of other expert mechs that are also masterworks in Davute! Even then, none of them were made by Journeymen!"

　　Ves may have gotten accustomed to their presence, but he did not forget the enormous attraction they held towards other mech insiders!

　　A large number of mech pilots and mech designers would definitely want to book a ticket to the Larkinson fleet once they learned they could study the masterwork expert mechs up close!

　　"Is that wise, boss? We will be exposing our greatest assets to potential rivals and enemies."

　　"They're already exposed for the most part." Ves dismissively waved his hand. "They've already appeared in public numerous times for mech designers to figure out their general properties. Turning them into live exhibits is not a big deal. We just have to make sure to erect interference fields around them. Naturally, we also have to prohibit people from bringing in high-powered scanners or engage in any obvious spying behavior."

　　"That… can work, I guess. Interest in attending this event will be high once we publicize this matter. Perhaps we'll generate too much interest."

　　"We'll just charge money if that's the case." Ves smirked.

　　He briefly thought about how much money he paid to enter Chancy Bay's Masterwork Gallery. People were absolutely willing to pay a pretty price to view masterwork mechs!

　　"That's not all. We need to hold this event in a large enough venue. Might I suggest the Vivacious Wal? There are enough open spaces and exhibition halls in Dawn City."

　　Ves nodded. "That is what I have in mind as well. The Vivacious Wal was always designed to attract tourists. That will make our lives much easier as we don't need to make as many preparations."

　　They settled the basic details of the upcoming symposium. Ves didn't need to specify anything further. There were other people in the clan that could fill in the rest. There were plenty of clansmen who once attended these kinds of occasions themselves, so they should have a good idea of what needed to be done.

　　Of course, the event that Ves wanted to organize on short notice wasn't a traditional symposium. Only Larkinsons would be speaking this time.

　　Ves understood that he couldn't be the only speaker at this event. If he truly wanted to enlighten his audience about the marvels of craftsmanship, he should pull in a couple of other speakers.

　　Should he… ask his wife to hold a lecture?

　　His body shuddered. He dreaded the idea, but given the importance of this event, she had to take the stage as well. After all, she possessed just as many masterwork certificates as him! It would be unreasonable to keep her away!

　　"By the way, have you come up with a name for your new initiative?" Gavin asked.

　　"Hm." Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin as he fell into thought.

　　Calling it the 'Craftsmanship Symposium' was too simple. He thought about his other goals. Part of the reason why he wanted to organize it was because he wanted to generate interest in the Creation Association.

　　"Let's call it the Vulcan Symposium."