The Mech Touch

The mood in the grand stateroom lifted quite a bit after Master Barnard Solas Voiken essentially forgave the two defectors of the family.

The Voiken Ancestor would have been in the right if he chose to pursue the matter further.

It was undeniable that the Voiken Family invested a lot in their upbringing. From expensive gene treatments to rare and desirable cranial implants, the family did not skimp in its attempt to turn Sara and Dulo Voiken into its future mainstays.

There were many descendents among the Voikens that had subsequently achieved success after enjoying so many benefits.

While there were plenty of mech designers who had stalled or failed to reach their potential, there were enough success stories to earn back all of the investments.

Although the continued absence of a second Master Mech Designer was a blemish to the Voiken Family, everyone believed it was only a matter of time before one of the many Seniors made the critical jump.

Sara and Dulo could have followed the stable and comfortable trajectories of the older Voikens. They had no doubt that they would have been assigned to helpful mentors in the family that could guide their subsequent development.

It was too bad that overt meddling in their careers was exactly what the two younger mech designers did not want!

Master Barnard may regret the departure of the two kids, but he did not believe his family was in the wrong. It had long provided a lot of welfare and guidance to his offspring and their offspring. Many other people in his star sector envied the lives of his Voikens!

"How… are our relatives taking our departure?" Dulo Voiken finally mustered up the courage to break the silence. "Are they… angry?"

"I cannot say." The projected figure shook his head. "You should explore that on your own. They should not fault you once I pass on my opinion to them. We should move on rather than get stuck on an event that has already passed."

The old Master had lived through many ups and downs. If he was the sort of person who could not forgive and forget, he would have never been able to make it to this stage.

Besides, the 'loss' suffered by the Voiken Family was not concerning enough. There were more kids that could fill in the small hole created by Sara and Dulo.

Sara Voiken decided to bring up another topic.

"We have heard that you have… changed your stance on the Red Ocean, sir. A group of Voikens have already arrived in the Red Ocean. Did our departure change the family?"

Back when they were in the family, the thought of expanding their presence in the Red Ocean was unthinkable!

Barnard was a long-standing associate of the Preserving Order Faction. He supported the cause of peace and stability for his entire life.

The expansionist goals behind the invasion of the Red Ocean directly clashed against his beliefs!

Their ancestor shook his head. "No, my dear. The family does not revolve around your actions. From the moment the Big Two went ahead with opening the Red Ocean to human pioneers, our civilization has already charted an irreversible course. As the benefits of conquering and colonizing have quickly fed back to our society, the pattern has already set. We Preservers cannot reverse the wheel of history once it has turned. The most we can do is to accept our current circumstances and do our best to compensate for the excesses of other people. We already have more than enough practice in doing so after we have rebuilt our collapsed order in the aftermath of the Age of Conquest."

This was certainly a clever way to spin a complete reversal from a previous decision. Sara and Dulo weren't sure whether their ancestor was enthused about extending his family into the Red Ocean, but it appeared that he could not resist going with the tide any longer.

"Our humanity has taken a new step after it has stepped up its takeover of the Red Ocean." The Master continued. "For the first time in our history, our race is no longer confined to a single galaxy. While you can argue that expanding to a small dwarf galaxy as opposed to entering a larger starfied such as the Andromeda Galaxy does not qualify as stepping out, it is a harbinger of what is to come. If our family continued to dig its head in the sand of the Milky Way, our cause will fade into irrelevance. That is a worse outcome than playing along with the current consensus of our society."

The Master essentially confirmed their own theory on the matter. The Preserving Order Faction was so afraid of getting ignored that it no longer held on to their outdated insistence that humanity should stick to their previous borders.

Regardless of the reason, neither of the siblings thought this was a bad development.

"I wish the family good luck in this expansion." Sara sincerely said. "The Red Ocean is a rough and difficult place. The conditions to do business are much harsher here. There are so many interests trying to secure a first-mover advantage here that competition can be cutthroat."

"I am aware." Master Barnard said. "Speaking of our family's expansion in the Red Ocean, are you willing to entertain a proposition of ours?"

Both Sara and Dulo quickly exchanged glances with each other. They recognized that their ancestor was about to broach a serious topic that went beyond their actions.

"Please continue, sir."

The projected figure smiled and held his arms behind his back. "Your description of the Red Ocean's mech industry is correct. Compared to the state of the mech community back when I initially rose to success, the conditions in the dwarf galaxy are considerably more difficult. The main reason for that is that a large number of highly capable and well-prepared competitors are compressed into a limited number of territories. Even I cannot guarantee that the Voikens that we have sent to the new frontier will find their footing without relying on subsidies."

"It shouldn't be too difficult for them to make it, right?" Sara asked. "From what I heard, our grand-uncle Taigen is leading the Voikens in the Red Ocean."

Sara and Dulo still remembered receiving guidance and lessons from Professor Taigen Herman Voiken. The older man had been a little more generous towards the two because of their more direct family relations.

"That is correct. Taigen may not be the most accomplished Senior in our family, but he is young enough to know how to be flexible. He and the Voikens in his charge are currently settling down in the Pellysa System in the Magair Middle Zone at the moment, but soon they will begin to conduct business."

"Are they having any problems in gaining access to the necessary resources and infrastructure?"

"You do not need to be concerned about that, young lady. My reputation and my contacts are still useful in the Red Ocean. We did not enter the new frontier without a strategy. As we speak, Taigen should already be in the process of making contact and establishing business deals with my old friends and business partners."

This was the power of the network of a Master Mech Designer, especially one as old and established as Barnard!

The Larkinson Clan was much worse off in comparison! The only 'old friends' that could offer real benefits to the Larkinsons were the Hexers, but this was clearly not an acceptable option to the clansmen!

"Working together and pursuing mutual profit is the correct way to build a sustainable foundation in a new community. To that end, my proposition relates to a potentially lucrative opportunity for my Voiken Family and your Larkinson Clan to accelerate both our integration into the Red Ocean."

His words surprised both of the siblings!

They never imagined that their ancestor would propose a collaboration with the organization that essentially poached his descendants!

Sara quickly straightened herself up. "I cannot speak for the Larkinson Patriarch, but I can say that he is always open to collaboration with other mech designers as long as the benefits are concrete enough. He has even extended us permission to look for opportunities ourselves, though he holds the final say in any cooperative ventures."

"Did he, now? Your new leader must already hold you in high regard if he is willing to extend you this trust shortly after you have joined his organization."

"The Larkinson Clan… does things differently, sir."

Master Barnard couldn't possibly understand how the Larkinsons organized themselves. It was too far out of his accumulated experiences that Ves might seem naive in his eyes.

Still, a good mech designer was primarily judged by his work.

"Your grand-uncle Taigen is planning to embark on a design project that we hope can expand our Voiken brand in the Red Ocean's mech market. However, it is far from certain whether he can achieve the goals that we have to meet in order to achieve critical success."

Dulo looked skeptical. "How so, sir? Taigen has always been a good mech designer when it comes to designing law enforcement mechs. His mech design will surely be able to capture enough market share with your support."

Master Barnard scoffed. "You are overestimating our capabilities, young man. Being 'good' is insufficient in a marketplace as competitive as the Red Ocean. Taigen is only a Senior for now. He is unable to compete against real Masters. It is true that I can provide design and financial support from the Milky Way, my means are ultimately limited. Even if I have entered the new frontier in person, our difficulties will still remain. Do you think the other Masters that have settled over there are complacent? I will most certainly find my match if I compete against them directly."

The two siblings became confused.

"Then… how does this proposal of yours make sense, sir? Our clan's best mech designer is only a Journeyman."

"Too many people look at rank and assume that this is all they need to know to judge the ability of a mech designer." Master Barnard dismissively snorted. "I have studied your Larkinson Clan, its founder and his eclectic body of work. He reminds me of many mech designers who have gone on to open up entire new fields. Aside from that, I have made inquiries in the MTA. My contacts tell me that the Association holds special interest in his work and design philosophy. That alone makes it worthwhile for our family to work together with him and his clan."

He was right. Ves was an amazing mech designer who could not be measured according to the ordinary standards of a Journeyman. Sara and Dulo just didn't expect that their ancestor was open-minded enough to acknowledge this truth.

"What form of cooperation do you have in mind then, sir? Are you proposing that our patriarch lends his glow to grand-uncle Taigen's upcoming law enforcement mech design?"

"That is exactly what I am proposing." Barnard replied and projected two different mech models besides his form. "Mr. Larkinson's Peaceful Soldier and Tranquility models both possess glows that are of great interest to peacekeeping units. In fact, I am told that the Peaceful Soldier variant is widely used by the Planetary Guard units of many third-rate states. The continued popularity and enduring reputation of this mech model numerous years after its initial release is a testament to its value. No matter how it works or what kind of concerns that people may have over this model, the approach is worth duplicating as long as it can continue to assist law enforcement officers subdue violent actors."

"Frontier life is a lot rougher than back at home." Dulo thoughtfully said. "I would imagine that effective law enforcement mechs are even more important in this market. The big port systems are mostly okay because their owners are powerful enough to protect their investments, but the smaller and more rural colonies should have a lot more difficulties in keeping order. If we can introduce a law enforcement mech that brings the best of both of our worlds, we might be able to capture a lot of market share!"

This was definitely a venture worth pursuing!