The Mech Touch

"Are you sure you want to come with us for our second trip to the Evolution Kingdom?" Ves questioned. "The journey is risky and you will have to ride in a cargo shuttle that isn't designed to operate on a battlefield. It is much safer for you to wait in Fort Fishblood or better yet return to the Dragon's Den on the other side of the portal. The Larkinson Biotech Institute should have lots of qualified biotech experts on payroll. Why not send them out instead?"

"For the same reason as you insist on meeting with the fish-whales yourself. There are certain jobs that you just need to do yourself."

Ves and Director Ranya Wodin looked out at a small fleet of cargo shuttles that had been especially prepared to transport delicate and valuable bioproducts.

Both of them had conducted a quick inspection to make sure that the vehicles were properly configured to bring back the highly valuable fish-whale organs that the Evolution Kingdom promised to exchange.

"Did you consult your husband before you made this decision?"

Ranya chuckled. "Tusa is an open-minded mech pilot. He doesn't object to my decision, mostly because we will be returning to Fort Fishblood under escort as soon as we have concluded the trade. It helps that he will be present to protect me should the Swarmers launch an unexpected attack."

"I see. How is your marriage with him doing these days?"

"It's doing okay." She replied in a calmer tone. "Neither of us intend to move as fast as Brutus and Sendra. We spend time together whenever possible, but those moments are few and far in between. There is just so much for us to do that we have only met less than ten times this month."

Ves frowned. He knew that this was partially the fault of the current events in the Garimel System and the phase whale enclave, but it was also because of the heavy responsibilities shouldered by husband and wife.

He turned to one of his most trusted advisors. "You always comment about your heavy workload whenever we meet and talk about various topics. While I think it is good that you take your job seriously, you should elevate a few more deputy directors in order to spread your burden. It is not efficient for you to address every problem in your institute. Just do like I did with my chief ministers and let knowledgeable and competent people do all of the actual work."

Ranya sighed. "I understand. I keep pushing it off because I find it important that everyone working for the Larkinson Biotech Institute is on the same line. I don't rashly want to appoint a couple of deputy directors only for them to become so important in the hierarchy that they command more respect than me. I need to make sure that my stamp on the organization is strong enough before I am comfortable with delegating my power."

Ves gave her a curious look. "Are you afraid of losing control over the institute?"

"I'm afraid that you will replace me and put a better director in charge." She plainly answered. "Let's face it. I am too young for my current position. While you put me in charge in a time where our clan was much smaller and there wasn't as much talent at our disposal, our conditions are a lot different this time. Compared to many of the senior researchers that we have hired in recent times, my qualifications have remained far behind. I don't have the intellect, knowledge base, academic achievements and leadership experience to serve the director of such a major institution."

Whenever someone thought of the Larkinson Clan, they thought about its mechs. Hardly anyone directed their attention to the Larkinson Biotech Institute.

However, its importance as well as its business operations have steadily picked up without anyone noticing. The LBI absorbed a lot of investment, but all of that paid off as its large teams of Lifer biotech researchers had begun to release many different biotech solutions, a few of which were actually commercially viable!

While the LBI's ability to commercialize its research was fairly limited due to being based on a moving fleet, there were still ways to go around this inconvenience.

If nothing disastrous took place, then the LBI would likely soar and cement itself as the second economic pillar of the Larkinson Clan!

"You don't need to put yourself down like that, Ranya." He tried to reassure her. "If you want to conduct high-level research, then sure you need to possess all of those qualifications, but this is different. Leading the Larkinson Biotech Institute only requires you to be smart enough to know what the hell your researchers are doing. I trust that you have already met this standard. Aside from that, the reason why I want to keep you in charge is because you possess a major advantage that the other people in your institute lack."

"Trust. You trust me." Ranya said.

"Correct. As long as you don't go behind my back and abuse your authority, you will do fine even if you step away from the day-to-day running of the LBI."

"I understand that, but it is exactly because you trust me that I feel compelled to do what I can to improve my situation. You might not care much about this because you are already sitting at the top of the hierarchy, but I am only a director by appointment. You can replace me at any time for any reason. I don't dare to rely on the trust you have extended towards me as the sole guarantee that I can keep serving as director. If I want to convince you to keep me as director for the long term, I have to concentrate on making myself as valuable in my position as possible."

That… was quite a rational but also cynical way to go about it. She was right that he did not feel the same pressure as her. What he didn't understand was why she insisted on clinging to her job so much.

"There is more to life than being a director, you know. You can move on to other jobs."

"Unacceptable." Ranya shook her head. "Just like how you are able to gain full control over your design activities by becoming a patriarch, I can fully set my own budget and requirements for my own research projects. As soon as I leave the director's chair, I will have to answer to someone else, and that will make it much harder for me to conduct my more ambitious research projects."

Ves wanted to scratch his head. It sounded as if the two had a lot more in common than he expected. They were both filled with ambition and needed enough power, wealth and authority to make their dreams come true.

He decided to branch out from this heavy topic.

"Does your research also encompass the fish-whale organs that the Evolution Kingdom is willing to exchange?"

Ranya shook her head. "No. While the data on them is highly fascinating, these bioproducts fall outside of my specialty. There will be other specialists such as Dr. Perris that possess much more relevant knowledge. I will leave the task of studying, reverse engineering and reproducing the alien organs to my other researchers."

"Ah. I recall. You are much more interested in studying exoplants. Have you made any solid gains?"

"A few." Ranya smiled. "They're not big enough to warrant your attention, but I have not remained stagnant despite the amount of hours I have to spend on herding research-obsessed cats."

"That reminds me, have you worked on the new coin trees that I have come up with? They're a bit odd, but they play an important role in my research. How much have they grown?"

"The good news is that the ones that we are cultivating are all growing quickly and healthily. You won't have to wait too long before they can begin with growing coins. It is a pity that my expertise is not enough to understand the full depth of these odd trees."

"That's what the T Institute is for." Ves explained. "The LBI is good, but it should retain its focus on biotechnology above all else. The T Institute that I have in mind will assist me in conducting research on more.. metaphysical applications. The new coin trees are an important proof of concept to my research efforts. As long as they work…"

Not even Ves knew what he could do with such a potent method at his disposal. While living mechs and growth mechs would always remain his primary focus, he did not want to give up on coming up with a means to improve the norms of his clan.

  Of course, Director Ranya didn't look too happy at the moment. Ves hadn't founded the T Institute yet, but the clan had already made a lot of preparations.

The MTA had already dispatched a potential candidate to lead this new research institution as soon as it opened its doors.

Although Ves was not comfortable with putting a goon of the MTA in charge of such an important and sensitive group, he cared more about obtaining useful research results than keeping his gains a secret from his overlords.

Ves was confident that even if the T Institute produced groundbreaking results, he would probably be the only person who could make full use of the new applications!

"I hope it is worth it for you to put someone affiliated with the mechers in charge of one of your key research organizations."

"It will be fine."

The two eventually completed their discussion and separated. Ranya went on to board the most well-equipped shuttle.

Meanwhile, Ves floated over to the Everchanger and hopped into the cockpit before sitting down at his familiar elevated seat, but not before performing one necessary action.

"Lucky? That's my chair. Get out, please."

"Meow…" The gem cat lazily dozed.

Ves grew annoyed. "If you don't get your furry butt off my chair, I'm going to sit, is that clear?"

"Meow…"

"Okay, that's it! You asked for this, Lucky!"

Ves turned around and plopped himself down on his chair. The cat underneath him instantly yowled as the backside of the Unending Regalia pressed him down on the cushioned seat!

"MEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!"

If not for the fact that Lucky was tough enough to handle the pressure of getting sat upon and if not for quickly turning his body intangible, the precocious cat might have suffered a lot more!

As it was, Lucky was deeply pissed off by Ves' rude action. The cat quickly phased through the underside of the seat and floated up to eye level before giving the clan patriarch a piece of his mind.

"Meow meow meow meow meow!"

Ves merely rolled his eyes. "Serves you right for napping in places where you don't belong. Whenever you pull something like this off, I have to keep picking you up and placing you somewhere else before I can take my seat. I'm tired of doing that, so consider this a lesson to do better next time."

"Meeeow meeow meeeow!"

"It's not animal abuse! I would have relocated Clixie if she was dozing at the same spot."

"Meow!"

"What do you mean? That's not gender or species discrimination! Her body is built differently from yours. You can probably survive having a mech step on you. Clixie on the other hand will definitely get squished to pieces!"

"Meow meow."

Lucky was tired of arguing with Ves. The cat petulantly turned around and settled his body on the only other available seat instead!

When Venerable Joshua entered the cockpit five minutes later, the expert pilot briefly stopped and stared at the gem cat that was in the way.

"Lucky? Could you do me a favor and move so that I can sit down? You can rest on my lap if you want."

"Meow~"

Much to Ves' surprise, Lucky had no problem with following this instruction!

The cat obediently floated off the chair, giving Joshua enough room to take his place on his throne.

Lucky dropped his body onto Joshua's lap a second later, causing the two to look like a harmonious whole.

"Meow."

Ves grew jealous at the sight!