The Mech Touch

After turning three more pakklaton captives into his test subjects, Ves triumphantly returned to the Spirit of Bentheim and resumed his regular duties.

It would take time to collect enough data. Studying the most recent batch of test subjects and verifying the abilities granted by their newborn companion spirits could not be rushed.

Ves predicted that it would probably take a month or so before Jovy made his choice and readied himself for the implantation process.

"This won't be easy."

Performing spiritual surgery on a Journeyman was a lot different from performing the same procedure on a bunch of weak and defenseless pakklatons!

Though Ves already had experience on operating on Journeymen such as himself and Gloriana, who knew what difficulties he might encounter when he tried to do the same to Jovy.

As a member of the MTA, Jovy Armalon received a lot of special treatments. His mind and body had undergone many changes in order to turn him into a superior mech designer.

Ves had no idea whether any of them affected or protected Jovy's spirituality and more specifically his design seed.

If this was the case, then Ves needed to be ready to adjust his approach. It would be good to have universal life energy as well as other safeguards ready.

"Well, I have plenty of time to prepare."

Ves threw himself back to his work and his routine duties. The expeditionary fleet followed a direct route back to the Davute System, and hadn't encountered any obstructions along the way. It would not take long before the Golden Skull Alliance was ready to settle down for a time.

Now that Ves wanted to devote several years to expansion and reconstruction, he had to attend a lot of meetings with different clansmen in order to discuss their spending plans.

Many of those multi-year investment plans demanded substantial amounts of financing.

If anyone suggested that the Larkinson Clan should invest over 100,000 MTA credits on a single initiative, then Ves would have booted the delusion fellow from the compartment!

Nowadays, Ves did not show much of a reaction. The other Larkinson executives also assumed that this was the new norm.

This was the tyranny of possessing a lot of MTA merits and phasewater!

The Larkinson Clan obtained so much spending power all of a sudden that every clansman had adopted the mentality of a nouveau riche!

The problem with that was that some of the spending plans went too far. Ves may be happy and eager to spend a lot of money in the coming years, but that didn't mean he was a proponent of wasteful spending!

As a mech designer, Ves still held to the principle that he should spend as little as possible in order to obtain the maximum possible benefit.

The Larkinson Clan's wealth was only incidental at the moment. There was no easy way to replicate the feats that allowed them to earn a huge amount of profit.

This was why Ves felt it was important to invest much of it into the Larkinson Clan. He wanted it to become large and strong enough to earn this kind of money through routine business operations!

The Larkinsons faced a lot of challenges in meeting this goal. The clan still did not have a strong foundation in the local economy. The business environment in the Red Ocean was still underdeveloped and competition was extremely high.

Money alone could not lift the Larkinson Clan into prosperity! The more he talked to various knowledgeable experts, the more he understood that the Larkinsons needed to integrate in the local business community.

"You can view the current circumstances in Davute as a zero-sum game." Minister Shederin Purnesse explained. "The markets and the infrastructure are so limited that only a fraction of the total number of companies can achieve profitability at this time. In truth, none of the companies that have moved to Krakatoa are earning any profits. Each of them must spend large amounts of money in order to obtain a foothold in the local economy. The power blocs and coalitions that are in control of the port system try to keep out the newcomers as much as possible. Do you know why?"

It was not difficult to guess the answer.

"Because each new competitor that enters the market will force the existing companies to shrink their market share." Ves responded. "The pieces of the pies get smaller and smaller. The only compelling reason to allow a newcomer to settle in Davute is if the company provides a good or service that is sorely needed. This explains why Murphy & Sons has not encountered too many hindrances."

Starships were in high demand, so there was still sufficient room for shipbuilding companies.

The mech industry was in a completely different state. There were way too many mech designers and mech companies trying to capture the nascent markets for different categories of mechs.

The mech companies involved in the founding and colonization of the initial settlements on Davute enjoyed an enormous first-mover advantage!

If these founders had any sense, then they would do their best to abuse their power and position in the industry to choke out new arrivals!

This explained the Living Mech Corporation's current state in the Red Ocean.

The Larkinsons were more than eager to expand their business operations in the new frontier, but the mech companies that arrived first did everything in their power to maintain the status quo!

Of course, there was no way that a limited number of mech companies could maintain their oligopoly forever.

Once the local economy developed further, the demand for different mechs would surely skyrocket. The supply of raw materials would also catch up, thereby making it easier for latecomers to set up shop.

The problem for the Larkinson Clan was that it would take thirty, fifty or even a hundred years before a semblance of fair and open competition became possible!

"The reality of this early period is that gaining a foothold in the local economy cannot be achieved without the consent of the dominant players in Davute." Shederin stated in a neutral tone. "Our clan is but one of many outsiders who are desperately trying to gain the acceptance of insiders. If we want to succeed, we need to convince the latter that embracing us will not harm their interests. In fact, that is not enough. We need to persuade enough insiders that letting us into their ranks will profit them instead."

Ves grimaced. He could see where this conversation was going. "Let me guess. The best way to become an insider is to pay big fat bribes to these early movers and dominant players, is that correct?"

"Indeed. It is relatively uncommon for newcomers to donate large sums of money or phasewater. Takeovers and partial ownership transfers are more common around here. The power blocs are aiming to become stronger instead of weaker. It is much harder to persuade them to approve us if we do not want to give them a stake into our mech company or clan."

There was no way that Ves would allow any ownership stake to escape his hands!

The Larkinson Clan must never answer to a higher authority than a Larkinson! This was one of his most important principles!

Although Ves was willing to invest a considerable amount of money to integrate into Davute, he would pack up his bags and go if there was any further talk about transferring ownership!

"You don't need to explain the old boy's club that is controlling Davute any further. I already understand the many difficulties. What I need is an answer. How can you turn our clan into an insider without wasting the majority of our windfall on bribes?"

Minister Shederin smiled. "As I have stated earlier, the key to becoming an insider is to persuade the existing ones that we can advance their interests. That does not necessarily mean we should give them partial control of our clan or bribe them with enormous sums of money. The plan that I have formed after the events in Purgatory takes advantage of our new conditions to win over one player after another. We do not need to win over every insider. We do not even need to obtain the approval of a majority of them. As long as we have obtained tentative support, we can rely on ourselves to do the rest."

The old man transferred over an electronic document.

When Ves skimmed through the plan, he wasn't sure whether the Larkinson Clan was able to pull it off. It relied heavily on diplomacy to do the job.

"Can we really win over enough insiders without spending a lot of money?" Ves skeptically asked.

"I am confident we can do so, sir." Shederin confidently replied. "You are underestimating the power of status, wealth and reputation. Your personal attitude towards galactic citizens is woefully shallow. I can guarantee you that as long as we publicize the fact that you have become a tier 6 galactic citizen, many more dignitaries will be interested in building up relations with you. If we reveal the fact that we have successfully concluded an exploration run and returned home with hundreds of kilograms of phasewater, we will become one of the most prominent pioneers in Davute, at least for a time. These factors already put us ahead of other competitors."

The logic was sound, but Ves wasn't sure whether the established power blocs would truly be swayed by status and reputation.

In his cognition, these power players were all ruthless and utilitarian!

If the Larkinsons did not give them any solid and costly benefits, there was no way the insiders would open the gates!

"I don't have that much confidence that your attempts at diplomacy will go as smoothly as you think." Ves replied. "However, I'm willing to give your plan a chance, mainly because it is by far the cheapest proposal that I have come across. We still have plenty of time to build up a solid presence in Davute, so we don't need to rush too much."

"You won't regret this decision, sir. I have studied Davute's conditions extensively. The distribution of power in this port system is complex, and that gives us numerous openings. The best way to break into a castle is not to breach its strongest defenses, but to exploit its weak points. There is no single overpowering player in the port system. Instead, numerous different parties must share power, which means that none of them have the power to single-handedly drive us away."

The situation that Minister Shederin described sounded similar to what the Golden Skull Alliance faced in the beginning of the Purgatory Campaign.

"Divide and conquer." Ves softly said. "You're essentially trying to apply this stratagem to our entry into Davute."

"Essentially, yes. The most brilliant aspect of divide and conquer is that you can continue to apply it as you go further. If you can truly persist, we might end up ruling Davute as a whole. We may even rule over the state that has formed around the regional economy."

"Stop! No more, please. I have no ambitions to take over a lucrative port system. We don't need to rely on conquering a fief in order to do well in the Red Ocean. Holding a port system or worse yet an entire state is far too much trouble in my opinion. The enemies we make and the heat we attract will distract us and put us into way too much danger. I just want to be a mech designer, Shederin. I don't see why I should try and become a neo-feudal stellar tyrant."

Shederin sighed. "It is only an option, patriarch. If you leverage your gains from the Purgatory to the fullest, it is not impossible to gather a following and build up a power bloc of your own. From there, you can scheme or persuade the other power blocs to stand aside or offer their allegiance to you. In fact, this is how many leaders in frontier regions rose to power. The Life Research Association of Majestic Teal is a good example. You can assuredly become the next Supreme Sage if you are truly willing to maximize your advantages."

The mention of the Supreme Sage briefly prompted Ves to recall what happened to this once-revered leader.

"...No thanks. I'm already fine the way I am. Leading the Larkinson Clan is already good enough."