The Mech Touch

Ves initially reacted to Reynard's revelation with pleasant surprise.

It was a coincidence that the Larkinsons share a common root with the Clarkes, however distant and aged it may be. It explained why Ves did not feel as alienated among his hosts than he expected.

Though the shuttle ride did not give him a chance to be surrounded by the Clarkes, Ves did get a glimpse of what the Clarkes were like shortly after stepping foot onto the space station.

His impression of the local security officers and other personnel was that they held themselves in a manner that was not too different from the Larkinsons.

Though there were certainly differences between the two groups, Ves could still buy the theory that they were both off-shoots from the same parent organization.

However, it did not take long for Ves to sober up and realize that whatever the Larkinson Clan and the Clarke Clan had in common was too superficial to claim any kinship.

The New Rubarth Empire was a vast and enormous first-rate superstate that was home to more citizens than Ves could count.

It was well-known that Rubarth was not an easy state to live in. Competition was pervasive and many Rubarthans had to do their best to keep up with their peers in order to keep their heads above water.

Even the upper echelon of society could not relax for too long. Newer groups and factions constantly tried to chip away at the foundation of the more established organizations.

The general rule in this powerful state was that the strong should always supplant the weak!

While the New Rubarth Empire did offer enough unity and commission to keep everything together, it was unavoidable that a lot of losers among its citizens.

These people no longer found it viable to remain in their state for one reason or another and had little choice but to go into exile by moving to another state.

Terrans and Rubarthans almost never fled to the smaller first-rate states. This was because the latter actively rejected the exiles for fear of getting assimilated from within.

This left the Terrans and Rubarthans with little choice but to move to the lesser and much poorer states.

In general, the greater the trouble, the further they moved away.

Ves didn't know too much about the mythical Larkinson Ancestor who relied on his own strength to found the Larkinson Family, but it was not difficult to figure out that this historical figure had incurred a lot of heat.

There was no other compelling reason for the Larkinson Ancestor to run all the way to the border of human space!

The Clarke Clan had it much easier in comparison.

As Ves used his implant to get himself up to speed of its history, it turned out that whatever setbacks drove the Clarkes out of Rubarth over 3 centuries ago wasn't as serious. The Clarke Clan eventually settled down in the galactic heartland that was still close enough to humanity's core region.

This also meant that the Clarke Clan hadn't degenerated as badly as the Larkinsons and the other founders of the Bright Republic.

Exiles flowed out of the Greater Terran United Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire all the time. The outflow was just as enormous and the inflow if the sources were accurate.

The general rule upheld by both first-rate superstates was that any of their citizens that turned into a fugitive or exile no longer had the right to call themselves Terran or Rubarthan.

Neither the Larkinsons nor the Clarkes retained any official ties to the New Rubarth Empire! The powerful state already severed those ties as soon as the original exiles crossed the border!

Nothing was absolute, though. Ves had once heard that the Rubarthans still maintained secret networks of exiled groups in order to collect resources, gather intelligence and generally keep an eye on the other parts of human space.

The Larkinsons had nothing to do with that, so Ves never spared much thought towards the New Rubarth Empire.

"It's a coincidence that we are both connected to Rubarth, however distant our ties may be." Ves eventually replied. "I suppose it will certainly make it easier for us to understand each other, but that is all. A large number of groups based in second-rate states can all claim ancestry from the first-rate superstates."

"That is true, I suppose." Reynard admitted.

The tour from above continued for another twenty minutes before the tourist shuttle descended in the center of the public area of the Armidia.

Ves and his family stepped out in a vast indoor urban environment that shared a passing resemblance to Dawn City of the Vivacious Wal.

The overall premise of Armidia was the same as the brightest city of the Larkinson Clan. As Ves gazed at the pristine avenues beyond the landing zone, he observed many groups of well-dressed visitors.

A significant proportion of them had brought their children along, and that was for good reason because the Armidia offered a lot of kid-friendly destinations.

There were zoos, aquariums, mech museums, gaming centers and of course shopping malls that catered to all kinds of people.

There were frequent patrols of lightly-armed security officers who all bore the gray-and-sky blue colors of the Clarke Clan.

The amount of patrols were rather high, but their modest outfits and equipment easily allowed them to remain unobtrusive.

However, what truly attracted Ves' attention was not the venues nor the uniformed Clarkes on foot.

It was the small number of mechs that quietly patrolled the public spaces of Armidia.

Ves recognized their models. They all happened to be peacekeeper mechs from a highly familiar mech ecosystem.

"It turns out that your clan is my customer!"

Reynard Clarke chuckled. "That is true. We have come to depend greatly on the models of the LaVoi mech ecosystem and especially the Pacifier model to minimize disturbances within our common spaces. It is not just our Clarke Clan that have embraced your work. Our other coalition partners have sold their previous law enforcement mechs and switched over to the LaVoi mech ecosystem as soon as they became acquainted with the more superior line of mechs."

Though Ves was aware that the Larkinson Clan's collaboration with the Voiken Family resulted in a huge amount of sales, the Red Ocean was still a big market.

He did not expect to encounter his commercial products in use outside of the Davute region so soon, but on second thought it was not too strange to see Pacifiers in the wild.

The Pacifier was one of his breakout successes. Its capabilities were unmatched by any competitor, which meant that not a single competitor could match its impressive value proposition!

The result of having a product that was clearly more valuable than anything else in the market meant that demand for it was unlikely to fade unless the competition finally stepped up and presented a viable alternative.

Until then, the amount of Pacifier mechs in circulation would continue to grow until they showed up in pretty much every second-class population center!

As the group stepped onto an avenue and moved in the direction of a shopping mall, Ves curiously asked questions about the Clarke Clan's experiences with his products.

"How satisfied are you with the Pacifiers?"

"We are very satisfied with your work." Reynard did not hesitate to respond. "It is particularly handy that there are many variants available for sale. Policing a space station is different from policing a city on a planet, so we have particular demands for our internal units. Honestly speaking though, we would have bought your Pacifiers even if they only came in a single version. The glow that each of them bears is just too useful in our line of work."

"Have you employed the glow of the Pacifier model many times?"

"We did at the start. You have to know that we usually open ourselves up in locations that are frequented by a wide variety of people, many of which have built up a large amount of stress, frustration and more. These individuals are not always capable of demonstrating self-control. Outbursts are unavoidable in our line of work."

Ves nodded in understanding. "It is brave of you to welcome so many visitors to your space station. I can understand that the need for effective peacekeeping and pacification solutions is great."

"The Pacifier model was not as famous or common as today, so not many of our guests were aware of what it was capable of. What we fear the most is riots and unbridled violence within our own hull, but we are cognizant that if we are too heavy handed in our attempts to enforce our rules, we will drive too many visitors away from our hull."

"This is where the Pacifier comes in, right?"

"Correct." Reynard smiled. "Your mech possesses the unique ability to cool people's tempers and reduce the impulses that could lead them to commit violence. The glow of your Pacifier model hasn't always worked as well as we hoped, but we successfully used your mechs to prevent the majority of conflicts from escalating any further. That alone has saved us many MTA credits in physical damage and reputational damage."

"That is what my mechs are for. They exist to solve the problems of our customers. I am happy to hear that your adoption of our Pacifier mech line has contributed to your clan's prosperity. Since you are so happy with our Pacifiers, have you opted to purchase our other products as well?"

"We have yet to do so, patriarch." Reynard Clarke shook his head. "I can tell you that this matter is frequently brought up in our high-level meetings, but we are not in a hurry to adopt more of your work. We are already more than satisfied with our existing mechs, many of which are designed by our own team of mech designers. We don't want to put our own people out of business, and it is essential for them to receive the practice they need to further their skills."

"I can understand the need to prioritize your own mech designers. Only they know your circumstances and your needs the most. They are also essential to designing your own expert mechs and other specific machines. However, you should also have a sense of proportion. The mech industry outside of your small coalition is constantly pushing technology to greater heights. Many of your peers and rivals will not hesitate to embrace the latest trends so that they can get more work done with fewer mechs. If you are not careful enough, then your clan and coalition might find out that you have fallen behind in the most brutal fashion."

The relations manager of the Clarke Clan briefly shrugged. "Our elders and leaders all keep track of what is happening in the mech community. The battle that your alliance has recently fought in the Magair Middle Zone is just one of many cases that have shown us where mechs are heading towards. I am certain that our clan will make the necessary adjustments in time, though I cannot promise that we will be purchasing your other products."

As the two continued to talk, Ves gained a good understanding of the Clarke Clan as a customer.

The Clarkes definitely loved the Pacifier mechs for how extensively they made Pentahall Station safer, but they did not have any other urgent needs that necessitated the acquisition of other living mech models.

Since the Clarkes were also active in the mech industry, they would rather support the inferior works of their own mech designers than embrace superior mechs sold by competing mech companies!

The Clarke Clan therefore prioritized control over performance. This strategy worked as long as the gap between their own mech designers and external competitors wasn't too exaggerated.

Unfortunately for the Clarkes, Ves believed that it was inevitable for this gap to widen in the future.

He was constantly progressing his career and he felt it would not take much longer for him to grasp his next breakthrough opportunity!