The Mech Touch

The delivery of the Larkinson Clan's much-awaited factory ship initiated a very important countdown.

Hardly any excuses remained to remain in the Cinach System. After a year of residing in this boring Sentinel star system, the Larkinsons were more than eager to explore the cosmos!

In order to address the upcoming changes, Ves decided to make a public announcement. This would be the first time he faced all of his clansmen since his wedding over two months ago. During this time, the clan had recruited a lot of young and eager talents in order to alleviate its immense manpower needs.

The new factory ship alone required at least 5,000 crew members in order to function at a basic level, but in truth it was better to get at least double.

In addition, the production lines and all of the other production-related tasks also required a lot of personnel in order to run them at peak efficiency.

After studying the manuals and consulting some of the chief technicians in his clan, Ves tried to calculate how much staff he needed to assign to each GAIA production line.

He came to the conclusion that they worked optimally when at least 120 mech technicians and assorted workers such as quality control personnel, software engineers and so on were assigned to every production line.

While a production line could actually make do with 20 people or even less, the drop in efficiency would be horrendous. A lot of the advanced machines such as the enormous GAIA 3D printer required the supervision of multiple workers in order to maintain a consistent level of quality.

In addition, hiring more than 100 people allowed the factory ship's new production department to organize them into three 8-hour shifts.

After all, with so many expensive production lines and a ship that added billions of hex credits in upkeep costs, why should the Larkinson Clan shut down the machines at night?

That was an enormous waste!

Therefore, despite recruiting thousands of personnel that were specifically assigned to the factory ship, the Larkinson Clan wasn't done. Once the Larkinson fleet set off, the clan would have to continually recruit talented and eager workers along its journey.

In fact, even if the Larkinson Clan hired all of the personnel necessary to fully staff the production lines, it wouldn't have mattered.

The GAIA production lines were far too complicated for any of the workers to handle at first. They needed to undergo a lot of guided training in order to handle the production equipment without screwing something up. The learning curve was so steep that it might take years for the production crews to truly master the advanced Hexer machines!

"What are you thinking about?" Gloriana asked.

"I'm trying to figure out if the production capacity of our factory ship will be up to par once we enter the Red Ocean." He answered.

A handful of attendants and bots buzzed around him. They dressed him up, attached his cape to his shoulders, affixed some badges to his chest and styled his hair.

One of the bots even shaved his chin to make sure it was absolutely smooth and spotless even though he already shaved this morning! Ves wanted to present a neat and tidy image. Who would ever take him seriously if he showed up with a messy stubble?

"Meow."

"Miaow miaow."

Even their cats dressed up for the occasion. Gloriana had affixed a bowtie on top of both Lucky and Clixie's head.

While Clixie enjoyed her cute pink head ornament, Lucky did not look as pleased with his green headwear.

"Meow meow!"

The gem cat floated in front of Gloriana and begged her to remove his bowtie!

"Why are you so upset, Lucky?" She playfully patted his head. "It looks great on you! I picked it out myself. Don't you like how it matches your eyes?"

"Meeeoooow!"

As the attendants finished fixing up his appearance, he turned around and grasped his wife's hand.

"It's time. Let's face our clansmen. Are you ready?"

"I already fixed up my appearance an hour ago. You're so slow, Ves."

This time, Gloriana opted to wear a dress that combined professionalism with style. Her blue dress featured a honeycomb pattern and her red suit jacket matched the colors of the Larkinson Clan.

She put up pretty but understated makeup but marked her lips with red. Her hair was styled in a crown braid which she had increasingly taken a liking of in recent times.

As Ves took in a deep breath, he also partook in her latest scent which he hadn't experienced before. His wife put on a fresh perfume that smelled of coconuts and oceans.

"I love the way you smell."

She put her hand in front of her mouth and giggled. "Hihi! I try."

The couple and their cats exited the dressing room and approached a large entrance. A squad of guards briefly inspected them before allowing them to pass.

They entered an immense hall.

Banners displaying the emblem and colors of the Larkinson Clan, LMC, Avatars of Myth and the other mech forces proudly hung from bots that floated from above.

Guards in full armor stood vigilantly at the sides. Even though no outsiders were invited to the factory ship, they still took their duties seriously.

Yet what truly impressed Ves was the large crowd that had assembled into the massive compartment.

Thousands of officers and ratings, each of them wearing their ceremonial red dress uniforms, stood in neat rows.

The huge auditorium they were in right now was an adaptable compartment. In occasions like these, it could be configured in a simple empty space with a stage at the front.

On other occasions, the adjustable interior could switch to a formal dining room setting with resplendent tables and chairs, allowing him to hold a grand banquet to entertain a lot of respected guests.

Right now, aside from the banners and other ornaments that spiced the auditorium up, it looked a little bare.

There weren't even any glows to modulate the emotions of the clansmen that had gathered in the hall.

The space did not feature enough room to add any mechs. While Ves could have employed totems, he decided not to make use of them on this occasion.

Ves already held enough public addresses to gain enough confidence in his oratory skills.

In the past, he might have borrowed the power of his mechs or embodied one of his design spirits, but this was not necessary anymore.

He preferred to make use of these methods when he truly needed to increase his persuasion. If he kept utilizing the same tricks onto his own clansmen, they would eventually lose effect.

Since he was just making some information public this time, there was no need for him to resort to excessive means.

As Ves walked down the center aisle that was marked by a red carpet, he reached an elevated stage. Together with his wife and pets, he ascended up the podium and turned around to meet the gazes of the crew of his flagship.

He could sense pride, expectation and eagerness from his clansmen. The depressing malaise that had struck the clan shortly after the Nyxian Gap Campaign had almost entirely faded away.

Part of it was due to the arrival of the HHX-6963 and a lot of other hardware. The Larkinson Clan had rapidly grown in strength, thereby alleviating the worry of many clansmen about their ability to defend themselves.

Part of it was due to time. The tragedies and deaths that ensued from Task Force Predator's journey through the Nyxian Gap had faded. Even the Living Sentinels had turned around now that Commander Casella Ingvar assumed leadership.

Yet the biggest reason was the influx of a lot of adopted clansmen. The recruiters had expanded their scope and took in tens of thousands of talents. With so many newcomers arriving in the clan who had yet to live through any of its difficult times, the clan had regained a lot of optimism!

Ves decided to address this change first. He held the Larkinson Mandate in his hands as he projected the authority of a clan patriarch that had lived through the same ordeals as the other battle-hardened soldiers in his clan.

The crowd fell absolutely silent. Whether they were old-timers or new recruits, none of them regarded him as a bookish mech designer who would faint at the sight of a drop of blood.

"My fellow Larkinsons." He spoke. "Our clan has grown explosively in the past year. First, let me welcome those who have joined our circle. Since each of you have joined under the auspices of the Golden Cat, do not be afraid that you aren't 'Larkinson' enough or any of that nonsense. Simply treat everyone as your brothers and sisters and you will receive the same treatment in return."

There were so many new faces in the crowd that Ves simply didn't recognize any of them aside from his assistants and some other acquaintances.

Of course, he knew many other Larkinsons, but they were watching this announcement from their own ships or locations.

"In our clan, there are no artificial strata that divides our members into different ranks based on bloodline, seniority or any of that nonsense. We are a meritocracy. Here, we only look at your competences and contributions. Work hard and get rewarded. This applies to all of you! Don't think you are too late to the party. With the establishment of the Larkinson Merit Exchange, each of you can transform your lives as long as you are able to redeem some life-changing augments. This opportunity is open to every clansmen no matter their status!"

Much of the newcomers looked incredibly eager to hear this. In the Larkinson Clan, it was much easier for regular clansmen to accumulate enough merits to pay for a basic second-class implant or gene mod template.

This was unimaginable to the former third-raters who used to live more regular lives!

No matter how hard a commoner from the Sentinel Kingdom worked, they could never afford second-class implants, let alone third-class ones!

Yet it was different now. The Larkinson Clan was flush with money. The main reason why Ves did not make the augments free was that he had too few biotech experts to perform so many augmentation procedures.

"During the founding of a clan, we numbered just a couple of hundred people. Now, our numbers have surpassed 50,000 members! We have not only made up for the losses of our recent battles, but we have also expanded our ranks. What is remarkable about this is that we are not done yet. Right now, we only have enough staff to barely crew our new starships and field a couple of thousands of mechs. In order to bring our strength to a level that is sufficient enough for the Red Ocean, I plan to double or triple our numbers in the next couple of years!"

This was a stunning announcement! It wasn't too long ago that the clan only numbered 20,000 people at most. In the span of a couple of months, the recruiters picked up 30,000 new clansmen, many of which had come after witnessing the splendor of the Larkinson Clan by watching the grand wedding.

To be honest, the Larkinson Clan had grown so much that it had reached its limits. The recruiters had already suspended much of their efforts so that they could work on assimilating all of the new recruits.

Still, once the Larkinson Clan digested the huge batch of clansmen, it was able to recruit a lot more personnel in the next round!

"Do not think that 50,000, 100,000 or even 150,000 personnel is enough." Ves swept his arm across the auditorium. "Our factory ship alone can easily accommodate tens of thousands of personnel. When we acquire additional capital ships, we need even more people to leverage their capabilities. Larkinsons such as you and I are the root of our clan, so expanding our ranks will definitely make us stronger!"

Even if some of the conservative old fogies in his clan grew increasingly more reluctant about the rapid expansions, Ves was determined to grow his ranks!