The Mech Touch

The Larkinson fleet had assembled in full as Ves was about to hold his last speech in the Cinach System.

Everyone knew that this would be another historic moment in the short but growing history of the Larkinson Clan.

Though the clan had only existed for a short time, its historical record had already turned into a mythical saga to the tens of thousands of Larkinsons who joined later.

None of the newcomers felt as if they had joined an organization that was still in its infancy and was still in the process of setting up its foundation.

Instead, they felt as if they joined a flourishing castle that was still in the process of building taller walls and more majestic fortifications.

The founding of the Larkinson Clan, the Battle of Kesseling VIII, the flight from the Ylvaine Protectorate to the Sentinel Kingdom, the Nyxian Gap Campaign and the legendary marriage of the Miracle Couple all enriched the Larkinson Clan's heritage and elevated its history to a living myth!

Now, one of the most important chapters of the Larkinson Clan's history had come, and many more clansmen would be taking part for the very first time.

An energy built up among the clansmen as they assumed their stations or huddled together with their friends and family in the communal compartments of their ships.

The temporary base the Larkinsons had rented on the surface of Cinach VI had been completely emptied. Not a single Larkinson or anything of value remained.

The transfer was permanent. Not a single fully-fledged member of the clan was supposed to live on a planet after this day. If Ves had his way, every clansmen should consider their fleet their only home.

His dream was coming true. Unlike the Larkinson Family that had become bound to the Bright Republic, the Larkinson Clan would not be following its predecessor's footsteps!

Of course, he knew that not everyone shared his paranoia against betrayal and his dislike towards settling down on solid ground.

Humans were too accustomed to living in fixed locations. Much of human civilization still abided by a model of living that regarded planets as homes rather than resource production sites.

To Ves, this was an outmoded way of thinking. Now that humanity had gained the ability to live in space indefinitely on a very comfortable basis, why shouldn't people like him switch over?

Aside from certain problems such as higher costs and lack of living space that prevented everyone from following his footsteps, the advantages were too compelling!

All of the grumbling within the clan about missing the open air and being able to visit a diverse set of locales such as beaches, cities, snow mountains and so on did not move his heart at all. None of that was useful to him when his life, freedom and prosperity could all be taken away at any time if the state he was living in betrayed him yet again!

This was why he vigorously overruled all objections. He did not want anyone spoiling his plan when it was about to go into fruition.

In the final weeks, Ves even spent less time in the design lab in order to push, persuade, plead, coerce and lie to the stakeholders of the clan. He worked hard to make sure that every high-ranking Larkinson either supported the grand expedition or shut their mouths about it if their opinions differed!

It worked. Showing how much he cared about the grand expedition not only brought most of the leading figures of the clan in line, but also built up the hype among the rank-and-file members.

With role models and authoritative figures such as Ves, Venerable Joshua, Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson and Commander Casella Ingvar leading the way, the members at the middle and bottom of the pyramid all followed suit!

In any case, the vast majority of people who joined the Larkinson Clan already heard about the grand expedition. They signed up knowing that they would be leaving their old lives behind in order to venture into a completely new region of space.

The hesitation and pushback that Ves was afraid of never materialized. Certainly, thousands of clansmen must be having second thoughts, but without a leading figure rising up to unify their voice, the doubters were as weak as scattered sand.

Before the onset of noon, the clansmen were reflecting on the life they were about to leave behind. No matter what, the Komodo Star Sector used to be their home. While they wouldn't instantly cross over the border once the fleet transitioned into FTL, they knew that once the expeditionary fleet set off, it would not stop until it had reached another star sector!

At this time, Calabast entered the bridge and quietly approached Ves as he was making himself comfortable in his grand new seat.

As she approached, she picked up Lucky and scratched his chin. The cat squinted in pleasure and melted in her grasp.

"Meow~"

"Hehe. Good boy." She complimented as she dug out a lump of mineral from her uniform pocket and effortlessly slid it into Lucky's maw. "Who's a deadly little commando cat?"

"Meow!"

Ves turned his attention away from the status readouts of the fleet. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"How can I not? Lucky has been an excellent sniffer under my command. We've already managed to clean up a couple of spy bugs and suspicious programming I've encountered with his help. I bet that DIVA must be quite upset."

"Are they serious?"

"No." She shook her head. "While our team has only combed through a couple of compartments, we did not find any critical threats to this ship. All we have detected so far are a number of incidental monitoring hacks and extra spying equipment. I don't expect this to change as our sweep continues. The Hegemony just wants to keep an eye on you and your clan. The intelligence agencies dare not go too far. Since I'm around, they should know that I am on guard against their usual repertoire of tricks."

"Well, thanks. Do you have something else to say, or did you just visit the bridge in order to pamper Lucky?"

The spymaster continued to pet and massage his cat as if Lucky was her personal squeeze toy!

"Hehe, can't I just drop by in order to see how you're faring?"

"You could have observed me through the monitoring system, Calabast."

"Monitoring systems are unreliable and not personal enough. It's better to see something with your own two eyes rather than rely on some impersonal projections. Do you know what I am looking at right now, Ves?"

"A proud leader who is about to kick off one of the grandest initiatives of his clan?"

"No." She shook her head. "To me, you resemble a kid who is eager to go on a holiday!"

"This is not a holiday!"

"Maybe you're right." She shrugged. "Don't count out the possibility that you'll be returning here someday. Nothing is impossible. We humans have a fuzzy and complex view of 'home'. What is home to people? Is it the house where your parents lived and where you were raised? Is it the apartment you moved to when you entered adulthood? Or is it the quaint little home that you and your spouse had bought in order to start a new family?"

Her words took him aback.

"Home is… a place of comfort." He slowly replied as he formulated his thought. "Home is where you feel safe and where you go back to after you have faced the perils of the galaxy. Home is the most solid sanctuary that you can think of. People must feel completely at home when they are in their dwelling. If for some reason they feel unsafe, then they are not living in a qualified home at all. Not everyone has the luxury of living in such a place, but I will make damn sure I will provide this sanctuary to our Larkinsons!"

Calabast offered him a brilliant smile. "Well said, Ves. The exact definition of home is not important. Whether your home is Cloudy Curtain or the Spirit of Bentheim, what matters the most is that it is able to make you feel safe and secure. However, not everyone abides by this view. There will be many Larkinsons who will have difficulty treating their starships as their new homes. These people will always view the planets of their births or where they had spent their best years before joining our clan as their true homes."

"We can't do much about that." He nonchalantly shrugged. "Their memories of home will probably fade once they spend a few decades in our fleet. I have hope that their nostalgia will just remain flights of fancy. After all, compared to the rest of human space, the Komodo Star Sector is really backward."

"Mr. Larkinson. Miss Arnlend." Another voice greeted the two. "It is good to see the two of you here."

Grand Captain Daria-Maria Vraken approached and stopped a short distance away from Calabast. Her ramrod straight back caused the captain of the Spirit of Bentheim to peer straight into the younger woman's eyes.

An invisible tension sparked between the two. Not just Ves, but also Lucky sensed some of the undercurrent taking place between the two women.

Both of them were Hexers. Both of them shared the same heritage. Though they belonged to two different branches and two different generations, that did not stop Ves from recognizing the similarities between the two Vrakens!

"Meow!"

Lucky, who was used to sensing danger, felt so uncomfortable that he squirmed out of Calabast's arms and dove into Ves!

Getting stuck between two forceful women was too frightening for the gem cat! Even Ves would give way in order to avoid getting caught in the crossfire!

"Calabast. Is that what you are calling yourself these days? That is quite a good choice. It's sophisticated, elegant and not too long. However, no matter how much you change your name, you cannot beat the name that your mother has bestowed to you. She still misses you, you know." The resplendently-uniformed older woman spoke to the other woman. "Anyway, how are you doing in the Larkinson Clan?"

"I am doing well, auntie! I am doing ten times better than before. I have no regrets with jumping ship." Calabast grinned in an obviously unauthentic fashion.

"That's amusing to hear. You just happen to end up on the same ship that I am captaining at this very moment."

"Heh, there is no need for you to play these word games, Daria. You know very well what I mean. I don't miss the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty at all. I have cut my ties to the Hegemony without feeling any regret. To be honest, I can't wait to set off!"

"Your mother misses you, do you know that?" The grand captain suddenly brought up. "She tries to call you or pass on messages to you every week. You haven't replied to her despite leaving years ago. It has gotten so bad that I am receiving her complaints instead. Is this who you are, now? Even if you have joined the Larkinson Clan, your mother is still your mother. Why must you be so obstinate?"

Calabast burst out! "Don't you lecture me about mothers! My mother doesn't love me! Hardly any female Vraken truly loves their daughters! We are just investments to you! From the moment you design the genes of your babies, you put them through a meticulous training program from birth! Every single day of my life, I had to pass a test. My mother never showed me any unconditional love. Instead, she trained me to perform well in order to receive her affection. If I ever fail to meet her expectations, all the love in her eyes would drain away and I would gain nothing but disappointment from her! Is this the kind of life that I am supposed to be grateful for? I despise my mother! I despise the Vraken Dynasty for pushing us too hard!"

Her dramatic outburst did not spread throughout the entire bridge. The grand captain had instantly activated a privacy screen around Ves, Calabast and herself once Calabast got going.

Nonetheless, the bridge personnel tried their best to look as busy as possible. They all pretended to miss the unfolding drama!